Matthew 4:12-23
12 Ἀκούσας δὲ ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι Ἰωάννης παρεδόθη,
ἀνεχωρησεν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν,
13 καὶ καταλιπὼν τὴν Ναζαρὲτ ἐλθὼν κατῴκησεν εἰς Καπερναοὺμ τὴν παραθαλασσίαν ἐν ὁρίοις Ζαβουλὼν καὶ Νεφθαλείμ,
14 ἵνα πληρωθῇ τὸ ρηθὲν διὰ Ἡσαΐου τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος·
15 γῆ Ζαβουλὼν καὶ γῆ Νεφθαλείμ, ὁδὸν θαλάσσης, πέραν τοῦ Ἰορδάνου, Γαλιλαία τῶν ἐθνῶν,
16 ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος ἐν σκότει εἶδε φῶς μέγα καὶ τοῖς καθημένοις ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς.
17 Ἀπὸ τότε ἤρξατο ὁ Ἰησοῦς κηρύσσειν καὶ λέγειν· μετανοεῖτε· ἤγγικε γὰρ ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν.
18 Περιπατῶν δὲ παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν τῆς Γαλιλαίας εἶδε δύο ἀδελφούς, Σίμωνα τὸν λεγόμενον Πέτρον καὶ ᾿Ανδρέαν τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν· ἦσαν γὰρ ἁλιεῖς·
19 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς· δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου καὶ ποιήσω ὑμᾶς ἁλιεῖς ἀνθρώπων.
20 Οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὰ δίκτυα ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.
21 Καὶ προβὰς ἐκεῖθεν εἶδεν ἄλλους δύο ἀδελφούς, Ἰάκωβον τὸν τοῦ Ζεβεδαίου καὶ Ἰωάννην τὸν ἀδελφὸν αὐτοῦ, ἐν τῷ πλοίῳ μετὰ Ζεβεδαίου τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν καταρτίζοντας τὰ δίκτυα αὐτῶν, καὶ ἐκάλεσεν αὐτούς.
22 Οἱ δὲ εὐθέως ἀφέντες τὸ πλοῖον καὶ τὸν πατέρα αὐτῶν ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ.
23 Καὶ περιῆγεν ὅλην τὴν Γαλιλαίαν ὁ Ἰησοῦς διδάσκων ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς αὐτῶν καὶ κηρύσσων τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς βασιλείας καὶ θεραπεύων πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν ἐν τῷ λαῷ.
Matthew 4:12-23
4:12 Now when Jesus heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew to Galilee.
4:13 He left Nazareth and made his home in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali,
4:14 so that what had been spoken through the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
4:15 “Land of Zebulun, land of Naphtali, on the road by the sea, across the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles
4:16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and for those who sat in the region and shadow of death light has dawned.”
4:17 From that time Jesus began to proclaim, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”
4:18 As he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.
4:19 And he said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you fish for people.”
4:20 Immediately they left their nets and followed him.
4:21 As he went from there, he saw two other brothers, James son of Zebedee and his brother John, in the boat with their father Zebedee, mending their nets, and he called them.
4:22 Immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed him.
4:23 Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and curing every disease and every sickness among the people.
Comments
Τhe imperative μετανοεῖτε [17] strikes me as of particular interest. Mετανοῶ, a classical verb, means ‘I change my mind’, ‘I regret’, ‘repent’, even ‘change my behaviour’. In a passage in Plato the verb refers to realising (with a pang) an intellectual mistake. It is always an inner change as opposed to an outer one, which may be skin-deep (verging on a masquerade such as μετασχηματίζω may connote).
[12] παρεδόθη: aor. pass. < παραδίδωμι, ‘Ι hand over’ (to justice), ‘throw in prison’.
ἀνεχώρησεν: < ἀναχωρέω, ῶ, ‘I withdraw, retreat’ (class. Greek). Cf. Engl. anchorite.
[13] κατῴκησεν εἰς Καπερναοὺμ: aor. < κατοικέω, ῶ, ‘I settle, dwell’ (class. Greek).
εἰς Καπερναοὺμ: koine syntax; in class. Greek it would be ἐν Καπερναοὺμ.
[16] καθήμενος ἐν σκότει: ‘seated in darkness’. σκότος (masculine) is already attested in the Iliad, meaning ‘gloom, darkness’ (of death). It is the opposite of φῶς, ‘light’, as here.
σκότος ‘is always neuter in LXX and NT’ (LSJ).
ἐν χώρᾳ καὶ σκιᾷ θανάτου: as P. N. Trembelas notes, this is a hendiadys (a figure of speech wherein a single idea or image is expressed by two items conjoined by καί or τε-καί); in effect this phrase amounts to ἐν χώρᾳ τῆς σκιᾶς θανάτου. (‘in the land of the shadow of death’).
φῶς ἀνέτειλεν αὐτοῖς: ἀνατέλλω, intrans., ‘rise, arise, appear’, esp. of stars, the moon (class. Greek) according to Montanari (= M.). ‘Light has appeared to them or for them’ (= dat. of advantage).
αὐτοῖς: ‘to or for them’ is not strictly necessary after the participle τοῖς καθημένοις in the verse, but it lends emphasis.
[17] Ἀπὸ τότε: ‘from then, thereafter’. This phrase prob. reflects koine usage, first occurring in LXX. After St John’s arrest and imprisonment Jesus started preaching.
μετανοεῖτε: present imperative, μετανοέω, ῶ. Τhe prefix μετα- can mean a change, something that occurs afterwards; νοῶ, ‘perceive by the mind, apprehend’ (LSJ). Hence μετανοῶ = ‘I change opinion’; ‘change one’s behaviour’ in class. Greek (M.). In Plato (Euthydemus 279c) μ. means ‘I reconsider’, and is used by Socrates after he realises he has made an (embarrassing) intellectual error.
* In the NT the noun μετάνοια means ‘penitence, repentance, conversion’ (M.).
Cf. μεταμορφόω, ῶ (Roman imperial period), ‘I change’ (in shape or form), which at the literal level contrasts with μετανοῶ, ‘I change’ (internally); also cf. the classical μετασχηματίζω, ‘Ι transform’ (outwardly).
ἤγγικε: pf. < ἐγγίζω, intrans., ‘I approach, come near’ (Aristotle, koine) (M.).
[18] βάλλοντας ἀμφίβληστρον: βάλλοντας, supplementary part. governed by εἶδε; from βάλλω, ‘I throw, cast’ (cf. Engl. ballistic). ἀμφίβληστρον: ‘net’ (for fishing or hunting), class. Greek.
ἀμφίβληστρον, derived from ἀμφιβάλλω (ἀμφί + βάλλω), recalls a cognate accusative.
[19] δεῦτε ὀπίσω μου: the adv. δεῦτε (‘here, over here’, connoting motion) is used with or without a verb (in the imper. or subj.) in commands or exhortations in the plural. δεῦτε < δεῦρ’ ἴτε.
Jesus seems to be giving a command in this verse.
[20] εὐθέως : ‘straightaway’, as also in v. 22.
ἠκολούθησαν αὐτῷ: < ἀκολουθέω, ῶ: ‘Ι follow, accompany’ + dat. obj. Cf. Engl. acolyte.
[22] τὸ πλοῖον: ‘ship’, ‘boat’ (already classical, in koine this noun generally replaces ναῦς). A caique is meant here.
[23] καὶ θεραπεύων πᾶσαν νόσον καὶ πᾶσαν μαλακίαν: θεραπεύων < θεραπεύω, ‘I cure’ (in a medical sense; class. Greek). Cf. Engl. therapy. μαλακία, lit., ‘softness’, means ‘weakness, infirmity’ (class. Greek). πᾶσαν (‘every’), repeated twice, leaves no doubt about the comprehensiveness of Christ’s cures.
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 