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.
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.
Comments
Τhe imperative μετανοεῖτε [17] is of particular interest. Mετανοῶ, in cl. Gk, 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’ (cl. Gk). Cf. Engl. anchorite.
[13] κατῴκησεν εἰς Καπερναοὺμ: aor. < κατοικέω, ῶ, ‘I settle, dwell’ (cl. Gk).
εἰς Καπερναοὺμ: koine syntax; in cl. Gk it would be ἐν Καπερναοὺμ.
[16] καθήμενος ἐν σκότει: ‘seated in darkness’. The masc. σκότος, -ου is already attested in the Iliad, meaning ‘gloom, darkness’ (of death); see LSJ s.v., I.2,3. 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, ap
Insights into Biblical Greek Grammar and Syntax 