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Matthew 13:33

in Matthew 13

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till it was all leavened.

KJV

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

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This verse in Matthew 13

Commentary

4 notes on this verse
The kingdom of heaven - The meaning here is the same as in the last parable; perhaps, however, intending to denote more properly the secret and hidden nature of piety in the soul. The other parable declared the “fact” that the gospel would greatly spread, and that piety in the heart would greatly increase. This states the “way” or “mode” in which it would be done.

This site's exposition

hid in three measures of meal

Leaven which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal pictures a working power out of proportion to its visible quantity, three measures being roughly enough to feed a hundred people, the same amount Sarah used for her guests in Genesis 18:6. The bench notes leaven elsewhere in Scripture usually pictures corrupting influence, as in 16:6's warning against the leaven of the Pharisees, so some read this parable as picturing corruption spreading through the visible kingdom rather than pure growth; others read the working itself, hidden and pervasive until the whole is affected, as the plain point regardless of leaven's usual moral coloring elsewhere.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

A commentator

John Wesley

1703–1791

Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament (1755)

Three measures - This was the quantity which they usually baked at once: till the whole was leavened - Thus will the Gospel leaven the world and grace the Christian.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice

on Matthew 13:24-43

The parable of the wheat and tares, which occupies the chief part of these verses, is one of peculiar importance in the present day. It is eminently calculated to correct the extravagant expectations in which many Christians indulge as to the effect of missions abroad, and of preaching the Gospel at home. May we give it the attention which it deserves! In the first place, this parable teaches us that good and evil will always be found together in the professing church, until the end of the world.

The words behind it

23 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

18 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Luke 13:21It is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”10 worksGalatians 5:9A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough.9 works1 Corinthians 5:6–7Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?8 worksMatthew 13:24Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.8 worksMatthew 3:2and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”8 worksPhilippians 2:13–15For it is God who works in you to will and to act on behalf of His good purpose.7 works
The other 12 cross-references, with their words ▾
John 15:2He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful.7 worksMatthew 20:1“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard.5 worksProverbs 4:18The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.4 worksGenesis 18:6So Abraham hurried into the tent and said to Sarah, “Quick! Prepare three seahs of fine flour, knead it, and bake some bread.”4 worksNumbers 23:7And Balaam lifted up an oracle, saying: “Balak brought me from Aram, the king of Moab from the mountains of the east. ‘Come,’ he said, ‘put a curse on Jacob for me; come and denounce Israel!’3 worksPhilippians 1:9And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,2 worksJob 17:9Yet a righteous one holds to his way, and the one with clean hands grows stronger.2 worksLeviticus 7:13Along with his peace offering of thanksgiving he is to present an offering with cakes of leavened bread.2 worksMatthew 18:23Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.2 worksLeviticus 23:17Bring two loaves of bread from your dwellings as a wave offering, each made from two-tenths of an ephah of fine flour, baked with leaven, as the firstfruits to the LORD.2 works2 Samuel 13:6So Amnon lay down and feigned illness. When the king came to see him, Amnon said, “Please let my sister Tamar come and make a couple of cakes in my sight, so that I may eat from her hand.”2 worksMark 4:26Jesus also said, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seed on the ground.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    Proverbs 4:18

    The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining brighter and brighter until midday.

    it leads to

    • John 8:12

      Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the light of life.”

    • Job 11:17

      Your life will be brighter than noonday; its darkness will be like the morning.

    • Daniel 12:3

      Then the wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever.

    • Philippians 2:15

      so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world

    • 2 Corinthians 3:18

      And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

  • Through

    Galatians 5:9

    A little leaven works through the whole batch of dough.

    it leads to

    • 1 Corinthians 15:33

      Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

    • Mark 8:15

      “Watch out!” He cautioned them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.”

    • 1 Corinthians 5:6–7

      Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven works through the whole batch of dough?

Where this verse is studied

About Matthew

John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Matthew: the study guide →Read Matthew 13 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament.

Read on in Matthew 13 →