Lexicon

Then

Καὶ

(Kai)

Conjunction



And, even, also, namely.

Jesus

Ἰησοῦς

(Iēsous)

Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular



Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.

went

εἰσῆλθεν

(eisēlthen)

Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular



To go in, come in, enter. From eis and erchomai; to enter.

into

εἰς

(eis)

Preposition



A primary preposition; to or into, of place, time, or purpose; also in adverbial phrases.

the

τὸ

(to)

Article - Accusative Neuter Singular



The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

temple courts

ἱερόν

(hieron)

Noun - Accusative Neuter Singular



Neuter of hieros; a sacred place, i.e. The entire precincts of the Temple.

and

καὶ

(kai)

Conjunction



And, even, also, namely.

drove out

ἐξέβαλεν

(exebalen)

Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular



To throw (cast, put) out; I banish; I bring forth, produce. From ek and ballo; to eject.

all

πάντας

(pantas)

Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural



All, the whole, every kind of. Including all the forms of declension; apparently a primary word; all, any, every, the whole.

who were

τοὺς

(tous)

Article - Accusative Masculine Plural



The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

buying

ἀγοράζοντας

(agorazontas)

Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural



To buy. From agora; properly, to go to market, i.e. to purchase; specially, to redeem.

and

καὶ

(kai)

Conjunction



And, even, also, namely.

selling

πωλοῦντας

(pōlountas)

Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Plural



To sell, exchange, barter. Probably ultimately from pelomai; to barter, i.e. To sell.

[there].

ἐν

(en)

Preposition



In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

He overturned

κατέστρεψεν

(katestrepsen)

Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular



To overturn, overthrow. From kata and strepho; to turn upside down, i.e. Upset.

the

τὰς

(tas)

Article - Accusative Feminine Plural



The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

tables

τραπέζας

(trapezas)

Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural



Probably contracted from tessares and peze; a table or stool, usually for food; also a counter for money.

of the

τῶν

(tōn)

Article - Genitive Masculine Plural



The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

money changers

κολλυβιστῶν

(kollybistōn)

Noun - Genitive Masculine Plural



From a presumed derivative of kollubos; a coin-dealer.

and

καὶ

(kai)

Conjunction



And, even, also, namely.

the

τὰς

(tas)

Article - Accusative Feminine Plural



The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

seats

καθέδρας

(kathedras)

Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural



A seat, chair. From kata and the same as hedraios; a bench.

of those

τῶν

(tōn)

Article - Genitive Masculine Plural



The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

selling

πωλούντων

(pōlountōn)

Verb - Present Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Plural



To sell, exchange, barter. Probably ultimately from pelomai; to barter, i.e. To sell.

doves.

περιστεράς

(peristeras)

Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural



A dove, pigeon. Of uncertain derivation; a pigeon.

And Jesus went into the temple.

i.e.,

(12)--Here, again, there is a gap to be filled up from another Gospel. St. Mark ( Mark 11:11 ) says definitely that on the day of His solemn entry He went into the Temple, "looked round about on all things there,"--on the scene of traffic and disorder described in this verse--and then, "the evening-tide being come" (or, "the hour being now late"), went back to Bethany, and did what is here narrated on the following day. So, with a like difference of order, St. Mark places the sentence on the barren fig-tree on the next morning, and before the cleansing of the Temple. (Comp. Note on Matthew 21:17 .) St. John ( John 2:13-25 ) records an act of like nature as occurring at the commencement of our Lord's ministry, on the first visit to Jerusalem after His baptism. Critics who have started with the assumption that the repetition of such an act was impossible, have inferred accordingly that the narrative has been misplaced either by the Three or by St. John, some holding with the latter and some with the former, on grounds more or less arbitrary. From the purest human historical point of view, we may, I believe, accept both narratives as true. If Jesus of Nazareth had been only a patriot Jew, filled with an intense enthusiasm for the holiness of the Temple, what more likely than that He should commence His work with a protest against its desecration? If the evils against which He thus protested, after being suppressed for a time, reappeared in all their enormity, what more probable than that He should renew the protest at this stage of His work, backed as He now was by the equal enthusiasm of the people? What more natural, again, than that the second cleansing should revive the memory of the first, and call up with it the words which are recorded by St. John, and not by the Three, and which served as the basis of the charge that He had threatened to destroy the Temple ( John 2:20-21 Mark 14:58 ). There is--it cannot be concealed--a real difficulty in the omission of the earlier cleansing by the Three, and in the absence of any reference to the later cleansing by the Fourth; but the fact in either case is only one of many like facts incident to the structure of the Gospels. The Three knew nothing--or rather, they record nothing--as to our Lord's ministry in Jerusalem prior to this last entry. The Fourth, writing a Gospel supplementary either to the Three or to the current oral teaching which they embodied, systematically passes over, with one or two notable exceptions, what they had recorded, and confines his work to reporting, with marvellous vividness and fulness, specially selected incidents.

Cast out them that sold and bought in the temple.--The apparent strangeness of the permission of what seems to us so manifest a desecration, was obviously not felt by the Jews as we feel it. Pilgrims came from all parts of the world to keep the Passover, to offer their sacrifices, sin-offerings, or thank-offerings, according to the circumstances of each case. They did not bring the victims with them. What plan, it might seem, could be more convenient than that they should find a market where they could buy them as near as possible to the place where the sacrifice was to be offered? One of the courts of the Temple was therefore assigned for the purpose, and probably the priests found their profit in the arrangement by charging a fee or rent of some kind for the privilege of holding stalls. There is no trace of the practice prior to the Captivity, but the dispersion of the Jews afterwards naturally led men to feel the want of such accommodation more keenly. But this permission brought with it another as its inevitable sequel. The pilgrims brought with them the coinage of their own country--Syrian, Egyptian, Greek, as the case might be--and their money was either not current in Palestine, or, as being stamped with the symbols of heathen worship, could not be received into the Corban, or treasury of the Temple. For their convenience, therefore, money-changers were wanted, who, of course, made the usual agio, or profit, on each transaction. We must picture to ourselves, in addition to all the stir and bustle inseparable from such traffic, the wrangling and bitter words and reckless oaths which necessarily grew out of it with such a people as the Jews. The history of Christian churches has not been altogether without parallels that may help us to understand how such a desecration came to be permitted. Those who remember the state of the great cathedral of London, as painted in the literature of Elizabeth and James, when mules and horses laden with market produce, were led through St. Paul's as a matter of every-day occurrence, and bargains were struck there, and burglaries planned, and servants hired, and profligate assignations made and kept, will feel that even Christian and Protestant England has hardly the right to cast a stone at the priests and people of Jerusalem.

And the seats of them that sold doves.--The Greek has the article--"the doves," that were so familiar an object in the Temple courts. There is a characteristic feature in this incident as compared with the earlier cleansing. Then, as taking into account, apparently, the less glaringly offensive nature of the traffic, our Lord had simply bidden the dealers in doves to depart, with their stalls and bird-cages (John 2:16). Now, as if indignant at their return to the desecrating work which He had then forbidden, He places them also in the same condemnation as the others.

Verses 12-17.

The second cleansing of the temple

Verse 12.

Went into the temple.

i

e

Cast out all them that sold and bought.

Money changers.

The seats of

them that sold

the

doves.

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. ( Mark 11:15-19 Luke 19:45-48 .)The event here narrated seems to have taken place on the day following the triumphal entry;. on the Monday of the Holy Week. This can be gathered from St. Mark's narrative, where it is stated that, on the day of triumph, Jesus was escorted to the temple, but merely "looked round about on all things," and then returned for the night to Bethany, visiting the temple again on the following morning, and driving out those who profaned it. St. Matthew often groups events, not in their proper chronological order, but in a certain logical sequence which corresponded with his design. Thus he connects the cleansing with the triumphal entry, in order to display another example of Christ's self-manifestation at this time, and his purpose to show who he was and to put forth his claims publicly. In this visit of Christ we see the King coming to his palace, the place where his honour dwelleth, the fitting termination of his glorious march. This cleansing of the temple must not be confounded with the earlier incident narrated by St. John ( John 2:13 , etc.). The two acts marked respectively the beginning and close of Christ's earthly ministry, and denote the reverence which he taught for the house and the worshiper God. The part of the temple which he now visited, and which was profaned to secular use, was the court of the Gentiles, separated from the sanctuary by a stone partition, and considered of lesser sanctity, though really an integral part of the temple.In this large open space a market had been established, with the connivance, and much to the pecuniary emolument, of the priests. These let out the sacred area, of which they were the appointed guardians, to greedy and irreligious traders, who made a gain of others' piety. We find no trace of this market in the Old Testament; it probably was established after the Captivity, whence the Jews brought back that taste for commercial business and skill in financial matters for which they have ever since been celebrated. In the eyes of worldly-minded men the sanctity of a building and its appendages was no impediment to traffic and trade, hence they were glad to utilize the temple court, under the sanction of the priests, for the convenience of those who came from all regions to celebrate the great festivals. Here was sold all that was required for the sacrifices which worshippers were minded to offer - animals for victims, meal, incense, salt, etc. The scandalous abuse of the holy precincts, or the plain traces of it (if, as it was late in the day, the traffickers themselves had departed for a time), Christ had observed at his previous visit, when he "looked round about upon all things" ( Mark 11:11 ), and now he proceeded to remedy the crying evil The details of the expulsion are not given. On the first occasion, we are told, he used "a scourge of small cords;" as far as we know, at this time he effected the purification unarmed and alone. It was a marvellous impulse that forced the greedy crew to obey the order of this unknown Man; their own consciences made them timid; they fled in dismay before the stern indignation of his eye, deserted their gainful trade to escape the reproach of that invincible zeal.These persons exchanged (for a certain percentage) foreign money or other coins for the half shekel demanded from all adults for the service of the temple (see on Matthew 17:24). They may have lent money to the needy. The sellers also probably played into their bands by refusing to receive any but current Jewish money in exchange for their wares. It is also certain that no coins stamped with a heathen symbol, or bearing a heathen monarch's image, could be paid into the temple treasury.These birds were used by the poor in the place of costlier victims (see Leviticus 12:6 Luke 2:24 ). The sellers were often women, who sat with tables before them on which were set cages containing the doves.Alphabetical: all and area benches buying changers doves drove entered He in Jesus money moneychangers of out overturned seats selling tables temple the there those were who