Matthew 6:27 to add a cubit to own's life span?

[speculator]

Matthew 6: 27

Who of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his own lifespan?

I find this interpretation almost nonsensical and out if place/time.

In Luke 12:26 we find added: “if you cannot do such a small thing, why be anxious about the remaining things?”

The Greek word us elikian and can also mean “height” physical and spiritual as in Ephesians. 4:13.

Somebody can plant, and someone else can water but only God can make it grow (spiritually) even a little.

 

[Todd_Easton]

On Matthew 6:27, the New Testament, Confraternity Edition (1941) and its supplemental commentary, A Commentary on the New Testament (1942), says:

27 But which of you by being anxious about it can add to his stature a single cubit?

27. Stature renders a Greek word which can mean either height (of the human body) or length (of human life). Since a lineal measure, the cubit which equals about half a yard, is mentioned, the Latin from which our translation is directly made, understood this Greek word in the sense of stature, height of the body. But the context would seem to demand the sense of length of life. For men are not normally worried about food and clothing in order to become a foot and a half taller, but they are anxious about their span of life. For although we must take a reasonable care of our health, the hour of our death is already determined for us by God, and anxiety about it will not change it. Worry, if anything, will rather shorten our span of life.

 

[DIERM]

Who of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his own lifespan?

I find this interpretation almost nonsensical and out if place/time.

And I don’t view it even remotely “nonsensical, or out of place/time”.

The Church interprets Sacred Scripture in the Literal Sense and the Spiritual Sense.

The Literal Sense takes into account what was happening (as you say “place/time”) when the scriptures were written, which quite naturally when compared to the world today, would very often, seem “out of place/time”.

This verse, in my opinion, is very reflective of the anagogical element of the Spiritual Sense (see Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 117) because:

• a “cubit” is a measure of distance
• Our life is a pilgrimage from the temporal world to the eternal, but we often concentrate only on the temporal
• Christ is telling us (if you read the verse in context of the Matthew 6:25-34, without isolating verse 27), that its not our life on earth we should be so worried about, but our eternal life in heaven…he goes on to say in the rest of the passage, that we should not worry or be anxious about our earthly existence, because that will be taken care of, but we should concentrate on the eternal.

 

[speculator]

If our translation is directly made from Latin it is a translation of a translation and a mistake because the gospels were originally in Greek not in Latin.

Of course Jesus is not talking about food and drinking or fashion suits but of spiritual food and spiritual drink and God 's clothing and spiritual life.

He is talking of a single concept in Matthew 6 that is spiritual growth.

 

[TheLittleLady]

We cannot add one more step to our life’s journey. It is all in God’s hands. The sooner we accept this vital truth, the better.

 

[BartholomewB]

I find this interpretation almost nonsensical and out if place/time.

In this saying, Jesus is alluding to Psalm 39:5, “Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight” (RSV). The handbreadth was a Hebrew unit of length, equivalent to about 3 inches, or one-sixth of a cubit. The Psalmist is metaphorically using a unit of length, the tefach or handbreadth, to refer to the shortness of a man’s lifetime, and in this verse (Matt 6:27, Luke 12:25) Jesus is enlarging upon the same idea.

 

[speculator]

It isn’t good exegesis put together scriptures 1000 years apart as Psalms and Matthew.

Even in metaphor can you ask God to add a hand span to your life with hope of being favorably heard?

If this is plainly impossible why has Jesus asked something clearly impossible?

The reply is that Jesus asked something apparently possible and easy like you plant and you water a tree and it should grow but impossible in reality because you must realize that only God can make the plant and your spirit grow.

 

[BartholomewB]

It isn’t good exegesis put together scriptures 1000 years apart as Psalms and Matthew.

It isn’t good exegesis and it isn’t bad exegesis. It isn’t exegesis at all. Jesus and others in the Gospels are constantly referring to passages in the Old Testament, sometimes explicitly, with an introductory phrase such as “You have read that … “, “In the Law and the Prophets it is written that …”, “Moses said …”, or “Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah,” and more often, as here, simply quoting or alluding to a passage in Scripture without identifying the reference. The number of these OT references in the Gospels adds up to over 200 (two hundred)!

If this is plainly impossible why has Jesus asked something clearly impossible?

Are you familiar with the expression “rhetorical question”?

Dictionary.com | Meanings & Definitions of English Words

 

[speculator]

Jesus and others were inspired by God (and this I believe) so they could leap from scripture to scripture but we are not inspired.

Moreover scientific methods shuns leaps in the past.

 

[speculator]

Jesus used very rarely rhetorical questions.

In many life difficulties he didn’t pose rhetorical questions (as someone translates) but he gave practical answers.

 

[BartholomewB]

Jesus and others were inspired by God (and this I believe) so they could leap from scripture to scripture

Good! Now you’ve finally understood what it’s all about. In this saying Jesus is “leaping,” to use your word, to a verse in Scripture, namely Psalm 39:5.

In this saying, Jesus is alluding to Psalm 39:5, “Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths, and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight” (RSV).

 

[speculator]

I note that Jesus is clearly speaking about spiritual growth and spiritual stature in the whole chapter 6 where he talks of spiritual eating, clothing, spiritual preoccupations and no length of life. Si no leap in Psalm in the past of David but yes a mental leap in the present to see if we can grow spiritually .

As someone posted handbreadth of life is a concept for God and does not touch mankind.

 

[De_Maria]

Matthew 6: 27 Who of you by being anxious can add a cubit to his own lifespan?

I find this interpretation almost nonsensical and out if place/time.

Why?

In Luke 12:26 we find added: “if you cannot do such a small thing, why be anxious about the remaining things?”

And?

The Greek word us elikian and can also mean “height” physical and spiritual as in >Ephesians. 4:13.

Somebody can plant, and someone else can water but only God can make it grow (spiritually) even a little.

What’s your point?

 

[De_Maria]

@speculator,

Are you simply trying to prove that you have a point of view that does not line up with Catholic Doctrine?

To what end? Do you want someone to follow you down your skeptical path?

 

[speculator]

Nonsensical because few people now know what is a cubit.

Nonsensical because being anxious and having just eaten physical or spiritual food is improbable.

Nonsensical because you can’t add a measure of space (a cubit) to a measure if time (the life span).

Nonsensical because Jesus would ask his disciples about something clearly impossible to their eyes.

Nonsensical because, after asking them an openly impossible thing (you can’t do the smallest thing) he continues and asks them why they are anxious or preoccupied for the rest,

 

[speculator]

The interpretation about adding a cubit to the life span is commonly widespread.
I don’t agree with that interpretation but the Catholics are in in this in good agreement with Jehovah Witnesses.

 

[mythbuster1]

Relativity permits time to be described by spacial units. It literally would not change the meaning to say, “Who can, by worrying, add even one nanosecond to his life?”

 

[meltzerboy2]

Did you ever hear of poetic license or figure of speech? This is an example of it.

 

[De_Maria]

Nonsensical because few people now know what is a cubit.

Everyone knows what a cubit is and if they don’t, they can look it up. So, if you don’t, that’s your own fault.

cu·bit
/ˈkyo͞obət/
Learn to pronounce
noun
an ancient measure of length, approximately equal to the length of a forearm. It was typically about 18 inches or 44 cm, though there was a long cubit of about 21 inches or 52 cm.

Nonsensical because being anxious and having just eaten physical or spiritual food is improbable.

In your opinion. It occurs everyday in real life. That’s why many people get ulcers. That’s why Scripture says that many are ill.

Nonsensical because you can’t add a measure of space (a cubit) to a measure if time (the life span).

It’s a metaphor. If you don’t understand metaphors, you need to study how figures of speech and symbolism are used in language. Again, metaphors are understood by the vast majority of people. If you don’t, it is your own fault.

Nonsensical because Jesus would ask his disciples about something clearly impossible to their eyes.

Still in the realm of metaphor.

Nonsensical because, after asking them an openly impossible thing (you can’t do the smallest thing) he continues and asks them why they are anxious or preoccupied for the rest,

In other words, why are you concerned about things that you can’t affect? Are you worried that someone in China is cooking a dog? Are you worried about the fact that someone in California is surfing?

 

[speculator]

Why are you anxious about prolonging the life of a Chinese already roasted dog? If you can’t do the slightest thing about that, why are you anxious of the rest about the dog and related things?

This even if you are the dog.