Matthew 21:35

Mat 21:35. Ἔδειραν, they beat) The LXX. generally put ἐκδρέω, to skin off, only once δέρω, to skin, for the Hebrew פּשט in the sense of to flay. They never use the verb otherwise. The Old Vocabulary renders the Latin “excorio” (to skin) by the Greek, ἀποδέρω. But δαίρω signifies to beat in Arrian, B. iii., and Epictetus, ch. xix. and xxii. Whence Suidas and Favorinus draw a clear distinction between the two verbs, δέρω and δαίρω. Hesychius also renders δείραντες by ἐκδείραντες, and ἔδειραν by ἐξέδειραν, which he further explains by ἐξεδερμάτησαν, they flayed. Old glosses, however, render δέρω by τύπτω, to beat: and Aristophanes, in the Wasps (ed. Dindorf, 485), says, Ἤ δέδοκταί μοι δέρεσθαι καὶ δέρειν δἰ ἡμέρας, “I have indeed determined to be beaten, and to beat all the day long,”—where the Scholiast says, δέρεσθαι and δέρειν” are for τύπτεσθαι (to be beaten). In fact, the verbs, κεφαλαιόω (to capitate), τραχηλίζω (to jugulate), γαστρίζω (to stomachize), and thus also δέρω (to skin or hide), have a wide signification, implying the infliction of injury on the head, throat, stomach, or skin respectively, either by removing them altogether, or else by striking them. The desire to avoid ambiguity induced the later Greeks to write either δέρω or δαὶρω, and thence, in this passage, ἔδῃραν.[937]

[937] So the uncial Cod. U, etc.—ED.

Ἔδειραν—ἀπέκτειναν—ἐλιθοβόλησαν, beat—slew—stoned) An ascending climax, in which the third degree is an atrocious species of the second; cf. Mar 12:3-4, and Luk 20:10-12, where a greater number of intermediate degrees occurs.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 21:35 . λαβόντες οἱ γ ., etc. The husbandmen treat the messengers in the most barbarous and truculent manner: beating, killing, stoning to death; highly improbable in the natural sphere, but another instance in which parables have to violate natural probability in order to describe truly men’s conduct in the spiritual sphere. On ἐδείραν Kypke re-remarks: the verb δέρειν for verberare is so rare in profane writers that some have thought that for ἔδειραν should be read ἔδῃραν , from δαίρω .

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one--see Jer 37:15; Jer 38:6.

and killed another--see Jer 26:20-23.

and stoned another--see Ch2 24:21. Compare with this whole verse Mat 23:37, where our Lord reiterates these charges in the most melting strain.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 35. Beat one] εδειραν, took his skin off, flayed him: probably alluding to some who had been excessively scourged.

Killed another, &c.] Rid themselves of the true witnesses of God by a variety of persecutions.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(35) Beat one, and killed another.—The language paints the general treatment of the prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah the son of Jehoiada, being the most conspicuous instances. The language of our Lord in Mat_23:30; Mat_23:34, not less than that of Heb_11:37, implies that the prophets, as a class, had no light or easy task, and were called upon, one by one, to suffer persecution for the faithful exercise of their office.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35. beat one, and killed another, and stoned another] See ch. Mat_23:35.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the husbandmen took his servants,.... They seized and laid hold of them in a rude and violent manner: so far were they from treating these servants with respect, as they ought to have done; considering whose they were, from whom they came, and upon what account; and also so far from delivering to them the fruit due to their master, or excusing their inability to make a suitable return, as might be expected, they use them very roughly:

and beat one; either with the fist, as Jeremiah was struck by Pashur, the son of Immer, the priest, one of these husbandmen,

Jer 20:1 and as Micaiah was smitten on the cheek by Zedekiah, the son of Chenaanah, the false prophet, Ch2 18:23 or with a scourge, and may refer to the punishment of beating with forty stripes, save one, by which the skin was flayed off; as the word here signifies; for some of these servants had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings,

Heb 11:36. And killed another; that is, with the sword. There were four kinds of death in the power of the sanhedrim, of which this is one, and what follows is another; and were these, stoning, burning, killing (i.e. beheading with the sword), and strangling: the manner of executing this punishment here expressed, was this:

"They cut off the person's head "with a sword", in the manner the government orders it. R. Judah says, this is indecent (i.e. to cut off his head standing, they do not do so), but they put his head upon a block, and cut it off with an axe; they reply to him, there is no death more abominable than this (x).

So the prophets, in the time of Elijah, were killed with the sword,

Kg1 19:14 see also Dan 11:33.

And stoned another; as they did Zechariah, Ch2 24:21 and doubtless many others; since Jerusalem had the character of killing the prophets, and stoning them that were sent unto her, Mat 23:37 these seemed such that were stoned, but not killed; but as Mark says, were wounded in the head with the stones thrown at them, and shamefully handled, and sadly abused,

(x) Misn. Sanhedrin, c. 7. sect. 1, 3.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

Ver. 35. Beat one, and killed another] This is the world’s wages; this is the measure God’s ministers meet with from the sons of men; never have any, out of hell, suffered more than such. Persecution is, Evangelii genius, saith Calvin, the evil angel that dogs the Gospel at the heels. And, Praedicare nihil aliud est, quam devivare in se furorem, &c., saith Luther. To preach faithfully is to get the ill will of all the world, and to subject a man’s self to all kind of deaths and dangers.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35. Beat… killed… stoned — The word beat signifies literally, in the Greek, to flay or skin, which in this case is supposed to be done by beating. To stone signifies to stone to death, the Jewish mode of death for idolatry and blasphemy. Lev_22:22; Lev_24:16. We have then this climax: that the Jews abused, slew, and executed as enemies of God, the prophets whom God had sent.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Took his servants. The exaction of rent in kind has always been a fruitful source of dispute, fraud, and discontent. In the Jewish Church God"s messengers had been ill treated and put to death. (see Mat_23:34-37) "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?" cried St. Stephen; "and they have slain them which showed before the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been the betrayers and murderers". (Act_7:52) Beat... killed... stoned. A climax of iniquity and guilt. The statement is probably meant to be general; some, however, endeavour to individualize it, referring the "beating" to the treatment of Jeremiah, (Jer_20:1, Jer_20:2) "killing" to Isaiah, (Heb_11:37, "sawn asunder "stoning" to Zechariah son of Jehoiada. (2Ch_24:20, 2Ch_24:21) Doubtless, the incidents in such persecutions were often repeated.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

35. And the husbandmen took his servants. According to the obvious design of the whole parable, this is a lively figure for the undutiful and violent reception often given to the prophets or other divine messengers, and the refusal to obey their message. See Matt. 23:29–31,34,37; Luke 11:47–50; 13:33, 34. Compare 1 Thess. 2:15; Rev. 16:6; 18:24. Killed another. Some of the prophets were not merely maltreated, but actually put to death.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Connecting Statement:

Jesus continues telling a parable. (See: Parables)

his servants

"the landowner's servants"

translationWords

servant

vine

stone

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

35. ὃν μὲν ἔδειραν, ὃν δὲ ἀπέκτειναν, κ.τ.λ. See ch. Mat 23:35.

δέρειν, (1) ‘to flay,’ (2) then, from the effect of scourging, ‘to beat.’ In the second sense it is classical only in the comic poets; cp. Vulgar English ‘to hide.’ In Act 16:22 the Prætors bid the lictors ‘scourge’ (ῥαβδίζειν) Paul, who, referring to the outrage, says: δεἱραντες ἡμᾶς δημοαιᾳ (Mat 21:37). λιθοβολεῖν, in LXX. for classical λεύειν.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(M) 35. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.] Mk. has: “And they took him, and beat him, and sent him away empty. And again he sent to them another servant; and him they—(?), and shamefully treated. And another he sent, and him they killed.”

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.