Matthew 27:7

27:7 Foreigners were Gentiles who died in Jerusalem. An asset whose owner could not be traced was used for public charity. In this instance, unclean money was used to buy an unclean place for unclean people.

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

Mat 27:7. Τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦ κεραμέως, the Potter’s Field) The article denotes that it was well known as such. A potter may have used it to obtain clay from.—εἰς ταφὴν τοῖς ξένοις, to bury strangers in) Thus, even then already did strangers gain more of a footing in Jerusalem: thus also the first possession of Abraham had been a burying-place.

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

Mat_27:7 f. Ἠγόρασαν] It is not said that they did so immediately; but the purchase took place shortly after, according to Act_1:18.

τὸν ἀγρὸν τοῦ κεραμ.] the field of the potter, the field which had previously belonged to some well-known potter. Whether the latter had used the field for the purpose of digging clay, it is impossible to determine.

εἰς ταφὴν τ. ξένοις] as a burying-place for the strangers, namely, such foreign Jews (proselytes included) as happened to die when on a visit to Jerusalem; not Gentiles (Paulus), who, had they been intended, would have been indicated more specifically.

διό] because it had been bought with the τιμὴ αἵματος above (Mat_27:6).

ἀγρὸς αἵματος] חֲקַל דְּמָא, Act_1:18, where, however, the name is traced to a different origin. On the place which in accordance with tradition is still pointed out as the field here referred to, see Robinson, II. p. 178 ff.; Tobler, Topogr.

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 27:7 . τὸν ἀγρὸν τ . κεραμέως , the field of the potter. The smallness of the price has suggested to some (Grotius, e.g. ) that it was a field for potter’s clay got cheap because worked out. But in that case it would naturally be called the field of the potters. ξένοις most take as referring to Jews from other lands dying at Jerusalem at passover time.

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

Strangers and guests, whom the Jews could not abide to be joined unto, no not after they were dead.

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Verse 7. To bury strangers in.] τοις ξενοις, the strangers, probably meaning, as some learned men conjecture, the Jewish strangers who might have come to Jerusalem, either to worship, or on some other business, and died there during their stay. See here, the very money for which the blessed Jesus was sold becomes subservient to the purpose of mercy and kindness! The bodies of strangers have a place of rest in the field purchased by the price at which his life was valued, and the souls of strangers and foreigners have a place of rest and refuge in his blood which was shed as a ransom price for the salvation of the whole world.

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

(7) And they took counsel.—As before, they held a council.

The potter’s field.—In Jer_18:2 we read of the “potter’s house” as being outside the city, probably, from Jer_19:2, in the Valley of Hinnom (Gehenna), on the south side of Jerusalem. It is probable that it had been worked out in course of time, and was now in the state of a disused quarry. It was necessary, now that Roman soldiers were often stationed in the city, and men of all nations came to it, to provide some burial-place for them; but no Jew would admit their bones into the sepulchre of his fathers. On the other hand, every devout Jew would shrink from the thought of burying his dead in the foul and hateful spot which had become the type of the unseen Gehenna. (See Notes on Mat_5:22.) There was, therefore, a subtle fitness of association in the policy which the priests adopted. The place was itself accursed; it was bought with accursed money; it was to be used for the burial of the accursed strangers.

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

7. the potter’s field] Tradition places Aceldama in the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem.

strangers] i. e. Jews of the dispersion, Hellenists and proselytes.

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 took counsel,.... With one another, considered of the matter, and deliberated about it a while; and at last came to a resolution,

and bought with them the potter's field, to bury strangers in: a field of no great value, or it could not have been bought so near Jerusalem for so small a sum as thirty pieces of silver. Grotius's conjecture seems to be a good one, that it was a field the potter had dug up for his use, and had made the most of it; so that it was good for nothing, but for the purpose for which these men bought it, "to bury strangers in": either such as were not of their own nation, as the Roman soldiers, many of which were among them, and who they did not suffer to be buried among them; or proselytes, or such as came from distant parts, at their three festivals, many of whom may be supposed to die at such times: now by this act of humanity in providing for the interment of strangers, they designed, and hoped to have covered their wickedness in bargaining with Judas to betray innocent blood, for this sure of money; but it was so ordered by divine providence, that this became a public and lasting memorial of their sin and infamy: for it follows,

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

7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.

Ver. 7. To bury strangers in] Romans and others, with whom they would have nothing common, no, not so much as a burial place, Isa 65:4-5. God complains of a people that "remain among the graves, and lodge in the monuments; which say, Stand by thyself, come not near to me, for I am holier than thou," &c.; sick they were of a Noli me tangere, Do not touch me, strict in trifles, senseless of foul sins. There are those who tell us, that the nature of this potter’s field is such, as, if a stranger’s body be laid in it, it consumes it to the bone in twenty-four hours; which it doth not to the body of any Jew. This, if it be true, saith one, it seems God would have the earth thus marked to preserve the memory of the bloody money by which it was purchased; and therefore he gave it a virtue to consume strangers’ bodies ere they could corrupt, refusing the Jews; to show how they had lost their privilege to their own land, by crucifying their Lord, and strangers began to be possessed of it. Also, to teach us, that his hope is nearest incorruption, who is the greatest stranger from the sin of the Jews, that is, crucifying Christ.

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.

And they took counsel ... - They consulted among themselves about the proper way to dispose of this money.

And bought with them - In Act 1:18, it is said of Judas that “he purchased a field with the reward of his iniquity.” By the passage in the Acts is meant no more than that he “furnished the means” or “was the occasion” of purchasing the field. It is not of necessity implied that Judas actually made the contract and paid down the money to buy a field to bury strangers in - a thing which would be in itself very improbable, but that it was “by his means” that the field was purchased. It is very frequent in the Scriptures, as well as in other writings, to represent a man as doing that which he is only the cause or occasion of another’s doing. See Act 2:23; Joh 19:1; Mat 27:59-60.

The potter’s field - Probably this was some field well known by that name, which was used for the purpose of making earthen vessels. The price paid for a field so near Jerusalem may appear to be very small; but it is not improbable that it had been worked until the clay was exhausted, and was neither suitable for that business nor for tillage, and was therefore considered as of little value.

To bury strangers in - Jews, who came up from other parts of the world to attend the great feasts at Jerusalem. The high priests, who regarded the “Gentiles” as abominable, would not be inclined to provide a burial-place for them.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Burying-place. this the Pharisees did, as a shew of their charity to strangers; but their intention, according to St. Jerome, was to disgrace Jesus; thus to keep alive in the minds of the people, that he was sold by one of his own disciples, and delivered up to a disgraceful death. (Denis the Carthusian)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

They at last resolve what to do with the money, which was no great sum, for, as we noted before, it exceeded not three pounds fifteen shillings. They would not turn it to their own private use, for (probably) it was before taken out of the treasury; neither would they again return it into the treasury, because it had been made use of as the hire of blood. They therefore agree to buy with it a piece of ground ordinarily known by the name, of

the potter’s field, probably because some potter had digged earth, and thrown the waste of his pot kilns there, so as it was of no great value. This field the vulgar, upon this purchase of it by the priests, called many years after, The field of blood. Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the prophet. The evangelists use this term fulfilled, as I have before noted, in very different senses.

1. Sometimes to express the accomplishment of a prophecy.

2. Sometimes to express the fulfilling of a type, or answering it by the antitype.

3. Sometimes to express an allusion to some other scripture, mentioning some matter of fact of a like nature.

For the text here quoted, we have no such text in the writings of the prophet Jeremiah, which are upon sacred record. Jeremiah indeed did buy a field by order from God, Jer 32:9, to declare his faith in God’s promises for the return of the Jews out of captivity, but he bought it of his uncle Hanameel, and for seventeen pieces of silver; and that he was a potter, or that the field was called by that name, we do not read. The nearest place in the prophets to this text is Zec 11:12,13, And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. It is a very hard text as it lies in the prophet to give a just account of. The prophet was one of them who prophesied after the captivity of Babylon, yet, Zec 11:6, he plainly prophesieth after God’s destruction of the Jews and of Jerusalem. Which destruction being after that of the Chaldeans, to what it should refer, but to the last destruction of the Jews by the Romans, I cannot understand. Zec 11:7, he saith, I will feed the flock of the slaughter, that is, the flock designed for the slaughter, or drawing near to the slaughter, even you, O poor of the flock. Christ came in person to feed the church of the Jews, but they also abhorred him, so that he abhorred them, and resolved to cast them quite off; Zec 11:8,9. So he broke first his staff called Beauty, took away all the glory and beauty of that church. Then, as it were in indignation, he saith, If ye think good, give me my price. What requital will you give me for my labour amongst you? So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. Their selling of Christ to a traitor for so much, signified their high contempt of him. And the Lord said, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord. The evangelist indeed doth not quote the very words of the prophet, but the substance of them. And for my part I think, that the evangelist here by fulfilling meaneth the accomplishment of the prophecy in Zechariah. For I know not what other tolerable sense to make of the prophecy, if we do not say the prophet spake in the person of Christ, foretelling his own coming amongst them, their rejection and contempt of him, and his utter rejection of them; and prophesying, as a piece of their contempt and rejection of him, their selling him to Judas for thirty pieces of silver, (a most contemptible price), and God so ordering it by his providence, that this money should again be brought them, and this potter’s field should be bought with it. So as I think that text was fulfilled here more than by allusion, or as it was typical to this act, and that this act was the very thing which there is prophesied, and here fulfilled. But how Matthew saith this was

spoken by Jeremy the prophet is a harder knot. It is observable that Zechariah hath many things found in Jeremiah, and it is not improbable that the very same thing was prophesied by Jeremiah, though afterward repeated by Zechariah, and only in the writings of Zechariah left upon sacred record. Matthew having now given us an account of the fate of Judas, returneth to our Saviour, carried (as we heard) before Pilate.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Potter’s field — Pottery, or the manufactory of earthenware, was a very ancient art. The remains of it are found among the relics of the most ancient nations. The clay being dug from the surface, for the purposes of pottery, rendered the soil unfit for tillage or other uses, so that it was sold for the small price here paid.

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

They took counsel. They deliberated how to dispose of this blood money. This deliberation may have taken place after the Crucifixion. The potter"s field. The spot was well known at the time. It is traditionally said to have lain on the south of Jerusalem on the hillside across the valley of Hinnom, on what is called the Hill of Evil Counsel. Here is found a tract of clay, which is still used by the potters of the city. In the time of our Lord. the clay probably was considered to be exhausted, and the area, excavated in all directions, and useless for agricultural purposes, was sold for a trifling price. To bury strangers in. The "strangers" are probably not pagans, but foreign Jews and Gentile proselytes, who came to Jerusalem to attend the festival, and died there. Others think that foreigners (Greeks and Romans, etc.) exclusively are meant, the Jews regarding their very presence in the holy city as defilement, and a cemetery purchased by unclean money a fitting spot for their interment. The "field" was set apart in the Crusaders" times as a burial place for pilgrims, and to this day contains a charnel house wherein are deposited the poor and unhonoured dead of Jerusalem.

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

They bought with them the potter's field - Well known, it seems, by that name. This was a small price for a field so near Jerusalem. But the earth had probably been digged for potters' vessels, so that it was now neither fit for tillage nor pasture, and consequently of small value. Foreigners - Heathens especially, of whom there were then great numbers in Jerusalem.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

7. Bought the potter's field. A field that had been used for the purpose of making pottery until it was worthless for other purposes and could be bought cheap. Potters' fields are still found in the Kedron Valley south of the city. To bury strangers in. A burial place for the poor. The Jews usually provided their own tombs. Peter, in Acts 1:18, says that Judas fell down headlong and his bowels gushed out. The common explanation is that he hung himself on a tree overlooking the valley of Hinnom, that the rope gave way, and that he fell headlong upon the rocks below, a distance of forty to sixty feet.

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.

7. τὸν ἀγρὸν κ.τ.λ. Tradition places Aceldama (Act 1:19) in the valley of Hinnom, south of Jerusalem. The Athenians also had their κεραμεικός, the Potters’ Quarter, in the most beautiful suburb of their city, where the illustrious dead were buried.

τοῖς ξένοις. i.e. for the Jews of the dispersion, Hellenists and proselytes. It is a note of the exclusiveness of those Jews whose home was still the Holy Land, that a plot of ground should be set apart for the burial of all who were not par excellence Hebrews. See Php 3:5.

At the time of the Passover, when hundreds of thousands were crowded in a confined space, the question of burying strangers was doubtless urgent.

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.

7. τὸν ἀγρ. τ. κερ.] the field of some well-known potter—purchased at so small a price probably from having been rendered useless for tillage by excavations for clay: see note on Act 1:19.

τοῖς ξ.] not for Gentiles, but for stranger Jews who came up to the feasts.

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

(P) 7. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, for a burial-place for strangers. ]—συμβούλιον λαβόντες] see on 12:14.

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