Bible Strands
Matthew 26:69
Meanwhile, Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came up to him. “You also were with Jesus the Galilean,” she said.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Peter is sitting outside in the courtyard when a servant girl approaches him and identifies him as an associate of Jesus the Galilean. This moment occurs during the night of Jesus' arrest, following the high priest's servants' mockery (Matthew 26:68) and preceding Peter's explicit denial (Matthew 26:70).
The words — The Greek verb ἐκάθητο (ekathēto) literally means "was sitting" or "sat down," denoting a settled, stationary posture. The phrase ἐξὼ ἐν τῇ αὐλῇ (exō en tē aulē) precisely locates him "outside in the courtyard."
The thread — The courtyard confrontation pattern appears in 1 Kings 19:13 when Elijah stands at the cave mouth, and continues in John 18:16 where Peter stands outside a door before a temple servant questions him. The sequence advances in Matthew 26:71 as Peter moves to the gateway and faces a second accuser.
Why it lands — The text records a casual identification becoming a public accusation while Peter remains physically stationary. It requires the reader to confront how mere proximity to Jesus offers no protection when one refuses to acknowledge him under pressure.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 19:13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- Matthew 26:71 When Peter had gone out to the gateway, another servant girl saw him and said to the people there, “This man was with Jesus of Nazareth.”
- John 18:16 But Peter stood outside at the door. Then the disciple who was known to the high priest went out and spoke to the doorkeeper, and brought Peter in.
- Acts 5:37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and drew away people after him. He too perished, and all his followers were scattered.
- 1 Kings 19:9 There Elijah entered a cave and spent the night. And the word of the LORD came to him, saying, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
- Psalms 1:1 Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, or set foot on the path of sinners, or sit in the seat of mockers.
- Matthew 2:22 But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
- Matthew 21:11 The crowds replied, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.”
- Matthew 26:3 At that time the chief priests and elders of the people assembled in the courtyard of the high priest, whose name was Caiaphas,
- Matthew 26:58 But Peter followed Him at a distance, right up to the courtyard of the high priest. And he went in and sat down with the guards to see the outcome.