The Fallible Study Bible

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Matthew8:5–13

The Faith of the Centurion

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Matthew 8:5–13 — The Faith of the Centurion. Each verse below carries the full apparatus: the Berean Standard Bible, the vocalized original (tap any word), and a parsed breakdown of every term transcribed from the interlinear. Synthesized commentary, canonical threads, and the reading of Christ gather at the end, over the whole unit.

5

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him,

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de autou Eiselthontos eis Kapharnaoum hekatontarchos prosēlthen autō parakalōn auton

Word by word10 · parsed
δὲdeWhenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
αὐτοῦautou[Jesus]G846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΕἰσελθόντοςEiselthontoshad enteredG1525
√ εἰσέρχομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveGenitive Masculine Singular
eiserchomai: to enter (aorist participle, genitive absolute) The unit opens with a construction that leaves Jesus grammatically in the background: "on his entering." Matthew's whole scene is built that way, with the Lord entering a town and the town's least likely man meeting Him at the threshold. The same verb returns at v. 8 in the centurion's mouth (εἰσέλθῃς), where the entering that Matthew reports as a fact is the very thing the soldier asks Him not to do.
εἰςeis. . .G1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
ΚαφαρναοὺμKapharnaoumCapernaumG2584
√ Καπερναούμ — Capernaum (iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
Kapernaoum: Capernaum Jesus' base town (Gill: the place "called his own city, Matthew 9:1"). A garrison town, which is why a centurion is standing in it at all.
ἑκατόνταρχοςhekatontarchosa centurionG1543
√ ἑκατοντάρχης — the captain of one hundred menNounNominative Masculine Singular
hekatontarchēs: the captain of a hundred men The title marks him as an instrument of the occupying order, the last man a Galilean crowd would expect to be praised. Ellicott sets him beside Cornelius of Acts 10:1 as a soldier on whom the life of Judaism had made its mark; Luke 7:5 (cited by Ellicott and Cambridge) says he built the synagogue. The Verifier finds the lexeme in only twenty verses, and its two heaviest uses are this man and Cornelius: Matthew's first Gentile and Luke's.
προσῆλθενprosēlthencameG4334
√ προσέρχομαι — to approach, iVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
proserchomai: to approach Aorist: one decisive approach. Whether that approach was made with his own feet is the first disputed point in the unit (see the apparatus).
αὐτῷautōG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
παρακαλῶνparakalōn[and] pleadedG3870
√ παρακαλέω — to call near, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
parakaleō: to call near, to beseech Present participle, continuous. Matthew gives no words yet; the begging itself is reported before its content, and v. 6 will show that the content is only a description of a sick man. Pulpit's remark on v. 6 is exactly right: the statement of the case is itself the petition.
αὐτὸνautonwith HimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
6

“Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

kai legōn Kyrie ho mou pais beblētai en tē oikia paralytikos deinōs basanizomenos

Word by word13 · parsed
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λέγωνlegōnG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
ΚύριεKyrieLordG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounVocative Masculine Singular
kyrios: supreme in authority, lord Vocative. On a Gentile soldier's lips the word need mean no more than "sir," and that ambiguity is real. But the argument he builds in v. 9 out of chains of command, and the bare imperative he asks for in v. 8, show he is not merely being polite: he addresses Jesus as the top of an authority structure, which is exactly what kyrios names.
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
μουmoumyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
παῖςpaisservantG3816
√ παῖς — a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy), a girl, and (genitive case) a childNounNominative Masculine Singular
pais: a boy, or a child, or a servant The Verifier finds the lexeme in twenty four verses, among them Acts 3:13, where it renders the Servant of the Lord. Here it is domestic and affectionate, and the affection is the point: Ellicott observes that a wealthy Roman's pity for a sick slave was itself "a sign of something exceptionally good in the centurion's character."
βέβληταιbeblētailiesG906
√ βάλλω — to throw (in various applications, more or less violent or intense)VerbPerfect Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
ballō: to throw (perfect middle or passive) The perfect tense fixes a past throwing-down whose result still stands. Matthew will use the compound of this same root at v. 12, where the sons of the kingdom ekblēthēsontai, are thrown out. One man's servant has been thrown down inside the house and is about to be raised by a word; the house's own heirs are about to be thrown outside. The root is the hinge of the unit.
ἐνenatG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
οἰκίᾳoikiahomeG3614
√ οἰκία — properly, residence (abstractly), but usually (concretely) an abode (literally or figuratively)NounDative Feminine Singular
παραλυτικόςparalytikosparalyzedG3885
√ παραλυτικός — as if dissolved, iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
paralytikos: as if dissolved, paralytic Barnes will only say the form is not specified and that it "seems it was a violent attack." Mark 2:4 uses the same adjective of the man let down through the roof, the other Gospel scene where a roof and a paralytic meet.
δεινῶςdeinōs[and] in terribleG1171
√ δεινῶς — terribly, iAdverb
deinōs: terribly Rare (two verses). Its other occurrence, Luke 11:53, describes the scribes pressing on Jesus vehemently. The word is reserved for pressure that is hard to bear.
βασανιζόμενοςbasanizomenosagonyG928
√ βασανίζω — to tortureVerbPresent Participle Middle or PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
basanizō: to torture The verb belongs to the vocabulary of examination under pain. Matthew's hearers will meet it again of storm-tossed boats and of demons crying out. Here it is passive and present: the boy is being tortured, continuously, and nothing in the house can stop it.
7

“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Egō elthōn therapeusō auton Kai legei autō

Word by word7 · parsed
ἘγὼEgōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
egō: I An emphatic pronoun where none was needed. The whole reply is three words plus the object, and the first of them is "I."
ἐλθὼνelthōnwill goG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
erchomai: to come or go (aorist participle) Jesus offers His presence in a subordinate clause. Gill notices that the offer exceeds the request: "his presence was not asked, and yet he offered it." That gratuitous offer is what the centurion then declines, and declining it is what Jesus calls faith.
θεραπεύσωtherapeusō[and] healG2323
√ θεραπεύω — to wait upon menially, iVerbFuture Indicative Active1st Person Singular
therapeuō: to wait upon, to heal Future active: an unconditional promise, not a physician's undertaking to examine. Gill: "He does not say that he would come and see him... but he would come and heal him at once." The verb's root sense of attendance is worth holding: the Lord proposes to attend on a slave.
αὐτόνautonhimG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
ΚαὶKaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λέγειlegei[Jesus] repliedG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
legō: to lay forth, to say Historic present, marking the exchange as live.
αὐτῷautōG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounDative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
8

The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de ho hekatontarchos Apokritheis ephē Kyrie eimi ouk hikanos hina eiselthēs hypo mou tēn stegēn alla monon eipe logō kai ho mou pais iathēsetai

Word by word24 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁhoTheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἑκατόνταρχοςhekatontarchoscenturionG1543
√ ἑκατοντάρχης — the captain of one hundred menNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἈποκριθεὶςApokritheisansweredG611
√ ἀποκρίνομαι — to conclude for oneself, iVerbAorist Participle PassiveNominative Masculine Singular
apokrinomai: to answer (aorist passive participle) A passive form doing active work, the standard Septuagintal idiom for opening a reply.
ἔφηephē. . .G5346
√ φημί — to show or make known one's thoughts, iVerbImperfect Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
phēmi: to make known one's thought Imperfect. The one imperfect in the unit sits under the longest speech in it.
ΚύριεKyrieLordG2962
√ κύριος — supreme in authority, iNounVocative Masculine Singular
εἰμὶeimiI amG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
οὐκouknotG3756
√ οὐ — the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverbAdverb
ἱκανὸςhikanosworthyG2425
√ ἱκανός — competent (as if coming in season), iAdjectiveNominative Masculine Singular
hikanos: competent, sufficient The theological centre of the verse. The man commands a hundred men and measures himself as insufficient for one visitor. Gill presses the comparison: if a man who "had been an idolater, and lived a profane course of life" was unworthy of Christ under his roof, how much more are sinners unworthy that Christ should come into their hearts. Barnes hears in it the standard confession of every penitent.
ἵναhinatoG2443
√ ἵνα — compare G3588 (ὁ))Conjunction
εἰσέλθῃςeiselthēshave You comeG1525
√ εἰσέρχομαι — to enter (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Subjunctive Active2nd Person Singular
eiserchomai: to enter (aorist subjunctive) The same verb that opened v. 5. Jesus entered Capernaum; the centurion asks Him not to enter this house. Luke 7:6 has the identical verb in the identical clause, which is the firmest verbal tie between the two accounts.
ὑπὸhypounderG5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
μουmoumyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
τὴνtēnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Feminine Singular
στέγηνstegēnroofG4721
√ στέγη — a roofNounAccusative Feminine Singular
stegē: a roof A rare noun: the Verifier finds it in only three verses. One of the other two is Mark 2:4, where friends dig through the stegē to get a paralytic to Jesus. Matthew's centurion has a paralytic and a roof and asks for neither to be disturbed. The contrast of the two faiths, one that must break through and one that need not, is built out of a word used three times in the New Testament.
ἀλλὰallaButG235
√ ἀλλά — properly, other things, iConjunction
μόνονmononjustG3440
√ μόνον — merelyAdverb
εἰπὲeipesayG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
epō: to speak or say (aorist imperative) An imperative addressed to Jesus. The soldier who gives orders for a living asks for one order, and asks it of a man he has just called insufficiently approachable. Ellicott: he "had risen above the thought of a magic influence, operating by touch or charm."
λόγῳlogōthe wordG3056
√ λόγος — something said (including the thought)NounDative Masculine Singular
logos: something said, including the thought Bare dative, no article. Gill reaches for Psalm 33:9, "he spake, and it was done, he commanded, and it stood fast," and says the request ascribes omnipotence to Christ. The creation formula is the right register: what is asked for is a word that is itself the deed.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
μουmoumyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
παῖςpaisservantG3816
√ παῖς — a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy), a girl, and (genitive case) a childNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἰαθήσεταιiathēsetaiwill be healedG2390
√ ἰάομαι — to cure (literally or figuratively)VerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
iaomai: to cure Future passive. The verb recurs in the aorist passive at v. 13, iathē, when the thing asked for has happened. Luke 7:7 has the same verb in the same request, one of the shared lexemes the Verifier records for the parallel.
9

For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes, and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

gar egō kai eimi anthrōpos hypo exousian echōn stratiōtas hyp’ emauton kai legō toutō Poreuthēti kai poreuetai kai allō Erchou kai erchetai kai tō mou doulō Poiēson touto kai poiei

Word by word30 · parsed
γὰρgarForG1063
√ γάρ — properly, assigning a reason (used in argument, explanation or intensificationConjunction
ἐγὼegōIG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounNominative 1st Person Singular
καὶkaimyselfG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
kai: and, also, even Ascensive "also," carrying the entire comparison.
εἰμιeimiamG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ἄνθρωπόςanthrōposa manG444
√ ἄνθρωπος — from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι))NounNominative Masculine Singular
ὑπὸhypounderG5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
ἐξουσίανexousianauthorityG1849
√ ἐξουσία — privilege, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
exousia: privilege, delegated right, authority The governing noun of the unit. Exousia is authority that has been handed down, not raw power, and that is precisely why the analogy works: the centurion assumes Jesus also stands inside an order of delegation. Ellicott draws it out, that a delegated authority can in turn be delegated; Cambridge suggests the man knew the Jewish teaching about ministering angels. Gill presses the other way and notes that the argument runs from lesser to greater, since "Christ was subject to none."
ἔχωνechōnwithG2192
√ ἔχω — to hold (used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remoteVerbPresent Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
στρατιώταςstratiōtassoldiersG4757
√ στρατιώτης — a camper-out, iNounAccusative Masculine Plural
stratiōtēs: a soldier Plural. The only occurrence in the unit, and it fixes the speaker's world.
ὑπ’hyp’underG5259
√ ὑπό — under, iPreposition
ἐμαυτὸνemautonmeG1683
√ ἐμαυτοῦ — of myself so likewise the dative case , and accusative casePersonal / Possessive PronounAccusative Masculine 1st Person Singular
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
λέγωlegōI tellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
τούτῳtoutō[one]G3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounDative Masculine Singular
ΠορεύθητιPoreuthētito goG4198
√ πορεύομαι — to traverse, iVerbAorist Imperative Passive2nd Person Singular
poreuomai: to traverse, to go (aorist imperative) A single word of command answered by a single act. Three times in this verse the pattern is word, then deed, with nothing in between. That empty space between command and result is what the centurion believes about Christ.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
πορεύεταιporeuetaihe goesG4198
√ πορεύομαι — to traverse, iVerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἄλλῳallōanotherG243
√ ἄλλος — "else," iAdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
ἜρχουErchouto comeG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Imperative Middle or Passive2nd Person Singular
erchomai: to come (present imperative) The same verb Jesus used of Himself in v. 7, elthōn. The centurion has just heard "I, having come, will heal"; he answers with "Come," and he answers that a word suffices without a coming.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἔρχεταιerchetaihe comesG2064
√ ἔρχομαι — to come or go (in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively)VerbPresent Indicative Middle or Passive3rd Person Singular
καὶkai[I tell]G2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
μουmoumyG1473
√ ἐγώ — I, mePersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive 1st Person Singular
δούλῳdoulōservantG1401
√ δοῦλος — a slave (literal or figurative, involuntary or voluntaryNounDative Masculine Singular
doulos: a slave The Verifier records this lexeme as shared with Matthew 25:30, where an unprofitable doulos is thrown into the outer darkness. Matthew's readers meet the word again four verses later in the fate of the sons of the kingdom.
ΠοίησονPoiēsonto doG4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbAorist Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
poieō: to make or do (aorist imperative) The climax of his ladder. Pulpit asks whether "and to my slave" is the climax of his faith, since a slave is commanded not to march but to accomplish: the powers at work in this illness are not merely subordinate to Jesus, they are His to use.
τοῦτοtoutosomethingG3778
√ οὗτος — the he (she or it), iDemonstrative PronounAccusative Neuter Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ποιεῖpoieihe does [it]G4160
√ ποιέω — to make or do (in a very wide application, more or less direct)VerbPresent Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
10

When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de ho Iēsous Akousas ethaumasen kai eipen tois akolouthousin Amēn legō hymin heuron oudeni par’ en tō Israēl tosautēn pistin

Word by word20 · parsed
δὲdeWhenG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἈκούσαςAkousasheard [this]G191
√ ἀκούω — to hear (in various senses)VerbAorist Participle ActiveNominative Masculine Singular
akouō: to hear (aorist participle) What Jesus responds to is a speech, not a sight. The whole miracle turns on words heard and words spoken.
ἐθαύμασενethaumasenHe marveledG2296
√ θαυμάζω — to wonderVerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
thaumazō: to wonder One of the two places the Gospels say Jesus marveled; the other, Mark 6:6 (cited by Pulpit), is wonder at unbelief in His own town. Benson holds that the marvelling implies no ignorance but belongs to a real human nature "susceptible of the human affections." Pulpit refuses Augustine's solution that Christ only commended what was admirable without wondering, because that "brings an unreality into parts of our Lord's conduct." We record both and settle neither.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
εἶπενeipensaidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τοῖςtoisto thoseG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Plural
ἀκολουθοῦσινakolouthousinfollowing [Him]G190
√ ἀκολουθέω — properly, to be in the same way with, iVerbPresent Participle ActiveDative Masculine Plural
akoloutheō: to be in the same way with, to follow Present participle: those on the road with Him. Gill says some copies read "disciples"; Pulpit takes it of the multitudes of v. 1. The saying is aimed at insiders.
ἈμὴνAmēnTrulyG281
√ ἀμήν — properly, firm, iHebrew Word
amēn: firm, trustworthy A Hebrew word left standing in Greek. It normally seals another's words; here it opens the speaker's own, which is a claim about the speaker.
λέγωlegōI tellG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ὑμῖνhyminyouG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
εὗρονheuronI have not found anyoneG2147
√ εὑρίσκω — to find (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Active1st Person Singular
heuriskō: to find Aorist. Bengel's note, quoted by Pulpit, is one word wide and worth keeping: "Quaerens, cum veni," seeking, when I came. The finding implies a searching, and the search of Israel has so far come up empty.
οὐδενὶoudeni. . .G3762
√ οὐδείς — not even one (man, woman or thing), iAdjectiveDative Masculine Singular
παρ’par’. . .G3844
√ παρά — properly, nearPreposition
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῷtōG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἸσραὴλIsraēlIsraelG2474
√ Ἰσραήλ — Israel (iNounDative Masculine Singular
τοσαύτηνtosautēn[with] such greatG5118
√ τοσοῦτος — apparently from G3588 (ὁ) and G3739 (ὅς)) and G3778 (οὗτος) (including its variations)Demonstrative PronounAccusative Feminine Singular
πίστινpistinfaithG4102
√ πίστις — persuasion, iNounAccusative Feminine Singular
pistis: persuasion, faith The first time Matthew's Jesus measures faith and the first time He measures it in a Gentile. Barnes is careful that the word here means confidence that Christ could heal, and will not assert more than the text does, though he thinks saving faith probable and calls the man a very early instance of the nations being brought in. Gill, more daring, treats the praise as a proof of Christ's deity, since Jesus commends rather than rebukes a man who has ascribed to Him a power peculiar to God.
11

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de legō hymin hoti polloi hēxousin apo anatolōn kai dysmōn kai anaklithēsontai meta Abraam kai Isaak kai Iakōb en tē basileia tōn ouranōn

Word by word23 · parsed
δὲdeG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
λέγωlegōI sayG3004
√ λέγω — properly, to "lay" forth, iVerbPresent Indicative Active1st Person Singular
ὑμῖνhyminto youG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Plural
ὅτιhotithatG3754
√ ὅτι — demonstrative, that (sometimes redundant)Conjunction
πολλοὶpolloimanyG4183
√ πολύς — (singular) much (in any respect) or (plural) manyAdjectiveNominative Masculine Plural
polys: much, many Poole insists on the limit: "Many, not all, shall come from the east and west." Pulpit notes the word is absent from the parallel at Luke 13:29 and "agrees with the aim of St. Matthew's Gospel."
ἥξουσινhēxousinwill comeG2240
√ ἥκω — to arrive, iVerbFuture Indicative Active3rd Person Plural
hēkō: to arrive, to be present A verb of accomplished arrival, in the future tense. The sentence promises a completed homecoming, not a journey begun.
ἀπὸapofromG575
√ ἀπό — "off," iPreposition
ἀνατολῶνanatolōn[the] eastG395
√ ἀνατολή — a rising of light, iNounGenitive Feminine Plural
anatolē: a rising of light, the east The Verifier finds the lexeme in ten verses; paired with dysmē (five verses) it recurs at Matthew 24:27 of the lightning and at Revelation 21:13 of the city's gates. The pairing is a merism for everywhere, and Barnes says so plainly: the phrase in Scripture denotes the whole world.
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
δυσμῶνdysmōn[the] westG1424
√ δυσμή — the sun-set, iNounGenitive Feminine Plural
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἀνακλιθήσονταιanaklithēsontaito share the banquetG347
√ ἀνακλίνω — to lean backVerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
anaklinō: to lean back, to recline A rare verb (six verses), and the Verifier ties this occurrence to Luke 13:29, where the same word stands in the same saying. Reclining is table posture, hence the feast. Pulpit traces the image to Isaiah 25:6 and calls it "exceedingly common in Jewish Haggadic" teaching; Poole cites Isaiah 25:6-8 as well. The passive matters: the Gentiles do not seat themselves.
μετὰmetawithG3326
√ μετά — properly, denoting accompanimentPreposition
ἈβραὰμAbraamAbrahamG11
√ Ἀβραάμ — Abraham, the Hebrew patriarchNounGenitive Masculine Singular
Abraam: Abraham The three patriarchs are named in the genitive after meta, as fellow guests, not as hosts. Gill draws the covenantal conclusion with Galatians 3:9: those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham, so the Gentile who believes sits with Abraham because he shares Abraham's faith, not because he has acquired Abraham's blood.
καὶkaiG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἸσαὰκIsaakIsaacG2464
√ Ἰσαάκ — Isaac (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ἸακὼβIakōbJacobG2384
√ Ἰακώβ — Jacob (iNounGenitive Masculine Singular
ἐνeninG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
τῇtētheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
βασιλείᾳbasileiakingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounDative Feminine Singular
basileia: royalty, rule, kingdom The noun returns in v. 12 in the genitive, "sons of the kingdom." Same kingdom, opposite fates, in two consecutive sentences.
τῶνtōnofG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
οὐρανῶνouranōnheavenG3772
√ οὐρανός — the skyNounGenitive Masculine Plural
ouranos: the sky, the heavens Plural throughout Matthew.
12

But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

de hoi huioi tēs basileias ekblēthēsontai eis to to exōteron skotos ekei estai ho klauthmos kai ho brygmos tōn odontōn

Word by word20 · parsed
δὲdeButG1161
√ δέ — but, and, etcConjunction
οἱhoitheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Plural
υἱοὶhuioisonsG5207
√ υἱός — a "son" (sometimes of animals), used very widely of immediate, remote or figuratively, kinshipNounNominative Masculine Plural
huios: a son Hebraism for rightful belonging. Barnes explains the self-understanding behind it: the Jews "called themselves... the children or the members of the kingdom of God, to the exclusion of the Gentiles." Jesus grants them the title in the same breath in which He removes the inheritance, which is the sharpest thing in the unit.
τῆςtēsof theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Feminine Singular
βασιλείαςbasileiaskingdomG932
√ βασιλεία — properly, royalty, iNounGenitive Feminine Singular
ἐκβληθήσονταιekblēthēsontaiwill be thrownG1544
√ ἐκβάλλω — to eject (literally or figuratively)VerbFuture Indicative Passive3rd Person Plural
ekballō: to eject, to throw out Future passive: they do not leave, they are put out. The root ties this sentence to the paralyzed boy "thrown down" in v. 6 and, the Verifier notes, to Matthew 13:42 and 13:50, where what is thrown is thrown into the furnace.
εἰςeisintoG1519
√ εἰς — to or into (indicating the point reached or entered), of place, time, or (figuratively) purpose (result, etcPreposition
τὸtotheG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
τὸtoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleAccusative Neuter Singular
ἐξώτερονexōteronouterG1857
√ ἐξώτερος — exteriorAdjectiveAccusative Neuter SingularComparative
exōteros: exterior, outer Rare (three verses: here, Matthew 22:13, Matthew 25:30), and found nowhere else in the New Testament. Matthew alone uses the phrase, always of a man expelled from a lighted hall into the night, and twice of a doulos or a guest who had every appearance of belonging.
σκότοςskotosdarknessG4655
√ σκότος — shadiness, iNounAccusative Neuter Singular
skotos: shadiness, darkness Barnes locates the image in Roman slave prisons, underground, lightless, and thinks it "but an image, a faint image" of what is meant; Geneva keeps it simple and structural: "in the kingdom is light, and outside the kingdom is darkness." Cambridge takes it strictly as the dark outside the banqueting house. All three readings agree that the darkness is defined by exclusion from a lit room.
ἐκεῖekei[where] thereG1563
√ ἐκεῖ — thereAdverb
ἔσταιestaiwill beG1510
√ εἰμί — I exist (used only when emphatic)VerbFuture Indicative Middle3rd Person Singular
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
κλαυθμὸςklauthmosweepingG2805
√ κλαυθμός — lamentationNounNominative Masculine Singular
klauthmos: lamentation Nine verses in all, of which the Verifier links Matthew 13:42, 13:50, 22:13, 24:51 and 25:30. With brygmos it forms a fixed Matthean formula. Ellicott: in their literal meaning the two words "express that intensest form of human anguish in which it ceases to be articulate."
καὶkaiandG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
βρυγμὸςbrygmosgnashingG1030
√ βρυγμός — a grating (of the teeth)NounNominative Masculine Singular
brygmos: a grating of the teeth Seven verses. Ellicott notes the cognate verb expresses rage at Acts 7:54, so grief and fury are both in the picture; Barnes reads it as indignation against God's justice. The unit that began with a man who had no words for his servant's pain ends with a state in which anguish has no words at all.
τῶνtōnG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleGenitive Masculine Plural
ὀδόντωνodontōnof teethG3599
√ ὀδούς — a "tooth"NounGenitive Masculine Plural
13

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

Berean Standard Bible · CC0

Greek — tap a word ↓

Kai ho Iēsous eipen tō hekatontarchē Hypage hōs episteusas genēthētō soi kai ho autou pais iathē en ekeinē tē hōra

Word by word20 · parsed
ΚαὶKaiThenG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
ἸησοῦςIēsousJesusG2424
√ Ἰησοῦς — Jesus (iNounNominative Masculine Singular
εἶπενeipensaidG2036
√ ἔπω — to speak or say (by word or writing)VerbAorist Indicative Active3rd Person Singular
τῷtōto theG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Masculine Singular
ἑκατοντάρχῃhekatontarchēcenturionG1543
√ ἑκατοντάρχης — the captain of one hundred menNounDative Masculine Singular
ὝπαγεHypageGoG5217
√ ὑπάγω — to lead (oneself) under, iVerbPresent Imperative Active2nd Person Singular
hypagō: to lead oneself away, to go Present imperative of dismissal. The healing is over before the man has moved.
ὡςhōsAsG5613
√ ὡς — which how, iAdverb
hōs: as, in the manner that Comparative, not causal, and the difference is the difference between faith as instrument and faith as merit.
ἐπίστευσαςepisteusasyou have believedG4100
√ πιστεύω — to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), iVerbAorist Indicative Active2nd Person Singular
pisteuō: to have faith, to entrust oneself The verb behind the noun pistis of v. 10, now aorist and second person. Benson is careful that the faith "though not the meritorious cause of the cure, had been the means through which the Lord Jesus had been pleased to effect it." Poole goes further and admits what he does not know: he cannot tell how far this soldier knew the Old Testament, and thinks it "most probable that he had some immediate revelation of God concerning Christ." That is an honest gap, not an answer.
γενηθήτωgenēthētō[so] will it be doneG1096
√ γίνομαι — to cause to be ("gen"-erate), iVerbAorist Imperative Passive3rd Person Singular
ginomai: to come into being (aorist imperative passive) The single word that does the miracle. Gill hears the creation formula in it: "Christ by his almighty 'fiat' said, let him be healed, and he was healed: just as God in the creation said, 'let there be light, and there was light'." The centurion asked for exactly this and for nothing else.
σοιsoifor youG4771
√ σύ — thouPersonal / Possessive PronounDative 2nd Person Singular
καὶkaiAndG2532
√ καί — and, also, even, so then, too, etcConjunction
ὁhoG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleNominative Masculine Singular
αὐτοῦautouhisG846
√ αὐτός — the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative G1438 (ἑαυτοῦ)) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other personsPersonal / Possessive PronounGenitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
παῖςpaisservantG3816
√ παῖς — a boy (as often beaten with impunity), or (by analogy), a girl, and (genitive case) a childNounNominative Masculine Singular
ἰάθηiathēwas healedG2390
√ ἰάομαι — to cure (literally or figuratively)VerbAorist Indicative Passive3rd Person Singular
iaomai: to cure Aorist passive, answering the future passive iathēsetai of v. 8 word for word. What was asked in faith is reported in fact, in the same verb and the same voice.
ἐνenatG1722
√ ἐν — "in," at, (up-)on, by, etcPreposition
ἐκείνῃekeinēthat veryG1565
√ ἐκεῖνος — that one (or (neuter) thing)Demonstrative PronounDative Feminine Singular
τῇtēG3588
√ ὁ — the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom)ArticleDative Feminine Singular
ὥρᾳhōrahourG5610
√ ὥρα — an "hour" (literally or figuratively)NounDative Feminine Singular
hōra: an hour With the demonstrative ekeinē: in that hour. Benson argues the phrase means "in that instant"; Barnes says the completeness leaves no room for imposition. Distance and delay are both abolished, which is the proof that a word was all that was required.

The verse-by-verse work is done. What follows gathers the whole unit. All three layers below are machine-generated (⚙). Weigh them; they have no authority.

⚙

Grand Commentary — the unit, read whole

synthesis · verify

AI synthesis — woven from the public-domain voices above and the original text; generated and fallible.

i. The soldier at the threshold — 8:5-6

Matthew opens with a genitive absolute, Εἰσελθόντος αὐτοῦ, "on his entering," and does not even name Jesus; the Revised Version, as Pulpit notes, prints "he." Into that unemphatic entry walks a ἑκατόνταρχος. Cambridge identifies him as most likely an officer of Herod Antipas rather than an imperial legionary, and Ellicott sets him beside Cornelius of Acts 10:1 as a soldier on whom the life of Judaism had made its mark, pointing to Luke 7:5 and the synagogue he built. His petition has no request in it. He states a case: ὁ παῖς μου βέβληται, my boy has been thrown down and lies there, δεινῶς βασανιζόμενος, being terribly tortured. Pulpit's one line is the best comment on the grammar: "Observe that the statement of the case is itself a petition." Cambridge notes that pais is "a more affectionate term than the word translated servant in Matthew 8:9," and Ellicott observes that pity for a sick slave was itself unusual in that world. Already the man is doing two things Israel was not doing: loving a slave, and expecting something from Jesus without saying what.

ii. The word that need not travel — 8:7-9

Jesus answers with an emphatic pronoun: Ἐγὼ ἐλθὼν θεραπεύσω αὐτόν. Pulpit fixes the stress precisely: "The emphasis is not on the coming, but on the person who comes." Gill notices that the offer exceeds the request, since "his presence was not asked, and yet he offered it." The centurion then refuses the offered visit, and his refusal is the faith Jesus praises. οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς is not first a claim about morals but about measure: he does not come up to it. Barnes reads the confession as personal rather than merely ethnic, "the expression of a conviction of the great dignity and power of the Saviour," and Gill turns it on the reader, asking how much more unworthy sinners are that Christ should enter their hearts. Then the request itself, μόνον εἰπὲ λόγῳ, with no article: only speak, by a word. Ellicott: he "had risen above the thought of a magic influence, operating by touch or charm, to that of a delegated power depending only on the will of Him who possessed it." Gill hears Psalm 33:9 behind it and says the request ascribes omnipotence. The reasoning in v. 9 is a soldier's: καὶ ἐγὼ, I also am a man under ἐξουσία. Ellicott draws out the logic of delegation, Cambridge suspects the man knew the Jewish teaching on ministering angels, and Gill insists the argument runs from lesser to greater, since "Christ was subject to none." Note that his ladder ends not with a marching soldier but with a slave who accomplishes: Pulpit asks whether "and to my slave" is the climax of his faith.

iii. The marvel and the reversal — 8:10-12

ἐθαύμασεν: He marveled. Poole concedes that "admiration agreed not to Christ as God, but as man it did"; Benson grounds it in "a real human, as well as a real divine nature"; Pulpit refuses Augustine's escape that Christ only commended what was admirable without actually wondering, because that "brings an unreality into parts of our Lord's conduct." Then the verdict, sealed with the Hebrew Ἀμὴν at the head of His own sentence, and the reading Pulpit prefers is sharper than the common one: with no man in Israel have I found so great faith. Gill draws the christological conclusion that Jesus commends rather than rebukes a man who has ascribed to Him a power peculiar to God. From the one Gentile Jesus moves to the many: πολλοὶ ἥξουσιν, they will arrive, ἀπὸ ἀνατολῶν καὶ δυσμῶν, from the sun's rising and setting, and ἀνακλιθήσονται, they will be seated at table with the patriarchs. Ellicott sees in the centurion "the first-fruits of the wide harvest of the future"; Geneva calls the verb "a metaphor taken of banqueters"; Pulpit traces the banquet image to Isaiah 25:6 and calls it common in Jewish teaching; Gill adds that Jesus is contradicting a rule his hearers lived by, that a Jew should not sit at table and eat with Gentiles. The counter-stroke is v. 12. Ellicott calls "sons of the kingdom" a Hebraism for "the natural heirs who had forfeited their inheritance"; Barnes explains that the phrase was their own self-description. They are ἐκβληθήσονται, thrown out, using the compound of the very root under beblētai in v. 6. Geneva states the geometry: "in the kingdom is light, and outside the kingdom is darkness."

iv. As you believed — 8:13

The dismissal is one word, Ὕπαγε, and the miracle is one more, γενηθήτω, an aorist passive imperative from the verb of coming-into-being. Gill hears the creation fiat in it. Between them stands ὡς ἐπίστευσας, and Poole will not let the comparative slip into a cause: "As thou believest, not because thou believest. Our faith is not meritorious of the least mercies." Benson says the same, that faith was the means and not the meritorious cause. Ellicott catches the aorist: "Better, As thou didst believe, referring to his one great act of faith." The report closes with the verb the centurion had used, now in the aorist passive, ἰάθη, in that hour. Poole is honest about what he cannot establish, that he does not know how far this soldier knew the Scriptures; Barnes is anxious that there be "no imposition or deception." The Evangelist is interested in neither question. He records that a word was asked for, a word was given, and the distance between Capernaum's streets and a slave's sickbed turned out not to exist.

Read under Sola Scriptura — this tool’s own fallible reading (⚙)

⚙ Read under Sola Scriptura and offered to be tested: the unit is built on one Greek root doing opposite work. In v. 6 the boy βέβληται, has been thrown down inside the house; in v. 12 the heirs ἐκβληθήσονται, will be thrown outside the house. Between those two castings stands a man who declines to have Jesus cross his threshold and asks instead for a bare word, and the word crosses what the feet were not asked to cross. What Jesus calls faith here is not intensity of feeling and not knowledge of the covenant (Poole confesses he cannot say how much of the Scriptures this man knew). It is a judgment about authority: that Jesus stands where a command is the same thing as the event. The centurion reasons to it from the only order he knows, the chain of rank, and reasons correctly, which is why Jesus marvels. And the reversal in vv. 11 and 12 is not arbitrary. Those who are thrown out are thrown out of a lit hall where a table has been laid, and the ones who are seated there are seated, passively, by someone else; the verb anaklithēsontai is a passive in Greek, and nobody at that table seated himself. A title without trust ends in the dark; trust without a title ends at the table. We do not press this into a system: Matthew gives a scene, not a doctrine of election, and Poole's warning that it is "Many, not all" is a limit worth keeping.

The word went where the feet were not asked to go. (This line is our own reading, not Scripture.)

⚙

Canonical Threads — out to the whole of Scripture

cross-refs · verify

AI-generated connections. Each carries a verification badge with a recorded basis; contested links are flagged.

The same centurion in Luke, told with the messengers left in verbal / quotation: confirmed

Luke 7:1-10 carries the same episode, and the Verifier's candidates show why the link is verbal and not merely thematic: Luke 7:6 shares ἑκατοντάρχης (G1543), εἰσέρχομαι (G1525) and οἰκία (G3614) with this unit, and Luke 7:7 shares παῖς (G3816), λόγος (G3056) and ἰάομαι (G2390). The saying about the roof and the word stands in both in nearly the same Greek. The difference is the messengers: Ellicott notes that in Luke the centurion "never came at all in person, but sent first the elders of the Jews, and then his friends," and Pulpit judges Luke's account "more likely than St. Matthew's, which is not only compressed, but, if taken by itself, gives a wrong idea of what appears to have actually taken place," then defends Matthew with Trench's "exchange of persons." Barnes canvasses the possibility of two separate incidents and rejects it: "It is very difficult to believe that all these circumstances would coincide in two different stories." JFB simply refers the whole passage to Luke and holds that it belongs chronologically to a later stage.

Luke 7:6 · Luke 7:7

basis: Greek to Greek. Verifier: shared lexemes G1543 hekatontarchēs (in 20 vv), G1525 eiserchomai (184 vv), G3614 oikia (85 vv) at Luke 7:6; G3816 pais (24 vv), G3056 logos (318 vv), G2390 iaomai (26 vv) at Luke 7:7. The same saying in substantially the same wording, not a quotation of one by the other but a parallel transmission of one utterance.

The same saying, redeployed: Luke 13:28-29 verbal / quotation: confirmed

Verses 11 and 12 appear in Luke attached to a different occasion and in the reverse order, after the warning to mere professors. The Verifier records ἀνακλίνω (G347, only six verses in the New Testament) and ἀνατολή (G395, ten verses) shared with Luke 13:29, and Ἀβραάμ with Ἰακώβ shared with Luke 13:28. Pulpit states the relation flatly in his heading: "Vers. 11, 12, equivalent to Luke 13:28, 29," and concludes that "St. Matthew does not place these verses in their historical connexion" but joins them here to make the miracle teach that Gentiles accept Christ though Jews reject Him. Ellicott offers the alternative, that our Lord repeated Himself, "entirely after our Lord's manner," and that Luke, writing for Gentiles, kept the words for their later occasion. Either way the verbal identity is not in doubt; the arrangement is.

Luke 13:28 · Luke 13:29

basis: Greek to Greek. Verifier: G347 anaklinō is rare (in 6 vv) and is shared with Luke 13:29, along with G395 anatolē (10 vv) and G932 basileia; Luke 13:28 shares G11 Abraam, G2384 Iakōb, G932 basileia. Same dominical saying in both, with the order of the two halves reversed.

The outer darkness: a formula Matthew alone uses verbal / quotation: confirmed

τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον with ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων is not a stock phrase of the New Testament; it is Matthew's. The adjective exōteros (G1857) occurs in three verses only, all of them in this Gospel: here, Matthew 22:13 where the guest without a wedding garment is bound and thrown out, and Matthew 25:30 where the unprofitable δοῦλος is thrown out. Klauthmos (G2805, nine verses) and brygmos (G1030, seven verses) recur with it at Matthew 13:42, 13:50 and 24:51. Ellicott counts the combination six times in Matthew and once in Luke and notes the articles, "the weeping par excellence." Pulpit observes that in every case the phrase contrasts the place into which the wicked are sent with the one they might have enjoyed. The recurring victim in this formula is never an outsider: it is a guest, a slave of the household, a son of the kingdom.

Matthew 22:13 · Matthew 25:30 · Matthew 24:51

basis: Greek to Greek, within one Gospel. Verifier: G1857 exōteros is rare (in 3 vv: this verse, Matthew 22:13, Matthew 25:30); G2805 klauthmos (9 vv) and G1030 brygmos (7 vv) are shared across Matthew 22:13, 24:51, 25:30, 13:42 and 13:50. A fixed Matthean formula, not a citation.

Two roofs and two paralytics structural / thematic: confirmed

στέγη (G4721, "a roof") appears in only three verses of the New Testament, and one of the other two is Mark 2:4, where friends unroof a house to lower a παραλυτικός (G3885, nine verses) to Jesus. Both lexemes are shared. The two scenes are the inverse of each other: in Mark the roof must be broken open because faith believes the sick man has to be got into the presence; in Matthew the roof is named only to say that the presence is not required. Barnes and Ellicott both work hard to identify the particular form of palsy in view here, since δεινῶς βασανιζόμενος implies acute pain, which Benson notes is not usual in a palsy. We claim no literary dependence between the two passages, only that Matthew's readers had a vocabulary of roofs and paralytics already, and this scene uses it to opposite effect.

Mark 2:4

basis: Greek to Greek. Verifier: shared G4721 stegē, rare (in 3 vv), and G3885 paralytikos (in 9 vv). The shared rare noun is real, but the connection we draw is of contrasting pattern, not of quotation or dependence, so we tier it structural rather than verbal.

The mountain feast and the gathering from the ends of the earth structural / thematic: confirmed

When Jesus says the many will be reclined with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, He is speaking a known language. Pulpit states the source: "The image, taken from Isaiah 25:6, is exceedingly common in Jewish Haggadic teaching," and lists Malachi 1:11, Isaiah 59:19, Jeremiah 16:19 and Zechariah 8:22 as the background for the coming from east and west; Poole cites Isaiah 25:6-8 for the banquet and Isaiah 11:12 and Isaiah 43:5-6 for the gathering. Barnes says the phrase "from the east and from the west" in Scripture denotes the whole world, citing Isaiah 45:6 and Isaiah 59:19. No shared Strong's number can support this link, because the Matthean text is Greek and the prophets are Hebrew; Matthew records no formula of citation here and Jesus quotes nothing word for word. What is shared is a picture: a feast on a mountain for all peoples, and the scattered brought home from the sunrise and the sunset.

Isaiah 25:6 · Isaiah 43:5 · Malachi 1:11

basis: Cross-Testament (Greek to Hebrew), so shared Strong's lexemes are not available as a basis and no verbal tier is possible. Recorded basis: the commentators themselves name the sources, Pulpit citing Isaiah 25:6 for the banquet image and Malachi 1:11 with Isaiah 59:19 for east and west, Poole citing Isaiah 25:6-8, Isaiah 11:12 and Isaiah 43:5-6. Shared motif of an eschatological feast and an ingathering, with no quotation claimed.

Risings and settings: the merism for everywhere verbal / quotation: confirmed

ἀνατολή (G395, ten verses) and δυσμή (G1424, five verses) are paired only a handful of times in the New Testament. The Verifier finds both lexemes at Matthew 24:27, where lightning comes out of the risings and shines to the settings at the coming of the Son of Man, and at Revelation 21:13, where the city's gates face the risings and the settings alike. The same pairing that here measures the reach of the ingathering measures there the reach of the advent and the openness of the city. Barnes reads the pairing in this verse as a Scriptural way of saying "the whole world."

Matthew 24:27 · Revelation 21:13

basis: Greek to Greek. Verifier: shared G395 anatolē (in 10 vv) and G1424 dysmē, rare (in 5 vv), at both Matthew 24:27 and Revelation 21:13. A shared verbal pairing, not a quotation of one text by another.

Is this the royal official of John 4? The commentators divide flagged: verify source

Ellicott, on v. 6, thinks it probable that the centurion "had heard specifically of the healing of the 'nobleman's son' at Capernaum recorded by St. John (John 4:46-54)" and that "there he had found a precedent which now determined his own line of action." Pulpit, on v. 5, points the other way and sends the reader to Trench "for the contrast between this and the superficially similar miracle recorded in John 4:46, sqq." The two episodes do share a town (Capernaum), a healing at a distance, a word spoken, and a report of the hour; they differ in the petitioner's rank, his presence, and the patient. No Verifier candidate links them, and we have no shared-lexeme basis to offer. We therefore record the link as disputed rather than settling it, and we do not use it to interpret either passage.

John 4:46

basis: Contested. The identification or dependence is asserted as probable by Ellicott and denied as merely superficial by Pulpit (following Trench); no Verifier candidate supplies a shared-lexeme basis for the pair. Flagged rather than tiered.

⚙Christ in the Unittypology · verify

AI-generated reading; weigh it against the text.

The word that is the deed ancient/widely-held

⚙ The centurion asks for the one thing that only God can give by asking: μόνον εἰπὲ λόγῳ, only speak with a word. Gill names the register exactly, reaching for Psalm 33:9, "he spake, and it was done, he commanded, and it stood fast," and says the request is "ascribing omnipotence to him." Ellicott says the man had risen above the idea of a healing influence operating by touch or charm to "a delegated power depending only on the will of Him who possessed it." And Jesus answers in that same register: γενηθήτω, an aorist passive imperative from ginomai, the verb of coming-into-being, let it be brought to be. Gill hears the creation fiat. The decisive fact for the reader is not that a healing happened but that Jesus accepted the terms: He did not correct a man who treated His speech the way Genesis treats God's. Gill presses this into a proof of deity, arguing that Christ would have rebuked rather than commended the man had the ascription been false. That inference is Gill's; the text reports the commendation and leaves the reader to draw it.

Matthew 8:8 · Matthew 8:13

The first-fruits of the nations at Abraham's table ancient/widely-held

⚙ Jesus does not treat the centurion as an exception but as a sample. Ellicott: "It is clear that our Lord saw in the centurion the first-fruits of the wide harvest of the future," and what He says here "contained, by implication, the whole gospel which St. Paul preached to the Gentiles." Geneva reads the whole episode as designed for that, that Christ "by setting before them the example of the uncircumcised centurion and yet of an excellent faith, provokes the Jews to jealousy, and together forewarns them of their being cast off and the calling of the Gentiles." Gill supplies the covenantal mechanism from Galatians 3:9: those who are of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham, so the Gentiles sit with the patriarchs on the same terms the patriarchs sat, and "the faith of Old and New Testament saints, Jews and Gentiles, is the same." Benson adds that the many come into "the gospel covenant established with Abraham." The Christ who is praised by a Gentile here is the Christ in whom the nations are seated, passively, at a table they did not set.

Matthew 8:11 · Galatians 3:9 · Acts 10:1

He who was told not to come under a roof novel

⚙ There is an irony in this scene that the commentators touch without pressing. A man says οὐκ εἰμὶ ἱκανὸς ἵνα μου ὑπὸ τὴν στέγην εἰσέλθῃς, I am not sufficient that you should come in under my roof, and he is right; and the one he says it to has already come in under a roof, and will keep coming. Gill takes the step nearest to this: if this man was unworthy that Christ should be "though but for a short time, under his roof," how much more unworthy are sinners "that Christ should come into their hearts, and dwell there by faith, as he does, in all true believers." Cambridge, on v. 9, calls this "the first contact of Jesus with slavery," and it is worth noticing what that contact consists of: a word spoken on behalf of a slave, at the request of the slave's owner, by one whom Paul would later describe as taking the form of a slave. We offer the incarnational extension as our own reading, not as the commentators'. The text itself says only this much, and it is enough: the sufficiency was never on the threshold's side, and the word came in anyway.

Matthew 8:8 · Matthew 8:9

Apparatus & Provenance

The biblical text is the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), public domain (CC0). Hebrew/Greek text, transliteration, morphology and Strong’s are transcribed from the Berean interlinear (CC0) + Strong’s lexicons (PD); the literal renderings, divergence notes, word notes and all synthesis are this tool’s own work (⚙) — fallible; verify them.

Named voices, quoted verbatim from public-domain works:

  • Albert Barnes, Notes on the Bible (1834)
  • Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, — (1880s)
  • Charles Ellicott, Commentary for English Readers (1878)
  • Geneva Study Bible, Marginal Notes (1599)
  • Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory (1871)
  • John Gill, Exposition of the Entire Bible (1746–63)
  • Joseph Benson, Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1810s)
  • Matthew Henry, Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible (1706)
  • Matthew Poole, Annotations upon the Holy Bible (1685)
  • The Pulpit Commentary, Spence & Exell, eds. (1880s)

⚙ Honesty notes for this unit. (1) Matthew and Luke. Matthew reports the centurion coming and speaking in person; Luke 7:3-6 has him send Jewish elders and then friends, and say expressly that he was not worthy to come. Ellicott, Poole, Pulpit and Barnes all address the divergence; Pulpit prefers Luke's as the more likely account and defends Matthew by Trench's "exchange of persons," Barnes rejects the theory of two distinct incidents, and JFB writes no exposition at all here, referring the reader to Luke 7 and stating that the episode "belongs to a later stage" than Matthew's arrangement suggests. We have not adjudicated this, and our notes on v. 5 do not assume either reconstruction.

(2) Arrangement of vv. 11-12. These two verses stand in Luke 13:28-29 in the reverse order and in a different setting. Pulpit concludes that Matthew has moved them here for thematic reasons; Ellicott holds that our Lord repeated Himself. We record both and adopt neither.

(3) Text. Pulpit reports an early "Western" reading at v. 11, "in the bosom of Abraham," and at v. 12 the variant ἐξελεύσονται ("they shall go out") for ἐκβληθήσονται, which would make the exclusion the heirs' own act; he also notes that Westcott and Hort and the Revised Version margin read v. 10 as "With no man in Israel have I found so great faith." Our literal renderings follow the Berean interlinear as supplied in the brief, which prints ἐκβληθήσονται and, at v. 12, lists the article τὸ twice before the adjective; the Greek runs τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον, noun with article, then adjective with article, and our note on index 9 reflects that.

(4) παῖς or δοῦλος. Matthew uses pais at vv. 6, 8 and 13 and doulos at v. 9; Luke 7:2 uses doulos for the sick man. Gill concedes that pais "more commonly signifies a 'son' or 'child'" and settles the question from Luke. Cambridge and Pulpit both note the affectionate register. BSB prints "servant" for both Greek words, which is why our divergences flag it.

(5) The John 4:46-54 question is disputed between Ellicott (probable precedent) and Pulpit following Trench (only superficially similar). It is tiered "flagged: verify source" in the threads and is not used as evidence anywhere else in this unit.

(6) Sources consulted. Ten public-domain commentators are present in the brief; Henry's note covers the whole of 8:5-13 in a single block and JFB's is a cross-reference stub, so both are quoted once only and with that limitation stated. Barnes' entry at v. 13 is capped in the brief (about a thousand further characters not shown); we did not open the full text, and the material we cite from him at v. 13 lies inside the portion supplied. All thread bases marked "Verifier" come from the computed candidate list; where no Verifier basis exists (the Isaiah and Malachi links, the John 4 link) we say so and lower the tier accordingly.

(7) What we do not know. Whose army this centurion served in (Cambridge and Pulpit say Herod Antipas', Benson and Barnes assume Rome's), what the disease actually was (Barnes: "the particular form... is not mentioned"), and how much of Israel's Scriptures the man had read. Poole is the most honest on the last point: "How far this centurion was acquainted with the oracles of the Old Testament... I cannot tell."

✦ = human, public-domain source, quoted and named. ⚙ = machine synthesis, to be verified. Flagged cross-references are left visible on purpose — the verifier working in the open. “Search the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” (Acts 17:11)