Matthew 4:16

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 4:16

The people which sat ; "who walk" (Hebrew). Saw great light ; saw a great light (Revised Version); unnecessarily except as a matter of English, for it can hardly mean a definite light, Messiah. φῶς both here and in the next clause means light as such . And to them which sat . So the Hebrew, but the LXX . generally οἱκατοικοῦντες . In the region and shadow of death . The region where death abides, and where it casts its thickest shade. The Hebrew is simply "in the land of the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 4:16

The extremes of light and darkness. The interval between the place of this verse and the close of the three temptations is considerable, and is not evident from the passage before us. It is also even obscured by the order of the verses here. Much history belongs to the gap between Matthew 4:11 and Matthew 4:12 . The seventeenth verse, as regards the matter of it, follows the twelfth. That, again, begs the fuller explanations of Matthew 14:3-5 ; and lastly, after all the history of... read more

Albert Barnes

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

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 4:16

Matthew 4:16. The people who sat in darkness They whose predecessors were afflicted by the Assyrians, and who, before Christ visited them, were captives of Satan, and had lived in gross ignorance of God and religion, being far from Jerusalem, the place of worship, and intermixed with the Tyrians, Sidonians, and other wicked heathen: saw a great light This is spoken by Isaiah in the prophetic style, which represents things future as already accomplished, because certainly to be... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 4:12-17

EARLY WORK IN GALILEE24. Changing situations (Matthew 4:12-17; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 3:18-20; Luke 4:14-15; John 4:43-45)Somewhere about this time John the Baptist was imprisoned. (Concerning his imprisonment see notes on Matthew 14:1-12; Mark 6:14-29; Luke 9:7-9.) Jesus meanwhile continued north into Galilee, where the people’s enthusiastic welcome was in sharp contrast to the suspicion of the people in Judea (Matthew 4:12-16; John 4:43-45). He pointed out, however, that the kingdom he announced... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 4:16

sat = was sitting. saw. App-133 .:1. light. App-130 . the region and shadow, &c. Figure of speech Hendiadys ( App-6 ) = "darkness, [yea] the dark shadow of death", or death's darkness. sprung up = risen for them. read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 4:16

16. The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up—The prophetic strain to which these words belong commences with the seventh chapter of Isaiah, to which the sixth chapter is introductory, and goes down to the end of the twelfth chapter, which hymns the spirit of that whole strain of prophecy. It belongs to the reign of Ahaz and turns upon the combined efforts of the two neighboring kingdoms of Syria and Israel to... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 4:12-16

1. The setting of Jesus’ ministry 4:12-16Comparison of John’s Gospel and Matthew’s shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist’s arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip’s wife (Matthew 14:3-4; Mark 1:14; Luke 3:19-20). Jesus ministered first in Galilee (Joh_1:19 to Joh_2:12) and then in Judea (Joh_2:13 to Joh_3:21). Then He returned to Galilee by way of Samaria (Joh_3:22 to Joh_4:42). Why did Matthew begin... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 4:12-25

A. The beginning of Jesus’ ministry 4:12-25Matthew gave much prominence to Jesus’ teachings in his Gospel. The first of these is the so-called Sermon on the Mount (chs. 5-7). To prepare the reader for this discourse, the writer gave a brief introduction to Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 4:12-25). In it Matthew provided a résumé of His work. read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 4:12-29

II. THE AUTHORITY OF THE KING 4:12-7:29Having introduced the King, Matthew next demonstrated the authority of the King. This section includes a narrative introduction to Jesus’ teaching and then His teaching on the subject of His kingdom. read more

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