Matthew 6:29

29 yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these.

Matthew 6:29 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 6:29

And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory,
&c.] This is a certain truth, to be affirmed in the strongest manner, and to be believed, that not only men and kings too in general; but even particularly Solomon, the richest and most magnificent of all the kings of Israel, whose grandeur, and glory, exceeded all the princes of the earth; that even he, not in his common dress, but when "in his glory", and in "all" his glory, when arrayed with his royal and richest robes, with his crown on his head, and when seated on his throne,

was not arrayed like one of these
lilies, or flowers of the field: for the glory and beauty of his garments were purely from art, but their's by nature; which can never be equalled by art. This phrase, "Solomon in all his glory", is the same which the Jewish doctors, in their writings, express by (wtevb hmlv) , "Solomon in his hour" F7: that is as their commentators explain it F8, (wtwklm teb) , "in the time of his reign"; for they say he was first a king, and then a private person. Now, not whilst he was a private person, but when a king, in the height of his grandeur and magnificence, and when dressed out in the most splendid manner, he was exceeded in array by a single lily: or the sense is, in his royal apparel. For as the same doctors say,

``what is a man's "glory?" It is his clothing that is his outward glory; and again, garments are the glory of a man F9.''


FOOTNOTES:

F7 Misn. Bava Metzia, c. 7. sect. 1. T. Bab. ib. fol. 49. 1. & 83. 1. & 86. 2.
F8 Jarchi & Bartenora in ib.
F9 Tzeror Hammor, fol. 95. 1. & 99. 4. & 110. 4.

Matthew 6:29 In-Context

27 Can any of you by worrying add a single hour to his life?
28 "And why be anxious about clothing? Think about the fields of wild irises, and how they grow. They neither work nor spin thread,
29 yet I tell you that not even Shlomo in all his glory was clothed as beautifully as one of these.
30 If this is how God clothes grass in the field -- which is here today and gone tomorrow, thrown in an oven -- won't he much more clothe you? What little trust you have!
31 "So don't be anxious, asking, `What will we eat?,' `What will we drink?' or `How will we be clothed?'
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.