similar (in appearance or character) · adjective — nominative singular feminine
a merchant
ἐμπόρῳemporō
G1713
a (wholesale) tradesman · noun — dative singular masculine
man
ἀνθρώπῳanthrōpō
G444
from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — dative singular masculine
seeking
ζητοῦντιzētounti
G2212
to seek (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active participle, dative singular masculine
goodly
καλοὺςkalous
G2570
X better · adjective — accusative plural masculine
pearls
μαργαρίτας.margaritas
G3135
a pearl · noun — accusative plural 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
Proverbs 8:10-11 Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold.
Proverbs 3:13-18 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Job 28:18 No mention shall be made of coral, or of pearls: for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
Matthew 13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
Proverbs 8:18-20 Riches and honour are with me; yea, durable riches and righteousness.
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Matthew 22:5 But they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise:
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Matthew 13:44-52
We have four short parables in these verses.
I. That of the treasure hid in the field. Hitherto he had compared the kingdom of heaven to small things, because its beginning was small; but, lest any should thence take occasion to think meanly of it, in this parable and the next he represents it as of great value in itself, and of great advantage to those who embrace it, and are willing to come up to its terms; it is here likened to a treasure hid in the field, which, if we will, we may make our own.
1. Jesus Christ is the true Treasure; in him there is an abundance of all that which is rich and useful, and will be a portion for us: all fulness (Col 1:19; Joh 1:16): treasures of wisdom and kno…
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls.
John Gill on Matthew 13:45
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man,.... This parable may be understood of Christ's seeking, finding, and purchasing his elect: for, certain it is, that he has sought after them; which implies, that they were lost and going astray; expresses his great love to them, value for them, and desire after them; in doing which, he took much pains, and used much diligence: and certain it also is, that he finds them in redemption, and in effectual calling; and that they are to him a pearl of great price; as very precious to God, so highly esteemed of by Christ, as his portion, his inheritance, and his jewels. He has also parted with all he had for the sake of these persons; he beca…
Matthew 13:44-52
Matthew 13:44-52
44. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field, which when found a man hideth, [227] and for the joy which he hath on account of it, goeth away, and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant, seeking beautiful pearls, [228] 46. Who, having found one valuable pearl, went away, and sold all that he possessed, and bought it. 47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net east into the sea, and collecting of every kind, [229] 48. Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and collected the good into vessels, but cast away the bad. [230] 49. So shall it be at the end…
The Church Fathers
If I seek good pearls (for the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking good pearls) and, having bought them at the cost of labor and vigils, cast them before pleasure-loving souls, and before those who are immersed in fleshly filth and impurity, then I too become a sinner, because I cast pearls before swine. But if the swine receive the pearls, then, not seeing their beauty and not understanding the advantages of possessing them, they trample them underfoot, speaking evil of what is good.
As regards the pearl, the reasoning is the same. But this passage is of value for the merchant who has long been steeped in the law. After lengthy labors, he finds out about this pearl and abandons those things that he obtained under the yoke of the law. For he carried on business for a long time and found the pearl that his heart was set on. He must pay the price of this one pearl he desired at the expense of all his other work.
(Hom. in Ev. xi. 2.) Or by the pearl of price is to be understood the sweetness of the heavenly kingdom, which, he that hath found it, selleth all and buyeth. For he that, as far as is permitted, has had perfect knowledge of the sweetness of the heavenly life, readily leaves all things that he has loved on earth; all that once pleased him among earthly possessions now appears to have lost its beauty, for the splendour of that precious pearl is alone seen in his mind.
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
Church — Derived probably from the Greek kuriakon (i.e., “the Lord’s house”), which was used by ancient authors for the place of worship. In the New Testament it is the translation of the Greek word ecclesia,…
Fishing, the art of — Was prosecuted with great industry in the waters of Palestine. It was from the fishing-nets that Jesus called his disciples (Mark 1:16-20), and it was in a fishing-boat he rebuked the winds and the…
Pearl — (Heb. gabish, Job 28:18; Gr. margarites, Matt. 7:6; 13:46; Rev. 21:21). The pearl oyster is found in the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Its shell is the “mother of pearl,” which is of great value for…
Consecration · PER — PER
Gospel · .A pearl of great price — .A pearl of great price
Kingdom Of Heaven · .To a pearl — .To a pearl
Merchant · 10:15,28; — 10:15,28;
Parables · Parables of christ: Pearl of great price — Parables of christ: Pearl of great price
Precious Stones · Mentioned in scripture: Pearl — Mentioned in scripture: Pearl
Preciousness Of Christ · Illustrated — Illustrated
Riches · Examples of those truly rich — Examples of those truly rich
Self-Denial · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Another mystery of the Kingdom (13:11) is that its value exceeds all other treasures, and so everything should be forfeited to acquire it (see 19:21, 29; Phil 3:7).
13:44 treasure . . . hidden in a field: Treasures were buried for protection against thieves and military enemies (25:25). • In his excitement: Those who discover the Kingdom find greater joy in it than can be found in any temporal pleasure (see 1 Pet 1:8).
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).
