Matthew 5:22

Key takeaways

Matthew 5:22 belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Matthew 5:22 to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Matthew 5:22 from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Matthew 5:22 is the twenty-second verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the first of what have traditionally been known as the 6 Antitheses. In this one, Jesus compares the current interpretation of "You shall not murder" from the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17) with his own interpretation. This verse asserts that just as great a crime as murder itself is the anger that leads to it. Schweizer notes that this view is not particularly new to Jesus, appearing in the Old Testament at places such as Ecclesiastes 7:9 and in works such as Sirach, the Slavonic Enoch, Pesahim, and Nedraim.

Content The Koine Greek text, according to Westcott and Hort, reads:

εγω δε λεγω υμιν οτι πας ο οργιζομενος τω αδελφω αυτου ενοχος εσται τη κρισει ος δ αν ειπη τω αδελφω αυτου ρακα ενοχος εσται τω συνεδριω ος δ αν ειπη μωρε ενοχος εσται εις την γεενναν του πυρος In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads:

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. The World English Bible translates the passage as:

But I tell you, that everyone who is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca!' shall be in danger of the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of the fire of Gehenna. For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 5:22

Analysis This verse asserts that just as great a crime as murder itself is the anger that leads to it. Schweizer notes that this view is not particularly new to Jesus, appearing in the Old Testament at places such as Ecclesiastes 7:9 and in works such as Sirach, the Slavonic Enoch, Pesahim, and Nedraim. A similar teaching also appears at 1 John 3:15. Gundry notes that "I say to you" is one of Matthew's favourite phrases, used 68 times. Schweizer feels it is used here to link to the word of God in the previous verse. Davies and Allison note that the references to brothers is probably an allusion to the story of Cain and Abel. Nolland notes that the word usually translated as brother is gender neutral in the original Greek, and is more accurately translated as "brother or sister." Harrington notes that brother does not literally refer to sibling, or even to just the small group of followers or disciples. Rather he states that the verse should be read as referring to all Israelites or all human beings. France disagrees, feeling that in this particular verse Jesus is referring only to the group of disciples. Early manuscripts are divided between whether this verse should read "whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment" or "whosoever is angry with his brother shall be in danger of the judgment." The two versions are significantly different in implication and most modern scholars feel that "without a cause" was a later addition by a copyist trying to make the statement less radical. This was also the view of some Church Fathers, while Augustine of Hippo for example believed that "without cause", which many copies in his time included, was correct and that it should even be added to the three following statements since otherwise Paul the Apostle would be condemned, for "he calls the Galatians fools, though he considers them his brethren; for he did it not without cause."

Insults The word Raca is original to the Greek manuscript; however, it is not a Greek word. The most common view is that it is a reference to the Aramaic word reka, which literally means "empty one", but probably meant "empty headed," or "foolish." Scholars seem divided on how grievous an insult it was: Hill feels it was very grievous while France thinks it was a minor slur. The word translated as fool is the Greek moros, which has a similar meaning to the Aramaic reka. However moros also was used to mean godless, and thus could be much more severe a term than reka. The reading of godless can explain why the punishment is more severe. Jesus uses the term himself in Matthew 23:17 when he is deriding the Pharisees. This verse has also recently become part of the debate over the New Testament view of homosexuality. Some scholars have argued that raca can mean effeminate, and was a term of abuse for homosexuals. Similarly moros can also refer to a homosexual aggressor; as Genesis 19:4–6. From Semitic cognates Warren Johansson argued that the word was an Aramaic pejorative, similar to the English words faggot or fairy.

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Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Matthew 5:22

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Matthew 5:22 claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Matthew 5:22 before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Matthew 5:22 ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Matthew 5:22

In research: Matthew 5:22 appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Matthew 5:22 in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Matthew 5:22 is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Gehenna, Matthew 5, Works about murder, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Matthew 5:22 outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

How to study Matthew 5:22 in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Matthew 5:22 means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Matthew 5:22 out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Matthew 5:22 in simple terms?

Matthew 5:22 is the twenty-second verse of the fifth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. It is the first of what have traditionally been known as the 6 Antitheses.

Why does Matthew 5:22 matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Matthew 5:22?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Matthew 5:22.