The Meaning of Matthew 3:4 Explained

Matthew 3:4

KJV: And the same John had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his meat was locusts and wild honey.

YLT: And this John had his clothing of camel's hair, and a girdle of skin round his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and honey of the field.

Darby: And John himself had his garment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins, and his nourishment was locusts and wild honey.

ASV: Now John himself had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern girdle about his loins; and his food was locusts and wild honey.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And  the same  John  had  his  raiment  of  camel's  hair,  and  a leathern  girdle  about  his  loins;  and  his  meat  was  locusts  and  wild  honey. 

What does Matthew 3:4 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 3:1-12 - The Herald Prepares The Way
Matthew's Gospel heralds the Kingdom. We are allowed to see and listen to the forerunner, whose voice again awoke the hearts of men with prophetic utterance after a silence of four hundred years. He leaps into the arena with the suddenness of Elijah.
His message was twofold-the need for repentance and the announcement of the nearness of the Kingdom; it thrilled his generation with a strange wonder and interest. All of the southern part of the country seemed to empty itself into the Jordan valley. Yes, if a man is not a reed shaken by the wind, not effeminate in court dress, not a copy but an original, who speaks what he sees and knows of God, men will come to Him in every age.
To us also John the Baptist must come, if we shall properly appreciate the Redeemer. We must expose ourselves to the fire, the ax, the winnowing-fan, that we may learn what we really are and come, like Paul, to reckon our own righteousness as loss, if only we may win Christ and be found in Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 3

1  John preaches: his office, life, and baptism
7  He reprimands the Pharisees,
13  and baptizes Jesus in Jordan

Greek Commentary for Matthew 3:4

Now John himself [αυτος δε ο Ιωανης]
Matthew thus introduces the man himself and draws a vivid sketch of his dress (note ειχεν — eichen imperfect tense), his habit, and his food. Would such an uncouth figure be welcome today in any pulpit in our cities? In the wilderness it did not matter. It was probably a matter of necessity with him, not an affectation, though it was the garb of the original Elijah (2 Kings 1:8), rough sackcloth woven from the hair of camels. Plummer holds that “John consciously took Elijah as a model.” [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 3:4

Mark 1:6 Clothed with camel‘s hair [ενδεδυμενος τριχας καμηλου]
Matthew (Matthew 3:4) has it a garment (ενδυμα — enduma) of camel‘s hair. Mark has it in the accusative plural the object of the perfect passive participle retained according to a common Greek idiom. It was, of course, not camel‘s skin, but rough cloth woven of camel‘s hair. For the locusts and wild honey, see note on Matthew 3:4. Dried locusts are considered palatable and the wild honey, or “mountain honey” as some versions give it (μελι αγριον — meli agrion), was bountiful in the clefts of the rocks. Some Bedouins make their living yet by gathering this wild honey out of the rocks. [source]
John 4:8 For [γαρ]
Explanation of the reason for asking her. Were gone away Past perfect of απερχομαι — aperchomai to go off. They had already gone before she came. To Sychar (John 4:5 and John 4:39). To buy food ινα — Hina in purpose clause with first aorist active subjunctive of αγοραζω — agorazō old verb from αγορα — agora (marketplace). See Matthew 21:12. Τροπη — Trophē (nourishment) is old word from τρεπω — trephō to nourish (Matthew 3:4). “Victuals” (plural). [source]
Jude 1:13 Wild waves [κυματα αγρια]
Waves (Matthew 8:24, from κυεω — kueō to swell) wild (from αγρος — agros field, wild honey Matthew 3:4) like untamed animals of the forest or the sea. [source]
Revelation 9:3 Locusts [ἀκρίδες]
The idea of this plague is from the eighth plague in Egypt (Exodus 10:14, Exodus 10:15). Compare the description of a visitation of locusts in Joel 2; Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6. [source]
Revelation 11:3 Clothed in sackcloth []
The garb of preachers of repentance. Compare Isaiah 22:12; Jeremiah 4:8; Jonah 3:5; Matthew 3:4. For sackcloth see on Luke 10:13. [source]
Revelation 11:3 Unto my two witnesses [τοις δυσιν μαρτυσιν μου]
Dative case after δωσω — dōsō The article seems to point to two well-known characters, like Elijah, Elisha, but there is no possible way to determine who they are. All sorts of identifications have been attempted.Clothed (περιβλημενους — periblēmenous). Perfect passive participle of περιβαλλω — periballō as often before (Revelation 7:9, Revelation 7:13; Revelation 10:1, etc.). But Aleph A P Q here read the accusative plural in ους — ̇ous while C has the nominative in οι — ̇oi Charles suggests a mere slip for the nominative, but Hort suggests a primitive error in early MSS. for the dative περιβεβλεμενοις — peribeblemenois agreeing with μαρτυσιν — martusin sackcloth (σακκους — sakkous). Accusative retained with this passive verb as in Revelation 7:9, Revelation 7:13. See Revelation 6:12 for σακκος — sakkos and also Matthew 3:4. The dress suited the message (Matthew 11:21). [source]
Revelation 11:3 Clothed [περιβλημενους]
Perfect passive participle of περιβαλλω — periballō as often before (Revelation 7:9, Revelation 7:13; Revelation 10:1, etc.). But Aleph A P Q here read the accusative plural in ους — ̇ous while C has the nominative in οι — ̇oi Charles suggests a mere slip for the nominative, but Hort suggests a primitive error in early MSS. for the dative περιβεβλεμενοις — peribeblemenois agreeing with μαρτυσιν — martusin sackcloth Accusative retained with this passive verb as in Revelation 7:9, Revelation 7:13. See Revelation 6:12 for σακκος — sakkos and also Matthew 3:4. The dress suited the message (Matthew 11:21). [source]
Revelation 9:3 Locusts [ακριδες]
Also Revelation 9:7 and already in Matthew 3:4; Mark 1:6 (diet of the Baptist). The Israelites were permitted to eat them, but when the swarms came like the eighth Egyptian plague (Exodus 10:13.) they devoured every green thing. The smoke was worse than the fallen star and the locusts that came out of the smoke were worse still, “a swarm of hellish locusts” (Swete). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 3:4 mean?

Himself now - John had the garment of him of hair of a camel and a belt of leather around the waist - and the food was locusts honey wild
Αὐτὸς δὲ Ἰωάννης εἶχεν τὸ ἔνδυμα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ τριχῶν καμήλου καὶ ζώνην δερματίνην περὶ τὴν ὀσφὺν δὲ τροφὴ ἦν ἀκρίδες μέλι ἄγριον

Αὐτὸς  Himself 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Nominative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
δὲ  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰωάννης  John 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰωάννης 
Sense: John the Baptist was the son of Zacharias and Elisabeth, the forerunner of Christ.
ἔνδυμα  garment 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: ἔνδυμα  
Sense: garment, raiment, cloak, an outer garment.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
τριχῶν  hair 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Plural
Root: θρίξ 
Sense: the hair of the head.
καμήλου  of  a  camel 
Parse: Noun, Genitive Feminine Singular
Root: κάμηλος 
Sense: camel.
ζώνην  a  belt 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ζώνη  
Sense: a girdle, belt, serving not only to gird on flowing garments but also, since it was hollow, to carry money in.
δερματίνην  of  leather 
Parse: Adjective, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: δερμάτινος  
Sense: made of skin, leathern.
περὶ  around 
Parse: Preposition
Root: περί 
Sense: about, concerning, on account of, because of, around, near.
ὀσφὺν  waist 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ὀσφῦς  
Sense: the hip (loin).
  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
τροφὴ  the  food 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: τροφή  
Sense: food, nourishment.
ἀκρίδες  locusts 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Plural
Root: ἀκρίς  
Sense: a locust, particularly that species which especially infests oriental countries, stripping fields and trees.
μέλι  honey 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: μέλι  
Sense: honey.
ἄγριον  wild 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Neuter Singular
Root: ἄγριος  
Sense: living or growing in the fields or woods.