Matthew 28:3

James Tissot's The Angel Seated on the Stone of the Tomb. It also shows two other angels sitting within the tomb, a common way of reconciling Matthew's account with the other gospels.

Matthew 28:3 is the third verse of the twenty-eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse is part of the resurrection narrative. This verse describes the angel that arrived at the tomb of Jesus in the previous verse.

The original Koine Greek, according to Westcott and Hort, reads:

ην δε η ειδεα αυτου ως αστραπη

και το ενδυμα αυτου λευκον ως χιων

In the King James Version of the Bible it is translated as:

His countenance was like lightning,

and his raiment white as snow:

The modern World English Bible translates the passage as:

His appearance was like lightning,

and his clothing white as snow.

For a collection of other versions see BibRef Matthew 28:3

As with the great events of the previous verse, this verse serves to emphasize the importance of the figure and the events occurring here.^[1] The text makes clear the angel is an exalted figure and thus of great importance.^[2] The other gospels have a more muted description of the angel. Mark 16:5 and John 20:12 have the figure clad in white, while Luke 24:4 describes the clothes as dazzling. Perhaps combining the lightning face and white clothes of this verse.^[3]

The description of the angel has many parallels in the Old Testament, and is another example of Matthew's fondness for scriptural references. ^[4] Daniel 10:6 mentions an angel with a face like lightning, and Ezekiel 1 associates lightning with the creatures surrounding God. Daniel 7:9 described God himself as appearing white as snow.^[5] These direct links to God shows to France that angels are more than mere messengers, but also have a theophonic nature.^[6]

The description is also similar to that of the transfigured Christ at Matthew 17:2, but Boring notes that the angel is reduced in glory from Jesus in that verse, showing his more divine nature.^[7] Jesus is also described as being white as snow in Revelation 1:14.^[8] White is the standard colour of purity in both the Old and New Testaments, and was in the culture of the period as well. Jewish rabbis, Egyptian priests, and pious worshippers were all normally clad in white in this period.^[9]

References