Matthew 27:7 (KJV)

What does Matthew 27:7 mean?

Matthew 27:7 says that the religious leaders decided together to use the money Judas returned to buy a potter’s field, which would be used as a burial place for foreigners. This action was a practical solution for what to do with the money, which they considered tainted.

The verse takes place after Judas, who betrayed Jesus, returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. Since the money was associated with Jesus’s death, the leaders felt it was not right to put it back into the temple treasury. Instead, they bought a field commonly used by potters, turning it into a cemetery for people who were not native to Jerusalem.

The Greek behind Matthew 27:7

• συμβούλιον (symboulion, "counsel" – G4824): This word means a formal decision or deliberation, highlighting that the leaders made a collective, official choice rather than acting impulsively.
• ξένοις (xenois, "strangers" – G3581): This word refers to foreigners or non-residents, showing that the field was intended for those without family tombs in the city, emphasizing the outsider status of those buried there.
• ἀγρόν (agron, "field" – G68): This is a general word for a piece of land, but in this context, it refers specifically to a potter’s field, which was likely considered of little value for other uses.

Why Matthew 27:7 matters

• Matthew 27:7 explains how the religious leaders tried to resolve the problem of using money they viewed as unclean, showing their concern for ritual purity even in difficult situations.
• The verse connects to Old Testament prophecies about the price of betrayal and the purchase of a potter’s field, which Matthew highlights as being fulfilled in these events.
• This detail sets up the later naming of the field as "the Field of Blood," linking Judas’s actions, the leaders’ decision, and the aftermath of Jesus’s betrayal in a concrete way.