Matthew 23 is the twenty-third chapter in the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew), or simply Matthew. It is most commonly abbreviated as "Matt." is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells how Israel's Messiah, Jesus, comes to his people and form ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chri ...

section of the Christian

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

, and consists almost entirely of the accusations of

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

against the Pharisees. The chapter is also known as the

Woes of the Pharisees The Woes of the Pharisees is a list of criticisms by Jesus against scribes and Pharisees recorded in Luke 11:37–54 and Matthew 23:1–39. Mark 12:35–40 and Luke 20:45–47 also include warnings about scribes. Eight are listed in Matthew, a ...

or the "Seven Woes". In this chapter, Jesus accuses the Pharisees of hypocrisy. Some writers treat it as part of the final discourse of Matthew's gospel.

Text

The original text was written in

Koine Greek Koine Greek (; Koine el, ἡ κοινὴ διάλεκτος, hē koinè diálektos, the common dialect; ), also known as Hellenistic Greek, common Attic, the Alexandrian dialect, Biblical Greek or New Testament Greek, was the common supra-reg ...

. This chapter is divided into 39 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are: * Papyrus 77 (~AD 200; extant: verses 30–39) *

Codex Vaticanus The Codex Vaticanus ( The Vatican, Bibl. Vat., Vat. gr. 1209), designated by siglum B or 03 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), δ 1 ( von Soden), is a fourth-century Christian manuscript of a Greek Bible, containing the majority of the Greek Old ...

(325-350) *

Codex Sinaiticus The Codex Sinaiticus ( Shelfmark: London, British Library, Add MS 43725), designated by siglum [Aleph] or 01 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 2 (in the von Soden numbering of New Testament manuscript ...

(330-360) *

Codex Bezae The Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis, designated by siglum D or 05 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering of New Testament manuscripts), δ 5 (in the von Soden of New Testament manuscript), is a codex of the New Testament dating from the 5th century writ ...

(c. 400) *

Codex Washingtonianus The Codex Washingtonianus or Codex Washingtonensis, designated by W or 032 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), ε 014 ( Soden), also called the ''Washington Manuscript of the Gospels'', and ''The Freer Gospel'', contains the four biblical gospels an ...

(c. 400) * Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (c. 450) * Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (6th century) * Codex Sinopensis (6th century; extant verses 1-35) *

Papyrus 83 Papyrus 83 (in the Gregory-Aland numbering), designated by 𝔓83, is a copy of the New Testament in Greek. It is a papyrus manuscript of the Gospel of Matthew. The surviving texts of Matthew are verses 20:23-25,30-31; 23:39-24:1,6. The manuscrip ...

(6th century; extant verses 39)

A Warning Against Scribes and Pharisees (23:1–12)

Matthew presents a concerted attack on the Jewish religious authorities at this point in his gospel narrative; there is a briefer warning about the scribes in , and Luke has, according to Protestant theologian

Heinrich Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the ''New Testament'' and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jena, ...

, "inserted at Luke 11 portions of this discourse in an order different from the original".Meyer, H. A. W.
Meyer's NT Commentary: Matthew 23
accessed 18 March 2021 The pharisees themselves have been silenced in

Matthew 22 Matthew 22 is the twenty-second chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. Jesus continues his final ministry in Jerusalem before his Passion. Teaching in the Temple, Jesus enters into debate successiv ...

. According to Richard Thomas France, this section shows Jesus as a fierce controversialist concerning the values of the kingdom of heaven as opposed to the superficial approach to religion. Meyer thinks that Matthew's account is closer to the actual directive of Jesus, "although much that was spoken on other occasions may perhaps be mixed up with it";

Heinrich Ewald Georg Heinrich August Ewald (16 November 18034 May 1875) was a German orientalist, Protestant theologian, and Biblical exegete. He studied at the University of Göttingen. In 1827 he became extraordinary professor there, in 1831 ordinary profess ...

, on the other hand, thinks that the discourse is made up of passages that were probably original, though uttered on very different occasions.

Verse 2

:''"The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses seat."'' Dale Allison states that "' Moses' seat' is ambiguous. It may either refer to a literal chair for synagogue authorities or be a

metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that, for rhetorical effect, directly refers to one thing by mentioning another. It may provide (or obscure) clarity or identify hidden similarities between two different ideas. Metaphors are often compared wi ...

for teaching authority (cf. the professor's 'chair')." Thus, the New Century Version presents this verse as: :''The teachers of the law and the Pharisees have the authority to tell you what the law of Moses says.'' Allison observes that "only here (in Matthew's gospel) are the Jewish leaders presented in a positive light: they should be obeyed". Moses "sat to judge the people" in , although Meyer counsels against the suggestion that the "seat of Moses" refers to this passage. Meyer also suggests that the word ἐκάθισαν (''ekathisan'', "have sat down") should be read as "have seated themselves", meaning that they have "assumed to themselves the duties of this office".

Verse 5

:''But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments.'' Arthur Carr notes that "Jesus does not prohibit the practice of wearing phylacteries, but the ostentatious enlargement of them". He also observes that "it is thought by many that our Saviour Himself wore phylacteries". Their use is prescribed in

Exodus 13 Thirteen or 13 may refer to: * 13 (number), the natural number following 12 and preceding 14 * One of the years 13 BC, AD 13, 1913, 2013 Music * 13AD (band), an Indian classic and hard rock band Albums * ''13'' (Black Sabbath album), 2013 ...

:9 and Deuteronomy 6:8.

The Scribes and Pharisees Denounced (23:13–36)

While the previous

pericope A pericope (; Greek , "a cutting-out") in rhetoric is a set of verses that forms one coherent unit or thought, suitable for public reading from a text, now usually of sacred scripture. Also can be used as a way to identify certain themes in a cha ...

was directed to the crowd and the disciples, this part addresses the scribes and Pharisees, in the form of 'seven woes', a powerful climax to repudiate their leadership.

Verse 13

:But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people's faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. Some manuscripts add here (or after verse 12) verse 14: ''Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses and for a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you will receive the greater condemnation''. The phrase "enter the kingdom of heaven" appears three other times in the Gospel, at Matthew 5:20, 7:21, and 18:3.

Verse 36

:Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation. "These things" in the Greek texts are ταῦτα πάντα (''tauta panta'') in the

Textus Receptus ''Textus Receptus'' (Latin: "received text") refers to all printed editions of the Greek New Testament from Erasmus's ''Novum Instrumentum omne'' (1516) to the 1633 Elzevir edition. It was the most commonly used text type for Protestant deno ...

and critical

Westcott-Hort ''The New Testament in the Original Greek'' is a Greek-language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott (1825–1901) and Fenton John Anthony Hort (1828 ...

text but Meyer points out that the reversed reading, πάντα ταῦτα (''panta tauta''), is also "well attested".

The Fate of Jerusalem (23:37–39)

This last part acts as the inevitable conclusion of the hypocrisy of the leaders to the total guilt of Israel in its rejection of God's messenger: ''Jerusalem'' has rejected the call of God's last and greatest messenger and will receive judgment for it.

Verse 39

:for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, 'Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!' NKJV Citing Psalm 118:26, echoing Matthew 21:19.

Other Gospels

Luke 11:37-54 parallels Matthew 23, but Luke's version has six, not seven, accusations, and is thus known as the "Six Woes". Luke's version is also shorter than Matthew's. Luke 13:34-35 parallels Jesus' lament over

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

in verses 37-39.

Notes

The " anise" mentioned in some translations is

dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Growth ...

('' A. graveolens''), rather than this plant. The Pharisees apparently grew it in order to pay some tithes.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * .

External links

* King James Bible - Wikisource
English Translation with Parallel Latin Vulgate''Online Bible'' at GospelHall.org
(ESV, KJV, Darby, American Standard Version, Bible in Basic English)
Multiple bible versions at ''Bible Gateway''
(NKJV, NIV, NRSV etc.) {{Gospel of Matthew Gospel of Matthew chapters