Matthew 8:11 is the eleventh verse of the eighth chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament. This verse is part of the miracle story of healing the centurion's servant, the second of a series of miracles in Matthew. After praising the Gentile Centurion's faith in the previous verse in this one Jesus prophesizes that many from around the world will follow him. Content In the original Greek according to Westcott-Hort this verse is: λεγω δε υμιν οτι πολλοι απο ανατολων και δυσμων ηξουσιν και ανακλιθησονται μετα αβρααμ και ισαακ και ιακωβ εν τη βασιλεια των ουρανων In the King James Version of the Bible the text reads: And I say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. The New International Version translates the passage as: I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. Analysis This verse does not appear as part of the Centurion's miracle story in Luke 7. There is a similar passage in Luke 13:28-29 and it is possible the author of Matthew repurposed content from that section to add here. Keener sees strong evidence that this is an authentic saying of Jesus as it contains Semitic expressions not found in Greek. The word translated as sit in the KJV and take their place in the NIV literally translates as recline. The Greek and Roman culture was to recline at a formal banquet on couches known as klinai. The word recline in this verse shows the impact of Hellenization on the Palestine of the period. A divine banquet was a frequent metaphor for the afterlife in both Jewish and Greek culture of the period and is a motif that is found on tombstones of the period. This verse is strongly eschatological predicting what will happen at the end times. A messianic banquet was a frequent concept in Jewish literature of the time. In attendance are three of the patriarchs of Israel Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. What role they are playing at the banquet is not clear, are they the hosts or fellow honoured guests? In Jewish literature of the period there are accounts of meeting one of the patriarchs after death. That