Matthew 8:5

Healing the Centurion’s Servant

8:5 When he entered Capernaum, ¹  a centurion ²  came to him asking for help: ³ 

Matthew 4:13

4:13 While in Galilee, he moved from Nazareth ⁴  to make his home in Capernaum ⁵  by the sea, ⁶  in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali,

Matthew 17:24

The Temple Tax

17:24 After ⁷  they arrived in Capernaum, ⁸  the collectors of the temple tax ⁹  came to Peter and said, “Your teacher pays the double drachma tax, doesn’t he?”

Matthew 11:23

11:23 And you, Capernaum, ¹⁰  will you be exalted to heaven? ¹¹  No, you will be thrown down to Hades! ¹²  For if the miracles done among you had been done in Sodom, it would have continued to this day.

¹ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

² sn A centurion was a noncommissioned officer in the Roman army or one of the auxiliary territorial armies, commanding a centuria of (nominally) 100 men. The responsibilities of centurions were broadly similar to modern junior officers, but there was a wide gap in social status between them and officers, and relatively few were promoted beyond the rank of senior centurion. The Roman troops stationed in Judea were auxiliaries, who would normally be rewarded with Roman citizenship after 25 years of service. Some of the centurions may have served originally in the Roman legions (regular army) and thus gained their citizenship at enlistment. Others may have inherited it, like the apostle Paul did.

³ sn While in Matthew’s account the centurion came to him asking for help, Luke’s account (7:1-10) mentions that the centurion sent some Jewish elders as emissaries on his behalf.

⁴ map For location see Map1-D3; Map2-C2; Map3-D5; Map4-C1; Map5-G3.

⁵ tn Grk “and leaving Nazareth, he came and took up residence in Capernaum.”

⁶ tn Or “by the lake.”

⁷ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

⁸ map For location see Map1-D2; Map2-C3; Map3-B2.

⁹ tn Grk “Collectors of the double drachma.” This is a case of metonymy, where the coin formerly used to pay the tax (the double drachma coin, or δίδραχμον [didracmon]) was put for the tax itself (cf. BDAG 241 s.v.). Even though this coin was no longer in circulation in NT times and other coins were used to pay the tax, the name for the coin was still used to refer to the tax itself.

¹⁰ sn Capernaum was a town on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, 680 ft (204 m) below sea level. It was a major trade and economic center in the North Galilean region.

¹¹ tn The interrogative particle introducing this question expects a negative reply.

¹² sn In the OT, Hades was known as Sheol. It is the place where the unrighteous will reside (Luke 10:15; 16:23; Rev 20:13-14).