New Testament in a Year

Footnotes

1. Matthew 9:18 tn Matthew’s account does not qualify this individual as “a leader of the synagogue” as do the parallel accounts in Mark 5:22 and Luke 8:41, both of which also give the individual’s name as Jairus. The traditional translation of the Greek term ἄρχων (archōn) as “ruler” could in this unqualified context in Matthew suggest a political or other form of ruler, so here the translation “leader” is preferred (see BDAG 140 s.v. ἄρχων 2.a).
2. Matthew 9:20 tn Grk “And behold a woman.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
3. Matthew 9:20 sn The woman was most likely suffering from a chronic vaginal or uterine hemorrhage which would have made her ritually unclean. The same Greek term is used in the LXX only once, at Lev 15:33, and there it refers to menstruation (J. Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew [NIGTC], 395).
4. Matthew 9:20 sn The edge of his cloak could simply refer to the edge or hem, but the same term kraspedon is used in Matt 23:5 to refer to the tassels on the four corners of a Jewish man’s garment, and it probably means the same here (J. Nolland, The Gospel of Matthew [NIGTC], 396). The tassel on the corner of the garment symbolized obedience to the law (cf. Num 15:37-41; Deut 22:12). The woman thus touched the very part of Jesus’ clothing that indicated his ritual purity.
5. Matthew 9:20 tn Grk “garment,” but here ἱμάτιον (himation) denotes the outer garment in particular.
6. Matthew 9:21 tn The imperfect verb is here taken iteratively (“kept saying”), for the context suggests that the woman was trying to find the courage to touch Jesus’ cloak.
7. Matthew 9:21 tn Grk “saved.”sn In this pericope the author uses a term for being healed (Grk “saved”) that, while referring to the woman’s physical healing, would have spiritual significance to his readers. It may be a double entendre (cf. the parallel in Mark 5:28 which uses the same term), since elsewhere the evangelist uses verbs that simply mean “heal”: If only the readers would “touch” Jesus, they too would be “saved.”
8. Matthew 9:22 tn Or “has delivered you”; Grk “has saved you.” sn The phrase has made you well should not be understood as an expression for full salvation in the original setting; it refers only to the woman’s healing. However, as the note on the previous verse points out, it is possible the evangelist did intend something of a double entendre by the use of the term, suggesting to his readers that for them, faith in Jesus would lead to salvation in the full theological sense.
9. Matthew 9:22 tn Grk “saved.”
10. Matthew 9:23 sn Hired flute players were a standard feature at Jewish funerals in the first century. According to the Mishnah (m. Ketubot 4:4) the husband was responsible to provide flute players for his wife’s funeral: “Even the poorest man in Israel should not hire fewer than two flutes and one professional wailing woman.”
11. Matthew 9:24 tn Grk “They were laughing at him.” The imperfect verb has been understood ingressively (“began making fun”).
12. Matthew 9:25 tn Or “had been expelled.” The typical “had been put outside” is slightly understated in the context; given the raucous nature of the crowd in v. 23, forceful activity was probably required in order to evict them.
13. Matthew 9:26 tn For the translation of τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην (tēn gēn ekeinēn) as “that region,” see L&N 1.79; BDAG 196 s.v. γῆ 3.
14. Matthew 9:27 tn The aorist verb has been translated here as ingressive, stressing the beginning of the action. So Wallace: “The following verse makes it clear that an ingressive idea is meant, for the blind men are still following Jesus” (ExSyn 559).
15. Matthew 9:27 tn Grk “shouting, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
16. Matthew 9:27 sn Have mercy on us is a request for healing. Implicit in the request is the assumption that Jesus had the power to heal them and restore their sight.
17. Matthew 9:27 sn There was a tradition in Judaism that the Son of David (Solomon) had great powers of healing (Josephus, Ant. 8.2.5 [8.42-49]). By extension this would apply to the ultimate royal Davidic descendant, the Messiah, as well. At this point in his narrative Matthew picks up again the theme of Jesus as Davidic descendant which had appeared in chaps. 1–2, but had not been developed further until now.
18. Matthew 9:28 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
19. Matthew 9:28 tn Grk “to him, and Jesus.” This is a continuation of the previous sentence in Greek, but a new sentence was started here in the translation.
20. Matthew 9:31 tn For the translation of τὴν γῆν ἐκείνην (tēn gēn ekeinēn) as “that region,” see L&N 1.79; BDAG 196 s.v. γῆ 3.
21. Matthew 9:32 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
22. Matthew 9:32 tn Grk “away, behold, they brought a man to him.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
23. Matthew 9:32 tn Grk “a man mute, demon-possessed.” Some translations infer a causal relationship here (“was mute because he was demon-possessed”; cf. TEV, CEV). The present translation allows for this interpretation (“was demon-possessed and [thus] unable to speak”) without making it explicit.
24. Matthew 9:33 tn The aorist verb has been translated here as ingressive, stressing the beginning of the action. The context clearly indicates an ingressive force here.
25. Matthew 9:34 sn See the note on Pharisees in 3:7.
26. Matthew 9:34 tn Or “prince.”
27. Matthew 9:35 tn Or “cities.”
28. Matthew 9:35 sn See the note on synagogues in 4:23.
29. Matthew 9:35 tn Grk “every [kind of] disease and every [kind of] sickness.” Here “every” was not repeated in the translation for stylistic reasons. Although the present translation, like several other translations (e.g., NASB, NKJV, NLT), has opted for “every kind of disease and sickness” here, understanding the Greek term πᾶς to refer to “everything belonging, in kind, to the class designated by the noun” (BDAG 784 s.v. 5), it may be possible to understand the word to mean “all” in the sense of totality (i.e., “every disease and every sickness”), given that the same Greek term occurs at the beginning of the verse in the phrase “all the towns and villages” and the phrase at the end of the verse may be intended as a contrast. Arguing against this is the evangelist’s usage of the exact same phrase “every disease and every sickness” in 4:23 referring to Jesus’ healing ministry and in 10:1 to refer to the ministry of the disciples. In the two last-mentioned passages the contrast with “all the towns and villages” does not occur.
30. Matthew 9:36 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
31. Matthew 9:36 tn Or perhaps “because they had been bewildered and helpless.” The grammatical issue is whether the perfect participles are to be regarded as predicate adjectives or as pluperfect periphrastic constructions (i.e., εἰμί in the indicative plus a perfect participle). Wallace regards these as pluperfect periphrastics, stating: “There may be a hint in Matthew’s use of the pluperfect, esp. in collocation with the shepherd-motif, that this situation would soon disappear” (ExSyn 584).
32. Matthew 9:38 sn The phrase Lord of the harvest recognizes God’s sovereignty over the harvest process.
33. Matthew 9:38 tn Grk “harvest,” but by extension of meaning this refers to the crops awaiting harvest in the fields. See BDAG 453 s.v. θερισμός 2.a.