Matthew 15

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 39 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

• Codex Vaticanus (325–350)
• Codex Sinaiticus (330–360)
• Codex Bezae (~400)
• Codex Washingtonianus (~400)
• Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (~450)
• Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (6th century)
• Codex Petropolitanus Purpureus (6th century; extant verses 14–31)
• Codex Sinopensis (6th century; extant verses 11–39)
• Uncial 0237 (6th century; extant verses 12–15,17–19)

Locations and timing

Most of the events recorded in this chapter took place in Galilee. Verse 1 refers to scribes and Pharisees who have come from Jerusalem. The word order is "scribes and Pharisees" in the Textus Receptus, but "Pharisees and scribes" in Westcott and Hort's critical edition. Theologian Johann Bengel makes the point that these events could not therefore have taken place at the time of the Passover.

Verses 21 to 28 refer to an excursion to the region of Tyre and Sidon, after which Jesus returned to Galilee and 'skirted' or walked beside the Sea of Galilee to a mountain on the lake's eastern shore. Harold H. Buls notes that "at this point in the life of Jesus", he is "less than a year from his suffering and death".

verse39At the close of the chapter (verse 39), Jesus "got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala" or Magadan. According to E. H. Plumptre in Anglican bishop Charles Ellicott's Commentary, "the better [manuscripts] give the reading Magadan. The King James Version translates this text as "the coasts of Magdala". Heinrich Ewald thinks the reference may be to Megiddo, but Heinrich Meyer criticises this opinion because Megiddo is "too far inland". gives (in the majority of manuscripts) a quite different place name, Dalmanutha, although a handful of manuscripts give either Magdala or Magadan, possibly through assimilation with the Matthean text.

Verse 16

Meyer suggests that the word "Jesus" in this verse is probably an addition.

References

References

1. Reflecting the sectional divisions in the [[New King James Version]]
2. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 15:1. WHNU: WHNU
3. [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/bengel/matthew/15.htm Bengel's Gnomon on the New Testament] on Matthew 15, accessed 23 January 2017
4. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 15:29. AMP: [[Amplified Bible]]
5. Buls, H. H., [http://pericope.org/buls-notes/matthew/matthew_15_21_28.htm The Faith of the Canaanite Woman], adapted from ''Exegetical Notes, Series A Matthew-John Sundays After Pentecost Gospel Texts'', by Harold H. Buls, Concordia Theological Seminary Press: Ft Wayne IN, 1981, accessed 2 December 2022
6. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 15:39. NKJV
7. Plumptre, E. H., [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/ellicott/matthew/15.htm Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers] on Matthew 15, accessed 23 January 2017
8. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 15:39. KJV: KJV
9. The parallel passage in the [[Gospel of Mark]]{{bibleverse. Mark. 8:10. NKJV
10. Throckmorton, B. H. (1992), ''Gospel Parallels'', 5th edn. Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson, p. 96
11. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 15:16. NRSV: NRSV
12. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 15:16. NKJV: NKJV
13. [[Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer. Meyer, H. A. W.]], [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/matthew/15.htm Meyer's NT Commentary] on Matthew 15, accessed 12 September 2019