What Does Matthew 13:57 Mean?
And they stumbled over him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without worth, except in the land of his fathers and in his own house.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.THE KEY
Those most familiar with him can turn familiarity into the very trap that makes them stumble over his worth.
THE MEANING
You can be known by those nearest to you and still be met as if your worth were already settled. The verse holds together the painful split: the prophet is among his own, yet honor is withheld in the places most familiar with him.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
It undoes the belief that the people who know you best must see you most clearly.
THE ROOT
ἐσκανδαλίζοντο
eskandalízonto
GROWS FROM
σκάνδαλ-
The Greek stem σκάνδαλ- (skándal-, “snare” or “stumbling block”) carries the image of something that catches the foot. Here, being offended also carries the sense of stumbling over him.
“stumbled over him” in this verse is eskandalízonto. The word pictures their offense as a stumble, not merely a passing displeasure. Their familiarity with him becomes the point over which they fall.
ALSO GROWS
skándalon: A snare or obstacle that makes someone stumble.
σκάνδαλον
This noun gives the underlying image for their offense: his presence becomes the point over which they stumble.
skandalízō: To cause someone to stumble or take offense.
σκανδαλίζω
This related verb makes offense an event of stumbling, illuminating how they respond to him.
ἄτιμος
átimos
GROWS FROM
τιμ-
The Greek stem τιμ- (tim-, “value,” “price,” or “esteem”) carries the sense of worth and recognition. The word here names honor withheld in the places where a prophet is most familiar.
“without honour” in this verse is átimos. This word family holds value and esteem together: to honor someone is to recognize their worth. The verse places the absence of that recognition in the prophet’s own country and household.
ALSO GROWS
timḗ: Honor or the value assigned to something.
τιμή
Its overlap between value and honor shows what is withheld when the prophet is not honored.
timáō: To honor or treat as valuable.
τιμάω
This related verb makes honor an act of recognizing worth, sharpening the force of its absence here.
THE PATTERN
People closest to someone can mistake familiarity for full knowledge and fail to recognize what is before them.
And Eliab, his eldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, and Eliab's anger burned against David, and he said, Why have you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? I know your insolence, and the evil of your heart, for you have come down so that you might see the battle.He came to his own, and his own did not take him in.For not even his brothers leaned their weight into him.THE THREAD
That all may give weight to the Son, even as they give it to the Father. Whoever does not give it to the Son does not give it to the Father who sent him.Matthew’s ἄτιμος (átimos, “without honor”) and John’s τιμῶσιν (timōsin, “honor”) share the Greek τιμ- (tim-, “value or esteem”) family. John shows honor as recognition of value; Matthew shows that recognition withheld where the prophet is most familiar.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us