SEV Biblia, Chapter 23:23
¡Ay de vosotros, escribas y fariseos, hipcritas! Porque diezmis la menta y el eneldo y el comino, y dejasteis lo que es lo ms importante de la ley: el juicio y la misericordia y la fe; esto era necesario hacer, y no dejar lo otro.
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 23:23
Verse 23. Ye pay tithe of mint, &c.] They were remarkably scrupulous in the performance of all the rites and ceremonies of religion, but totally neglected the soul, spirit, and practice of godliness. Judgment] Acting according to justice and equity towards all mankind.
Mercy-to the distressed and miserable. And faith in God as the fountain of all righteousness, mercy, and truth. The scribes and Pharisees neither began nor ended their works in God, nor had they any respect unto his name in doing them. They did them to be seen of men, and they had their reward- human applause.
These ought ye to have done, &c.] Our Lord did not object to their paying tithe even of common pot-herbs-this did not affect the spirit of religion; but while they did this and such like, to the utter neglect of justice, mercy, and faith, they showed that they had no religion, and knew nothing of its nature.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 23. Woe unto you scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites , etc.] Christ returns to the former epithets he had very rightly given to these men, and very pertinently repeats them here; and which are confirmed by the instances of their conduct and practice here alleged, which abundantly show their hypocrisy and deceit; since they were very strict in observing some outward things, which gave them credit with the people, and especially the priests and Levites, some little trifling ceremonies and traditions of their elders, whilst they neglected internal religion, and those things which were of the greatest moment and importance: for ye take tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin ; which ought not commanded by the law, they were obliged to by the traditions of the elders.
Mint is an herb well known, and has its name in the Greek from its sweet smell; on account of which the Jews used to spread it on the floors of their synagogues f1281 . This was one of the herbs that was subject to the law of the seventh year f1282 , and is mentioned with those which were to be tithed f1283 . The Ethiopic version, instead of mint reads hyssop; and which also was an herb that was obliged to be tithed f1284 . Anise is a seed also well known, and which the Jews call tb , and of which they often observe, that it is subject to tithing, both seed, herb, flowers, or stalks f1285 : instead of this Munsters Hebrew Gospel has gyp , rue; and which, in the Misna f1286 , is mentioned along with mint, as it is by ( Luke 11:42) and said to be one of the things the Pharisees gave tithe of; though in their oral law it is reckoned among the things that are free from tithe f1287 : and therefore this must be a sort of work of supererogation to give tithe of that, which they were not obliged to. Cummin is a sort of anise; its seed is much like fennel seed, and which pigeons are very fond of: mention is made of it in ( Isaiah 28:25,27) and is reckoned with figs, dates, carobes, or Egyptian figs, and rice, which were obliged to be tithed f1288 , and was what was also bound to the offering of the first fruits to the priest f1289 . Christ mentions these particular herbs and seeds, as a specimen of what they paid tithes of.
In Luke, it is added, and all manner of herbs: for, according to the traditions of the elders, they were in general subject to tithes: and it is a common saying or maxim of the Jews, that the tithing of corn is from the law, but nbrd qry r[m , the tithing of herbs is from the Rabbins f1290 : it is a constitution of theirs, and not of Moses: and have omitted the weightier matters of the law . The distinction of the commandments of the law into lighter and heavier, or weightier, to which Christ here refers, is frequent with the Jews. When one comes to be made a proselyte, they acquaint him with some of twlq twxm , the light commands, and some of twrwmj twxm , the heavy, or weighty commands f1291 . So again, they paraphrase the words in ( Isaiah 33:18) where is the scribe? he that numbers all the letters in the law. Where is the receiver? who weighs the light things, hrwtb yrwmjw , and heavy, or weighty things in the law f1292 . Again f1293 , in the words of the law there are some things light, and some things heavy, or weighty: but those weighty things they omitted, and regarded those that were light; yea, that had no foundation in the law at all: and no wonder, since, in the place last cited, they say f1294 , that the words of the Scribes are all of them weighty and that the sayings of the elders are more weighty than the words of the prophets.
The things our Lord refers to, and instances in, are as follow; judgment, mercy, and faith . Judgment may mean the administration of justice in courts of judicature; the putting in execution good judgments, righteous laws and statutes; protecting and relieving the injured and oppressed, and doing that which is right and equitable between man and man: but, on the contrary, these men devoured widows houses, and oppressed the poor and fatherless. Mercy includes all acts of compassion to the distressed, relieving the necessitous, distributing to their wants, and showing all kindness and beneficence to the poor and needy; which the scribes and Pharisees very little practised, being a set of cruel, hard hearted, and covetous persons. Faith may not only design faithfulness in a mans keeping his word and promise, and fidelity to a trust reposed in him; but also faith in God, as the God of providence, and as the God of grace and mercy; believing in his word and promises, and worshipping him, which the law requires; and the rather this seems to be intended, because Luke, instead of faith, puts the love of God, which faith includes, and works by, and is the end of the commandment, arising from faith unfeigned: so that Christ instances in the weightier matters of both tables of the law, which these men neglected, and the latter, as well as the former; not believing the revelation of the Gospel, nor the Messiah, who was promised, and prophesied of by God, in the writings of the Old Testament: these ought ye to have done : more especially, and in the first place, as being of the greatest use and importance: and not to leave the other undone ; meaning either the lighter matters, and lesser commands of the law; or even their tithes of herbs: if they thought themselves obliged to them, Christ would not dispute the matter with them; if they thought fit to observe them, they might, so long as they did not interfere with, and take them off from things of greater moment. But alas! these men preferred the rituals of the ceremonial law, and the traditions of the elders, above the duties of the moral law; and reckoned that the latter were nothing, if the former were wanting; for they Say, that the words of the Scribes, are more lovely than the words of the law.
And also f1296 , that he that profanes the holy things, and despises the solemn feasts, and makes void the covenant of Abraham our father (circumcision), and behaves impudently towards the law (ceremonial), although the law and good works are in his hands, he has no part in the world to come.
The Persic version renders the words thus; these ought ye to do, and not them; as if it was our Lords sense, that they ought to observe the weightier matters of the moral law, and not regard their tithing of herbs, and other traditions of, their fathers.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 13-33 - The scribes and Pharisees were enemies to the gospel of Christ, an therefore to the salvation of the souls of men. It is bad to keep awa from Christ ourselves, but worse also to keep others from him. Yet it is no new thing for the show and form of godliness to be made a cloa to the greatest enormities. But dissembled piety will be reckone double iniquity. They were very busy to turn souls to be of their party. Not for the glory of God and the good of souls, but that the might have the credit and advantage of making converts. Gain being their godliness, by a thousand devices they made religion give way to their worldly interests. They were very strict and precise in smalle matters of the law, but careless and loose in weightier matters. It is not the scrupling a little sin that Christ here reproves; if it be sin, though but a gnat, it must be strained out; but the doing that and then swallowing a camel, or, committing a greater sin. While the would seem to be godly, they were neither sober nor righteous. We ar really, what we are inwardly. Outward motives may keep the outsid clean, while the inside is filthy; but if the heart and spirit be mad new, there will be newness of life; here we must begin with ourselves The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees was like the ornament of a grave, or dressing up a dead body, only for show. The deceitfulness of sinners' hearts appears in that they go down the streams of the sins of their own day, while they fancy that they shoul have opposed the sins of former days. We sometimes think, if we ha lived when Christ was upon earth, that we should not have despised an rejected him, as men then did; yet Christ in his Spirit, in his word in his ministers, is still no better treated. And it is just with God to give those up to their hearts' lusts, who obstinately persist i gratifying them. Christ gives men their true characters.
Greek Textus Receptus
ουαι 3759 INJ υμιν 5213 P-2DP γραμματεις 1122 N-VPM και 2532 CONJ φαρισαιοι 5330 N-VPM υποκριται 5273 N-VPM οτι 3754 CONJ αποδεκατουτε 586 5719 V-PAI-2P το 3588 T-ASN ηδυοσμον 2238 N-ASN και 2532 CONJ το 3588 T-ASN ανηθον 432 N-ASN και 2532 CONJ το 3588 T-ASN κυμινον 2951 N-ASN και 2532 CONJ αφηκατε 863 5656 V-AAI-2P τα 3588 T-APN βαρυτερα 926 A-APN-C του 3588 T-GSM νομου 3551 N-GSM την 3588 T-ASF κρισιν 2920 N-ASF και 2532 CONJ τον 3588 T-ASM ελεον 1656 N-ASM και 2532 CONJ την 3588 T-ASF πιστιν 4102 N-ASF ταυτα 5023 D-APN εδει 1163 5900 V-IQI-3S ποιησαι 4160 5658 V-AAN κακεινα 2548 D-NPN-C μη 3361 PRT-N αφιεναι 863 5721 V-PAN
Vincent's NT Word Studies
23. Ye Tithe (apodekatoute). ajpo, from, dekatow, to take a tenth. Tithe is tenth; also in older English, tethe, as tethe hest, the tenth commandment. A tething was a district containing ten families.Mint (hduosmon). hJduv, sweet, ojsmh, smell. A favorite plant in the East, with which the floors of dwelling and synagogues were sometimes strewn.
Anise-Cummin (anhqonkuminon). Rev. renders anise, dill in margin. Used as condiments. The tithe of these plants would be very small; but to exact it would indicate scrupulous conscientiousness. The Talmud tells of the ass of a certain Rabbi which had been so well trained as to refuse corn of which the tithes had not been taken.
Faith (pistin). Rather faithfulness, as in Rom. iii. 3, Rev. Gal. v. 22, Rev.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
23:23 {Ye tithe} (apodekatoute). The tithe had to be paid upon "all the increase of thy seed" (#De 14:22; Le 27:30). The English word tithe is tenth. These small aromatic herbs, mint (to hduosmon, sweet-smelling), anise or dill (anthon), cummin (kuminon, with aromatic seeds), show the Pharisaic scrupulous conscientiousness, all marketable commodities. "The Talmud tells of the ass of a certain Rabbi which had been so well trained as to refuse corn of which the tithes had not been taken" (Vincent). {These ye ought} (tauta edei). Jesus does not condemn tithing. What he does condemn is doing it to the neglect of the {weightier matters} (ta barutera). The Pharisees were externalists; cf. #Lu 11:39-44.
