New American Standard Bible 1995

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Matthew

21

:

1

When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

Lexicon

Verse part Definition: Part of speech: Strong's: Greek: Transliteration:
When when Adv H3753 ὅτε ote
Analysis:

 

they had approached to make near, refl. to come near V-AIA-3P H1448 ἤγγισαν ēngisan
Jerusalem Jerusalem, the capital of united Isr. and Judah N-ANP H2414 Ἱεροσόλυμα ierosoluma
Analysis:
Read more about: Jerusalem
and had come to come, go V-AIA-3P H2064 ἦλθον ēlthon
to Bethphage, "house of unripe figs," Bethphage, a village on the Mt. of Olives N-AFS H967 Βηθφαγὴ bēthphagē
Analysis:
Read more about: Bethphage
at the Mount a mountain N-ANS H3735 ὄρος oros
of Olives, an olive (the tree or the fruit) N-GFP H1636 ἐλαιῶν elaiōn
then then, at that time Adv H5119 τότε tote
Jesus Jesus or Joshua, the name of the Messiah, also three other Isr. N-NMS H2424 Ἰησοῦς iēsous
Analysis:
Read more about: Jesus
sent to send, send away V-AIA-3S H649 ἀπέστειλεν apesteilen
two two Adj-AMP H1417 δύο duo
Analysis:

Two: Two divergent opinions

The classic example for the number "two" is found in Matthew chapter 26. There, Yeshua says to His disciples,

"You know that after two days comes the Passover, and the Son of Man will be given over for crucifixion."  Matthew 26:2

The phrase "after two days" is somewhat meaningless because after two days can mean three or more days. The period is unspecified. The reason for such ambiguous language is because the purpose of the number two in this passage is not solely numerical. This means that the text is not intending to provide the reader with some definite information concerning a time period. Rather, the purpose of the number two in this context is one of the numerological meanings of the number two.  Often the number two relates to two divergent opinions. In the aforementioned verse, the author wants to inform the reader that there are two very different understandings for this coming Passover. Yeshua wants to emphasize that He is going up to Jerusalem in order to die as the true Passover sacrifice. Even though Yeshua states this emphatically, the disciples did not receive this. In fact, the disciples did not perceive at all what was going to take place during Passover in regard to Yeshua. In other words, Yeshua and the disciples have two divergent opinions concerning the Passover.

This same principle is also found in the Hebrew Bible (Old Covenant). In the book of Amos one reads,

"Can two walk together without them having agreed" Amos 3:3

The word which was translated into English with the phrase "them having agreed" is נועדו. The root of this word is יעד, which relates to a specific destination. The word which precedes this word is בלתי and in this context the word implies a change to the condition. In other words, had there not been a change in the condition, then the two could not walk together, i.e. they could not have arrived at the common destination.

The concept of divergent or different is also seen in the book of Genesis. In speaking about the sun and moon one reads, "And God made two great lights…" (Genesis 1:16). Obviously the sun and moon are very different, as one is a source of light, while the latter just reflects light. Also in the book of Genesis, one encounters the account of the flood. Here Noah is commanded to bring onto the ark two sorts of each type of animal. In this passage, the two relates to two different (or divergent) kinds of the same sort, i.e. male and female. 

Likewise, two angels came to Sodom, demonstrating that the people of Sodom had a very different way of living from that of the Law of God. Once again, the reader should not assume that every occurrence of the number two in the Bible demands this interpretation. However, one will find in a great majority of Biblical passages, the reader will be assisted in arriving at the proper interpretation, when he considers this divergent quality for the number two. 

Loveisrael.org - Baruch Korman, Ph.D. - All Rights Reserved - Used with Permission 2016 

disciples, a disciple N-AMP H3101 μαθητὰς mathētas

Locations

Bethphage

BETHPHAGEbeth'-fa-je, beth'-faj (from beth paghah; Bethphage, or Bethphage; in Aramaic "place of young figs"): Near the Mount of Olives and to the road from Jerusalem to Jericho; mentioned together with Bethany (Matthew 21:1 Mark 11:1 Luke 19:29). The place occurs in several Talmudic passages where it may be inferred that it was near but outside Jerusalem; i... View Details

Jerusalem

JERUSALEMje-roo'-sa-lem:I. THE NAME1. In Cuneiform2. In Hebrew3. In Greek and Latin4. The Meaning of Jerusalem5. Other NamesII. GEOLOGY, CLIMATE AND SPRINGS1. Geology2. Climate and Rainfall3. The Natural SpringsIII. THE NATURAL SITE1. The Mountains Around2. The Valleys3. The HillsIV. GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY OF JERUSALEM1. Description of Josephus2. Summary of the... View Details

Mount of Olives

OLIVES, MOUNT OFol'-ivz, (har ha-zethim (Zechariah 14:4), ma`aleh ha-zethim, "the ascent of the mount of Olives" (2 Samuel 15:30, the King James Version "the ascent of (mount) Olivet"); to oros ton elaion, "the Mount of Olives" (Matthew 21:1; Matthew 24:3; Matthew 26:30 Mark 11:1; Mark 13:3; Mark 14:26 Luke 19:37; Luke 22:39 John 8:1), to oros to kaloumenon... View Details

People

Jesus

Jesus or Joshua, the name of the Messiah, also three other Isr.  

Parallel Verses

Removed text
Added text
New American Standard Bible 1995 When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
King James Bible When And when they had approached Jerusalem drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and had were come to Bethphage, at unto the Mount mount of Olives, then sent Jesus sent two disciples,
Berean Bible When And when they had approached drew near to Jerusalem and had come came to Bethphage, at Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,
Hebrew Greek English When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,