Matthew 4:16

σκότει, the reading of textus receptus retained in preference to σκοτίᾳ. The question of reading is interesting, the great MSS. being divided. א*CEL and the majority of uncials are in favour of σκότει. אbBD read σκοτίᾳ. Of the leading editors Lachmann and Tregelles (neither of whom had seen א) read σκοτίᾳ, Tischendorf reads σκότει.

16. ὁ λαὸς ὁ καθήμενος, κ.τ.λ. The quotation nearly follows the Hebrew of Isaiah 9:1-2 (two lines of the original being omitted). The LXX. presents a wide difference in form.

The repeated καθήμενος … καθημένοις of the text represents two distinct Hebrew words, the first signifying literally ‘walking.’ The parallelism suffers by the Greek translation, ‘to sit’ being an advance on ‘to walk,’ as implying a more settled condition. Cp. Psalms 1:1, ‘walked … stood … sat.’ In like manner σκιὰ θανάτου is an advance on σκότος, and φῶς� implies a great deal more than φῶς εἶδεν μέγα.