Footnotes

1. Matthew 13:1 sn Here lake refers to the Sea of Galilee.
2. Matthew 13:2 sn See the note at Matt 4:21 for a description of the first-century fishing boat discovered in 1986 near Tiberias on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee.
3. Matthew 13:2 tn Grk “and all the crowd.” The clause in this phrase, although coordinate in terms of grammar, is logically subordinate to the previous clause.
4. Matthew 13:3 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
5. Matthew 13:3 sn Though parables can contain a variety of figures of speech (cf. the remainder of chapter 13), many times they are simply stories that attempt to teach spiritual truth (which is unknown to the hearers) by using a comparison with something known to the hearers. In general, parables usually advance a single idea, though there may be many parts and characters in a single parable and subordinate ideas may expand the main idea further. The beauty of using the parable as a teaching device is that it draws the listener into the story, elicits an evaluation, and demands a response.
6. Matthew 13:3 tn Grk “Behold.”
7. Matthew 13:3 sn A sower went out to sow. The background for this well-known parable, drawn from a typical scene in the Palestinian countryside, is a field through which a well-worn path runs. Sowing would occur in late fall or early winter (October to December) in the rainy season, looking for sprouting in April or May and a June harvest. The use of seed as a figure for God’s giving life has OT roots (Isa 55:10-11). The point of the parable of the sower is to illustrate the various responses to the message of the kingdom of God.
8. Matthew 13:4 tn In Matthew’s version of this parable, plural pronouns are used to refer to the seed in v. 4 (ἅ…αὐτά [ha…auta]), although the collective singular is used in v. 5 and following (indicated by the singular verbs like ἔπεσεν [epesen]). For the sake of consistency in English, plural pronouns referring to the seed are used in the translation throughout the Matthean account. In both Mark and Luke the collective singular is used consistently throughout (cf. Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8).
9. Matthew 13:5 tn Here and in vv. 7 and 8 δέ (de) has not been translated.
10. Matthew 13:5 sn The rocky ground in Palestine would be a limestone base lying right under the soil.
11. Matthew 13:5 tn Grk “because it did not have depth of earth.”
12. Matthew 13:7 sn Palestinian weeds like these thorns could grow up to 6 feet in height and have a major root system.
13. Matthew 13:7 sn That is, crowded out the good plants.
14. Matthew 13:9 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:43; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35).
15. Matthew 13:10 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
16. Matthew 13:11 tn Grk “And answering, he said to them.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
17. Matthew 13:11 tn This is an example of a “divine passive,” with God understood to be the source of the revelation (see ExSyn 437-38).
18. Matthew 13:11 tn Grk “to you it has been given to know.” The dative pronoun occurs first, in emphatic position in the Greek text, although this position is awkward in contemporary English.
19. Matthew 13:11 tn Grk “the mysteries.”sn The key term secrets (μυστήριον, mustērion) can mean either (1) a new revelation or (2) a revealing interpretation of existing revelation as in Dan 2:17-23, 27-30. Jesus seems to be explaining how current events develop old promises, since the NT consistently links the events of Jesus’ ministry and message with old promises (Rom 1:1-4; Heb 1:1-2). The traditional translation of this word, “mystery,” is misleading to the modern English reader because it suggests a secret which people have tried to uncover but which they have failed to understand (L&N 28.77).
20. Matthew 13:12 sn What he has will be taken from him. The meaning is that the one who accepts Jesus’ teaching concerning his person and the kingdom will receive a share in the kingdom now and even more in the future, but for the one who rejects Jesus’ words, the opportunity that that person presently possesses with respect to the kingdom will someday be taken away forever.
21. Matthew 13:14 tn Grk “with hearing,” a cognate dative that intensifies the action of the main verb “you will listen” (ExSyn 168-69).
22. Matthew 13:14 tn Grk “look by looking.” The participle is redundant, functioning to intensify the force of the main verb.
23. Matthew 13:15 sn A quotation from Isa 6:9-10. Thus parables both conceal or reveal depending on whether one is open to hearing what they teach.
24. Matthew 13:16 sn This beatitude highlights the great honor bestowed on the disciples to share in this salvation.
25. Matthew 13:17 tn Grk “truly (ἀμήν, amēn) I say to you.”
26. Matthew 13:17 sn This is what past prophets and righteous people had wanted very much to see, yet the fulfillment had come to the disciples. This remark is like 1 Pet 1:10-12 or Heb 1:1-2.
27. Matthew 13:19 sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.
28. Matthew 13:19 sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.
29. Matthew 13:20 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
30. Matthew 13:20 tn Grk “The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one.” The next two statements like this one have this same syntactical structure.
31. Matthew 13:21 tn Grk “is temporary.”
32. Matthew 13:21 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
33. Matthew 13:22 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
34. Matthew 13:22 tn Grk “the deceitfulness of riches.” Cf. BDAG 99 s.v. ἀπάτη 1, “the seduction which comes from wealth.”
35. Matthew 13:22 sn That is, their concern for spiritual things is crowded out by material things.
36. Matthew 13:23 tn The Greek is difficult to translate because it switches from a generic “he” to three people within this generic class (thus, something like: “Who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one instance a hundred times, in another, sixty times, in another, thirty times”).
37. Matthew 13:24 tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
38. Matthew 13:25 tn Or “sowed poisonous weeds”; KJV “tares.” The Greek term ζιζάνιον (zizanion) is generally understood to refer to darnel (Lolium temulentum), an especially undesirable weed that bears an uncanny resemblance to wheat until the ears of grain appear (L&N 3.30; BDAG 429 s.v.). So close is the resemblance to genuine wheat that darnel is sometimes called “false wheat.” Darnel is considered poisonous; ingesting the weed causes feelings of drunkenness and can prove fatal. Under Roman law the sowing of such poisonous plants in someone else’s field was specifically prohibited (C. Keener, The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary [Eerdmans, 2009], 387). A number of recent English translations use “weeds,” but this does not convey the poisonous nature of darnel or the similarity in appearance to wheat.
39. Matthew 13:26 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
40. Matthew 13:27 tn See the note on the word “slave” in 8:9.
41. Matthew 13:27 sn The term landowner here refers to the owner and manager of a household.
42. Matthew 13:28 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the owner’s statement.
43. Matthew 13:30 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
44. Matthew 13:30 tn Grk “burned, but gather”; “then” has been added to the English translation to complete the sequence begun by “First collect.”
45. Matthew 13:31 tn Grk “put before.”
46. Matthew 13:31 tn Grk “He set before them another parable, saying.” The participle λέγων (legōn) is redundant and has not been translated.
47. Matthew 13:31 sn The mustard seed was noted for its tiny size.
48. Matthew 13:32 sn This is rhetorical hyperbole, since technically a mustard plant is not a tree. This could refer to one of two types of mustard plant popular in Palestine and would be either ten or twenty-five ft (3 or 7.5 m) tall.
49. Matthew 13:32 tn Grk “the birds of the sky” or “the birds of the heaven”; the Greek word οὐρανός (ouranos) may be translated either “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The idiomatic expression “birds of the sky” refers to wild birds as opposed to domesticated fowl (cf. BDAG 809 s.v. πετεινόν).
50. Matthew 13:32 sn The point of the parable seems to be that while the kingdom of God may appear to have insignificant and unnoticeable beginnings (i.e., in the ministry of Jesus), it will someday (i.e., at the second advent) be great and quite expansive. The kingdom, however, is not to be equated with the church, but rather the church is an expression of the kingdom. Also, there is important OT background in the image of a small plant that grew and became a tree: Ezek 17:22-24 pictures the reemergence of the Davidic house where people can find calm and shelter. Like the mustard seed, it would start out small but grow to significant size.
51. Matthew 13:33 tn Grk “hid in.”
52. Matthew 13:33 sn This measure was a saton, the Greek name for the Hebrew term “seah.” Three of these was a very large quantity of flour, since a saton is a little over 16 pounds (7 kg) of dry measure (or 13.13 liters). So this was over 47 lbs (21 kg) of flour total, enough to feed over a hundred people.
53. Matthew 13:33 tn Grk “it was all leavened.”sn The parable of the yeast and the dough teaches that the kingdom of God will start small but eventually grow to permeate everything. Jesus’ point was not to be deceived by its seemingly small start, the same point made in the parable of the mustard seed, which preceded this one.
54. Matthew 13:35 tc A few significant mss (א* Θ ƒ^{1, 13} 33) identify the prophet as Isaiah, a reading that is significantly harder than the generic “prophet” because the source of this prophecy is not Isaiah but Asaph in Ps 78. Jerome mentioned some mss that had “Asaph” here, though none are known to exist today. This problem is difficult because of the temptation for scribes to delete the reference to Isaiah in order to clear up a discrepancy. Indeed, the vast majority of witnesses have only “the prophet” here (א¹ B C D L W Γ Δ 0233 0242 565 579 700 1241 1424 M lat sy co). However, as B. M. Metzger points out, “if no prophet were originally named, more than one scribe might have been prompted to insert the name of the best known prophet—something which has, in fact, happened elsewhere more than once” (TCGNT 27). In light of the paucity of evidence for the reading ᾿Ησαΐου, as well as the proclivity of scribes to add his name, it is probably best to consider the shorter reading as authentic.tn Grk “was spoken by the prophet, saying.” The participle λέγοντος (legontos) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
55. Matthew 13:35 sn A quotation from Ps 78:2.
56. Matthew 13:36 tn Or “poisonous weeds.” See the note on the word “darnel” in 13:25.
57. Matthew 13:37 tn Grk “And answering, he said.” This construction is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation. Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
58. Matthew 13:38 tn Grk “the sons of the kingdom.” This idiom refers to people who should properly be, or were traditionally regarded as, a part of God’s kingdom. L&N 11.13 translates the phrase: “people of God’s kingdom, God’s people.”
59. Matthew 13:38 tn Or “The darnels.” Here “poisonous weeds” contrasts with “the good seed” mentioned previously in the verse.
60. Matthew 13:38 tn Grk “the sons of the evil one.” See the preceding note on the phrase “people of the kingdom” earlier in this verse, which is the opposite of this phrase. See also L&N 9.4; 11.13; 11.14.
61. Matthew 13:40 tn Grk “Therefore as.” Here οὖν (oun) has not been translated.
62. Matthew 13:40 tn Or “the darnels.”
63. Matthew 13:41 tn Grk “the ones who practice lawlessness.”
64. Matthew 13:42 sn A quotation from Dan 3:6.
65. Matthew 13:43 sn An allusion to Dan 12:3.
66. Matthew 13:43 tn The translation “had better listen!” captures the force of the third person imperative more effectively than the traditional “let him hear,” which sounds more like a permissive than an imperative to the modern English reader. This was Jesus’ common expression to listen and heed carefully (cf. Matt 11:15; 13:9; Mark 4:9, 23; Luke 8:8; 14:35).
67. Matthew 13:50 sn An allusion to Dan 3:6.
68. Matthew 13:52 tn Or “every scribe.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 2:4. It is possible that the term translated “expert in the law” (traditionally, “scribe”) here is a self-description used by the author, Matthew, to represent his role in conveying the traditions about Jesus to his intended audience. See David E. Orton, The Understanding Scribe [JSNTSup].
69. Matthew 13:53 tn Grk “Now it happened that when.” The introductory phrase καὶ ἐγένετο (kai egeneto, “it happened that”) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
70. Matthew 13:54 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “Then.”
71. Matthew 13:54 sn Jesus’ hometown (where he spent his childhood years) was Nazareth, about 20 miles (30 km) southwest of Capernaum.
72. Matthew 13:54 tn Grk “them”; the referent (the people) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
73. Matthew 13:54 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23. Jesus undoubtedly took the opportunity on this occasion to speak about his person and mission, and the relation of both to OT fulfillment.
74. Matthew 13:54 tn Grk “synagogue, so that they.” Here ὥστε (hōste) has not been translated. Instead a new sentence was started in the translation.
75. Matthew 13:55 sn The reference to Jesus as the carpenter’s son is probably derogatory, indicating that they knew Jesus only as a common laborer like themselves. The reference to his mother…Mary (even though Jesus’ father was probably dead by this point) appears to be somewhat derogatory, for a man was not regarded as his mother’s son in Jewish usage unless an insult was intended (cf. Judg 11:1-2; John 6:42; 8:41; 9:29).