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Selected Verse: Matthew 19:4 - Webster
| Verse |
Translation |
Text |
| Mt 19:4 |
Webster |
And he answered and said to them, Have ye not read, that he who made them, at the beginning made them male and female, |
| |
King James |
And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, |
Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse
| A Commentary, Critical, Practical, and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments, by Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset and David Brown [1882] |
| And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female--or better, perhaps, "He that made them made them from the beginning a male and a female." |
| Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834] |
And he answered and said ... - Instead of referring to the opinions of either party, Jesus called their attention to the original design of marriage, to the authority of Moses an authority acknowledged by them both.
Have ye not read? - Gen 1:27; Gen 2:21-22. "And said, For this cause," etc., Gen 2:24. That is, God, at the beginning, made but one man and one woman: their posterity should learn that the original intention of marriage was that a man should have but one wife.
Shall leave his father and mother - This means, shall bind himself more strongly to his wife than he was to his father or mother. The marriage connection is the most tender and endearing of all human relations more tender than even that bond which unites us to a parent.
And shall cleave unto his wife - The word "cleave" denotes a union of the firmest kind. It is in the original taken from gluing, and means so firmly to adhere together that nothing can separate them.
They twain shall be one flesh - That is, they two, or they that were two, shall be united as one - one in law, in feeling, in interest, in affection. They shall no longer have separate interests, but shall act in all things as if they were one - animated by one soul and one wish. The argument of Jesus here is, that since they are so intimately united as to be one, and since in the beginning God made but one woman for one man, it follows that they cannot be separated but by the authority of God. Man may not put away his wife for every cause. What God has joined together man may not put asunder. In this decision he really decided in favor of one of the parties; and it shows that when it was proper, Jesus answered questions without regard to consequences, from whatever cause they might have been proposed, and however much difficulty it might involve him in. Our Lord, in this, also showed consummate wisdom. He answered the question, not from Hillel or Shammai, their teachers, but from Moses, and thus defeated their malice. |
| The Scofield Bible Commentary, by Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, [1917] |
Have ye not read
See (Gen 1:27); (Gen 2:23); (Gen 2:24).
The passage is significant as Jesus' confirmation of the Genesis narrative of creation. |
| Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, by John Wesley [1754-65] |
| He said, Have ye not read - So instead of contradicting him, our Lord confutes them by the very words of Moses. He who made them, made them male and female from the beginning - At least from the beginning of the Mosaic creation. And where do we read of any other? Does it not follow, that God's making Eve was part of his original design, and not a consequence of Adam's beginning to fall? By making them one man and one woman, he condemned polygamy: by making them one flesh, he condemned divorce. |
| Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826 |
He which made them at the beginning - When Adam and Eve were the first of human kind.
Made them male and female - Merely through the design of matrimonial union, that the earth might be thus peopled. To answer a case of conscience, a man should act as Christ does here; pay no regard to that which the corruption of manners has introduced into Divine ordinances, but go back to the original will, purpose, and institution of God. Christ will never accommodate his morality to the times, nor to the inclinations of men. What was done at the beginning is what God judged most worthy of his glory, most profitable for man, and most suitable to nature. |
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh in its place.
22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, he made woman, and brought her to the man.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of man.
27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.