Matius 27:29

27:29 and after braiding ¹  a crown of thorns, ²  they put it on his head. They ³  put a staff ⁴  in his right hand, and kneeling down before him, they mocked him: ⁵  “Hail, king of the Jews!” ⁶ 

Matius 2:16

2:16 When Herod ⁷  saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged. He sent men ⁸  to kill all the children in Bethlehem ⁹  and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under, according to the time he had learned from the wise men.

[27:29]  ¹ tn Or “weaving.”

[27:29]  ² sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.

[27:29]  ³ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:29]  ⁴ tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[27:29]  ⁵ tn Grk “they mocked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[27:29]  ⁶ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[27:29]  sn The statement Hail, King of the Jews! is a mockery patterned after the Romans’ cry of Ave, Caesar (“Hail, Caesar!”).

[2:16]  ⁷ sn See the note on King Herod in 2:1. Note the fulfillment of the prophecy given by the angel in 2:13.

[2:16]  ⁸ tn Or “soldiers.”

[2:16]  ⁹ map For location see Map5 B1; Map7 E2; Map8 E2; Map10 B4.