Matthew 23:1-12
23:1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples,
23:2 “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat;
23:3 therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach.
23:4 They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them.
23:5 They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long.
23:6 They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues,
23:7 and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi.
23:8 But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students.
23:9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father–the one in heaven.
23:10 Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah.
23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
23:12 All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.
Matthew 23:1-12
[1]Τότε ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς ἐλάλησε τοῖς ὄχλοις καὶ τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ
[2]λέγων· ἐπὶ τῆς Μωσέως καθέδρας ἐκάθισαν οἱ γραμματεῖς καὶ οἱ Φαρισαῖοι.
[3]πάντα οὖν ὅσα ἐὰν εἴπωσιν ὑμῖν τηρεῖν, τηρεῖτε καὶ ποιεῖτε, κατὰ δὲ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν μὴ ποιεῖτε· λέγουσι γάρ, καὶ οὐ ποιοῦσι.
[4]δεσμεύουσι γὰρ φορτία βαρέα καὶ δυσβάστακτα καὶ ἐπιτιθέασιν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὤμους τῶν ἀνθρώπων, τῷ δὲ δακτύλῳ αὐτῶν οὐ θέλουσι κινῆσαι αὐτά.
[5]πάντα δὲ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν ποιοῦσι πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι τοῖς ἀνθρώποις. πλατύνουσι γὰρ τὰ φυλακτήρια αὐτῶν καὶ μεγαλύνουσι τὰ κράσπεδα τῶν ἱματίων αὐτῶν,
[6]φιλοῦσι δὲ τὴν πρωτοκλισίαν ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις καὶ τὰς πρωτοκαθεδρίας ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς
[7]καὶ τοὺς ἀσπασμοὺς ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς καὶ καλεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων ῥαββὶ ῥαββί.
[8]ὑμεῖς δὲ μὴ κληθῆτε ῥαββί· εἷς γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν ὁ διδάσκαλος, ὁ Χριστός· πάντες δὲ ὑμεῖς ἀδελφοί ἐστε.
[9]καὶ πατέρα μὴ καλέσητε ὑμῶν ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς· εἷς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ πατήρ ὑμῶν, ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
[10]μηδὲ κληθῆτε καθηγηταί· εἷς γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν ὁ καθηγητής, ὁ Χριστός.
[11]ὁ δὲ μείζων ὑμῶν ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος.
[12]ὅστις δὲ ὑψώσει ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται, καὶ ὅστις ταπεινώσει ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται.
Comments
The syntax of vv. 8, 9 & 10 may be of especial importance for theologians.
[1] ἐλάλησε: λαλῶ (έω), ‘speak, talk’. EDNT s.v., p. 335 nicely sums up the semantic shift that seems to have occurred already in the classical period: ‘The original meaning of λαλέω was babble, stammer; it was onomatopoeic for the unassisted expression of small children. Then transferred to adult usage, it came to mean chatter, prattle, in deliberate contrast to reasonable speech (➣ λέγω). However, already in classical Greek λαλέω, like λέγω, meant speak, talk.’ λαλῶ in the sense ‘speak’ continues in use in certain modern Greek dialects, e.g. Cypriot.
[2] ἐκάθισαν: καθίζω, ‘I seat myself’, hence ‘sit’. ‘They sat’; this is a somewhat ingressive/ inceptive aor., hence ‘they sat and are still sitting’. (Cf. Blass-Debrunner-Funk, p. 171, par. 332.1 for the parallel ἔμεινεν ἐκεῖ, ‘he settled down there… without returning.’) Harrington op. cit., p. 320 ad loc. considers this usage of the aor. a Semitism.
[3] ἐὰν εἴπωσιν ὑμῖν τηρεῖν: λέγω + pers. dat. (‘to someone’) + inf. is cl. Gk for ‘tell, command one to do’ (LSJ s.v. III.5).
[5] τὰ φυλακτήρια: φυλακτήριον, το, ‘amulet, talisman’ (attested in this sense in the time of Jesus); but here = ‘Judaic phylactery’. This is ‘the earliest use of that term’ (Harrington op. cit., p. 320).
[6] πρωτοκλισίαν ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις: the cmpdπρωτοκλισία, ἡ, ‘first place for reclining, the place of honour at a dinner table, beside the (Harrington op. cit., p. 321 ad loc.). The pass. κλίνομαι & κατακλίνομαι (< κλίνω, cf. Engl. in-cline) = ‘recline at meals’ (in cl. Gk). In Plato’s Symposium 175e Socrates reclines on a couch next to the host Agathon. In an Athenian symposium each couch –or bed—normally accommodates two and has its own food-table. The beds are arranged in a circle or rectangle (K. J. Dover, Plato Symposium, CUP, 1980, p.11.) The set-up envisaged in our passage is pretty much the same. See French op. cit., 857n14: ‘The scene is a Roman-style triclinium arrangement in which the guests recline on couches around a table.’
πρωτοκαθεδρίας ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς: the cmpd πρωτοκαθεδρία, ἡ, ‘place of honour; best seat (in a synagogue)’ (EDNT s.v., p.187). This is a term unknown in ‘pagan’ writings. A near- synonym is the classical term προεδρία, ἡ, referring to the privilege of a front seat at a public event, e.g. at public performances and gatherings, and also concretely to the ‘front seat’. The privilege was reserved for foreign dignitaries and distinguished citizens.
[8] εἷς γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν ὁ διδάσκαλος, ὁ Χριστός: see on v. 10 below.
[9] εἷς γάρ ἐστιν ὁ πατήρ ὑμῶν, ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς: see on v. 10 immed. below.
[10] εἷς γὰρ ὑμῶν ἐστιν ὁ καθηγητής, ὁ Χριστός: the numeral εἷς, the first word of the sentence, is emphatic and theologically significant. The possessive pers. pron. ὑμῶν (‘of you [pl.]’) is construed with ὁ καθηγητής, a post-class. term, lit., ‘guide’; fig., ‘exemplary, authoritative teacher, professor’ (see EDNT s.v., p. 222). καθηγητής in modern Greek is used of a high school or university professor. This and vv. 8 and 9 are parallel sentences that suggest a parallelism between διδάσκαλος-Χριστός, πατήρ ὁ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, and καθηγητής- Χριστός.
[12] ὅστις δὲ ὑψώσει ἑαυτὸν ταπεινωθήσεται, καὶ ὅστις ταπεινώσει ἑαυτὸν ὑψωθήσεται:a statement of paradox, of reversal, aptly formulated as a chiasmus (A ~ B, b~ a). Οn paradox see, e.g., J. Petropoulos, Religious paradox and aporia’, Nuntius Antiquus 13.ii (2017), 39-57 [also available online:http://www.periodicos.letras.ufmg.br/index.php/nuntius_antiquus/issue/view/619].
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 