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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.comVincent Word Studies - Matthew 22:12 - 22:12
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
Not having (μὴ ἔχων)
It is hardly possible to convey the subtle sense of the negative particle (μὴ) to the English reader. A different word for not (οὐκ) is used in the preceding verse, expressing an outward, objective fact which attracted the king's notice. The man had not (οὐκ) a wedding garment. When the king addresses the guest, he is thinking not so much of the outward token of disrespect, as of the guest's mental attitude toward the proprieties of the occasion. It is as if he had said, “What were you thinking of, where was your respect for me and for my guests, when you allowed yourself to come hither not (μὴ) having the proper garment, as you knew you ought to have?” It implies, as Dr. Morison observes, that the man was conscious of the omission when he entered, and was intentionally guilty of the neglect. This distinction between the two negative particles rests on the law of the Greek language, according to which οὐ and its compounds stand where something is to be denied as a matter of fact, and μὴ and its compounds when something is to be denied as a matter of thought.
He was speechless (ἐφιμώθη)
Lit., he was muzzled or gagged. It is used of muzzling the ox (1Ti 5:18), and is addressed by Christ to the demon (Mar 1:25), and to the raging sea (Mar 4:39). Peter uses it of putting the ignorant and foolish to silence (1Pe 2:15).
The outer darkness
See on Mat 8:12.