Heinrich Meyer Commentary - Matthew 21:4 - 21:4

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Heinrich Meyer Commentary - Matthew 21:4 - 21:4


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Mat_21:4 f. Ἵνα πληρωθῇ ] not accidental, but in accordance with the divine purpose of fulfilling, etc. This quotation, which is a free rendering, partly of the original Hebrew and partly of the Septuagint, combines Isa_62:11 ( εἴπατε Σιών ) and Zec_9:9, where the riding of the ideal Messianic king upon an ass is simply a representation, not indeed of absolute humility (Hengstenberg, Christol. III. p. 360 f.), for such riding is a sign of πραΰτης , but of a peaceful disposition; comp. Ewald, Propheten, I. p. 256, ed. 2. He does not come upon a war-horse, not ἅρματα ἐλαύνων ὡς οἱ λοιποὶ βασιλεῖς , Chrysostom. The incident in which Jesus then realized the recognised fulfilment of the prophecy (Hengstenberg, Ewald, Keim) would suggest the strained interpretation of the figure, and quite properly, inasmuch as Christ’s riding into the city revealed the typical nature of the form in which the prophet embodied his prediction (Düsterdieck, de rei propheticae natura ethica, 1852, p. 78 f.). For the prophetic expression daughter of Zion (the locality of the town regarded as its mother), see Knobel’s note on Isa_1:8. Comp. Lam_1:6.

σοί ] Dative of ethical reference, common likewise in classical Greek along with ἔρχεσθαι .

καὶ ἐπὶ πῶλον ] See note on Mat_21:2. καί is epexegetical.

υἱὸν ὑποζυγ .] áÌÆïÎàÂúÉðåÉú . For ὑποζύγιον , beast of burden, a term more frequently used in the Septuagint to designate the ass, comp. Herod, ix. 24, 39, 41; Xen. Anab. i. 3. 1; Lucian, Cynic, x.; Polyb. iii. 51. 4; 3 Esdr. Mat_5:43; 2Pe_2:16.