SEV Biblia, Chapter 27:51
Y he aquí, el velo del Templo se rompi en dos, de alto a bajo; y la tierra tembl, y las piedras se hendieron;
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 27:51
Verse 51. The veil of the temple was rent] That is, the veil which separated the holy place, where the priests ministered, from the holy of holies, into which the high priest only entered, and that once a year, to make a general expiation for the sins of the people. This rending of the veil was emblematical, and pointed out that the separation between Jews and Gentiles was now abolished, and that the privilege of the high priest was now communicated to all mankind: ALL might henceforth have access to the throne of grace, through the one great atonement and mediator, the Lord Jesus. See this beautifully illustrated in Heb. x. 19-22.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 51. And behold, the vail of the temple was rent in twain , etc.] Just at the time that Christ spake with so loud a voice, and expired, and which was at the time of the offering up of the evening incense; and so must be seen by the priest that was then offering, and those that assisted him, for the incense altar was near the vail; and which must be a very astonishing sight unto them: the vail was of a very great thickness; it was made of fine twined linen, ( Exodus 26:31), and it is a rule with the Jews f1707 , that where ever mention is made in the law of fine linen, or fine twined linen, it means a thread six times doubled: and whereas this was made of blue, and purple, and scarlet, Jarchis note on the place is, that every kind was doubled with each thread of six threads. His sense is more clearly expressed in his note on ( Exodus 26:1), lo! here are four sorts to every thread; one of linen, and three of wool, and every thread is six times doubled; behold four sorts when they are twisted together, make twenty four doubles to a thread.
Yea, some of them make it to be forty eight doubles f1708 . What a thick piece of tapestry must this be! and this makes the rending of it the more amazing; for no doubt but that the vail of the second temple was made after the manner of the first; and this was rent from top to bottom ; and which was no less than forty cubits in length, which was the height of the holy of holies in the second temple; and which made the rent the more astonishing. The account the Jews give of the vail, is this f1709 : R. Simeon ben Gamaliel said, on account of R. Simeon, the son of the Sagan, the thickness of the vail is an hands breadth, and it is woven of seventy two threads, and every thread has twenty four threads in it: it is forty cubits long, and twenty broad, and is made of eighty two myriads; (which is either the number of the threads in it, or the sum of the golden pence it cost. Some copies read, is made by eighty two virgins f1710 ;) two are made every year; and three hundred priests wash it.
The Syriac version renders it, the face of the gate of the temple; by which may be meant, perhaps, the vail of the gate of Ulam, or of the porch f1711 .
The Jews have a tradition that forty years before the destruction of the temple, the gates of it opened of themselves. R. Jochanan ben Zaccai reproved them, saying, O temple! temple! wherefore dost thou fright thyself? I know thy end is to be destroyed; for so prophesied of thee Zechariah, the son of, Iddo, open thy gates, O Lebanon, etc. ( Zechariah 11:1).
But whether this may be referred to in the above version, or has any reference to the evangelic history, I will not say. Other writers, as Josephus f1713 , and Egesippus f1714 , speak of the eastern gate of the city, which was of brass, and as much as twenty men could shut, opening of its own accord, before the destruction of the temple; which perhaps the Jewish tradition rather regards. This rending of the vail was done, as some think, in token of mourning for, and testifying abhorrence at the crucifixion of Christ; the temple rending its garments, the vail, at the death of its Lord, proprietor, and type, as the high priest did his at supposed blasphemy; or to show that the Lord, who had taken up his residence in the most holy place between the cherubim, over the mercy seat, in thick darkness, was now about to remove, and leave the house desolate; or it signified the rending of Christs flesh, the breaking of his body for us, which was typified by the vail; (see Hebrews 10:20), and may also denote both the fulfilment and abrogation of the ceremonial law, which had its end in the death of Christ; and likewise the more clear discoveries of the mysteries of grace under the Gospel, in which they are laid to open view, and are beheld with open face: to which may be added, that this pointed out, that the way to the holiest of all, to heaven, of which this was a figure, was now made manifest; and was plain and accessible, as it was, first to Christ, who entered by his own blood, as the forerunner; and also to his people, who likewise have boldness to enter by the same. And the earth did quake : whether this earthquake reached only to the spot of ground where Christ was crucified, and on which the city and temple of Jerusalem stood; or whether it extended to other parts of the earth; since, in the reign of Tiberius Caesar, as Pliny relates, there was an earthquake, in which twelve cities in Asia fell, is not certain. However, it was an indication of the divine anger and resentment, and in detestation of the sin of crucifying Christ; (see Psalm 18:7), and was an emblem of the shaking and removing of the Jewish church state and ordinances, ( Hebrews 12:26,27). And the rocks rent ; which were near Mount Calvary, and about Jerusalem; and, as we are told, the clefts are to be seen to this day, and which appear to be supernatural. This was also a token of divine wrath and fury, (Na 1:5,6), and a rebuke of the stupidity and hardness of the Jews, who were unmoved when rocks were rent asunder, being harder than they; and an emblem of the future conversion of many through the powerful ministry of the word, and in consequence of Christs death; when hearts, as hard as rocks, were broke in pieces, stony hearts taken away, and hearts of flesh given; of which the three thousand being pricked to the heart under Peters sermon, were an instance.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 51-56 - The rending of the veil signified that Christ, by his death, opened way to God. We have an open way through Christ to the throne of grace or mercy-seat now, and to the throne of glory hereafter. When we dul consider Christ's death, our hard and rocky hearts should be rent; the heart, and not the garments. That heart is harder than a rock that wil not yield, that will not melt, where Jesus Christ is plainly set fort crucified. The graves were opened, and many bodies of saints whic slept, arose. To whom they appeared, in what manner, and how the disappeared, we are not told; and we must not desire to be wise abov what is written. The dreadful appearances of God in his providence sometimes work strangely for the conviction and awakening of sinners This was expressed in the terror that fell upon the centurion and the Roman soldiers. We may reflect with comfort on the abundant testimonie given to the character of Jesus; and, seeking to give no just cause of offence, we may leave it to the Lord to clear our characters, if we live to Him. Let us, with an eye of faith, behold Christ and his crucified, and be affected with that great love wherewith he loved us But his friends could give no more than a look; they beheld him, but could not help him. Never were the horrid nature and effects of sin s tremendously displayed, as on that day when the beloved Son of the Father hung upon the cross, suffering for sin, the Just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. Let us yield ourselves willingly to his service.
Greek Textus Receptus
και 2532 CONJ ιδου 2400 5628 V-2AAM-2S το 3588 T-NSN καταπετασμα 2665 N-NSN του 3588 T-GSM ναου 3485 N-GSM εσχισθη 4977 5681 V-API-3S εις 1519 PREP δυο 1417 A-NUI απο 575 PREP ανωθεν 509 ADV εως 2193 CONJ κατω 2736 ADV και 2532 CONJ η 3588 T-NSF γη 1093 N-NSF εσεισθη 4579 5681 V-API-3S και 2532 CONJ αι 3588 T-NPF πετραι 4073 N-NPF εσχισθησαν 4977 5681 V-API-3P
Vincent's NT Word Studies
51. The veil of the temple. According to the Rabbis this was a handbreadth in thickness, and woven of seventy-two twisted plaits, each plait consisting of twenty-four threads. It was sixty feet long and thirty wide. Two of them were made every year, and according to the exaggerated language of the time it needed three hundred priests to manipulate it. This veil was the one which covered the entrance to the holy of holies, and not, as has been asserted, the veil which hung before the main entrance to the sanctuary. The holy of holies contained only a large stone, on which the high-priest sprinkled the blood on the day of atonement, occupying the place where the ark with the mercy-seat had stood.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
27:51 {Was rent} (escisqe). Both Mark (#Mr 15:38) and Luke (#Lu 23:45) mention also this fact. Matthew connects it with the earthquake, "the earth did quake" (h g eseisth). Josephus (_War_ VI. 299) tells of a quaking in the temple before the destruction and the Talmud tells of a quaking forty years before the destruction of the temple. Allen suggests that "a cleavage in the masonry of the porch, which rent the outer veil and left the Holy Place open to view, would account for the language of the Gospels, of Josephus, and of the Talmud." this veil was a most elaborately woven fabric of seventy-two twisted plaits of twenty-four threads each and the veil was sixty feet long and thirty wide. The rending of the veil signified the removal of the separation between God and the people (Gould).
