Asar and Hitir

 

Recently I came across two words, "asar" and "hitir", in reference to a conversation between Jesus and Peter recorded in Matthew 16:19, where Jesus tells Peter,

“I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (ESV)

The keys of the Kingdom that Jesus gave to Peter were to bind and loose whatever on earth; the original Aramaic words used in the Gospel of Matthew were “asar” and “hitir” respectively.

Today, this passage is habitually used in terms of spiritual warfare, however, for first century Jews this passage was viewed within a legal context where “asar” referred to something forbidden or prohibited and its antonym, “hitir” referred to something permitted.

Jesus was giving Peter the authority to determine what is prohibited or permitted here on earth with the assurance that it would be ratified by God in heaven.

This authority concerned the establishment of the church and its acceptance of Gentiles into the fold. In this regard, we see in Acts chapter 15 that Peter was forced to use his God-given authority of the keys to make a judgment call concerning the Gentile believers.

Beloved, the church has been long established since that time and we are not faced with the exact same issues as those in that day, we must however continue to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit who guides us into all truth as to what is “asar” and “hitir” in any given situation.

Amen †

 

Shelley Johnson “Asar and Hitir” ©2026 February 28, 2026