Matthew 17:3

17:3 Then Moses ¹  and Elijah ²  also appeared before them, talking with him.

Matthew 19:7

19:7 They said to him, “Why then did Moses command us to give a certificate of dismissal and to divorce her?” ³ 

Matthew 23:2

23:2 “The ⁴  experts in the law ⁵  and the Pharisees ⁶  sit on Moses’ seat.

Matthew 19:8

19:8 Jesus ⁷  said to them, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hard hearts, ⁸  but from the beginning it was not this way.

Matthew 8:4

8:4 Then Jesus said to him, “See that you do not speak to anyone, ⁹  but go, show yourself to a priest, and bring the offering ¹⁰  that Moses commanded, ¹¹  as a testimony to them.” ¹² 

Matthew 17:4

17:4 So ¹³  Peter said ¹⁴  to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you want, I will make ¹⁵  three shelters ¹⁶  – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

Matthew 22:24

22:24 “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and father children ¹⁷  for his brother.’ ¹⁸ 

[17:3]  ¹ tn Grk “And behold, Moses.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[17:3]  ² sn Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18-22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5-6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).

[19:7]  ³ tc ‡ Although the majority of witnesses (B C W 078 087 ˹³ 33 Ï sy^p,h) have αὐτήν (authn, “her”) after the infinitive ἀπολῦσαι (apolusai, “to divorce”), a variant lacks the αὐτήν. This shorter reading may be due to assimilation to the Markan parallel, but since it is attested in early and diverse witnesses (א D L Z Θ Ë¹ 579 700 pc lat) and since the parallel verse (Mark 10:4) already departs at many points, the shorter reading seems more likely to be original. The pronoun has been included in the translation, however, for clarity. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating reservations regarding its authenticity.

[23:2]  ⁵ tn Grk “saying.” The participle λέγων (legwn) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.

[23:2]  ⁶ tn Or “The scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4.

[23:2]  ⁷ sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.

[19:8]  ⁷ tc A few important mss (א Φ pc) have the name “Jesus” here, but it is probably not original. Nevertheless, this translation routinely specifies the referents of pronouns to improve clarity, so that has been done here.

[19:8]  ⁸ tn Grk “heart” (a collective singular).

[8:4]  ⁹ sn The command for silence was probably meant to last only until the cleansing took place with the priests and sought to prevent Jesus’ healings from becoming the central focus of the people’s reaction to him. See also 9:30, 12:16, 16:20, and 17:9 for other cases where Jesus asks for silence concerning him and his ministry.

[8:4]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “gift.”

[8:4]  ¹¹ sn On the phrase bring the offering that Moses commanded see Lev 14:1-32.

[8:4]  ¹² tn Or “as an indictment against them.” The pronoun αὐτοῖς (autoi") may be a dative of disadvantage.

[17:4]  ¹¹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate that the appearance of Moses and Elijah prompted Peter’s comment.

[17:4]  ¹² tn Grk “Peter answering said.” This construction is somewhat redundant and has been simplified in the translation.

[17:4]  ¹³ 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]  ¹⁴ tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

[22:24]  ¹³ tn Grk “and raise up seed,” an idiom for fathering children (L&N 23.59).

[22:24]  ¹⁴ 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.