Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Matthew 10:29
(29) Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing?—The coin mentioned here is not the same as the “farthing” of Mark 12:42. The word there is kodrantçs, the quadrans, or fourth part, of the Roman as; here it is assarion, the diminutive of the as, and equal to the tenth part of the denarius. The fact that the denarius was the average day’s wages of a soldier or a labourer, gives a fair approximation to its value. The homeliness of the illustration was adapted to the past experience of the apostles.... read more
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers - Matthew 10:28
(28) Are not able to kill the soul.—Here our Lord uses what we may call the popular dichotomy of man’s nature, and the word “soul” includes all that truly lives and thinks and wills in man, and is therefore equivalent to the “soul and spirit” of the more scientific trichotomy of St. Paul’s Epistles (1 Thessalonians 5:23).Fear him which is able . . .—Few words have given rise to interpretations more strangely contrasted than these. Not a few of the most devout and thoughtful commentators,... read more