Matthew 28:17

Summary

Matthew 28:17 is the seventeenth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse is part of the resurrection narrative, recording a meeting of the risen Jesus with the disciples.

Matthew 28:17
← 28:16
28:18 →
Risen Jesus and the disciples. The ideal Holy Bible self-pronouncing, self-interpreting, self-explanatory. 1908
BookGospel of Matthew
Christian Bible partNew Testament

Content edit

The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort/[NA27 and UBS4 variants], reads:[1]

17: καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν προσεκύνησαν, οἱ δὲ ἐδίστασαν.

In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:

17: And when they saw him, they worshipped him: but some doubted.

The modern World English Bible translates the passage as:

17: When they saw him, they bowed down to him, but some doubted.[a]

Analysis edit

The verse states briefly that "they saw him", then "they worshipped him", concluded by a puzzling phrase "but some doubted" (hoi de edistasan).[2] The Greek root word for "doubted" is distazō, which is only used here and in Matthew 14:31 when Jesus rebuked Simon Peter for having "doubt" after he lost his confidence during his walk on the water toward Jesus.[2] The "doubt" here does not denote intellectual disbelief ("refuse to believe"), but "hesitation".[3] R. T. France notes that "hesitation" is linked with "worship" both in this verse and in chapter 14 ("hesitation" in Matthew 14:31; "worship" in Matthew 14:33).[4]

The Greek word translated as "worshipped" comes from the verb proskuneó, indicating 'the homage and prostration before a king'.[5] It occurs twelve times in the Gospel of Matthew, whereas it is found only twice each in the Gospel of Mark and in the Gospel of Luke.[5]

Notes edit

  1. ^ For a collection of other versions see BibleHub: Matthew 28:17

References edit

  1. ^ Greek Text Analysis: Matthew 28:17. Biblehub
  2. ^ a b Phillips, John (2005). Exploring the Gospel of Matthew: An Expository Commentary. The John Phillips Commentary Series. Vol. 1 (reprint ed.). Kregel Academic. p. 546. ISBN 9780825433924.
  3. ^ Carson, D. A. (2017). Matthew. The Expositor's Bible Commentary. Contributors: Tremper Longman III, David E. Garland (revised ed.). 1. Jesus in Galilee (28:16–17): Zondervan Academic. ISBN 9780310531982.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  4. ^ France 2007, p. 1111.
  5. ^ a b Carr, A. (1893), Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges: Matthew 28, accessed 28 April 2019.

Sources edit

  • France, R.T. (2007). Bruce, Frederick Fyvie (ed.). The Gospel of Matthew. New international commentary on the New Testament. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. ISBN 9780802825018.
Preceded by
Matthew 28:16
Gospel of Matthew
Chapter 28
Succeeded by
Matthew 28:18