Matthew 8:20

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

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Word by word — the Greek

Word	Greek	Strong’s	Meaning
And	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
Jesus	Ἰησοῦς· Iēsous	G2424	Jesus (i.e. Jehoshua) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
saith	λέγει legei	G3004	properly · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
him	αὐτῷ autō	G846	the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
The foxes	ἀλώπεκες alōpekes	G258	a fox · noun — nominative plural feminine
have	ἔχουσιν echousin	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person plural
holes	φωλεοὺς phōleous	G5454	a burrow or lurking-place · noun — accusative plural masculine
and	καὶ kai	G2532	and · conjunction
the birds	πετεινὰ peteina	G4071	a flying animal · noun — nominative plural neuter
of the air	οὐρανοῦ ouranou	G3772	the sky · noun — genitive singular masculine
nests	κατασκηνώσεις, kataskēnōseis	G2682	an encamping · noun — accusative plural feminine
but	δὲ de	G1161	but · conjunction
the Son	υἱὸς huios	G5207	a "son" (sometimes of animals) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a title
of man	ἀνθρώπου anthrōpou	G444	from G3700 (ὀπτάνομαι)) · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
hath	ἔχει echei	G2192	to hold (used in very various applications · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
not	οὐκ ouk	G3756	the absolute negative (compare G3361 (μή)) adverb · particle — negative
where	ποῦ pou	G4226	as adverb of place · adverb — interrogative
to lay	κλίνῃ.¶ klinē	G2827	to slant or slope · verb — present active subjunctive, 3rd person singular
head	κεφαλὴν kephalēn	G2776	the head (as the part most readily taken hold of) · 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

Psalms 84:3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, m…
Luke 2:7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them…
Isaiah 53:2-3 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see…
Psalms 104:17 Where the birds make their nests: as for the stork, the fir trees are her house.
Luke 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.
2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty mig…
Psalms 109:22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart is wounded within me.
Luke 2:12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

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

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 8:18-22

Here is, I. Christ's removing to the other side of the sea of Tiberias, and his ordering his disciples, whose boats attended him, to get their transport-vessels ready, in order to it, Mat 8:18. The influences of this Sun of righteousness were not to be confined to one place, but diffused all the country over; he must go about to do good; the necessities of souls called to him, Come over, and help us (Act 16:9); he removed when he saw great multitudes about him. Though by this it appeared that they were desirous to have him there, he knew there were others as desirous to have him with them, and they must have their share of him: his being acceptable and useful in one place was no objection ag…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 8:20

And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head--Few as there were of the scribes who attached themselves to Jesus, it would appear, from his calling Him Teacher, that this one was a "disciple" in that looser sense of the word in which it is applied to the crowds who flocked after Him, with more or less conviction that His claims were well founded. But from the answer which he received we are led to infer that there was more of transient emotion--of temporary impulse--than of intelligent principle in the speech. The preaching of Christ had riveted and charmed him; his heart had swelled; his enthusiasm had…

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John Gill on Matthew 8:20

And Jesus saith unto him,.... Knowing his heart, and the carnal and worldly views with which he acted; the foxes have holes in the earth, where they hide themselves from danger, take their rest, and secure their whelps; and the birds of the air have nests, where they sit, lay, and hatch their eggs, and bring up their young; but the son of man has not where to lay his head, when he is weary, and wants rest and sleep, as he did at this time. So that though he was Lord of all, as being the mighty God; yet as "the son of man", a phrase, expressive both of the truth and meanness of his human nature, the most despicable of creatures in the earth and air, were richer than he. This he said, to co…

The Church Fathers

Heretics confiding in their art are signified by the foxes, the evil spirits by the birds of the air, who have their holes and their nests, that is, their abodes in the heart of the Jewish people.
— Rabanus Maurus ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

That Lord walked in humility and obscurity, with no definite home: for "the Son of man," said He, "hath not where to lay His head; " unadorned in dress, for else He had not said, "Behold, they who are clad in soft raiment are in kings' houses: " in short, inglorious in countenance and aspect, just as Isaiah withal had fore-announced.
— Tertullian, On Idolatry

(Mor. xix. 1.) Otherwise; The fox is a crafty animal, lying hid in ditches and dens, and when it comes abroad never going in a straight path, but in crooked windings; birds raise themselves in the air. By the foxes then are meant the subtle and deceitful dæmons, by the birds the proud dæmons; as though He had said; Deceitful and proud dæmons have their abode in your heart; but my lowliness finds no rest in a proud spirit.
— Gregory the Dialogist ((as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)), Catena Aurea by Aquinas

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

Daemon — The Greek form, rendered “devil” in the Authorized Version of the New Testament. Daemons are spoken of as spiritual beings (Matt. 8:16; 10:1; 12:43-45) at enmity with God, and as having a certain…
Birds · Nests of — Nests of
Christ, Character Of · Self-denying — Self-denying
Fox · General references — General references
Fox, The · Dwells in holes — Dwells in holes
Human Nature Of Christ, The · Attested by himself — Attested by himself
Instability · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Poor, The · Christ lived as one of — Christ lived as one of
Self-Denial · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning

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).

Matthew 8:20

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 8:18-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 8:20

John Gill on Matthew 8:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Matthew 8:20

Word by word — the Greek

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Matthew 8:18-22

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Matthew 8:20

John Gill on Matthew 8:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Matthew 8:19-22

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Matthew 8:20