Matthew 28 · Verse 2

Matthew 28:2

And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
Matthew 28:2, King James Version

Matthew 28:2 in other translations

BSBSuddenly there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, rolled away the stone, and sat on it.
WEBBehold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky and came and rolled away the stone from the door and sat on it.
ASVAnd behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.
YLTand lo, there came a great earthquake, for a messenger of the Lord, having come down out of heaven, having come, did roll away the stone from the door, and was sitting upon it,
DARBYAnd behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord, descending out of heaven, came and rolled away the stone and sat upon it.
BBEAnd there was a great earth-shock; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, rolling back the stone, took his seat on it.
WebsterAnd behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

What does Matthew 28:2 mean?

Barnes' Notes
Verse 2. There was a great earthquake. Rather, there had been. It does not mean that this was while they were there, or while they were going, but that there had been so violent a commotion as to remove the stone. The word here rendered earthquake does not of necessity mean that the convulsion extended to the earth, but only that there had been such a concussion as to remove the stone.

And sat upon it. Sat upon it when the keepers saw him. It is not said that he was sitting when he appeared to the women: from Luke it would rather appear that he was standing.

(1) "there was" or "there had been"

Albert Barnes, 1834 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 A great earthquake - Σεισμος, a shaking or commotion of any kind: probably the word means no more than the confusion caused among the guards by the angel's appearance. All this had taken place before the women reached the sepulchre. The angel of the Lord descended from heaven - Matthew is very particular in this, to show that the word angel is not to be taken in the sense of an ordinary messenger, who might have come from Joseph of Arimathea, or from any other; but in the sense of an extraordinary messenger, who descended from God, out of heaven, for this very purpose. It is likely that the angel had descended, rolled away the stone, and was sitting on it, before the women reached the tomb.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Matthew 28:1-8

Christ rose the third day after his death; that was the time he had often spoken of. On the first day of the first week God commanded the light to shine out of darkness. On this day did He who is the Light of the world, shine out of the darkness of the grave; and this day is from henceforward often mentioned in the New Testament, as the day which Christians religiously observed in solemn assemblies, to the honour of…

Read the full comment on Matthew 28:1-8 →

Matthew 28:2 in the original Greek

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

καὶkaiAndG2532
ἰδοὺidoubeholdG2400
σεισμὸςseismosan earthquakeG4578
ἐγένετοegenetothere wasG1096
μέγας·megasgreat;G3173
ἄγγελοςangelosan angelG32
γὰρgarforG1063
κυρίουkuriouof [the] LordG2962
καταβὰςkatabashaving descendedG2597
ἐξexout ofG1537
οὐρανοῦouranouheavenG3772
προσελθὼνproselthōnhaving comeG4334
ἀπεκύλισενapekulisenhe rolled awayG617
τὸνtontheG3588
λίθονlithonstoneG3037
ἀπὸapofromG575
τῆςtēs<the>G3588
θύραςthurasdoorG2374
καὶkaiandG2532
ἐκάθητοekathētohe was sittingG2521
ἐπάνωepanōuponG1883
αὐτοῦ.autouit.G846

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Matthew 28:2

  • Mark 16:3-5

    And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

  • Luke 24:2-5

    And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments: And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead?

  • John 20:12-13

    And seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him.

  • Acts 16:26

    And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed.

  • Matthew 27:51-53

    And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

  • John 20:1

    The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

  • 1 Peter 1:12

    Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

  • 1 Timothy 3:16

    And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

  • Revelation 11:19

    And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
there.
27:51-53; Ac 16:26; Re 11:19
was. or, had been. for.
Mr 16:3-5; Lu 24:2-5; Joh 20:1,12,13; 1Ti 3:16; 1Pe 1:12

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Matthew 28:1

    In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.

  • Matthew 28:2

    And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.

  • Matthew 28:3

    His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:

Read all of Matthew 28

Matthew 28:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Y he aquí, fué hecho un gran terremoto: porque el ángel del Señor, descendiendo del cielo y llegando, había revuelto la piedra, y estaba sentado sobre ella.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et voici, il se fit un grand tremblement de terre; car un ange du ✶Seigneur, descendant du ciel, vint et roula la pierre, et s’assit sur elle.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und siehe, da geschah ein großes Erdbeben; denn ein Engel des Herrn kam aus dem Himmel hernieder, trat hinzu, wälzte den Stein weg und setzte sich darauf.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Et ecce terræmotus factus est magnus. Angelus enim Domini descendit de cælo: et accedens revolvit lapidem, et sedebat super eum: