Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 25:2
And five of them were wise, and five [were] foolish.
2. wise ] The word is used of prudence or practical intelligence, a characteristic of the steward, ch. Mat 24:45, and Luk 16:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And five of them were wise – . The words wise and foolish, here, refer only to their conduct; in regard to the oil. The one part was wise in taking oil, the other foolish in neglecting it. The conduct of those who were wise refers to those who are prepared for the coming of Christ – prepared by possessing real piety, and not being merely his professed followers. The conduct of those without oil expresses the conduct of those who profess to love him, but are destitute of true grace, and are therefore unprepared to meet him. Nothing can be argued from the number here in regard to the proportion of sincere Christians among professors. circumstances in parables are not to be pressed literally. They are necessary to keep up the story, and we must look chiefly or entirely to the scope or design of the parable to understand its meaning. In this parable the scope is to teach us to watch or be ready, Mat 25:13. It is not to teach us the relative number of those who shall be saved and who shall not. In teaching us to watch and to be ready, our Lord gives great additional interest by the circumstances of this narrative; but there is no authority for saying that he meant to teach that just half of professing Christians would be deceived. The moral certainty is that nothing like that number will be found to have been hypocrites.
Oil in their vessels – The five foolish virgins probably expected that the bridegroom would come immediately; they therefore made no provision for any delay. The wise virgins knew that the time of his coming was uncertain, and they therefore furnished themselves with oil. This was carried in vessels, so that it could be poured on the torches when it was necessary.
Vessels – Cups, cans, or anything to hold oil.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 2. Five of them were wise] Or, provident, – they took care to make a proper provision beforehand, and left nothing to be done in the last moment.
Five were foolish] , which might be translated careless, is generally rendered foolish; but this does not agree so well with , provident, or prudent, in the first clause, which is the proper meaning of the word. in the Etymologicon, is thus defined, , he who sees not what is proper or necessary. These did not see that it was necessary to have oil in their vessels, (the salvation of God in their souls,) as well as a burning lamp of religious profession, Matt 25:3; Matt 25:4.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
2. And five of them were wise, andfive were foolishThey are not distinguished into good and bad,as TRENCH observes, butinto “wise” and “foolish”just as in Mt7:25-27 those who reared their house for eternity aredistinguished into “wise” and “foolish builders”;because in both cases a certain degree of goodwill towards the truthis assumed. To make anything of the equal number of both classeswould, we think, be precarious, save to warn us how large a portionof those who, up to the last, so nearly resemble those that loveChrist’s appearing will be disowned by Him when He comes.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And five of them were wise,…. The order of these words is inverted in some versions, as in the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, and Ethiopic, and in Munster’s Hebrew Gospel, which read, “and five of them were foolish, and five of them were wise”; but this is of no great consequence. There is a parable of R. Jochanan ben Zaccai m, who lived before, and after the destruction of the second temple, which bears some likeness to this part of the parable, and others in it, and is this;
“a certain king invited his servants, but did not fix any time for them; those of them that were , “wise”, adorned themselves, and sat at the gate of the king’s house, and said, is there any want at the king’s house? but those of them that were , “fools”, went and did their work, and said, is there any feast without trouble? on a sudden, the king inquired after his servants: the wise went in before him, as they were, adorned; but the fools went in before him, as they were, filthy: the king rejoiced at meeting the wise, and was angry at meeting the foolish; and ordered, that those who had adorned themselves for the feast should sit and eat, and those that had not adorned themselves for the feast should stand.”
The wise virgins are such, who are wise, not in their own conceits, which is the case of natural men, and empty professors; nor in the things of nature, or in the things of the world, of which the saints are oftentimes less knowing than others; nor in notional and speculative knowledge, much less in things that are evil: but they are such who are wise unto salvation; who not only know the scheme of it, but are sensible of their need of it; apply to Christ for it; venture their souls on him, and commit them to him: they trust in his righteousness for justification; in his blood for pardon; in his sacrifice for atonement; in his fulness for daily supplies; in his grace and strength to perform every duty; and expect eternal life in, and from him: they know him, prize him, and value him as their Saviour; rejoice in him, and give him all the glory; and they are such who are also wise in the business of a profession, as well as in the affair of salvation; they are such who take up a profession of religion aright, upon principles of grace, and after mature thought and deliberation; and when they have so done, hold it fast without wavering, walk becoming it in their lives and conversations; and yet do not depend on it, or trust to it:
and five were foolish; not in their own apprehension, in which they might be wise enough; nor in the judgment of others; nor in natural knowledge; or with respect to the things of the world; nor in speculative notions of the Gospel; nor merely so called, because unconverted; every unconverted man being a foolish man: but they were so in the business of salvation; as all are who build their hopes of it on birth privileges; on a carnal descent from good men; on a religious education; on their own righteousness; or on the absolute mercy of God; and not on Christ, the one only, and sure foundation: they are such who know not themselves; the impurity of their hearts, and nature; their impotency to that which is spiritually good; and the imperfection and insufficiency of their own righteousness: they know not Christ, and his salvation, neither the worth, nor want of him, or that; and are altogether strangers to the power of godliness, and spiritual experience: and are also as foolish in the affair of a profession, which they take up without a work of the Spirit of God upon their souls, and without considering the cost and charge of it; and either in a little time wholly drop it, or, if they hold it, they foolishly depend upon it, or lead lives unsuitable to it. The number of wise and foolish virgins being equal, does not imply that there will be just the same number of nominal, as of real believers in the churches, in the latter day, a little before the coming of Christ; only that there will be a large number of such among them.
m T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 153. 1. Vid. R. David Kimchi in Isa. lxv. 13.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
2. Five were wise. Towards the close of the former chapter, our Lord specially required steward to be wise, (Mat 24:45) for it is reasonable, that the heavier the charge which any man sustains, and the more important the matters in which he is employed, the wisdom with which he conducts himself should be the greater. But now he demands wisdom from all the children of God in general, that they may not, through inconsiderate rashness, expose themselves to be the prey of Satan. Now this kind of wisdom he describes by saying, that they are to provide themselves with the supplies necessary for completing the course of their life. For the warmth of our impatience makes us look upon the time, however short, as far too long protracted; and next, our poverty is such, that we need supplies for every hour.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(2) Five of them were wise.The word is the same as in Mat. 24:45, where see Note.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
2. Five wise five foolish As their conduct demonstrated. This is not to be taken as an indication of the comparative number of the saved and the lost.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For the foolish, when they took their torches, took no oil with them, but the wise took oil in their vessels with their torches.’
The division between five and five is arbitrary. The point is that everyone is in one section or the other (compare Mat 7:13-14). And the question is whether they will be those who are truly prepared when the Lord comes, or whether they will be those who are just carelessly assuming that everything will be all right, only to discover at the last that it is not. They lack the vital ingredient that makes all the difference, the oil of true spirituality which reveals itself in giving true spiritual light.
The torches would be sticks to which oiled rags would be attached. These would be soaked in oil. As the time passed the oil in the rags would tend to dry out, and the wise therefore took with them vessels containing olive oil with which they could further soak the rags when they had to be lit, thus renewing the oil. The foolish just depended on the old oil as being enough for the purpose. But because they all had to wait for a while the oil in their torches would dry out.
In these verses we have laid out before us the basically important question in life. In what does true wisdom consist? And the answer given is that true wisdom lies in possessing the God-provided oil so that the torch may shine out (Mat 5:16). The parable does not tell us where this God-provided oil would come from. But we have only to look at the remainder of the Gospel, and especially to Jesus’ teaching, to discover the answer to that question. It comes from being especially blessed by God (Mat 5:3-10; Mat 11:6; Mat 13:16; Mat 16:17), it comes through faith (Mat 8:10; Mat 9:2; Mat 9:29; Mat 15:28), it comes from the working of the Holy Spirit (Mat 3:11), it comes from being one of the ransomed (Mat 20:28). Most of those who are seen as wise in this world will spurn such oil, for it is for ‘babes’ (Mat 11:25; Mat 18:3-4 compare 1Co 1:18 to 1Co 2:16). It is for the lowly in heart (Mat 5:3-9; Mat 11:28-30).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
2 And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
Ver. 2. Five were foolish ] That is, some were wise, and some others foolish, and these last usually the most imprudent, improvident, after witted, oculos habentes in occipitio, having eyes in the back of their head, that foresee not a following mischief, but come in with their fools’ Had I known, with their Si praescivissem, as the lion in the fable ( quasi ). The Spaniards say of the Portuguese that they are pocos y focos, few and foolish. But of foolish virgins, that is, of profligate professors, that have no more than an outside, there are not a few, but more than a good many in all places, Son 6:8-9 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Mat 25:2 . , : equal numbers of both, not intended to represent the proportion in the spiritual sphere; foolish, wise, not bad and good, but imprudent and prudent, thoughtless and thoughtful. Even the “foolish” might be very attractive, lovable girls; perhaps might have been the favourites at the feast: for wisdom is apt to be cold; foolish first named in best MSS., and properly, for they play the chief rle in the story, and are first characterised in the sequel.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
wise = prudent.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Mat 25:2. -, prudent-foolish) See ch. Mat 7:24; Mat 7:26.- , and the five other foolish) Their condition becomes better understood from the description given of the prudent.[1079]
[1079] Both characters are clearly described in 2Pe 1:5-11.-B. G. V. They aimed at what was right, but not consistently and steadily.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Mat 7:24-27, Mat 13:19-23, Mat 13:38-43, Mat 13:47, Mat 13:48, Mat 22:10, Mat 22:11, Jer 24:2, 1Co 10:1-5, 1Jo 2:19, Jud 1:5
Reciprocal: Job 2:10 – as one Eph 5:15 – not 1Pe 2:15 – foolish
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
25:2. Wisdom and foolishness are opposite terms which could have numberless applications depending on the connection in which they are used.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
[Five wise; Five foolish.] A parable, not unlike this, is produced by Kimchi: “Rabban Jochanan Ben Zaccai saith (as he hath it), This thing is like a king, who invited his servants, but did not appoint them any set time. Those of them that were wise adorned themselves, and sat at the gate of the palace; those that were foolish were about their own business. The king on a sudden called for his servants: those went in adorned; these, undressed. The king was pleased with the wise, and angry at the foolish.”
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 25:2. And five of them were foolish, etc. This equal division may have a meaning. The correct order is transposed in the common version.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 25:2-4. And five of them were wise Prudent and provident; and five foolish Inconsiderate and careless. These latter took their lamps Took up a profession of the true religion; but took no oil with them No more than kept them burning just for the present. None to supply their future want, to recruit their lamps decay. They did not receive or maintain the saving grace of God, did not get or keep faith working by love, an interest in and union with Christ the good olive, or the life of God in their souls. But the wise took oil in their vessels, &c. Together with the lamp of an external profession, they secured and maintained vital godliness, through the indwelling of the Spirit of God, and living in the Spirit, they walked in the Spirit, seeking daily, a fresh supply of spiritual strength, till their faith was made perfect.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The five prudent (Gr. phronimoi, cf. Mat 7:24; Mat 10:16; Mat 24:45) virgins represent Jewish disciples who not only anticipated Jesus’ arrival but also prepared for it (cf. Mat 3:2: Mat 4:17). The five foolish virgins anticipated it but did not prepare for it. Preparedness is what separated the wise from the foolish.
"Perhaps their spiritual condition will be analogous to the Jews at the Lord’s first coming. With eyes only for the physical benefits of the kingdom, the foolish Jews fail to prepare themselves spiritually for its coming." [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 285.]
Both groups of young women fell asleep. This period of delay corresponds to the time between the first signs of Jesus’ coming and His appearance. Jesus did not praise or blame the virgins for sleeping. Apparently only the wise virgins had oil with them. The foolish ones evidently just lit their torches or wicks without oil. [Note: Robertson, Word Pictures . . ., 1:196.] The symbolism of oil is probably significant since it often represents the Holy Spirit in Scripture (e.g., 1Sa 16:13). If so, those with oil might be believers and those without oil unbelievers.