Matthew 14

Translator Notes

1. The Herod here is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who ruled Galilee and Perea as tetrarch (tetraarchēs, 'ruler of a fourth') from 4 BC to AD 39. He is not a king, though Mark 6:14 loosely calls him one. The noun akoēn ('report, what is heard, fame') indicates that Jesus's reputation has reached the political establishment.

Translator Notes

1. Herod's conclusion reveals a guilty conscience — he leaps to the supernatural explanation that John has been raised (ēgerthē, the same verb used for Jesus's resurrection). The phrase hai dynameis energousin en autō ('the powers are at work in him') suggests Herod believes that death and resurrection have given John supernatural abilities he did not have before. The paidin autou ('his servants') are court attendants.

Translator Notes

1. Matthew now explains Herod's guilt through a flashback. Herodias had been married to Herod's half-brother Philip (not the tetrarch Philip of Luke 3:1 but another son of Herod the Great). The sequence kratēsas... edēsen... apetheto ('having seized... bound... put away') describes a forcible, deliberate imprisonment. According to Josephus (Antiquities 18.5.2), John was imprisoned at the fortress of Machaerus east of the Dead Sea.

Translator Notes

1. The imperfect tense elegen ('was saying, kept saying') indicates repeated confrontation — John did not make this accusation once but persistently. The prohibition is based on Leviticus 18:16 and 20:21, which forbid marriage to a brother's wife while the brother is alive. John spoke truth to power at the cost of his freedom and ultimately his life.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Leviticus 18:16. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

Translator Notes

1. Herod's desire to kill (thelōn apokteinai) is restrained only by political calculation — fear of the crowd (ephobēthē ton ochlon), not moral scruple. The people's recognition of John as a prophet provides temporary protection. Mark 6:20 presents a more complex picture where Herod 'feared John' and 'heard him gladly'; Matthew simplifies the motivation to murderous intent.

Translator Notes

1. The genesiois ('birthday celebration') was a banquet with court officials, military commanders, and leading citizens (cf. Mark 6:21). The daughter of Herodias (identified by Josephus as Salome) danced en tō mesō ('in the midst'), meaning before the assembled company. That a princess of the Herodian house would dance publicly before male banqueters was considered scandalous in Jewish culture. The verb ēresen ('pleased') has undertones left unstated.

Translator Notes

1. The phrase meth' horkou hōmologēsen ('he promised with an oath') binds Herod with a vow — the same kind of rash oath that entrapped Jephthah (Judges 11:30-40). Jesus has just taught against swearing oaths in the Sermon on the Mount (5:33-37). Herod's oath creates the trap that Herodias will exploit.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Judges 11:30-40. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.

Translator Notes

1. The participle probibistheisa ('having been prompted, coached, put forward') reveals that Herodias is the architect of the request — the daughter is her instrument. The demand for the head epi pinaki ('on a platter/dish') transforms the banquet setting into a scene of horror — a serving dish meant for food will carry a human head. The word hōde ('here') means immediately, at this banquet.

Translator Notes

1. Matthew calls Herod basileus ('king') here, though technically he was only a tetrarch — the title may reflect popular usage or may be ironic. The verb lypētheis ('was grieved, distressed') suggests genuine discomfort, but Herod's concern for public face before his guests (tous synanakeimenous, 'those reclining at table with him') overrides his reluctance. The plural 'oaths' (horkous) may indicate he had repeated the promise.

Translator Notes

1. The verb apekephalisen ('beheaded') is stark and without elaboration. The execution happens en tē phylakē ('in the prison'), away from the banquet — Herod does not watch. The brevity of the account contrasts with the elaborate setup, emphasizing the swiftness and finality of the act.

Translator Notes

1. The passive ēnechthē ('was brought') maintains the impersonal horror. The chain of delivery — platter to girl, girl to mother — completes Herodias's plan. The word korasiō ('girl, young woman') emphasizes the daughter's youth, making the scene more disturbing. Herodias is the ultimate recipient, achieving through manipulation what Herod had been restrained from doing.

Translator Notes

1. John's disciples perform the final act of devotion — burial of the ptōma ('corpse, body'). Their report to Jesus (apēggeilan tō Iēsou) connects the two movements: John's work is finished, and Jesus's intensifies. The narrative implies that John's fate foreshadows Jesus's own.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's withdrawal (anechōrēsen) upon hearing of John's death reflects grief and possibly a sense that his own time is drawing closer. The erēmon topon ('deserted, isolated place') seeks solitude. The crowds' persistence (ēkolouthēsan... pezē, 'followed on foot') demonstrates their determination — they walked around the lake to reach him. Jesus's desire for solitude is overridden by the needs of the people.

Translator Notes

1. The verb esplanchnisthē ('was moved with compassion') is the same visceral word used in 9:36 — a gut-level response to human need that overrides his own grief and desire for solitude. Despite the loss of John and the threat to his own life, Jesus's response to the crowd is not frustration but compassion. He heals tous arrōstous ('the sick, the infirm').

Translator Notes

1. The disciples' concern is practical — a large crowd in an isolated area (erēmos topos) with no food as evening approaches. Their solution is dispersal — send them away (apolyson) to fend for themselves. The verb agorasōsin ('might buy') assumes normal economic mechanisms. Jesus will offer a different solution.

Translator Notes

1. The emphatic pronoun hymeis ('you yourselves') shifts responsibility to the disciples. The command dote autois hymeis phagein ('you — give them to eat') echoes Elisha's instruction in 2 Kings 4:42-44. The impossibility of the task from a human perspective is the entire point — it requires divine intervention.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Quotes 2 Kings 4:42-44. The TCR rendering of that OT passage preserves the Hebrew source text and documents the translation decisions behind it.

Translator Notes

1. The disciples' report emphasizes scarcity — ouk echomen ('we do not have') except five loaves (artous, flat bread rounds) and two fish (ichthyas). These were likely small barley loaves and dried fish, a common meal for the poor. The disparity between the tiny provision and the massive need is the setup for the miracle.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's request is simple — pherete moi ('bring them to me'). He does not dismiss the inadequacy of the provision but asks for what is available. The principle: offer what you have to Jesus, however insufficient it seems.

Translator Notes

1. The four verbs — labōn ('took'), eulogēsen ('blessed'), klasas ('broke'), edōken ('gave') — form a sequence that will be repeated at the Last Supper (26:26). This eucharistic pattern (take, bless, break, give) shapes early Christian understanding of both miracles and the Lord's Supper. Looking up to heaven (anablepsas eis ton ouranon) signals prayer and divine dependence. The disciples serve as intermediaries — Jesus gives to them, and they distribute to the crowds.

Translator Notes

1. The verb echortasthēsan ('were satisfied, were filled') denotes complete satiation, not mere nibbling. The twelve baskets (dōdeka kophinous) of leftovers exceed the original provision — there is more remaining than there was at the start. The kophinos was a wicker basket particularly associated with Jewish travelers. The number twelve likely symbolizes the twelve tribes of Israel — God provides abundantly for his whole people.

Translator Notes

1. The count of pentakischilioi andres ('five thousand men/males') follows ancient convention of counting adult males. The addition chōris gynaikōn kai paidiōn ('apart from women and children') indicates the total number was significantly larger. This specification is unique to Matthew among the Synoptics and emphasizes the magnitude of the miracle.

Translator Notes

1. The verb ēnagkasen ('compelled, forced, constrained') is unusually strong — Jesus does not suggest but insists that the disciples leave immediately. The urgency may relate to John 6:15, which reports that the crowd wanted to make Jesus king by force after the feeding. Jesus separates the disciples from the politically charged crowd and sends them across the lake.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus finally achieves the solitude he sought in verse 13 — but now for prayer rather than rest. The mountain (to oros) connects to the Old Testament pattern of encountering God on mountains (Sinai, Horeb, Carmel). The phrase monos ēn ekei ('he was alone there') creates the setting for the sea-walking miracle — Jesus is on the mountain, the disciples are on the sea, and both are in darkness.

Translator Notes

1. The SBLGNT reads stadious pollous ('many stadia') where some manuscripts have 'in the middle of the sea.' A stadion was approximately 600 feet (185 meters). The participle basanizomenon ('being tortured, battered') is intense — the same word used for human torment (8:6, 29). The wind is enantios ('contrary, opposing'), creating a situation of exhausting, fruitless rowing through the night.

Translator Notes

1. The fourth watch (tetartē phylakē) was the Roman time division for 3:00-6:00 AM — the darkest, most exhausting hour of the night. The disciples have been struggling since evening. The phrase peripatōn epi tēn thalassan ('walking on the sea') echoes Job 9:8 (LXX), where God alone 'walks on the waves of the sea.' Jesus does what only God does.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] This verse quotes Job 9:8 — see the TCR rendering of that passage for the Hebrew source text and translation decisions.

Translator Notes

1. The verb etarachthēsan ('were troubled, were agitated, were terrified') describes deep inner disturbance. The word phantasma ('ghost, apparition, phantom') reflects their inability to process what they are seeing — a human figure walking on water in the dark of night. Their cry (ekraxan) is a scream of terror, not a call for help.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus responds euthys ('immediately') to their fear. The phrase egō eimi ('I am' / 'it is I') operates on two levels: a simple identification ('it's me, not a ghost') and a possible echo of God's self-revelation in Exodus 3:14 (egō eimi ho ōn, 'I AM WHO I AM') and Isaiah 43:10 ('I am he'). The command mē phobeisthe ('do not be afraid') is the characteristic divine greeting in theophanies throughout the Old Testament.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Exodus 3:14. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.
3. [TCR Cross-Reference] Draws on Isaiah 43:10. Consult the TCR rendering of that passage for the underlying Hebrew and the rationale for key translation choices.

Translator Notes

1. This exchange is unique to Matthew and reveals Peter's character — impulsive faith that acts on what Jesus says. The conditional ei sy ei ('if it is you') is not doubt but a test: if Jesus commands and Peter can do it, then the identification is confirmed. The verb keleuson ('command') recognizes that Peter cannot walk on water on his own initiative — it requires Jesus's authoritative word.

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's one-word command elthe ('come') is sufficient. Peter obeys — he climbs out of the boat (katabas, 'having come down') and walks on the water (periepatēsen epi ta hydata). For a brief time, Peter does the impossible because Jesus commanded it and he obeyed. The phrase ēlthen pros ton Iēsoun ('came toward Jesus') shows that the miracle works as long as Peter's focus is on Jesus.

Translator Notes

1. The shift is dramatic: blepōn ton anemon ('seeing the wind') — Peter's attention moves from Jesus to the storm. Fear replaces faith, and he immediately begins to sink (katapontizesthai, 'to be drowned, to sink into the deep'). His cry kyrie sōson me ('Lord, save me') is the shortest prayer in the Gospels and echoes the disciples' cry in 8:25. The word sōson ('save') again carries both physical and theological weight.

Key Terms

Translator Notes

1. Jesus's response is immediate (eutheōs) — he does not let Peter drown. The verb epelabeto ('seized, caught hold of') describes a firm rescue grip. The address oligopiste ('you of little faith') — singular here, applied directly to Peter — is the same word used in 8:26 (plural, to all the disciples). The verb edistasas ('doubted, wavered') appears only here and in 28:17 in the New Testament. Peter's faith was real enough to get him out of the boat but insufficient to sustain him through the storm.

Translator Notes

1. The wind ceases (ekopasen, 'died down, became weary') the moment Jesus and Peter enter the boat — the connection between his presence and the cessation of the storm is implicit. The verb kopazo means literally 'to grow weary, to abate,' as if the wind exhausted itself.

Translator Notes

1. The verb prosekynēsan ('worshipped') here moves beyond the ambiguity of earlier uses (8:2, 9:18) — after witnessing Jesus walk on water and command the wind, the response is worship. The confession alēthōs theou huios ei ('truly you are God's Son') is the first time the disciples as a group make this declaration in Matthew. It anticipates Peter's confession at Caesarea Philippi (16:16). The absence of the article before theou huios could mean 'a son of God' or 'the Son of God'; in context, the definite reading is more appropriate.

Translator Notes

1. Gennesaret (Gennēsaret) was a fertile plain on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee, south of Capernaum. The name is related to Kinneret/Chinnereth (Numbers 34:11), the ancient name for the lake itself.
2. [TCR Cross-Reference] Echoes Numbers 34:11. See the TCR's OT rendering for the Hebrew behind this passage and the translation rationale.

Translator Notes

1. The verb epignontes ('having recognized') suggests Jesus was already known in this area from previous visits. The rapid communication network (apesteilan eis holēn tēn perichōron, 'sent into the whole surrounding region') demonstrates the organized response that Jesus's reputation generated.

Translator Notes

1. The request to touch tou kraspedou tou himatiou ('the fringe/tassel of his cloak') echoes the hemorrhaging woman's action in 9:20. Word of her healing has clearly spread, generating faith that even touching his garment is sufficient. The verb diesōthēsan ('were completely healed, were saved through') is a strengthened form of sōzō — total restoration, with no partial or failed healings. The chapter ends on a note of abundant, accessible healing power.