References (8)
[Matthew, the author of the Gospel, now describes his own personal encounter with Jesus.] Jesus went on
[from the house in Capernaum after healing the lame man] and saw a man named
Matthew sitting outside the customs house. He said to him, "Follow me," and
Matthew got up and followed him.
[Matthew is originally a Hebrew name (Matityahu) meaning "gift of God." He is also called Levi, which is probably his family name, see ; . The customs station was located on the outskirts of the city, either on the trade route "Via Maris" that ran from Damascus to the Mediterranean Sea, or on the Sea of Galilee, where ships arriving from territories outside Herod Antipas' rule were subject to customs duties.
In his joy over his salvation, he threw a big party at his home, see . When Matthew himself describes this, he does not include the grand details, but only that Jesus was at dinner in his house.] Philip
and Bartholomew [Bartolomaios, Hebrew name, "son of Talmais". This is probably the same person as Nathanael, who is mentioned together with Philip, see . In that case, he came from Cana, see ],
Thomas [Hebrew word meaning "twin", see ; ]
and Matthew, the tax collector (publican) [the author of this gospel],
James, son of Alphaeus,
and Thaddaeus [Judas, not Iscariot],
As he was walking by
[the city limits], he saw Levi, the son of Alphaeus
[also called Matthew], sitting at the tax booth
[a simple customs station where everyone who sold goods had to pay sales tax]. He said to him, "Follow me
(become my disciple)." He got up and followed him.
[It was not unusual to have multiple names at this time. Levi was his Hebrew name, meaning "united with," while Matthew was his Greek name, meaning "gift of God." The collection of customs duties and taxes from the provinces of Rom were leased out to private individuals. These were called "publicanus." Levi was such a publican who collected taxes for Herod Antipas. The Jews hated and looked down on the tax collectors who allied themselves with the occupying power. Levi immediately accepted the call, left his old life behind, and became one of Jesus' twelve disciples. Later, he wrote down his eyewitness account of Jesus' life – the Gospel of Matthew.]Andrew,
Philip [Greek word meaning "one who loves horses"],
Bartholomew [also called Nathanael],
Matthew,
Thomas [Hebrew word meaning "twin," see ; ],
James, son of Alphaeus,
Thaddaeus [Greek word meaning "one who has a warm heart" or "beloved child". He was also called Jude, son of James; he probably changed his name to avoid being associated with Judas Iscariot],
Simon "the Zealot" (fanatic, zealot, nationalist, Selot) [literally "Simon the Canaanite," the Aramaic equivalent of the Greek term "Zealot," both words meaning "the devoted, zealous, fanatical," may also indicate that he was involved in the Jewish resistance movement against the Roman Empire before becoming a disciple of Jesus],
After this, Jesus went out [from the house in Capernaum after the healing of the paralyzed man], and saw a tax collector (publican) named Levi [also called Matthew] sitting at the customs house. He said to him, "Follow me."
[The happy and newly saved] Levi [also called Matthew] made a great feast in his house, and there were many tax collectors and others there with them [Jesus and the disciples].
and Matthew,
and Thomas [Hebrew word meaning "twin"; ],
and James, son of Alphaeus,
and Simon, who was called the Zealot [literally "the devoted, zealous, fanatical" and suggests that he was involved in the Jewish resistance movement against the Roman Empire before becoming a disciple of Jesus],
When they arrived, they went up to the upper room where they used to be (had a habit of gathering):
Peter
and James
and John
and Andrew;
Philip
and Thomas,
Bartholomew [also called Nathanael]
and Matthew;
James, the son of Alphaeus,
and Simon the Zealot
[Zealot literally means "the devoted, zealous, fanatical," and may imply that he was a member of the Jewish resistance movement against the Roman Empire.]
and Judas, the son of James.
[Three groups emerge when the apostles are listed. Peter, Philip, and James are always mentioned as the first names in each group, see ; ; . In the original text, all names except Peter, Philip, Bartholomew, and James are preceded by the Greek kai, the word "and". A linguistic detail for grouping.]
