Matthew 26:23

And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(23) He that dippeth his hand with me.—Better, he that dipped, as of an act just passed. It seems probable from what follows that these words also were spoken to a few only of the disciples, say to the four who were nearest to their Master. We can scarcely think of Judas as asking the question of Matthew 26:25, if he had heard the words and knew that they pointed to him as the traitor.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

26:17-25 Observe, the place for their eating the passover was pointed out by Christ to the disciples. He knows those hidden ones who favour his cause, and will graciously visit all who are willing to receive him. The disciples did as Jesus had appointed. Those who would have Christ's presence in the gospel passover, must do what he says. It well becomes the disciples of Christ always to be jealous over themselves, especially in trying times. We know not how strongly we may be tempted, nor how far God may leave us to ourselves, therefore we have reason not to be high-minded, but to fear. Heart-searching examination and fervent prayer are especially proper before the Lord's supper, that, as Christ our Passover is now sacrificed for us, we may keep this feast, renewing our repentance, our faith in his blood, and surrendering ourselves to his service.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish - The Jews, at the observance of this ordinance, used a bitter sauce, made of bunches of raisins, mixed with vinegar and other seasoning of the like kind, which they said represented the clay which their fathers were compelled to use in Egypt in making brick, thus reminding them of their bitter bondage there.

This was probably the dish to which reference is made here. It is not improbable that Judas reclined near to our Saviour at the feast, and by his saying it was one that dipped "with him" in the dish, he meant one that was near to him, designating him more particularly than he had done before. John adds (John 13:23-30; see the notes at that place), that "there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved" - referring to himself; that Simon Peter beckoned to him to ask Jesus more particularly who it was; that Jesus signified who it was by giving "Judas a sop" - that is, a piece of "bread" or "meat" dipped in the thick sauce; and that Judas, having received it, went out to accomplish his wicked design of betraying him. Judas was not, therefore, present at the institution of the Lord's Supper.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Mt 26:17-30. Preparation for and Last Celebration of the Passover Announcement of the Traitor, and Institution of the Supper. ( = Mr 14:12-26; Lu 22:7-23; Joh 13:1-3, 10, 11, 18-30).

For the exposition, see on [1362]Lu 22:7-23.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

See Poole on "Matthew 26:25".

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

And he answered and said,.... In order to make them easy, and point out the betrayer to them,

he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. This seems to refer to the dipping of the unleavened bread, or bitter herbs, both, into the sauce called "Charoseth", which the Jews (z) say,

"was made of figs, nuts, almonds, and other fruits; to which they added apples; all which they bruised in a mortar, and mixed with vinegar; and put spices into it, calamus and cinnamon, in the form of small long threads, in remembrance of the straw; and it was necessary it should be: thick, in memory of the clay.''

The account Maimonides (a) gives of it is,

"the "Charoseth" is a precept from the words of the Scribes, in remembrance of the clay in which they served in Egypt; and how did they make it? They took dates, or berries, or raisins, and the like, and stamped them, and put vinegar into them, and seasoned them with spices, as clay in straw, and brought it upon the table, in the night of the passover.''

And in this he says, the master of the family dipped both the herbs, and the unleavened bread (b), and that both separately and conjunctly; for he says (c), that

"he rolled up the unleavened bread and bitter herbs together, and dipped them in the Charoseth.''

And this was twice done in eating the passover; for so it is observed (d) among the many things, which distinguished this night from others: "in all other nights we dip but once, but in this night twice". By this action, Christ gave his disciples a signal, whereby they might know the betrayer: for this is not the general description of one, that sat at the table, and ate of his bread with him, and so fulfilled the prediction, in Psalm 41:9, though this is too true; but then, this was saying no more than he had before done, when he said, "one of you shall betray me"; though the phrase is so (e) used; for instance,

"if a man goes and sits at table with them, , and "dips with them", though he does not eat the quantity of an olive, they bless for him.''

But this refers to a particular action then performed by Judas, just at the time Christ spoke these words; and who might sit near him, and dip into the same dish he did; for since there were thirteen of them, there might be more dishes than one; and two or three might have a dish to themselves, and Judas dip in the same dish with Christ.

(z) Bartenora in Misn. Pesach. c. 10. sect. 3. Vid. Maimon. & Yom Tob, in ib. & Piske Tos. Pesach. art. 322. (a) Hilch. Chametz Umetzah, c. 7. sect. 11. (b) Ib. c. 8. sect. 2. 8. (c) Ib. sect. 6. & T. Bab. Pesach. fol. 115. 1.((d) Misn. Pesach. c. 10. sect. 4, Maimon. Chametz Umetzah, c 8. sect. 2. Haggadah Shel Pesach, p. 5. (e) Bereshit Rabba, sect. 91. fol. 78. 4.

Geneva Study Bible

And he answered and said, He that {i} dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.

(i) That is to say, he whom I invited to come to my table, alluding in this to Ps 41:9, which is not to be understood as though just as the Lord spoke these words Judas had his hand in the dish (for that would have been an undoubted sign) but it refers to his tabling and eating with him.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Matthew 26:23. Ὁ ἐμβάψας, κ.τ.λ.] he who has dipped (not: is dipping, Luther, following the Vulgate). We have here no such definite allusion as John 13:26 represents Jesus to have made to Judas. For it is not probable that the dipping in question took place subsequent to the intimation by Jesus in Matthew 26:21 and the commotion of Matthew 26:22,—two circumstances calculated to interrupt for a little the progress of the meal,—but rather before them, when there may have been others besides Judas dipping into the dish from which Jesus was eating. The allusion can be said to point specially to Judas only in so far as, happening to recline near to Jesus, he must have been eating out of the same dish with Him (for there would be several of such dishes standing on the table). Comp. Grotius. The ἐμβαπτόμενος of Mark 14:20 (see on the passage) is not a substantial variation; neither has it been misunderstood by Matthew (in opposition to Weiss in the Stud. u. Krit. 1861, p. 53 f.), and converted by him into a special means of recognition (Holtzmann). The contents of the dish were the broth charoset (חרוסת), made out of dates, figs, etc., and of the colour of brick (to remind those who partook of it of the bricks of Egypt, Maimonides, ad Pesach. vii. 11). See Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. p. 831.

ἐν τῷ τρυβλίῳ] has dipped in the dish, into which he has put his hand, holding a piece of bread. Hom. Od. ix. 392; Aesch. Prom. 863; LXX. Deuteronomy 33:24; Ruth 2:14.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Matthew 26:23. ὁ ἐμβάψας, he who dipped, dips, or shall have dipped. The aorist participle decides nothing as to time, but merely points to a single act, as distinct from a process (cf. the present in Mk.). The expression in Mt. does not necessarily identify the man unless we render: who has just dipped, and conceive of Jesus as dipping immediately after. (So Weiss.) In favour of this view it may be said that there was no sense in referring to a single act of dipping, when there would be many in the course of the meal, unless the circumstances were such as to make it indicate the individual disciple. The mere dipping in the same dish would not identify the traitor, because there would be several, three or four, doing the same thing, the company being divided into perhaps three groups, each having a separate dish.—τὴν χεῖρα. The ancients used their hands, not knives and forks. So still in the East.—τρυβλίῳ. Hesychius gives for this word ὀξοβάφιον = acetabulum, a vessel for vinegar. Hence Elsner thinks the reference is to a vessel full of bitter herbs steeped in vinegar, a dish partaken of at the beginning of the meal. More probably the words point to a dish containing a mixture of fruit—dates, figs, etc.—vinegar and spices, in which bread was dipped, the colour of bricks or mud, to remind them of the Egyptian bondage (vide Buxtorf, Lex. Talm., p. 831). The custom of dipping here referred to is illustrated by the following from Furrer (Wanderungen, p. 133): “Before us stood two plates, one with strongly spiced macaroni, the other with a dish of fine cut leeks and onions. Spoons there were none. There were four of us who dipped into the same dish.”

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

23. He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish] “He it is to whom I shall give a sop when I have dipped it,” John 13:26; here we have the words of the disciple who heard the reply of Jesus, which was probably whispered and not heard by the rest.

dippeth his hand … in the dish] i. e. in the charoseth, see above, Matthew 26:20 (b).

Bengel's Gnomen

Matthew 26:23.[1123] Ὁ ἐμβάψας, he that dippeth) The use of the same small dish, of which there were several on the table, and the dipping of the sop in it at the same moment with our Lord, was to be the distinctive mark of the traitor; see Matthew 26:25. St Mark uses ἐμβαπτόμενος (present part. middle) to denote the same idea which St Matthew expresses by ἘΜΒΆΨΑς (1st Aor. part. act.); The former therefore employs the present in an indefinite sense.

[1123] Matthew 26:21. ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν Verily I say unto you) Our Lord inserted His complaint as to the approaching treachery and uncleanness [John 13:10] of Judas in His discourses connected with the washing of the disciples’ feet, and with the Lord’s Supper, on the following day; but on both days the inquiry of the disciples as to the traitor, follows immediately after that complaint which He uttered. Both the complaint and inquiry of the second day are placed in Matthew and Mark, before the Lord’s Supper: in Luke they are placed after it. They are, therefore, to be regarded as simultaneous with it—that is to say, the institution of the Supper held a middle place between the beginning and continuation (progress) of the complaint and inquiry.—Harm., p. 510, 511.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 23. - He that dippeth (dipped) his hand with me in the dish. Even now Jesus does not identify the traitor. Many had put their hands into the dish along with Christ. Judas was one of those who had done so. The fact of eating together made in the Easterns' view, the treachery more monstrous. "Mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me" (Psalm 41:9). The dish was one of large dimensions, from which each guest took his portion with his fingers. It was truly a common meal in which all shared. Our Lord's words were spoken in answer to John's question, "Lord, who is it?" (John xii[. 25). The beloved apostle's position at table, "lying on Jesus' breast," enabled him to ask this without being overheard. There is a mistake commonly made concerning the shape of the table used on such occasions. It was not of a horseshoe form, but oblong. The couches were arranged round three of its sides, and it extended a little way beyond the divans. The Master's seat was not at the top or middle couch, but at the side; and from what occurred we should infer that John sat on the right of Jesus at the end of the couch, and Judas on the left of Jesus, the strife about precedency having been thus settled. (The correct shape of the table, and the places of Jesus, John, Judas, and Peter, are delineated in Edersheim's work, vol. 2. p. 494.) Matthew 26:23

Vincent's Word Studies

The dish (τρυβλίῳ)

Wyc., platter. A dish containing a broth made with nuts, raisins, dates, figs, etc., into which' pieces of bread were dipped.