Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Matthew 15:4
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
For God commanded, saying, etc.] That he might not be thought to suggest this without any foundation, he gives them an instance, wherein a command of God was transgressed, by the observance of their tradition: the command he refers to, stands in (<022012>Exodus 20:12) and is this; Honour thy father and mother. This was a plain command of God, written with his own hand, and delivered by Moses to them; it was of a moral nature, and of eternal obligation: and to be understood, not merely of that high esteem parents are to be had in by their children, and of the respectful language and gesture to be used towards them, and of the cheerful obedience to be yielded to them; but also of honouring them with their substance, feeding, clothing, and supplying them with the necessaries of life, when they stand in need thereof; which is but their reasonable service, for all the care, expense, and trouble they have been at, in bringing them up in the world: nor did the Jews deny this to be the duty of children to their parents, and own it to be the sense of the commandment: they say f884, that this is the weightiest commandment among the weighty ones, even this, the honouring of father and mother; and ask, “What is this honour? To which is replied, he must give him food, drink, and clothing; buckle his shoes, and lead him in, and bring him out.” They indeed laid down this as a rule, and it seems a very equitable one f885; that, “when a man’s father has any money, or substance, he must be supported out of that; but if he has none, he must support him out of his own.” But then, as will be seen hereafter, they made void this command of God, and their own explications of it, by some other tradition. Moreover, Christ observes, that it is said, (<022117>Exodus 21:17) And he that curseth father or mother, let him die the death; temporal and eternal: and which is a positive command of God, made as a fence for the former; and is to be understood, not only of giving abusive language to parents, but of slighting, as the Hebrew word signifies, and neglecting them, taking no notice of them, when needy and in distress, to supply their wants. Now these commands of God, Christ shows the Jews transgressed by their tradition, as appears from the following verses. Ver. 5-6. But ye say, whosoever shall say to his father or mother, etc.] That is, it was a tradition of their’s, that if a man should say to his father and mother, when poor and in distress, and made application to him for sustenance, it is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, and honour not his father, or his mother, he shall be free: or, as Mark expresses it, “it is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me, he shall be free, and ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or mother”. For the understanding of this tradition, let it be observed, that the word “Corban” signifies a gift, or offering, which was devoted to sacred use; and was unalienable, and could not be converted to any other use; and that this word was used among the Jews, from hence, as the form of an oath, or vow; and therefore, when anyone said “Corban”, it was all one, as if he swore by “Corban”; or as if he had said, let it be as “Corban”, as unalienable as “Corban”: by which oath, or vow, the use of that which was spoken of, whether it respected a man’s self, or others, was restrained and prohibited: the rule was f886 this rwsa awh ˆbrqk rmwak ˆbrq, “if a man said Corban, it wa…
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