Matthew 6:19-21, “ Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.”
Much of our understanding of this passage is based upon our Western English and cultural understanding of the English word for treasure. Although our understanding of this passage is not wrong, which is that we are not to seek our treasures here on earth but to seek that which has eternal value. Our Western understanding of the word treasure has the idea of money, jewelry, gold, and anything that could bring us monetary value. Yet, to apply our English understanding of the word treasure to the word that Jesus spoke in Aramaic which is simta is really diluting that word. It is not wrong to translate simta as treasure but the word does mean much more than that.
The word used in the Greek for treasure is thesaurus which is probably the closest Greek word to the Aramaic word simita. Thesaurus is merely a storehouse. One keeps something of value in a storehouse which they will return for later use. Thesaurus can also mean a storehouse of thoughts and matters of the heart. As I have said many times, it is the general and accepted belief among Biblical and secular scholars that Jesus spoke Aramaic. To read this in the Greek is only reading a translation of the vocal and most likely words of Jesus that were recorded by a scribe. In this case your are only reading a scribal interpretation of the Aramaic words that Jesus spoke. The Greek cannot fully express the word simita nor can it express those subtle word plays that Jesus is using that his disciples could easily pick up on. Simita expresses the idea of laying your hands upon something. This is a reference to anything that is tangible and material. What is interesting is that is comes from the same Semitic root that the word preceding it which is sum meaning to lay up. Jesus may have been making a very poetic word play here between laying up and laying your hands upon. In using the Aramaic word simita He could also have been making a play on the word simkat which is the word for joy and rejoice. Although spelled differently, simita with a Samek and simkat with a Seine; they do sound alike in both Hebrew and Aramaic. Jesus could have been using such a word play to be addressing something that you not only lay you’re up but something that you lay your hands upon that bring you great joy, comfort and security. A first century Semitic person would have easily picked up on this word play and understood that Jesus was saying that if you look for your joy, comfort and security in material things, it will not last, but if you seek you joy, comfort and security in heavenly things, that will be everlasting.
But lest look at this idea of simita (treasure) from a first century Middle Eastern mindset and not a twenty first century mindset. The Greek word thesaurus (tresaurus) doesn’t really express the first century idea of simita (treasure) as things of value were not really placed in a thesaurus in the literal sense which is a storehouse. In those days people often hid their valuables in the walls of their houses and not tell anyone where is was hidden. Many times they would hide their valuables, not so much as to protect them but to keep people asking for loans. They could just say that they really didn’t have it. It is hard for us to understand in our culture where our personal space is something that is highly respected. In the Semitic culture people just entered in and out of other’s homes unannounced and if no one was home they just help themselves to something they needed without asking. My brother, who was a missionary and Bible translator to Papua New Guinea, told how he had to get use to the idea that when he came into the village with his computer it suddenly became our computer and people just help themselves as they felt just as much an owner of that computer as my brother. So it was not unusual for people who had valuables, even extra food, to hide it in the walls or bury it in the ground in their homes, so when they were out their neighbors would not find it and help themselves. If any food was sitting out in the open people felt free to raid the refrigerator so to speak. Yet, by hiding perishable items or items of clothing that they did not want to share in the soil damp walls or ground it was open attack by insects such as moths that infest the house or they would rust from the dampness.
My father used to tell the story that when he was in the service during World War II, the army would give out rations. If you were lucky you found a Hersey chocolate bar in your rations. Of course if you found it you would be obligated to share it, it became our candy bar. My father wanted it to remain his candy bar, so he hid it in a hole in the wall in his barracks. One early morning in the middle of the night he had a craving for a chocolate bar so in the dark he quietly snuck over to his hiding spot and reached in and pulled out his chocolate bar. As he was eating his chocolate bar he felt something crawling on his hand. He flashed his flashlight on his hand and discovered that his hand and chocolate bar were covered with ants. I think this is what Jesus was addressing.
What was very common in the first century if someone had some gold, or coins and they did not want to claim this on their taxes they would bury it in some field. Of course they would tell no one about it, lest this knowledge be passed on to a republican (or is that a publican, let’s just call him a tax collector) and he would end up being taxed on it. Of course the unwritten law is that if anyone found this buried treasure it was finder’s keeper and they too would keep it quiet lest they be taxed on it. Of course treasure hunting was big business in those days and the owners of these buried treasures lived in constant fear that it would be discovered by some professional treasure hunter and of course the owner would not be able to claim it as his lest he be jailed for tax evasion.
Aesop told the story of man who buried a gold brick in a field. Every day he would dig up his gold brick, look at it, hug it, enjoy it and then bury it again. One day a treasure hunter observed this ritual and when the man had left the treasure hunter dug it up and claimed it as his own. When the miser came to dig up his gold brick the next day he discovered it was gone. The man went home and mourned his loss until his wife said, “Look, you were never going to spend it anyways, just buy a rock and every day dig it up and pretend it is gold.” This is exactly what the man did and he found the same joy in his rock and never had to worry about it being stolen.
Jesus told the story in Matthew 13:45-46 of a man who sold all he owned to possess a pearl of great price. Actually, Jesus was only alluding to a story known by every Jew of that day which is also found in the Talmud. There was a Jewish merchant who accumulated great wealth in the merchandising of pearls. A prophet came to him and prophesied that because he dealt in something unclean, (pearls come from oysters which are not kosher and hence a pearl is unclean) God would take his wealth away from him and give it to a righteous man named Joseph. The merchant in great panic searched the world for a pearl of great price, and when he found such a pearl he rejoiced and sold all that he owned so he could hold his entire fortune in the palm of his hand so it could not be taken away from him. He placed the pearl in his turban for safe keeping, but on a voyage in a boat across the sea a storm came and the boat capsized and when he was rescued he discovered he lost his turban with his pearl of great price at the bottom of the sea. The next week a righteous man named Joseph went to the fish market to purchase a fish for the Sabbath meal. The fish merchant always laid aside the finest fish for this righteous man and when he took it home…well you can guess the rest of the story.
It was a common theme of Jesus which speaks well to our materialistic society. We have a saying in our culture that fits Matthew 6:19-21 as well as Matthew 13:45-46 – “You can’t take it with you.” Jesus is only saying that we should focus our attention and energies on that which we can take with us into eternity.
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