Matthew 28:4

Matthew 28:4

And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

a. ASV: And for fear of him the watchers did quake, and became as dead men.

b. YLT: And from the fear of him did the keepers shake, and they became as dead men.

c. Classic Amplified: And those keeping guard were so frightened at the sight of him that they were agitated and they trembled and became like dead men.

1. “And for fear of him the keepers did shake…”

a. And [Strong: 1161. de deh a primary particle (adversative or continuative); but, and, etc.:--also, and, but, moreover, now (often unexpressed in English).]

b. for [Strong: 575. apo apo' a primary particle; "off," i.e. away (from something near), in various senses (of place, time, or relation; literal or figurative):--(X here-)after, ago, at, because of, before, by (the space of), for(-th), from, in, (out) of, off, (up-)on(-ce), since, with. In composition (as a prefix) it usually denotes separation, departure, cessation, completion, reversal, etc.]

c. [Strong: 3588. [tou] ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [tou] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.]

d. fear [Strong: 5401. phobos fob'-os from a primary phebomai (to be put in fear); alarm or fright:--be afraid, + exceedingly, fear, terror.]

e. [of] him [Strong: 846. autos ow-tos' from the particle au (perhaps akin to the base of 109 through the idea of a baffling wind) (backward); the reflexive pronoun self, used (alone or in the comparative 1438) of the third person , and (with the proper personal pronoun) of the other persons:--her, it(-self), one, the other, (mine) own, said, (self-), the) same, ((him-, my-, thy- )self, (your-)selves, she, that, their(-s), them(-selves), there(-at, - by, -in, -into, -of, -on, -with), they, (these) things, this (man), those, together, very, which.]

f. the [Strong: 3588. [hoi] ho ho, including the feminine he hay, and the neuter to to in all their inflections; the definite article; the (sometimes to be supplied, at others omitted, in English idiom):--the, this, that, one, he, she, it, etc.] [Thayer: [hoi] ὁ, ἡ, τό, originally τος, τῇ, τό (as is evident from the forms τοι, ται for οἱ, αἱ in Homer and the Ionic writings), corresponds to our definite article the (German der, die, das), which is properly a demonstrative pronoun, which we see in its full force in Homer, and of which we find certain indubitable traces also in all kinds of Greek prose, and hence also in the N. T.]

g. keepers [Strong: 5083. tereo tay-reh'-o from teros (a watch; perhaps akin to 2334); to guard (from loss or injury, properly, by keeping the eye upon; and thus differing from 5442, which is properly to prevent escaping; and from 2892, which implies a fortress or full military lines of apparatus), i.e. to note (a prophecy; figuratively, to fulfil a command); by implication, to detain (in custody; figuratively, to maintain); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep unmarried); by extension, to withhold (for personal ends; figuratively, to keep unmarried):--hold fast, keep(- er), (pre-, re-)serve, watch.]

h. [did] shake [Strong: 4579. seio si'-o apparently a primary verb; to rock (vibrate, properly, sideways or to and fro), i.e. (generally) to agitate (in any direction; cause to tremble); figuratively, to throw into a tremor (of fear or concern):--move, quake, shake.]

2.  “...and became as dead men.”

a. and [Strong: 2532. kai kahee apparently, a primary particle, having a copulative and sometimes also a cumulative force; and, also, even, so then, too, etc.; often used in connection (or composition) with other particles or small words:--and, also, both, but, even, for, if, or, so, that, then, therefore, when, yet.]

b. became [Strong: 1096. ginomai ghin'-om-ahee a prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be ("gen"-erate), i.e. (reflexively) to become (come into being), used with great latitude (literal, figurative, intensive, etc.):--arise, be assembled, be(-come, -fall, -have self), be brought (to pass), (be) come (to pass), continue, be divided, draw, be ended, fall, be finished, follow, be found, be fulfilled, + God forbid, grow, happen, have, be kept, be made, be married, be ordained to be, partake, pass, be performed, be published, require, seem, be showed, X soon as it was, sound, be taken, be turned, use, wax, will, would, be wrought.]

c. as [Strong: 5616. hosei ho-si' from 5613 and 1487; as if:--about, as (it had been, it were), like (as).]

d. dead [men] [Strong: 3498. nekros nek-ros' from an apparently primary nekus (a corpse); dead (literally or figuratively; also as noun):--dead.

1). The women did not see the earthquake or see the angle roll away the stone, but the guards who were there to make sure no one stole the body did see it. The day after Jesus was crucified and died the Jewish leaders went to Pilate and warned him of the saying that Jesus said he would rise from the dead the third day and said that his disciples would steal the body and declare that see he had arisen from the dead. So Pilate granted them their desire and sealed the tomb and posted a contingent of soldiers to prevent looters.

a).  Matthew 27:62-66 Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate,

27:63 Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet alive, After three days I will rise again.

27:64 Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest his disciples come by night, and steal him away, and say unto the people, He is risen from the dead: so the last error shall be worse than the first.

27:65 Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as ye can.

27:66 So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.

b).  Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers: The opening of the tomb had been already closed by the stone which had been rolled so as to fill, or nearly fill, it. The sealing was probably effected by drawing one or more ropes across the stone and fastening either end to the rock with wax or cement of some kind.

c). The soldiers were there from the day after Jesus was crucified until the resurrection. A Roman watch consisted of three hour periods, so that every three hours the guards changed. Dake teaches it was a guard of four soldiers changed every three hours..

2). The reaction to the angel rolling away the stone from the entrance of the tomb after the earthquake was they became as dead men. The text says that these Roman soldiers began to shake in fear and they became as dead men. One translation says they fainted, the others just say they became as dead men. Did they pretend to be dead or did they faint and look dead? It does not really say. Personally I believe though they were so terrified they trembled I believe they just acted like they were dead and probably witnessed the whole thing. It does say they reported what they saw to the Jewish leaders. 

a). Matthew 28:4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.

b). The text does not say how long the soldiers were like dead men, nor does it say how long the angel that rolled away the stone sat there. By the time the women got there to finish preparing the body, the angel was in the tomb (Mark 16:1-5; Luke 24:1-9;).