Matthew 5:21

“Ye have heard, etc.] That is, from the Scriptures being read to them, and the explanations of the ancients, which were called at[mç, “hearing”, being read in the schools, and heard by the scholars f280; so that to “hear”, was along with the recital of the text, to receive by tradition, the sense the elders had given of it: of this kind is the instance produced by Christ. Thus Onkelos, and Jonathan ben Uzziel, render the phrase, “him shall ye hear”, in (<051815>Deuteronomy 18:15) by ˆylbqt hynm, “from him shall ye receive”; so those phrases f281, h[wmçh ypm wdml, “they learn from hearing”, or by report from others; and h[wmçh ypm wrma “they speak from hearing”, or from what they have heard,…”

“Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time--or, as in the Margin, "to them of old time." Which of these translations is the right one has been much controverted. Either of them is grammatically defensible, though the latter--"to the ancients"--is more consistent with New Testament usage (see the Greek of Rom 9:12, Rom 9:26; Rev 6:11; Rev 9:4); and most critics decide in favor of it. But it is not a question of Greek only. Nearly all who would translate "to the ancients" take the speaker of the words quoted to be Moses in the law; "the ancients" to be the people to whom Moses gave the law; and the intention of our Lord here to be to contrast His own teaching, more or less, with that…”

“Ye have heard - Or, this is the common interpretation among the Jews. Jesus proceeds here to comment on some prevailing opinions among the Jews; to show that the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was defective; and that people needed a better righteousness, or they could not be saved. He illustrates what he meant by that better righteousness by showing that the common opinions of the scribes were erroneous. By them of old time - This might be translated to the ancients, referring to Moses and the prophets. But it is more probable that Jesus here refers to the interpreters of the law and the prophets. He did not set himself against the law of Moses, but against the false and…”

“Ye have heard - From the scribes reciting the law; Thou shalt do no murder - And they interpreted this, as all the other commandments, barely of the outward act. The judgement - The Jews had in every city a court of twenty - three men, who could sentence a criminal to be strangled. But the sanhedrim only (the great council which sat at Jerusalem, consisting of seventy - two men,) could sentence to the more terrible death of stoning. That was called the judgment, this the council. Exo 20:13. Matthew 5:22”

“5:21-47 You have heard. . . . But I say: Jesus contrasts his own teaching to six misinterpretations of the law. Each antithesis provides an example of the surpassing righteousness of Jesus. Jesus reveals the will of God as it contrasts with traditions. 5:21 our ancestors were told: The expression refers to the traditional interpretation of the teachers of religious law and Pharisees. Though their traditions prohibited murder, they did not prohibit hatred. The surpassing righteousness of Jesus demands reconciliation (5:23-24); merely refraining from committing murder is not sufficient (5:22).”

“it: Mat 5:27, Mat 5:33, Mat 5:43; Sa2 20:18; Job 8:8-10 by them: or, to them Thou: Gen 9:5, Gen 9:6; Exo 20:13; Deu 5:17 and: Exo 21:12-14; Num 35:12, Num 35:16-21, Num 35:30-34; Deu 21:7-9; Kg1 2:5, Kg1 2:6, Kg1 2:31, Kg1 2:32 Matthew 5:22”