Matthew 26:65 - meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Matthew 26:65
Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.
the high-priest (literally · noun — nominative singular masculine
rent
διέρρηξενdierrēxen
G1284
to tear asunder · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
his
αὐτοῦautou
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — genitive singular masculine
clothes
ἱμάτιαhimatia
G2440
a dress (inner or outer) · noun — accusative plural neuter
saying
λέγωνlegōn
G3004
properly · verb — present active participle, nominative singular masculine
blasphemy
ἐβλασφήμησεν·eblasphēmēsen
G987
to vilify · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
what
τίti
G5101
an interrogative pronoun · interrogative pronoun — accusative singular neuter
further
ἔτιeti
G2089
"yet · adverb
need
χρείανchreian
G5532
employment · noun — accusative singular feminine
we
ἔχομενechomen
G2192
to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active indicative, 1st person plural
witnesses
μαρτύρων;marturōn
G3144
a witness (literally (judicially) or figuratively (geni… · noun — genitive plural masculine
behold
εἴδωeídō
G1492
used only in certain past tenses
now
νῦνnun
G3568
"now" (as adverb of date · adverb
heard
ἠκούσατεēkousate
G191
to hear (in various senses) · verb — aorist active indicative, 2nd person plural
his
αὐτόςautós
G846
the reflexive pronoun self
blasphemy
βλασφημίανblasphēmian
G988
vilification (especially against God) · noun — accusative singular feminine
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
Numbers 14:6 And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
Jeremiah 36:24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.
Matthew 9:3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth.
Mark 14:63-64 Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses?
John 10:33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
John 10:36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?
Leviticus 21:20 Or crookbackt, or a dwarf, or that hath a blemish in his eye, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones broken;
1 Kings 21:10-13 And set two men, sons of Belial, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
John Gill on Matthew 26:65
Then the high priest rent his clothes,.... Both his outer and inner garments. This he did, to show his zeal for the honour and glory of God, his grief and concern at the profanation of his holy name by a false oath, and his abhorrence of, and indignation at the blasphemy he supposed Christ to be guilty of, in asserting himself to be the Son of God. Some have thought, that Caiaphas in this action, transgressed the law, in Leviticus 21:10, where it is said, that "the high priest--shall not uncover his head, nor rend his clothes": and it is one of the Jews' negative precepts (i), that "an high priest is prohibited, "ever" to rend his garments:
and that therefore being transported with passion…
Matthew 26:62-68
Matthew 26:62-68
Mark 14:60-65
Luke 22:63-71
62. And the high priest, rising up, said to him, [227] Answerest thou nothing? What is it that those men testify against thee? 63. And Jesus was silent. And the high priest answering said to him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us if thou art the Christ, the Son of God. 64. Jesus saith to him, Thou hast said it; but yet I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath blasphemed; what further need have we of witnesses? lo now you have heard his blasphemy. 66. What think you? And t…
Blasphemy! Caiaphas evidently understood Jesus’ claim to be the exalted Son of Man as a blasphemy against God’s majesty. The Son of Man (Dan 7:13-14) was closely associated with this majesty.
The same fury which drew the High Priest from his seat, impels him now to rend his clothes; for so it was customary with the Jews to do whenever they heard any blasphemy, or any thing against God. And by this rending his garments, he shows that the Jews have lost the priestly glory, and that their High Priest's throne was vacant. For by rending his garment he rent the veil of the Law which covered him.
To emphasize his alarm over the words he had just heard, Caiaphas "tore his garments." Unaware of his own madness, he deprived himself of priestly honor. Caiaphas, where does reason reside in your mind?… You are oblivious to the command you read concerning high priests: "Do not let the hair of your heads hang loose, and do not rend your clothes." But you, who have now forfeited your dignity, are the very object of disgrace. And in token of the end of the old regulation, the same rending that rips your priestly attire will soon also tear apart the veil of the temple.
(Verse 62) And the high priest stood up and said to Him, 'Do You answer nothing? What is it that these men testify against You?' But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest became furious and impatient, unable to find a place for false accusations, he threw the high priest off his seat, in order to demonstrate his madness of mind through the movement of his body. The more Jesus remained silent in response to unworthy individuals, false witnesses, and wicked priests, the more the high priest, overcome with rage, provoked Him to respond, so that he could find an opportunity in any occasion of conversation to accuse Him. Nevertheless, Jesus remained silent. For he knew, as if God, whatever response he gave would be twisted into a false accusation.
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
Annas — Was high priest A.D. 7-14. In A.D. 25 Caiaphas, who had married the daughter of Annas (John 18:13), was raised to that office, and probably Annas was now made president of the Sanhedrim, or deputy or…
Blasphemy — In the sense of speaking evil of God this word is found in Ps. 74:18; Isa. 52:5; Rom. 2:24; Rev. 13:1, 6; 16:9, 11, 21. It denotes also any kind of calumny, or evil-speaking, or abuse (1 Kings 21:10;…
Cloak — An upper garment, “an exterior tunic, wide and long, reaching to the ankles, but without sleeves” (Isa. 59:17). The word so rendered is elsewhere rendered “robe” or “mantle.” It was worn by the high…
Martyr — One who bears witness of the truth, and suffers death in the cause of Christ (Acts 22:20; Rev. 2:13; 17:6). In this sense Stephen was the first martyr. The Greek word so rendered in all other cases…
Mourn — Frequent references are found in Scripture to, (1.) Mourning for the dead. Abraham mourned for Sarah (Gen. 23:2); Jacob for Joseph (37:34, 35); the Egyptians for Jacob (50:3-10); Israel for Aaron…
Blasphemy · Charged upon Christ — Charged upon Christ
Caiaphas · Jesus tried before — Jesus tried before
Christ Is God · As Son of God — As Son of God
Court · .COMPOSITION OF, AND MO — .COMPOSITION OF, AND MO
Courts Of Justice · Sanhedrim or court of the seventy: Presided over by high priest — Sanhedrim or court of the seventy: Presided over by high priest
Hyke Or Upper Garment · Was the garment: Rent in token of anger — Was the garment: Rent in token of anger
Indictments · First, of blasphemy — First, of blasphemy
Prisoners · Jesus — Jesus
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).
