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Matthew Chapter 8

Matthew Chapter 8

(Underlining marks a quotation/allusion. [Brackets] mark a textual variant.fnWhen two (or more) different copies of an original manuscript disagree on any given word or phrase — addition, omission, word order, etc. — the disagreement is called a "textual variant". ~99% of existing textual variants are either minor (like spelling), obviously not original (often appearing only in a few late manuscripts), or don't affect meaning (like "Jesus Christ" vs. "Christ Jesus"). The ~1% that remain do not affect any central doctrine of Christianity. The BOS Bible only marks significant textual variants that affect the meaning; smaller variants that do not affect meaning won't be marked for readability.  "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.fn"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love".  However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings — agapé centers on choice and behavior.  It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings.  (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".)  Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé".  Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing.  It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. An asterisk (*) indicates a verb in the Greek perfect tense.fnThe Greek perfect tense signifies a completed action in the past with a result and/or an ongoing state that extends into the present. For example, Hebrews 12:2 says in part: "He *sat down at the right hand of the throne of God"; the verb for "sat" is in the perfect tense, indicating that He sat down once (completed action in the past), and also that He remains seated until the present moment (ongoing state).)

Glossary

Note: this glossary is currently a work in progress; entries that do not expand will be added as time permits

Ages/of ages
“ages” and “of ages” are the Greek words “αἰών” (aión, noun form) and “αἰώνιος” (aiónios, adjective form) respectively.  The adjective form is typically translated “eternal”, as in “eternal life”. The noun form refers to a whole time period, (Keizer, “Life Time Entirety”) such as a person’s lifetime (an older Greek sense), an age/epoch (e.g., 2 Cor 4:4), or even time in its entirety, making its meaning similar to “forever” (e.g., John 14:16). The adjective form is similarly context-dependent, and the New Testament context often dictates a meaning similar to “forever” (but not always: e.g. 2 Tim 1:9).  Alternately or additionally, it can indicate the quality of a time period — indicating greatness/severity — like the English idiom “of ages” (e.g. “battle of the ages”). Thus, “of ages” was chosen for the adjective form so that both the time and quality senses remain visible.

Clean/unclean

Covenant

Faith

Flesh

Forgive/forgiveness

Grace
The Greek word is “χάρις” (charis), most often translated “grace”, “gift”, or “thanks”. It was a technical term in the 1st century, referring to the Patronage system in place. The Patron (from “pater” = “father”) would give gifts or do favors (both called a charis). A charis was always given/done freely to anyone who would be grateful for it, and this person then became a “client” of the patron. The clients were expected to reciprocate by telling everyone what the patron had done, and offering their services to the patron whenever the patron needed them. This reciprocal act was also called “charis”, and the ones who reciprocated were “being faithful” by giving thanks in this way. Both were done out of gratitude, not legal obligation. A client who wasn’t faithful and grateful probably wouldn’t receive any more charis from his patron, or any other patrons. The patron was responsible for taking care of all his clients, and making sure their needs were met. New Testament usage typically casts God the Father as a Heavenly Patron, to whom Christians should be grateful and faithful because of the gifts He has given us. (e.g. salvation, provision, protection, etc.)

Holy

Justification

Law (Torah)

Make purification

Pure/Impure

Purification offering
In the Old Testament, this is typically the Hebrew “חַטָּ֖את” (khat-tat); in the New Testament, it’s typically “περὶ ἁμαρτίας” (peri hamartias), which is what the Septuagint (an ancient translation of the Old Testament into Greek) used to translate the Hebrew. It’s traditionally translated “sin offering”, but that translation has less support in high-level scholarship. The Hebrew word can mean “sin”, but it can also mean “purification” (e.g. Numbers 8:7). This offering was used to purify uncleanness, whether or not a sin was committed. Thus, it was required even when no sin was committed, such as after childbirth (Leviticus 12:1-8), for certain diseases (Leviticus 14), etc. High-level, peer-reviewed scholarship dedicated to the field (e.g. Milgrom, Levine, Gane, Sklar, Wright, Gorman, etc.) is largely united on the “purification offering” understanding. The BOS Bible has aligned itself with that high-level, peer-reviewed scholarship in its translation.

Ransom

Redemption

Repent/repentance

Righteous/righteousness

Salvation/save

Soul
“soul” is the Greek word “ψυχή/psuché” and Hebrew word “נֶפֶשׁ/nephesh”. The BOS Bible translates these words as “soul” for consistency, and so the full meaning of “soul” isn’t obscured by different translations in different places. They closely overlap in meaning and are typically translated “soul” or “life”. They refer to the animating force of a living thing, and thus can also refer to its life, or to the whole of any person or creature, including animals (e.g. fish in Revelation 8:9 and Genesis 1). They are frequently used as an emphatic reference to a person’s whole self, including longings, deep emotions, and inner life. (e.g. Ps 42:11) Note: while “soul” has significant overlap in meaning with “spirit”, the words have distinct meanings and usages throughout scripture. For example, lions tear apart a soul in Psalm 7:2, and a “dead soul” is mentioned in Leviticus 21:11; “spirit” has no analogous usages, and it returns to God at death (Ecc 12:7; Acts 7:59). The adjective forms of soul and spirit are contrasted in 1 Corinthians 2:14-15; see also: Hebrews 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23.

Sin

Click to Collapse the Glossary
Jesus heals a leper
  1. And Him having come down from the mountain, many crowds followed Him.
  2. And behold, a leperfnA “leper” is a person suffering from “leprosy” (also called “Hansen’s Disease” in modern times).  The disease is caused by the bacteria “M. leprae“.  Symptoms includes the outbreak of unsightly skin sores and nerve damage. It was a great social stigma in the ancient world and remains so to this day in many places.  The Jews believed that leprosy was caused by sin.  Therefore they believed that only the promised messiah would be able to cure leprosy, because only God could forgive sin.  The leper coming to Jesus could be construed as an act of faith on his part. approached and was bowing down at His feet, saying: “Lord, if you want to, you are able to cleanse me.”
  3. And having extended His hand, He touched him saying, “I want to, be cleansed.”  And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
  4. And Jesus tells him, “See that you tell no one, but go show yourself to the priest and offer the gift that Moses commanded as evidence for them.”
The Centurion’s faith
  1. And with Him having entered Capernaum, a centurionfn“centurion” was a rank in the Roman military. A normal centurion was in charge of 80 soldiers, plus ~20 support staff. However, there were different levels of centurion.  The highest ranking centurions could be in charge of up to 1000 men. approached Him, imploring Him
  2. and saying: “Lord, my servant boy has been lying sick in the house, paralyzed and horribly tormented.
  3. And He tells him: “I will go heal him.”
  4. But answering, the centurion was saying: “Lord, I’m not worthy that you might enter under my roof.  But only say the word and my servant boy will be healed.
  5. “For I’m also a man under authority, having soldiers under me.  And I tell this one “Go”, and he goes. And to another “Come”, and he comes.  And to my slave “Do this”, and he does it.”
  6. And having heard this, Jesus marveled, and He told the men following Him: “Amen I tell you: I found no one in Israel with such great faith.
  7. “And, I tell you that many from the east and the west will arrive and will recline at the tablefn“recline” is literal.  In ancient times, they laid down on a low table to eat. Thus, “reclining” in those days is similar to “sitting down” today to share a meal. with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of the heavens.
  8. “But the sons of this kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
  9. And Jesus told the centurion, “Go, let it happen to you just as you believed.”  And his servant boy was healed in that hour.
Jesus heals many
  1. And having come into Peter’s house, Jesus saw hisfn“his” that is, Peter’s mother-in-law. mother-in-law *lying sick with a fever.
  2. And He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and was serving Him.
  3. And when it became evening, they brought many demon-possessed men to Him and He cast out the spirits with a word, and He healed all having a sickness,
  4. so what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet it might be fulfilled, saying: “He took away our infirmities and carried away our diseases.”fnquotation/allusion to Isaiah 53:4
  5. And having seen a great crowd around Him, Jesus gave orders to depart to the other side of the sea.
The Cost of following Jesus
  1. And having approached Him, one scribe told Him: “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.”
  2. And Jesus tells him: “The foxes have dens and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere He might rest His head.”
  3. And another of His disciples said to Him: “Lord, first allow me to go and bury my father.”
  4. But Jesus tells him: “Follow Me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Jesus Calms the Storm
  1. And having stepped into the boat, His disciples followed Him.
  2. And behold, a great storm began on the sea so that the boat is covered by the waves, but He was sleeping.
  3. And having approached Him, they woke Him up saying: “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”
  4. And He tells them: “Why are you fearful?  O, you men of little faith.”  Then having woken up, He scolded the winds and the sea, and a great calm began.
  5. Then the men marveled, saying: “What kind of manfn“What kind of man” is one word in Greek.  It can also be mean “from what country/region?”  And in that case is used to inquire about someone’s origins.  Thus, they could be asking where He’s from. is this?  Because even the winds and the sea listen to Him.”
Demons sent into pigs
  1. And having come to the other side of the sea to the land of the Gadarenes,fnThe Gadarenes lived in the city Gadara, which was south-east of the Sea of Galilee.  It was an important Hellenized (Greek) city, and one of the ten cities of the Decapolis. two demon-possessed men met Him after coming out of the tombs.  They were very violent, so someone isn’t able to pass through that way.
  2. And behold, they cried out saying: “What’s between you and us, Son of God?  Did you come here to torment us before the proper season?”
  3. Now, far away from them was a large herd of pigs feeding.
  4. So the demons were imploring Him, saying: “If you cast us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”
  5. And He told them “Go.”  And having gone out, they went into the pigs.  And behold, all of the herd dashed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.
  6. Now, the men feeding them fled.  And having gone into the city, they reported all of this, even about the demon-possessed men.
  7. And behold, all of the city went out to meet Jesus.  And having seen Him, they begged that He might depart from their region.fn“region” is literally “regions”

 

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