Matthew 25:38

Greek (Tischendorf 8th ed.)

English Translation

When did we see you as a stranger, and take you in; or naked, and clothe you?

World English Bible · Public Domain

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ξένον

xénos

G3581

“stranger”

Adjective, Accusative, Singular, Masculine

Appears 14× in the Greek New Testament
First appears at Matthew 25:35

Full Thayer's Definition

Origin: apparently a primary word

TDNT: 05:01,7

1. a foreigner, a stranger a. alien (from a person or a thing) b. without the knowledge of, without a share in c. new, unheard of 2. one who receives and entertains another hospitably a. with whom he stays or lodges, a host

About this verse

These counts appear in no published source. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged text and Lemma’s own curated glosses. What Lemma adds →

11: words
10: distinct lemmas
Gospels: section

Notable vocabulary

The rarest word here is ξένον stranger G3581 — appearing just 14 times in the whole Greek New Testament.

Shared distinctive vocabulary

ξένον stranger G3581 occurs in 14 verses of the Greek New Testament. Also found in:

Repetition

A word recurs within this verse:

καὶ and G2532 ×2

Commentary

Notes on Matthew 25:38 from classic Christian and Jewish commentators (each source and its license shown beneath its notes). The classic Christian expositions comment on the surrounding passage and are grouped to its opening verse, so a note may address several verses; the Jewish commentaries on the Tanakh (Rashi and others) are per-verse, so they appear only where the commentator wrote on this verse.

Lemma curates 59 commentaries, every one of them public domain or Creative Commons licensed, each selected and text-cleaned for this edition rather than reprinted as found. About our sources →

John Gill's Exposition

When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in?.... As they had never seen him hungry and thirsty, in his own person, though he was both in the days of his flesh, and were ministered to, both by angels, and by good women out of their substance; so they had never seen him a stranger, and took him into their houses; yet they had, seen him hungry and thirsty, and as a stranger in his members, and had done these good offices to him in them, and to them for his sake:

or naked, and clothed thee? for so Christ in person never was, until stripped of his raiment by the soldiers, and officers; but they had seen many of his poor saints without clothing, and had covered their nakedness.

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

Trapp's Complete Commentary

John Trapp

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

Ver. 38. {See Trapp on "Mat 25:37"}

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.

International Critical Commentary

38. When saw we Thee a stranger, and invited Thee in t or naked, and clothed Thee?]

(L)

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

Lesson kit

Teaching starters — assembled from the data on this page, not authored interpretation. Every prompt links to the verse data it draws on. Edit before teaching.

Matthew, in the Gospels, opens this verse with 11 words (10 distinct Greek lemmas). Its most distinctive word is xénos (“stranger”). A historical commentator’s framing appears above. Read the whole chapter for the surrounding context.

Discussion questions

What does “stranger” (xénos) contribute to the verse as a whole?
Matthew 25:35 shares the word «stranger» with this verse. How do the two illuminate each other?
“and” occurs 2× in this one verse. What is the effect of the repetition?
These translations render this verse differently; the difference is in the English rendering, not the original. What questions does that raise?
Reading how John Gill's Exposition and Trapp's Complete Commentary read this verse, where do the two commentators agree and where do they part?

Things to notice

These translations choose different wording for 10 words in this verse.
“and” occurs 2× in this single verse.
10 distinct Greek lemmas span 11 words in this verse.