The Meaning of Matthew 7:9 Explained

Matthew 7:9

KJV: Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone?

YLT: Or what man is of you, of whom, if his son may ask a loaf -- a stone will he present to him?

Darby: Or what man is there of you who, if his son shall ask of him a loaf of bread, will give him a stone;

ASV: Or what man is there of you, who, if his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone;

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Or  what  man  is  there of  you,  whom  if  his  son  ask  bread,  will he give  him  a stone? 

What does Matthew 7:9 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 7:1-12 - Judging Self Asking God Serving Others
There is abundant need for a right and sound judgment, illumined by the Spirit of truth; but there is a world of difference between it and the censorious and critical opinions which we are apt to form and utter about others. Human nature is fond of climbing up into the judgment seat and proclaiming its decisions, without hearing both sides or calling witnesses. Beware of basing your judgment on idle stories and gossip. In any case, do not utter it, if it be adverse, unless you have first prayed about it and sought to turn the sinner from the error of his ways. Let God search you, before you search another. See Psalms 139:23-24; 1 Corinthians 4:1-5; Hebrews 4:12.
We ask for a gift; we seek for what we have lost; we knock for entrance. Only a door stands between us and Christ! He will not give us stones or serpents, even if we clamor for them; but He will never fail to give good things-and above all His Holy Spirit-only we must ask for them.
The Roman Emperor Severus was so charmed with the Golden Rule that he had it inscribed on the walls of his palace. Let us inscribe it on our hearts and act on it in the power of the Holy Spirit, who sheds God's love abroad in the hearts of those who believe. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 7

1  Do Not Judge
7  Ask, Seek, Knock
13  Enter through the Narrow Gate
15  A Tree and Its Fruit
24  The Wise and the Foolish Builders
28  Jesus ends his sermon, and the people are astonished

Greek Commentary for Matthew 7:9

Loaf - stone [αρτονλιτον]
Some stones look like loaves of bread. So the devil suggested that Jesus make loaves out of stones (Matthew 4:3). [source]
Bread, a stone [ἄρτον, λίθον]
Rev. for bread reads loaf, which is better. On the resemblance of certain stones to cakes of bread, see on Matthew 4:3. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 7:9

Matthew 4:3 Bread [ἄπτοι]
Lit., loaves or cakes. So Wyc., loaves. These stones were perhaps those “silicious accretions,” which assume the exact shape of little loaves of bread, and which were represented in legend as the petrified fruits of the cities of the plain. By a similar fancy certain crystallizations on Mount Carmel and near Bethlehem are called “Elijah's melons,” and the “Virgin Mary's peas;” and the black and white stones found along the shores of the Lake of Galilee have been transformed into traces of the tears of Jacob in search of Joseph. The very appearance of these stones, like the bread for which the faint body hungered, may have added force to the temptation. This resemblance may have been present to Christ's mind in his words at Matthew 7:9. [source]
John 21:9 Bread [ἄρτον]
Or, a loaf. See on Matthew 4:1; see on Matthew 7:9. [source]
John 16:23 Ye shall ask [ἐρωτήσετε]
Or, as Rev., in margin, ask - question. To question is the primary meaning of the verb, from which it runs into the more general sense of request, beseech. So Mark 7:26; Luke 4:38; John 17:15, etc. Here the meaning is, ye shall ask me no question (compare John 16:19, where the same verb is used). Compare Matthew 16:13; Matthew 21:24; John 1:19. Ask, absolutely, Luke 22:68. Note, moreover, the selection of the word here as marking the asking on familiar terms. See on John 11:22. Another verb for ask occurs in the following sentence: “If ye shall ask ( αἰτήστητε ) anything,” etc. Here the sense is, if ye shall make any request. Compare Matthew 5:42; Matthew 7:7, Matthew 7:9, Matthew 7:10, etc. Note, also, that this word for asking the Father marks the asking of an inferior from a superior, and is the word which Christ never uses of His own requests to the Father. Compare 1 John 3:22. [source]
Hebrews 12:7 That ye endure [υπομενετε]
Present active indicative or present active imperative and so just “endure for chastening.” Dealeth with you Present middle indicative of προσπερω — prospherō but this sense of bearing oneself towards one with the dative here only in the N.T., though often in the older Greek. What Interrogative. Whom Relative. Cf. Matthew 7:9. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 7:9 mean?

Or which is of you a man whom will ask for the son of him bread not a stone will he give him
τίς ἐστιν ἐξ ὑμῶν ἄνθρωπος ὃν αἰτήσει υἱὸς αὐτοῦ ἄρτον μὴ λίθον ἐπιδώσει αὐτῷ

ἄνθρωπος  a  man 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄνθρωπος  
Sense: a human being, whether male or female.
ὃν  whom 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
αἰτήσει  will  ask  for 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: αἰτέω  
Sense: to ask, beg, call for, crave, desire, require.
υἱὸς  son 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: υἱός  
Sense: a son.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἄρτον  bread 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ἄρτος  
Sense: food composed of flour mixed with water and baked.
λίθον  a  stone 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: λίθος  
Sense: a stone.
ἐπιδώσει  will  he  give 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἐπιδίδωμι 
Sense: to hand, give by hand.

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