Matthew 28:12
Encyclopedia
Matthew 28:12 is the twelfth verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. This verse is part of the resurrection
narrative. In this verse the guards of the tomb, after being present for an angel hearkening the resurrection, are bribed by the priests to lie about what they saw.
The original Koine Greek
, according to Westcott and Hort
, reads:
In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:
The modern World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 28:12
Beare notes that the phrasing could indicate that the priests call the Sanhedrin
, the Jewish ruling council, into session to address the matter. This links back to Matthew 2
where the gentile Magi arrive in Jerusalem, and report on their belief in the newborn Jesus. In that section the Jewish leadership meets in consternation, and Herod decides to try and kill the child. In this section the gentile guards report to the Jewish leaders, and the leaders decide to dissemble to prevent the story of Jesus' resurrection from being know. Gundry notes that this removes any thoughts that the leaders were simply ignorant of the events, according to the Gospel of Matthew they were fully informed and chose to disbelieve. Unlike Matthew 27:62
, the Pharisees
are not mentioned as being present, though their presence is likely implied by their previous attendance at such gatherings.
Schweizer notes that money only appears three times in the gospel, here, during the betrayal of Judas, and in the parable of the three servants.
There are clear parallels between the betrayal of Judas and the bribing of the guards, Nolland states that Judas was bought for what he knew, and the guards are bought to hide what they know. Gundry notes that the mentions of money might indicate a the special interest in the subject of the author of Matthew, who is traditionally believed to have been a tax collector. The literal meaning of the verse is a "sufficient" amount of money.
Accepting bribes and betraying generals was a common event in the Near Eastern empires of the time, but was much less common among the Roman forces, where if caught the punishments would be very severe. Gundry notes that the largeness of the sum indicates how important it was to the priests to keep the guards' secret, and that the guards would demand a large sum for a lie that would put them in jeopardy, as Matthew 28:14 indicates. Jones notes that the guards would also have an interest in covering up the matter, as the supernatural story of what did happen at Matthew 28:2
was not likely to be believed if the matter did come to a court martial.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. This verse is part of the resurrection
Resurrection
Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...
narrative. In this verse the guards of the tomb, after being present for an angel hearkening the resurrection, are bribed by the priests to lie about what they saw.
The original Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, according to Westcott and Hort
The New Testament in the Original Greek
The New Testament in the Original Greek is the name of a Greek language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort...
, reads:
- και συναχθεντες μετα των πρεσβυτερων συμβουλιον τε
- λαβοντες αργυρια ικανα εδωκαν τοις στρατιωταις
In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:
- And when they were assembled with the elders, and had
- taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
The modern World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- When they were assembled with the elders, and had taken
- counsel, they gave a large amount of silver to the soldiers,
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 28:12
Beare notes that the phrasing could indicate that the priests call the Sanhedrin
Sanhedrin
The Sanhedrin was an assembly of twenty-three judges appointed in every city in the Biblical Land of Israel.The Great Sanhedrin was the supreme court of ancient Israel made of 71 members...
, the Jewish ruling council, into session to address the matter. This links back to Matthew 2
Matthew 2
Matthew 2 is the second chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. It describes the events after the birth of Jesus. The first section deals with the visit of the magi and the attempt by King Herod to kill the infant messiah. The second portion deals with Jesus' Flight into Egypt, and...
where the gentile Magi arrive in Jerusalem, and report on their belief in the newborn Jesus. In that section the Jewish leadership meets in consternation, and Herod decides to try and kill the child. In this section the gentile guards report to the Jewish leaders, and the leaders decide to dissemble to prevent the story of Jesus' resurrection from being know. Gundry notes that this removes any thoughts that the leaders were simply ignorant of the events, according to the Gospel of Matthew they were fully informed and chose to disbelieve. Unlike Matthew 27:62
Matthew 27:62
Matthew 27:62 is the sixty-second verse of the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse occurs after the crucifixion and entombment of Jesus...
, the Pharisees
Pharisees
The Pharisees were at various times a political party, a social movement, and a school of thought among Jews during the Second Temple period beginning under the Hasmonean dynasty in the wake of...
are not mentioned as being present, though their presence is likely implied by their previous attendance at such gatherings.
Schweizer notes that money only appears three times in the gospel, here, during the betrayal of Judas, and in the parable of the three servants.
There are clear parallels between the betrayal of Judas and the bribing of the guards, Nolland states that Judas was bought for what he knew, and the guards are bought to hide what they know. Gundry notes that the mentions of money might indicate a the special interest in the subject of the author of Matthew, who is traditionally believed to have been a tax collector. The literal meaning of the verse is a "sufficient" amount of money.
Accepting bribes and betraying generals was a common event in the Near Eastern empires of the time, but was much less common among the Roman forces, where if caught the punishments would be very severe. Gundry notes that the largeness of the sum indicates how important it was to the priests to keep the guards' secret, and that the guards would demand a large sum for a lie that would put them in jeopardy, as Matthew 28:14 indicates. Jones notes that the guards would also have an interest in covering up the matter, as the supernatural story of what did happen at Matthew 28:2
Matthew 28:2
Matthew 28:2 is the second verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse is part of the resurrection narrative...
was not likely to be believed if the matter did come to a court martial.