John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 23. And he answered and said , etc.] In order to make them easy, and point out the betrayer to them, he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me . This seems to refer to the dipping of the unleavened bread, or bitter herbs, both, into the sauce called Charoseth, which the Jews say, was made of figs, nuts, almonds, and other fruits; to which they added apples; all which they bruised in a mortar, and mixed with vinegar; and put spices into it, calamus and cinnamon, in the form of small long threads, in remembrance of the straw; and it was necessary it should be: thick, in memory of the clay.
The account Maimonides gives of it is, the Charoseth is a precept from the words of the Scribes, in remembrance of the clay in which they served in Egypt; and how did they make it? They took dates, or berries, or raisins, and the like, and stamped them, and put vinegar into them, and seasoned them with spices, as clay in straw, and brought it upon the table, in the night of the passover.
And in this he says, the master of the family dipped both the herbs, and the unleavened bread f1523 , and that both separately and conjunctly; for he says f1524 , that he rolled up the unleavened bread and bitter herbs together, lbjmw and dipped them in the Charoseth.
And this was twice done in eating the passover; for so it is observed f1525 among the many things, which distinguished this night from others: in all other nights we dip but once, but in this night twice. By this action, Christ gave his disciples a signal, whereby they might know the betrayer: for this is not the general description of one, that sat at the table, and ate of his bread with him, and so fulfilled the prediction, in ( Psalm 41:9), though this is too true; but then, this was saying no more than he had before done, when he said, one of you shall betray me; though the phrase is so f1526 used; for instance, if a man goes and sits at table with them, hm[ lbwjw , and dips with them, though he does not eat the quantity of an olive, they bless for him.
But this refers to a particular action then performed by Judas, just at the time Christ spoke these words; and who might sit near him, and dip into the same dish he did; for since there were thirteen of them, there might be more dishes than one; and two or three might have a dish to themselves, and Judas dip in the same dish with Christ.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 17-25 - Observe, the place for their eating the passover was pointed out by Christ to the disciples. He knows those hidden ones who favour his cause, and will graciously visit all who are willing to receive him The disciples did as Jesus had appointed. Those who would have Christ' presence in the gospel passover, must do what he says. It well become the disciples of Christ always to be jealous over themselves especially in trying times. We know not how strongly we may be tempted nor how far God may leave us to ourselves, therefore we have reason no to be high-minded, but to fear. Heart-searching examination and ferven prayer are especially proper before the Lord's supper, that, as Chris our Passover is now sacrificed for us, we may keep this feast, renewin our repentance, our faith in his blood, and surrendering ourselves to his service.
Greek Textus Receptus
ο 3588 T-NSM δε 1161 CONJ αποκριθεις 611 5679 V-AOP-NSM ειπεν 2036 5627 V-2AAI-3S ο 3588 T-NSM εμβαψας 1686 5660 V-AAP-NSM μετ 3326 PREP εμου 1700 P-1GS εν 1722 PREP τω 3588 T-DSN τρυβλιω 5165 N-DSN την 3588 T-ASF χειρα 5495 N-ASF ουτος 3778 D-NSM με 3165 P-1AS παραδωσει 3860 5692 V-FAI-3S
Vincent's NT Word Studies
23. The dish (trubliw). Wyc., platter. A dish containing a broth made with nuts, raisins, dates, figs, etc., into which pieces of bread were dipped.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
26:23 {He that dipped} (ho embayas). They all dipped their hands, having no knives, forks, or spoons. The aorist participle with the article simply means that the betrayer is the one who dips his hand in the dish (en twi trubli"i) or platter with the broth of nuts and raisins and figs into which the bread was dipped before eating. It is plain that Judas was not recognized by the rest as indicated by what Jesus has said. this language means that one of those who had eaten bread with him had violated the rights of hospitality by betraying him. The Arabs today are meticulous on this point. Eating one's bread ties your hands and compels friendship. But Judas knew full well as is shown in verse #25 though the rest apparently did not grasp it.
