Commentary for (Matthew XXII, 15-XXIII, 39; Matthew XXIV, 36-XXVI, 2)

Oleksandr Zhabenko 🇬🇧
Glory Be to Jesus Christ!
🌞

Since in the works published at the following links:
https://churchandsociety.org.ua/pdf/projects/zbirnyk.pdf
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/17082024.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/27112024.html
it is written that the use of prepositions is important for the correct understanding of important and actual issues, in particular the issue of power, I am writing commentaries on the use of these prepositions. As a piece of advice on how to read the text, you can read the verse in translation and/or in the original (if you have the opportunity), and then the commentary on prepositions here. Next, you need to understand which part of the verse the commentary refers to, and consider what it affirms — or less often, denies — that is essential to understanding. This thoughtful reading helps to deepen understanding and protects against the mistakes mentioned above.

At the early service:
(Matthew XXII, 15-XXIII, 39)
Matthew XXII, 15 — ὅπως αὐτὸν παγιδεύσωσιν ἐν λόγῳ - hopos auton pagideusosin en logo - how to catch Him in the word; to catch Him in the word; so that they might catch Him in the word. All translations are possible.

Matthew XXII, 16 — ἐν ἀληθείᾳ - en aletheia - in truth; truly. That is, how. 'εἰς πρόσωπον ἀνθρώπων' - eis prosopon anthropon - into the face of man. That is, you do not try to fit in with social expectations.

Matthew XXII, 23 — Ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ - en ekeine te hemera - in that day; on that day.

Matthew XXII, 25 — ‘παρ’ ἡμῖν' - ‘par hemin’ - in the vicinity of us'. The preposition “para in its form before the following he is here with the dative case and indicates here that these brothers were (according to the Sadducees, many consider the story to be fictional, although there is nothing fantastic or unrealistic about it) among those Sadducees.

Matthew XXII, 28, 30 — ἐν (γὰρ) τῇ ἀναστάσει - en (gar) te anastasei - (for) in the resurrection. That is, after the general resurrection of the dead. 'ὡς ἄγγελοι θεοῦ ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ εἰσίν' - ‘hos angeloi theou en to ourano eisin’ - ‘as the angels of God in the heaven, are; like the angels of God in the heaven, are’. That is, the state of people after the general resurrection of the dead is similar to the state of God's angels in heaven. This applies to all people; it is a state of nature. At the same time, this does not mean that people will feel the same way as the angels of God, because the feelings of God's angels are very dependent on the grace of God. People will have a state of bliss or judgement and to varying degrees depending on their union with God and its degree, form and depth.

Matthew XXII, 31 — τὸ ῥηθὲν ὑμῖν ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ - to rethen hymin hypo tou theou - what God has said to you. The preposition hypo is here with the genitive case and indicates that it is the passive voice of the participle said.

Matthew XXII, 35 — εἷς ἐξ αὐτῶν - heis ex auton - one of them. The preposition ek in its form before the next vowel indicates here that this Pharisee was of one mind with them, with those Pharisees, was their typical representative.

Matthew XXII, 36 — ‘μεγάλη ἐν τῷ νόμῳ’ - ‘megale en to nomo’ - ‘great in the Law; greater in the Law; the greatest in the Law’. All translations are possible.

Matthew XXII, 37 — ἀγαπήσεις κύριον τὸν θεόν σου ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ καρδίᾳ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ ψυχῇ σου καὶ ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ διανοίᾳ σου - 'agapeseis kyrion ton theon sou en hole te kardia sou kai en hole te psykhe sou kai en hole te dianoia sou' - You shall love the Lord your God in all your heart, and in all your soul, and in all your mind (deep comprehension, understanding); You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your understanding (deep comprehension, mind). A comparison with the parallel passages shows that they use different prepositions, which is important. Comparison with the text at the following link:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/05022025.html
shows that the first version is better in terms of meaning, since it tells us where love should be, that it should fill the whole person, the whole human being with all the consequences of this fullness.
Comparison with the Gospel of Luke shows that both versions of prepositions are combined there:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/10112024.html
The lawyer first says 'ex holes tes kardias' and then uses the preposition 'en'. Christ's answer shows that this is also correct. The use of ex shows where love begins and originates, and that it must be completely sincere.
In general, we can say that ‘en’ in this passage is always better translated as ‘in,’ while ‘ex’ is better translated as from or 'out of'. The former emphasises being filled with love, its depth and meaningfulness, while the latter emphasises sincerity, origin and freedom, spontaneity, and naturalness.

Matthew XXII, 40 — ‘ἐν ταύταις ταῖς δυσὶν ἐντολαῖς’ - ‘en tautais tais dysin entolais’ - ‘in these two commandments; with these two commandments’. Both translations are possible, the first indicating that they summarise the meaning of all the commandments and the ministry of the prophets, and the second that they are the basis for the Law and the Prophets.

Matthew XXII, 43 — ‘ἐν πνεύματι’ - ‘en pneumati’ - ‘in the Spirit; with the Spirit’. There are two possible translations: the first indicates that the Holy Spirit says more than David himself, and the second that David cooperates with the Holy Spirit, consciously prophesying about the Son of God, calling us to do the same.

Matthew XXII, 44 — ‘ἐκ δεξιῶν’ - ‘ek dexion’ - ‘from the right (side)’. That is, on the right hand, a common expression.

Matthew XXII, 46 — ‘ἀπ’ ἐκείνης τῆς ἡμέρας' - ‘ap ekeines tes hemeras’ - ‘since that day’. The preposition ‘apo’ in its form before the next vowel indicates here the beginning of the count.

Matthew XXIII, 6 — φιλοῦσιν δὲ τὴν πρωτοκλισίαν ἐν τοῖς δείπνοις καὶ τὰς πρωτοκαθεδρίας ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς - 'philousin de protoklisian en tois deipnois kai tas protokathedria en tais synagogais' - 'love (are emotionally attached, it causes them a lot of positive emotions) the first places at banquets and the first seats in synagogues'. That is, they love honour and seek it. For more on the Christian attitude to this, see, in particular, the following links:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/posts/
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/20022023.html

Matthew XXIII, 7 — 'ἐν ταῖς ἀγοραῖς' - 'en tais agorais' - 'in the markets; in places where people gather'. 'καλεῖσθαι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων' - kaleisthai hypo ton anthropon - to be called by people. The preposition hypo is here with the genitive case and indicates that it is the passive voice of the verb to be called.

Matthew XXIII, 11 — ‘ὁ δὲ μείζων ὑμῶν ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος’ - ‘ho de meizon hymon estai hymon diakonos’ - ‘your great one (greater, the greatest) will be your servant’. In support of the thoughts on verse 6 above.

Matthew XXIII, 16, 21 — ἐν τῷ ναῷ - en to nao - with the temple; with the sanctuary. 'ἐν τῷ χρυσῷ τοῦ ναοῦ' - en to khryso tou naou - with the gold of the temple. The Jerusalem temple, the only temple of Judaism, is mentioned here everywhere.

Matthew XXIII, 18, 20 — ἐν τῷ θυσιαστηρίῳ - en to thysiasterio - with an altar. 'ἐν τῷ δώρῳ τῷ ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ' - ‘en to doro to epano autou’ - ‘with a gift on top of it’. That is, with a sacrifice on the altar.

Matthew XXIII, 20 — ‘ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ’ - ‘en auto kai en pasin tois epano autou’ - ‘ with it and with all that is on top of it’. That is, the altar and the sacrifice on it. Nothing was placed on the altar but sacrifices.

Matthew XXIII, 21 — ‘ἐν αὐτῷ καὶ ἐν τῷ κατοικοῦντι αὐτόν’ - ‘en auto kai en to katoikounti auton’ - ‘with it and with Him Who dwells in it’. That is, with God. Christ points out that the temple should be treated with respect, because although God is Omnipresent, not limited to anything or anyone, the temple should be respected because it is a place of God's special presence, a place dedicated to God Himself.

Matthew XXIII, 22 — ‘ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ’ - ‘en to ourano’ - ‘in the heaven’. 'ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἐν τῷ καθημένῳ ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ' - ‘en to throno tou theou kai en to kathemeno epano autou’ - ‘with the throne of God and with the One Who sits on top of it’. That is, with God the King, the Most High, the Almighty. That is, with the Most High. Christ is saying what the desire of people to swear can lead to - the madness of violating their authority. See more about this in the Sermon on the Mount:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/PowerOfHuman.html

Matthew XXIII, 25 — ἔσωθεν δὲ γέμουσιν ἐξ ἁρπαγῆς καὶ ἀκρασίας - esothen de gemousin ex harpages kai akrasias - within are full of plunder and intemperance. That is, the desire to break the limits, go beyond their own and other people's real limits, get what is not theirs and similar violations. A virtuous person needs to overcome such impulses if they arise. This will mean that they have the virtue of restraint, unlike the Pharisees here.

Matthew XXIII, 30 — ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις τῶν πατέρων ἡμῶν - en tais hemerais ton pateron hemon - in the days of our fathers. 'ἐν τῷ αἵματι τῶν προφητῶν' - en to haimati ton propheton - in the blood of the prophets.

Matthew XXIII, 33 — ἀπὸ τῆς κρίσεως τῆς γεέννης - apo tes kriseos tes geennes - from the judgement of hell. The preposition apo indicates that it is a question of complete escape, of total avoidance, i.e. how to avoid going there at all.

Matthew XXIII, 34 — ἐξ αὐτῶν - ex auton - of them. That is, representatives of those messengers of God. 'ἐν ταῖς συναγωγαῖς ὑμῶν' - en tais synagogais hymon - in your synagogues. 'ἀπὸ πόλεως εἰς πόλιν' - apo poleos eis polin - from city to city. The preposition apo indicates that the persecution will force God's faithful messengers to leave one city and go to another, where history will repeat itself.

Matthew XXIII, 35 — ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος Ἅβελ τοῦ δικαίου ἕως τοῦ αἵματος Ζαχαρίου υἱοῦ Βαραχίου - 'apo tou haimatos Abel tou dikaiou heos tou haimatos Zakhariou hyiou Barakhiou' - from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zacharias, the son of Barachiah'. That is, one of the 12 minor prophets, Zechariah. The preposition ‘apo’ indicates that this is a reference to the beginning of the count and a certain ‘range’. See more about this passage here:
https://www.facebook.com/Oleksandr.S.Zhabenko/posts/

Matthew XXIII, 37 — 'ὑπὸ τὰς πτέρυγας' - 'hypo tas pterygas' - 'under the wings'. The preposition ‘hypo’ is here with the accusative and indicates that the assembly is ‘under wings’ (figuratively, God has no wings).

Matthew XXIII, 39 — ἀπ' ἄρτι - “ap arti - from now on. A common expression. 'εὐλογημένος ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἐν ὀνόματι κυρίου' - ‘eulogemenos ho erkhomenos en onomati kyriou’ - ‘blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord; into the name of the Lord; with the name of the Lord’. Different translations are possible. In general, there is an obvious parallel to Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, which the scribes and Pharisees rejected.

For more on the reading, please refer to the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/11042023.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/30042024.html

At the liturgy:
(Matthew XXIV, 36-XXVI, 2)
For verses 36-44 of Matthew XXIV, please see the link:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/18012025.html

Matthew XXIV, 45 — 'ἐν καιρῷ' - 'en kairo' - 'in time'. A common expression.

Matthew XXIV, 48 — ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ - en te kardia autou - in his heart.

Matthew XXIV, 50 — ἐν ἡμέρᾳ - en hemera - on the day. 'ἐν ὥρᾳ' - ‘en hora’ - ‘at the hour; at the season’. A common expression.

For parallel passages to Matthew XXIV, 45-51, please see the following links:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/22022025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/13022025.html

For chapter XXV, please see:
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/25012025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/19012025.html
https://oleksandr-zhabenko.github.io/en/commentaries/23022025.html

Glory be to Thee, our God, glory be to Thee!