Matthew 4:14–15

Matthew 4:14–15 are the fourteenth and fifteenth verse of the fourth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. In the previous verses Jesus returned to Galilee after hearing of the arrest of John the Baptist and then left Nazareth for Capernaum. These introduce and then contain the first portion of a quote from the Book of Isaiah showing how these movements were preordained by scripture.

In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

14: That it might be fulfilled which was

spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,

15: The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the

way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles;

The World English Bible translates the passage as:

14: that it might be fulfilled which was

spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

15: "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, toward

the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles,

For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 4:14, 4:15

Verse 14 is one of many in Matthew introducing an Old Testament prophecy. This uses the author of Matthew's standard "that it might be fulfilled" structure that appears many other times in the gospel

This verse is based on Isaiah 9:1 in the Old Testament. In the King James Version Isaiah 9:1 reads:

Nevertheless the dimness shall not be such as was in

her vexation, when at the first he lightly afflicted

the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, and

afterward did more grievously afflict her by the way of

the sea, beyond Jordan, in Galilee of the nations.

The author of Matthew considerably abbreviates the verse. France notes that Matthew seems to only be interested in the geographic names of the verse, to the extent that the grammatical links that makes Isaiah 9:1 comprehensible are left out of Matthew 4:15 turning it into little more than a list.^[1]

Capernaum, where Jesus had relocated, was in the region of the Tribe of Naphtali in Galilee, it was also near the land of the Tribe of Zebulun. In the Greek "toward the sea" refers to a specific route, and Jones feels it should perhaps be more accurately read as "on the road to the sea."^[2] In Isaiah this verse is in the section describing the Assyrian invasion of northern Israel. "Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan" thus refers to the geography from the view point of the Assyrian invaders. To them the region of Zebulun and Naphtali would be across the Jordan River on the way to the Mediterranean. In the Middle Ages the "way of the sea" became a common name for the trade routes through this area, based on this verse.^[3]

Gundry feels that the author of Matthew is trying to rework the statement so that it refers to the Sea of Galilee rather than the Mediterranean.^[4] Schweizer considers it odd that the phrase "beyond the Jordan" was not among those cut by the author of Matthew as it makes clear the geography was from a foreign perspective and also does not work with the sea in question being Galilee.^[5]

Gundry also notes that in the Masoretic text the last line reads "region of the Gentiles." The word for region is galil and can easily become Galilee, the switch does not much affect the meaning of the verse as Zebulun and Naphtali were both in Galilee.^[6] France notes that referring to Galilee as the area of the Gentiles was appropriate both when Isaiah and when Matthew were written. While Galilee had a large Jewish population the majority of the people were then Gentiles. The mention of the Gentiles is part of the important theme in Matthew of showing that Jesus' message is meant for both Jews and Gentiles. France notes that in Matthew there is a common pattern of Jesus being persecuted by the Jews, as had happened with the arrest of John the Baptist, but being turned by this persecution to more receptive Gentile audiences.^[7]

References

1. France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.
2. Jones, Alexander. The Gospel According to St. Matthew. London: Geoffrey Chapman, 1965.
3. Keener, Craig S. A commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1999. pg. 147
4. Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
5. Schweizer, Eduard. The Good News According to Matthew. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975
6. Gundry, Robert H. Matthew a Commentary on his Literary and Theological Art. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1982.
7. France, R.T. The Gospel According to Matthew: an Introduction and Commentary. Leicester: Inter-Varsity, 1985.