Ephesians 6:2

2 Honour thy father and mother;* (which is the first commandment with promise;)

Ephesians 6:2 Meaning and Commentary

Ephesians 6:2

Honour thy father and mother
This explains who parents are, and points at some branches of obedience due unto them; for they are not only to be loved, and to be feared, and reverenced, their corrections to be submitted to, offences against them to be acknowledged, their tempers to be bore with, and their infirmities covered; but they are to be honoured in thought, word, and gesture; they are to be highly thought of and esteemed; they are to be spoken to, and of, very honourably, and with great veneration and to be behaved to in a very respectful manner; and they are to be relieved, assisted, and maintained in comfortable way when aged, and in necessitous circumstances; and which may be chiefly designed. So the Jews explain (dwbk) , "the honour" due to parents, by (lykam) , "giving them food, drink", and "clothing", unloosing their shoes, and leading them out and in ^F24. Compare with this ( 1 Timothy 5:4 1 Timothy 5:17 ) ; (See Gill on Matthew 15:4);

which is the first commandment with promise:
it is the fifth commandment in the decalogue, but the first that has a promise annexed to it: it is reckoned by the Jews ^F25 the weightiest of the weightiest commands of the law; and the reward bestowed on it, is length of days, as follows.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 T. Hieros. Kiddushin, fol. 61. 2. T. Bab. Kiddushin, fol. 31. 1, 2. Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Kiddushin, c. 1. sect. 7.
F25 Debarim Rabba, sect. 6. fol. 241. 3.

Ephesians 6:2 In-Context

1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.

2 Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;)

3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.

4 And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;