“Salt Becomes Tasteless” (Matthew 5:13) as Hyperbole
A Linguistic Approach
Keywords:
hyperbole, Matthew 5:13, salt, μωρανθῇAbstract
In Matthew 5:13, Jesus makes an enigmatic statement. He speaks of the possibility of salt becoming μωρανθῇ. Many interpreters have understood this expression empirically, arguing that Jesus was referring to impure salt mixed with other minerals. In addition to highlighting the problems with this interpretation, this article contends that Jesus’s statement is better understood as a hyperbolic expression. Although Robert Stein once proposed a hyperbolic reading of this statement, his proposal lacked a solid foundation. To fill the gap, in this article, the author employs a linguistic approach to demonstrate that the statement is more appropriately interpreted as hyperbole. In doing so, the study draws on the insightful linguistic work of Claudia Claridge to identify the key elements of hyperbole. It then applies these elements to Jesus’ statement in order to show why it is best understood as a hyperbolic expression.
Downloads
References
Albright, W. F., dan C. S. Mann. A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary. New York: Doubleday, 1971.
Aljadaan, Noura. “Understanding Hyperbole.” Tesis Magister, University College London, 2018.
Arifianto, Yonatan Alex, Reni Triposa, dan Daniel Supriyadi. “Menerapkan Matius 5:13 Tentang Garam Dunia di Tengah Era Disrupsi.” Shamayim: Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Kristiani 1, no. 1 (2020): 92–106. https://scispace.com/pdf/menerapkan-matius-5-13-tentang-garam-dunia-di-tengah-era-1bi31j4llg.pdf.
Baasland, Ernst. Parables and Rhetoric in the Sermon on the Mount: New Approaches to a Classical Text. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2015.
Bauer, Walter. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000.
Betz, Hans Dieter. The Sermon on the Mount: A Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, including the Sermon on the Plain (Matthew 5:3-7:27 and Luke 6:20-49), disunting oleh Adela Yarbro Collins. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1995.
Blomberg, Craig. Matthew: An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture. Brentwood: Holman Reference, 1992.
Bonnard, Pierre. L’Évangile selon Saint Matthieu. Beauregard: Labor et Fides, 1963.
Boring, M. Eugene. “The Gospel of Matthew: Introduction, Commentary, and Reflections.” Dalam The New Interpreter’s Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 1995.
Buan, Yustus Leonard. “Makna Teologis Frasa ‘Garam dan Terang Dunia’ (Matius 5:13–16) dalam Konteks Pluralisme Iman.” Jurnal Teologi dan Pelayanan Kerusso 10, no. 2 (2025): 357–68. https://jurnal.sttii-surabaya.ac.id/index.php/Kerusso/article/view/523.
Burgers, Christian, Britta C. Brugman, Kiki Y. Renadel de Lavalette, dan Gerard J. Steen. “HIP: A Method for Linguistic Hyperbole Identification in Discourse.” Metaphor and Symbol 31, no. 3 (2016): 163–78. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2016.1187041.
Carroll, Noel. Humour: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014.
Carson, D. A, Frank E. Gaebelein, dan J. D. Douglas. Matthew 1-12. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1995.
Carston, Robyn, dan Catherine Wearing. “Hyperbolic Language and Its Relation to Metaphor and Irony.” Journal of Pragmatics 79 (2015): 79–92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2015.01.011.
Carter, Warren. Matthew and the Margins: A Sociopolitical and Religious Reading. Maryknoll: Orbis, 2000.
Claridge, Claudia. Hyperbole in English: A Corpus-Based Study of Exaggeration. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011.
Cruise, Charles E. Writing on the Edge: Paul’s Use of Hyperbole in Galatians. Eugene: Pickwick, 2019.
Davies, W. D., dan Dale C. Allison. A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to Saint Matthew (Volume 1). London: T&T Clark, 1988.
Doody, Aude. Pliny’s Encyclopedia: The Reception of the Natural History. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Douglas, Claude C. Overstatement in the New Testament. New York: Henry Holt, 1931.
Fiedler, Peter. Das Matthäusevangelium. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer Verlag, 2006.
Garlington, Don. “The Salt of the Earth' in Covenantal Perspective.” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 54, no. 4 (2011): 715–48. https://etsjets.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/files_JETS-PDFs_54_54-4_JETS_54-4_715-748_Garlington.pdf.
Gundry, Robert H. Matthew: A Commentary on His Handbook for a Mixed Church under Persecution. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1994.
Hagner, D. A. Matthew 1-13. Dallas: Word, 1993.
Harper, William R., peny. “Jesus Use of Hyperbole.” Dalam The Biblical World. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1902.
Harun, Martin. Matius: Injil Segala Bangsa. Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2017.
Hauck, Friedrich. “ἅλας.” Dalam Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (Volume 1), disunting oleh Gerhard Kittel. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964.
Herr, L. G. “Salt.” Dalam The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (Volume 4), disunting oleh Geoffrey W. Bromiley. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Keener, Craig S. The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2009.
Kerbrat-Orecchioni, Catherine. “L’hyperbole: approche rhétorique, énonciative et interactionnelle.” Travaux Neuchâtelois de Linguistique 61–62 (2014): 7–23. https://www.revue-tranel.ch/article/view/2953.
Konradt, Matthias. Das Evangelium Nach Matthäus: Neubearbeitung. Göttingen: V&R, 2015.
Lausberg, Heinrich. Handbook of Literary Rhetoric: A Foundation of Literary Study. Disunting oleh David E. Orton dan R. Dean Anderson. Leiden: Brill, 1998.
Leks, Stefan. Tafsir Injil Matius. Yogyakarta: Kanisius, 2003.
Luz, Ulrich. A Commentary on Matthew 1-7, disunting oleh Helmut Koester. Diterjemahkan oleh James E. Crouch. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2007.
Maier, Gerhard. Matthäus Kapitel 1–14: Historisch-Theologische Auslegung. Leipzig: Brunnen Verlag, 2015.
McCarthy, Michael, dan Ronald Carter. ‘There’s millions of them: Hyperbole in everyday conversation.” Journal of Pragmatics 36 (2004): 149–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-2166(03)00116-4.
Mello, Alberto. Évangile selon saint Matthieu: Commentaire midrashique et narratif. Paris: Cerf, 1999.
Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to Matthew. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992.
Murphy, Trevor. Pliny the Elder’s Natural History: The Empire in the Encyclopedia. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
Nolland, John. The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2005.
Patnoe, Elizabeth. “Hyperbole.” Dalam Encyclopedia of Rhetoric and Composition: Communication from Ancient Times to the Information Age, disunting oleh Theresa Enos. New York: Routledge, 1996.
Pienaar, Frans-Johan. “Salt and Light: Reading Matthew 5:13–16 within the Context of the Matthean Community.” Conspectus 35 (2023): 43–60. https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.54725/conspectus.2023.1.3.
Pomerantz, Anita. “Extreme case formulations: A way of legitimizing claims.” Human Studies 9 (1986): 219–29. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00148128.
Popa-Wyatt, Mihaela. “Hyperbolic Figures.” Dalam The Diversity of Irony, disunting oleh Angeliki Athanasiadou dan Herbert L. Colston. Berlin: De Gruyter Mouton, 2020.
Prastawa, Singgih, dan Sefian Bintang Pangestuti. “Membaca Ulang Narasi Garam dan Terang (Matius 5:13-16) Sebagai Gagasan Berperilaku Pemuda Kristen di Era Milenial.” Journal of International Multidisciplinary Research 2, no. 3 (2024): 174–79. https://journal.banjaresepacific.com/index.php/jimr/article/view/389.
Priyono, Joko, dan Paulus Dimas Prabowo. “Pembinaan Identitas Kristen bagi Keluarga Besar Mahasiswa Kristen Politeknik Negeri Samarinda: Penerapan Matius 5:13-16.” Real Coster: Jurnal Pengabdian kepada Masyarakat 8, no. 1 (2025): 29–44. https://ojs.sttrealbatam.ac.id/index.php/coster/article/view/604.
Rubio-Fernández, Paula, Catherine Wearing, dan Robyn Carston. “Metaphor and Hyperbole: Testing the Continuity Hypothesis.” Metaphor and Symbol 30, no. 1 (2015): 24–40. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926488.2015.980699.
Schnackenburg, Rudolf. The Gospel of Matthew. Diterjemahkan oleh Robert R. Barr. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002.
Spitzbardt, Harry. “Overstatement and Understatement in British and American English.” Philologica Pragensia 6, no. 45 (1963): 277–86.
Stein, Robert H. Difficult Sayings in the Gospels: Jesus’ Use of Overstatement and Hyperbole. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1985.
Strack, Herman L., dan Paul Billerbeck. A Commentary on the New Testament from the Talmud & Midrash, Volume 1: Matthew, disunting oleh Jacob N. Cerone. Diterjemahkan oleh Andrew Bowden dan Joseph Longarino. Bellingham: Lexham, 2023.
Strecker, Georg. The Sermon on the Mount: An Exegetical Commentary. Diterjemahkan oleh O. C. Dean. Nashville: Abingdon, 1988.
The William Davidson Talmud. “when salt is spoiling.” Dalam Sefaria Library. https://www.sefaria.org/Bekhorot.8b.16?lang=bi.
Trisnaningtyas, Vendyah, Eko Nugroho, dan Lena Anjarsari Sembiring. “Memaknai Secara Teologis Tentang Garam Dunia Matius 5:13: Hidup Berdampak dan Menjadi Bagian dari Agen Perubahan.” Kardia: Jurnal Teologi dan Pendidikan Kristiani 1, no. 1 (2023): 29–40. https://ojs.sttparakletos-tomohon.ac.id/index.php/kardia/article/view/4/10.
Turner, David L. Matthew. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008.
Witherington III, Ben. Matthew. Macon: Smyth & Helwys, 2006.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
This article follows the terms of Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Copyright (c) 2026 Verbum Christi: Journal of Reformed Evangelical Theology. It is held by the journal with the author's consent.