5:13 “You are the salt 1 of the earth. But if salt loses its flavor, 2 how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled on by people.
1 sn Salt was used as seasoning or fertilizer (BDAG 41 s.v. ἅλας a), or as a preservative. If salt ceased to be useful, it was thrown away. With this illustration Jesus warned about a disciple who ceased to follow him.
2 sn The difficulty of this saying is understanding how salt could lose its flavor since its chemical properties cannot change. It is thus often assumed that Jesus was referring to chemically impure salt, perhaps a natural salt which, when exposed to the elements, had all the genuine salt leached out, leaving only the sediment or impurities behind. Others have suggested that the background of the saying is the use of salt blocks by Arab bakers to line the floor of their ovens; under the intense heat these blocks would eventually crystallize and undergo a change in chemical composition, finally being thrown out as unserviceable. A saying in the Talmud (b. Bekhorot 8b) attributed to R. Joshua ben Chananja (ca.
3 tn Or “that of the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.
4 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
5 tn Or “if your eye is sick” (L&N 23.149).
7 sn This verse has been noted for its conceptual similarity to teaching in John’s Gospel (10:15; 17:2). The authority of the Son and the Father are totally intertwined.
8 tn Or “wishes”; or “intends”; or “plans” (cf. BDAG 182 s.v. βούλομαι 2.b). Here it is the Son who has sovereignty.
9 tn Grk “Or how can.”
10 sn The strong man here pictures Satan.
11 sn Some see the imagery here as similar to Eph 4:7-10, although no opponents are explicitly named in that passage. Jesus has the victory over Satan. Jesus’ acts of healing mean that the war is being won and the kingdom is coming.
11 tn Grk “it will be forgiven him.”
12 tn Grk “it will not be forgiven him.”
13 tn Grk “is a gift,” that is, something dedicated to God.
15 tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.
17 tn Grk “For truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.” Here γάρ (gar) has not been translated.
18 tn Grk “faith as,” “faith like.”
19 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
19 tn Grk “a certain man.” The Greek word ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used here in a somewhat generic sense.
20 sn This individual with a hundred sheep is a shepherd of modest means, as flocks often had up to two hundred head of sheep.
21 sn Look for the one that went astray. The parable pictures God’s pursuit of the sinner. On the image of Jesus as the Good Shepherd, see John 10:1-18.
21 tn Grk “answering, Jesus said to them.” This is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
23 tn The plural Greek term ἀνθρώπων (anqrwpwn) is used here (and in v. 26) in a generic sense, referring to both men and women (cf. NAB, NRSV, “of human origin”; TEV, “from human beings”; NLT, “merely human”).
25 tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for fathering children (L&N 23.59).
26 sn A quotation from Deut 25:5. This practice is called levirate marriage (see also Ruth 4:1-12; Mishnah, m. Yevamot; Josephus, Ant. 4.8.23 [4.254-256]). The levirate law is described in Deut 25:5-10. The brother of a man who died without a son had an obligation to marry his brother’s widow. This served several purposes: It provided for the widow in a society where a widow with no children to care for her would be reduced to begging, and it preserved the name of the deceased, who would be regarded as the legal father of the first son produced from that marriage.
27 tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant here in contemporary English and has not been translated.
28 tn Grk “this”; the referent (the cup) has been specified in the translation for clarity.