And when they were assembled with the elders, and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers,
| Word | Greek | Strong’s | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| And | καὶ kai | G2532 | and · conjunction |
| assembled | συναχθέντες sunachthentes | G4863 | to lead together · verb — aorist passive participle, nominative plural masculine |
| with | μετὰ meta | G3326 | properly · preposition |
| elders | πρεσβυτέρων presbuterōn | G4245 | older · noun — genitive plural masculine |
| and | τε te | G5037 | both or also (properly · conjunction |
| taken | λαβόντες labontes | G2983 | while G138 (αἱρέομαι) is more violent · verb — second aorist active participle, nominative plural masculine |
| counsel | συμβούλιόν sumboulion | G4824 | advisement · noun — accusative singular neuter |
| gave | ἔδωκαν edōkan | G1325 | to give (used in a very wide application · verb — aorist active indicative, 3rd person plural |
| large | ἱκανὰ hikana | G2425 | competent (as if coming in season) · adjective — accusative plural neuter |
| money | ἀργύρια arguria | G694 | silvery · noun — accusative plural neuter |
| soldiers | στρατιώταις stratiōtais | G4757 | a camper-out · noun — dative 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 from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
And when they were assembled with the elders--But Joseph at least was absent: Gamaliel probably also; and perhaps others. and had taken counsel, they gave large money unto the soldiers--It would need a good deal; but the whole case of the Jewish authorities was now at stake. With what contempt must these soldiers have regarded the Jewish ecclesiastics!
And when they were assembled with the elders,.... Upon this the grand sanhedrim was convened together, which consisted of the chief priests, Scribes, and elders; and had taken counsel among themselves what steps to take to stifle this matter, that it might not spread and be believed by the people; they agreed upon this, as the best expedient, to bribe the soldiers to give a false account of it, as they did: they gave large money unto the soldiers, or "sufficient money"; they gave large sums of money, as were enough to satisfy the soldiers; they gave them whatever they would have; for though these men were very covetous, yet upon this occasion gave liberally; and that perhaps which were for…
Read the whole note in the consoleMatthew 28:11-15 Matthew 28:11-15 11. And while they were departing, lo, some of the guards came into the city, and told the chief priests all things which had happened. 12. And having assembled with the eiders, and entered into consultation, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, 13. Saying, Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him, while you were asleep. 14. And if this come to the ears of the governor, we will persuade him, and ensure your safety. 15. And they took the money, and did as they had been instructed: and this statement is currently reported among the Jews till the present day. Matthew 28:11. And while they were departing. It is not only credible, but the…
Read the whole note in the consoleSuch a bribe was contrary to the law (see Exod 20:16; 23:8). • elders: See study note on Matt 21:23.
Thus the Chief Priests, who ought to have been by this turned to penitence, and to seek Jesus risen, persevere in their wickedness, and convert the money which was given for the use of the Temple to the purchase of a lie, as before they had given thirty pieces of silver to the traitor Judas. All who abuse to other purposes the money of the Temple, and the contributions for the use of the Church, purchasing with them their own pleasure, are like the Scribes and Priests who bought this lie, and the blood of the Saviour.
(Vers. 12 seqq.) And when they were gathered with the elders, after taking counsel, they gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, saying: Tell them that his disciples came by night and stole him away while we were asleep. And if this comes to the governor's ears, we will satisfy him and keep you out of trouble. So they took the money and did as they were instructed. And the story spread among the Jews to this day. The guards confessed the miracle: they returned to the city and reported to the chief priests all that they had seen and experienced. Those who were supposed to convert to repentance and seek the risen Jesus persist in wickedness, and they turn the money that was given for the use of the temple into the redemption of lies, just as they had previously given thirty pieces of silver to Judas the betrayer. Therefore, all those who misuse the temple offerings and those things that are given for the use of the church for other purposes, in order to fulfill their own desires, are similar to the scribes and priests who bought the lie and the Savior's blood.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
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).
Henry, Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, Clarke, Gill, Calvin and Keil & Delitzsch are in the public domain; Tyndale Open Study Notes © Tyndale House Publishers, CC BY-SA 4.0 — all from the Free Use Bible API (bible.helloao.org). Rashi: the Rosenbaum & Silbermann Pentateuch (public domain) and the Judaica Press and Metsudah Tanakh (CC BY), via Sefaria. Spurgeon's Treasury of David: public domain (lyteword's markdown edition, CC0).
