Matius 1:16

1:16 and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, by whom ¹  Jesus was born, who is called Christ. ² 

Matius 1:25--2:1

1:25 but did not have marital relations ³  with her until she gave birth to a son, whom he named ⁴  Jesus.

The Visit of the Wise Men

2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem ⁵  in Judea, in the time ⁶  of King Herod, ⁷  wise men ⁸  from the East came to Jerusalem ⁹ 

Matius 3:13

The Baptism of Jesus

3:13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John to be baptized by him in the Jordan River. ¹⁰ 

Matius 3:15-16

3:15 So Jesus replied ¹¹  to him, “Let it happen now, ¹²  for it is right for us to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John ¹³  yielded ¹⁴  to him. 3:16 After ¹⁵  Jesus was baptized, just as he was coming up out of the water, the ¹⁶  heavens ¹⁷  opened ¹⁸  and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove ¹⁹  and coming on him.

[1:16]  ¹ tc There are three significant variant readings at this point in the text. Some mss and versional witnesses (Θ Ë¹³ it) read, “Joseph, to whom the virgin Mary, being betrothed, bore Jesus, who is called Christ.” This reading makes even more explicit than the feminine pronoun (see sn below) the virginal conception of Jesus and as such seems to be a motivated reading. The Sinaitic Syriac ms alone indicates that Joseph was the father of Jesus (“Joseph, to whom was betrothed Mary the virgin, fathered Jesus who is called the Christ”). Although much discussed, this reading has not been found in any Greek witnesses. B. M. Metzger suggests that it was produced by a careless scribe who simply reproduced the set formula of the preceding lines in the genealogy (TCGNT 6). In all likelihood, the two competing variants were thus produced by intentional and unintentional scribal alterations respectively. The reading adopted in the translation has overwhelming support from a variety of witnesses (̹ א B C L W [˹] 33 Ï co), and therefore should be regarded as authentic. For a detailed discussion of this textual problem, see TCGNT 2-6.

[1:16]  sn The pronoun whom is feminine gender in the Greek text, referring to Mary.

[1:16]  ² tn Or “Messiah”; both “Christ” (Greek) and “Messiah” (Hebrew and Aramaic) mean “one who has been anointed.”

[1:16]  sn The term χριστός (cristos) was originally an adjective (“anointed”), developing in LXX into a substantive (“an anointed one”), then developing still further into a technical generic term (“the anointed one”). In the intertestamental period it developed further into a technical term referring to the hoped-for anointed one, that is, a specific individual. In the NT the development starts there (technical-specific), is so used in the gospels, and then develops in Paul to mean virtually Jesus’ last name.

[1:25]  ³ tn Or “did not have sexual relations”; Grk “was not knowing her.” The verb “know” (in both Hebrew and Greek) is a frequent biblical euphemism for sexual relations. However, a translation like “did not have sexual relations with her” is too graphic in light of the popularity and wide use of Matthew’s infancy narrative. Thus the somewhat more subdued but still clear “did not have marital relations” was selected.

[1:25]  ⁴ tn Grk “and he called his name Jesus.” The coordinate clause has been translated as a relative clause in English for stylistic reasons.

[2:1]  ⁵ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.

[2:1]  ⁶ tn Grk “in the days.”

[2:1]  ⁷ sn King Herod was Herod the Great, who ruled Palestine from 37 b.c. until he died in 4 b.c. He was known for his extensive building projects (including the temple in Jerusalem) and for his cruelty.

[2:1]  ⁸ sn The Greek term magi here describes a class of wise men and priests who were astrologers (L&N 32.40).

[2:1]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.

[3:13]  ¹⁰ tn “River” is not in the Greek text but is supplied for clarity.

[3:15]  ¹¹ tn Grk “but Jesus, answering, said.” This construction with passive participle and finite verb is pleonastic (redundant) and has been simplified in the translation to “replied to him.”

[3:15]  ¹² tn Grk “Permit now.”

[3:15]  ¹³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (John the Baptist) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[3:15]  ¹⁴ tn Or “permitted him.”

[3:16]  ¹⁵ tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

[3:16]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “behold the heavens.” The Greek word ἰδού (idou) has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).

[3:16]  ¹⁷ tn Or “sky.” The Greek word οὐρανός (ourano") may be translated “sky” or “heaven,” depending on the context. The same word is used in v. 17.

[3:16]  ¹⁸ tc ‡ αὐτῷ (autw, “to/before him”) is found in the majority of witnesses (א¹ C D^s L W 0233 Ë^1,13 33 Ï lat), perhaps added as a point of clarification or emphasis. NA²⁷ includes the word in brackets, indicating doubts as to its authenticity.

[3:16]  ¹⁹ sn The phrase like a dove is a descriptive comparison. The Spirit is not a dove, but descended like one in some sort of bodily representation.