Matthew 2:6
Jacob was first called Israel when he saw the ladder and the angels going up and down on it through him (Genesis 28:12), wrestled with the one who appeared to him, and heard from him, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel.” (Genesis 32:28)
The whole Jewish people received that name as something exceptional and divine, setting them apart from the other nations. Israel means a mind that sees God. That is why the church from the nations was also named Israel (Matthew 2:6) — not according to flesh, but according to divine grace.
Greek
Ἰσραὴλ πρῶτος ὁ Ἰακὼβ ἐκλήθη, ὅτε ἑώρακε τὴν κλίμακα καὶ τοὺς ἀγγέλους ἀναβαίνοντας καὶ καταβαίνοντας ἐπ' αὐτὸν δι' αὐτῆς καὶ προσεπάλαισε τῷ ὀφθέντι αὐτῷ καὶ πρὸς αὐτοῦ ἤκουσεν· "οὐκέτι τὸ ὄνομά σου Ἰακώβ, ἀλλὰ Ἰσραήλ". τούτῳ δὲ τῷ ὀνόματι ἅπας ὁ τῶν Ἰουδαίων ἐκλήθη λαὸς ὡς ἐξαιρέτῳ τε καὶ θείῳ καὶ ἀπὸ τῶν ἄλλων ἐθνῶν διαστέλλοντι αὐτούς. ἔστι δὲ Ἰσραὴλ νοῦς ὁρῶν τὸν θεόν. διὸ καὶ ἡ ἐξ ἐθνῶν ἐκκλησία Ἰσραὴλ ὠνομάσθη οὐ κατὰ σάρκα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ θείαν χάριν.
About this text
Catena fragments on Matthew (CPG 5206). Contents follow Matthew chapter and verse. Edition fragment numbers stay in About this text and under each passage.
English follows the named copy-text (Aegean/khazarzar Migne PG 72 extract). Other prints were checked as noted; no silent merge of recensions.
Witnesses
- Copy-text Migne PG 72 Commentarii in Matthaeum (Aegean Digital Patrologia / khazarzar) (Greek · CPG 5206 catena fragments (290 parsed heads))
- Checked print matia.gr mirror of same Aegean extract (Greek · Byte-identical PDF; integrity check only)
- Checked print Internet Archive PG 72 volume OCR (bim … 1859_72) (Greek (OCR damaged) · Locus confirmation only; not used as reading text)
This is an AI-assisted study translation. Source fidelity and completeness have not been independently certified. Open Greek on each section for the source text. This is not a complete critical edition.