Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Matthew 19:11

χωρεῖν is to have or make room for, so (1) to contain: ὥστε μηκέτι χωρεῖν μηδὲ τὰ πρὸς τὴν θύραν, Mark 2:2; ὑδρίαι χωροῦσαι�, John 2:6; ὁ κρητὴρ χωρεῖ�, Hdt. I. 151; (2) to receive (in love): χωρήσατε ἡμᾶς, 2 Corinthians 7:2; (3) to receive intellectually, ‘comprehend,’ or ‘accept;’ (4) the Homeric meaning ‘to withdraw,’ i.e. to make room for another, is not found in the N.T.; (5) the ordinary classical force, ‘to advance,’ i.e. to make room for oneself, ‘to go,’ is found ch. Matthew 15:17 and 2 Peter 3:9, εἰς μετάνοιαν χωρῆσαι, and John 8:37, ὁ λόγος ὁ ἐμὸς οὐ χωρεῖ ἐν ὑμῖν, ‘makes no progress in you.’

It is better to refer τὸν λόγον τοῦτον to the last words of the disciples, οὐ συμφέρει γαμῆσαι, than to the whole preceding argument. The general sense will then be: ‘Not all, but only those to whom it hath been given, make room for (i.e. accept and act upon) this saying.’

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Cambridge Greek Testament Commentary

Matthew 19:11

Old Testament

New Testament