Matthew 1:21
Encyclopedia
Matthew 1:21 is the twenty-first verse of the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew
in the New Testament
. Jesus
. Joseph
is being spoken to in a dream by an angel
. In this verse the angel comes to him and tells him of the nature of his child.
The original Koine Greek
, according to Westcott and Hort
, reads:
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
The World English Bible
translates the passage as:
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 1:21
This verse is the first clear indication of how the author of Matthew sees Jesus. France notes that in the Old Testament
only God had the power to absolve sins thus this verse shows that Jesus will be far greater than any of the prophets and other holy men.
The traditional view is that this verse clearly shows that the role of the messiah
would not be one of national liberator, as most Jews had expected, but rather a spiritual liberator. Generally the word translated as people was used to refer to the Jewish people, but "his people" could also refer to all of humanity. Carter disagrees with this opinion. He believes that the author of Matthew originally intended this saving to be political. To Carter the sins of bondage, Roman domination, and economic control were just as important as religious and moral sins. He argues that the rest of the infancy narrative is deeply political with its focus on the Kings of Judah
and the deeply sinful King Herod
. The verse was reinterpreted when the Second Coming
failed to occur and liberate Israel from the empire.
Gundry sees this verse as important evidence of how the author of Matthew viewed sin and salvation. Gundry reports that there are two distinct views of sin in the New Testament. Romans 7 presents sin as a malicious external power that induces people to do evil. Matthew differs from this view. The gospel pluralizes the word sin implying that sin is not a universal force. Moreover referring to their sins presents sin as the fault of the sinner not of an external force. Gundry argues that by the Romans definition deliverance is saving people from the influence of sin, but in Matthew deliverance is rescuing people from the punishment that will inevitably be meted out for sinning.
In Hebrew
, Jesus means "Yaweh shall save" or simply "saviour". Thus "who shall save his people from their sins" can be considered word play on Jesus' name. However this pun would only have worked in Hebrew and would only have been understood by a Hebrew-speaking audience. Some scholars consider this an important piece of evidence for the Gospel of Matthew having originally been written in Hebrew or Aramaic and only later translated into Greek. Jesus was a very cmmon name in the period, Boring notes that Josephus
mentions twenty different figures named Jesus in his history of the period.
Gospel of Matthew
The Gospel According to Matthew is one of the four canonical gospels, one of the three synoptic gospels, and the first book of the New Testament. It tells of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth...
in the New Testament
New Testament
The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....
. Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
. Joseph
Saint Joseph
Saint Joseph is a figure in the Gospels, the husband of the Virgin Mary and the earthly father of Jesus Christ ....
is being spoken to in a dream by an angel
Angel
Angels are mythical beings often depicted as messengers of God in the Hebrew and Christian Bibles along with the Quran. The English word angel is derived from the Greek ἄγγελος, a translation of in the Hebrew Bible ; a similar term, ملائكة , is used in the Qur'an...
. In this verse the angel comes to him and tells him of the nature of his child.
The original Koine Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, according to Westcott and Hort
The New Testament in the Original Greek
The New Testament in the Original Greek is the name of a Greek language version of the New Testament published in 1881. It is also known as the Westcott and Hort text, after its editors Brooke Foss Westcott and Fenton John Anthony Hort...
, reads:
- τεξεται δε υιον και καλεσεις το ονομα αυτου ιησουν αυτος
- γαρ σωσει τον λαον αυτου απο των αμαρτιων αυτων
In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:
- And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his
- name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.
The World English Bible
World English Bible
The World English Bible is a public domain translation of the Bible that is currently in draft form. Work on the World English Bible began in 1997 and was known as the American Standard Version 1997...
translates the passage as:
- She shall bring forth a son. You shall call his name Jesus,
- for it is he who shall save his people from their sins."
For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 1:21
This verse is the first clear indication of how the author of Matthew sees Jesus. France notes that in the Old Testament
Old Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
only God had the power to absolve sins thus this verse shows that Jesus will be far greater than any of the prophets and other holy men.
The traditional view is that this verse clearly shows that the role of the messiah
Messiah
A messiah is a redeemer figure expected or foretold in one form or another by a religion. Slightly more widely, a messiah is any redeemer figure. Messianic beliefs or theories generally relate to eschatological improvement of the state of humanity or the world, in other words the World to...
would not be one of national liberator, as most Jews had expected, but rather a spiritual liberator. Generally the word translated as people was used to refer to the Jewish people, but "his people" could also refer to all of humanity. Carter disagrees with this opinion. He believes that the author of Matthew originally intended this saving to be political. To Carter the sins of bondage, Roman domination, and economic control were just as important as religious and moral sins. He argues that the rest of the infancy narrative is deeply political with its focus on the Kings of Judah
Kingdom of Judah
The Kingdom of Judah was a Jewish state established in the Southern Levant during the Iron Age. It is often referred to as the "Southern Kingdom" to distinguish it from the northern Kingdom of Israel....
and the deeply sinful King Herod
Herod the Great
Herod , also known as Herod the Great , was a Roman client king of Judea. His epithet of "the Great" is widely disputed as he is described as "a madman who murdered his own family and a great many rabbis." He is also known for his colossal building projects in Jerusalem and elsewhere, including his...
. The verse was reinterpreted when the Second Coming
Second Coming
In Christian doctrine, the Second Coming of Christ, the Second Advent, or the Parousia, is the anticipated return of Jesus Christ from Heaven, where he sits at the Right Hand of God, to Earth. This prophecy is found in the canonical gospels and in most Christian and Islamic eschatologies...
failed to occur and liberate Israel from the empire.
Gundry sees this verse as important evidence of how the author of Matthew viewed sin and salvation. Gundry reports that there are two distinct views of sin in the New Testament. Romans 7 presents sin as a malicious external power that induces people to do evil. Matthew differs from this view. The gospel pluralizes the word sin implying that sin is not a universal force. Moreover referring to their sins presents sin as the fault of the sinner not of an external force. Gundry argues that by the Romans definition deliverance is saving people from the influence of sin, but in Matthew deliverance is rescuing people from the punishment that will inevitably be meted out for sinning.
In Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
, Jesus means "Yaweh shall save" or simply "saviour". Thus "who shall save his people from their sins" can be considered word play on Jesus' name. However this pun would only have worked in Hebrew and would only have been understood by a Hebrew-speaking audience. Some scholars consider this an important piece of evidence for the Gospel of Matthew having originally been written in Hebrew or Aramaic and only later translated into Greek. Jesus was a very cmmon name in the period, Boring notes that Josephus
Josephus
Titus Flavius Josephus , also called Joseph ben Matityahu , was a 1st-century Romano-Jewish historian and hagiographer of priestly and royal ancestry who recorded Jewish history, with special emphasis on the 1st century AD and the First Jewish–Roman War, which resulted in the Destruction of...
mentions twenty different figures named Jesus in his history of the period.