Matthew 4:16
Encyclopedia
Matthew 4:16 is the sixteenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. In the previous verses Jesus
returned to Galilee
after hearing of the arrest of John the Baptist
and then left Nazareth
for Capernaum
. This verse contains the second half of a quote from the Book of Isaiah
, implying that these movements were preordained by scripture.
The original Koine Greek
, according to Westcott and Hort
, reads:
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 4:16
This verse is based on Isaiah 9:2 in the Old Testament. This verse refers to the lands of Zebulun
and of Naphtali
mentioned in the previous verse, and where Jesus has chosen to reside according to Matthew 4:13
. The verse is referring to the Assyria
n invasion of Northern Israel
and predicting that after this dark period a new light would shine. Matthew implies that this is the messiah, France notes that the traditional view was that Isaiah was referring to events immediately after the departure of the Assyrians. Carter, who has advanced the thesis that much of Matthew is a prediction of the destruction of the Roman Empire
, sees this verse as political in nature with the conquering Assyrians an allegory for the current Roman domination of the region.
Albright and Mann note that in Greek this verse contains elements of three different versions of the Septuagint. It was long thought to be a composite of these various translations, but it could also be taken from a lost version of the LXX. This is a more accurate copy of the LXX than the previous verse, but there are still some important changes. Albright and Mann note that the author of Matthew puts the verse in the past tense
so that it fits better with his narrative. Hill state that Matthew also changes the word shone to dawned. Hill argues that this change was made to fit with Matthew's portrayal of the dawning of the new messiah rather than the continuous shining of God. Shedinger notes that the LXX has the people walking while Matthew has them sitting. Stendahl
argues that this was done to more closely link the verse to the set geographical locals mentioned in 4:15.
Shedinger rejects the traditional view that Matthew 4:16 is merely a corrupted version of Isaiah 9:2. Rather he feels that in the earliest version of Matthew this verse was a combination of Isaiah 9:2 and Psalm 107:10, however later translators missed the second OT reference and over time altered the verse to make it conform more to Isaiah. Shedinger notes that there are surviving copies of this verse from before the fourth century and the original format could very well have been lost. Shedinger's theory is based on analysis of early non-Greek sources that might have had access to a lost version.
Sat is a literael translation from the Greek, but Fortna notes that it misses the emotional meaning of the phrase. he suggests that languished or wasted away would more precisely match the tone of the original.
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....
. In the previous verses Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
returned to Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
after hearing of the arrest of John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...
and then left Nazareth
Nazareth
Nazareth is the largest city in the North District of Israel. Known as "the Arab capital of Israel," the population is made up predominantly of Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel...
for Capernaum
Capernaum
Capernaum was a fishing village in the time of the Hasmoneans. Located on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. It had a population of about 1,500. Archaeological excavations have revealed two ancient synagogues built one over the other...
. This verse contains the second half of a quote from the Book of Isaiah
Book of Isaiah
The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, preceding the books of Ezekiel, Jeremiah and the Book of the Twelve...
, implying that these movements were preordained by scripture.
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:
- ο λαος ο καθημενος εν σκοτια φως ειδεν μεγα και τοις
- καθημενοις εν χωρα και σκια θανατου φως ανετειλεν αυτοις
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- The people which sat in darkness saw great light;
- and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death
- light is sprung up.
The 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:
- the people who sat in darkness saw a great light,
- to those who sat in the region and shadow of death,
- to them light has dawned."
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 4:16
This verse is based on Isaiah 9:2 in the Old Testament. This verse refers to the lands of Zebulun
Zebulun
Zebulun was, according to the Books of Genesis and Numbers, the sixth son of Jacob and Leah, and the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Zebulun...
and of Naphtali
Naphtali
According to the Book of Genesis, Naphtali was the second son of Jacob with Bilhah. He was the founder of the Israelite Tribe of Naphtali. However, some Biblical scholars view this as postdiction, an eponymous metaphor providing an aetiology of the connectedness of the tribe to others in the...
mentioned in the previous verse, and where Jesus has chosen to reside according to Matthew 4:13
Matthew 4:13
Matthew 4:13 is the thirteenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. In the previous verse Jesus returned to Galilee after hearing of the arrest of John the Baptist...
. The verse is referring to the Assyria
Assyria
Assyria was a Semitic Akkadian kingdom, extant as a nation state from the mid–23rd century BC to 608 BC centred on the Upper Tigris river, in northern Mesopotamia , that came to rule regional empires a number of times through history. It was named for its original capital, the ancient city of Assur...
n invasion of Northern Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and predicting that after this dark period a new light would shine. Matthew implies that this is the messiah, France notes that the traditional view was that Isaiah was referring to events immediately after the departure of the Assyrians. Carter, who has advanced the thesis that much of Matthew is a prediction of the destruction of the Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
, sees this verse as political in nature with the conquering Assyrians an allegory for the current Roman domination of the region.
Albright and Mann note that in Greek this verse contains elements of three different versions of the Septuagint. It was long thought to be a composite of these various translations, but it could also be taken from a lost version of the LXX. This is a more accurate copy of the LXX than the previous verse, but there are still some important changes. Albright and Mann note that the author of Matthew puts the verse in the past tense
Past tense
The past tense is a grammatical tense that places an action or situation in the past of the current moment , or prior to some specified time that may be in the speaker's past, present, or future...
so that it fits better with his narrative. Hill state that Matthew also changes the word shone to dawned. Hill argues that this change was made to fit with Matthew's portrayal of the dawning of the new messiah rather than the continuous shining of God. Shedinger notes that the LXX has the people walking while Matthew has them sitting. Stendahl
Krister Stendahl
Krister Stendahl was a Swedish theologian and New Testament scholar, and Church of Sweden Bishop of Stockholm. He also served as professor and professor emeritus at Harvard Divinity School.-Life:...
argues that this was done to more closely link the verse to the set geographical locals mentioned in 4:15.
Shedinger rejects the traditional view that Matthew 4:16 is merely a corrupted version of Isaiah 9:2. Rather he feels that in the earliest version of Matthew this verse was a combination of Isaiah 9:2 and Psalm 107:10, however later translators missed the second OT reference and over time altered the verse to make it conform more to Isaiah. Shedinger notes that there are surviving copies of this verse from before the fourth century and the original format could very well have been lost. Shedinger's theory is based on analysis of early non-Greek sources that might have had access to a lost version.
Sat is a literael translation from the Greek, but Fortna notes that it misses the emotional meaning of the phrase. he suggests that languished or wasted away would more precisely match the tone of the original.