FOOTNOTES:

^a Literally, this sentence is just “You’ll see.” Some translations render it as “See to it yourself.”

^b The only possible Hebrew Bible reference for their statement would be Deuteronomy 23:18, but it says, “You must never bring the pay of a female prostitute or the wage of a male prostitute into the temple of the Lord your God in fulfillment of any vow” (NET). This statement seems to be an admission that Judah’s actions were unacceptable to God, which makes it hard to imagine the mental gymnastics they had to play to condemn Judah but still see themselves as in the right.

^c In their view, they used unclean money for unclean purposes (disposing of corpses) for unclean people (foreigners).

^d The quotation is actually from Zechariah 11:12-13

^e This isn’t a direct quotation of anywhere in the Hebrew Bible. It seems to be drawing from several sources, including Zechariah 11:12-13 for most of the explicitly used wording and from several references in Jeremiah, including Jeremiah 18:2-6, 19:1-13, and 32:6-15. Some say Jeremiah 19:1-13 is especially important when paired with Zechariah 11:12-13, and others say Jeremiah’s themes as a whole are in view with the specific wording of Zechariah as a tool for focusing it. It seems to me to be taking the language of Zechariah 11:12-13 most closely, and the author of Matthew who knew the Hebrew Bible so well would know that the connection with Jeremiah would have been indirect. It forces readers to wrestle with it, and the section with Jeremiah 19:1-13 has been referenced several times already with each mention of the Valley of Hinnom, especially with the connection of the “leaders of the people” and “leaders of the priests” in Jeremiah 19:1 as parallel to the lead priests and elders of the people, and following the passage in Jeremiah 20, the priest has Jeremiah arrested and whipped for speaking against the unfaithfulness and injustice of Israel and the leaders. When paired that way, it is a strong judgment against the leaders and a warning that continuing on the path they have set for the nation will lead to destruction and misery.

^f Jesus uses the phrase su eipas in critical conversations with figures like Judas, the high priest, and Pilate (Matthew 26:25, 26:64, 27:11). Translated here as "If you say so," the phrase is a Greek expression that indirectly reflects the speaker's words without direct affirmation or denial. Jesus’ choice of this response subtly shifts responsibility back to the questioner, often signaling both acknowledgment and reservation. Rather than confirming, Jesus lets their words "stand" on their own.

^g ‘Barabbas’ was Aramaic for ‘Son of Father’ or “Son of Master,” which could have been his father’s name (Abba) or he could have been a known follower of some other master, or it could have been a title or pseudonym of some kind.

^h The Greek word dikaios here means more than legally innocent; it conveys being “just” or “righteous,” describing someone deeply aligned with moral and ethical integrity. Pilate’s wife’s message suggests not only that Jesus is undeserving of punishment but that he embodies a profound goodness and justice, underscoring her urgent warning.

ⁱ Literally, ‘dream.’ It was clearly a powerfully disturbing dream, which is why it’s worded as ‘nightmare’ here.

^j Under Roman law, the Judean government was not sanctioned to perform executions and required the Roman authority’s approval.

^k See Exodus 34:6-7. It seems they thought they were keeping Torah by executing one who had slandered God (Leviticus 24:15-16), receiving the benefits of faithfulness that would be passed down for “thousands” of generations, but the writer of Matthew clearly has in mind that they fit the second group that will pass on the consequences of deviating from the Path of God “to the third and fourth generation.”

^l Around 600 soldiers

^m Some see a connection with Genesis 3:18.

ⁿ This is a different word than the one used for ‘bow down’ in other places, showing the difference in cultural practices for Romans and those from the Ancient Near East.

^o The word is often translated as ‘hail’ but it’s the same as what’s translated as ‘hello’ in Matthew 26:49. It literally means ‘rejoice’ and was a standard greeting.

^p The word literally means ‘bile’ but was often used to refer to any bitter substance and sometimes used to refer to poison, or painrelieving substances in lower doses, such as wormwood which was a bitter plant used in tonics and absinthe.

^q Reference to Psalm 22 (especially verse 18). Literally, it means ‘throwing lots.’ ‘Lots’ were any objects marked with names or other symbols to identify whose was chosen when they shook the collection and noted the first one to fall.

^r Although lēstēs is often translated as "robber" or "bandit," it had a broader meaning in the first century, commonly applied to violent rebels or those perceived as threats to public order. This word was used by the Roman authorities to label those who engaged in revolutionary or rebellious acts against the Empire, including leaders and participants in resistance movements.

^s See Matthew 20:20-23.

^t This word is the same as what Caiaphas accused Jesus of doing toward God, the Greek word blasphemeo. It means to slander, defame, or belittle.

^u See Matthew 26:61.

^v Traditionally, ‘save.’ This word can be translated a number of ways, with all of them about taking action to create or protect wellbeing. Options include, ‘liberate,’ ‘restore,’ ‘heal,’ ‘protect,’ ‘rescue,’ and others. Matthew’s thematic focus is on restoring the people to their calling to represent God and live with love and justice, bringing them back to those things from where they’ve wandered in other directions.

^w Reference to Psalm 22:8

^x See Matthew 26:63-64

^y See Isaiah 50 and compare it to this verse but also the whole of Matthew 27. See also Matthew 24:29-30.

^z Reference to Amos 8:1-14 (especially verse 9)

^aa Literally, ‘sixth hour’ and ‘ninth hour’

^bb Jesus is quoting Psalm 22:1 in Aramaic, and it is intended for the reader to understand it as a reference to the entire psalm.

^cc Eli is pronounced ‘ay-lee’ and ‘Elijah’ in Hebrew/Aramaic is pronounced ‘ay-lee-yah.’ I wonder if this verse is intended to show the people standing there were out of touch with the scriptures.

^dd Roman soldiers often drank wine that had gone to vinegar mixed with water.

^ee The Greek is idou, which literally means ‘look.’ It is an idiomatic way to catch the audience’s attention and point out that something noteworthy is happening.

^ff See Leviticus 16:2, 15-17 and Leviticus 21:16-23. There are also other places the curtain is mentioned. With these two places in mind, see Isaiah 56:1-8 with the other references Jesus has made to Isaiah 56 building a strong connection between what Jesus is about, Leviticus 16 and 21, and Isaiah 56.

^gg Traditionally, ‘holy ones’ or ‘saints.’ Literally, it’s the word for ‘set apart’ as in ‘designated’ or ‘dedicated’ for a specific category or calling. Most other places, this word has been translated as ‘sacred,’ but that word doesn’t work as well when referring to people.

^hh This is a euphemism for ‘died,’ much like Americans often say someone ‘passed away.’

ⁱⁱ This is a counterpart to the euphemism of ‘falling asleep’ to mean ‘dying.’ Literally, it means to ‘wake up’ or ‘get up’ and is often used of people standing when they were lying down or waking up when they were literally sleeping. Also, see Isaiah 26:7-21 (especially verse 19).

^jj Magdalene means ‘Tower’ in Aramaic.

^kk Traditionally, ‘mother of James and Joseph.’ This has traditionally been interpreted to be Jesus’ mother.

^ll The sons of Zebedee are two of the Twelve, Jacob (James) and John. See Matthew 4:21 and Matthew 20:20.

^mm This is a different word for grave, the same one used in Matthew 23:27-33.

ⁿⁿ The day of preparation is the day before Shabbat, when all the preparations would be made so that no work would have to be done on Shabbat, so the day ‘after the day of preparation’ would be Shabbat.