Matthew 12:10 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Matthew 12:10
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — nominative singular masculine
had
ἔχωνechōn
G2192
to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
hand
χεῖραcheira
G5495
the hand (literally or figuratively (power) · noun — accusative singular feminine
withered
ξηράν·xēran
G3584
arid · adjective — accusative singular feminine
And
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
asked
ἐπηρώτησανepērōtēsan
G1905
to ask for · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
him
αὐτὸνauton
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
saying
λέγοντες·legontes
G3004
properly · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
lawful
ἔξεστινexestin
G1832
so also neuter present participle of the same (with or… · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
heal
θεραπεῦσαι;therapeusai
G2323
to wait upon menially · verb — aorist active infinitive
days
σάββασινsabbasin
G4521
the Sabbath (i.e. Shabbath) · noun — dative plural neuter
that
ἵναina
G2443
compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
accuse
κατηγορήσωσινkatēgorēsōsin
G2723
to be a plaintiff · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
him
αὐτοῦ.¶autou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Luke 13:14 And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the sabbath day, and said unto the people, There…
John 9:16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a s…
John 8:6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though…
Matthew 22:17-18 Tell us therefore, What thinkest thou? Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar, or not?
Luke 11:54 Laying wait for him, and seeking to catch something out of his mouth, that they might accuse him.
John 5:10 The Jews therefore said unto him that was cured, It is the sabbath day: it is not lawful for thee to carry thy bed.
Isaiah 32:6 For the vile person will speak villany, and his heart will work iniquity, to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD, to mak…
Zechariah 11:17 Woe to the idol shepherd that leaveth the flock! the sword shall be upon his arm, and upon his right eye: his arm shall be clean dried up, a…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 12:1-13
The Jewish teachers had corrupted many of the commandments, by interpreting them more loosely than they were intended; a mistake which Christ discovered and rectified (ch. 5) in his sermon on the mount: but concerning the fourth commandment, they had erred in the other extreme, and interpreted it too strictly. Note, it is common for men of corrupt minds, by their zeal in rituals, and the external services of religion, to think to atone for the looseness of their morals. But they are cursed who add to, as well as they who take fRom. the words of this book, Rev 22:16, Rev 22:19; Pro 30:6.
Now that which our Lord Jesus here lays down is, that the works of necessity and mercy are lawful on the s…
THE HEALING OF A WITHERED HAND ON THE SABBATH DAY AND RETIREMENT OF JESUS TO AVOID DANGER. ( = Mar 3:1-12; Luk 6:6-11). (Mat 12:9-21)
And when he was departed thence--but "on another sabbath" (Luk 6:6).
he went into their synagogue--and taught," He had now, no doubt, arrived in Galilee; but this, it would appear, did not occur at Capernaum, for after it was over, He "withdrew Himelf," it is said "to the sea" (Mar 3:7), whereas Capernaum was at the sea.
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered--disabled by paralysis (as in Kg1 13:4). It was his right hand, as Luke (Luk 6:6) graphically notes. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they…
And behold, there was a man which had his hand withered,.... Or dry; the juices were dried up, the nerves and sinews contracted, so that it was of no manner of use to him: Luke says, it was his right hand, which was so much the worse; and means not only his hand, but the whole arm. Such a case is mentioned in the Talmud (a), "it happened to one, "wewrz hvbyv, that his arm was dry, or withered. Jerom says (b), in the Gospel which the Nazarenes and Hebionites used, this man is said to be a plasterer, and so might possibly come by his misfortune through his business; and being a man that got his bread by his hand labour, the case was the more affecting. This account is introduced with a "behold…
The Church Fathers
And they ask Him whether it is lawful to heal on the sabbath day, that if He should refuse, they might charge Him with cruelty, or want of power; if He should heal him, they might charge Him with transgressing the Law.
When He was entered into the synagogue, they bring a man of a withered hand, asking Him whether it was lawful to heal on the sabbath day, seeking an occasion of convicting Him out of His answer; as it follows, And they brought him a man haring a withered hand, and asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day?
Otherwise; The man who had the withered hand denotes the human race in its barrenness of good works dried up by the hand which was stretched out to the fruit; (Gen. 3:6.) this was healed by the stretching out of the innocent hand on the Cross. And well is this withered hand said to have been in the Synagogue, for where the gift of knowledge is greater, there is the greater danger of an irrecoverable infliction. The withered hand when it is to be healed is first bid to be stretched out, because the weakness of a barren mind is healed by no means better than by liberality of almsgiving. A man's right hand is affected when he is remiss in giving alms, his left whole when he is attentive to his own interests. But when the Lord comes, the right hand is restored whole as the left, because what he had got together greedily, that he distributes freely.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Palsy — A shorter form of “paralysis.” Many persons thus afflicted were cured by our Lord (Matt. 4:24; 8:5-13; 9:2-7; Mark 2:3-11; Luke 7:2-10; John 5:5-7) and the apostles (Acts 8:7; 9:33, 34).
Pharisees — Separatists (Heb. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt…
Sabbath — (Heb. verb shabbath, meaning “to rest from labour”), the day of rest. It is first mentioned as having been instituted in Paradise, when man was in innocence (Gen. 2:2). “The sabbath was made for…
Accusation, False · .Against Jesus — .Against Jesus
Atrophy · Of the hand — Of the hand
Miracles Of Christ, The · Withered hand restored — Withered hand restored
Synagogue · .Jesus performed healing in — .Jesus performed healing in
Synagogues · Christ often: Performed miracles in — Christ often: Performed miracles in
Technicalities · Legal — Legal
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Matthew 12:9-13
Matthew 12:9-13
Mark 3:1-5
Luke 6:6-10
9. And having departed thence, he came into their synagogue: 10. And, lo, there was a man having a withered hand, and they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbaths? that they might accuse him. 11. But he said to them, What man shall there be among you who shall have one sleep, and if it fall on the Sabbath into a ditch, will not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12. How much more then is a man better than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbaths. 13. Then he saith to the man, Stretch out thy hand. And he stretched it out, and it was restored to soundness like the other.
1. And he entered again into th…
Does the law permit: Rabbinic tradition permitted healing on the Sabbath only if life was in danger. Since life was not in jeopardy, the Pharisees thought healing was not permitted.
