Berean Bible

Back to Reader

Matthew

Note Journal Prayer

25

:

32

“

And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Greek: Transliteration:
all All, the whole, every kind of. Adj-NNP H3956 πάντα panta
nations A race, people, nation; the nations, heathen world, Gentiles. N-NNP H1484 ἔθνη ethnē
the The, the definite article. V-FIP-3P H4863 συναχθήσονται sunachthēsontai
before In front, before the face; sometimes made a subst. by the addition of the article: in front of, before the face of. Prep H1715 ἔμπροσθεν emprosthen
He will separate To rail off, separate, place apart. V-PIA-3S H873 ἀφορίσει aphorisei
one from another, One another, each other. RecPro-GMP H240 ἀλλήλων allēlōn
Analysis:

One: God

Refers to HaShem (God), Who is One. This number can also refer to unity. The first place the number "one" occurs is in Genesis 1:5. There one reads, "And there was an evening and there was a morning— one day". Later on in this same book of Genesis, it is stated concerning the man and his wife, "And they became one flesh" (Genesis 2:24). It is very significant that in both of these examples there was a multiplicity for the subject. In the first example, the evening and the morning became one day and in the second example, it was Adam and Eve who became one flesh.

One of the most famous passages in the Torah concerning HaShem is Deuteronomy 6:4 which states, "Hear O Israel the Lord your God the Lord is One." The question that a person must ask himself is what is the connection between the use of the Hebrew word אחד "one" which identifies a multiplicity being one and the fact that the Lord God of Israel is One? The answer is that the Hebrew word אחד can relate to the concept for one as in "unification". There is another Hebrew word that would have been possible to be used if the author wanted to refer to an absolute oneness or singleness. This is the Hebrew word יחיד. In fact, there is a well-known prayer in Judaism which states, "אחד ואין יחיד כיחודו". This phrase should be translated as, "(God is) One and there is no singularity as His singularity." The idea that is being expressed in this prayer is that the Lord God of Israel is One; but not an absolute One; rather there is a uniqueness and a complexity to His Oneness.

The number one is frequently employed to express in the Scriptures one object, such as one man or one tabernacle. This usage would be the simple or common purpose that the number one or for that matter any number, would appear in a Biblical text. Often the appearance of a number does not contain any of the significance that Hebrew numerology might offer. Therefore, the reader must always consider when coming across a verse which contains a number, that the number only expresses an amount and no additional significance. 

Because the number one is often associated with God, there is a unique phenomenon in the Scriptures concerning this number. Sometimes the number one is employed to express a unique relationship that the object has to HaShem. For example,

"And it will be one day, it will be known to HaShem..." Zechariah 14:7

In the text above, Zechariah could have stated simply, "And it will be a day…" The fact that the prophet said "one day" is to convey that this day is uniquely related to God. Similarly, it is stated by the prophet Ezekiel in chapter 37, "one King", "one nation" and "one Shepherd" (see Ezekiel 37:22, 24). Each of these objects—King, nation and Shepherd—has a connection to HaShem. The King and Shepherd is Messiah Yeshua, the Son of God and the one nation is Israel, the people of God.

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016
shepherd A shepherd; hence of the feeder, protector, and ruler of a flock of men. N-NMS H4166 ποιμὴν poimēn
the The, the definite article. V-PIA-3S H873 ἀφορίζει aphorizei
the The, the definite article. N-ANP H4263 πρόβατα probata
goats. A goat. N-GMP H2056 ἐρίφων eriphōn

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
Berean Bible And all the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
King James Bible And all the nations will before him shall be gathered before Him, all nations: and He will he shall separate them one from another, as the a shepherd separates the divideth his sheep from the goats.goats:
Hebrew Greek English And all "All the nations will be gathered before Him, Him; and He will separate them one from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.goats;
New American Standard Bible 1995 And all "All the nations will be gathered before Him, Him; and He will separate them one from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.goats;