Matthew 27:16

27:16 notorious prisoner . . . named Barabbas: Elsewhere he is called a “revolutionary” (Mark 15:7; John 18:40), a term that also denotes a robber or insurrectionist (see Luke 23:19). To the zealots, Barabbas was a hero.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 27:16. Ἐπίσημον, notorious) A well-known robber, notorious for the gravest crime.[1185] And yet he was preferred to Jesus. How great contempt! Soon after, in the ignominy of punishment, He was preferred to two other robbers.—λεγόμενον Βαραββᾶν, called Barabbas) who was much talked about. It is probable that Barabbas survived long as a monument of the history of Jesus. Barabbas signifies “son of his parent;” he had been longed for, loved, spoiled, by his parent.

[1185] One who was, moreover, guilty of that very crime (treason) of which Jesus was accused; nay, even guilty of a worse crime. However, it was by the death of Him who was the Just One that those very persons, who had deserved death, are set free.—Harm., p. 550.

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

Mat_27:16 Εἶχον] The subject is to be found in ὁ ἡγεμών, Mat_27:15, that is to say: the procurator and his soldiers; for, like Jesus, Barabbas had also to be examined before Pilate before his case could be finally disposed of. He was lying in the prison in the praetorium awaiting execution, after having received sentence of death.

Concerning this robber and murderer Jesus Barabbas (see the critical remarks), nothing further is known. The name Barabbas occurs very frequently even in the Talmud; Lightfoot, p. 489. There is the less reason, therefore, for thinking, with Olshausen, that the characteristic significance of the name בַּר אַבָּא, fathers son (i.e. probably the son of a Rabbi, Mat_23:9), in close proximity with the person of Jesus, is an illustration of the saying: Ludit in humanis divina potentia rebus. Still it is possible that the accidental similarity in the name Jesus (see the critical remarks) may have helped to suggest to Pilate the release of Barabbas as an alternative, though, after all, the circumstance that the latter was a most notorious criminal undoubtedly swayed him most. For the baser the criminal, the less would Pilate expect them to demand his release. But they would sooner have asked the devil himself to be liberated, Luthers gloss.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 27:16 . εἶχον : they, the people ( ὄχλῳ , Mat 27:15 ). ἐπίσημον : pointing not to the magnitude of his crime, but to the fact that for some reason or other he was an object of popular interest. Βαραββᾶν , accusative of Βαραββᾶς = son of a father, or with double ρ , and retaining the v at the end, Bar-Rabban = son of a Rabbi. Jerome in his Commentary on Mt. mentions that in the Hebrew Gospel the word was interpreted filius magistri eorum . Origen mentions that in some MSS. this man bore the name Jesus , an identity of name which makes the contrast of character all the more striking. But the reading has little authority.

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

Verse 16. A notable prisoner - Barabbas.] This person had, a short time before, raised an insurrection in Jerusalem, in which it appears, from Mr 15:7, some lives were lost. In some MSS., and in the Armenian and Syriac Hieros., this man has the surname of Jesus. Professor Birch has discovered this reading in a Vatican MS., written in 949, and numbered 354, in which is a marginal note which has been attributed to Anastasius, bishop of Antioch, and to Chrysostom, which asserts that in the most ancient MSS. the passage was as follows: - Τινα θελετε απο των δυω απολυσω υμιν, ΙΝ τον βαραββαν, η ΙΝ τον λεγομενον ΧΝ: Which of the two DO ye wish me to release unto you, Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? As Jesus, or Joshua, was a very common name among the Jews, and as the name of the father was often joined to that of the son, as Simon Barjonah, Simon, son of Jonah; so it is probable it was the case here, Jesus Barabba, Jesus, son of Abba, or Abbiah. If this name were originally written as above, which I am inclined to believe, the general omission of JESUS in the MSS. may be accounted for from the over zealous scrupulosity of Christian copyists, who were unwilling that a murderer should, in the same verse, be honoured with the name of the Redeemer of the world. See Birch in New Test.

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

(16) A notable prisoner, called Barabbas.—There is considerable, though not quite decisive, evidence in favour of the reading which gives “Jesus Barabbas” as the name of the prisoner. The name Bar-abbas (=son of Abbas, or of “a father”), like Bar-timseus and Bartholomew, was a patronymic, and it would be natural enough that the man who bore it should have another more personal name. We can easily understand (1) that the commonness of the name Jesus might lead to his being known to his comrades and to the multitude only or chiefly as Barabbas; and (2) that the reverence which men felt in after years for the Name which is above every name, would lead them to blot out, if it were possible, the traces that it had once been borne by the robber-chief. Of Barabbas St. John (Joh_18:40) tells us that he was a robber; St. Luke (Luk_23:19) and St. Mark (Mar_15:7) that he had taken a prominent part with some insurgents in the city, and that he, with them, had committed murder in the insurrection. The last recorded tumult of this kind was that mentioned above (Note on Mat_27:2), as connected with Pilate’s appropriation of the Corban. It is so far probable that this was the tumult in which Barabbas had taken part; and the supposition that he did so has at least the merit of explaining how it was that he came to be the favourite hero both of the priests and people. As the term Abba (=father) was a customary term of honour, as applied to a Rabbi (Mat_23:9), it is possible that the sobriquet by which he was popularly known commemorated a fact in his family history of which he might naturally be proud. “Jesus, the Rabbi’s son “was a cry that found more favour than “Jesus the Nazarene.”

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

16. Barabbas] = “Son of a father,” or perhaps, “Son of a Rabbi.” The reading, “Jesus Barabbas” (Mat_27:17), which appears in some copies, is rightly rejected by the best editors. As Alford remarks, Mat_27:20 is fatal to the insertion. St Mark and St Luke add that Barabbas had committed murder in the insurrection.

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 they had then a notable prisoner,.... The Vulgate Latin reads, "he had"; that is, Pilate, who had committed him to prison, and under whose power he was: for the Jews had lost all authority of this kind, at least in capital cases. This prisoner is called a "notable" one; that is, a famous, or rather an infamous one: he was a thief, and a robber, and had been guilty of sedition; had made, or joined with others in an insurrection, and had committed murder in it; and so, on more accounts than one, was deserving of death: nor could it be otherwise expected by himself, or others, but that he should die: his name was

called Barabbas; that is, as the Syriac version reads it, , which signifies "the son of a father": a father's child that was spoiled and ruined, and a child of his father the devil. This was a name common among the Jews. Frequent mention is made of R. Abba (h), and Bar Abba is the son of Abba: hence we read of Abba Bar Abba (i), and of R. Samuel Bar Abba (k) and of R. Simeon Bar Abba (l), and of R. Chijah Bar Abba (m). In Munster's Hebrew Gospel it is read "Bar Rabbah, the son of a master"; and so Jerom says, that in the Gospel according to the Hebrews it is interpreted, "the son of their master"; but the former is the right name, and the true sense of the word. The Ethiopic version adds, "the prince", or "chief of robbers, and all knew him"; and the Arabic, instead of a "prisoner", reads, a "thief", as he was.

(h) Juchasin, fol. 70. 1, &c. (i) T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 18. 2. & Hieros Pesachim, fol. 32. 1. & Juchasin, fol. 104. 1. (k) T. Hieros. Pesachim, fol. 32. 1. (l) T. Hieros. Succa, fol. 53. 3. Juchasin, fol. 105. 1. (m) T. Hieros. Succa, fol, 55. 3. Juchasin, fol. 91. 2.

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

16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas.

Ver. 16. A notable prisoner, called Barabbas] That is, by interpretation, his father’s son, his white son, his darling, his tidling, {a} whom he had cockered and not crossed from his youth. Such children are often undone, as Absalom, Amnon, and Adonijah were by their parents’ indulgence. How many a Barabbas, brought to the gallows, blameth his fond father, and haply curseth him in hell!

{a} A pampered or spoiled child; a darling, pet; a young, delicate, or puny child or animal, needing special care; a weakling, ‘dilling’. ŒD

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.

16. A notable prisoner — A famous outlaw. Mark says that he had raised “an insurrection,” and that his adherents, who “had committed murder in the insurrection,” were also, like himself, under arrest and in prison. As they probably lived by plunder, Barabbas is called “a robber.” As a fierce and brave Jewish patriot, he had become notable or famous among the populace. He was, perhaps, like Robin Hood among the old English, hateful to the government but popular with the masses.

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

They had then a notable prisoner. The plural verb must refer to the multitude, to whose class the man belonged. The Vulgate, with Origen, reads, "he had," habebat, referring to Pilate, whose prisoner he was. The man was notorious; as St. Mark tells us, "He lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, men who had committed murder in the insurrection." We have no account elsewhere of this particular rising, nor of its leader, but such commotions were very common, and under the guise of political aims were utilized for purposes of robbery and assassination. Called Barabbas. The word means "Son of the father," which some explain "Son of a rabbi," which is improbable; and it is a question whether this was his real name, or one applied to him with reference to his pretensions to being "a political anti-Christ hideous caricature of the true Jesus, the Son of the eternal Father." It is a strange fact that in some (not very trustworthy) manuscripts the name is given as Jesus Barabbas, which affords a remarkable antithesis in Pilate"s question in the following verse, "Wilt ye that I release Jesus Barabbas or Jesus called Christ?" There can be no reasonable doubt that the prefix is not genuine, but has crept into some texts inadvertently.

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

16. A notable prisoner. A leader in an insurrection in which he had committed murder (Mark and Luke). Barabbas. The word means “son of a father.” Some have made him a type of the guilty human race which is released from punishment by the substitution of the innocent Christ.

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.

16. Origen notes that in some Codices Ἰησοῦν was read before λεγόμενον in this verse and before Βαραββᾶν in the next. There is, however, no good evidence for the insertion, and (as Tregelles remarks) Mat 27:20; Mat 27:26 are fatal to it. Possibly, according to the same critic, the reading arose from the repetition in an uncial of the last letters of ὑμῖν, which would appear as IN and so resemble the ordinary contraction for Ἰησοῦν.

16. Βαραββᾶν = ‘Son of a father,’ or perhaps ‘Son of a Rabbi.’ The reading, Ἰησοῦν Βαραββᾶν, which appears in some copies, is rightly rejected by the best editors; see critical notes. As Alford remarks, Mat 27:20 is fatal to the insertion. St Mark and St Luke add that Barabbas had committed murder in the insurrection.

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.

16.] The subject of εἶχον, as of ἤθελον above, is the ὄχλος. He was one of them, so they had him. The name Barabbas, בַּר אַבָּא, ‘son of his father,’ was not an uncommon one. The plays on this name Barabbas (e.g. τὸν υἱὸν τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν, τοῦ διαβόλου, ἐξῃτήσαντο.… Theophylact, see also Olshausen in loc. vol. ii. p. 507) are utterly unworthy of serious exegesis. It does not appear why this man was ἐπίσημος. The murderers in the insurrection in which he was involved were many (Mark, ver. 7).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(M) 16. And they had then a prisoner of note, named Jesus Barabbas.] Mk. has: “And one called Barabbas was bound with the rebels who had committed murder in the revolt. And the multitude went up, and began to ask (that he would do) as he was doing for them.” See Gould and Swete on Mar 15:7.

16, 17. S1 1* 118 209* add Ἰησοῦν before Βαραββᾶν in v. 16, and Ἰησοῦν τόν before Βαραββᾶν in v. 17. For the reading, see Burkitt’s excellent note, Evangelion Da Mephkarreshe, ii. 277. The reading was known to Origen, who says that it was not found in many copies, forsitan recte ut ne nomen Jesu conveniat alicui in iniquorum Origen’s negative testimony, that it was found in some copies, and his unwillingness to accept it, is almost decisive proof in favour of its genuineness. It is accepted by Burkitt, Zahn, Merx. But see WH.

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