Matthew 23:20-21
23:20 So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
23:21 And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and the one who dwells in it.
Matthew 23:18
23:18 And, ‘Whoever swears by the altar is bound by nothing.
1 But if anyone swears by the gift on it he is bound by the oath.’
Matthew 23:22
23:22 And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and the one who sits on it.
Matthew 23:16
23:16 “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whoever swears by the temple is bound by nothing. 2 But whoever swears by the gold of the temple is bound by the oath.’
Matthew 5:34
5:34 But I say to you, do not take oaths at all – not by heaven, because it is the throne of God,
Matthew 5:36
5:36 Do not take an oath by your head, because you are not able to make one hair white or black.
Matthew 26:74
26:74 At that he began to curse, and he swore with an oath, “I do not know the man!” At that moment a rooster crowed.
3
1 tn Grk “Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing.”
1 tn Grk “Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing.”
1 tn It seems most likely that this refers to a real rooster crowing, although a number of scholars have suggested that “cockcrow” is a technical term referring to the trumpet call which ended the third watch of the night (from midnight to 3 a.m.). This would then be a reference to the Roman gallicinium (ἀλεκτοροφωνία, alektorofwnia; the term is used in Mark 13:35 and is found in some mss [Ì37vid,45 Ë1] in Matt 26:34) which would have been sounded at 3 a.m.; in this case Jesus would have prophesied a precise time by which the denials would have taken place. For more details see J. H. Bernard, St. John (ICC), 2:604. However, in light of the fact that Mark mentions the rooster crowing twice (Mark 14:72) and in Luke 22:60 the words are reversed (ἐφώνησεν ἀλέκτωρ, efwnhsen alektwr), it is more probable that a real rooster is in view. In any event natural cockcrow would have occurred at approximately 3 a.m. in Palestine at this time of year (March-April) anyway.