# Matthew 4:22

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**Matthew 4:22** is the twenty-second verse of [the fourth chapter](/source/Matthew_4) of the [Gospel of Matthew](/source/Gospel_of_Matthew) in the [New Testament](/source/New_Testament). After recruiting [Simon Peter](/source/Simon_Peter) and [Andrew](/source/Saint_Andrew) as disciples, Jesus encountered the brothers [James](/source/Saint_James_the_Great) and [John](/source/John_the_Apostle) and their father [Zebedee](/source/Zebedee). In this verse they also join him.

## Content

The text in [Koine Greek](/source/Koine_Greek), according to [Westcott and Hort](/source/The_New_Testament_in_the_Original_Greek), reads:

- οι δε ευθεως αφεντες το πλοιον και
- τον πατερα αυτων ηκολουθησαν αυτω

In the [King James Version](/source/King_James_Version) of the Bible the text reads:

- And they immediately left the ship
- and their father, and followed him.

The [World English Bible](/source/World_English_Bible) translates the passage as:

- They immediately left the boat and
- their father, and followed him.

For a collection of other versions see [BibleHub Matthew 4:22](http://biblehub.com/matthew/4-22.htm)

## Analysis

This verse is quite similar to [Matthew 4:20](/source/Matthew_4:20) where Simon Peter and Andrew choose to follow Jesus. Like that verse the immediacy and renunciative nature of their becoming disciples is emphasized. The sacrifice is enhanced in this verse, however, as James and John are not only giving up worldly goods but also abandoning their father. This renunciation of family ties is also emphasized in [Matthew 8:21](/source/Matthew_8:21)-[22](/source/Matthew_8:22). Carter feels this is evidence that Jesus is rejecting the traditional patriarchal structure of society where the father had command over his children. Instead all will be equally brothers under God the father. Carter notes that the breaking of family ties were not absolute, however. Throughout the Gospel John and James are described as the "sons of Zebedee" and in [Matthew 8:14](/source/Matthew_8:14), when the disciples visit [Peter](/source/Saint_Peter)'s family.[1]

This verse is quite similar to , except that in that verse the adverb *immediately* is used to modify Jesus' calling of the pair, not their coming. If the author of Matthew is basing his work on Mark, as is theorized by the [two-source hypothesis](/source/Two-source_hypothesis), then he made a conscious decision to emphasize the rapidity of the disciples response. Immediate obedience to the word of God is an important virtue in the Gospel of Matthew, as seen earlier in [Joseph](/source/Saint_Joseph)'s prompt obedience to the divine messages in [Matthew 2](/source/Matthew_2).

## Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this verse in Greek are:

- [Papyrus 102](/source/Papyrus_102) (3rd century)[2][3]
- [Codex Vaticanus](/source/Codex_Vaticanus) (325-350)
- [Codex Sinaiticus](/source/Codex_Sinaiticus) (330-360)
- [Codex Bezae](/source/Codex_Bezae) (~400)
- [Codex Washingtonianus](/source/Codex_Washingtonianus) (~400)
- [Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus](/source/Codex_Ephraemi_Rescriptus) (~450)

## Commentary from the Church Fathers

[Hilary of Poitiers](/source/Hilary_of_Poitiers): By this that they left their occupation and their father's house we are taught, that when we would follow Christ we should not be holden of the cares of secular life, or of the society of the paternal mansion.[4]

## References

1. Carter, Warren. "Matthew 4:18-22 and Matthean Discipleship: An Audience-Oriented Perspective." *Catholic Bible Quarterly.* Vol. 59. No. 1. 1997.

1. Thomas, J. David. *The Oxyrhynchus Papyri LXIV* (London: 1997), pp. 4–5.

1. ["Liste Handschriften"](http://intf.uni-muenster.de/vmr/NTVMR/ListeHandschriften.php?ObjID=10102). Münster: Institute for New Testament Textual Research. Retrieved 27 August 2011.[dead link]

1. ["Catena Aurea: commentary on the four Gospels; collected out of the works of the Fathers. Oxford: Parker, 1874. Thomas Aquinas"](https://archive.org/details/p1catenaaureacom01thomuoft/page/n19/mode/2up)

## Bibliography

- [Albright, W.F.](/source/William_F._Albright) and C.S. Mann. "Matthew." *[The Anchor Bible Series](/source/The_Anchor_Bible_Series).* New York: Doubleday & Company, 1971.
- [Schweizer, Eduard](/source/Eduard_Schweizer). *The Good News According to Matthew.* Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Matthew 4:22](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_4%3A22) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_4%3A22?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.