Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:17
See the notes at Matthew 3:2. read more
Matthew 4
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:18
Sea of Galilee - This was also called the Sea of Tiberias and the Lake of Gennesareth, and also the Sea of Chinnereth, Numbers 34:11; Deuteronomy 3:17; Joshua 12:3. Its form is an irregular oval, with the large end to the north. It is about 14 miles in length, and from 6 miles to 9 miles in width. It is about 600 feet lower than the Mediterranean, and this great depression accounts for some of its special phenomena. There is no part of Palestine, it is said, which can be compared in beauty with... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:19
Fishers of men - Ministers or preachers of the gospel, whose business it shall be to win souls to Christ. read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:20
Straightway - Immediately - as all should do when the Lord Jesus calls them.Left their nets - Their nets were the means of their living, perhaps all their property. By leaving them immediately, and following him, they gave every evidence of sincerity. They showed, what we should, that they were willing to forsake all for the sake of Jesus, and to follow him wherever he should lead them. They went forth to persecution and death for his sake; but also to the honor of saving souls from death, and... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:21
And going on from thence - From the place where he had found Peter and Andrew, Matthew 4:18.Saw two other brothers - They were men engaged in the same employment, as it is probable that there were many such in the neighborhood of the lake.In a ship - A small vessel. In fact, it was little more, probably, than a sail-boat.Mending their nets - A very common employment when they were not actually engaged in fishing. read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:22
Left their father - This showed how willing they were to follow Jesus. They showed us what we ought to do. If necessary, we should leave father, and mother, and every friend, Luke 14:26. If they will go with us, and be Christians, it is well; if not, yet they should not hinder us. We should be the followers of Jesus. And, while in doing it we should treat our friends kindly and tenderly, yet we ought at all hazards to obey God, and do our duty to him. We may add that many, very many children,... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:23
All Galilee - See the notes at Matthew 2:22.Synagogues - Places of worship, or places where the people assembled together to worship God. The origin of synagogues is involved in much obscurity. The sacrifices of the Jews were appointed to be held in one place, at Jerusalem. But there was nothing to forbid the other services of religion to be performed at any other place. Accordingly, the praises of God were sung in the schools of the prophets; and those who chose were assembled by the prophets... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:24
And his fame went throughout all Syria - It is not easy to fix the exact bounds of Syria in the time of our Saviour. It was, perhaps, the general name for the country lying between the Euphrates on the east, and the Mediterranean on the west; and between Mount Taurus on the north, and Arabia on the south. Through all this region his celebrity was spread by his power of working miracles; and, as might be expected, the sick from every quarter were brought to him, in the hope that he would give... read more
Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:25
From Decapolis - Decapolis was the name of a region of country in the bounds of the half-tribe of Manasseh, mainly on the east of Jordan. It was so called because it included 10 cities - the meaning of the word Decapolis in Greek. Geographers generally agree that Scythopolis was the chief of these cities, and was the only one of them west of the Jordan; that Hippo (Hippos), Gadara, Dion (or Dios), Pelea (or Pella), Gerasa (or Gergesa), Philadelphia, and Raphana (or Raphanae), were seven of the... read more
Subscribe
Verse of the Day
Get a Bible verse delivered to your inbox every day!
Daily Devotional
Subscribe to receive daily devotionals to help you grow in faith and walk closer with God.
Read on Mobile
Most Searched
Group of Brands
© 2026 Bibleportal.com All rights reserved.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:14-16
That it might be fulfilled ... - This place is recorded in Isaiah 9:1-2. Matthew has given the sense, but not the very words of the prophet. For the meaning of the passage as employed by Isaiah, see the notes at Isaiah 9:1-2.By the way of the sea - Which is near to the sea, or in the vicinity of the sea.Beyond Jordan - This does not mean to the east of Jordan, as the phrase sometimes denotes, but rather in the vicinity of the Jordan, or perhaps in the vicinity of the sources of the Jordan. See... read more