Matthew 24:18

Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his clothes.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
Neither	μὴ mē	G3361	(adverb) not · particle — negative
let him	ἐπιστρεψάτω epistrepsatō	G1994	to revert (literally · verb — aorist active imperative, 3rd person singular
which is	ὁ ho	G3588	the (sometimes to be supplied · article — nominative singular masculine
in	ἐν en	G1722	"in · preposition
the field	ἀγρῷ agrō	G68	a field (as a drive for cattle) · noun — dative singular masculine
return	ἐπιστρέφω epistréphō	G1994	to revert (literally
back	ὀπίσω opisō	G3694	to the back · adverb
to take	ἆραι arai	G142	to lift up · verb — aorist active infinitive
his	αὐτοῦ. autou	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
clothes	ἱμάτιον himation	G2440	a dress (inner or outer) · noun — accusative singular neuter

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).

Commentary

John Gill on Matthew 24:18

Neither let him which is in the field,.... Ploughing, or sowing, or employed in any other parts of husbandry, or rural business, return back to take clothes; for it was usual to work in the fields without their clothes, as at ploughing and sowing. Hence those words of Virgil (e). "Nudus ara, sere nudus, hyems ignava colono.'' Upon which Servius observes, that in good weather, when the sun warms the earth, men might plough and sow without their clothes: and it is reported by the historian (f) of Lucius Quinctius Cincinnatus, that the messengers who were sent to him, from Minutius the consul, whom he had delivered from a siege, found him ploughing naked beyond the Tiber: not that he was ent…

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John Calvin on Matthew 24:15-28

Matthew 24:15-28 Matthew 24:15-28 Mark 13:14-23 Luke 21:20-24 15. When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which is described by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place, (let him that readeth understand,) 16. Then let them who are in Judea flee to the mountains. 17. Let not him who is on the housetop go down to carry anything out of his house; 18. And let not him who is in the field return to carry away his clothes. 19. But woe to the women with child, and to them that give suck in those days. 20. And pray that your flight may not be in the winter, nor on the sabbath. [134] 21. For there will then be great tribulation, such as hath not been from the beginning of…

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Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 24:15

Daniel . . . spoke about a profaning or desolating of the Temple (see Dan 8:13; 9:27; 11:31; 12:11). • the sacrilegious object that causes desecration: Attempts to identify a specific fulfillment include: (1) a false priest assuming the priesthood (see Josephus, War 4.3.6-10); (2) the presence of unlawful images of God or humans, or certain humans themselves (such as Antiochus Epiphanes, Caligula, Vespasian, or Titus) who were not to be allowed within the Temple precincts (see Josephus, War 4.4.1–4.7.1); (3) the presence of the antichrist in the Temple (cp. 1 Maccabees 1:54-64; 2 Maccabees 8:17). • Reader, pay attention! This covert statement reflects a special bond between writer and reader…

The Church Fathers

Neither let him which is in the field return back to take his coat; i. e. He that has attained to obedience to the command, let him not return back to his former cares, to take on him again the coat of his former sins in which he once was clothed.
— Hilary of Poitiers ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

The holy reading continues: "Let him in the field not turn back." This field represents the church, as was demonstrated by the blessing our blessed patriarch Isaac gave to his son Jacob: "Behold, the smell of my son is like the smell of a bountiful field which the Lord has blessed." The field was replete with a multitude of flowers and was redolent with the sweetest aroma. Clearly this signifies the church where the Lord's flowers—that is, virginity, chastity, continence, confession, faith, mercy, justice, truth and martyrdom—are perfected. These are the flowers of the field, which is the church; the flowers in which the Son of God rejoices, which have merited God's blessing. Therefore he said, "Let him in the field not turn back." Likewise, the same Lord once said, "Remember Lot's wife." While fleeing the conflagration of Sodom, she looked back and was turned into a pillar of salt, leaving an example of foolishness behind her. Therefore the Lord admonishes us that clinging more fully to his love and faith, we would not turn back, yet rather would save our souls for eternal life.
— Epiphanius Scholasticus, INTERPRETATION OF THE GOSPELS 33

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

Dress — (1.) Materials used. The earliest and simplest an apron of fig-leaves sewed together (Gen. 3:7); then skins of animals (3:21). Elijah’s dress was probably the skin of a sheep (2 Kings 1:8). The…
Matthew, Gospel according to — The author of this book was beyond a doubt the Matthew, an apostle of our Lord, whose name it bears. He wrote the Gospel of Christ according to his own plans and aims, and from his own point of view,…
Olves, Mount of — So called from the olive trees with which its sides are clothed, is a mountain ridge on the east of Jerusalem (1 Kings 11:7; Ezek. 11:23; Zech. 14:4), from which it is separated by the valley of…
Christ, The Prophet · Foretold things to come — Foretold things to come
Hyke Or Upper Garment · Often laid aside — Often laid aside
Second Coming Of Christ, The · Signs preceding — Signs preceding

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).