Matthew 13:33

The Parable of the Yeast

13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with ¹  three measures ²  of flour until all the dough had risen.” ³ 

Matthew 17:4

17:4 So ⁴  Peter said ⁵  to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make ⁶  three shelters ⁷  – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Matthew 27:40

27:40 and saying, “You who can destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! ⁸  If you are God’s Son, come down ⁹  from the cross!”

[13:33]  ¹ tn Grk “hid in.”

[13:33]  ² sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 pounds (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.

[13:33]  ³ tn Grk “it was all leavened.”

[17:4]  ⁴ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the appearance of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter’s comment.

[17:4]  ⁵ tn Grk “Peter answering said.” This construction is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:4]  ⁶ tc Instead of the singular future indicative ποιήσω (poihsw, “I will make”), most witnesses (C³ D L W Θ [Φ] 0281 Ë^[1],13 33 Ï lat sy co) have the plural aorist subjunctive ποιήσωμεν (poihswmen, “let us make”). But since ποιήσωμεν is the reading found in the parallel accounts in Mark and Luke, it is almost surely a motivated reading. Further, the earliest and best witnesses, as well as a few others (א B C* 700 pc) have ποιήσω. It is thus more likely that the singular verb is authentic.

[17:4]  ⁷ tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

[27:40]  ⁷ sn There is rich irony in the statements of those who were passing by, “save yourself!” and “come down from the cross!” In summary, they wanted Jesus to come down from the cross and save his physical life, but it was indeed his staying on the cross and giving his physical life that led to the fact that they could experience a resurrection from death to life.

[27:40]  ⁸ tc ‡ Many important witnesses (א* A D pc it sy^[s],p) read καί (kai, here with the force of “then”) before κατάβηθι (katabhqi, “come down”). The shorter reading may well be due to homoioarcton, but judging by the diverse external evidence (א² B L W Θ 0250 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat) it is equally possible that the shorter reading is original (and is so considered for this translation). NA²⁷ puts the καί in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.