Matthew 27:51

Bible in Basic English (1941)

And the curtain of the Temple was parted in two from end to end; and there was an earth-shock; and the rocks were broken;

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

Καὶ, ἰδού, τὸ καταπέτασμα τοῦ ναοῦ ἐσχίσθη εἰς δύο ἀπὸ ἄνωθεν ἕως κάτω· καὶ ἡ γῆ ἐσείσθη, καὶ αἱ πέτραι ἐσχίσθησαν·

Transliteration

And, idou, the katapetasma of the naos eschisthē into two from anōthen until below; and the gē eseisthē, and the petrai eschisthēsan;

Grammar Details

• *idou*: aorist middle imperative, 2nd person singular - behold/look/see (used as interjection)
• *katapetasma*: nominative, neuter, singular - veil/curtain
• *naos*: genitive, masculine, singular - temple/sanctuary
• *eschisthē*: aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular - was torn/split
• *anōthen*: adverb - from above/from top
• *gē*: nominative, feminine, singular - earth/land/ground
• *eseisthē*: aorist passive indicative, 3rd person singular - was shaken/quaked
• *petrai*: nominative, feminine, plural - rocks
• *eschisthēsan*: aorist passive indicative, 3rd person plural - were split/were torn

Word Meanings

• *katapetasma*: veil/curtain (specifically the temple curtain)
• *naos*: temple/sanctuary (inner sanctuary)
• *anōthen*: from above/from the top/from the beginning
• *gē*: earth/land/ground/soil/territory

Referenced Verses

• Mark 15:38 : 38 And the curtain of the Temple was parted in two from end to end.
• Heb 10:19-22 : 19 So then, my brothers, being able to go into the holy place without fear, because of the blood of Jesus, 20 By the new and living way which he made open for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; 21 And having a great priest over the house of God, 22 Let us go in with true hearts, in certain faith, having our hearts made free from the sense of sin and our bodies washed with clean water:
• Luke 23:45 : 45 The light of the sun went out, and the curtain in the Temple was parted in two.
• Matt 27:54 : 54 Now the captain and those who were with him watching Jesus, when they saw the earth-shock and the things which were done, were in great fear and said, Truly this was a son of God.
• Matt 28:2 : 2 And there was a great earth-shock; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, rolling back the stone, took his seat on it.
• Exod 26:31-37 : 31 And you are to make a veil of the best linen, blue and purple and red, worked with designs of winged ones by a good workman: 32 Hanging it by gold hooks from four pillars of wood, plated with gold and fixed in silver bases. 33 And you are to put up the veil under the hooks, and put inside it the ark of the law: the veil is to be a division between the holy place and the most holy. 34 You are to put the cover on the ark of the law, inside the most holy place. 35 And outside the veil you are to put the table, and the support for the lights opposite the table on the south side of the House; and the table is to be on the north side. 36 And you are to make a curtain for the doorway of the Tent, of the best linen with needlework of blue and purple and red. 37 And make five pillars for the curtain, of hard wood plated with gold; their hooks are to be of gold and their bases of brass
• Heb 6:19 : 19 And this hope is like a strong band for our souls, fixed and certain, and going in to that which is inside the veil;
• Heb 9:3 : 3 And inside the second veil was the place which is named the Holy of holies;
• Exod 40:21 : 21 And he took the ark into the House, hanging up the veil before it as the Lord had given him orders.
• Lev 16:2 : 2 The Lord said to Moses, Say to Aaron, your brother, that he may not come at all times into the holy place inside the veil, before the cover which is on the ark, for fear that death may overtake him; for I will be seen in the cloud on the cover of the ark.
• Lev 16:12-15 : 12 And he is to take a vessel full of burning coal from the altar before the Lord and in his hand some sweet perfume crushed small, and take it inside the veil; 13 And let him put the perfume on the fire before the Lord so that the ark may be covered with a cloud of the smoke of the perfume, in order that death may not overtake him. 14 And let him take some of the blood of the ox, shaking drops of it from his finger on the cover of the ark on the east side, and before it, seven times. 15 Then let him put to death the goat of the sin-offering for the people, and take its blood inside the veil and do with it as he did with the blood of the ox, shaking drops of it on and before the cover of the ark.
• Lev 21:23 : 23 But he may not go inside the veil or come near the altar, because he is damaged; and he may not make my holy places common; for I the Lord have made them holy.
• 2 Chr 3:14 : 14 And he made the veil of blue and purple and red, of the best linen, worked with winged ones.
• Ps 18:7 : 7 Then trouble and shock came on the earth; and the bases of the mountains were moved and shaking, because he was angry.
• Ps 18:15 : 15 Then the deep beds of the waters were seen, and the bases of the world were uncovered, because of your words of wrath, O Lord, because of the breath from your mouth.
• Isa 25:7 : 7 And in this mountain he will put an end to the shade covering the face of all peoples, and the veil which is stretched over all nations.
• Mic 1:3-4 : 3 For see, the Lord is coming out from his place, and will come down, stepping on the high places of the earth. 4 And the mountains will be turned to water under him, and the deep valleys will be broken open, like wax before the fire, like waters flowing down a slope.
• Nah 1:3-5 : 3 The Lord is slow to get angry and great in power, and will not let the sinner go without punishment: the way of the Lord is in the wind and the storm, and the clouds are the dust of his feet. 4 He says sharp words to the sea and makes it dry, drying up all the rivers: Bashan is feeble, and Carmel, and the flower of Lebanon is without strength. 5 The mountains are shaking because of him, and the hills flowing away; the earth is falling to bits before him, the world and all who are in it.
• Hab 3:10 : 10 The mountains saw you and were moved with fear; the clouds were streaming with water: the voice of the deep was sounding; the sun did not come up, and the moon kept still in her place.
• Hab 3:13 : 13 You went out for the salvation of your people, for the salvation of the one on whom your holy oil was put; wounding the head of the family of the evil-doer, uncovering the base even to the neck. Selah.
• Eph 2:13-18 : 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who at one time were far off are made near in the blood of Christ. 14 For he is our peace, who has made the two into one, and by whom the middle wall of division has been broken down, 15 Having in his flesh put an end to that which made the division between us, even the law with its rules and orders, so that he might make in himself, of the two, one new man, so making peace; 16 And that the two might come into agreement with God in one body through the cross, so putting an end to that division. 17 And he came preaching peace to you who were far off, and to those who were near; 18 Because through him the two of us are able to come near in one Spirit to the Father.
• Heb 12:25-27 : 25 See that you give ear to his voice which comes to you. For if those whose ears were shut to the voice which came to them on earth did not go free from punishment, what chance have we of going free if we give no attention to him whose voice comes from heaven? 26 Whose voice was the cause of the shaking of the earth; but now he has made an oath, saying, There will be still one more shaking, not only of the earth, but of heaven. 27 And the words, Still one more, make it clear that there will be a taking away of those things which are shaking, as of things which are made, so that there may be only those things of which no shaking is possible.
• Rev 11:13 : 13 And in that hour there was a great earth-shock and a tenth part of the town came to destruction; and in the earth-shock seven thousand persons came to their end: and the rest were in fear, and gave glory to the God of heaven.
• Rev 11:19 : 19 And the house of God which is in heaven was open; and the ark of his agreement was seen in his house, and there were flames and voices and thunders and an earth-shock and a rain of ice.