JOSEPH W. TKACH
PASTOR GENERAL

January 1988

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your question concerning Matthew 26:17.

In the King James Version, notice that the words "day" and "feast of" are in italics. This indicates that these words do not appear in the original Greek. Italicized words were added by the translators either for clarity in English or because they thought the word was necessary. Properly translated, Matthew 26:17 should read, "Now [on] the first [day] of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover?" The addition of "day" is required by the Greek; the addition of "feast of" is not required.

The specific day referred to in this passage is the 14th of the month, Passover day. This conversation took place as that day began. Remember that God begins and ends days with sunset (Lev. 23:32). In other words, they talked at sunset at the beginning of the 14th day of the month. Later that evening, Jesus introduced the Christian Passover (Matt. 26:20).

The day of the Passover is the final occasion on which all leavened bread is to be put out of the home in preparation for the seven Days of Unleavened Bread, which immediately follow sunset on the 14th day of the month (Ex. 12:18-19). The day of the Passover consequently came to be considered one of the days of Unleavened Bread.

The day referred to is thus the day before the 15th, when the Feast of Unleavened Bread officially began. Because the translators were confused on this point, they wrongly inserted "feast of" in the Authorized Version.

The first century Jewish historian Josephus confirms this. He tells us that the Passover was on the 14th day and preceded the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which lasted for seven days, that is, from the 15th day to the 21st day of the first month of the sacred year. In common speech, he says, the entire eight-day spring festival was called "the days of Unleavened Bread." (See "Antiquities of the Jews," Book 2-15-12; Book 3-10-5.) Luke 22:1 shows that the word "Passover" was also used to refer to the entire period. The two terms were then used interchangeably.

Matthew 26:17, then, refers to the day immediately preceding the Feast of Unleavened Bread. Today, we refer to it as Passover day.

Whenever we can assist you further with your study of the Bible, we hope you will let us know. It is our pleasure to serve you.

PERSONAL CORRESPONDENCE DEPARTMENT