Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 26:15
And said [unto them,] What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
15. covenanted with him ] Rather, weighed out for him; either literally or= “paid him.”
thirty pieces of silver ] i. e. thirty silver shekels. St Matthew alone names the sum, which= 120 denarii. The shekel is sometimes reckoned at three shillings, but for the real equivalent in English money see note on Mat 26:7. Thirty shekels was the price of a slave (Exo 21:32); a fact which gives force to our Lord’s words, Mat 20:28, “The Son of man came to minister (to be a slave), and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 15. Thirty pieces of silver.] , thirty silverlings; but , staters, is the reading of the Codex Bezae, three copies of the Itala, Eusebius, and Origen sometimes; and , silver staters, is the reading of the famous Basil MS. No. 1, in Griesbach, and one copy of the Itala.
A stater was the same as the shekel, and worth about 3s. English money, according to Dean Prideaux: a goodly price for the Saviour of the world! Thirty staters, about 4l. 10s. the common price for the meanest slave! See Ex 21:32. The rabbins say, thirty selain of pure silver was the standard price for a slave, whether good or bad, male or female. See tract Erachin, fol. 14, and Shekalim, cap. 1. Each selaa weighed 384 barley-corns; the same number was contained in a shekel; and therefore the shekel and the selaa were the same. See Clarke on Ge 20:16, and See Clarke on Ex 38:24.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
And said [unto them],…. Though the words, “to them”, are not in the original text, they are rightly supplied; as they are by the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, Arabic, Persic, and Ethiopic versions, and in Munster’s Hebrew Gospel; and mean the chief priests to whom Judas went, and to whom he made the following proposal;
what will ye give me, and I will deliver him to you? They did not ask him to do it, he first made the motion; a barbarous and shocking one! to deliver his Lord and Master, with whom he had familiarly conversed, and from whom he had received so many favours, into the hands of those that hated him; nor was he concerned what they would do to him, or what would become of him, when in their hands: all his view, and what he was intent upon, was, what they would give him for doing it. They did not tempt him, by first offering him so much money, if he would betray him; but he himself first moves it to them, and tempts them with it to offer him an handsome reward: and it is to be observed, that he does not mention the name of Jesus, either because they might be talking of him, when he came into their company; or else as suiting his language to theirs, who, when they spake of him, usually said, “he”, or “that man”, or “this fellow”. And in the same rude way Judas now treats his master:
and they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver; that is, thirty shekels of silver; for it is a rule with the Jews, that when mention is made in Scripture of pieces of silver, without expressing the species, shekels are meant: so Onkelos, and Jonathan ben Uzziel, in their Targums on Ge 20:16, render pieces of silver, by shekels of silver; so pieces of gold signify shekels of gold: thus the 1700 pieces of gold in Jud 8:26, are, in the Septuagint, Arabic, and Vulgate Latin versions, called so many shekels of gold; and our version supplies the word “shekels” also, as it does in 2Ch 9:15, and yet some learned men have asserted m, that there were no shekels of gold among the Jews, though express mention is made of them in 1Ch 21:25. The value of a shekel of gold, according to Brerewood n, was, of our money, “fifteen shillings”; and some make it to come to a great deal more; to “one pound sixteen shillings and sixpence” sterling: had these thirty pieces been pieces, or shekels of gold, they would have amounted to a considerable sum of money; but they were pieces of silver, and not talents, or pounds, but shekels. The silver shekel had on one side stamped upon it the pot of manna, or, as others think, “a censer”, or incense cup, with these words around it, in Samaritan letters, “shekel Israel”, “the shekel of Israel”; and, on the other, “Aaron’s rod” budding, with this inscription about it, “Jerusalem Hakedushah”, “Jerusalem the holy” o. As for the weight and value of it, R. Gedaliah says p, we know by tradition that the holy shekel weighs 320 grains of barley of pure silver; and the same writer observes q, that the “selah”, or holy shekel, is four “denarii”, or pence; that is, Roman pence, each being of the value of seven pence halfpenny of our money: and to this agrees what Josephus r says, that a “shekel” is a coin of the Hebrews, which contains four Attic drachms, or drams; and an Attic dram is of the same value with a Roman penny: so that one of these shekels was worth about “half a crown”; and it usually weighed half an ounce, as not only some Jewish writers affirm, who profess to have seen them, and weighed them themselves, as Jarchi s, Gerundensis t, Abarbinel u, and Gedaliah ben Jechaiah w; but other writers also, as Masius x Arias Montanus y, Waserus z and Bishop Cumberland. Now thirty shekels of silver were the price of a servant, Ex 21:32. So b Maimonides observes, that the
“atonement of “servants”, whether great or small, whether male or female, the fixed sum in the law is “thirty shekels of good silver”, whether “the servant” is worth an hundred pound, or whether he is not worth but a farthing,”
and which was in value of our money about “three pounds fifteen shillings”. This was the “goodly price”, which Christ, who appeared in the form of a servant, was prized at, according to the prophecy in Zec 11:12, and which the high priests thought a very sufficient one; and the wretch Judas, as covetous as he was, was contented with.
m Waseras de numis Heb. l. 2. c. 3. n De numis Jud. c. 3. o Waser ib. & Ar. Montan. Ephron. sive de Siclo in Jud. Antiq. p. 126. Brerewood de ponder. & pret. vet. num. c. 1. p Shaishelet Hakabala, fol. q Ib. r Antiq. l. 3. c. 8. sect. 2. s Perush in Exod. xxi. 32. t Ad fin. Expos. in Pentateuch. u Comment. in 1 Reg. 7. fol. 221. 2. w Shalshelet Hahohala, fol. 72. 2. x In Joshua, 7. 21. p. 135. y De Siclo, ut supra. (in Jud. Antiq. p. 126) z De numis Heb. l. 2. c. 3. b Hilch. Niske Mammon. c. 11. sect. 1.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
What are ye willing to give me? ( ?) This “brings out the chaffering aspect of the transaction” (Vincent). “Mary and Judas extreme opposites: she freely spending in love, he willing to sell his Master for money” (Bruce). And her act of love provoked Judas to his despicable deed, this rebuke of Jesus added to all the rest.
And I will deliver him unto you ( ). The use of with a co-ordinate clause is a colloquialism (common in the Koine as in the Hebrew use of wav. “A colloquialism or a Hebraism, the traitor mean in style as in spirit” (Bruce). The use of seems to mean “I though one of his disciples will hand him over to you if you give me enough.”
They weighed unto him ( ). They placed the money in the balances or scales. “Coined money was in use, but the shekels may have been weighed out in antique fashion by men careful to do an iniquitous thing in the most orthodox way” (Bruce). It is not known whether the Sanhedrin had offered a reward for the arrest of Jesus or not.
Thirty pieces of silver ( ). A reference to Zec 11:12. If a man’s ox gored a servant, he had to pay this amount (Ex 21:32). Some manuscripts have (staters). These thirty silver shekels were equal to 120 , less than five English pounds, less than twenty-five dollars, the current price of a slave. There was no doubt contempt for Jesus in the minds of both the Sanhedrin and Judas in this bargain.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
What will ye give? [ ? ] Rather, What are ye willing to give me? It brings out the chaffering aspect of the transaction. So Rev.
They covenanted with him for [ ] . But the meaning is, they weighed unto him; or, very literally, they placed for him (in the balance). Although coined shekels were in circulation, weighing appears to have been practiced, especially when considerable sums were paid out of the temple – treasury.
Thirty pieces of silver [ ] . Matthew refers to Zec 11:12. These pieces were shekels of the sanctuary, of standard weight, and therefore heavier than the ordinary shekel. See on Mt 17:24. Reckoning the Jerusalem shekel at seventy – two cents, the sum would be twenty – one dollars and sixty cents. This was the price which, by the Mosaic law, a man was condemned to pay if his ox should gore a servant (Exo 21:32). Our Lord, the sacrifice for men, was paid for out of the temple – money, destined for the purchase of sacrifices. He who “took on him the firm of a servant” was sold at the legal price of a slave.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
(15) They covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.The reward was relatively a small one, apparently about the market-price of a common slave (Zec. 11:12); but the chief priests (Caiaphas and his fellows) saw through the sordid baseness of the man, and, as if scorning both his Master and himself, gauged their reward accordingly.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. What will ye give This is a true bargainer’s question. He is ready to betray his Master if he can get the pay for it. He has a man, a divine man, to sell, and he hucksters for his price. Luke says that “Satan had now entered into him.” He is driven by the fire of a hasty resentment, and led by the attractions of gain to seek a bribe for treason. He makes the advance, and tempts, the men who are wicked enough without any special seducing. Thus do men enact the part of Satan towards each other.
They covenanted Luke says “they were glad.” They could now apprehend Jesus in a private way, and without the “uproar” mentioned in verse fifth.
Thirty pieces of silver The ordinary price of a slave, being about fifteen dollars. Thus was verified the allusion of Zec 11:12: “So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver.” The sum appears trifling for the treason, if we estimate it by the immense consequences. But, after all, the whole service Judas did was to inform the foes of Jesus where he might be found and taken without tumult, and guide them to the place.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And said, “What are you willing to give me, and I will deliver him to you?”
Approaching the chief priests he put to them his proposition. For the right sum he would enable them to arrest Jesus somewhere where it was quiet. The question was as to how much it was worth to them. It may well be that he himself named the sum that he required on the basis of the Old Testament indication of the value of a prophet, and of a moribund Shepherd of the people. See Zec 11:12. He had it all carefully thought out. Alternately the chief priests may have made the offer for similar reasons. But whichever way it was, the price was agreed. Little did he realise that his name, and the price he would receive, would become as famous as the act of the woman who had anointed Jesus, but that in his case he would become proverbial for treachery, dirty dealings and betrayal. Ironically he too would be remembered wherever the Gospel was proclaimed.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
‘And they weighed to him thirty pieces of silver. ’
The chief priests were so eager to get their victim that they seemingly paid the money out up front, and this to someone who had criticised the woman earlier for not thinking of the poor. (Ironically it would later actually be used for the poor – Mat 27:7). Note the emphasis on the deliberate ‘weighing of the silver’. It was a deliberate payment of blood money, a price sarcastically described by Zechariah as ‘the goodly price that I was valued at by them’ (Zec 11:13). It was the price of a moderately valuable slave. (In LXX the verb used here regularly translates the Hebrew verb for ‘weighed out’. It means literally, ‘placed, stood’). Matthew appears to be suggesting that he was paid it there and then, although he does not actually say so. Certainly Judas received it early enough to be able to fling it back at the chief priests later (Mat 27:3-5).
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mat 26:15. They covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, (a circumstance of such high aggravation, that each of the evangelists has marked it out in this view) having been more forward than the rest in condemning the woman, or, most probably, the only one who did so, thought himself peculiarly affronted by the rebuke which Jesus gave. Rising up, therefore, he went straightwayinto the city, to the high-priest’s palace, where he found the whole council seasonably assembled, and, being in a passion, he promised to put his Master into their hands for the reward of thirty pieces of silver, . The is commonly supposed to have been the Jewish shekel, which, properly speaking, was the denomination of a weight equal to twenty gerahs, (Exo 30:13.) each weighing sixteen barley-corns. The shekel therefore was equal to the weight of 320 barley-corns, or half a Roman ounce; consequently in silver was equal to two shillings one farthing and a half sterling. Thirty shekels were the price of a slave: see Zec 11:13. It deserves to be remarked, that Judas did not fix this price himself, but the Jewish Sanhedrim; and therefore, as it was the very price predicted by a prophet, no collusion could be suspected between Christ and his disciples, to make an appearance of his resembling the Messiah in such circumstances, as otherwise he might not have resembled him. This price was fixed by his enemies, who would have done all they could to prevent any resemblance between the circumstances of our Lord’s life, and those which were foretold of the life of the Messiah. It was chosen, above all other prices, to shew their enmity, and to disgrace the character of Christ, as it was the price and ransom of the meanest slave: but their malice counteracted itself; and the circumstance which they pitched upon to vilify our Lord’s character, served to exalt and ennoble it, by shewing him really to be the person of whom the prophet had spoken. As the treachery of Judas Iscariot must raise the astonishment of every reader, who has any just notion of our Lord’s character, some particular considerations will be found at the end of this chapter, respecting the motives which swayed him to be guilty of such an atrocious crime, and the circumstances that attended it.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
15 And said unto them , What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
Ver. 15. What will ye give me ] Take beed and beware of covetousness, saith our Saviour, Luk 12:15 ; for it is “the root of all evil,” saith Paul,1Ti 6:101Ti 6:10 : a breach of the whole decalogue, as some divines have demonstrated and universal experience hath confirmed. These sordida poscinummia, as one calleth them, are still found everywhere: a such as will sell their souls to the devil with Ahab, not for seven years’ enjoyment of the Popedom, as some have done, but for a few paltry shillings, as Judas here did, or some other piddling profit. This our Saviour calleth the “mammon of iniquity,” which is the next odious name to the devil himself. . Isid. Pelus.Luk 16:9Luk 16:9 .
For thirty pieces of silver ] “A goodly price,” as the prophet in scorn and detestation calleth it. It was a known set price for the basest slave, Exo 21:32 ; Joe 3:3 ; Joe 3:6 . For so small a sum sold this traitor so sweet a Master, as had not only admitted him into his company, but committed the bag to him, and let him want for nothing. Quid non mortalia pectora cogis, Auri sacra fames? (Virgil.) Look well to it. For as there were many Marys in one Caesar, so are there many Judases in the best. Let patrons especially look to it: for many of them are worse than Judas. He sold the head, they the members; he the sheep, they the shepherd: he but the body, they the souls, as that scarlet strumpet,Rev 18:13Rev 18:13 .
a See Mr Dike’s Caveat for the Covetous.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
15. ] may be either weighed out, or appointed. That the money was paid to Judas (ch. Mat 27:3 ) is no decisive argument for the former meaning; for it may have been paid on the delivery of Jesus to the Sanhedrim. The of Luke and of Mark would lead us to prefer the other.
] thirty shekels, = the price of the life of a servant, Exo 21:32 . Between three and four pounds of our money. St. Matthew is the only Evangelist who mentions the sum. De Wette and others have supposed that the mention of thirty pieces of silver with the verb , has arisen from the prophecy of Zechariah (ref.), which St. Matthew clearly has in view. The others have simply . It is just possible that the thirty pieces may have been merely earnest-money : but a difficulty attends the supposition; if so, Judas would have been entitled to the whole on our Lord being delivered up to the Sanhedrim (for this was all he undertook to do); whereas we find (ch. Mat 27:3 ) that, after our Lord’s condemnation, Judas brought only the thirty pieces back, and nothing more. See note there.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 26:15 . , etc., what are ye willing to give me? Mary and Judas extreme opposites: she freely spending in love, he willing to sell his Master for money. What contrasts in the world and in the same small circle! The mercenary spirit of Judas is not so apparent in Mk. and Lk. , etc.: introducing a co-ordinate clause, instead of a subordinate clause, introduced by or ; a colloquialism or a Hebraism: the traitor mean in style as in spirit. , they placed (in the balance) = weighed out. Many interpret: they agreed = . So Theophy.: “Not as many think, instead of ”. This corresponds with Mk. and Lk., and the likelihood is that the money would not be paid till the work was done (Fritzsche). But Mt. has the prophecies ever in view, and uses here a prophetic word (Zec 11:12 , . ., Sept [137] ), indifferent as to the time when payment was made. Coined money was in use, but the shekels may have been weighed out in antique fashion by men careful to do an iniquitous thing in the most orthodox way. Or there may have been no weighing in the case, but only the use of an ancient form of speech after the practice had become obsolete (Field, Ot. Nor. ). The amount = about three or four pounds sterling, a small sum for such a service; too small thinks Meyer, who suggests that the real amount was not known, and that the sum was fixed in the tradition to suit prophecy.
[137] Septuagint.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
will ye give . . . ? = what are ye willing to give?
will. Greek. thelo. App-102.
covenanted with him = they placed for him [in the balance]: i.e. they weighed to him.
thirty pieces of silver. See App-161. These were shekels of the Sanctuary. App-51. This was the price of an ox which had gored a servant (Exo 21:32). It was here destined for the purchase of sacrifices.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
15.] may be either weighed out, or appointed. That the money was paid to Judas (ch. Mat 27:3) is no decisive argument for the former meaning; for it may have been paid on the delivery of Jesus to the Sanhedrim. The of Luke and of Mark would lead us to prefer the other.
] thirty shekels, = the price of the life of a servant, Exo 21:32. Between three and four pounds of our money. St. Matthew is the only Evangelist who mentions the sum. De Wette and others have supposed that the mention of thirty pieces of silver with the verb , has arisen from the prophecy of Zechariah (ref.), which St. Matthew clearly has in view. The others have simply . It is just possible that the thirty pieces may have been merely earnest-money: but a difficulty attends the supposition; if so, Judas would have been entitled to the whole on our Lord being delivered up to the Sanhedrim (for this was all he undertook to do); whereas we find (ch. Mat 27:3) that, after our Lords condemnation, Judas brought only the thirty pieces back, and nothing more. See note there.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 26:15. , they weighed out[1119]) The LXX. frequently render the Hebrew (to weigh out, or pay) by , and in Zec 11:12, where the prediction occurs concerning these thirty pieces of silver, the very word is found.- , thirty pieces of silver) Such was the value of a slave, in Exo 21:32; that of a freeman was double.
[1119] In the original Gnomon no rendering is given for . In his Harmony, Bengel renders it bieten-they tendered, or proffered; in his German Version schiessen-which seems to mean they threw, counting it as they threw it. Engl. Vers. has, they covenanted with him for.-(I. B.)
Beng. seems to take in the sense they weighed out to him. So is found used in Homers Iliad xix. 247, xxii. 350) more than once; lit., I place in the balance, I poise.-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
What: Gen 38:16, Jdg 16:5, Jdg 17:10, Jdg 18:19, Jdg 18:20, Isa 56:11, 1Ti 3:3, 1Ti 6:9, 1Ti 6:10, 2Pe 2:3, 2Pe 2:14, 2Pe 2:15
thirty: Probably shekels or staters, as some read, which, reckoning the shekels at 3s., with Prideaux, would amount to about 4 10s., the price for the meanest slave! – See Exo 21:32 Mat 27:3-5, Gen 37:26-28, Zec 11:12, Zec 11:13, Act 1:18
Reciprocal: Gen 25:34 – thus Esau Gen 37:27 – sell him Gen 37:28 – sold Lev 27:4 – thirty shekels Deu 27:25 – General Jdg 16:18 – brought money 2Sa 15:31 – Ahithophel 2Ki 5:25 – stood before Psa 10:3 – whom Psa 15:5 – nor taketh Isa 29:21 – and turn Isa 33:15 – shaketh Jer 11:9 – General Hos 6:8 – polluted with blood Mic 7:3 – the prince Mat 4:9 – All Mat 26:45 – the hour Mat 27:9 – thirty Mat 28:15 – they took Mar 14:11 – and promised Luk 22:5 – and covenanted
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
6:15
He asked the priests to make him an offer for which he would carry out the wicked deed. They covenanted (contracted) to give him thirty pieces of silver. According to the Oxford Cyclopedic Concordance it would be about twenty dollars today.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And said unto them; What will ye give me, and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.
[Thirty pieces of silver.] The price of a slave, Exo 21:32. Maimon. “The price of a slave, whether great or little, he or she, is thirty selaim of pure silver: if the slave be worth a hundred pounds, or worth only one penny.” Now a selaa; in his weight, weighed three hundred and eighty-four barleycorns.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mat 26:15. What are ye willing to give me! No indication of hesitation. Mark (Mar 14:10) says that he went in order that he might deliver him up to them.
They weighed unto him. This, which is the correct sense, refers to the actual payment, which probably occurred on the night of the betrayal.
Thirty pieces of silver. Silver shekels, each worth a little more than two shillings, or fifty cents. The price was itself an insult, since this was the price for the life of a slave (Exo 21:2). Our Lord died the death of a slave and a malefactor, that He might redeem us from the slavery and eternal misery of sin. Comp. Zec 11:12, here fulfilled. (Notice Joseph was sold for twenty pieces of silver. Gen 37:28.) Some think that this was the earnest money. But Judas returned thirty pieces (chap. Mat 27:3), and the answer then given him indicates that the rulers were done with him.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 15
Thirty pieces of silver. This sum is usually estimated at between fifteen and twenty dollars. The value of money was, however, so very different then from what it now is, that it is impossible to estimate with accuracy the real value of the bribe. If labor was then but a penny a day, (Matthew 20:2,)–the word penny designating, as it does in that case, a Roman coin of about the size of an English sixpence, or an American dime,–and fall other things were in proportion,–fifteen dollars, in those days, might have been equal to fifty or one hundred now.