Matthew 27:65–66
Matthew 27:65–66 are the final two verses of the twenty-seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament, coming after the crucifixion and entombment of Jesus. The chief priests and the Pharisees meet with Pontius Pilate, and he approves their request for a tomb guard. Content. The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort, reads: In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as: The modern World English Bible translates the passage as: The New International Version reads: For a collection of other versions see BibleHub Matthew 27:65-66. Analysis. One  of the primary debates over this verse is whether the word in , "ekete", is imperative or indicative, and therefore whether the guards sent are Roman soldiers or Jewish temple guards. "You have a guard" is ambiguous and can mean either taking some of Pilate's guard, or dispatching some of their own guards. Protestant theologian Heinrich Meyer names Martin Luther, François Vatable (Vatablus), Wolf, Paulus, de Wette, Keim and Steinmeyer as historic commentators favouring the Roman interpretation, noting that on the other hand the Vulgate text, "Habetis custodiam", points towards a Jewish guard interpretation. Among modern writers, Craig Keener argues  that the priests would have had no need to approach Pilate if they simply wanted to use their own forces for the guarding. The Greek term used in this verse, , "koustodia", is a borrowing from the Latin "custodia", and thus also implies Roman forces. This is the same wording as is used at , where the soldiers are clearly Roman guards. However, R. T. France argues that the guards were probably Jewish temple guards. If Pilate was giving some of his own soldiers, "take a guard", the New International Version's reading (see above), would have been the likely reply. The  less direct "you have a guard" leaves open that they could be temple guards. At the guards report to the priests and not to Pilate, and at Pilate finding out about the events was just a possibility. An unlikely turn of events if they had been his own forces. However, had the guard been the Temple guard, there would have been no need for the High Priest to bribe them. They would have been within his jurisdictional command. Nor would he have felt a need to protect them from Pilate. The guards seal the stone at the entrance to the  tomb. This parallels the sealing of the lions' den at in the Old Testament, and may be a reference. The wording implies some sort of physical seal, such as wax or clay, to make any attempt to open the tomb obvious. Matthew gives no details on how or what it was sealed with. The non-canonical Gospel of Peter adds far more information stating that the tomb was closed with seven wax seals.