What Does Matthew 22:16 Mean?
And they sent to him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Teacher, we know that you are true, and you teach the way of God in truth, and you care for no one, for you do not look at the face of men.
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 sent out unto him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, Master, we know that thou art true, and teachest the way of God in truth, neither carest thou for any man: for thou regardest not the person of men.THE KEY
Their trap rests on a true claim: Jesus teaches God’s way without letting a human face bend his judgment.
THE MEANING
The speakers call Jesus truthful and unaffected by human standing, and their praise is accurate even as they use it to draw him into a trap. You can hear the divide between what a sentence says and what its speaker intends: true words do not, by themselves, make a motive truthful.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
Accurate praise does not prove sincere intent; a person can use true words to manipulate.
THE ROOT
ἀληθής
alēthēs
GROWS FROM
ληθ- / λαθ- (lēth- / lath-)
Hiddenness or escaping notice; the traditional word formation of ἀλήθεια (alētheia, truth) joins this root with ἀ- (a-, not), giving the sense of what is not hidden.
“true / truth” in this verse is alēthēs. The same Greek word-family calls Jesus true and describes his teaching as truth, joining his character to what he says. The speakers name what is unconcealed in him while using their own words to conceal their intent.
ALSO GROWS
alēthēs: True
ἀληθής
The speakers use this word of Jesus himself.
alētheia: Truth
ἀλήθεια
The same word-family describes the way he teaches.
lanthanō: Remain hidden or escape notice
λανθάνω
This related root gives the traditional contrast behind truth as what is not hidden.
πρόσωπον
prosōpon
GROWS FROM
ὤψ
ōps
Face or eye; πρόσωπον (prosōpon, face) is what is before the eyes.
“do not look at the face” in this verse is prosōpon. English “person” makes the phrase sound like a general policy of impartiality. The Greek says Jesus does not look toward the face of human beings: visible standing or status has no claim on his answer.
ALSO GROWS
prosōpon: Face, appearance, or person
πρόσωπον
This is the word in the verse for the human face he does not regard.
prosōpolēmpsia: Partiality; respect of persons
προσωπολημψία
This related face-word names the act of letting a person’s standing sway judgment.
THE PATTERN
A face, rank, or appearance cannot be the measure of truthful judgment.
But the LORD said to Samuel, Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, for I have pushed him away. The LORD does not see as the human sees. The human sees what is outside, but the LORD sees the heart.My brothers, do not hold the trust of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Lord of weight, by receiving faces.Then Peter opened his mouth and said, In truth I have laid hold of this, that God lifts no one's face.THE THREAD
My brothers, do not hold the trust of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One, the Lord of weight, by receiving faces.Matthew says Jesus does not look toward a human face (πρόσωπον, prosōpon, face); James names partiality as προσωπολημψία (prosōpolēmpsia, respect of persons), built from that same face-word. The Greek makes the connection concrete: the visible face cannot be the measure of truthful judgment.
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