Matthew 27:7

New Testament Gospel ASV (1901)

What does Matthew 27:7 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter`s field, to bury strangers in.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter`s field, to bury strangers in.
Matthew 27:7 — American Standard Version

Context — Matthew 27

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
7And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter`s field, to bury strangers in.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And they took counsel, etc.] With one another, considered of the matter, and deliberated about it a while; and at last came to a resolution, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in: a field of no great value, or it could not have been bought so near Jerusalem for so small a sum as thirty pieces of silver. Grotius’s conjecture seems to be a good one, that it was a field the potter had dug up for his use, and had made the most of it; so that it was good for nothing, but for the purpose for which these men bought it, “to bury strangers in”: either such as were not of their own nation, as the Roman soldiers, many of which were among them, and who they did not suffer to be…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“And they took counsel ... - They consulted among themselves about the proper way to dispose of this money. And bought with them - In Acts 1:18, it is said of Judas that “he purchased a field with the reward of his iniquity.” By the passage in the Acts is meant no more than that he “furnished the means” or “was the occasion” of purchasing the field. It is not of necessity implied that Judas actually made the contract and paid down the money to buy a field to bury strangers in - a thing which would be in itself very improbable, but that it was “by his means” that the field was purchased. It is very frequent in the Scriptures, as well as in other writings, to represent a man as doing that which…”
Read attributed excerpt →
Wesley's Explanatory Notes
John Wesley (1703–1791) · Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament and Old Testament notes · 18th-century historical commentary
“They bought with them the potter's field - Well known, it seems, by that name. This was a small price for a field so near Jerusalem. But the earth had probably been digged for potters' vessels, so that it was now neither fit for tillage nor pasture, and consequently of small value. Foreigners - Heathens especially, of whom there were then great numbers in Jerusalem. Matthew 27:9”
Read attributed excerpt →
Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“27:7 Foreigners were Gentiles who died in Jerusalem. An asset whose owner could not be traced was used for public charity. In this instance, unclean money was used to buy an unclean place for unclean people.”
Read attributed excerpt →

Related study paths

Sources and verification