Matthew 3:5

5 tunc exiebat ad eum Hierosolyma et omnis Iudaea et omnis regio circa Iordanen

Matthew 3:5 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 3:5

Then went out to him Jerusalem
The uncommon appearance of this person, the oddness of his dress, the austerity of his life, together with the awfulness and importance of his doctrine, and the novelty of the ordinance of baptism he administered, and the Jews having had no prophet for some hundreds of years, and imagining he might be the Messiah, quickly drew large numbers of people to him. Some copies read "all Jerusalem": that is, the inhabitants of that city, a very large number of them; and "all Judea", a great number of people from all parts of that country. "All" is here put for "many". And

all the region round about Jordan;
multitudes from thence, which seems to be the same country with that which is called "beyond Jordan", ( Matthew 4:25 ) and is distinguished from Judea as here. The Septuagint in ( 2 Chronicles 4:17 ) use the same phrase the Evangelist does here, and likewise in ( Genesis 13:10 Genesis 13:11 ) .

Matthew 3:5 In-Context

3 hic est enim qui dictus est per Esaiam prophetam dicentem vox clamantis in deserto parate viam Domini rectas facite semitas eius

4 ipse autem Iohannes habebat vestimentum de pilis camelorum et zonam pelliciam circa lumbos suos esca autem eius erat lucustae et mel silvestre

5 tunc exiebat ad eum Hierosolyma et omnis Iudaea et omnis regio circa Iordanen

6 et baptizabantur in Iordane ab eo confitentes peccata sua

7 videns autem multos Pharisaeorum et Sadducaeorum venientes ad baptismum suum dixit eis progenies viperarum quis demonstravit vobis fugere a futura ira