Matt. 12:40 in context
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Matt. 12:39      Matt. 12:41

Matthew 12:40

For just as the prophet Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart (inner) of the earth for three days and three nights.
[Jesus' death when he was laid in a tomb, in the heart of the earth, and his resurrection on the third day are foreshadowed by Jonah, who was in the belly of the fish for three days and three nights before he was cast ashore, see Jonah 2:1–10. It is interesting that Jesus so explicitly states that this is the only sign they will receive. In Jewish terminology, the day always begins in the evening, see Gen. 1:5, 8, 11–13. Matthew is careful to quote Jonah verbatim with "three days" followed by "three nights." The prophetic shadow image fits nicely if the day Jesus hangs on the cross (from nine o'clock to three o'clock when he dies) is counted as the first of the three days. The expression "three days and three nights" does not necessarily mean exactly 72 hours. The Bible does not give an exact account of when Jesus rose, only that the tomb was empty at dawn on the first day of the week, Sunday, see Matt. 28:1–10.
Pesach is always celebrated on the 14th of Nisan and the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread on the 15th of Nisan, see Lev. 23:5–14. The third day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is the 17th of Nisan. The days of the week vary from year to year. However, in the year 30 CE, the 17th of Nisan is a Sunday. That year, Sunday also coincides with the Feast of Firstfruits, bikkurim, see Lev. 23:9–14. There are two traditions for the sacrifices surrounding this feast. According to the Pharisees, the firstfruits sacrifice should take place in the evening (at the beginning of the day), while the Sadducees believed it should take place in the morning. Since the latter were in the majority in the Sanhedrin, the wave offering probably took place early on Sunday morning. Imagine if, at the same time as a sheaf was waved in the temple as a firstfruits offering, the news spread that Jesus had risen, see 1 Corinthians 15:20. That would have been a clear sign of Jonah! In the 80s AD, when the rabbinical tradition for this feast was adjusted, it was decided that bikkurim should never fall on a Sunday, precisely so that it could not be linked to Jesus' resurrection.]
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The greek text BETA

Nestle-Aland and Textus Receptus

ὥσπερ   γὰρ   ἦν   Ἰωνᾶς   ἐν   τῇ   κοιλίᾳ   τοῦ   κήτους   τρεῖς   ἡμέρας   καὶ   τρεῖς   νύκτας,   οὕτως   ἔσται   ὁ   υἱὸς   τοῦ   ἀνθρώπου   ἐν   τῇ   καρδίᾳ   τῆς   γῆς   τρεῖς   ἡμέρας   καὶ   τρεῖς   νύκτας.¶  

Manuscript comments

The greek text has 30 words. There is no difference between NA and TR in this verse.


Interlinear — horizontal

Below is an interlinear translation which follows the original scripture word for word. We are still working on the lexicon. Please contact us if you want to help.





Interlinear — table

Below is an interlinear version in table form that follows the word order of the original text. Clicking on the Strongs number will show the words in their basic form (note that sometimes the grammar causes not only the endings to change, but also the initial letters of the word).


Strongs nr Greek English Grammar Code
G5618
 ὥσπερ (osper)
 Just as
Conj. Conjunktion
 CONJ
G1063
 γὰρ (gar)
 for
Conj. Conjunktion
 CONJ
G1510
 ἦν (en)
 was
VERB Verb
imp. active ind. imperfect active indicative
sing. third person singular
V-IAI-3S
G2495
 Ἰωνᾶς (Ionas)
 Jonah
Noun Noun
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
Person (Person)
 N-NSM-P
G1722
 ἐν (en)
 in
Preposition Preposition
 PREP
G3588
 τῇ (te)
 the
Definite article Definite article
dative sing. ♀ dative singular feminine
T-DSF
G2836
 κοιλίᾳ (koilia)
 belly
Noun Noun
dative sing. ♀ dative singular feminine
N-DSF
G3588
 τοῦ (toy)
 of the
Definite article Definite article
gen. sing. neut. genitive singular Neutral
T-GSN
G2785
 κήτους (ketoys)
 great fish
Noun Noun
gen. sing. neut. genitive singular Neutral
N-GSN
G5140
 τρεῖς (treis)
 three
Adjective Adjective
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
A-APF
G2250
 ἡμέρας (emeras)
 days
Noun Noun
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
N-APF
G2532
 καὶ (kai)
 and
Conj. Conjunktion
 CONJ
G5140
 τρεῖς (treis)
 three
Adjective Adjective
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
A-APF
G3571
 νύκτας, (nyktas,)
 nights,
Noun Noun
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
N-APF
G3779
 οὕτως (oytos)
 so
Adverb Adverb
 ADV
G1510
 ἔσται (estai)
 will be
VERB Verb
fut. deponent ind. future middle-deponent indicative
sing. third person singular
V-FDI-3S
G3588
 ὁ (o)
 the
Definite article Definite article
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
T-NSM
G5207
 υἱὸς (yios)
 Son
Noun Noun
nom. sing. ♂ Nominative singular masculine
N-NSM
G3588
 τοῦ (toy)
Definite article Definite article
gen. sing. ♂ genitive singular masculine
T-GSM
G0444
 ἀνθρώπου (anthropoy)
 of Man
Noun Noun
gen. sing. ♂ genitive singular masculine
N-GSM
G1722
 ἐν (en)
 in
Preposition Preposition
 PREP
G3588
 τῇ (te)
 the
Definite article Definite article
dative sing. ♀ dative singular feminine
T-DSF
G2588
 καρδίᾳ (kardia)
 heart
Noun Noun
dative sing. ♀ dative singular feminine
N-DSF
G3588
 τῆς (tes)
 of the
Definite article Definite article
gen. sing. ♀ genitive singular feminine
T-GSF
G1093
 γῆς (ges)
 earth
Noun Noun
gen. sing. ♀ genitive singular feminine
N-GSF
G5140
 τρεῖς (treis)
 three
Adjective Adjective
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
A-APF
G2250
 ἡμέρας (emeras)
 days
Noun Noun
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
N-APF
G2532
 καὶ (kai)
 and
Conj. Conjunktion
 CONJ
G5140
 τρεῖς (treis)
 three
Adjective Adjective
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
A-APF
G3571
 νύκτας.¶ (nyktas.)
 nights.
Noun Noun
acc. pl. ♀ accusative plural feminine
N-APF

The color of the words tell you how rare the word is, the more red, the fewer uses.

Colorscale:  
1-5
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|11-50
|51-100
|101-500
|501-1000
|1000+

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