Matthew 14:26

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a spirit; and they cried out for fear.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
when	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
disciples	μαθηταὶ mathētai	G3101	a learner · noun — nominative plural masculine
saw	ἰδόντες idontes	G1492	used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine
him	αὐτὸν auton	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — accusative singular masculine
walking	περιπατοῦντα peripatounta	G4043	to tread all around · verb — present active participle, accusative singular masculine
on	ἐπὶ epi	G1909	properly · preposition
sea	θαλάσσης thalassēs	G2281	the sea (genitive case or specially) · noun — genitive singular feminine
troubled	ἐταράχθησαν etarachthēsan	G5015	to stir or agitate (roil water) · verb — aorist passive indicative, 3rd person plural
saying	λέγοντες legontes	G3004	properly · verb — present active participle, nominative plural masculine
is	ἐστί estí	G2076	he (she or it) is
spirit	φάντασμά phantasma	G5326	(properly concrete) a (mere) show ("phantasm") · noun — nominative singular neuter
and	καί kaí	G2532	and
out	ἔκραξαν. ekraxan	G2896	properly · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural
for	ἀπὸ apo	G575	"off · preposition
fear	φόβου phobou	G5401	alarm or fright · noun — 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

Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Mark 6:49-50 But when they saw him walking upon the sea, they supposed it had been a spirit, and cried out:
Luke 1:11-12 And there appeared unto him an angel of the Lord standing on the right side of the altar of incense.
Daniel 10:6-12 His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like…
1 Samuel 28:12-14 And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried with a loud voice: and the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me? for thou art Sau…
Job 4:14-16 Fear came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones to shake.
Luke 24:37 But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had seen a spirit.
Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 14:22-33

We have here the story of another miracle which Christ wrought for the relief of his friends and followers, his walking upon the water to his disciples. In the foregoing miracle he acted as the Lord of nature, improving its powers for the supply of those who were in want; in this, he acted as the Lord of nature, correcting and controlling its powers for the succour of those who were in danger and distress. Observe, I. Christ's dismissing of his disciples and the multitude, after he had fed them miraculously. He constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side, Mat 14:22. St John gives a particular reason for the hasty breaking up of this assembly, becaus…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 14:2

And said unto his servants--his counsellors or court-ministers. This is John the Baptist: he is risen from the dead, &c.--The murdered prophet haunted his guilty breast like a specter and seemed to him alive again and clothed with unearthly powers in the person of Jesus. Account of the Baptist's Imprisonment and Death (Mat 14:3-12). For the exposition of this portion, see on Mar 6:17-29.

John Gill on Matthew 14:26

And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea,.... It being now morning, and perhaps might have moon light; and besides, there is always more light upon the water than land; they were able to discern something like a man, walking upon the surface of the sea, but had not light enough to distinguish what, or who it was; and, moreover, had no thought of Christ, or expectation of seeing him; and the appearance of a man walking upon the waters being so unusual, and astonishing, they were troubled, saying it is a spirit: a nocturnal apparition, a demon in human form. The Jews, especially the sect of the Pharisees, had a notion, from whom the disciples might have their's, of spirits, apparitio…

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John Calvin on Matthew 14:22-33

The Church Fathers

(Quæst. Ev. i. 15.) Or; That the disciples here say, It is a phantasm, figures those who yielding to the Devil shall doubt of the coming of Christ.
— Augustine of Hippo ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

A confused noise and uncertain sound is the mark of great fear. But if, according to Marcion and Manichæus, our Lord was not born of a virgin, but was seen in a phantasm, how is it that the Apostles now fear that they have seen a phantasm (or vision)?
— Jerome ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

(Verse 26.) And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying: It is a ghost. If, according to Marcion and Manichaeus, our Lord was not born of a Virgin, but appeared in a vision: how is it that now the apostles fear seeing a vision? And they cried out due to fear. The confused shout and uncertain voice is a sign of great fear.
— Jerome, Commentary on Matthew

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

Miracles Of Christ, The · His walking on the sea — His walking on the sea
Sea · Jesus walked upon Lake Galilee — Jesus walked upon Lake Galilee
Superstition · upon the lake — upon the lake
Water · Miracles connected with: Our Lord, &c walking on — Miracles connected with: Our Lord, &c walking on

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).

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 14:22-33

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 14:2

John Gill on Matthew 14:26

John Calvin on Matthew 14:22-33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 14:22-33

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 14:2

John Gill on Matthew 14:26

John Calvin on Matthew 14:22-33

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 14:25