Commentaries:
Robertson's Word Pictures (NT)
The flute-players (touv aulhtav). The girl was just dead, but already a crowd "making a tumult" (qoruboumenon) with wild wailing and screaming had gathered in the outer court, "brought together by various motives, sympathy, money, desire to share in the meat and drink going at such a time" (Bruce). Besides the several flute-players (voluntary or hired) there were probably "some hired mourning women (Jeremiah 9:17) praeficae, whose duty it was to sing naenia in praise of the dead" (Bruce). These when put out by Jesus, "laughed him to scorn" (kategelwn), in a sort of loud and repeated (imperfect) guffaw of scorn. Jesus overcame all this repellent environment.
Other Robertson's Word Pictures (NT) entries containing Matthew 9:23:
Mark 5:39
John 5:21
Acts 17:5
Acts 20:10
Revelation 18:22
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