Discovery BoxMatthew 12:1-8
Context12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on a Sabbath. His 1 disciples were hungry, and they began to pick heads of wheat 2 and eat them. 12:2 But when the Pharisees 3 saw this they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath.” 12:3 He 4 said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry – 12:4 how he entered the house of God and they ate 5 the sacred bread, 6 which was against the law 7 for him or his companions to eat, but only for the priests? 8 12:5 Or have you not read in the law that the priests in the temple desecrate the Sabbath and yet are not guilty? 12:6 I 9 tell you that something greater than the temple is here. 12:7 If 10 you had known what this means: ‘I want mercy and not sacrifice,’ 11 you would not have condemned the innocent. 12:8 For the Son of Man is lord 12 of the Sabbath.”
Luke 6:1-5
Context6:1 Jesus 13 was going through the grain fields on 14 a Sabbath, 15 and his disciples picked some heads of wheat, 16 rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. 17 6:2 But some of the Pharisees 18 said, “Why are you 19 doing what is against the law 20 on the Sabbath?” 6:3 Jesus 21 answered them, 22 “Haven’t you read what David did when he and his companions were hungry – 6:4 how he entered the house of God, took 23 and ate the sacred bread, 24 which is not lawful 25 for any to eat but the priests alone, and 26 gave it to his companions?” 27 6:5 Then 28 he said to them, “The Son of Man is lord 29 of the Sabbath.”
[12:1] 1 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:1] 2 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).
[12:2] 3 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
[12:3] 4 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:4] 5 tc The Greek verb ἔφαγεν (efagen, “he ate”) is found in a majority of witnesses (Ì70 C D L W Θ Ë1,13 33 Ï latt sy co) in place of ἔφαγον (efagon, “they ate”), the wording found in א B pc. ἔφαγεν is most likely motivated by the parallels in Mark and Luke (both of which have the singular).
[12:4] 6 tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”
[12:4] 7 sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was against the law is one of analogy: “If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.” Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.
[12:4] 8 sn See 1 Sam 21:1-6.
[12:6] 9 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:7] 10 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[12:7] 11 sn A quotation from Hos 6:6 (see also Matt 9:13).
[12:8] 12 tn The term “lord” is in emphatic position in the Greek text.
[6:1] 13 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[6:1] 14 tn Grk “Now it happened that on.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[6:1] 15 tc Most later
[6:1] 16 tn Or “heads of grain.” While the generic term στάχυς (stacus) can refer to the cluster of seeds at the top of grain such as barley or wheat, in the NT the term is restricted to wheat (L&N 3.40; BDAG 941 s.v. 1).
[6:1] 17 tn Grk “picked and ate some heads of grain, rubbing them in their hands.” The participle ψώχοντες (ywconte") has been translated as a finite verb due to requirements of contemporary English style, and the order of the clauses has been transposed to reflect the logical order, which sounds more natural in English.
[6:2] 18 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
[6:2] 19 tn Note that the verb is second person plural (with an understood plural pronominal subject in Greek). The charge is again indirectly made against Jesus by charging the disciples.
[6:2] 20 sn The alleged violation expressed by the phrase what is against the law is performing work on the Sabbath. That the disciples ate from such a field is no problem given Deut 23:25, but Sabbath activity is another matter in the leaders’ view (Exod 20:8-11 and Mishnah, m. Shabbat 7.2). The supposed violation involved reaping, threshing, winnowing, and preparing food. This probably explains why the clause describing the disciples “rubbing” the heads of grain in their hands is mentioned last, in emphatic position. This was preparation of food.
[6:3] 21 tn Grk “And Jesus.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[6:3] 22 tn Grk “Jesus, answering them, said.” This is redundant in contemporary English and has been simplified to “Jesus answered them.”
[6:4] 24 tn Grk “the bread of presentation.”
[6:4] 25 sn Jesus’ response to the charge that what his disciples were doing was not lawful is one of analogy: ‘If David did it for his troops in a time of need, then so can I with my disciples.’ Jesus is clear that on the surface there was a violation here. What is not as clear is whether he is arguing a “greater need” makes this permissible or that this was within the intention of the law all along.
[6:4] 26 tc Most
[6:4] 27 tc The Western ms D adds here a full saying that reads, “On the same day, as he saw someone working on the Sabbath he said, ‘Man, if you know what you are doing, you are blessed, but if you do not know, you are cursed and a violator of the law.’” Though this is not well enough attested to be considered authentic, many commentators have debated whether this saying might go back to Jesus. Most reject it, though it does have wording that looks like Rom 2:25, 27 and Jas 2:11.
[6:5] 28 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[6:5] 29 tn The term “lord” is in emphatic position in the Greek text. To make this point even clearer a few
