The Meaning of Matthew 22:7 Explained

Matthew 22:7

KJV: But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.

YLT: 'And the king having heard, was wroth, and having sent forth his soldiers, he destroyed those murderers, and their city he set on fire;

Darby: And when the king heard of it he was wroth, and having sent his forces, destroyed those murderers and burned their city.

ASV: But the king was wroth; and he sent his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned their city.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

But  when the king  heard  [thereof], he was wroth:  and  he sent forth  his  armies,  and destroyed  those  murderers,  and  burned up  their  city. 

What does Matthew 22:7 Mean?

Study Notes

burned
Fulfilled as to Jerusalem A.D. 70. Luke 21:20-24 .

Context Summary

Matthew 22:1-14 - The Penalty Of Slighting The Invitation
We have here a continuation of our Lord's teaching on that last great day in the Temple. This day seems to have begun with Matthew 21:23, and it continued to Matthew 25:46. What wonder that His strength was prematurely exhausted, and that He succumbed so soon under the anguish of His cross!
In this parable He describes His union with His people under the symbolism of marriage. This must have suggested the allusions of Ephesians 5:23-32, where the Apostle tells us that Christ loved the Church as His bride; and of Romans 7:1-4, where He encourages us to believe that we may be married to Him who was raised from the dead. We can never forget Revelation 21:2; Revelation 21:9. Messenger after messenger was sent to the Hebrew people, but as they would not come, the Church was called from the highways and byways of the world to occupy the vacant space. But let us see to it that we are clothed in the spotless robe of His righteousness, in which alone we can stand in the searching light of eternity. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 22

1  The parable of the marriage of the king's son
9  The vocation of the Gentiles
12  The punishment of him who lacked a wedding garment
15  Tribute ought to be paid to Caesar
23  Jesus confutes the Sadducees for the resurrection;
34  answers which is the first and great commandment;
41  and puzzles the Pharisees by a question about the Messiah

Greek Commentary for Matthew 22:7

Armies [στρατευματα]
Bands of soldiers, not grand armies. [source]
Armies [στρατεύματα]
Not in our grand sense of armies, but troops, soldiers. Compare Luke 23:11, where the word is rendered men of war; Rev., soldiers. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 22:7

Acts 21:38 That were murderers [τῶν σικαρίων]
The A. V. is too general, and overlooks the force of the article, which shows that the word refers to a class. Rev., rightly, the assassins. The word, which occurs only here, and notably on the lips of a Roman officer, is one of those Latin words which “followed the Roman domination even into those Eastern provinces of the empire which, unlike those of the West, had refused to be Latinized, but still retained their own language” (Trench, “Synonyms”). The Sicarii were so called from the weapon which they used - the sica, or short, curved dagger. Josephus says: “There sprang up in Jerusalem another description of robbers called Sikars, who, under the broad light of day, and in the very heart of the city, assassinated men; chiefly at the festivals, however, when, mixing among the crowd, with daggers concealed under their cloaks, they stabbed those with whom they were at variance. When they fell, the murderers joined in the general expressions of indignation, and by this plausible proceeding remained undetected” (“Jewish War,” c. xiii.). The general New Testament term for murderer is φονεύς (see Matthew 22:7; Acts 3:14; Acts 28:4, etc.). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 22:7 mean?

- And the king was angry and having sent the armies of him he destroyed the murderers those the city of them he burned
δὲ βασιλεὺς ὠργίσθη καὶ πέμψας τὰ στρατεύματα αὐτοῦ ἀπώλεσεν τοὺς φονεῖς ἐκείνους τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἐνέπρησεν

  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
βασιλεὺς  the  king 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: βασιλεύς  
Sense: leader of the people, prince, commander, lord of the land, king.
ὠργίσθη  was  angry 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Passive, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ὀργίζω  
Sense: to provoke, to arouse to anger.
πέμψας  having  sent 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: πέμπω  
Sense: to send.
στρατεύματα  armies 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Plural
Root: στράτευμα  
Sense: an army.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἀπώλεσεν  he  destroyed 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπόλλυμι  
Sense: to destroy.
φονεῖς  murderers 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: φονεύς  
Sense: a murderer, a homicide.
ἐκείνους  those 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Plural
Root: ἐκεῖνος  
Sense: he, she it, etc.
πόλιν  city 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: πόλις  
Sense: a city.
αὐτῶν  of  them 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Plural
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἐνέπρησεν  he  burned 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐμπίμπρημι 
Sense: to burn.