Matthew 21:12

Matthew 21:12 i`ero,n {B}

The addition of tou/ qeou/ appears to be a natural expansion, made in order to emphasize the profanation of the holy place. The fact that the parallel passages ( Mark 11:15 and Luke 19:45; cf. John 2:14) lack tou/ qeou/ would not be an occasion for copyists, if they observed the fact, to delete the words from copies of Matthew, but rather for inserting the words in copies of the other Gospels. Although the Jews had little use for such a phrase (since for them “the temple” could mean only one thing), the longer expression would not be intrinsically objectionable to anyone, and therefore its omission cannot be accounted for on that ground. It appears, therefore, that internal considerations join with strong external evidence in support of the reading i`ero,n.