Matthew 15:5 Updated American Standard Version (UASV): “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother: “Whatever I have that could benefit you is a gift dedicated to God,”’”

The Greek Text and Its Grammatical Tension

The Greek text of Matthew 15:5 in its earliest and best witnesses reads: ὑμεῖς δὲ λέγετε· Ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί· Δῶρον, ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς. Literally rendered, the clause may be translated, “But you say, Whoever might say to father or mother, ‘A gift, whatever from me you might be benefited.’” The construction is elliptical and abrupt. It lacks an expressed apodosis or concluding clause that would complete the sense in smooth Greek. This syntactical compression has led to interpretive and textual difficulties throughout the history of transmission.

The difficulty arises primarily from the nominative Δῶρον (“a gift”) followed by the relative clause ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς (“whatever from me you might have benefited”). The form suggests a declaration formula, but the implied predicate is not stated. The sense must be reconstructed from the immediate context in verses 3–6, where Jesus exposes the Pharisaic misuse of tradition to nullify the commandment to honor father and mother.

The documentary evidence from the earliest papyri and majuscule manuscripts confirms the shorter, more difficult reading without expansion. The Alexandrian witnesses preserve the abrupt construction. This strongly supports its originality. According to sound textual principles, the more difficult reading, when supported by early and geographically diverse witnesses, is to be preferred over later clarifications.

Scribal Expansion in Codex Sinaiticus

A notable variant appears in Codex Sinaiticus (א*), where the scribe added οὐδέν ἐστιν (“it is nothing”). With this addition, the text would read: “A gift—whatever from me you might have benefited—it is nothing.” This gloss supplies the implied result. The addition clarifies that what the parents might have received has become unavailable due to its dedication as an offering.

The presence of this addition in Sinaiticus, but not in the earliest papyri or in Codex Vaticanus (B), indicates secondary development. The scribe recognized the grammatical abruptness and supplied a phrase to complete the sense. Such explanatory expansions are characteristic of scribal habits, especially when faced with semantically compressed sayings of Jesus. The scribe did not alter doctrine or theology but sought to make the meaning explicit.

This scribal behavior is well attested in the transmission of the Gospels. Where the original text preserves Semitic compression or elliptical constructions reflective of Jesus’ speech, later copyists often expanded them to conform to smoother Greek syntax. The absence of οὐδέν ἐστιν in P75, Vaticanus, and other early Alexandrian witnesses confirms that the shorter reading stands closest to the autograph.

External Documentary Evidence

The external evidence is decisive. The early Alexandrian tradition, represented by the second- and third-century papyri and codices such as Vaticanus, preserves the shorter reading without the addition. Codex Sinaiticus includes the gloss, but its presence only in that witness demonstrates that the expansion is not part of the earliest recoverable text.

The Western tradition does not uniformly preserve the expansion either, indicating that the addition was not widely disseminated in the earliest period. The Byzantine tradition, which frequently smooths syntactical difficulties, contains expanded renderings in later manuscripts, sometimes paraphrastic in nature. These expansions reflect interpretive tendencies rather than original composition.

The documentary method requires that priority be given to the earliest, most reliable witnesses. When P75 and Vaticanus agree in preserving a more difficult reading, that agreement carries substantial weight. The reading without οὐδέν ἐστιν therefore represents the original form of Matthew 15:5.

The Historical Background of Corban

The saying reflects a Jewish vow formula known as Corban. The term Δῶρον corresponds conceptually to the Hebrew קָרְבָּן, meaning “offering” or “gift” dedicated to Jehovah. In Mark’s parallel account (Mark 7:11), the Aramaic term Κορβᾶν is explicitly mentioned and translated. Matthew, writing for a Jewish-Christian audience, renders the concept in Greek without the Aramaic transliteration.

Under certain Pharisaic interpretations, a person could declare property or resources as dedicated to God. Once declared Corban, the resources were considered reserved for sacred use. In practice, this declaration could be manipulated. A son could pronounce over his possessions, “It is Corban,” thereby technically dedicating them to Jehovah, while still retaining practical control over them during his lifetime. This legal fiction allowed him to evade financial responsibility toward his parents.

Jesus confronts this abuse directly in Matthew 15:3–6. The Mosaic commandment states, “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). Additionally, Exodus 21:17 prescribes severe penalty for one who curses father or mother. By permitting the Corban vow to override filial obligation, the Pharisaic tradition effectively nullified the Law.

The elliptical nature of Matthew 15:5 reflects the legal declaration itself. The speaker says only “A gift,” implying that the matter is settled. The declaration functions as a technical formula. Its terseness corresponds to legal speech, not narrative prose. Thus, the abrupt grammar may intentionally preserve the authentic wording of such declarations.

Syntactical Reconstruction and Translation

The clause Ὃς ἂν εἴπῃ introduces a generalizing condition: “Whoever might say.” The dative τῷ πατρὶ ἢ τῇ μητρί identifies the recipients of the declaration. The nominative Δῶρον stands as a predicate nominative, functioning as an implied copula construction: “It is a gift.” The relative clause ὃ ἐὰν ἐξ ἐμοῦ ὠφεληθῇς modifies the implicit subject of the declaration: “whatever from me you might have been benefited.”

The sense is therefore: “Whatever benefit you might receive from me is declared a gift [to God].” The verb ὠφεληθῇς, an aorist passive subjunctive, expresses potential benefit. The entire construction conveys that any anticipated material support is rendered inaccessible.

English translations necessarily expand the statement for clarity. The UASV renders: “Whatever I have that could benefit you is a gift dedicated to God.” This captures the intended sense without importing the secondary gloss found in Sinaiticus. The expansion “dedicated to God” is interpretive but justified by the historical context of Corban.

The absence of an explicit concluding clause in Greek does not signal textual corruption. Rather, it reflects idiomatic compression. Jesus’ indictment in verse 6 supplies the logical result: “he need not honor his father.” The force of the declaration is made explicit in the following verse, eliminating the necessity for further expansion in verse 5.

Comparison with Mark 7:11

Mark 7:11 reads: “But you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, “Whatever you would have gained from me is Corban (that is, given to God),”’” Mark preserves the Aramaic term and provides explanatory translation for his Gentile audience. Matthew omits the Aramaic term and uses Δῶρον. Both accounts reflect the same underlying practice.

Mark’s wording is slightly fuller, which may explain scribal tendencies in Matthew to harmonize the two passages. However, the documentary evidence does not support harmonization in the earliest witnesses. Matthew retains the concise formulation.

This divergence illustrates independent transmission within the Synoptic tradition. The evangelists preserve authentic teaching of Jesus, expressed in slightly different but complementary forms. Harmonization appears only in later manuscript traditions, confirming that the earlier texts were transmitted independently.

Theological and Legal Implications

The textual integrity of Matthew 15:5 directly affects the interpretation of Jesus’ argument. The verse exposes a system in which human tradition superseded divine commandment. The scribal gloss in Sinaiticus clarifies the economic effect but is not required to understand the theological thrust.

Jesus does not condemn voluntary offerings to Jehovah. He condemns the manipulation of religious vows to circumvent moral duty. The command to honor parents includes material support. The Pharisaic ruling created a loophole whereby a vow could override obligation. Jesus declares this tradition invalid because it nullifies the Word of God.

The Greek construction emphasizes the declarative force of “A gift.” The mere utterance of the formula sufficed under the tradition. The son’s obligation was suspended by speech alone. This highlights the legalistic environment in which verbal formulas acquired binding force.

The textual evidence confirms that Matthew preserved the sharpness of Jesus’ wording. The later addition in Sinaiticus reflects discomfort with abrupt syntax, not doctrinal correction. The original text stands as a faithful representation of Jesus’ confrontation with Pharisaic tradition.

Scribal Habits and the Principle of the Harder Reading

The addition of οὐδέν ἐστιν exemplifies a common scribal tendency to resolve perceived grammatical incompleteness. Scribes frequently added explanatory phrases when confronted with abrupt constructions. This pattern appears elsewhere in the Gospels, where elliptical sayings receive minor expansions in later manuscripts.

The principle lectio difficilior potior, when grounded in strong documentary support, applies here. The more difficult reading without the gloss is supported by early and reliable witnesses. The easier reading with explanatory expansion appears later and in limited distribution. Therefore, the shorter reading is original.

This case demonstrates the reliability of the Alexandrian textual tradition. Far from smoothing the text, early Alexandrian witnesses preserve challenging readings that later scribes sought to clarify. P75 and Vaticanus consistently reflect this pattern throughout the Gospels.

The Western and Byzantine traditions, while valuable for understanding the history of transmission, display greater tendencies toward paraphrase and harmonization. The textual critic must evaluate these traditions carefully but assign decisive weight to the earliest documentary evidence.

Translation Philosophy and Reader Clarity

Modern translations must render the elliptical Greek into coherent English. A strictly literal translation would confuse readers unfamiliar with Jewish vow practices. Therefore, responsible translation includes minimal expansion necessary to convey meaning.

The UASV appropriately expands the clause while maintaining fidelity to the Greek structure. It avoids importing the secondary gloss but clarifies that the “gift” is dedicated to God. This balances formal equivalence with intelligibility.

The textual critic must distinguish between translation expansion and textual interpolation. The former is necessary for comprehension; the latter alters the Greek text itself. Sinaiticus reflects interpolation at the textual level, whereas modern translations reflect expansion at the interpretive level without altering the underlying Greek.

Conclusion of the Textual Problem in Context

The difficulty in Matthew 15:5 is grammatical, not textual corruption. The earliest witnesses preserve an elliptical declaration reflecting Jewish legal formula. A later scribe in Sinaiticus added οὐδέν ἐστιν to complete the sense, but the documentary evidence confirms that this addition is secondary.

The verse illustrates both the precision of the early manuscript tradition and the discernment required in textual criticism. By prioritizing the earliest Alexandrian witnesses, especially those aligned with P75 and Vaticanus, the original wording is securely established. The integrity of the Gospel text remains intact, and the meaning is clear within its historical and literary context.

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