1 Timothy 5:2

5:2 older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters – with complete purity.

1 Timothy 5:17

5:17 Elders who provide effective leadership ¹  must be counted worthy ²  of double honor, ³  especially those who work hard in speaking ⁴  and teaching.

Exodus 20:12

20:12 “Honor ⁵  your father and your mother, that you may live a long time ⁶  in the land ⁷  the Lord your God is giving to you.

Matthew 15:6

15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ ⁸  You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.

Matthew 15:1

Breaking Human Traditions

15:1 Then Pharisees ⁹  and experts in the law ¹⁰  came from Jerusalem ¹¹  to Jesus and said, ¹² 

Matthew 2:6

2:6 ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,

are in no way least among the rulers of Judah,

for out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’” ¹³ 

Matthew 2:1

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ¹⁴  in Judea, in the time ¹⁵  of King Herod, ¹⁶  wise men ¹⁷  from the East came to Jerusalem ¹⁸ 

Matthew 2:17

2:17 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:

Matthew 3:7

3:7 But when he saw many Pharisees ¹⁹  and Sadducees ²⁰  coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You offspring of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?

¹ tn Grk “who lead well.”

² tn Or “deserving.”

³ tn Like the similar use of “honor” in v. 3, this phrase
denotes both respect and remuneration: “honor plus honorarium.”

⁴ tn Or “in preaching”; Grk “in word.”

⁵ tn The verb כַּבֵּד (kabbed) is a Piel imperative; it calls for people to give their parents the respect and honor that is appropriate for them. It could be paraphrased to say, give them the weight of authority that they deserve. Next to God, parents were to be highly valued, cared for, and respected.

⁶ tn Heb “that your days may be long.”

⁷ sn The promise here is national rather than individual, although it is certainly true that the blessing of life was promised for anyone who was obedient to God’s commands (Deut 4:1, 8:1, etc.). But as W. C. Kaiser (“Exodus,” EBC 2:424) summarizes, the land that was promised was the land of Canaan, and the duration of Israel in the land was to be based on morality and the fear of God as expressed in the home (Deut 4:26, 33, 40; 32:46-47). The captivity was in part caused by a breakdown in this area (Ezek 22:7, 15). Malachi would announce at the end of his book that Elijah would come at the end of the age to turn the hearts of the children and the parents toward each other again.

⁸ tc The logic of v. 5 would seem to demand that both father and mother are in view in v. 6. Indeed, the majority of mss (C L W Θ 0106 ˹ Ï) have “or his mother” (ἢ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ, h thn mhtera autou) after “honor his father” here. However, there are significant witnesses that have variations on this theme (καὶ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ [kai thn mhtera autou, “and his mother”] in Φ 565 1241 pc and ἢ τὴν μητέρα [“or mother”] in 073 ˹³ 33 579 700 892 pc), which is usually an indication of a predictable addition to the text rather than an authentic reading. Further, the shorter reading (without any mention of “mother”) is found in early and important witnesses (א B D sa). Although it is possible that the shorter reading came about accidentally (due to the repetition of –ερα αὐτοῦ), the evidence more strongly suggests that the longer readings were intentional scribal alterations.

⁹ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

¹⁰ tn Or “and the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

¹¹ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹² tn The participle λέγοντες (legontes) has been translated as a finite verb so that its telic (i.e., final or conclusive) force can be more easily detected: The Pharisees and legal experts came to Jesus in order to speak with him.

¹³ sn A quotation from Mic 5:2.

¹⁴ map For location see Map5-B1; Map7-E2; Map8-E2; Map10-B4.

¹⁵ tn Grk “in the days.”

¹⁶ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

¹⁷ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

¹⁸ map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹⁹ sn Pharisees were members of one of the most important and influential religious and political parties of Judaism in the time of Jesus. There were more Pharisees than Sadducees (according to Josephus, Ant. 17.2.4 [17.42] there were more than 6,000 Pharisees at about this time). Pharisees differed with Sadducees on certain doctrines and patterns of behavior. The Pharisees were strict and zealous adherents to the laws of the OT and to numerous additional traditions such as angels and bodily resurrection.

²⁰ sn The Sadducees controlled the official political structures of Judaism at this time, being the majority members of the Sanhedrin. They were known as extremely strict on law and order issues (Josephus, J. W. 2.8.2 [2.119], 2.8.14 [2.164-166]; Ant. 13.5.9 [13.171-173], 13.10.6 [13.293-298], 18.1.2 [18.11], 18.1.4 [18.16-17], 20.9.1 [20.199]; Life 2 [10-11]). See also Matt 16:1-12; 22:23-34; Mark 12:18-27; Luke 20:27-38; Acts 5:17; 23:6-8.