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Vee Library of Che Theological Seminary PRINCETON + NEW JERSEY C=) PRESENTED BY Princeton University Library DICHO » 200 Ὶ ee δ ᾿" hy i) i, ἈΝ ἡ ΠῚ 4 y ΤῊ ( 7, ᾿ ore’ iy δ νι ἣν 1 af ¥, i Th Ae Ve Ἷ Wey i vit Υ 4 i y if, ᾿ } \ / ΠῚ ἢ Ι “ ἡ bu iy ih! 4 \ i} , A ‘ ΓΙ! ν PALESTINE inthe time of Christ Scale of English Miles W&AK Johnston, Edinburgh and London GREEK TESTAMENT BSSONS ὦ ICA 8 ot ΠΣ FOR Colleges, Schools, and ribate Students CONSISTING CHIEFLY OF THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT, AND THE PARABLES OF OUR LORD WITH NOTES AND ESSAYS BY THE REV. J. HUNTER SMITH, M.A. FIRST ASSISTANT-MASTER OF KING EDWARD'S HIGH SCHOOL, BIRMINGHAM: FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF MERTON COLLEGE, OXFORD WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS EDINBURGH AND LONDON MDCCCLXXXIV LIST OF MAPS AND Map OF PALESTINE, . PLAN OF JERUSALEM, PLAN OF THE TEMPLE, Map OF THE SEA OF GALILEE, PLANS. . At the beginning To face page 14 = 21 πὶ ᾿Ξ 78 Τοῖς μαθηταῖς τῶν μαθημάτων μνημεῖα. PREFACH. Tus book has little or no claim to originality, ex- cepting in design and method. The chief objects aimed at have been, to present to intelligent boys, of fourteen and upwards, such a view of Christian Ethics as may make a lasting impression upon them, and to connect the study of the Greek Testa- ment with the other studies of a public-school boy, and’ the trivial round of his everyday life. An attempt has also been made, so far as was possible in such narrow limits, to place this teaching in its proper historical and geographical setting, to show its relation to that of the writers of the Old Testa- ment, and to illustrate it from the sayings of teachers of morality of ancient and modern times. It is hoped that the book may prove useful to others besides boys,—to theological students, and perhaps to some teachers and ministers of religion who may not have had leisure or opportunity for the study of the authorities from which are derived the thoughts contained in this volume. The works principally used have been the com- vill PREFACE. mentaries of Meyer, Godet, Trench, Tholuck, West- cott, Lightfoot, Farrar, Carr, Wordsworth, Morrison, R. Nicholson, and T. Evans; the lives of Christ by Edersheim, Farrar, Geikie, and Keim; Bruce on the Parabolic Teaching of Christ; Brace’s Gesta Christi, Lecky’s History of European Morals; the sermons of the late Professor Mozley ; Martineau’s Hours of Thought; Davidson’s Introduction to the New - Testament; and the works of Mr Prebendary Row, the late Dean Stanley, Dr E. A. Abbott, and Pro- fessor Seeley. I have not hesitated to adopt the language of my authorities where it suited my pur- | pose to do so. I have to thank Professors Westcott and Hort for their kindness in permitting me to use their text. After consultation with Dr Westcott, I have ven- tured to depart from the spelling adopted in his edition when it seemed that the strangeness of the forms would tend to create difficulties for boys with- out affording them any compensating instruction. In one or two instances I have even ventured, for a similar reason, to depart from the readings: these, however, will be found in footnotes. My thanks are also due to Mr Carr for his cour- tesy In permitting me to make use of his valuable notes on the Gospels of St Matthew and St Luke; to Professor J. Massie, the scholarly contributor to the ‘Expositor, for much important assistance; and to several friends for aid rendered me in looking over the proofs as they passed through the press. CONTENTS, LESSON _. I. Tue Visit oF JESUS, WHEN A Boy, TO JERUSALEM. St Luke ii. 40-52. THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. Ε : II. JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE. : 2 ; - III. IntRopvucTION TO THE SERMON ON THE ΜΟΥΝΤ. THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. St Matt. v. 1-16.—The Character, Privileges, and Responsibilities of the Members of the Kingdom of God . : : : ς 3 ΤΥ. THe Κ5ΞΤΥΓΠΕ AND METHOD OF THE TEACHING OF JESUS VY. Tue SERMON ON THE Mount—continued. VL MIL LE. St Matt. v. 17-32.—Christianity a Development of the Moral Law. THE SCRIBES. THE SERMON ON THE Mount—continued. St Matt. v. 33-48.—On THE LOVE OF oUR NEIGH- BOUR AND OF OUR ENEMIES. : : ‘ TH SERMON ON THE Mount—continued. St Matt. vi. 1-18—On Almsgiving, Prayer, and Fasting . : : : : : ; é THE SERMON ON THE Mount—continued. St Matt. vi, 19-34.—On ANXIETY FOR THE FUTURE, AND SEEKING FIRST THE Kincpom oF Gop PAGE 14 23 a 40 ΙΧ, XIII. XIV. XV. AVI. XVII. XVIII. CONTENTS. THE SERMON ON THE Mount—continued. St Matt. vii. 1-14.—False J mona and bid On PRAYER . 3 3 . THE SERMON ON THE Mount—concluded. St Matt. vil. 15-29.—The Warning against False _ Prophets—The Wise and Foolish Builder. ON THE TEACHING OF JESUS IN RELATION TO NATURE . THE ScENE OF JESUS’ MINISTRY—THE LAKE OF GALILEE AND ITs TOWNS . St Matt xii. 1-23.—THE PARABLE-OF THE SOWER. The Rise of the Kingdom St Matt. xiii, 24-43. THE PARABLES OF THE TARES, OF THE MUSTARD-SEED, AND OF THE LEAVEN. ON THE PARABLE OF THE TARES—EVIL IN THE KINGDOM St Matt. xiii. 44-52. — THE PARABLES OF THE Hip TREASURE, OF THE PEARL, AND OF THE NET. The Appropriation of the Kingdom by Mankind, and the Final Selection of its Members. St Mark iv. 26-29.—THE PARABLE OF THE SEED GROWING SECRETLY AND SLOWLY —THE SLOW AND SECRET GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM St Matt. xviii. 1.-14.— THE PARABLE OF THE LITTLE CHILD. The Little Ones of the Kingdom THE PAGAN AND CHRISTIAN IDEALS OF VIRTUE . St Matt. xvii. 15-35.— On CoNnFLICTS IN THE KINGDOM, AND THE PARABLE OF THE UNFOR- GIVING DEBTOR . : : : : Ξ On FORGIVENESS . 62 68 86 88 101 109 111 122 124 ΧΙΧ, ΧΧΙ. XXIT. XXIIL. XXIV. XXV. XXVI. XXVIL. XXVIII. XXIX. XXX. CONTENTS. St Luke x. 25-42.—On Domne anp Brernc—THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN—MARY AND MARTHA . THE SAMARITANS—RELIGIOUS INTOLERANCE St Matt. xx. 1-16.—THE PARABLE OF THE La- BOURERS IN THE VINEYARD—THE REWARDS OF THE KINGDOM St Luke xii. 13-21.—THE PARABLE OF THE RICH Foou THE TEACHING OF JESUS AND MODERN CITIZEN- SHIP St Luke xiv. 7-35.—THE PARABLES OF THE GREAT SUPPER, OF THE BUILDER, AND OF THE KING GOING TO War St. Luke xv. 1-10.— THE PARABLES OF THE Lost SHEEP AND THE Lost PIECE OF SILVER —THE PHARISEES St Luke xv. 11-32.—THE PaRaBLE OF THE PRODIGAL SON St Luke xvi. 1-13.—THE PaRABLE OF THE UN- JUST STEWARD. Mammon, Love’s Key that Unlocks the Gate of the Kingdom of Love St Luke xvi. 19-31.—TuHe Srory or THE RIcH Man AND LAzarus. Mammon, Self-Love’s Key that Locks the Gate of the Kingdom of Love St Luke xviii. 1-14.— THE ParaBLES OF THE IMPORTUNATE WIDOW, AND OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN. ᾿ On Urgency and Humility in Prayer St Luke xix. 11-27.—TuHe ῬΑΒΑΒΙΒ OF THE MIN. The Absence of the Lord of the Kingdom the Test of its Friends and of its Foes. 131 133 179 181 195 XXXII. XXXII. XXXIV. XXXVI. XXXVITI. XXXVIII. CONTENTS. . St Matthew xxi. 23-46.—THE PARABLES OF THE Two SONS AND OF THE WICKED Hts- BANDMEN. The Rejection by Israel, as a Nation, of the Moral Claims of the Kingdom THE SANHEDRIN AND THE CHIEF PRIESTS. St Matthew xxii. 1-14.—THE PARABLE OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE Ktna’s Son. The Rejection by Israel, as a Nation, of the Joys of the Kingdom St Matthew xxv. 1-13.—THE PaRABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. “The Lord is at hand.”—The Testing of the Members of the Kingdom by the Postponement of its Crowning Joys . St Matthew xxv. 14-30.—THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS. The Testing of the Members by the Moral Claims of the Kingdom. ΟΝ THE USE OF OUR TALENTS. THE Goop SHEPHERD — INTRODUCTION. — St Johns 3 ἡ ἃ 1 Corinthians xii. 12-31.—THrE PARABLE OF THE Bopy—THE USE OF CHRISTIAN GIFTS . 1 Corinthians xiiii—THE PRAISE oF LOVE— On CHRISTIAN LOVE. NOTES. 197 200 206 208 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. LESSON: Ὁ St LUKE ii. 40-52. THE VISIT OF JESUS, WHEN A BOY, TO JERUSALEM. 40 To δὲ παιδίον ηὔξανεν καὶ ἐκραταιοῦτο πληρού- μενον σοφίᾳ, καὶ χάρις θεοῦ 7 ἣν. ἐπ᾿ αὐτό. 41 Kai ἐπορεύοντο οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ κατ᾽ ἔτος εἰς Ἱερουσαλὴμ τῇ ἑορτῇ τοῦ πάσχα. 42 καὶ ὅτε ἐγένετο ἐτῶν δώδεκα, ἀναβαινόντων αὐτῶν κατὰ τὸ ἔθος τῆς ἑορτῆς 43 καὶ τελειωσάντων τὰς ἡμέρας, ἐν τῷ ὑποστρέφειν αὐτοὺς ὑπέμεινεν Ἰησοῦς ὁ ὁ παῖς ἐν Ἰερουσαλήμ, καὶ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ. 44 νομίσαντες δὲ αὐτὸν εἶναι ἐν τῇ συνοδίᾳ ἦλθον ἡ ἡμέρας ὁδὸν καὶ ἀνεζήτουν αὐτὸν ἐν τοῖς συγγενεῦσιν καὶ τοῖς γνωστοῖς, 45 καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ὑπέστρεψαν εἰς ᾿ερουσαλὴμ ἀναζητοῦντες αὐτόν. 46 καὶ ἐγένετο μετὰ ἡμέρας τρεῖς ev pov αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ » καθεζόμενον ἐν μέσῳ τῶν διδασκάλων καὶ ἀκούοντα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐπερωτῶντα αὐτούς: 47 ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες οἱ ἀκούοντες αὐτοῦ ἐπὶ τῇ συνέσει καὶ ταῖς ἀποκρίσεσιν αὐτοῦ. 48 καὶ ἰδόντες αὐτὸν ἐξεπλάγησαν, καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτὸν ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ Τέκνον, τί ἐποίησας ἡμῖν οὕτως ; ἰδοὺ ὁ πατήρ σου καὶ ἐγὼ ὀδυνώμενοι Α 2 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ζητοῦμέν σε. 49 καὶ εἶπεν πρὸς αὐτούς Τί ὅτι ἐζητεῖτέ με; οὐκ ἤδειτε ὃ ὅτι ἐν τοῖς τοῦ πατρός μου δεῖ εἶναί με; ὅ0 καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐ συνῆκαν τὸ ῥῆμα ὃ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς. 51 καὶ κατέβη μετ᾽ αὐτῶν καὶ ἦλθεν εἰς Ναζαρέτ, καὶ ἣν ὑποτασσόμενος αὐτοῖς. καὶ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ διετήρει πάντα τὰ ῥήματα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς. 52 Και ᾿Ιησοῦς προέκοπτεν τῇ σοφίᾳ καὶ ἡλικίᾳ καὶ χάριτι παρὰ θεῷ καὶ ἀνθρώποις. THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. PALESTINE: its central position and seclusion : advantages of this. —Jesus was born in Palestine, and His home was at Nazareth, or perhaps we should say Nazara, in the province of Galilee, in that. country. Palestine is a very small country, about the size of Wales, less than 140 miles in length, and barely 40 in average breadth: its influence on the history of the world is due rather to its geographical position, the character of its people, and their remarkable training, than to its size. There are two chief points to be remembered about its geographical: position: (1) that it was secluded; (2) that it was central. The first advantage kept the Israelites for many years comparatively safe from the polluting influences of other nations, so that while these last were given up to various forms of idolatry, the better part at least of the Israelitish nation retained that great truth which distinguished them from the other nations—that God is One, is a Person, is a Spirit, and is Holy: the second advantage enabled them, when the time was fully come, to communicate this truth and the Gospel to the civilised world. Its boundaries.—A glance at the map will show that Palestine is a strip of country on the extreme frontier of THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. 9 the East, and pushing out towards the West into the Mediterranean: its position is at once a central one between the East and West, and yet secluded and cut off from both by the natural barriers of desert, mountain, and sea. When the chosen people first conquered Palestine, the East was still the world, the Western empires had not yet risen. Now Palestine was cut off from the great Eastern empires, first, by the deep fissure of the Jordan valley ; secondly, by the eastern desert. It was cut off from Egypt on the south by the “ great and terrible wilderness,” which rolled like a sea between the valley of the Nile and that of the Jordan, and this wilderness could only be reached by formidable passes. On the west it was protected by the Mediterranean (which was navigated at that time by none but the Pheenicians), and by its own inhospitable seaboard, whose long line was broken only by one bay, the bay of Acre, and never had more than three harbours, and those bad ones, Joppa, Acre, and Haifa—the last unknown to the ancient world. On the northern frontier the ranges of Libanus and Anti-Libanus, the White Mountain or Mont Blanc of Syria, formed: two not insignificant ram- parts. Between them ran the long fertile valley to which the Greeks after the time of Alexander gave the name of Ccele (Hollow) Syria, and which the Hebrews called Buka’a, the Cleft—a name it still re- tains, and which aptly describes the great contrast between its ordinary width (seven or eight miles) and its great length (100 miles). Through this narrow pass, as through a gate, the hosts of Syria and Assyria would pour into Palestine. ; Its contact with the great empires.—In Ezek. v. 5 it is said, “I have set Jerusalem in the midst of the nations and countries that are round about her,” and in later times this was taken literally. When Ezekiel wrote, Palestine was really the vanguard of the Eastern, 4 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. and therefore of the civilised world; but now civilisation has swept westwards: then, however, she stood midway between the two great seats of ancient empires, Babylon and Egypt; and the whole history of Palestine between the return from the captivity and the Christian era is a history of the contest between the kings of the north and the kings of the south, the descendants of Seleucus and Ptolemy, for the possession of the country. Pales- tine, in fact, was to Assyria and Egypt what Sicily was afterwards to Rome and Carthage—their football. Such was the position of Palestine with respect to other nations-—cut off from them, yet ever reminded of them by the view of the sea, which could be obtained from elevations in all parts of the land, stretching to the outline of Chittim or Cyprus just visible in the clear evening horizon.! Its internal condition.—If we endeavour to realise the internal condition of Palestine as it was in Jesus’ time, we must be careful not to think of it as accurately divided among the tribes as in Old Testament times. Some of the districts, indeed, still retained the names of the ancient tribes which formerly occupied them, but a comparatively small number of the exiles had returned to Palestine under Ezra and Nehemiah. We have no proof that any of these were descendants of the former inhabitants of the ten tribes; they were for the most part from the tribes of Judah and Benjamin. Hence- forth the name of Israel gave way to that of Judean or Jew. Its divisions.—Palestine from north to south may be represented by four parallel bands—the seaboard, the hill country, the Jordan valley, and the trans- Jordanic range. On the east the long solid wall of the Moab and Gilead mountains is always in sight, and forms the background to almost every view. There 1 Num. xxiv. 24; Isa. xxiii. 1-12. THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. 5 are many eminences in the highlands which command the view of both frontiers at the same time—the eastern mountains of Gilead with the Jordan at their feet on the: one hand, on the other the Western sea with its line of white sand and its blue expanse. Armies of the great empires marching by the seaboard did not care to penetrate into the highlands, which seemed to them an insurmountable wall. Samaria.—In the time of Jesus, Palestine, east of the Jordan, could not be regarded as Jewish, the majority of the people being Syrians and Greeks, rude barbarians and heathens. ‘The west, under the Roman rule, was divided into the provinces of Galilee, Samaria, and Juda; but of these, Samaria was like a foreign country, intercepting Galilee on the north from Judea on the south. For after the ten tribes were carried away in B.c. 721, an Assyrian king, probably Esarhad- don, had transplanted the Israelites who dwelt in Samaria, and peopled it with idolatrous Assyrians and nations that had been subjugated by the Assyrians. In s.c. 409, one Manasseh, a man of priestly lineage, on being expelled from Jerusalem by Nehemiah for an unlawful marriage, took refuge with the Samari- tans, and obtained leave from the Persian king to build a temple on Mount Gerizim for that people. Thus the animosity that naturally existed between two neighbour- ing nations of different races was intensified by the existence of a rival temple and rival religious rites. In the time of our Lord political jealousy had added fuel to the flames ; for the Samaritans had been loyal to the Roman conqueror and to Herod the Great, and had been specially favoured above the Jews by both. Herod had married a Samaritan woman, and indulged in Samaria his Roman tastes, so hated in Judvea ; had embellished and almost rebuilt the capital, to which he gave the name Sebaste (Augusta), in honour of the Emperor 6 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. Augustus, to whom also he dedicated a magnificent temple built within its walls. In this city thus dis- tinguished by a detested heathen name, he found rest when weary of his struggles with the Jews, and against them he made it a fortress: and after his death the Samaritans remained quiet, while Judza and Galilee took up arms against the son of a Samaritan woman, and were rewarded by being relieved of a fourth part of their taxes, which the Romans added to the burdens of the Jews. Between the Galileans and the Samaritans prevailed bitter feuds resembling those once carried on on the frontiers of England and Scotland (Tac. Ann., xii. 54), Judza.—DBetween the provinces of Galilee and Judea there was a contrast in respect both to their scenery and to the character of the inhabitants. “ Judea was the true home of Judaism, Galilee of Christianity.” The landscapes of Judea, at least towards the east, were comparatively barren, her hills bare and rocky, her wildernesses lonely ; and her religious views were not dissimilar—hard, unsympathetic, and gloomy. She was full of “solemn doctors, hypocritical devotees, stern sticklers for the letter of the Law.” Galilee.—Galilee, on the contrary,—at least in the southern district, which Jesus for the most part made His home,—was “very verdant, sylvan, and smiling. During the two months of March and April the country is a carpet of flowers of extraordinary diversity of colour.” The province lay three days’ journey from Jerusalem. The name means “ circuit,” and was origin- ally appled to the little circuit of country round Kedesh-Naphtali, in which were situated the twenty towns given by Solomon to Hiram, king of Tyre, as payment for his work in conveying timber from Leba- non to Jerusalem. They were then or subsequently occupied by strangers, who increased in number, and be- THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. 7 came during the captivity the great body of the inhabi- tants. After the return, the Jewish colonists gradually extended their settlements again, even in the north; so that in our Lord’s time Galilee still professed the faith of Israel, although surrounded by foreign countries. But the population was a very mixed one, consisting, besides Jews, of Phoenicians, Syrians, Greeks, and Arabians ; and the Galilean Jews were despised by those of Judea, because they lived at a distance from the temple, and from the Scribes, the authoritative teachers, because their religious observances were indifferent, and their way of speaking provincial (Matt. xxvi. 73). Hence the province was spoken of as “Galilee of the Gentiles” (Matt. iv. 15); Γαλιλαία ἀλλοφύλων (1 Macc. v. 15). The term “Galileans” was a dis- tinctive one, cf. Acts 1. 11. They, however, had a reputation for bravery, which had been proved in many a tumult at the Jerusalem feasts, and many a border foray; and in the Jewish war they were the - first to offer resistance to the Roman armies, and among the last to defend the ruins of Jerusalem. From Gali- lee, too, came the first token of the poetic spirit of Israel, in the outpourings of Deborah after the victory of Barak: here too, perhaps, was composed the Song of Songs, the Jewish idyl; and here was born the prophet Hosea, who first gave emphatic expression to Jehovah’s essential attribute as “ Love.” Nazareth : the house where Jesus lived.—Let us now try to place ourselves in Nazareth, and think of the world as it would appear to a boy in the time of Jesus. First, let us picture His home in its external surround- ings. And this we are well able to do on account of the description given us by a modern traveller of the homes of Nazareth as they are now; and there is no reason to suppose that they have greatly altered. “We can see,” he says, “the streets where He played as a 8 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. boy in the stony footpaths or little crossways which separate the dwellings. The house of Joseph doubtless much resembled those poor shops lighted by the door, serving at once for shop, kitchen, and bedroom, having for furniture a mat, some cushions on the ground, one or two clay pots, and a painted chest. The population of Nazareth is from 3000 to 4000, and it can never have varied much.” The social position of His family.—“ Joseph was a carpenter, and Jesus, too, seems to have worked at Joseph’s trade. In the cities the carpenters would be Greeks and skilled workmen: the carpenter of a provincial village can only have held a very humble position, and secured avery moderate competence. But we need not think of the family as suffering either from a degrading or a grinding poverty. Mechanical trade was not among the Jews regarded with contempt, as it was among the Greeks and Romans. Among the Jews every boy was compelled to learn a trade; but the Rabbis had no respect for trade unless accompanied by a knowledge of the Law. The life then led by the holy family, though it would necessitate self-denial, would not be one of penury or of much anxiety. Indeed, in Pales- tine, the extreme simplicity of life makes the privilege of riches almost useless, and leads nearly every one to be voluntarily poor. Again, the total want of taste for the arts and for the things which contribute to the elegance of material life, gives even to the house of one who is in need of nothing an aspect of destitution. We must remember, too, that in the delicious climate of Galilee it would be possible to live much more in the open air than it is in our uncertain climate. In such a home, then, we may think of Jesus learning to make and making ploughs and yokes.” Geographical position of Nazareth—A glance at the map will show that half-way up the coast the maritime THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. “ plain is suddenly interrupted by a long ridge thrown out from the central mass, rising considerably above the general level, and terminating in a bold promontory on the very edge of the Mediterranean. This ridge is Mount Carmel. On its northern side, the plain, as if to compensate for its temporary displacement, invades the centre of the country, and forms an undulating hollow right across it from the Mediterranean to the Jordan valley. This central lowland, which divides with its broad depression the mountains of Ephraim from the mountains of Galilee, is the plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel, the great battle-field of Palestine. Almost in the centre of the northern or Galilean chain of hills there is a singular cleft in the lime- stone, forming the entrance to a little valley. As the traveller leaves the plain he will ride up a steep and narrow pathway, bordered with grass and flowers, through infinitely beautiful and picturesque scenery. Beneath him on his right-hand side the vale will gradually widen until it becomes a quarter of a mile in breadth. The basin of the valley is divided by hedges of cactus into little fields and gardens, which about the fall of the spring rains wear an aspect of indescribable calm, and glow with a tint of the richest green. Beside the narrow pathway, at no great distance from each other, are two wells, and the women who draw water there are more beautiful, and the ruddy, bright-eyed, shepherd boys who sit or play by the well-side in their gay-coloured, oriental costume, are a happier, bolder, brighter-looking race than the traveller will have seen elsewhere. Gradu- ally the valley opens into a little natural amphi- theatre of hills, supposed by some to be the crater of an extinct volcano; and there, clinging to the hollows of a hill which rises to the height of some 500 feet above it, le like a handful of pearls in a 10 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. goblet of emerald the flat roofs and narrow streets of a little Eastern town. Natural scenery of Nazareth.—In spring everything about the place looks indescribably bright and soft: doves murmur in the trees; the hoopoe flits about in. ceaseless activity ; the crested lark alights almost at the feet of the traveller; the bright blue roller-bird, the commonest and loveliest bird of Palestine, flashes, like a living sapphire, over fields which are enamelled with innumerable flowers; storks, with modest and grave deportment, approach the wayfarer with fearlessness and familiarity. Such is Nazareth; and along the nar- row mountain-path above described the feet of Jesus must have often trod, for it is the only approach by which, in returning northwards from Jerusalem, He could have reached the home of His infancy, youth, and manhood. The surrounding heights vary in altitude, some of them rising above it to 400 or 500 feet, like foliage round a rose. They have rounded tops, are com- posed of the glittering limestone which is so common in the country, and though, on the whole, barren and unattractive in appearance, present not an unpleasing aspect, diversified as they are with the foliage of fig-trees and wild shrubs, and with the verdure of occasional fields of grain. Our familiar hollyhock is one of the gay flowers which grow wild here. Being so sheltered by hills, Nazareth enjoys a mild atmosphere and climate. Hence all the fruits of the country—as pomegranates, oranges, figs, and olives—ripen early and attain a rare perfection. The village is still called En-Nazerah. The famous view from the back of Nazareth. Such a mountain village would be likely, from its pure air, to produce inhabitants with healthy bodies ; from its retire- ᾿ ment, to foster meditation; from the beauty of its position, its views, and its animal life, to kindle a thoughtful and peaceful love of nature. Buta retired village life will THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. LE often produce narrowness of mind and a want of sympathy with those who differ from the code of manners and morals adopted by the little community. The inhabitant of Nazareth was protected from this evil by its propin- quity to cities, and to great caravan roads, but, above all, by a view of rare extent and beauty that can be seen from a hill at the back of the town. ‘This view must have been constantly before the eyes of Jesus, and must have suggested thoughts of the “other sheep ἢ which were to be gathered into the flock, and of the religious and historical associations of His country. Hence He would see its three famous mountains: Tabor on the east, six or eight miles off, with its round top, about 1000 feet high, on which Barak had assem- bled his forces before the contest with Sisera; in the distant north, 60 miles off, Hermon’s white summit, 10,000 feet above the sea-level, the boundary of Pales- tine in that direction; to the west, ranging from 600 to 1600 feet, the hills and headland of Carmel crowned with woods of oaks and fig-trees, the scene of Elijah’s contest with the prophets of Baal; below it, and closing the western view, the blue waters of the Mediterranean. On the south and south-east the plain of Esdraelon or Jezreel, the battle-field of Palestine ; beyond this, on the south, the hills of Samaria. The well.—At Nazareth travellers are shown many memorials of more than doubtful authenticity connected with the lives of Mary and Jesus. Of one, however, there can be no doubt, and that is the well situated at the north-eastern extremity of the town. This must have been the evening rendezvous to which the women of Nazareth came with their pitchers on their heads to draw water and talk together. And hither Jesus must have often come with His mother. The “ brothers” of Jesus.—In Matt. xiii. 55, 56, and Mark vi. 3, mention is made of four brothers of Jesus, 13 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. whose names are given as James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, and also of sisters. Some have thought these were really cousins of Jesus, not brothers; but it does not seem probable that cousins would always be spoken of without any qualification as brothers. On the other hand, if they were the sons of Mary it seems very strange that Jesus in their lifetime should have com- mitted the care of His mother to John (John xix. 26). It is most likely, therefore, that they were the sons of Joseph by a former marriage. In this case they would have occupied the same home with Jesus; but we know nothing of His relations to them excepting that during His lifetime they did not believe in Him. We may, however, probably assume, from the allusions to them in the subsequent history, that they were men of consider- able force of character. It is possible that James and Jude were the authors of the epistles that go by their names. His education.—It is uncertain whether Jesus ever went to school: in towns, the synagogues usually had schools attached to them; but Nazareth was probably too small a community for this. Jesus probably gained His education from Joseph and Mary, from the syna- gogue, and from solitary meditation. That there was uninterrupted affection between Him and Joseph and Mary, we may assume from the pictures of home and childhood we find in His teaching. The allusion to the playing of the children in the market-place, and the assumption of a father’s willingness to grant his chil- dren’s prayers, are suggestions of a happy childhood sur- rounded by loving influences. He would be taught at home by His parents in the Law, and the short proverbial sayings in use among the Rabbis. It would be chiefly, however, from the synagogue that — He would gain His knowledge of Scripture. Thither, | THE COUNTRY AND HOME OF JESUS. 13 probably, from the time He was five years old, He would go week by week and hear, at least every Sabbath, a portion of the Law, followed by a portion of the Prophets, read and explained. The language He spoke.—He would probably write, or rather print, Hebrew, and quote the sacred writings in that tongue; but the language He ordinarily employed was Aramaic, which the Jews had learnt during the captivity in Babylon, and by contact with the Aramaic population who were their immediate neighbours. 14 LESSON IL. JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE. Situation of the city.—Jerusalem is a mountain city, whose highest point is 2600 feet above the level of the sea: it breathes a mountain air, and is enthroned ona mountain fastness, and possesses a mountainous character unrivalled by any important city that has ever existed on earth. Like Rome, it was situated on a cluster of steep hills, with nearer and more remote hills as pro- tecting barriers, with Mount Olivet for its Janiculum, and the hills of Mizpeh, Gibeon, and Ramah for its dis- tant Alban and Apennine mountains. But whereas Rome was in a well-watered plain, leading direct to the sea, Jerusalem was on a bare table-land in the heart of the country, on the watershed between the Mediterranean and the Jordan, 32 miles distant from the sea, and 18 from the river. Its ravines.—The approach to Jerusalem from the north is a continual ascent from the plain of Esdraelon: the city itself stands on the southern termination of a table-land, which is cut off from the country round it on its west, south, and east sides by two deep and precipi- tous ravines, encompassing it like a great natural fosse. Jehoshaphat and Hinnom.—These ravines leave the level of the table-land, the one on the west and the other on the north-east of the city, and after a fall of as much as 672 feet each, form a junction below its south- JEHOSAPHAT μ᾿ AS CITADEL ὅς PALACE - Ὁ DN { ἐς ] “ag «ς ὃ - Ἐν τ αν Mt of Offence W.& AX. Johnston Edinburgh & London. rune JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE. 15 east corner. The eastern runs straight from north to south : it is commonly called the valley of Jehoshaphat, or the valley of Kedron—.e., the black torrent, so called either from the obscure depth of the ravine, or the blackness of the torrent’s waters. The western valley—the valley of Hinnom—runs south for a time, and then takes a sudden bend to the east until it meets the valley of Jehoshaphat. - The Tyropeon.—These deep ravines give the city the appearance of a promontory joined to the main table-land only on the north-west. And this promon- tory is itself divided by a longitudinal ravine running up it from south to north, rising gradually from the south like the external ravines, till at last it arrives at the level of the upper plateau. ‘This valley was called the Tyropeon, or “valley of the cheesemongers ” (Τῶν τυροποιῶν). It is both shallower and broader than the other ravines, its depth averaging only from 100 to 150 feet below the height of the ridges. In it the streets range in terraces up the steep sides of the hills, side lanes climbing here and there to the top, the - whole being a busy scene of traffic, and filled with _ bazaars; the streets being narrow and paved with white marble, and named mostly after the gates to which they led or from the various bazaars. The hills.—The hill on the west of the ravine is divided into two summits by a kind of dell or theatre- shaped depression, extending westward for not more than 300 yards, and measuring not quite 200 yards north and south. These two heights are joined by a narrow saddle. ‘The southernmost is the largest and most lofty—its highest part, which is towards the west, being 2520 feet, and its northernmost having an extreme altitude of 2490 feet above the Mediterranean. } The eastern and western hills, into which the | Tyropceon ravine divides the city, presented in the time 16 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. of Jesus in their main features striking illustrations of its double character. On the eastern stood the Temple, enclosed with its various courts ; on the western, on the southern height, stood the palace of Herod, environed by its parks and gardens. The one hill was the symbol of Judaism, the other of paganism and the Roman conquest. Forbearing to enter into disputed questions, we can picture to ourselves very fairly the aspect these two different sides of the city must have presented. The lower or northern hill on the west appears to have been called indifferently the lower city, or Akyra. This was separated from the upper city on the south by the wall of David, high above which rose the three famous castles, Hippicus, Phaszlus, and Mariamne, built by Herod the Great, and named after his brother, his friend, and his wife. These were of white marble, and, towering respectively 120, 130, and 75 feet above the high wall which crowned the crest of a lofty hill, must have presented a majestic appearance. Herod’s palace on the western hill.— Under the pro- tection of these splendid structures rose the new palace of Herod, the magnificence of which Josephus says was indescribable, and surpassed even that of the Temple itself. It was subsequently occupied by Pilate the Procurator. It was situated on the loftier or southern of the two hills on the west, a great part of which was enclosed within its park walls, themselves a second line of defence, forty-five feet in height, with strong towers rising at equal distances along their broad tops. Its spacious rooms, with elaborately carved walls and ceil- ings, many of them crusted with precious stones, often of great rarity, were capable of affording sleeping accom- modation to a hundred guests at atime. The furniture was superb, and most of the vessels were of silver and gold. Outside, between its colossal wings of white marble, was an open space commanding a noble view JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE. 17 of Jerusalem. Here porticoes, with curious pillars of costly stone, offered shady retreats. Groves and gardens stretched on all sides, intermingled with pools and _ ar- tificial rivers, bordered by long delightful walks, and adorned with statues which must have filled all pious Jews with horror. About these promenades tame doves found a delightful asylum. The amphitheatre——In this part of the city too, apparently, was the theatre which Herod had built, to the horror of the nation: and outside, at a little dis- tance, was the amphitheatre, an object of still greater aversion; for in it men were made to fight with wild beasts or with one another, and chariot-races and musical contests were celebrated by foreigners gathered from all parts of the world. The Xystus.—At the opposite or north-eastern corner of the upper city was the palace of the High Priest. South of this, and opposite the Temple, was a market- place called Xystus (Ξυστός, from €vw, to polish, on account of its polished floor), surrounded by a covered colonnade, 600 feet in length, under cover of which the athletes exercised themselves in the winter. Here on great occasions the populace was harangued. [Ὁ fronted half the western side of the Temple courts. It had been built by Antiochus Epiphanes as a place of _ exercise when he was seeking to introduce Hellenic exer- cises into Palestine. Behind it, on the south, was the palace of Agrippa, the ancient palace of the Maccabees. Such were the chief features of the western, or what | we may call the paganised side of the holy city, com- prising as it did the palatial residence and parks, and the theatre of the detested foreigner—even its superior | height above the eastern hill on which the Temple was built serving to emphasise his supremacy; while the | strength of its walls and the pagan fashion of its deco- rations, both internal and external, served as a constant B 18 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. memorial to the holy people of the subjugation and desecration of their Holy Land. The Castle of Antonia.—But even the sacred or east- ern hill of Moriah itself was not free from an obtrusive symbol of the Roman power. ‘This was the citadel of Antonia (so called after the triumvir Antony, Herod’s friend), a place of extraordinary strength, which had been built by the Maccabees to protect the Temple, and in which were deposited the sacred vestments of the High Priest. It was built upon a rock 75 feet high, at the end of the cloisters leading from the north-west angle of the Temple. It was a square, and had a castle in the centre and towers at three corners—the one at the south-east corner being 105 feet high—and from these the whole Temple might be viewed. Its interior had the form and size of a palace, and was divided into all kinds of rooms, for receptions, bathing, &c., with open spaces for soldiers to be quartered. On the corner, where it joined the cloisters of the Temple, it had pas- sages down to them both, through which the guard went, arms in hand, on the Jewish festivities, to watch the people and prevent disturbances. For the Temple was a fortress which guarded the lower city, just as the Antonia did the Temple. The Temple area.—The eastern hill, or Moriah, on which stood the Temple, was, as we have said, lower than the western mounts. The plateau on which the Temple stood had been artificially levelled at immense labour and cost, and enlarged by gigantic substructures. This was done at the expense of Herod the Great. Thus enlarged, the Temple area occupied an elongated square of from — 925 to 950 feet and upwards. Roughly calculating it © at about 1000 feet, this would give an extent more than one-half greater than the length of St Peter’s at Rome, which measures 613 feet, and nearly double our own St Paul’s, whose extreme length is 5204 feet. JERUSALEM AND THE TEMPLE. 19 This square, each side of which was 1000 feet long, was enclosed by a gigantic wall, the dimensions of which are best realised by a comparison. ‘The southern face of the wall is at present nearly the length of the Crys- tal Palace, and the height of the transept. The area within these walls was more extensive than Lincoln’s Inn Fields or Grosvenor Square, and the south wall offered a larger frontage and far greater height than the Chelsea Hospital. The Temple itself, however, stood not in the centre _ of this square but towards the north-west, and its courts _ were not on a level but rose terrace above terrace, till the sacred edifice itself was reached, its porch protruding _ shoulder-like on each side, and covering the holy and — most holy places. The gates to the Temple.— Access to the Temple | area was obtained on the west through four gates, one of which led to the Akra, or lower city, by a subterranean tunnel, the road descending down into the valley from the Temple by a great number of steps, and thence up again. A second led over a great causeway which joined the first wall of the city to the Temple, and led over the valley to King Herod’s palace in the upper city; and the other two led to the suburbs. On the south side, again, there were two gates; on the east side was the gate Shushan by which the High Priest made his exit to Mount Olivet on the great day of atonement: Jesus probably entered Jerusalem by it on the day of His triumphal entry. On the north was a gate which led by a secret passage to the Castle of Antonia. Worshippers would approach the Temple area from a bridge over the Tyropceon valley at the south-west corner; they would then find themselves in the Court of the Gentiles, or, as the Jews called it, the Mountain of the House. ‘The area of this was 180,000 feet, as nearly as may be equal to the area of the portion appro- 20 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. priated exclusively to the Jews. This court was the addition to the Temple made by Herod. The Royal Porch.—The great glory of this outer court was the Stoa Basilica, or Royal Porch. It was 600 feet long, 100 wide, supported by 162 Corinthian columns, which divided it into three aisles, the centre one of which was 100 feet. We may form some idea of this if we fancy the transepts taken off the sides of York Minster, and added to the ends. On the other three sides also were double porticoes, but of less height and inferior magnificence to the Stoa Basilica: that on the east facing the main entrance to the Temple was called Solomon’s Porch, as having been built by the wise king. The Court of the Gentiles.—The Court of the Gen- tiles was paved with the finest variegated marble. In it tradition places eating and sleeping apartments for the Levites, and a synagogue. In it the oxen, sheep, and doves selected as fit for sacrifice were sold as in a market; and here were the tables of the money-changers. Ata short distance within the court, a marble screen 44 feet — high, and beautifully ornamented, bore Greek and Latin — inscriptions warning Gentiles not to proceed on pain of death. That in Greek has been recently found. The — walls of the court were of white marble. The gates.—Within this outer court rose the huge © castellated wall which enclosed the Temple. It had nine gateways, with towers 50 feet high. The great entrance was by the eastern gate, sometimes called Beautiful ; sometimes, from a Maccabean hero, Nicanor’s gate. The other gates were sheeted with gold or silver; ὑπ. bronze of this one shone almost with an equal splendour. — Every evening it was carefully closed: twenty men were needed to roll its heavy doors, and drive down into” the rock its iron bolts and bars. It was regarded as the portcullis of the divine castle. PLAN OF THE TEMPLE. ENTRANCE TO ANTONIA SSSssssSosessssssssssssssssssssss oar .. . es 1 Kings v. 13; viii. 12-66. 6 2 Chron. xvii. 7-9; xix. 8-11. ’ 2 Chron, xxix, 4. 8 2 Chron. xxxiv. 29-33. 9 2 Kings xxi. 1-16. 10 2 Kings xvi. 11-15. 204 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ing description of the office of the high priest is found in KEcclus. 1. 1-21: “When Simon, the son of Onias, came forth from behind the curtain of the sanctuary, he was as the morning-star in the midst of a cloud, and as the moon at the full; and as the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High, and as the rainbow giving light in the bright clouds; as fire and incense in the censer, and as a vessel of beaten gold set with all manner of precious stones. When he put on the robe of honour, and was clothed with the perfection of glory, when he went up to the holy altar, he enlightened the whole sanctuary. When he took the portions out of the priest’s hands, he himself stood by the hearth of the altar, compassed with his brethren round about, as a young cedarin Lebanon; and they as palm-trees com- passed him round about. So were all the sons of Aaron in their glory, and had the oblations of the Lord in their hands, before all the congregation of Israel. And finishing the service at the altar, that he might adorn the offering of the Most High Almighty, he stretched out his hand to the cup, and poured of the blood of the grape; he poured it out at the foot of the altar, a sweet-smelling savour unto the Most High King of all. Then shouted the sons of Aaron, and sounded the silver trumpets, and made a great noise, to be heard for a remembrance before the Most High. Then all the people together hasted, and fell down to the earth upon their faces to worship their Lord God Almighty the Most High. The singers also sang praises with their voices; with great variety of sounds was there made sweet melody. And the people besought the Lord the Most High, by prayer before Him that is merciful, till the solemnity of the Lord was ended and they had finished the service. Then he went down, and lifted up his hands over the whole congregation of Israel, to give the blessing of the Lord with his lips, THE SANHEDRIN AND THE CHIEF PRIESTS. 205 and to rejoice in His name. And they bowed them- selves down to worship the second time, that they might receive a blessing from the Most High.” The Syro-Greek kings introduced much uncertainty into the succession by deposing at their will obnoxious persons, and appointing whom they pleased, till the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes roused the spirit of the Jews, and gave birth to a new and glorious suc- cession of high priests in the Asmonean family, who united with the dignity of the high-priesthood that of civil rulers, and for a time of independent sovereigns. It is uncertain whether the great Judas Maccabeus him- self was high priest, but his brother’ Jonathan was appointed to the office by Alexander, King of Syria. The Asmonean dynasty lasted from B.c. 153 till the family was damaged by intestine divisions, and then destroyed by Herod the Great. He being an Idumean, could not unite the office of high priest with that of prince as the Maccabees had done: to lower, therefore, the dignity of the office, he appointed to it first a priest of common origin from Babylon; then Aristobulus, the youthful brother of his Maccabean wife Mariamne, whose descent, youth, and handsome person gained him extraordinary popularity. This so excited the tyrant’s jealousy, that he caused the ill-fated boy to be drowned while bathing. After his death other high priests were appointed in rapid succession, and the office was no longer held for life. Annas was deposed in the year A.D. 14 by Pilate’s predecessor Valerius Gratus, who, it ‘would seem, elected and deposed four high priests dur- ing four years. Annas, however, still retained much of the prestige of the office in the eyes of the stricter Jews, and was perhaps the Nasi, or president of the Sanhedrin. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas. 206 LESSON -XXARTIL St MATTHEW xxii. 1-14. THE PARABLE OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. 1 Ka ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ Ἰησοῦς πάλιν εἶπεν ἐν παρα- βολαῖς αὐτοῖς λέγων 2 ᾿Ὡμοιώθη 7 βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ βασιλεῖ, ὅ ὅστις ἐποίησεν γάμους τῷ υἱῷ αὐτοῦ. ὃ καὶ ἀπέστειλεν τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ καλέσαι τοὺς κεκλημένους εἰς τοὺς γάμους, καὶ οὐκ ἤθελον ἐλθεῖν. 4 πάλιν ἀπέστειλεν ἄλλους δούλους λέγων Εἴπατε τοῖς κεκλημένοις Ἰδοὺ τὸ ἄριστόν μου ἡτοίμακα, οἱ ,ταῦροί μου καὶ TH σιτιστὰ τεθυ- μένα, καὶ πάντα ἕτοιμα" δεῦτε εἰς, τοὺς γάμους. 5 οἱ δὲ ἀμελήσαντες ἀπῆλθον, ὃ ὃς μὲν εἰς τὸν ἴδιον ἃ ἀγρόν, ὃς δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν ἐμπορίαν αὐτοῦ. 6 of δὲ λοιποὶ κρα- τή με, τοὺς δούλους αὐτοῦ ὕβρισαν καὶ ἀπέκτειναν. ὁ δὲ βασιλεὺς ὠργίσθη, καὶ πέμψας τὰ στρατεύ- ματα αὐτοῦ ἀπώλεσεν τοὺς φονεῖς ἐκείνους καὶ τὴν πόλιν αὐτῶν ἐνέπρησεν. 8 τότε λέγει τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ Ὃ μὲν γάμος ἕτοιμός ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ κεκλημένοι οὐκ ἦσαν ἄξιοι" 9 πορεύεσθε οὖν ἐπὶ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὁδῶν, καὶ ὅσους ἐὰν εὕρητε καλέσατε εἰς τοὺς γάμους. 10 καὶ ἐξελθόντες οἱ δοῦλοι ἐ εκεῖνοι εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς συνήγαγον πάντας ovs ev pov, πονηρούς τε καὶ ἀγαθούς. καὶ ἐπλήσθη ὁ νυμφὼν ἀνακειμένων. ἐπι εἰσ- ελθὼν δὲ ὁ βασιλεὺς θεάσασθαι τοὺς ἀνακειμένους THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON. 207 εἶδεν ἐκεῖ ἄνθρωπον οὐκ ἐνδεδυμένον ἔνδυμα γάμου. 12 καὶ λέγει αὐτῷ ‘Eraipe, πῶς εἰσῆλθες ὧδε μὴ ἔχων ἔνδυμα γάμου; ὁ δὲ ἐφιμώθη. 13 τότε ὁ βασι- λεὺς εἶπεν τοῖς διακόνοις Δήσαντες αὐτοῦ πόδας καὶ χεῖρας ἐκβάλετε αὐτὸν εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ) EEWTEPOV: ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. 14 πολλοὶ γὰρ εἰσιν κλητοὶ ὀλίγοι δὲ ἐκλεκτοί. 208 LESSON XXXIV. St MaTTHEW xxv. 1-13. THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS—“ THE LORD IS AT HAND.” 1 Tore ὁμοιωθήσεται ἡ ἡ. βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν δέκα παρθένοις αἵτινες λαβοῦσαι τὰς λαμπάδας αὐτῶν ἐξῆλθον εἰς ὑπάντησιν τοῦ νυμφίου. 2 TEVTE δὲ ἐξ αὐτῶν ἦσαν μωραὶ καὶ πέντε φρόνιμοι. 3 αἱ γὰρ μωραὶ λαβοῦσαι τὰς λαμπάδας οὐκ ἔλαθον μεθ᾽ ἑαυτῶν Ἐλαιον" 4 αἱ δὲ φρόνιμοι ἔλαβον ἔλαιον ἐ ἐν τοῖς ἀγγείοις μετὰ τῶν λαμπάδων ἑ ἑαυτῶν. 5 χρονί- ζοντος δὲ τοῦ νυμφίου ἐνύσταξαν πᾶσαι καὶ ἐκάθευ- δον. 6 μέσης δὲ νυκτὸς κραυγὴ γέγονεν" Ἰδοὺ ὁ νυμφίος, ἐξέρχεσθε εἰς ἀπάντησιν. 7 τότε iene πᾶσαι αἱ παρθένοι ἐκεῖναι καὶ ἐκόσμησαν τὰς λαμ- πάδας ἑ ἑαυτῶν. 8 αἱ δὲ μωραὶ ταῖς φρονίμοις εἶπον" Δότε ἡμῖν ἐκ τοῦ ἐλαίου ὑ ὑμῶν. ὅτι at λαμπάδες ἡμῶν σβέννυνται. 9 ἀπεκρίθησαν δὲ αἱ φρόνιμοι λέγουσαι" Μήποτε οὐ μὴ ἀρκέσῃ ἡμῖν καὶ ὑμῖν" πορεύεσθε par- λον πρὸς τοὺς πωλοῦντας καὶ ἀγοράσατε ἑαυταῖς. 10 ἀπερχομένων δὲ αὐτῶν ἀγοράσαι ἦλθεν ὁ O νυμφίος καὶ αἱ ἕτοιμοι εἰσῆλθον μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ εἰς τοὺς γάμους, καὶ ἐκλείσθη ἡ ἡ θύρα. 11 ὕστερον δὲ ἔ ἔρχονται καὶ αἱ λοιπαὶ παρθένοι λέγουσαι" Κύριε κύριε, ἄνοιξον ἡμῖν. 12 ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν" ἀμὴν λέγω ὑ ὑαῖν, οὐκ οἶδα ὑμᾶς. 13 γρηγορεῖτε οὖν, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδατε τὴν ἡμέραν οὐδὲ τὴν ὥραν, THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. 209 The thirteenth verse shows the lesson Jesus intended to teach by the parable. A difficulty, however, arises from the fact that the imagery of the parable dwells, not on the want of watchfulness, but on the improvi- dence, of the five virgins, who had not brought suffi- cient oil with them: the sleeping does not seem to be culpable, as both prudent and imprudent gave way to it; it is added to describe more graphically the long delay of the bridegroom. We must therefore connect the idea of want of vigilance with this improvidence in not providing sufficient oil; and we must bear in mind that all the virgins, both wise and foolish, were devoting themselves to the bridegroom’s service—that is, they all represent persons professedly Christian, who, at the outset, had all prepared themselves to meet the bridegroom. ‘The failure of the oil represents a failure of preparation for so long a delay. ‘The early Chris- tians lived in constant expectation of the speedy return of Jesus; and as the date of this return seemed pro- tracted, this parable must to many of them have had an intensely real application. Many, no doubt, among the earliest believers, who had been converted from sin and misery, and were saved from relapsing by their belief in Jesus and their expectation of His return, did relax in their struggles against temptation when they found that return delayed. We know that grave sins were committed in the very midst of the Christian com- munity, from such passages as 1 Cor. v. 1, where we read of a Corinthian convert living in adultery with his stepmother. We may judge of the demoralising effect this continual expectation and disappointment must have had upon the early converts, from the fact that even St Paul expresses his earnest dread lest in his absence his Corinthian converts should have relapsed into the sins from which they had been delivered by their belief in Jesus through his preaching (2 Cor. xii. 20, 21): “ For O ath GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, stripes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults; and lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the unclean- ness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.” That this disappointed expectation caused the faith of many to grow cold, we learn from 2 Pet. iii. 3, where the author speaks of ‘‘scoffers who should come in the last days, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were since the beginning of the creation.” We find St Paul in his earliest epistle expressing an expectation of being present in person at the return of Jesus (1 Thess. iv. 17). We find that the phrase, “The Lord is at hand,’ was a kind of watchword with him (Phil. iv. 5; 1 Cor. xvi. 22). In the last passage, Maran-atha is an Aramaic equivalent for it. It seems to have been a familiar form of recognition and warning in the early Church generally (1 Pet. iv. 7; Luke xxi. 31; James v. 8). St Paul recurs to the belief in the early return, though not in such unqualified terms, in — 2 Thess. ii. 1-4; Rom. xiii. 11; 1 Cor. xv. 23-28, 50-57. But in the later epistles the expression becomes less frequent and less definite, till in that to the Philip- pians, which, if not his last, is one of his latest, the expectation of his being present in person to meet Jesus on His coming has vanished, and given place to a desire to depart and be with Him (Phil. 1. 21-24). Again, the expectation of the speedy return of Jesus is the key-note of the mysterious book of Revela- tion. It is the prologue, “Behold, He cometh with the THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. 211 clouds ; and every eye shall see Him, and they which pierced Him” (Rev. i 7). It is the epilogue, “He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (Rey. xxii. 20). Since, then, the belief in the early and visible return of Jesus was so general, and yet met with continually renewed disappointment, we need not wonder that He foresaw danger of their faith and virtue breaking down under the strain, and dwelt on the need of intense and unremitting watchfulness throughout the whole of the lives of believers. In other words, He desires that His disciples should trust to habit rather than impulse, to characters formed on principles as well as on feelings. He Himself had prepared them for the uncertainty of His coming, when He said, “ Of that hour knoweth no man; no, not the angels of God, nor the Son, but the Father” (Matt. xxiv. 36). We may illustrate the parable thus. A mother leaves her child, with a promise to return, but without fixing the date. The child is passionately fond of its mother, but as she postpones her return from day to day, becomes impatient, and his love for her ceases to be a sufficient motive to keep him in obedience to her parting commands. Now, how would he retain a vivid impression of her? Plainly by taking pains to recall her to mind, by keeping her likeness before him, and by carefully marking and reproaching in himself every little deviation from her precepts, Similar efforts on the part of the believer to keep the thought of Christ before him may interpret to us the virgins’ oil, if we regard the oil rather as the tone and spirit that result from those efforts than as the efforts themselves. To maintain the oil or Spirit of Christ, we must habitu- ally think of Him, and “practise His presence,” as the mental habit has been called, and so cultivate habits of 212 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. Christian thought and acts till they are as much a part of our being as the air we breathe. And for this pur- pose we must perseveringly seek the means to foster in ourselves this oil or spirit, whether by reading about Christ, or living in the society of others who believe in Him, or frequenting assemblies connected with His worship, or by meditating on what would please Him, and referring all our thoughts and acts to His pleasure. We may also fairly adopt the later view of St Paul, and regard the day of our death as being to us the com- ing of Christ. And we may venture to go further than this, and regard any crisis in the history of the world or of our own lives as asymbolical coming of Christ. Thus the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus (a.p. 70) was regarded as a manifestation of Christ, for after that Christianity began to triumph, and Judaism to wane. Those believers who had remained faithful to Him, in spite of persecution and of the delay of their expected triumph, then found their recompense: for while other Jews regarded the destruction of the Holy City with despair, they were still able to look forward with confi- dent hope to the future, while they found refuge from the scene of misery in their new home at Pella. Nor was their confidence misplaced. The dispersion of Jews and Christians that ensued, carried the principles of Jesus throughout the world. The metaphorical, as opposed to the literal coming, is manifested whenever men are signally called upon to side for or against the principles of Christ’s religion. Such crises are often sudden, and men then act with or against Christ according as they have or have not kept His Spirit alive in their hearts,—in the words of the parable, according to the sufficiency of the supply of oil in their lamps. Now one man may, at the risk of his life, infuse his blood into the veins of another; but none can suddenly imbue another with his own spirit;— THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. 213 in the words of the parable, give another oil for his lamp. Men may, however, imbibe the spirit of those nobler than themselves by living and associating with them; and this, perhaps, is the meaning of going to “those that sell.” But while men go to those that sell, the opportunity is gone—the door is shut. They have not declared for the Bridegroom, nor can they be recognised as among those He knows. LESSON XXXYV. St MatTrHEw xxv, 14-30. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS—ON THE USE OF OUR TALENTS. 14 “Ὥσπερ γὰρ ἄνθρωπος ἀποδημῶν ἐκάλεσεν τοὺς ἰδίους δούλους καὶ “παρέδωκεν. αὐτοῖς τὰ ὑπάρχοντα αὐτοῦ, 15 Kal ῳ μὲν ἔδωκεν πέντε τάλαντα ᾧ ᾧ δὲ δύο ᾧ δὲ ἕν, ἑκάστῳ κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν, καὶ ἀπεδήμη- σεν. 16 εὐθέως πορευθεὶς ὁ τὰ πέντε τάλαντα λα- βὼν εἰργάσατο ὃ ἐν αὐτοῖς καὶ ἐκέρδησεν ἄλλα bag. 17 ὡσαύτως ὁ τὰ δύο ἐκέρδησεν. ἄλλα δύο" ὁ δὲ τὸ ἕν λαβὼν. ἀπελθὼν ὥρυξεν γῆν " καὶ πων τὸ ἀργύριον τοῦ κυρίου αὐτοῦ. 19 μετὰ δὲ πολὺν χρό- vov ἔρχεται ὁ κύριος τῶν δούλων ἐ ἐκείνων καὶ συναίρει λόγον μετ᾽ αὐτῶν. 20 καὶ προσελθὼν ὁ τὰ πέντε τάλαντα λαβὼν προσήνεγκεν ἄλλα πέντε τάλαντα λέγων Κύριε, πέντε τάλαντά μοι παρέδωκας" _We ἄλλα πέντε τάλαντα ἐκέρδησα. 91 ἔφη αὐτῷ ὃ κύριος αὐτοῦ Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα 78 πιστός, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω: εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου. 32 προσελθὼν καὶ ὃ τὰ ἷ δύο τάλαντα εἶπεν Κύριε, δύο τάλαντα μοι παρέ- dwKas: ἴδε ἄλλα δύο τάλαντα ἐκέρδησα. 23 ἔφη αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ Εὖ, δοῦλε ἀγαθὲ καὶ πιστέ, ἐπὶ ὀλίγα ἧς πιστός, ἐπὶ πολλῶν σε καταστήσω" 1 Westcott and Hort read ἠργἄᾶσατο. 2 Vil, ev mH Y- THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS. 215 εἴσελθε εἰς τὴν χαρὰν τοῦ κυρίου σου. 34 προσελθὼν δὲ καὶ ὁ τὸ ἕν τάλαντον εἰληφὼς εἶπεν Κύριε, ἔγνων σε ὅτι σκληρὸς εἶ ἄνθρωπος, θερίζων ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρας καὶ συνάγων ὅθεν οὐ διεσκόρπισας" 25 καὶ φοβηθεὶς ἀπελθὼν ἔκρυψα τὸ τάλαντόν σου ἐν τῇ Yn ἴδε ἔχεις τὸ σόν. 36 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ ὁ “κύριος αὐτοῦ εἶπεν αὐτῷ ἹΠονηρὲ δοῦλε. καὶ ὀκνηρέ, ἤδεις ὅτι θερίζω ὅπου οὐκ ἔσπειρα καὶ συνάγω ὅθεν οὐ διεσκόρπισα; 27 ἔδει σε οὖν βαλεῖν τὰ ἀργύριά: μου τοῖς τραπεζείταις, καὶ ἐλθὼν ἐγὼ ἐκομισάμην ἂν τὸ ἐμὸν σὺν τόκῳ. 28 “ἄρατε οὖν ἀπ᾿ αὐτοῦ τὸ τάλαντον καὶ δότε τῷ ἔχοντι τὰ δέκα τάλαντα- 29 τῷ γὰρ ἔχοντι παντὶ δοθήσεται καὶ περισσευ- θήσεται τοῦ δὲ μὴ “ἔχοντος καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ. 80 καὶ τὸν ἀχρεῖον δοῦλον ἐκβάλετε εἰς τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον. ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. This parable resembles that of the Mine related in Luke xix. 12-27. The chief differences are: (1) In the value of the money intrusted; here a talent, worth probably about £243, there a μνᾶ, worth between £3 and £4 of our money,—roughly speaking, the talent being to the mina what a sovereign is to a threepenny- piece. This difference in value is probably due to the fact that this parable is addressed to those who were to be the preachers and founders of Christianity, whereas that in St Luke is addressed to the ordinary disciples. (2) In this parable different sums of money are assigned to the δοῦλοι, but they all receive the same reward ; in that in St Luke, they all receive the same sum, but the rewards are different. This parable seems to teach that the Great Judge will estimate each man’s work, not according to his abilities, but according to his devotion and faithfulness in the use of them,—the man who has 17. 1., τὸ ἀργύριόν. 216 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. faithfully served God on small means, in humble place, or with little ability, being regarded with the same favour as the man who has been faithful as a king or prime minister, a poet or an artist or a millionaire. In the ideal kingdom of love, these latter have no contempt for the former, but regard them with love in proportion to their zeal for the Master’s cause. The parable in St Luke, on the other hand, is intended to represent different degrees of zeal in the management of one and the same thing granted to all alike. One lesson of the parable is that uttered by the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes (chap. ix. 10): “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” It teaches us to do with all our might the petty tasks that lie close at hand, not waiting for the chance of some great deed of heroism that may never present itself. Even the humblest in the kingdom of love has some work to do on which the Master looks with favour: the woodcutter as much as the artist who carves out of the wood a work that is to be the admira- tion of centuries; the mechanic who faithfully works all day at a piece of routine mechanism as much as the millionaire who profits by his labours and those of his fellow-workmen ; the meanest clerk in the public office as much as the prime minister; the private soldier as much as the commander-in-chief,—that which makes the difference between His servants in the eyes of the Great Master being the intensity and purity of love they bear to Him and to their fellow-workers. It is obvious that this devotion will enable them to deo better work, because it removes them from the distractions of passion and selfishness, and animates them with the sense of fellowship with the Great Human Brotherhood, the Great Elder Brother, and the Almighty Father Himeelf. The doctrine that all that men possess is capital be- THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS. 217 longing to the Supreme King, and that He will exact the interest of it, was a new one in the history of the world. It soon had an influence on the condition of men’s lives by promoting active beneficence in the name of Jesus. In His name were founded hospitals, asylums for the blind, the dumb, and the deaf; almshouses for the old and destitute, and schools for orphans. Before His time, in the old pagan world, the maniac and the idiot were at large; the blind and the dumb were on the public ways; the fevered and the fractured, who were not rich, were left to chance. But in applying the lesson of the parable to ourselves, we must bear in mind we are in a different condition to the Christians of the apostolic times, and there is a corre- sponding difference in the claim on our talents. They were a despised community, who could not exercise, and did not think of exercising, any political influence ; whose thoughts and habits were so different to those of the people among whom they lived, that they spoke of themselves as citizens of no earthly but of a heavenly state (Phil. iii. 20). They lived at a time when the whole civilised world was under the rule of one strong government, whose laws and institutions they could not hope to modify by bringing any political influence to bear upon them. But we are under no such disad- vantage, and are bound to endeavour to use our influ- ence as citizens that our country may be governed on Christian principles. Since, however, the cardinal prin- ciple of Christianity is, that we love our neighbour as ourselves, we shall not seek to attain this object by Injustice, intrigue, or force. Again, the corruption of the society in which they lived, and their own power- lessness from sheer want of numbers to leaven it, would cause the first Christians to hold aloof from public duties; and perhaps they were further deterred from taking part in them by their expectation of the speedy 218 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. . return of Christ to reign upon earth. Sut it is evident that to act thus now would be cowardice and disloyalty to Christ; for it is by active and intelligent fulfilment of public duties that we can best fulfil His injunction to care for the hungry and thirsty, the stranger, the naked, and the prisoner. With our superior knowledge and power of influencing society, we can best alleviate misery by investigating the causes of physical evil, mastering the science of health, considering the ques- tions of education, trade, and labour, with a view to health, and seeking to work out the rearrangement of human life in accordance with the results of our inves- tigations. Since evil is often the result of ignorance, loyalty to Christ will urge us also to promote educa- tion; and this we shall do the more eagerly, because we regard every human being as our brother, and precious in the sight of our Master, and shall therefore desire to make him as perfect as possible. And that we may be able to serve Christ effectively, we shall seek to train ourselves, to develop our bodies, to take care of: our health, to educate all our faculties, each according to his ability,—that is, each according to his special talent. But this is far from all. It is not enough that in the name of Christ we use our talents to promote the physical wellbeing only of the community in which we live. Indeed physical comfort may lead to qualities, such as pride and self-indulgence, that are displeasing to the Master. We may use our talents in His service by making Him known to those who are ignorant of Him either at home or abroad, either by serving personally as mission- aries, or by rendering aid to missionary societies, by translating or aiding in the translation of the New Tes- tament and other books that describe His life or enforce His teaching, and by helping personally or by our money in the distribution of them. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS. 219 Nor is it enough that we support His cause by promoting knowledge about Him. We have also to strive to develop in the society around us ἃ resem- blance to His character. We cannot all do this by being preachers, nor perhaps is this always the most effectual way. Our characters rather than our words will have the greatest influence in this direction, what- ever station in life we may occupy. We have to learn to combine the active and the passive virtues, the life of devotion and the life of activity; to be able to show moral indignation at wrong-doing without betraying pride in our own rectitude or a personal feeling against the wrong-doer; to seek truth by every method of in- vestigation, and yet to be unassuming and simple before the ignorant and unlearned ; to be resolute in will, and yet tender-hearted in our affections; to love all beauti- ful things that are in the world, and yet to be capable of showing sympathy with the unlovely and the deformed, and working, if necessary, amid squalor and misery; to combine heroism with refinement and saintliness with manliness ; to be the light of the society in which we live, and yet to be so little conscious ourselves that we are so, that we shall create no jealousy in the minds of other men. 220 LESSON XXXVI. St JOHN x. 1-16. THE GOOD SHEPHERD. INTRODUCTION. Tue life of the shepherd in Palestine had many poetic associations. The patriarchs had all been shepherds; David, the ideal Hebrew warrior and poet, had been a shepherd, and the son of a shepherd, and when a mere stripling slew a lion and a bear in defence of his father’s flock. The growth of civilisation had caused the nation to devote itself more to agriculture than to pasturage, and hence the life of the shepherd had not become too common to lose its poetry. The character of the country added at once to the romance and to the dangers of the shepherd’s life. The long ranges of mountains, the wide grassy deserts, the ravines and rocky gorges, afforded to the poets pictures of the sheep wandering and the shep- herd pursuing, of long journeys, adventurous climbs, of life endangered or even sacrificed by the faithful shep- herd in search of his charge. The loneliness of the shepherd’s life, its perils and its hardships, drew the shepherd and the sheep closer to- gether; they were often one another’s sole companions, isolated from all other society, for weeks together. The literature of the Old Testament abounds in allusions to THE GOOD SHEPHERD. Pig | this mode of life, and from these we can image to our- selves a vivid representation of it. The shepherd had to defend his charge from the attacks of wild beasts; he was consumed by the drought in the day and the frost by night, and the sleep departed from his eyes (Gen. xxxi. 39, 40); he sought out green pastures for his flock, and led them by the side of re- freshing streams, and through rugged and desolate scenery, Whose dreariness filled his spirit with gloom (Ps. xxiii.) ; in cloudy and dark days, when they were scattered, he went in search of them, and delivered them from peril: if any were lost he sought them out, if any driven away he brought them back to the fold; if the limbs of any were broken he bound them up, if any were sick he strove to strengthen them (Ezek. xxxiv. 12-16). A bad shepherd was one who heeded not the drooping, sought not the straying, healed not the wounded, tended not the lean, and rent the hoofs of the fat by driving them over hard and rugged ground (Zech. xi. 16); whereas the good shepherd gathered the lambs with his arm, and carried them in his bosom, and gently led those that were with young (Isa. xl. 11). The risks incidental to the shepherd-life are thus described by the eminent preacher, Robertson of Brigh- ton: “Beneath the burning skies and the clear starry nights of Palestine there grows up between the shepherd and his flock a union of attachment and tenderness. It is the country where at any moment sheep are liable to be swept away by some mountain-torrent, or carried off by hill robbers, or torn by wolves. At any moment their protector may have to save them by personal hazard. Sometimes, for the sake of an armful of grass, in the parched summer days, he must climb precipices almost perpendicular, and stand on a narrow ledge of rock, where the wild goat will scarcely venture. Piti- less showers, driving snows, long hours of thirst— 222 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. all this he must endure, if the flock is to be kept at all.” The affectionate and self-sacrificing rule of the shep- herd over his sheep had, before the time of Jesus, been applied metaphorically. Thus Cyrus is spoken of as God’s shepherd in Isa. xliv. 28; and in Jer. iii. 15, God is represented as saying, “I will give you pastors [1.., shepherds] according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” The teacher is compared to a shepherd in Eccles. xii. 11. The metaphor occurs as early as Gen. xlix. 24. God is termed the Shepherd of Israel in Ps. Ixxx. 1, and is addressed as the Shepherd of the soul in Ps. xxiii. But the contrast drawn between good and bad shep- herds in the following allegory makes it probable that the passages whose associations Jesus was more espe- cially recalling were Ezek. xxxiv. 22, “Woe to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?” and the eleventh chapter of Zechariah, which should be read through as an ald to the interpretation of this chapter. In that chapter the prophet, perhaps as a type of the Messiah, is represented as being called upon to feed the flock of slaughter—z.e., the flock which was doomed to slaughter thorugh the misrule of bad shepherds (7.e., princes), and their own misconduct. Three of the shepherds are cut off—z.e., three kings are destroyed. The prophet suc- ceeds so far as to win a hearing from the most miserable of the flock, but that only for a time. He controls them by the aid of two staves—the one called Beauty or Grace, and the other Binders or Concord. After a month’s unsuccessful toil, in which the flock refuse obedience, he breaks his staff, and receives for wages thirty pieces of silver, as though he were a mere servant of the lowest class, and abandons the sheep to the bad shepherds, who were conducting them to the slaughter. THE GOOD SHEPHERD. 223 And such in great measure was the position of Jesus at this moment. By His staff Beauty,—by the beauty of His teaching, His character, and His actions; and by His staff Binders,—by His efforts to diffuse love in a land teeming with hate, He had essayed to unite the dwellers in Palestine into one flock. But the effort, as far as the main body of the nation was concerned, had been ineffectual. The Pharisees had just cast out from their presence the blind man whom Jesus’ merciful in- terposition had won to a belief in Him. Jesus now describes in the following allegory how to such sheep the Pharisees had proved shepherds as false as the princes of the time of Zechariah were to their subjects, and how it was only through Himself, through His love and self-sacrifice, that admission to the new Chris- tian flock could be gained,—a flock He was beginning to form, and which should comprise within its numbers Jews and Gentiles alike. The picture that follows is an allegory rather than a parable. In the parable the thought takes a form which has its value independent of the moral application. The story 15 complete in itself, the interpretation is complete in itself. In allegory the application is felt immediately through each trait of the narrative; the image has not time to take a form independent of the thought. The parable is a picture, the allegory is a transparency (see pp. 34, 35). 1 ᾿Αμὴν ὁ ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὁ μὴ εἰσερχόμενος, διὰ τῆς θύρας εἰς τὴν αὐλὴν τῶν προβάτων ἀλλὰ ἀνα- βαίνων ἀλλαχόθεν € ἐκεῖνος κλέπτης ἐ ἐστὶν καὶ λῃστής" 20 δὲ εἰσερχόμενος διὰ τῆς θύρας ποιμήν ἐστιν τῶν προβάτων. 3 τούτῳ ὁ θυρωρὸς ἀνοίγει, καὶ τὰ πρόβατα τῆς φωνῆς αὐτοῦ ἀκούει, καὶ τὰ ἴδια πρό- βατα φωνεῖ κατ᾽ ὄνομα καὶ ἐξάγει αὐτά. 4 ὅταν τὰ ἴδια πάντα ἐκβάλῃ, ἔμπροσθεν αὐτῶν πορεύεται, καὶ 224 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. A , ° re a @ 4 A Ἁ τὰ πρόβατα αὐτῳ “ἀκολουθεῖ, ὅτι οἴδασιν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτοῦ: 5 ἀλλοτρίῳ δὲ οὐ μὴ ἀκολουθήσουσιν ἀλλὰ φεύξονται a ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι οὐκ οἴδασι τῶν ἀλλοτρίων τὴν φωνήν. 6 Ταύτην τὴν παροιμίαν εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς" ἐκεῖνοι δὲ οὐκ ἔγνωσαν τίνα ἣν ἃ ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς. 7 Εἶπεν οὖν πάλιν [ὁ] ᾿Ιησοῦς ᾿Αμὴν ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα τῶν προβάτων. 8 πάντες ὅσοι ἦλθον πρὸ ἐμοῦ κλέπται εἰσὶν καὶ λῃσταί: ἀλλ᾽ οὐκ ἤκουσαν αὐτῶν τὰ πρόβατα. 9 ἐγώ εἰμι ἡ θύρα. δι “ἐμοῦ ἐάν τις εἰσέλθῃ σωθήσεται καὶ εἰσελεύσεται καὶ ἐξελεύσεται, καὶ νομὴν εὑρήσει. 10 ὁ κλέπτης οὐκ ἔρχεται εἰ μὴ ἵνα κλέψῃ καὶ θύσῃ καὶ ἀπολέσῃ" ἐγὼ ἦλθον ἵνα ζωὴν ἐ ἔχωσιν καὶ “περισσὸν ἔχωσιν. 11 ᾿Εγώ εἰμι ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός" ὁ ποιμὴν ὁ καλὸς τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ 0 τίθησιν ὑ ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων" 12 ὁ μισθωτὸς καὶ οὐκ ὧν ποιμήν, οὗ οὐκ ἔστιν τὰ πρόβατα ἴδια, θεωρεῖ τὸν λύκον ἐ ἐρχόμενον καὶ ἀφίη- σιν τὰ πρόβατα καὶ φεύγει, -καὶ ὁ λύκος ἁρπάζει αὐτὰ καὶ σκορπίζει,-- 13 ὅτι μισθωτός ἐ ἐστιν καὶ οὐ μέλει αὐτῷ περὶ τῶν προβάτων. 14 ἐγώ εἰμι ὃ ποιμὴν ὁ καλός, καὶ γινώσκω τὰ ἐμὰ καὶ γινώσκουσί με τὰ ἐμά, 15 καθὼς γινώσκει με ὁ πατὴρ κἀγὼ γινώσκω τὸν πατέρα, καὶ τὴν ψυχήν μου τίθημι ὑπὲρ τῶν προβάτων. 16 καὶ ἄλλα πρόβατα ἔχω ἃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τῆς αὐλῆς ταύτης" κἀκεῖνα δεῖ με ἀγα- γεῖν, καὶ τῆς φωνῆς μου ἀκούσουσιν, καὶ γενήσονται μία ποίμνη, εἷς ποιμήν. 1 V. 1., πρὸ ἐμοῦ ἦλθον. 225 LESSON xX XA VIL 1 CORINTHIANS xii. 12-31. THE PARABLE OF THE BODY—THE USE OF CHRISTIAN GIFTS. 12 Καθάπερ γὰρ τὸ σῶμα ἕν ἐστιν καὶ μέλη πολλὰ ἔχει, πάντα δὲ τὰ μέλη, τοῦ σώματος πολλὰ ¢ ὄντα ἕν ἐστιν σῶμα, οὕτως καὶ ὁ Χριστός: 13 καὶ γὰρ ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι ἡμεῖς πάντες εἰς ἕν σῶμα ἐβαπτίσθημεν, εἴτε Ἰουδαῖοι εἴτε Ἕλληνες, εἰ εἴτε δοῦλοι εἰ εἴτε ἐλεύθεροι, καὶ πάντες ὲν πνεῦμα ἐποτίσθημεν. 14 καὶ “γὰρ τὸ «σῶμα οὐκ ἔστιν ἕν “μέλος ἀλλὰ πολλά. 15 ἐὰν εἴπῃ ὁ πούς “Ὅτι οὐκ εἰμὲ χείρ, οὐκ εἰμὴ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος, οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος: 16 καὶ ἐὰν εἴπῃ τὸ οὖς Ὅτι οὐκ εἰμί ὀφθαλμός, οὐκ εἰμὶ ἐκ τοῦ σώματος, οὐ παρὰ τοῦτο οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ σώματος: 1 εἰ ὅλον τὸ σῶμα ὀφθαλμός, ποῦ 7 ἀκοή; εἰ ὅλον ἀκοή, ποῦ ἡ ὄσφρησις; 18 νῦν * δὲ ὁ θεὸς ἔθετο τὰ μέλη, ἕν ἕκαστον αὐτῶν, ἐν TW σώματι καθὼς ἠθέλη- σεν. 19 εἰ δὲ ἣν [τὰ] πάντα ἕν μέλος, ποῦ τὸ σῶμα; 20 νῦν δὲ πολλὰ μέλη, ἕν δὲ σῶμα. 21 οὐ δύναται [δὲ] ὁ ὀφθαλμὸς εἰπεῖν τῇ χειρί Χρείαν σου οὐκ ἔχω, ἢ πάλιν ἡ 7) κεφαλὴ. τοῖς ποσίν Χρείαν ὑ ὑμῶν οὐκ ἔχω- 22 ἀλλὰ πολλῷ μᾶλλον τὰ δοκοῦντα μέλη τοῦ σώματος ἀσθενέστερα ὑ ὑπάρχειν ἀναγκαῖά ἐστιν, 23 Kal ἢ δοκοῦμεν ἀτιμότερα εἶναι TOU σώματος, ET 1; pawl. 1 226 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. τούτοις τιμὴν περισσοτέραν περιτίθεμεν, καὶ τὰ ἀσχήμονα ἡμῶν εὐσχημοσύνην περισσοτέραν ἔχει, 24 τὰ δὲ εὐσχήμονα ἡμῶν οὐ χρείαν ἔχει. ἀλλὰ ὁ θεὸς σὐνεκέρασεν τὸ σῶμα, τῷ ὑστερουμένῳ περισσο- τέραν δοὺς τιμήν, 25 ἵνα μὴ ἢ σχίσμα ἐν τῳ σώματι, ἀλλὰ TO αὐτὸ ὑπὲρ ἀλλήλων μεριμνῶσι τὰ μέλη. 26 καὶ εἴτε πάσχει ἕν μέλος, συμπάσχει πάντα τὰ μέλη: εἴτε δοξάζεται μέλος, συγχαίρει πάντα τὰ μέλη. 27 ὑμεῖς δέ ἐστε σῶμα Χριστοῦ καὶ μέλη ἐκ μέρους. 28 Καὶ οὕς μὲν ἔθετο ὁ θεὸς ἐν τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ πρῶτον ἀποστόλους, δεύτερον “προφήτας, τρίτον διδασκάλους, ἔπειτα δυνάμεις, ἔπειτα χαρίσματα ἰαμάτων, ἀντιλήψεις, κυβερνήσεις, γένη γλωσσῶν. 29 μὴ πάντες ἀπόστολοι; μὴ πάντες προφῆται; ἧς μὴ πάντες διδάσκαλοι ; “μὴ πάντες ,ϑυνάμεις ; 30 μὴ πάντες χαρίσματα ἔχουσιν ἰαμάτων ; ; μὴ πάντες γλώσσαις λαλοῦσιν; μὴ πάντες διερμηνεύουσιν ; 31 ζηλοῦτε δὲ τὰ χαρίσματα τὰ μείζονα. 221 ΕΝ XRRVITT. 1 CORINTHIANS xiii. THE PRAISE OF LOVE. 1 Kat ἔτι καθ᾽ ὑπερβολὴν ὁδὸν ὑμῖν δείκνυμι. ᾿Εὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις" τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, γέγονα χαλκὸς ἠχῶν ἢ κύμβαλον ἀλαλαζον. 2 κἂν ἔχω προφητείαν καὶ εἰδῶ τὰ μυσ- TH PLO πάντα καὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γνῶσιν, κἂν ἔχω πᾶσαν τὴν πίστιν ὥστε ὄρη μεθιστάνειν, ἀγάπην. δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐθέν εἰμι. 8 κἂν ψωμίσω πάντα τὰ ὑπάρχοντά μου, κἂν παραδῶ τὸ σῶμά μου, ἵνα καυχήσωμαι, ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω, οὐδὲν ὠφελοῦμαι. 4°H ἀγάπη μακροθυμεῖ, χρηστεύεται, ἡ ἀγάπη οὐ ζηλοῖ, οὐ περ- περεύεται, οὐ φυσιοῦται, 5 οὐκ ἀσχημονεῖ, οὐ ζητεῖ τὰ ἑαυτῆς, οὐ παροξύνεται, οὐ λογίζεται τὸ κακόν, 6 οὐ χαίρει ἐπὶ τῇ ἀδικίᾳ, συγχαίρει δὲ τῇ ἀληθείᾳ: 7 πάντα στέγει, πάντα πιστεύει, πάντα ἐλπίζει, πάντα ὑπομένε. 8 Ἣ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε πίπτει. εἴτε δὲ “προφητεῖαι, καταργηθήσονται" εἴτε γλῶσ- σαι, παύσονται" εἴτε γνῶσις, καταργηθήσεται. 9 ἐκ μέρους γὰρ γινώσκομεν καὶ ἐκ μέρους προφητεύομεν' 10 ὅταν δὲ ἔλθῃ τὸ “έλειον, τὸ ἐκ μέρους Karapyn- θήσεται. Ἱ ὅτε ἤμην νήπιος, ἐλάλουν ὡς γήπιος, ἐφρόνουν ὡς νήπιος, ἐλογιζόμην ἁ ὡς νήπιος" ὅτε γέ- γονα ἀνήρ, κατήργηκα τὰ τοῦ νηπίου. 13 βλέπομεν 1 Υ΄. 1., καυθήσωμαι. 228 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. yap ἄρτι δι᾽ ἐσόπτρου. ἐν αἰνίγματι, τότε δὲ πρόσω- πον πρὸς “πρόσωπον ἄρτι γινώσκω ἐκ μέρους, TOTE δὲ ἐπιγνώσομαι καθὼς καὶ ἐπεγνώσθην. 13 νυνὶ δὲ μένει πίστις, ἐλπίς, ἀγάπη: τὰ τρία ταῦτα, μείζων δὲ τούτων ἡ ἀγάπη. ON CHRISTIAN LOVE. When we read the list of the various occupations spoken of by St Paul in 1 Cor. xu. 28, we are apt to think they have little interest for us but an antiquarian one. ‘“ Apostles, prophets, teachers, miracles, gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of tongues,” most of these have, as he foresaw, failed and ceased (1 Cor. xiii. 8). Love remains, and may be appled by the Christian to the new circumstances in which he finds himself in modern times. He is no longer as the primitive Christian was—a member of an insignificant and struggling body, gifted with new enthu- siasm, and possessed of strange powers. He finds himself an important member of a great nation, able to carry Christian principles and practice into active spheres of life in a mixed community, some of whom do, and some do not, recognise Jesus as their master. Even among those who do, he finds grave differences of opinion, and may even experience a difficulty among the conflicting sects in finding the unity dwelt on by St Paul in this chapter. For this, however, he may find a solace when he considers the character of the Corinthian Church, in whom St Paul hoped to promote this unity. They were immoral, they were vain, they were split up into sects, they looked on their Christian gifts as matter rather for boast than spheres for usefulness ; yet he does not despair of them, but calls on them to display that love, the description of which has become as famous ON CHRISTIAN LOVE. 229 in literature and in morals as in the history of Chris- tianity. Co-operation in love for the good of the community, that was St Paul’s idea of a Christian Church at a time when Christians had little or no influence on social life or politics. Christians now have not the strange gifts he mentions, but they have far greater influence. They have greater gifts in natural talent, in education, in wealth, in position, and it is their privilege to seek to carry out the ideal of St Paul into the varied relations of modern life. As statesmen, as members of Parliament, as min- isters of religion, as doctors, as lawyers, as schoolmasters, in the army, in the navy; as manufacturers, as mer- chants, as labourers, as artisans, they may display the qualities St Paul has classified under the name of love. In all these spheres there is room for patience, generos- ity, humility, dignity, peaceableness, good temper, un- suspiciousness, and love of realities. Let us take examples from lives spent in the sphere of the intellect, of politics, and of industry. The Christian student works not for himself but for the sake of Christ, and of Christ’s community of which he isa member. He is patient over his own work and with the ignorant ; he rejoices and is not envious when others are more successful than he is; he is willing to impart information, but shrinks from displaying his knowledge; he is humble because he thinks not of how much he knows in comparison with others, but of how little he knows in comparison with what is to be known ; he is not angry at folly or at interruptions to his work ; he is sorry when others make mistakes, and glad when they excel him; encourages those who are beginning, and works on steadily even when his work seems to meet with no recognition. The Christian tradesmen or manufacturer is patient with the shortcomings of those under him, and seeks 290 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. to take no mean advantage of his trade rivals; avoids lying and braggart advertisements, and for the good of the community strives to produce good work, and rejoices when others do so; “hastens not to be rich by dishonest means,” is not suspicious that every one is seeking to cheat him, but promotes honesty by trustful- ness, and for Christ’s sake often endures poverty rather than be dishonest, even while his competitors are so; does not keep back the truth, or ungenerously turn another man’s difficulties to his own account. The Christian politician seeks to advance his views not by declamation, but by persuasion and argument ; is diffident of his conclusions, and therefore conscien- tiously weighs his arguments ; does not embitter political controversy by the introduction of rude personalities ; easily forgets the personalities of his adversary; is con- ciliatory, dignified, and gentle in demeanour; willingly accepts a refutation, bears calumny with calmness, is never cynical, or bitter, or distrustful. The words of St Paul, that we are “all members of one another,” are especially applicable to the life of a public school. The various members of a school have, like the primitive Christians, their various gifts: and first, there is the great division alluded to by St Paul of those who have the inferior and those who have the higher powers. The duty of the former he states to be twofold,—not to envy, and not to despond. ‘The slow as well as the ready are members of Christ’s kingdom, and their work is estimated by Him, not by its result, but by their willingness. The duty of the quick and clever is to be humble and to be sympathetic. Their readiness is a gift from God, and no merit of their own; and the first lesson they should learn from it is how much they have to learn, and the second, sympathy for those who are not so quick as they. ON CHRISTIAN LOVE. 231 There is none of the attributes of love which may not find its sphere in school-work. School-life finds plenty of scope for suffering under injustice from masters or schoolfellows, for “ graciousness ” to lower or smaller boys, for the restraint of an excessive emulation border- ing on envy, and of a love of praise leading to ostenta- tion. There are temptations to be withstood that tend to vanity, to unseemly conduct, to bitterness, to vindic- tiveness. Schoolboys, like men, may feel themselves elated at the failings or depressed at the merits of others. There are wrongs to submit to, suspicions to keep down, cynicism to restrain, and bullying and _ per- secution to endure without tale-bearing. All these things are a training to Christian manhood, and to the perfection of Christian love. The school is a little world, and resembles the Greek πόλις. OT EB: LESSON I. THE VISIT OF JESUS, WHEN A Boy, To JERUSALEM— St Luke 11. 40-52. 40. Notice the imperfects. 41. According to the Law, which, however, the Dispersion would make it difficult to obey, men were bound to present themselves at the Temple at the three feasts of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles (Exod. xxiii. 14-17). There was no such obligation for women; and by going with Joseph, Mary displays her piety, as Samuel’s mother did in the olden days (1 Sam. i. 7, 21). The famous Rabbi Hillel had enjoined the duty on women. 42. ἐτῶν 8e8exa.—An Eastern boy of twelve would be much more precocious than an English boy of the same age. At that age a young Jew was called “grown-up,” and “a son of the Law.” He began to be responsible for legal observances, and to wear the phylacteries (from φυλάσσων), or cases of black leather containing strips of parchment, on which were written four passages of Scripture (Exod. xiii. 2-10, 11-16; Deut. vi. 4-9, 13-22): these were tied on the bend of the arm or the forehead. He was also presented by his father in the synagogue, and began to learn a trade. ἀναβαινόντων.-- Τα highest point of Jerusalem is 2600 feet above the sea: they had a distance of 80 miles to travel, and would go in a caravan composed of the inhabitants of the neigh- bourhood. From the Plain of Esdraelon, south of Nazareth, they would traverse the mountainous country rising gradually over the 234 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. tract known as the mountains of Ephraim and Judah. Thou- sands flocked from all parts of the East to Jerusalem at the time of the Passover ; many built themselves booths for shelter during the week. Jerusalem would be to Jesus far more than London to an English boy; because it was not only the capital of His country, but the great seat of His religion, full of the only literary and religious associations with which He was acquainted. It was to Him at once a London, a Canterbury, and an Oxford, but far more than these, because it was to Him the only cathe- dral and university town in the world, the only true religious centre. He would long to see “the hills that stand about Jeru- salem,” and above all, to see the Temple where God had promised that His eyes and heart should be perpetually (1 Kings ix. 3), where was His house (1 Kings viii. 13), His palace (1 Chron. xxix. 19), where especially He heard the prayers of His people (1 Kings vii. 30), and from which He sent His blessings (Ps. CXXXxiv. 3). 43. τὰς ἡμέρας. ---ΤῊθ seven days of the feast (Exod. xii. 15). 44, συνοδία. --““ Caravan”: the word occurs in that sense in Strabo. ἦλθον. —-Note the aorist, “they had gone.” ἡμέρας o86v.—To Sichem or Shiloh. They would imagine Him to be with their friends in the caravan. His innocence and inde- pendence of character would lead them unhesitatingly to trust Him to Himself. ἀνεζήτουν. --- ΤῊ prep. is intensive. ‘“ Began to seek Him earn- estly”’ (cf. Acts xi. 25). The search would probably commence when at night they were assembled together. 45, μή, not od—“as they did not find Him.” 46. μεθ᾽ ἡμέρας tpets-—i.e., dating from His staying behind. They would reach Jerusalem the second day, and at length on the third day find Him: the search would be attended with difficulty, on account of the narrowness of the streets and their crowded condition. ἐν τῷ tep®.—There seems to have been a synagogue east of the Temple, in the precincts, where the Rabbis explained the Law. Eager for instruction, Jesus had gone thither, and become engrossed in the lesson. As the Rabbinical method consisted in teaching by means of question and answer,—in stating, e.g., a problem taken from the Law,—both master and pupil would have an opportunity NOTES TO LESSON I. 235 of displaying their sagacity. Jesus no doubt had made some remarkable answer, or put some original question ; and, as hap- pens when a particularly intelligent pupil presents himself, He had become for the moment the chief object of the instruction. The scholars sat in a threefold ring. Josephus says of himself, somewhat boastfully, “At the age of fourteen I was commended by all for the love I had for learning; on which account the high priests and principal men of the city came then frequently to me together, in order to know my opinion about the accurate under- standing of points of Law.” We may imagine that the questions of Jesus were directed rather to “ principles” than points of Law, and it was His originality and freshness rather than His accurate knowledge that created amazement. KaQe{ouevov.—Sitting in the threefold ring of the scholars on the ground. 47. ovvéoer.—The faculty by which we understand the bearings of things: cf. 2 Tim. ii. 7—vde, & χέγω, δώσει γάρ σοι 6 Κύριος συνε- ow ἐν πᾶσιν. Philo joins it with ἀγχίνοια, “ quick-wittedness.” 48. éemddynoav.—‘ They were awe-struck’”—i.¢., they were amazed at finding Him calm and happy in that august presence which filled their humble and pious souls with reverence. But Jesus was too simple-minded to be diffident, and too much in earnest about learning to be afraid to ask questions: besides, the free intercourse then customary between the teachers and the taught would make it easy for Him to doso. The schools were free and open, and any one entering might propose or answer a question. édvvepevor.—This word is translated “in anguish” in E.V.— cf. xvi. 24. It is used of the regret of the Ephesians at the departure of St Paul in Acts xx. 38. It may be rendered, “in great distress,” or (Dr Farrar) “ with aching hearts.” 49, τί 8t.—condensed for τί γέγονεν ὅτι. ἐν τοῖς.- 8 may understand either (1) δώμασιν, as in Joseph. c. Ap. 2, τόν τε χρυσοῦν κίονα ἐν τοῖς Tod Διὸς ἀνέθηκε ; or (2) πράγ- μασι, and illustrate from John iv. 34, where Jesus says His meat is to do the will of His Father. Philo in a similar way under- stands προστάγματα injunctions—ol τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὰ τοῦ πατρὸς τιμῶντες, μητρὸς δὲ καὶ τῶν ἐκείνης ἥκιστα φροντίζοντες (De Temul., 250 E.). For πράγμασι cf. also Gen. xli. δ1--ὅτι ἐπιλαθέσθαι με ἐποίησεν ὃ θεὸς πάντων τῶν τοῦ πατρός μου. 236 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. For the construction of εἶναι with ἐν, cf. lon, 638—@eav δ᾽ ἐν εὐχαῖς ἢ λόγοισιν ἦ βροτῶν ; and 1 Tim. iv. 1ὅ---ταῦτα μελέτα, ἐν τούτοις ἴσθι. 51. διετήρει denotes careful consideration: cf. Gen. xxxvii. 11, “His brethren envied him, but his father διετήρησε τὸ ῥῆμα (of Joseph’s dream). 52. mpoékotre.—Probably derived from cutting down wood in advance of an army, pioneering ; hence, “‘ making progress.” nAtk(a. —“ Stature” or “age.” St Luke seems to have had in his mind the description of Samuel in 1 Sam. 11. 21, 26. The latter passage runs thus in the LXX.: καὶ τὸ παιδάριον Σαμουὴλ ἐπο- peveTo μεγαλυνόμενον kal ἦν ἀγαθὸν μετὰ Κυρίου καὶ μετὰ ἀνθρώπων, —which is translated in our version, “ The child Samuel grew on, and was in favour both with the Lord, and also with men.” This parallel indicates that ἡλικία refers to bodily growth, and σοφία to mental development. LESSON III. THE SERMON ON THE Mount—St Matt. v. 1-16. THE CHARACTER, PRIVILEGES, AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MEMBERS OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 1. τοὺς dxAovs.—The plural seems used merely for the sake of emphasis, a usage not unknown in classic Greek and Latin. Cap- ernaum, near which the sermon was delivered, was at that time the great halting-place and mart for the caravans on their way from Egypt to Damascus, and therefore a place of much resort— see p. 78. τὸ dpos.—“ The mountain which was near,” or, “the mountain the readers of the Gospel had so often heard of, in discourses about Jesus.” The Sea of Galilee, like most inland lakes, is almost surrounded by hills. It is impossible, therefore, to decide what particular eminence is referred to. The phrase may mean simply the highlands as opposed to the lowlands of the lake. We learn from Mark iii. 13 that Jesus went up into the mountain or NOTES TO LESSON II. Ὁ η mountain district before appointing His twelve disciples; and from Luke vi. 12, that He spent the previous night there in prayer. The district had a large population in Jesus’ time; hence the need of retirement for prayer or preaching. Tradition, dating probably from the Crusades, has chosen for “the mountain” a hill called the “Horns of Hattin.” This is the only conspicuous hill on the western side of the lake, and its marked features might lead to its being called “the mountain,” just as Helvellyn might be called “the mountain” at Ullswater, though that lake is surrounded by other less distinctive hills nearer toit. The “horns” are two eminences with a level place between them sixty feet below. This might be the spot alluded to in Luke vi. 17 as the scene of the sermon, which might thus be fairly described as a mountain or as a level place. It is doubtful, however, whether the latter is spacious enough for the multitudes alluded to. The hill is 1000 feet above the lake, from which it is easily accessible ; and standing between the hills and the lake, it would be central both for the peasants and the fishermen. Ka0icaytos.—It was the custom for the scholars of a Rabbi to sit on the floor or benches, while the Rabbi himself sat a little above them on a raised platform: thus St Paul speaks of himself as brought up at the feet of Gamaliel (Acts xxii. 3): ef. Luke li. 46. 2. avolfas.—The phrase here indicates solemnity: cf. Matt. xiii. 35; Job iii. 1. 3. μακάριοι.---Τὴ classic Greek μακάριος meant “one whose out- ward circumstances were free from trouble” —cf. Lat. beatus. It was applied more frequently to the dead than to the living. Hesiod says, μάκαρες θνητοὶ καλέονται. Homer opposes θεοὶ μάκαρες to θνητοὶ ἄνθρωποι. Christianity has ameliorated the use of the word with reference both to God and man. Of men, μακάριος is used of those who are happy, because at peace with God, even though they have external trouble ; and the Christian’s God is called μακάριος ( 1 Tim. i. 11), not because He is free from, and indifferent to, the cares which trouble men,—like the happy gods of the pagans, careless of mankind, that live above the thunderbolts,—but because He communicates His happiness to others. “That only is by nature happy of which everything which partakes becomes happy.” The “blessed” God is the source and fountain of all blessings. 238 - GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. πτωχοὶ TH πνεύματι.- -Οἵἃ, Isa. lvii. 15, where God is said to dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit: Prov. xvi. 19, xxix. 23. The salvation which the Messiah should bring had already been especially promised to the poor, the captive, and the sorrowful, in Isa. lxi. 1, 2. In the Old Testament, poverty and piety are often almost synonymous, especially after the captivity. This arose from the contrast the Jews instituted between them- selves, the worshippers of the true God oppressed and in poverty, and their idolatrous conquerors who seemed to them at once proud and successful. They never abandoned the idea that God would at some time bless them ; but while the grosser spirits re- garded the poverty as consisting in the want, and the future blessedness in the restoration, of material prosperity, the nobler and more thoughtful regarded both from a spiritual point of view. In this paradox Jesus declares that the kingdom of heaven does indeed belong to the poor, but to those who are poor in spirit. He who feels his poverty will seek for riches. The treasury in this case is the grace of God: when Jesus spoke, it was His teaching. The poor in spirit would apply to that treasury, would drink in His words, and so win for themselves the kingdom of heaven,—not an outward possession, but a state. They who most feel their dependence on God seek His presence most constantly, and thus assimilate themselves to His likeness, and inherit the kingdom of heaven—that is, dwell with God and God with them, according to Isaiah’s words (lvii. 15). This beatitude is appropriately put first: before His hearers could win the kingdom about which Jesus preached, they must feel a desire for it. ἡ βασιλεία τῶν otpavGv.—This is St Matthew's usual phrase for “kingdom of God.” The plural arises from the popular idea among the Jews that there were seven heavens: cf. 2 Cor. xii. 2. The Rabbis very commonly substituted the term “heaven” for the name of God. In the Book of Wisdom (whose date lies probably between B.c. 217-165), the phrase “kingdom of God” is made parallel with “holy things,” or “mysteries.” ‘When the righteous (Jacob) fled from his brother’s wrath, Wisdom showed him the kingdom of God, and gave him knowledge of holy things” (chap. x. 10). St Paul explains what these mysteries are (Rom. xiv. 17), “The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking ; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.” NOTES TO LESSON III. 239 Observe that the promise of the kingdom of heaven affixed to the first beatitude is repeated in the last, ver. 10. This indicates that the intermediate blessings are merely expansions or illustra- tions of this one. So the qualities to which the blessings are affixed may all meet in one and the same person: not different persons are implied, but various characteristics, as in Milton’s “TJ Allegro” and “T] Penseroso.” 4, ot mev8otvtTes.—Among Jesus’ hearers would be many Israel- ites who were mourning for the loss of their freedom and their lofty hopes, for the desecration of their holy land by the erec- tion of heathen temples and palaces, and for the degradation of the people of God by their submission to a foreign ruler. Those of a lower nature would be full of rancour and hatred against the foreigner ; but the nobler spirits would see in the downfall of their nation the punishment for their sins, and would mourn for these rather than for their misfortunes. To them Jesus’ words are addressed. They were destined to be comforted by the spiritual regeneration He was to bring about, and by the new hopes He was to inspire. This was the παράκλησις to which the most pious Jews of Jesus’ time were looking forward, Luke ii. 25: παρακαλεῖτε, παρακαλεῖτε, is the commencement and the key- note of the noblest passage in the Old Testament scriptures, Isa. xl. 1. But besides this, Jesus no doubt looked forward to the sorrows and persecutions His followers would have to endure in rejecting the popular idea of the Messiah. To this the author of the Apocalypse alludes, when speaking of those who had come out of the great tribulation, from whose eyes God should wipe away every tear (Rev. vil. 17),—an idea amplified in Rev. xxi. 4. The Christian mourns for the sins of others as well as his own, because he loves the whole human race as his brothers, and sees in each man a noble ideal from which he falls short. This makes him always a mourner in the sense that he can give no time to levity, or frivolity, or pastime, excepting for the purpose of re- newing his energies. The lofty teaching of Jesus, and the hopes He inspired, are his consolation amid the miseries he sees sin pro- ducing on all sides of him. αὐτοί.---Νοῦ “they themselves,” as in classic Greek. In modern Greek αὐτός = simply “he”; in Hellenistic Greek it seems to have become the emphatic “he.” “They are the people 240 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. who shall be comforted”: cf. Matt. i. 21, αὐτὸς σώσει, “He it is who shall save.” 5. ot mpqets.—This occurs in Ps, xxxvii. 11. Like the preced- ing beatitude, it is a paradox. To man, the meek seem to be the class most easily banished from the earth. “Nay,” says Jesus, “they shall inherit the earth.” The phrase “inherit the earth” had been used of Canaan in Gen. xv. 7, Deut. iv. 1, where the nation is spoken of : it is referred to individual pious persons in Ps, xxy. 13, xxxvii. 9,11, 22. This last psalm was written to encourage the good in patience while they saw the wicked flourishing. Many of Jesus’ hearers would be looking to Him to gain the land for them by force of arms or by supernatural power, rather than by patience. Here He disclaims such measures, and reminds them of the teaching of their own scriptures on the subject. But how were the meek to inherit the earth? Julius Cesar, Alexander the Great, and Napoleon I. were not meek, yet they seem as conquerors to have inherited the earth in a greater degree than any other men. It is easy to answer that the inheritance is promised in some future state of things. But it is perhaps quite as true that the meek inherit the earth now, though it is difficult to understand that it is so. There is as much real inheritance of the earth by a mind perfectly at rest in God, and at peace with man, enjoying the delights of nature for one hour, as in all the feverish joy of conquest for a lifetime. Real possession is internal, not external. We do not possess a daisy so much by holding it in our hands, as by enjoying its beauty and understanding its spirit. Napoleon had more daisies than Wordsworth, but the latter pre-eminently possessed them. Profound enjoyment of the gifts of the earth, of the beauties of nature and art, and the works of the human. intellect, can only be attained by a serene mind—.e., a mind un- disturbed by anger, or envy, or care, and therefore meek. Again, the only true conquest is that over the minds and wills of men. Men submit their minds and wills far more readily to those who are able and modest, than to those who are able and overbearing. 6. τὴν Stkatorivyv.—In classic Greek, “ righteousness in relation to our fellow-men.” In Hellenistic Greek, “righteousness of which God is the standard.” The figure of thirst to express the long- ing for this righteousness appears most forcibly in Ps. xli. 1, 2: “ As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul NOTES TO LESSON III. 241 after Thee, Ὁ God. My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God: when shall I come and appear before God ?” Those who longed for righteousness in the sense of justice and a recognition of their claims, would have their longings satisfied by the new dignity Christianity was destined to give to the human race, and the fresh impulses it should afford to sympathy with the miserable and degraded: those who longed for nobler motives and feelings, by the loftier views with which it should inspire them about God and their fellow-men. The righteousness refers both to outward social arrangements and the inner thoughts of the soul. xoptacOnoerar.—Cf. Ps. xvii. 15, “ As for me, I will behold Thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied (χορτασθήσομαι), when I awake, with Thy likeness.” Ps. cvii. 9, “The Lord satisfieth (ἐχόρτασε) the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with good- ness.” χόρτος means (1) an enclosed place, in which cattle are kept: with it are connected Lat. hort-us, Eng. garth, yard, garden ; (2) a feeding-place ; (3) food for cattle. Cf. Alc., 495: “θηρῶν ὀρείων χόρτον οὐχ ἵππων λέγεις. In Rev. xix. 21 the verb is used of bird’s food. In classic Greek the word is rarely applied to men, and then only in a contemptuous sense ; but in later Greek, perhaps from the more colloquial nature of its vocab- ulary, this contemptuous sense has vanished. 7. €deqpoves.—This follows naturally from the preceding verse, because in the Old Testament ἔλεος is closely connected in thought with d:« ‘ocdvn. God manifests His own righteousness chiefly by showing mercy and pity : cf. 2 Cor. ix. 9; Ps. exii. 9. In thirteen places in LXX. the translators have rendered the Hebrew word for righteousness by ἐλεημοσύνη. In English literature, the connec- tion is beautifully illustrated by Portia’s speech in the “Merchant of Venice,” iv. 1, where “mercy” is said to be an attribute to God Himself; and “earthly power doth then show likest God’s, when mercy seasons justice.” In the land where, and at the time when, Jesus was speaking, “mercy” was little thought of. The Romans were iron in their rule over the provinces ; the Pharisees unbending in their exaction of obedience to ceremonial observances; the Sadducees stiffened by their pride of intellect and place. Jesus twice quotes what seems to have been a favourite passage of His, from Hosea (ἔλεος θέλω καὶ οὐ Ovciay—Matt. ix. 13, xii. 7; Hos. vi. 6), against the unmerciful disposition of His contemporaries. Q 249 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. He illustrated this pity especially by His conduct to Mar dalene, to Zaccheus, and to the woman taken in adultery, all sinners whose wrong-doing seemed to rise from weakni stress of circumstances, rather than from pride and wil He was severe in his standard of righteousness, but mer His judgments on those who fell short of it, because H. that such show of love best enables the weak sinner to ris: ἐλεηθήσονται---ἰ.6., “both from God and man.” Pity az pathy beget pity and sympathy. The same principle is laid + the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. vi. 12. Many of Jesus’ hearers αὶ pecting Him to aid them in a merciless vengeance on the ( 8. ot καθαροὶ τῇ kapdia.—Cf. Ps. xxiv. 3-6, ‘ Who shall into the hill of the Lord? and who shall stand in His hol He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart. . . . Thii generation of them that seek Him, that seek Thy face, of Jacob.” Jesus adds τῇ καρδίᾳ, to distinguish the pu required from the ceremonial cleanness on which the F insisted—cf. Ps. Ixxii. 1, li. 10. In these passages p heart seems to be opposed to deceit and insincerity, reference to God as well as to man ; so that here it seems to inean that undivided love which regards God alone as the highest good, and to be synonymous with the ἁπλοῦς ὀφθαλμός of chap. vi. 22. The lusts that contend for the heart of man with this pure love of God are summed up in 1 John 11. 16, as the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the vainglory of life—i.e., as: it seems, (1) the sensual appetites displayed to excess by gluttony, drunkenness, and the irregular relations between the sexes ; (2).the desires excited by what we see, which beget the vice of avarice ; (3) and the love of power and of the praise of our fellow-men, which produce ostentation and ambition. Against the motives of pleasure, avarice, and ambition, Jesus sets as the principles of life the love of God, and of man as God’s representative. dpovtrar.—This refers to the Eastern idea of the high privilege of seeing the face of an earthly monarch—.e., of being constantly in his presence, and enjoying his confidence—cf. Esther i. 14; Exod. xxxiii. 18; Ps. xvii. 15. The best commentary on the passage is contained in 1 John iii. 2: “Beloved, now are we children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be. We know that if He” (or “it’’) “shall be made manifest, we shall be like Him ; for we shall see NOTES TO LESSON III. 243 Him even as He is. And every one that hath this hope set on Him purifieth himself, even as He is pure.” The organ of vision is the pure heart, not the bodily eye. With the latter God cannot be seen,—John i. 18 ; 1 Tim. vi. 16. Our knowledge of God’s nature deepens with our capacity to understand it. Like only can understand like. The child who loves his father most, will understand his character best, and therefore see what is really his father, even though physical blindness hinder him from seeing his father’s form. God is love, and undivided love for Him will best enable us to see Him. “Purity of heart” was by some, however, narrowed to mean “chastity,” and there is a most interesting token of the historical influence of this sentence of Jesus in a preamble to the Laws of Justinian, A.D. 528: “We enact, then, that all persons, so far as they can, should preserve chastity, which alone is able to present the souls of men with confidence before God.” viol θεοῦ. -- 366 note on xiii. 38. In Hosea i. 10, the children of Israel are to be called the sons of the living God. In Wisd. v. 5, the phrase is by parallelism equivalent to “saints.” “How is he numbered among the children of God, and his lot is among the saints!” Cf. Wisd. ii. 13,18. Many of Jesus’ hearers would claim as Israelites to be the sons of God, while they regarded one of their chief prerogatives to be war to the knife with the foreigner. Jesus corrects their notion of sonship. God is a God of peace, aad His sons are those who resemble him in this godlike quality. 9. κληθήσονται.---““ Be called, because they are”—i.¢., they shall not only be, but enjoy the renown of being: cf. ver. 19 and xxi. 13 ; and Eur., Hec., 625—6 δ᾽ ἐν πολίταις τίμιος κεκλημένος. 10. ot SeStwypévor.—They who have been persecuted have shown their sincere attachment to δικαιοσύνη. ἡ Buottela τῶν odp.—This repeats verse 3, and serves as a kind of binding, so to speak, to the beatitudes. The repetition, too, implies that all the other promises are only various ways of re- garding the kingdom of heaven. 13. &\as.—As preserving it from corruption. Salt is especially necessary in a hot climate. μωρανθῇ.---“ Sixty-five houses in Jane” (Lady Stanhope’s village) “were rented and filled with salt. These houses had merely earthen floors, and the salt next the ground in a few years entirely spoiled. I saw large quantities of it literally thrown into the street, to be 244 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. trodden under foot of men and beasts. It was good for nothing. Similar magazines are common in this country, and the sweeping out of the spoiled salt and casting it into the street are actions common to all men” (‘The Land and the Book’). The salt, too, of Syria contains much sulphate of lime, and this would be the insipid residuum when the chloride of sodium (which almost ex- clusively forms our salt) was dissolved by moisture (Nicholson on St Matthew). . The disciples of Jesus had shown themselves of all the men of their time the most willing to attach themselves to the Noblest and the Best. If now they lose their enthusiasm, whence is it to be rekindled ? 14. ἔπάνω dspovs.—Towns and villages, crowning the summits of the surrounding eminences, might be seen from where they stood, especially the mountain city of Saphet, which is 3335 feet above the lake, and ten miles distant. 15. τὸν μόδιον --- ΤῊ article denotes the particular grain mea- sure that would be at hand in every Jewish house. High tables such as ours were not used ; and the lamp, which had no footpiece, and stood very low, had to be set on a tall candlestick or lamp- stand. If a person leaving the room wished to retain the light, he might cover it with some hollow vessel, such as the modius. 16. otrw—“ in like’ manner.” Contrast vi. 1-18. Observe, the good works are to be done that men may glorify God, not the doers of them,—e.g., a man may head a subscription-list in order to induce others to do so. LESSON V. Tur SERMON ON THE Mount—St Matt. v. 17-32. CHRISTIANITY A DEVELOPMENT OF THE MORALITY OF THE LAW. The General Principle. Special Instances— Murder and Adultery. 17-20. The General Principle. 17. τὸν νόμον ἢ τοὺς προφήτας.---Α phrase equivalent to the Old Testament. The prophets are here regarded as uttering not prophecies but moral precepts. This is evident, as there is no ref- NOTES TO LESSON V. 245 erence to prophecies in what follows. The prophets expounded the Law, and gave it a deeper meaning as the nation progressed in civilisation and in the knowledge of God. The Jews derived from Jer. xxxi. 31, 32, a notion that the Messiah was destined to abrogate the Law; but it is not likely that many at this time regarded Jesus as the Messiah. It is prob- able that a rumour had arisen that He intended to abrogate the Law, because he slighted the legal traditions of the Scribes. tAnpOoat.—This means (1) “to confirm,’ so rendered in 1 Kings i. 14, and in this way opposed to καταλῦσαι; or (2) to carry out or observe, as in chap. 11. 1ὅ---πρέπον ἐστὶν ἡμῖν πληρῶσαι πάσαν δικαιοσύνην. St Paul best describes this fulfilment of the Law by Jesus, when he says, Rom. xiii. 8, “He that loveth an- other hath fulfilled the Law.” Jesus taught that Christian love, if allowed full play, would confirm the law against murder by abolishing hate, against adultery by introducing new grounds for respecting the body, and against oaths by breaking down the bar- riers of suspicion and distrust. He carried out the Law in the first sense by His profound teaching, and in the second by His stainless life. 18. apyv— firmly,” “ faithfully,’ ΞΞ ἀληθῶς (Luke ix. 27). The word is properly a verbal adjective=“ firm, true”: cf. Rey. iii. 14, “These things saith the Amen.” It is used in the Gospels only by Christ. ; ἕως ἂν, «.7.A.—Both in the classics and the Old Testament the heaven and the stars are represented as remaining imperishable amid all earthly changes (cf. Hesiod’s ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς dei), so that the period may be regarded as one that will never come. iéta.—The yod ( ), the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet. Kepata,—‘ A horn,” a little stroke or projection that distinguishes some Hebrew letters from others, as 2 (Beth or ὃ) is distinguished from 3 (Caph or c). wavtTa.— Until all that the Law requires shall be accom- plished.” 19. ἐλάχιστος.---ΟΥ, Matt. xi. 11; and 1 Cor. xv. 9, “Iam the least of the apostles.” λύσῃ does not mean to “abrogate officially,” as princes and lawgivers do, but “to neglect” or “cause to fall into abeyance.” Philo says that neither famine nor pestilence, or war, or king, or despot, or tumult in the soul or body, or from the passions or “ 240 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. vices, or any other evil that Providence sends on man, has annulled (ἔλυσε) the Law of Moses—De Vit. Illus. 20. τῶν ypappatéwv—i.e., τῆς δικαιοσύνης τῶν, K.T.A. This verse is a climax on the preceding, “ You shall not even enter the gate of the kingdom unless,” &c. περισ. TAetov.—A redundant expression: the verb is found with the genitive, and with ὑπέρ. 21-26. Murder. Jesus confines Himself to the commandments of the second table, for the Pharisees in their pretended zeal for God had al- most abrogated the love for man inculcated in the Law of Moses. 21. ἠκούσατε.---Α frequentative aorist, “ Ye are in the habit of hearing ’—7.e., in the synagogue. τοῖς apxators.—“ To,” not “by”; this is the usual construction of ἐρρέθη in the New Testament. The dative of the agent after a passive verb is scarcely ever found in the Greek of the New Testament; the antithesis, ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν, seems to show that this passage is no exception. Jesus speaks of what their ancestors rather than of what they themselves had heard, because it was always the practice of Jewish teachers to refer to the tra- dition of the past. The reference is to the reading in the syna- gogues. If Jesus had meant “by,” he would probably have used πρεσβύτεροι- οἵ, Matt. xv. 2, Mark vii. 3-5, τὴν παράδοσιν τῶν πρεσβυτέρων. In Diod. Sic., xii. 20, we have καλῶς εἴρηται τοῖς παλαίοις. The use of ἀρχαῖοι here, rather than παλαιοί, is signifi- cant. The former refers back to the beginning of the Jewish commonwealth, and implies venerability: cf. Luke ix. 8, προφήτης εἷς τῶν ἀρχαίων. Jesus is not scorning His hearers for what they knew and had heard, but showing them new depths of meaning in it. We are not necessarily better than our forefathers, because we know more than they did. It is our part to advance their knowledge. οὐ φονεύσεις.---Εἰχοά. xx. 12. ὅς δ᾽ ἄν, x.7.A., a traditional addition by the Scribes. 22. ὃ dpyi{dpevos.—Cf. Prov. xvi. 32, “ He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty.” There is a reading εἰκῆ, “ without a cause,” after ὀργιζ,, but this was probably a marginal comment. Does Jesus, then, forbid all anger? This can hardly be, for He Himself is said to have been angry—Mark iii. 5, and anger is attributed in the Scriptures to God. St Paul speaks of an anger NOTES TO LESSON V. 247 that is without sin—Eph. iv. 26. Jesus is alluding to the anger that has no moral justification, but is grounded on selfishness ; but even anger against immorality ought not to be unloving or hostile : see the Essay on Forgiveness. τῷ adeApo.— Brother,” not by blood, but as a member of the Jewish nation: cf. Acts vii. 26, where Moses says to his fellow- countrymen, "Avdpes, ἀδελφοί ἐστε, and Rom. ix. 3. The term was subsequently transferred to members of the Christian community, Acts vi. 3 ; Phil. i: 14; 1 Cor. v. 11. τῇ Kptoe.—The local court of the provincial towns referred to in Deut. xix. 12, xxi, 2, 3. These courts had the power of punish- ing murder by the sword, till the power of life and death was taken away by the Romans. According to the Rabbins, they con- sisted of twenty-three members each ; according to Josephus, of seven. “Paxd.—“ Empty head” or “vain fellow,’’—said to have been at that time a very common term of reproach. ἄνθρωπε κενέ is found in James ii. 20, addressed to a hypothetical person: cf. our “fool,” from the Latin follis, wind-bag. τῷ ovvedpiw.—The Sanhedrin (see Essay, page 200), or august Council at Jerusalem, which, before the Romans took away the power, could condemn to the more awful death by stoning, and inflict the bitterest disgrace by denying burial to the criminal, and causing his body to be cast into Hinnom to be burned. Mopé.—“ Fool,” but in a moral sense, and therefore equivalent to “ wicked,” “ infidel,” “ godless” : ef. Ps. xiv. 1, “ The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God.” The phrase, therefore, is stronger than Raca, implying a stigma on the moral character. Jesus Himself used the phrase, “Ye fools and blind” (Matt. xxiii. 17); but He was speaking in moral indignation, not in scorn,—there is no scorn in the Gospel. Cf. Tennyson’s “ Guine- vere”—“No knight of Arthur’s noblest dealt in scorn,’ and “Mockery is the fume of little hearts.” eis THv.—A condensed expression: sub. βληθῆναι, “to be cast.” yéevvay.—“ The Gehenna of fire”—i.e., “the fiery Gehenna”’: Gehenna = “ravine of Hinnom.” This valley stretches along the southern boundary of Jerusalem, and probably derived its name from some ancient owner or inhabitant. In it was a certain enclosure, walled off, and called “the Tophet,” in which stood a number of altars and images. The meaning of the name is un- 248 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS, . known. To this place children were brought for sacrifice (Jer. vii. 31, 32). They were first slaughtered, just like other victims, and their blood was poured on the sacred stones. Then the bodies were brought to the image of Moloch, which was probably in human form with an ox’s head, and its arms stretched out before it, sloping downwards towards a hole filled with fire, into which the children rolled when laid upon the outstretched arms, while music was played in honour of the deity. The straits to which Judea was reduced in the reign of Ahaz induced that monarch to offer one of these frightful sacrifices, and perhaps it was he who built the Tophet. Under Hezekiah the worship there was super- seded, or at any rate languished ; but it flourished more than ever under Manasseh, who led the way himself by sacrificing his first-born. King Josiah afterwards expressed his abhorrence of these sacrifices by defiling the place with dead bodies. It then became the receptacle for the sewage and rubbish of the city, and into it the carcasses of animals and the dead bodies of criminals were cast, and perhaps all that was combustible burnt with fire. This last, however, is doubtful. From the hideous associations and actual horrors of the place, it came to be regarded as the symbol of the place of punishment for the wicked. We do not know at what date the word began to be so used, for the literature in which the metaphor first occurs is lost. Jesus described Gehenna (Mark ix. 48) as a place “ where the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched ”— words quoted from Isa. lxvi. 24, where the carcasses of those that had rebelled against God are a spec- tacle and abomination unto all flesh, because their worm should not die nor their fire be quenched. This passage is imitated in Judith xvi. 17, where we have the same combination of fire and worms: “ Woe to the nations that rise up against my kindred ! the Lord Almighty will take vengeance on them in the day of judgment in putting fire and worms in their flesh, and they shall feel them and weep for ever ;” and in Ecclus. vii.17. The phrase, therefore, had become proverbial before our Lord’s time. It is probable that Isaiah had borrowed his image from the horrors of Hinnom. It is uncertain whether Jesus is referring to the literal or meta- phorical signification of the term: whether, ὁ. 6., He would be understood by His hearers as declaring that he who used the term μωρέ was liable to be slain, and after death have his body flung as NOTES TO LESSON V. 249 a criminal’s on to that place of horrors, or that he was liable after death to be thrown into the place reserved for the punish- ment of the wicked. There is a double climax in the verse. First, in the advance from the feeling of anger in the heart to an outburst in words, in which again a distinction is made between a mere hasty expression of contempt or anger and a deliberate stigma on the moral char- acter. Secondly, in the advance from the simple lower court in the provincial towns, which had once had the power of inflicting death by the sword, to the high court at Jerusalem, which could once have condemned to the more awful death by stoning, and finally, to the horror of being flung, after death, into the valley of Hinnom, or suffering in the other world that punishment which those horrors symbolised, Jesus is speaking figuratively and as an orator, and asserts in rhetorical language that the feeling or word that indicates a strength of passion which, under certain circumstances, would result in murder, is in His sight as guilty as murder. To take an example: The stony-hearted husband of a wife who displays uninterrupted and self-denying affection for him may be more guilty than the loving husband of a dissolute, spendthrift, and wrangling wife, whose evil temper, after he has borne with it for years, drives him in a moment of anger to mar the patience of a lifetime by a hasty blow that results in her death. Human law, however, takes no cognisance of the conduct of the former. 23. δῶρον ---ὖ.6., sacrifice: cf. ix. 13, “I will have mercy, and not sacrifice.” ér(.—“ To,” not “on”: the priests put it on. pvyoOyns.—Divine service is a time for reflection. ἔχει Ti—i.¢., ἔγκλημα: cf. Mark xi. 25. 24. Take πρῶτον with ὕπαγε: cf. vil. 5, xiii. 30. The devotee is represented as standing with his offering at the rails which separate the Court of the Israelites from that of the priests, into which it will presently be taken, there to be slain by the priest, and by him presented upon the altar of sacrifice. Jesus here teaches that ceremonialism without love to man is worthless: cf. 1 Tim. ii. 8. He is thinking primarily of the Jewish service, and we may transfer the idea to Christian public worship, especially to the Holy Communion: but we must not restrict it to public worship ; we approach God in private prayer as well as in church. 250 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 25. avTlSuxos.—Perhaps it is best to regard this as the personifi- cation of the appeal of our injured brother to God: cf. Gen. iv. 10, “The voice of thy brother’s blood crieth unto me from the ground.” ἴσθι evvody.—For the construction cf. Luke xix. 17: εὐνοῶν is opposed to κακονοῶν, “bearing malice.” The words imply an in- ward disposition, not a mere formal reconciliation to avoid pun- ishment,—as of two schoolboys shaking hands because their master bids them, while they are only anxious to fight it out. The peri- phrastic form of the imperative implies, too, that the feeling is to be permanent. ἐν τῇ 686.—In the interpretation, “this life”: cf..1 Kings ii. 2, “T go the way of all the earth.” ὑπηρέτης.-- Τὴ Luke xii. 58 called 6 πράκτωρ: cf. Acts v. 22. He was the officer whose duty it was to enforce the execution of the sentence, and who could, if necessary, consign the condemned person to prison. 26. ἕως ἄν atrodsas.—We can deduce nothing from this as to the duration of the punishment of the wicked. It seems to be a rhetorical way of saying, “It will go hard with thee.” St Augus- tine says, “ The punishments of sins are to be avoided, not to be known.” 25. koSpavtnv.—Quadrans ; the fourth part of an as, and the smallest Roman coin. 27-32. Adultery. 28, πρὸς T6.—Lo ut, not ita ut, implying intention. 29. εἰ δὲ ὁ ὀφθαλμός.---Ἴ.6., we are, if necessary, to abstain from or limit the use of the eyes and the hands. St Paul talks of “beat- ing his body under the eye” (ὑπωπιάζω, 1 Cor. ix. 27), and of cruci- fying the flesh (Gal. v. 24), referring to unsparing self-discipline. Tennyson seems to be expressing the need that some have of physical discipline to escape from evil thoughts, in “The Sailor Boy ’— ‘My mother clings about my neck, My sisters crying ‘Stay for shame "ἢ My father raves of death and wreck— They are all to blame, they are all to blame. God help me save I take my part Of danger on the roving sea— A devil rises in my heart, Far worse than any death to me.” One of the old Fathers referring to the entertaining evil thoughts, NOTES TO LESSON V. 251 says: “I cannot prevent a bird flying over my head, but I can prevent it nestling in my hair or biting off my nose.” σκανδαλίζει, from σκάνδαλον, a Biblical and ecclesiastical word for the classic σκανδάληθρον, “ the crooked stick forming the part of the trap on which the bait is placed.” Here it means, “is allur- ing thee to destruction.” The present implies that the cutting off is not to be postponed till the mischief is done. συμφέρει oor.— It is of importance to thee.” 30. ékkoov.—Josephus tells of his ordering a young man who had been ungrateful to him to be his own executioner and cut off one of his own hands, threatening him with the loss of both if he refused. We may illustrate Jesus’ meaning by His words to Peter. That apostle was His right hand; yet when he was a σκάνδαλον to Him, He was ready to put him away from Him: Matt. xvi. 23, “Get thee behind me, Satan.” Seneca says, “Cast out whatsoever rends thy heart: nay, if they could not be ex- tracted otherwise, thou shouldst have plucked out thy heart itself with them.” 31. éppé0n.—Deut. xxiv. 1. The object of Moses was not to encourage divorces, but to throw impediments in their way by this formality. The Scribe only could write the bill, and would have an opportunity of suggesting a removal of misunderstanding. The legislation of Moses, therefore, was in the same direction with that of Jesus. The reason allowed for a divorce was “some uncleanness.” This the disciples of Rabbi Shammai interpreted of adultery, those of Hillel of anything that amounted to adultery in the eyes of the husband. Hillel is even thought to have maintained that a man might dismiss his wife for not cooking his dinner properly. 32. ποιεῖ adthv.—i.c., if she marry again: the object of the ἀποστάσιον was to allow her to do this. These words of Jesus had a slow but certain influence in sancti- fying the marriage tie, which was slighted to a frightful extent among the Romans of His age. The Emperor Augustus vainly endeavoured to struggle against the licence exercised in divorces. Separation could be legally caused by either the husband or the wife, by a desire to divorce expressed in writing (/ibellum repudii). The Julian law deprived of this right women who provoked divorce, but without effect. Juvenal speaks of a woman who had eight husbands in five years, Seneca of daily divorces, and of illus- 252 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. trious and noble-born women who reckon their years not by the number of the consuls, but by that of their husbands. Cicero divorced Terentia in order to escape his creditors, by giving up to them the dowry of his new wife Publilia, whom again he after- wards repudiated. Seneca speaks of Meecenas as having “ mar- ried a thousand times.” The Emperor Tiberius divorced his wife Vipsania in order to marry Julia, the daughter of Augustus. Messalina, the wife of the Emperor Claudius, compelled Caius Silius to divorce his wife, and then married him in her husband’s absence. Nero divorced Octavia, who was afterwards murdered. With such views of marriage, and with the practice of exposing children, there could be little of the beauty of family life such as we enjoy, and such indeed as was common among the Jews in Jesus’ time and in earlier ages. Jesus, by His views here uttered about divorce, and by enrolling women among His disciples, and giving them tasks to perform and a dignity of character to main- tain, and by the tender respect He showed towards them, brought about a revolution in the treatment of woman throughout the world. The great saying of St Paul (1 Cor. vi. 19), that men’s bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost, and that any connection other than marriage defiles that temple, added further sanctity to the mar- riage tie, and therefore to the respect in which women were held. Marriage was the only institution existing in His time to which Jesus ever referred in His words: in all other cases His words apply to principles. LESSON VI. THE SERMON ON THE Mount—St Matt. v. 33-48. ON THE LOVE OF OUR NEIGHBOURS AND OF OUR ENEMIES. 33-37. Oaths. 33. ἐπιορκήσεις. --- This refers to the Third Commandment, Exod. xx. 7; and to Lev. xix. 12, “Ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither shalt thou profane the name of thy God ;” and Deut. xxiii. 21. NOTES TO LESSON VI. 253 The Pharisees seem to have held that an oath was not binding unless the name of God directly occurred in it, taking the passages from the Old Testament so literally as practically to add, “and whatsoever thou shalt swear not to the Lord may be transgressed.” Cf. xxiii. 16. In what follows, Jesus rests every oath on God, whether His name occurs or not, thus condemning all frivolous swearing by anything which could save men from taking God’s name in vain. It appears that the Jews were much given to idle swearing—cf. Matt. xxvi. 74, where Peter, after the manner of a Galilean fish- erman, heaps curses and imprecations on himself if he did not speak the truth. Dr Thomson, in the ‘ Land and the Book,’ says they are so still. “No people that I have ever known can com- pare with these Orientals for profaneness in the use of the name and attributes of God. They swear by the head, by their life, by heaven, and by the temple, or, what is in its place, the church.” We know, however, from the language in our streets, that West- ern nations have no right to look down with Pharisaic compla- cency on Orientals in this matter. 34, SA@s.—Does this imply that oaths are under no circum- stances to be taken? Some of the greatest of the Fathers thought so, as do many Christians now. But (1) in the grammar of ver. 34 nothing more is necessarily implied than that oaths are not to be taken in the form mentioned ; (2) these forms were never employed in the Jewish law courts; (3) solemn oaths were en- joined in the Old Testament ; (4) God is represented as putting Himself on oath, Gen. xxii. 16; Num. xiv. 28; Ps. cx. 4; (5) Jesus Himself accepted an oath, Matt. xxvi. 63, 64; (6) Paul makes frequent appeals to God after the manner of an oath, 2 Cor. i. 23; Rom.i.9; 1 Cor. xv. 31; Gal. i. 20; (7) a godly man naturally looks up to God and appeals to Him as witness of his truthfulness. Cicero defines a jusjurandum as an affirmatio religiosa. We must not, however, weaken the words of Jesus. Though His own practice and that of His disciples seem to show that He does not forbid oaths to be taken by His followers in their rela- tions with those who are not Christians, or in solemn adjurations with one another, as children might appeal to a common father to attest their assertions, yet there can be no doubt that the letter as well as the spirit of His commands are best obeyed by a 254 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. total abstinence from oaths. He seems to say that every man ought so to live that he does not need an oath to bring him back into the presence of God, his absence from God being the evil out of which oaths spring. Where evil is, there must oaths be, but Christians should be able to carry on their intercourse with- out them. Even oaths taken in solemn causes are below the Christian ideal, because they must spring from distrust. Liars are given to asseveration, and asseveration begets distrust. The Stoics and the Essenes rejected oaths as inconsistent with self-respect ; Plato, Philo, Epictetus, and Maimonides allowed them to be used rarely. Opdvos.—Cf. Isa. Ixvi. 1, “The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.” 35. εἰς is etymologically connected with ἐν, its original form being évs. The ἐν implies that the oath cleaves to the object appealed to, the εἰς that the thought is directed towards it. In late Greek, the meanings of ἐν and εἰς were interchanged. The modern Greeks, in their popular speech, use εἰς only. Both ἐν and eis with ὀμνύειν are Hebraisms. The classical usage is κατά τινος or the acc. (James v. 12). τοῦ μεγάλου Pacikéws—i.e., of God. Ps. xlviii. 2. 37. τοῦ movypov.—Either neut. or mas., “the evil one.” See note on vi. 13. 38-42. The law of retaliation. 38. The statute, as it stands in Exod. xxi. 24, was addressed to judges—“ Thou shalt give [i.e., award] an eye for an eye, anda tooth for a tooth ;” but the Scribes seem to have quoted the words as if they ran thus, “Thou shalt rigidly exact for thyself an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth ”’—.., “be satisfied with nothing less.” As a law, it is common to the legislation of Moses and of Solon, and of the Twelve Tables, and of other ancient nations beside the Jews and Romans. It would make masters and rich men careful how they injured slaves and the poor: the prospect of losing a_ member would have a much more deterrent effect than that of paying a sum of money ; moreover, the law at all events limited the vengeance taken. There is, however, no record in Jewish history of the law having been literally carried out, and it is probable that in all nations a proportionate money fine was very NOTES TO LESSON VI. 255 early substituted as a rule for the bodily punishment,—the prin- ciple being observed by the judge infiicting a fine of a sum of money, whose worth represented as nearly as possible the value of the members lost by the injured person. That the best of the Israelites understood the principle of for- giveness, is clear from David’s conduct to Saul—l Sam. xxiv., xxvii. 5-25: and from Ps. vu. 4; Lev. xix. 18; Prov. xxiv. 29, “Say not, I will do to him as he has done to me; I will render to the man according to his work.” 39. ἀντιστῆναι τῷ tovnp®.—The evil man, him who injures thee. See pp. 124-126. pamite.—This verb means primarily “to beat with a stick”; secondarily, “to strike with the hand”: cf. John xviii, 22, 23; Acts xxii. 3. ovayova.—Cf. Lamentations iii. 80 --- δώσει τῷ παίοντι αὐτὸν σιαγόνα. Striking on the cheek was regarded as a great indignity. Seneca says, a slave would rather be scourged than so treated: but he also says, “ What will the wise man do when he is buffeted [colaphis percussus]? He will do as Cato did, when he was smitten on the mouth. He did not burst into a passion, did not avenge himself, did not even forgive it, but denied its having - been done.” Ν 40. τῷ 0€XovTL.—“ Who is bent on.” KptO7var.— To be brought before the judge,” “to go to law”: efi Cor:v1. 1; Xttova.—The narrow under garment: ἱμάτιον, the more ex- pansive upper garment, a large square woollen robe, which was also used by the poor as a coverlet by night: hence the command, Exod, xxii. 26, not to detain it in pawn over night. 41. ἀγγαρεύσει. --- Originally a Persian word. The Persian arrangements respecting post messages, instituted by Cyrus, jus- tified the couriers (ἄγγαροι) in making requisitions from station to station of men, or cattle, or carriages for the carrying on of their journey—Herod., vii. 98. The Roman government exercised the same right over the provincials—cf. xxvii. 32, where Simon of Cyrene is pressed to carry Jesus’ cross. The verb is found once in Menander. Epictetus (Discourses, iv. 1) says, “If there be a press (ἀγγαρεία), and a soldier should lay hold of your ass, let it go; do not resist nor murmur.” p-(Avov.—Distance is usually reckoned in the New Testament by 256 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. furlongs: here only, in connection with the Roman military ser- vice, is the Roman measure (1680 yards) given. The word is late, found in Strabo. 42. Savicac8a.—late Gr. for δανεισ. Jesus refers to lending for charity, not for trading. The injunction was a very neces- sary one in a primitive state of society, when articles of con- venience were scarce, employment for the poor precarious, and there were no public institutions to make provision for them, and when, therefore, small sums of money would often be needed, either in gift or loan, to prevent actual starvation or immediate and utter destitution. In modern times, a loan is often truer charity than a gift, because it does not tend to destroy a man’s independ- ence and self-respect. The best gift to an idle beggar is a lecture on the sin of idleness. To one who asked Jesus to make his brother divide his inheritance with him, He answered by a iecture on the sin of covetousness—Luke xii. 14. The spirit of the pre- cept seems to be, “ Give that which will make the recipient truly richer.” See note on Matt. xxv. 27, and cf. 1 Tim. v. 8. a&trootpadys.—The pass. has the force of the mid. The verb signifies, “to turn away from in dislike or disgust”: cf. Heb. xii. 25. 43. The former clause is from Ley. xix. 18, where, however, the conception of neighbour is limited to the national frontier. The latter clause was an inference of the Scribes, who taught that the Gentile must be hated as the enemy of God. But though the Jews as a rule hated public enemies, and even extended their hatred to all foreigners, yet in the Old Testament magnanimous con- duct towards the enemy is inculcated by example, 2 Kings vi. 22, where Elisha forbids the King of Israel to slay the Syrians, whom the prophet had led into the midst of Samaria. Kindness to- wards private enemies is enjoined by the Law—Lev. xix. 17, 18; and Exod. xxiii. 5, “If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him; thou shalt surely help him.” 44, ayamate.—Hesiod inculcates the opposite view, ‘ Works and Days’-—“Bid to thy feast a friend: a foe forbear.” Socrates condemns the hatred of enemies, because of the reflexive evil on our own souls; Plato, because our judgment as to who is our enemy may be wrong; the Stoics, because a wise man ought not to be moved by any passion. NOTES TO LESSON VI. 257 45. Cf. Seneca, De Benef., iv. 2-6, “If thou wouldest imitate the gods, do good even to the unthankful; for the sun rises on the wicked, and the seas are open to pirates:” and contrast Tobit iv. 15-17, “ Do that to no man which thou hatest, and give noth- ing to the wicked ;”—where the precept in the former clause is negative only, whereas that of Jesus is positive. Bpéxe.—Before the time of Alexander this was a poetic word for ὕει. 46. teAGvat—i.e., men absolutely worldly. Some of these tax-gatherers were Romans, and some native Jews who were either in the service of Roman farmers of taxes as sub-farmers, or else (as seems to have been the case in Palestine at that time) were appointed directly by the government. They were detested, both on account of their unpatriotic occupation, and also be- cause of the various unjust and oppressive means which they employed in order to obtain what was due to them. The Talmud classes publicans with thieves and assassins. 47. aomaonobe.—Salute lovingly as a symbol of the feeling of love. Tyndale translates, “If ye be friendly to.” In Eur., Ion, 1363—icov σ᾽ ὡς Texovo’ ἀσπάζυμαι---ἰῦ seems to mean, “cling fondly to.” Plato couples it with φιλεῖν, as here it is used co- ordinately with ἀγαπήσατε, but in the New Testament it always means “saluting,” and is never used of loving a person in Philo, though he uses the phrase 6 νοῦς μόνωσιν ἀσπασάμενος, “the mind that delights in solitude.” tmepioodv.— Excellent deed more than they do”: cf. xi. 9— περισσότερον προφήτου. 48, ἔσεσθε.---Παυϊναϊοηῦ to an imperative. TéXevo..— Full-grown—used in the New Testament of moral per- fection: cf. Wisd. iv. 13, “ He being made perfect in a short time, fulfilled a long time” (of Enoch): here, perfection as regards the comprehensiveness of our aydémn—cf. Lev. xi. 44, xix. 2; Eph. v. 1. In Luke vi. 36 the phrase is οἰκτίρμονες. Perfection is to be our aim; there is no assertion that it is attainable. 258 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. LESSON VII. THE SERMON ON THE Mount—St Matt. vi. 1-18. A CRITICISM OF THE THREE FAVOURITE WAYS OF EXPRESSING PIETY WHICH PREVAILED AT THE TIME—VIZ., ALMSGIVING, PRAYER, AND FASTING. HITHERTO JESUS HAD BEEN TEACHING HIS DIS- CIPLES WHAT TO DO: HE NOW TELLS THEM HOW TO DO IT, 1-4, Almsgiving. 1. δικαιοσύνην .--- ΤῊΝ is here synonymous with ἐλεημοσύνην in ver. 2. In several passages the LXX. renders the Hebrew word for “righteousness” by “alms,” and the latter is called “ righteous- ness” in the Talmud. In the later Hebrew usage δικαιοσύνη came to mean “doing good” in the sense of kind actions: cf. δίκαιος, chap. i. 19, which Chrysostom explains by χρηστός (kind). Prov. xi. 4, “ Riches profit not in the day of death, but righteous- ness delivereth from death.” Ps. exu. 9, “ He hath dispersed, He hath given to the poor; His righteousness endureth for ever.” Tobit xiv. 11, “ Wherefore now, my son, consider what alms doth, and how righteousness doth deliver.” apos.—Cf. v. 17. εἰ δὲ μήγε.---“ But if you do not do what I say.” pio 8dv.—This is an allusion to the Pharisaic teaching. 2. σαλπίσῃς. --- The classic form would be σαλπίγξῃς. The phrase probably is metaphorical, as we say “ trumpet forth,” and “blow your own trumpet.” Cf. Cic., Ad Div., xvi. 21, “te bucci- natorem fore existimationis mez.” The offertory chests in the court of the women in the Temple are known to have been called trumpets, from the shape of their mouths, and some have sup- posed that there is a reference to the money being ostentatiously thrown into them, perhaps in such a way as to make them ring ; but this would not apply to the synagogues or the streets. ὑποκρίνομαι, “to answer,” then “to take part in a dialogue,” then “to act a part ina play.” The noun=an actor. In LXX. only in Job xxxvi. 13. συναγωγή in classic Greek has an abstract meaning, “ bringing together of men or of the harvest,” “a wrinkling of the face.” In LXX. and the New Testament “assembly,” then “synagogue.” In the synagogues alms were collected before prayers. NOTES TO LESSON VII. 259 ῥύμη, from few, in classic Greek=a rushing, then “a going,” then “a narrow street”: cf. “alley,” from Fr. aller, which is connected with adnare, “to swim to.” In the East the streets are narrow, so that people can be better observed than with us. ἀπέχουσι, “have in full”: cf. ἀπέλαβες, Luke xvi. 25, and ‘Phil. iv. 18, ἀπέχω πάντα καὶ περισσεύω. 3. apto-repa.-—Seneca says, “ One ought so to give that another may receive. It is not giving or receiving, to transfer to the right hand from the left ;” and, again, ‘“‘ This is the law of a good deed between two: the one ought at once to forget that it was conferred, the other never to forget that it was received.” 5-15. Prayer. 5. €oTates.—There is no emphasis on the word. The Eastern practice in the synagogues, and for a time in the early Christian churches, was to stand with uplifted hands. 6. Tapetov—classic ταμιεῖον---[6 upper room, used as a store- house, or for lodging strangers, or for religious duties or discus- sions, as greater privacy could be ensured in it. Cf. Isa. xxvi. 20, εἴσελθε εἰς τὰ ταμεῖα cov, ἀπόκλεισον τὴν θύραν gov. Ps. iv. 4, “ Commune with your own heart upon your bed, and be still.” 7. Bartradoyéw.—The allusion is to the repeated attempts of the stammerer: the word is derived by onomatopeeia. It is ex- plained afterwards by πολυλογία. “ Battalos” was a nickname of Demosthenes. Soxoto..—There was a Rabbinical saying, “ He who prays long is certain to receive something.” toAvAoyia..—Elsewhere we are told that Jesus taught that men ought always to pray, and not to famt—Luke xviii. 1; and He is said Himself to have spent all night in prayer. His protest here is not against hearty prayers, but against unmeaning wordiness in prayer. Prayer is to be the heartfelt communion with a Being we love, not a wordy attempt to prevail over the will of a Being we dread. οὕτω ς introduces an example of the manner. 9, matep.—God is termed the Father of the nation of Israel in Isa. lxiii. 16: “Thou, O Lord, art our Father, our Redeemer.” He is compared to a father in Ps. cili. 13: “Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” He is addressed as Father in Wisd. xiv. 3: “ Thy providence, O Father, governeth it” (the ship); and in ii. 16, the righteous is 260 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. represented as making his boast that God is his Father; and in Ecclus, xxiii. 1, “ O Lord, Father and Governor of all my whole life.” Jesus Himself used the phrase as the name of God, Mark xiv. 36 ; and by His life and teaching has influenced man so to regard God. He uses the term to the disciples only, never to the multitude. qp-oav.—The Christian in his prayers is to think of all his brothers. ovpavoits.—In the Old Testament “ heaven and earth” is (1) a phrase implying the universal presence of God. Gen. xiv. 22, “The Lord, the most high God, the possessor of heaven and earth.” Deut. iv. 39, “ The Lord He is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath.” (2) Subsequently the heaven denoted the idea of distance from God,—Eccles. v. 2, “ God is in heaven, and thou upon earth, therefore let thy words be few.” (8) Then the idea of space being dropt, the word came to mean the invisible, infinite, and absolute. The religious spirit of all nations has by an unconscious symbolism regarded the ether in its depth and repose, in its boundlessness and unchangeableness, as the dwelling- place of Deity. Aristotle, De Coelo, πάντες ἄνθρωποι τὸν ἀνωτάτω τῷ θείῳ τόπον ἀποδιδόασι. Job xxii. 14, “ He walketh in the cir- cuit of heaven.” » aytac8nTw.— Holiness is an attribute of God’s name throughout the Bible: cf. Lev. xxii, 32, “‘ Neither shall ye profane my holy name ; but I will be hallowed among the children of Israel: I am the Lord which hallow you.” Isa. xxix. 23, “ They shall sanctify my name.” Ezek. xxxvi. 23, “I will sanctify my great name.” dvopa.—The “name” was used by the Jews as a substitute for God. Traces of this usage are found in Acts vy. 41, ὑπὲρ τοῦ ὀνόματος ἀτιμασθῆναι; and 3 John, 7. The “name” of God sums up all our thoughts of God. To hallow God’s name, therefore, is to have holy and noble thoughts about God. 10. ἡ Bactdefa.—The coming of the kingdom and the sanctifi- cation of the name are brought together in Zech. xiv. 9: “ And the Lord shall be King over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and His name one.” The Rabbis said, “ Any bene- diction which is without mention of God as King is ro benediction at all.” The ideal kingdom had been described in Isa. xi. 1-6, xlii. 1-7 5 Dan. vii. 14. The coarser-minded Jews, as Judas _the Galilean, looked upon NOTES TO LESSON VII. 261 the “kingdom” as the establishment of a material rule of their nation in Palestine, to be brought about by the sword. But Jesus never had recourse to force of any kind, never hinted a threat against the Roman rule, and never even predicted its end. St Paul defines the kingdom of God as being “ not eating and drink- ing; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit” —Rom. xiv. 17. This kingdom is progressive, and its progress is dependent on the influence of the Spirit of God on the spirit of man. We may perhaps find a point of distinction between this clause and the next in this way. The “kingdom” would have come if all men everywhere acknowledged God as King by resolving to do His will and earnestly endeavouring to do so, Then men would have no hindrance to doing the will from one another’s wilfulness or selfishness: they would still, however, need to pray for strength against their own passions and impulses. Thus the first clause refers rather to social arrangements, the latter to our own souls. τὸ OéAnpa.—Cf. Ps. cxxxv. 6, “ Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven and in earth.” 11. tov &prov.—Jesus’ hearers would think of the description of the giving of the manna in Exod. xvi. 4: “ Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you” (the petition in the prayer is addressed to “our Father in heaven’); “and the people shall go out and gather τὸ τῆς ἡμέρας εἰς ἡμέραν, a certain rate every day.” Cf. 2 Kings xxv. 30, λόγον ἡμέρας ἐν TH ἡμέρᾳ αὐτοῦ. Jer. li. 34, ἐξ ἡμέρας eis ἡμέραν. Dan. i. 5, τὸ τῆ: ἡμέρας eis ἡμέραν. In the parallel passage in St Luke (xi. 3), we have τὸ καθ’ ἡμέραν. The manna is frequently spoken of as “the bread from heaven,” —Ps. Ixxviii. 24, cv. 40; Neh. ix. 15; Wisd. xvi. 20. ἔπιούσιον.-- -ΤῊ 5 word is nowhere else found in all literature excepting in the parallel passage in Luke xi. 3, and was perhaps coined to express some Aramaic word used by Jesus, who may have been referring to 2 Kings xxv. 30, “A daily rate for every day all the days of his life”: cf. Jer. 11. 34. Two derivations have been suggested for the word: I. From ἐπί and οὐσίας In this case it will mean “food necessary for our subsistence.” Cf. Prov. xxx. 8, “Give me neither poverty nor riches: feed me with food convenient for me.” James ii. 16, “Things which are needful for the body.” The objections to this 202 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. are (1) that the form would be ἐπούσιος, not ἐπιούσιος ; (2) that οὐσία does not mean subsistence, but essence, reality, and posses- sions ; (9) that there was no need to coin a word to express this idea for which other words, as ἐπιτήδειος, existed. II. From ἐπί, ἰέναι, either from (1) mas. part., 6 ἐπιών, sc. χρόνος, or (2) fem. part., ἡ ἐπιοῦσα, sc. ἡμέρα. (1) In the former case it will mean “ of the future,” either (a) the remote future in the sense of “eternal, heavenly, or spir- itual”’; but this would have been expressed rather by ἐπουράνιος, αἰώνιος, or μέλλων ; or simply (8) of the immediate future = “bread which is successive or continual,” and we may illustrate the idea from John vi. 34, “ πάντοτε δὸς ἡμῖν τὸν ἄρτον TovToy”’ ; and Ps. xl. 11, “ Let Thy loving-kindness and Thy truth contin- ually preserve me”; and the combination with ojueporv—i.e., the prayer that in each day so much only may be given as is needful for that day, from 2 Kings xxv. 29, 30, “ And he did eat bread continually before him all the days of his life. And his allowance was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate for every day all the days of his life.” Cf. also Exod. xxix. 38, “ day by day continually ”; Num. xxviii. 3, “day by day for a continual offer- ing”; Isa. lii. 5, “ My name continually every day is blasphemed.” (2) If it come from 7 ἐπιοῦσα it will mean “ to-morrow’s” ; and this explanation is supported historically by the fact that Jerome found the Hebrew for “morrow’s” in the lost Gospel of St Matthew to the Hebrews, and that it would be necessary to coin a Greek word to translate it, as there is no adjective in Greek to express it.. Moreover, “to-morrow” is expressed by ἡ ἐπιοῦσα in Prov. xxvii. 1, and τῇ ἐπιούσῃ ἡμέρᾳ in Acts vii. 26. If it be ob- jected that we are taught in verse 34 “to take no thought for the morrow,” it may be answered that this prayer obeys the precept, since in it we cast all our care upon God (1 Pet. v. 7) —see the note on that verse. We may paraphrase the clause, “Enable us to earn to-day sufficient for our morrow’s wants.” Thus rendered, the petition becomes peculiarly appropriate in the lips of the poor, who are the great majority in all communities, whose earnings, like those of the fishermen apostles, are precarious, and who of necessity live from hand to mouth. To have put into the lips of such men a prayer for a more distant provision, would have been to bid them ask for an alteration of the conditions of society. NOTES TO LESSON VIL. 263 onpepov.—This seems to assume that the prayer is offered in the early morning. The word is beautifully illustrated by Wisd. xvi. 27, 28, “That [of the manna] which was not destroyed by fire, being warmed with a little sunbeam, soon melted away: that it might be known that we must prevent the sun to give Thee thanks, and at the day-spring pray unto Thee ”—where the Israel- ites are taught the lesson of early prayer, from their being com- pelled to gather the manna before the sun grew hot and melted it. Of. Ps. v. 3, “In the morning will I direct my prayer unto Thee”; lxiii. 1, “Early will I seek Thee”; Ixxxviiil. 13, “In the morning shall my prayer prevent [anticipate] Thee.” Josephus tells us of the Essenes that they lifted up their hands and prayed as soon as they saw the sun beginning to rise. 12. ὡς καὶ ἡμεῖς ἀφήκαμεν .---Τ 6. aorist implies that the peti- tioner has already forgiven those who are indebted to him: cf. the πρῶτον in chap. v. 24; and Ecclus. xxviii. 2-4, “ Forgive thy neighbour the hurt that he hath done unto thee, so shall thy sins also be forgiven when thou prayest. One man beareth hatred against another, and doth he seek pardon of the Lord? He showeth no mercy to a man which is like himself: and doth he ask forgiveness of his own sins ?” 13. mepacpdév.—From πειράζω, the usual meaning of which is to test or try: in this sense God “ tempted” Abraham; and πει- ρασμός is used to express this “testing” in 1 Mace. ii. 52; Ecclus. xliv. 20. So the author of Ecclus. (vi. 7) advises, “If thou wouldst get a friend prove him first, and be not hasty to credit him”; and Jesus (John vi. 6) “tempts” Philip. This putting to the proof may have a good or a bad motive. In the former sense our whole lives are a probation or metpacuds,—we are daily undergoing πειρασμοί, or being tested whether we prefer duty to pleasure. In the latter sense Satan is said to tempt (as he did Job), and men and boys tempt one another with the view to lead into sin. In the former sense temptation develops and displays nobility of character, as tests of skill or strength do physical prowess, and it is difficult to conceive of virtue without such tests. In the latter sense temptation is intended to ruin and mar the character, just as the temptation to a break-neck physical feat is intended to slay the body. From such tests men are taught to pray that they may be freed. They result either from the circumstances by which we are surrounded, or 204 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. from the desires and passions within us. There can be no exact limit placed between the test or temptation that strengthens and that which ruins the character. What each man can bear depends on his own spiritual condition and nearness to God. When St James (i. 13) says, God “tempteth not any man, but every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed,” he seems to be referring to temptation with hostile intent, and warning his hearers against laying the blame of their sins on the circumstances which God has placed them in, and therefore on God. In the latter sense of testing, all the circum- stances of life tempt—z.e., are part of our probation. St Paul seeks to console the Corinthians under the difficulties connected with the subject when he says (1 Cor. x. 13), “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man ” (or “as is measured to man’s strength”’): “but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Jesus seems to refer to this clause of the prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, when He says to the disciples (Matt. xxvi. 41), “Watch and pray that ye enter not into temptation”; and Him- self recognised that His Father was tempting Him, and yet prayed against the temptation when He cried (ver. 42), “Ὁ my Father, if this cup may not pass from me except I drink it, Thy will be done.” We may paraphrase the clause thus: “If the occasion of sinning present itself, grant that the desire may not be found in us; if the desire is there, grant that the occasion may not present itself.” ptoat.—This is a Homeric and military term, meaning primarily “to draw to one’s self,” then “to rescue.” It occurs in Ps. vii. 1, “© Lord my God, in Thee do I put my trust: save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me” (ῥῦσαι). In Wisd. xvi. 8, God is said to be 6 ῥυόμενος ἐκ παντὸς κακοῦ. In 2 Tim. iv. 18, there is a reminiscence of this passage: ῥύσεταί με ὃ Κύριος ἀπὸ παντὸς ἔργου πονηροῦ, kal σώσει εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν αὑτοῦ τὴν ἐπουρά- νιον" ᾧ ἡ δόξα εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων. ἀμήν. πονηροῦ. This may be either mas. or neut. The passages above quoted seem to favour the neut. In Gen. xlviii. 16, Jacob speaks of ὁ ἄγγελος ὃ puduevds με ἐκ πάντων τῶν κακῶν. On the other hand, in Ps. exxxix. 1, we read ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς ἀδίκου ῥῦσαί με. We have NOTES TO LESSON VII. 265 πονηρός mas. in chap. xiii. 19 and 1 John ii. 13, v. 18. We have the neut. in Eccles. vili. 11,12. If the word be mas., it does not necessarily follow that the allusion is to Satan alone; cf. v. 39, μὴ ἀντιστῆναι τῷ wovnp@. The following clause in a Talmudic prayer illustrates the phrase: “May it be Thy will, O Lord our God, and the God of our fathers, to deliver us from the shame- less and from shamelessness: from evil man and from evil hap: from evil companion, from evil neighbour, and from Satan the destroyer.” We may safely paraphrase thus: “ Rescue us from all the evil influences in the universe, whether they be known to us or unknown.” St Clement of Rome gives us a very ancient paraphrase in the words, “that we should be rescued from every sin, and from those that hate us unjustly.” 14, Cf. Lev. xix. 18; Prov. xx. 22; Ecclus. xxviii. 1, “He that revengeth shall find vengeance from the Lord, and He will surely keep his sins in remembrance.” 16-18.— Fasting. °16. oxv@pwrof.—This word seems to imply sadness combined with squalor in dress and appearance. Cf. Philo, De Leg. ad Cai., μεθέμενοι τόν ἁβροδίαιτον βίον ἐσκυθρώπαζον : and, σκυθρωπάζων μὲν τῷ προσώπῳ, μειδιῶν δὲ τῇ διανοίᾳ, ἀφανίζουσι probably means to make unseen—z, 6., partly by sprinkling themselves with ashes, and by the dirt on the unwashed face and beard, and partly by actually veiling themselves. Cf. 2 Sam. xv. 30, where David in his grief covers his head, as does Haman in Esth. vi. 12. In lian we read, ἀφανίζειν τρίχα βαφῇ, “ disguising the hair by dyeing.” Some have thought that there was a play of words with φανῶσι which follows; but this could hardly be, as Jesus would not speak Greek. davao..— May be seen.” The warning is against ostentation, not hypocrisy. vyorevovtes.—The Pharisees fasted on Thursday, when Moses was supposed to have ascended Mount Sinai, and on Monday, when he was believed to have come down again. Mourning attire was worn during the fasting. See note on Luke xviii. 12. 17. GAeupar.—Cf. Luke vii. 46. Anointing was a sign of joy. Other signs may be adopted now. 266 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE LORD’S PRAYER. The Lord’s Prayer consists of seven clauses, the first three of which bear upon God’s relation to’man, and the last four on man’s relation to God. In the first three the pronoun gov occurs in an emphatic position; in the last four, the first person plural. The prayer may be thus arranged,—it may be entitled THE DESIRE FOR THE KINGDOM OF GOD. Part I.—Gonp’s RELATION TO MAN. God’s Kingdom advancing to Completion: Man’s Will working with God's. Thy Name be hallowed:—Prayer for right ideas about God. Thy kingdom come to us:—Prayer for the carrying out of God’s will in the external arrangements of the world. Thy will be done:—Prayer for the carrying out of God’s will in our own hearts. Part IJ.—Man’s ΒΈΠΑΤΙΟΝ TO GoD, Removal of the Impediments to the Kingdom. To us give to-morrow’s bread:—Removal of the fear of earthly want. To us forgive sins:—Removal of the fear of God. Us lead not into temptation:—Removal of the danger of doing wrong arising from our own passions. Us deliver from evil:—Removal of the danger of doing wrong arising from external influences. PARAPHRASE OF THE LORD’S PRAYER. My Father, and Father of my brother men, listen from Thy pure home in heaven to Thy child who cries to Thee from the sinful earth for his brothers and himself. Fill our souls with holy and noble thoughts of Thee, that we may know Thy will, and so obey Thee more and more every day, till we shall all so love Thee, and be so holy, that we shall find it easy to do Thy will, having no hindrance from one another’s selfishness or unholiness. And that we may have less temptation to be selfish, teach us to NOTES TO LESSON VIII. 267 look to Thee to supply our daily wants, and grant that we may neither by poverty be led to despair of Thy care for us, nor by riches be led to forgetfulness of Thee. Make our love for one another so perfect that we may continue to love even those who injure us; and do not Thou cast us out from Thy love when we do wrong, that so our love for Thee may be without fear. And that we may not do wrong, if the occasion of sinning presents itself, grant that the desire may not be found in us; if the desire is there, grant that the occasion may not present itself. Rescue us from all the evil influences in the universe, whether they be known to us or unknown. LESSON VIII. THe SERMON ON THE Motunt—St Matt. vi. 19-34. THE KINGDOM IS TO BE THE DISCIPLES’ FIRST CARE. 19. Onoavpitere.—Cf. the phrase πλουτεῖν εἰς θεόν in Luke xii. 21; and Seneca, Ep. Mir., cx. 18, “ Apply thyself rather to the true riches; it is shameful to depend for a happy life on silver and gold.” That this precept was not understood absolutely, and does not imply improvidence, is evident from St Paul’s words in 1 Cor. vii. 30, 31—of ἀγοράζοντες ὡς μὴ κατέχοντες Kal οἱ χρώμενοι τὸν κόσμον ὡς μὴ καταχρώμενοι: “Those that buy as though they possessed not, and those that use the world as not using it to the full”; and 2 Cor. xii. 14, “The children ought not to lay up (θησαυρίζειν) for the parents, but the parents for the children.” ons.—Jewish wealth consisted in a great measure of apparel: cf. 2 Kings v. 22. βρῶσις.---“ Eating, corroding,” hence “rust ;” in classic Greek = (1) eating, (2) food. Cf. James v. 2, 3, “ Your riches are cor- rupted, and your garments are moth-eaten (σητόβρωτα). Your gold and silver is cankered; and the rust of them shall be a witness against you.” adavite.—< Causes to disappear, annihilates.” Cf. Ar. Nub., 971—s Tas Μούσας ἀφανίζων. Cf. v. 17. 268 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. Stoptcoovor.—Cf. Job xxv. 16, “In the dark they dig through houses which they had marked for themselves in the day-time.” Houses in the East were for the most part built of soft unbaked bricks or of clay. The Greek for a burglar is torxwpixos. For the sense cf. Seneca, De Vit. Beat., “ Let thy good deeds be invested like a treasure deep buried in the ground, which thou canst not bring to light unless it be necessary.” 22, ὃ Abxvos.—“ The lamp which holds the light.” This clause is a proverb; what follows is the inference: cf. Arist., Top., 1. 14— ὡς ὄψις ἐν ὀφθαλμῷ, vous ἐν ψυχῇ. 6 ὀφθαλμός.--- ΤῊ eye in the Scriptures is used metaphorically as the organ of inward knowledge: cf. Ps. cxix. 18, “ Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law.” Eph. i. 18, “The eyes of your understanding being opened.” It seems necessary to take the word here in the metaphorical sense, because amAovs never refers to physical, but always to moral integrity. ἁπλότης καρδίας occurs in 1 Chron. xxix. 17; Eph. vi. 5; Wisd.i.1. On the other hand, the occurrence of σῶμα immediately afterwards seems either to blend the metaphor with literalism, or to point to ἅπλοῦς having a literal signification. There is a similar blending in Prov. xx. 27, to which this passage seems to refer—“The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts (or chambers) of the belly.” This seems decisive in favour of taking ἁπλοῦς in a moral signifi- cation. In this case, the passage will mean, “If your spiritual eye is sound, it will give light to all your spiritual members ”—z.e., if your conscience or power of discriminating between good and evil is unimpaired, then it will afford you light to judge all your motives, and decide on all the details of your conduct. A man’s conscience may be perverted, so that he may cease to have the power of discerning between good and evil—may put “light for darkness,” and “darkness for light.” 24, av0éerar.—Cf. Pindar, N. L, 20—avréxecar Ἡρακλέους, “ to worship Hercules above all” ; ἐρᾷ ΠῚ 1.9: μαμων ᾷ.--Α Chaldee word, meaning “riches.” It seems here to be personified, and taken as an idol. 25, μὴ peptvare.-—See the following Essay. 26.--τὰ tmereva.m—We may here think of Jesus pointing to birds flying overhead. ) τοῦ ovpavod.—This phrase points to the careless freedom of NOTES TO LESSON VIII. 269 the birds: cf. Ps. viii. 9, civ. 12. μᾶλλον is redundant, and strengthens the verb. 27. ἡλικίαν means first “age,” then “stature” as indicating age. Here it is more likely to be the former than the latter, because men are more likely to want to add to their years than to their height; besides, a cubit would be an extraordinary addition to height, whereas the rhetoric of the passage requires a very small amount. On the other hand, the word in the New Testament quite as often means “stature” as age—cf. Luke ii. 52 ; and a man by care may lengthen his days, but cannot add to his height. 28. κρίνα are lilies of any kind, λείρια are white lilies: the former word is invariably used in the LXX. The flower alluded to is probably the Lilium chalcedonicum, or Scarlet Martagon, which abounds in Galilee during April or May; an illustration of this is given under “Lily” in the ‘ Dictionary of the Bible.’ Lips are compared to lilies in the Song of Solomon, v. 13, but we can- not tell whether the comparison there is to the colour or the fragrance. avéavovor.—After a neut. plural we should expect the singu- lar: the reason for the plural here seems to be that the lilies are almost personified. 30. σήμερον dvta.—The south wind will parch the lily in twenty -four hours: cf. Horace’s “breve lilium ” — Odes, I. xxxvi. 16. τὸν xoptov.— Grass,’ under which head lilies which grow in grass are included. κλίβανον, Att. «piBavov—Dried grass was used as fuel for heating ovens. Philo uses κλίβανον. BadAdpevov.—The present (instead of the future) brings the action done on the morrow more vividly before the eyes. 34. ἡ Kakia.— Trouble,” a Hellenistic use of the word: cf. Eccles. xii. 1, Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days (ai ἡμέραι τῆς κακίας) come not. Amos iii. 6: οἵ. Epictet., Enchirid., 14 -- θέλεις τὴν κακίαν μὴ εἶναι κακίαν ἀλλ᾽ ἄλλο τι, “You wish trouble not to be trouble, but some- thing else’’—the allusion being to the loss of relatives. bo “J Θ GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. LESSON IX. THE SERMON ON THE Mount—St Matt. vii. 1-14. ON JUDGMENT ON OTHERS, ON PRAYER, AND THE ENTRANCE INTO THE KINGDOM. 1-5. On judgment on others. 1. μὴ Kplvere.—It is clear that this precept is not to be taken without qualification, for Jesus bids us “know men by their fruits,” and “judge righteous judgment” (John vii. 24); and St Paul says, “ there are some sins which are manifest, going before unto judgment”—1 Tim. v. 24. It is a warning against judg- ments that are prejudiced, uncalled for, one-sided, and unmerciful. It is directed against those who are always ready to attribute lower rather than higher motives to men’s actions, against the cynics and the censorious, the malevolent and the idle: cf. the proverb, “Ill doers are ill deemers.” The precept is not directed against the spirit of honest criticism, which is the attempt to judge right, and as such, is the result of the spirit of truth work- ing within us. 2. κριθήσεσθε.--- Cf. Ps. xviii. 26, “With the froward Thou wilt show Thyself froward.” Not that God will judge us unfairly because we judge others unfairly, but that we shall suffer from our imperfect love in the future state. ἐν ᾧ péTpw.—Love and generosity beget love and generosity. 3. Kaphos.—A minute fragment of twig, wood, or straw, the figurative representation of a slight moral fault, as δοκός of a serious fault: transient anger may illustrate the former, hatred the latter. Cf. Seneca, De Vit. Beat., 27, “Do ye mark the pimples of others, being covered with countless ulcers? This is as if a person should mock at the moles or warts on the most beautiful persons, when he himself is devoured by a fierce scab,” It must be remembered, however, that one man may rebuke his Christian brother in love, while another may refrain from rebuk- ing him out of cold indifference. 6. τὸ &yvov.—The meat which had been offered in sacrifice: cf. Ley. xxii. 10, “There shall no stranger eat of the holy thing (τὰ ἅγια): a sojourner of the priest, or an hired servant, shall not eat of the holy thing.” oe ee ee ee ss rw we NOTES TO LESSON IX. eer kvoi—x ofpwv.— Dogs and swine were traditional names for the Gentiles, and also for impure and vulgar-minded men generally: cf. 2 Pet. 1. 22, “The dog is turned to his own vomit again ; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire.” Phil. iii. 2, “ Beware of dogs’”’—2.e., of impure men. Those men are meant to whom, on account of their impurity and selfishness, it is useless to talk on the subject of religion, un- less, indeed, something softens them. The Christian must use discretion. Jesus Himself declined to answer when His answer would have been misunderstood—chap. xxvii. 12-14. ἐν τοῖς tooty.—With their feet. Probably this verse is an example of Chiasmus—the fourth line, the turning about and rending, referring to the dogs in the first ; the third, to the swine in the second : cf. “ Macbeth,” ii. 2: “Ὁ horror! horror! horror ! Tongue nor heart cannot conceive nor name thee ;” —i.¢., tongue cannot name nor heart conceive. See p. 37. 7-14. On Prayer. 7. The figure here is explained by its context in the parallel passage in Luke xi. 5-10, where it follows the parable of the man who knocks at his friend’s door at midnight asking the loan of three loaves, which is granted to his importunity. Of Jesus Himself it is said, that while He was praying, He saw the heaven opened (Luke iii. 21), though, of course, we need not regard this literally. The figure of knocking occurs in Luke xiii. 25, where κρούειν is followed by τὴν θύραν, as usual in the classics. ζητεῖτε is illustrated from Jer. xxix. 12, 13, “ Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” The three words do not seem to refer to different objects of prayer, but contain three different figures exhorting to urgency. 8. Jesus here speaks absolutely, giving no limitations. He was speaking as an orator to the multitude, and seeking to inspire them with hope and confidence in their heavenly Father: subse- quently He and His disciples taught the limitations to the sub- jects of prayer. He Himself did not obtain the answer to His prayer in the way He asked for it—Matt. xxvi. 39; St James ὃ 212 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. (iv. 3) declares that unworthy prayers will not be answered— “Ye ask and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may con- sume it upon your lusts.” In this passage, the word aya@a—cf. ver. 11—suggests a limitation. Men cannot tell what are ἀγαθά to them. See the Essay on Prayer, p. 63. 9, Here is a change of construction, or anacolouthon. The in- terrogative sentence beginning with τίς is interrupted by μή, which is redundant. Translate, “Or what man is there among you of whom his son shall ask a loaf, he will not give him a stone, will he?” A stone in size and shape might be like the thin and flat loaves of the East: Satan tempts Jesus to turn stones into loaves, iv. 3. 10. A serpent, which resembles some fish, as eels. Loaves, hard eggs, and dried fish are the traveller’s fare in the East. 11. évres.—“ Although ye are.’ ἀγαθά.---Τὴ Luke xi. 13, “ the Holy Spirit ” is substituted. 12. odv.—This may sum up the whole sermon, and refer back to v. 17, as the clause, “for this is the law and the prophets,” seems to hint. We may compare with it the οὖν of v. 48. It may refer, however, to vii. 1-5. οὕτως kat.—Accordingto the Talmud, the great Rabbi Hillel, who died when Jesus was a boy, was asked by a heathen to make him a convert by teaching him the entire Law while he stood on one foot, and answered, “That which is hateful to thyself, do it not to thy neighbour; for this is the entire Law—the rest is commentary.” And in Tobit iv. 15 we have the negative form of the precept, “That which thou hatest, do to no man.” The Greek orator Isocrates had said in the same negative way, “ What stirs your anger, when done to you by others, that do not to others. Sen- eca the Stoic philosopher, again, “ Expect from others what you do to others,” “‘ Let us so give as we would wish to receive.” Con- fucius, the religious reformer of China, who flourished from 550- 478 B.c., said, “ What you do not like when done to yourself, do not to others.” The precept of Jesus differs from these in being positive. 13. There is probably an allusion here to the smaller gates which were to be found at intervals in the wall of an Eastern city, or to the doors sometimes made in the larger gates to admit people one by one when the gate itself was closed. The gates are NOTES TO LESSON Χ. PA ies not entrances to the ways, but the ways lead to the gates. The wide gate and the broad way represent the entrance to the life of pleasure, “the primrose path of dalliance,” which is not fenced in by any consideration for the feelings of others or the laws of God: the strait gate and narrow way, the effort and self-denial which Christian duty imposes. Cf. Philo, De Vict., ἐντραπόμενος THs ἐπ᾽ ἀρετὴν kal καλοκαγαθίαν ἀγούσης 6500. and the remarkable parallel in the Tabula Cebetis, where the πύλη stands at the end of the ὅδός--- οὐκοῦν ὁρᾶς θύραν Twa μικράν, καὶ ὁδόν τινα πρὸ τῆς θύρας ἥτις οὐ πολὺ ὀχλεῖται, ἀλλ᾽ ὀλίγοι πάνυ πορεύονται: αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ὅδὸς ἡ ἄγουσα πρὸς τὴν ἀληθινὴν παιδείαν. 14. τεθλιμμένη (θλίβω). --- “Confined.” Cf. Theoc., xxi. 18, θλιβομένα καλύβα, “a small, close hut,” or as some take it, “a hut confined in a bay between two headlands,’ a meaning which would better illustrate our passage. Plutarch uses the verb of a man’s shoe pinching him. LESSON X. THE SERMON ON THE Mount—St Matt. vii. 15-29. 15-23.—The Guides to the Way. 15. ἐν ἐνδύμασι προβάτων .---Νοῦ literally, but “with a guileless appearance.” It is explained by 2 Cor. xi. 13—é€pydrat δόλιοι, μετασχηματι(όμενοι εἰς ἀπόστολους Xpicrov. For the use of ἐν cf. On. v. 37, “ Horridus in jaculis et pelle Libystidis urse.” λύκοι &prrayes.—Cf. John x. 12 and Acts xx. 29, where St Paul seems to be referring to this passage. 16. ἀπὸ τῶν, K.7.A.—This is repeated in ver. 20, after a manner common in Jesus’ teaching. τριβόλων .---ΤῊ 5 is first an adjective, meaning “ three-pointed,” then a substantive, “a three-spiked instrument”; and so “a burr or thistle.” The buckthorn and a species of cactus simulating the grape and the fig remain to point the proverb. Cf. Seneca, Ep. Mor., xxxvii. 24, 25, “ Good things cannot spring of evil; good does not grow of evil, any more than a fig of an olive-tree. The fruits correspond to the seed.” 5 274 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 17. aya8dy.—Sound. 18. οὐ δύναται.--Α climax on the preceding verse. 19, μὴ ποιοῦν .---Τῦῷ it does not produce. 21-29.— Conclusion ;—on the Hearers. 22. ἐκείνῃ τῇ Tpépa.—Probably a reference to Isa, ii. 2, 11, 12, 20, in which chapter the phrase “that day” recurs like a refrain. érpopyntevoapev.—The augment comes before the preposition, as the verb is not a compound, but from subst. προφήτης, as βασιλ- evw, δουλεύω. Prophecy does not here mean “foretelling.” The word is derived from πρό in the sense of “instead of,” and means “one who speaks for God,” and interprets His will to man. In classic Greek it was applied to the interpreters of the pagan oracles, who expounded the unintelligible answers of the Pythoness of Delphi, or of the rustling of the leaves at Dodona. In a meta- phorical sense it is used of poets as interpreters of the gods or muses. It was then adopted by the LXX. as the best equivalent of the “nabi” or “seer” of the Old Testament. The office of the prophet of the New Testament is defined in 1 Cor. xiv. 3, 24, 25, to be “building up, exhorting, and comforting,” and “ convincing, judging, and making manifest the secrets of the heart.” The title of Jeremy Taylor’s book on “The Liberty of Prophesying”’ means “the Liberty of Preaching.” The word here is best ren- dered “ preached” = preedicare, not préedicere. 23. tyvev.—Cf. John x. 14: “I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.’ It is love that creates this knowledge. οἱ épyafépevor.—Cf. Ps. vi. 8: ἀπόστητε am’ ἐμοῦ πάντες οἱ ἐργαζόμενοι THY ἀνομίαν. 24. φρονίμῳ.---“ Prudent.” Cf. xxv. 2. 25. Notice the Hebraistic form of the narrative in the sentences co-ordinated by καί. ‘Down came the rain, and on rushed the torrents, and blew the winds,” &c. Contrast the form in Luke vi. 48: see p. 37. τεθεμελίωτο.---ΤῊῆο New Testament has usually no augment in the plup. 26 τὴν &pov.—Dean Stanley, in ‘Sinai and Palestine,’ illus- trates this from the rising of the Kishon described in Judges v. 21, 22, and says the locality best fitted for the scene is the long sandy strip of land which bounds the eastern plain of Acre, and NOTES TO LESSON XII. 275 through which the Kishon flows into the sea. In Palestine the dry beds of the torrents are rapidly and suddenly filled by the streams that flow down the mountains after rain. 27. mpooéxoav.—< Assailed,” more vigorous than προσέπεσον in ver. 25. 29. ot ypapparets—who always quoted the authority of their predecessors for everything they said, with some such formula as *Shemaiah and Abtalion received from Jehuda ben Tabai and Shimeon ben Shatach”’ (their predecessors in the office of Scribes: see p. 44), LESSON XII. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER—St Matt. xiii. 1-23. THE RISE OF THE KINGDOM. 1. τῆς oikias.—In Capernaum: St Mark (iii. 20) mentions His entering it. ἐκάθητο, the usual position of a Jewish teacher: τὴν θάλασσαν---ἶ.ο., of Galilee. 2. tAotov.—This would form a pulpit from which He could watch the expression of the people’s faces, and where He could be free from the press. ἐπὶ τὸν aiyradév.— Had ranged themselves over the shore.” ἔπὶ with acc. always implies motion. Cf. xviii. 12. 3. tapaBodats.—Comparisons: a putting side by side. βάλλω, mitto, and mettre lose their stronger force of “throwing,” and get the simpler meaning of “setting”’ See p. 34. By this parable Jesus (1) showed His hearers that His kingdom was a spiritual one. In founding it He uses spiritual means,—not force, nor authority, nor miracle, but the word of preaching, the acceptance of which depended on the will and disposition of the hearer. His aim is spiritual, to produce in men’s hearts and lives the fruit of knowledge, consolation, and good works. (2) He showed that He was not deceived by the sight of the crowds, and their apparent attention, into the expectation of large or imme- diate results, and sobered the sanguine hopes of his more intimate 210 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. disciples. (3) He warned His hearers of the perils which threat- ened the holy impressions they were experiencing. Amongst the multitude He would distinguish four kinds of expression: (1) thoughtlessness and indifference; (2) enthusiasm and delight ; (3) careworn preoccupation; (4) serene joy, indicating a full acceptance of the truth that was being taught. These are the various characters alluded to in the parable. Dean Stanley thus describes (in his ‘Sinai and Palestine’) a scene he saw, which best illustrates this parable: “There was the undulating corn-field descending to the water’s edge. There was the trodden pathway running through the midst of it, with no fence or hedge to prevent the seed falling here and there on either side of it, or upon it,—itself hard with the constant tramp of horse and mule and human feet. There was the ‘good’ rich soil which distinguishes the whole of the plain of Gennesaret and its neighbourhood from the bare hills elsewhere descending into the lake, and which, when there is no interruption, produces one vast mass of corn. There was the rocky ground of the hillside pro- truding here and there through the corn- fields, as elsewhere through the grassy slopes. There were the large bushes of thorn, —WNabk, that kind of which tradition says the crown of thorns was Woven,—springing up like the fruit-trees of the more inland parts in the very midst of the waving wheat.” 3. ὃ σπέιρων.-- ΤῊ sower whom 1 have in view. é£7A\0ev.— From the village. 4, τὴν 086v.—The path which went round the edge of the field. 5, τὰ tetpody.—J.c., the places where the rocky soil was cov- ered only by a thin layer of earth. 6. éxavpatic6n.-—Scorched by the sun. p'{av.—Owing to the shallowness of the earth, the seed sent up shoots before the root was duly formed. 7. τὰς ἀκάνθας.---Ἴ.6., which were about to spring up there. 8. é5{80v.—“ Began to render.” éxaTovy—sup. κάρπους. In Gen. xxvi. 12, we read that Isaac received a hundred meas- ures for each measure sown. Palestine (especially Galilee) was very fertile, and the plain of Jezreel at the present day bears corn without cultivation. 11, Sé50Tar.—“ By God:” “it is,” as we should say, “your gift.” Their hearts were more susceptible to religious feeling, NOTES TO LESSON XIU. 277 and therefore their intellect quicker to understand religious truths, than those of the multitude. yvevar.—T.e., without the help of illustration from parables. 12. This is a proverbial saying derived from the experience of ordinary life. The richer a man, the better he will be able to increase his riches by the influence of superior capital. The more he has cultivated his powers of observation, or memory, or reason, the more and the more rapidly will he see, the greater will be the power and treasures of his memory, the larger the number, and the more certain the quality, of his conclusions. So in language and thought: the more we have studied, the more rapidly shall we take in new ideas. So in morality and re- ligion: the more we have accustomed ourselves to good habits, the more readily shall we adopt fresh ones, the less easily be in- ured to bad ones. The majority of Jesus’ hearers were common- place and sensual. They required stories to attract their atten- tion, and even then had not their interest sufficiently aroused to make them desire to know the meaning of the stories. Jesus is not deceived about them. He knows that not many will be influenced, but foresees that the few will ultimately extend the influence of His teaching, and become the leaven of the world. But He does not seek to influence them by other than quiet means, which alone are likely to have lasting effect. περισσευθήσεται --- have more than enough: cf. Luke xy. 17. ὅστις οὐκ éxet.—Perhaps the best illustration of this is the condition of the plebeians at Rome in the early period of its history: they, as a rule, had no capital, and when summoned to go to war, left their lands untilled,—on their return were obliged to borrow money from the patricians at exorbitant interest,—and frequently, at last, were sold to pay their debts. 13. διὰ τοῦτο- .6., lest they, like the poor, should lose the little they have. διά τ. refers to what has preceded ; ὅτι introduces an additional explanation. BAérrovtres.— This is a common proverbial expression: cf. Isa. wo Ὁ. xxxv. 5; Jer. v. 21. 14. καί still dependent on ὅτι, and part of the reason for speak- ing in parables. avatAnpotrat.—Both its position and the preposition add emphasis to the verb, “full well is being fulfilled.” avtots.—Dat. of reference, “in their case.” 278 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. — “Hoatov—Isa. vi. 9, 10: the quotation is taken from the LXX., not from the Hebrew, for the sake of Greek readers. 15. ἐπαχύνθη.-- Cf. “ Well-liking wits they have—gross, gross —fat, fat ;” “ Love’s Labour’s Lost,” v. 2.268. But Shakespeare refers to dulness of understanding, Isaiah to bluntness of feeling : the heart is represented as covered over with fat, so that it cannot heed the words of the prophet. Cf. “callous,” from callum, “thick skin,” and πεπωρωμένη in Mark vi. 52, and the expression, “ fatty degeneration of the conscience.” Bapéws.—“ Sluggishly,” not a classical expression. ἐκάμμυσαν, for κατέμυσαν. ἰάσομαν (v. 1., idowuct).—Probably dependent on μήποτε with a change of construction: for the sequence of a subj. and fut. ind. co-ordinated after a final particle, see Rev. xxii. 14. In classic. Greek the fut. ind. in pure final clauses is found after ὅπως and ὄφρα, never after ἵνα or ὧς, and very seldom after the simple μή. —(Goodwin, quoted by Carr.) 16. ὑμῶν here, and ὑμεῖς in ver. 18, are both emphatic by position. BAérover.— Are capable of seeing.” In the next verse the word =“ see,” 18. otv.—‘ So then ”—1.¢., since your eyes are sufficiently open to make you desire to know the explanation. 19. mavtds.-—An anacolouthon: cf. Shakes., “ Tempest,” iv. 1. 186: “The trumpery in my house, go bring ἠέ hither.” μὴ cvvievtos.—In Thuc., i. 138, οἰκείᾳ συνέσει, “ mother wit,” is opposed to μαθήσει, “learning”; and in Thue. i. 84, συνετός is opposed to μαθών (see the note on Luke ii. 47). So the point seems to be that they have no aptitude for understanding: they have exposed their hearts as common roads to every evil influence of the world, till they have become hard as pavement. τὸ ἐσπαρμένον, K-T-A.—Constructio pregnans = “ that which has been sown into and is placed in it.” οὗτός éotiv.—As a matter of fact, it is the truth taught, not the man, that is 6 σπαρείς : but we can say σπείρειν γῆν, as well as σπείρειν omépua. The phrase is an Eastern way of saying, “This is he in whose case the seed was sown upon the road.” Luke (viii. 14) explains the phrase. This character we should call hard, and may illustrate it from Tennyson’s first “ Northern Far- mer.” The next is superficial, shallow: cf. “Still waters run NOTES TO LESSON XIII. 279 deep,” and its opposite, “ Noisy waters run shallow.” Contrast him who sold all for the sake of this treasure (ver. 44). 20. ev@vs.—J.e., he does not count the cost ; thinks only of the sensation of having a new ideal and new hopes—nothing of the difficulties. 21. wpdokatpos.—Temporary, not enduring. okdvdadov.—See note on chap. v. 29. In N. T. σκάνδαλον in- cludes anything which can hinder the development of spiritual life, or deter man from faith in the divine. 22. μέριμνα, the burdens of life; ἀπάτη, the pleasures. a&xavOas.—Fields were often divided by hedges of thorns: cf. Exod. xxi. 6; Jer. iv.3; Jobv. 5. Here it is rather seeds and roots of thorns that are alluded to. For the thought, cf. Prov. xxx. 8, 9: “Give me neither poverty nor riches ; feed me with food con- venient for me: lest I be full, and deny Thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.” 23. δὴ emphasises ὅς = “and now this is he who.” LESSON XIII. THE PARABLES OF THE TARES, OF THE MUSTARD-SEED, AND OF THE LEAVEN.—St Matt. xiii. 24-43. THE PARABLE OF THE TARES—vers. 24-30. The Obstacles to the Growth of the Kingdom. 24. ὡμοιώθη. ---“Ηδ5 become like”—i.¢., since I (the speaker) have begun to establish the kingdom. 25. {ifavea.—This is a word for which it is difficult to find an equivalent ; the nearest approach toit isdarnel. The plant is one so like wheat, that in the early stages of its growth the two can scarcely be distinguished ; so like, that it could even be imagined that the stalks of it, which appeared in fields sown with wheat, sprang not from separate seed, but from wheat-grains that had suffered degeneracy through unfavourable influences of soil or season. This opinion was actually entertained by the inhabit- 280 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ants of Palestine in our Lord’s time, as it is still. The opinion, however, is probably a mistaken one, and the theory is not put forth in the parable, which represents the tares as springing from separate seed, sown after the wheat-seed had been cast into the ground. This darnel is poisonous, and is not uncommonly known as bastard wheat. ἐν τῷ kabevServ.—The τοὺς ἀνθρώπους has no special force: the phrase means simply, “in the night”: cf. Job xxxiii. 15, “In a dream, in a vision of the night, when deep sleep falleth upon man.” Cf. Hdtus., ix. 44, ὡς δὲ πρόσω τῆς νυκτὸς προελήλατο, καὶ ἡσυχίη ἐδόκεε εἶναι ἀνὰ τὰ στρατόπεδα, καί μάλιστα οἱ ἄνθρωποι εἶναι ἐν ὕπνῳ. : The “sowing in the night” refers to the secrecy with which evil deeds are done, and to their dark nature. Wickedness and goodness are constantly contrasted as light and darkness in the New Testament: cf. John iii. 20, “Every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved.” ἔπέσπειρεν .---“΄ Sowed over the first seed.” 26. +éte.—Thomson, ‘ The Land and the Book,’ says: “ In those parts where the grain has headed out, a child cannot mistake the ζιίῴάνια for wheat or barley ; but where both are less developed, the closest scrutiny will often fail to detect them. I cannot do it at all with any confidence.” 28. ovddAéEwpev.—Deliberative subjunctive. This was, and is, the usual practice, when the tares are merely stray stalks growing accidentally in the field. But owing to the malignity of the enemy, the case here menticned is a special one: there was a crop of tares growing over the whole field. 30. κατακαῦσαι.---Οἵ, 2 Sam. xxiii. 7. THE PARABLES OF THE MUSTARD-SEED AND THE LEAVEN— vers. 31-33. The Growth of the Kingdom. 31.—téAAnv.—Jesus seems to be thinking of the paucity and insignificance of His disciples. In a similar spirit He called them a little flock, Luke xii. 32, and “ babes,” Matt. xi. 25. 32.—pixpdtepov. — For the comparative cf. xviii, 1. “As small as a grain of mustard-seed,” was a proverbial phrase current at that time. Jesus employed it, when He said, “If ye have NOTES TO LESSON XIII. 281 faith as a grain of mustard-seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove,’—Matt. xvii. 20. Like other proverbs, however, it was not based on strict scientific truth. Smaller seeds do exist, such as those of the poppy andrye. The mustard-seed is not even perhaps the smallest of all seeds in proportion to the plant which springs from it; for it may be questioned, for example, whether the disproportion between the mustard-seed and the mustard-tree be greater than that between the acorn and the oak. Jesus as an orator is adopt- ing the popular language of the day, in which the mustard-seed was regarded as an emblem of the superlatively little. For the sentiment we may compare Seneca, Ep. Mor., xxxvii. 1, 2—‘‘ Words must be sown like seed, which, though it be small, yet when it has found a suitable place unfolds its strength, and from being the least spreads into the largest growth.” τῶν Aaxdavov.— Than the (other) vegetables.” SévSpov.—A tree in comparison with the other plants. Stories are told of mustard-trees so tall, that a man could climb up into their branches, or ride beneath them on horseback ; and Thomson (‘The Land and the Book’) tells us, that in the plain of Akhar, where the soil is rich, he has seen samples of the tree “as tall as the horse and his rider.” All which, if true, proves that in Pal- estine the mustard-plant attains to a remarkable height for a garden herb, and especially for a herb growing from so small a seed. The aptness of the emblem here arises from the smallness of the seed as compared with the greatness of the result. It is surprising that the oak should come from the acorn, but the mustard-seed is microscopic as compared with the acorn, and hence the size of the plant that springs from it creates more sur- prise, for ordinary people are not accurate in calculating dimen- sions; so that the growth of the mustard-tree from the mustard- - seed is more sensational, so to speak, than the growth of the oak from the acorn. kataoKnvoty.— Dwell,” not necessarily “build nests”; “set- tle upon ”’—1.e., for the sake of the seed. The word comes from σκηνή, a tent or tabernacle, which, as being easily removed, came to mean a temporary habitation, and the verb to imply, “ dwell in a temporary habitation.” Cf. viii. 20. 33. σάτα tpla.—An ephah, the usual amount in baking. Ci. Gen. xviii. 6; Judges vi. 19; 1 Sam. i. 24. 282 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. JESUS’ PARABLES FORESHADOWED IN THE SAYING OF ASAPH— vers. 34, 35. 34. οὐδὲν eAdder.—J.c., at that time. 35, mpopntov.—.e., Asaph. The passage referred to is Ps. Ixxviii. 2. ἐρεύξομαι.---Α word whose meaning has been ameliorated. It occurs in Ps, xviii. 2. It is derived by onomatop. from the sound in the throat. It is used (1) of spitting or spewing out; (2) of the sea surging or foaming against the land ; (3) in aor. ἤρυγον, of roaring, in Homer, of oxen, in Thucyd., of men. In Ps. Ixxviii. Asaph the prophet (so called 2 Chron. xxix. 30) shows from history that the laws of God’s providence are eternal, and that the history of the Jews is a parable of the gov- ernment of the world. St Matthew here applies the phraseology of Asaph to the discourses of Jesus, in which He shows how the operations of nature in their most ordinary course are illustra- tions of the same providence. INTERPRETATION OF THE PARABLE OF THE TARES.—vers. 36-43. 36. φράσον occurs in the New Testament only here and in xv. 15, and means “speaking in the way of explaining.” 37. ὃ vids τοῦ ἀνθρώπου.---ὅ'66 note at the end of the chapter. 38. viol τῆς βασιλείας. --- /.ec., those whose moral nature is derived from the kingdom—.e., from the king, and who are the subjects of the king. So we have υἱοὶ τοῦ νυμφῶνος, viol τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου, “the sons of Eli were sons of Belial,” Matt. ix. 15, Luke xvi. 8, 1 Sam. ii. 12; in Ezek. xxx. 5, “the children of the land”; and in 1 Mace. iv. 2, viol τῆς ἄκρας for “the men who were in the fortress.” See note on v. 9. 40. συντελέιᾳ τοῦ aidvos.—“ The close of the current age””— 1.6., of the epoch that precedes the second coming of Christ. The word συντέλεια is found in Dan. ix. 26, 27, xii. 4, 13. 41. ἐκ τῆς βασιλ.---76., the aypos, which in ver. 38 is defined by κόσμος, “ the world,” as the sphere of the kingdom. okavSara.—Abstract for concrete = “those who by their con- duct put stumbling-blocks in the way of others.” Cf. xvi. 23. 42, τὴν κάμινον. -- The phrase occurs in Dan. ii. 6, of Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace. Here it seems to refer to Gehenna. Cf. Rev. xx. 15: τὴν λίωνην τοῦ πυρός. NOTES TO LESSON XIII. 283 ὃ kAavOyds.—The article is emphatic: “the ideal wailing and gnashing,” such that all other misery sinks into insignificance beside it. 43. ékAdpovotv.—This is from Dan. xii. 8. Cf. Rev. i. 16; Wisd. iii. 7: ἐν καιρῷ ἐπισκοπῆς αὐτῶν ἀναλάμψουσιν. They shall shine forth clearly from the mists which the sins of others have thrown around them. ADDITIONAL NOTE ON ὃ vids τοῦ ἀνθρώπου (ver. 37). This title is found outside the Gospels only in Acts vii. 56; Rev. i. 13, xiv. 14. The phrase is used in the Old Testament to express the weakness and frailty of human nature, as in Job xxv. 6, “The stars are not pure in His sight: how much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, that is a worm?” Ps. exlvi. 3, “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom is no help.” About the time of the captivity the title received new promi- nence from its use in Ezekiel’s prophecies, where it occurs eighty- seven times as addressed by Jehovah to the prophet, apparently to keep him in remembrance of his frailty amidst the high honours of the revelations he was receiving. The passages, however, which seem to throw most light on its usage in the New Testament are— (1) Ps. viii. 4-8, “ What is man, that Thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that Thou visitest him? For Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of Thy hands; Thou hast put all things under his feet: all sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field; the fowls of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatever passeth through the paths of the seas.” Here the sacred writer is glorying in the sovereignty that man, in spite of his frailty, possesses over the works of the Creator. (2) Dan. vu. 13, 14, “I saw in the night-visions, and, behold, one like a [not “the” as in E. V.] son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before Him. And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which 284 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” The prophet had previously described four secular or profane kingdoms of the earth under the image of four beasts which were powerful for a time, but whose dominion was taken away, whereas the being like a son of man is invested with a dominion that is universal and everlasting. It is not impossible that the thought of the Psalmist had sug- gested the imagery of the prophet. In both passages we have the notion of the son of man triumphant over the beasts. The date of the book of Daniel is not certainly known, but we know that the struggles of the Maccabees against Antiochus Epiphanes (B.c. 175-164) had made it a popular book, because it gave a scheme of universal history, from which the Jews derived fresh stimulus for their aspirations after freedom and empire. Jesus, Stephen (Acts vii. 56), and the author of the Apocalypse (Rev. i. 13, xiv. 14), all refer to it. It is probable that the Jews regarded this “son of man” as representing the holy people, and the dominion with which he was invested as symbolical of the future theocratic kingdom they were to enjoy, in contrast to the perishable earthly monarchies symbol- ised by the four overthrown beasts. Such indeed is the explana- tion given by the prophet himself in vers. 17, 18: “These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.” We have no certain proof that “son of man” ever became a title of the Messiah; indeed, the question put to Jesus by the Jews in John xii. 34, “ Who is this Son of man?” seems to prove the contrary. The title “the Soi} of man” adopted by Jesus was new. He constantly used it of Nimself as a periphrasis for “TJ,” primarily, as it would seem, in counhection with His proclama- tion of the approaching establishment of ti\e kingdom of God. The title was, first of all, an assertion on His part that in Him and through Him were to be fulfilled the aspirations of His country- men to which the popular prophet had given expression,—that He was the Son of man who was invested with universal and everlast- ing dominion by God Himself. What that kingdom was, how- ever, and how it differed from the ordinary conceptions of His countrymen, He took pains to define not only by His teaching NOTES TO LESSON XIII. 285 in the Sermon on the Mount and in the parables bearing on the subject, but by the phrases and sentences in which He employed the title. If we confine our attention to those passages in which all the three synoptic Gospels represent Him as using the title, we find that it has invariably an official or Messianic significance, insomuch that we might almost venture to form a creed from the clauses in which it occurs. Thus the Son of man has power on earth to forgive sins—Mark 11. 10, Matt. ix. 6, Luke v. 24; is Lord of the Sabbath—Mark i. 28, Matt. xii. 8, Luke vi. 5; is destined to suffer and to be slain, and to rise again the third day——Mark viii. 31, Matt. xvi. 21, Luke ix. 22; and to return in the glory of His Father with the angels—Mark viii. 38, Matt. xvi. 27, Luke ix. 26; to be delivered up to the chief priests and Scribes, and by them to the Gentiles, and to be mocked and scourged and slain, and to rise again the third day—Mark x. 33, 34, Matt. xx. 18, 19, Luke XViii. 32, 33; to be a minister or servant—Mark x. 45, Matt. xx. 28, Luke xxii. 27; to come on or in the clouds, or a cloud, with great power and glory—Mark xii. 26, Matt. xxiv. 30, Luke xxi. 27; goes to fulfil His destiny, betrayed by one of His followers—Mark xiv. 21, Matt. xxvi. 24, Luke xxii, 22. The last quotation but one seems to refer especially to Dan. vii. 13, as does Matt. xvi. 27, 28, xix. 28, xxv. 31; Luke xxii. 69 In one passage Jesus may have been referring to Ps. viii.—viz., in Matt. viii. 20; Luke ix. 58: “ Foxes have holes, and the fowls of the air have nests, but the Son of man [under whose feet they are all put] hath not where to lay His head.” This psalm is inter- preted of the Messiah in 1 Cor. xv. 27, “For He hath put all things under His feet,’ —Eph. i. 22, Heb. ii. 8; and Jesus uses it in answer to His enemies in Matt. xxi. 16. If, then, we connect the words of the psalmist and the prophet with the words of Jesus, we may fairly infer what it was that Jesus implied by the title “Son of man.” He claimed to be the mysterious-Being mentioned in Daniel in whom the aspirations of the nation were to be fulfilled, and who was to be invested with everlasting dominion. But on His lips the words lose their narrow reference to Israel, and assert His relationship to the whole of humanity; they declare His kingdom to be no mere aggrandisement of Judaism, but a dominion over the hearts of men, won by seeking and saving the lost, maintained by serving and self-sacrifice. 286 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. By adopting the title Jesus asserted His Messiahship, and yet guarded against the errors into which the assertion of it might lead His countrymen, and even His disciples. In taking such a “modest and lovable” name as His ordinary appellation, rather than that of Prophet, or King, or Christ, or Son of God, He ex- pressed His ardent desire to embrace all men in His Messianic kingdom, whether they were publicans and sinners, or Pharisees and Sadducees ; whether philosophers and theologians, or the veriest outcasts in the most squalid habitations in any quarter of the globe. Nihil humani a se alienum putat. By the complete humanity of His life, His privations, His loneliness, His love and sympathy for all that bears the image of man, He has given new hopes to the human race, and brought them nearer to His Father, with whom He seeks to unite them in trust and love. LESSON XIV. THE PARABLES OF THE Hip TREASURE, OF THE PEARL, AND oF THE Net—St Matt. xiii. 44-52, with St Mark iv. 26-29. 44-46.—The Parables of the Hid Treasure and of the Pearl. The appropriation of the kingdom by mankind. 44. In an unsettled country like Palestine it would be quite common to conceal money, as men would never feel secure from the extortions of the oppressor: cf. Jer. xli. 8; Job. 11. 21; Prov. ii. 4. “The present population of Palestine has a passion for treasure-seeking. There are at this hour hundreds of persons thus engaged all over the country. Not a few spend their last farthing in these ruinous efforts.” —‘ The Land and the Book.’ Cf. xxv. 18. Readers of Scott will remember the scene in the ‘Antiquary.’ τῷ aypo.— The field of the estate on which he was working.” Cf. Luke xv. 15. éxkpve.—His conduct would be in accordance with Jewish law. If a man had found a treasure in loose coins among the corn, it would certainly be his if he bought the corn. If he had found it on the ground, or in the soil, it would be his if he could claim NOTES TO LESSON XIV. 287 ownership of the soil; and even if the field were not his own, un- less others could prove their right to it (Edersheim). But this is an unessential detail: the point of the parable is the man’s earnest- ness, which leads him to sell all he has that he may buy the field containing the treasure. τῆς χαρᾶς avrov.— His joy,” not “ joy over it.” imdyer.—The present, more animated than the aorist, expresses the speed with which the finder resolves and carries his resolution into execution. 45. ἐμπόρῳ. --- One who travels for mercantile purposes: from πόρος, opp. to κάπηλος, a small trader. 46. papyapttas.—The pearl would probably be found in the pearl-oyster, of which there would be an abundance in the Persian Gulf. The simile is the more appropriate, as “ wise sayings ” are in Arabic called “ pearls”: cf. vii. 6. The ἕνα πολύτιμον might be rendered into Latin by the word “wnio,” a unique pearl, of which we are told two were never found together. The ancients had a very beautiful though unscientific theory about the origin of the pearl. They believed that it was formed by the dew of heaven entering into the shell in which it was found, the quality and form of the pearl depending on the purity of the dew, the state of the atmosphere, and even the hour of the day at the time of its conception. An ancient pearl was valued by Pliny at £80,000 sterling. A pearl is mentioned as being in the possession of the Emperor of Persia which was bought of an Arab in 1633, and valued at a sum equal to £110,400. In our time we should probably prefer to use the diamond as an emblem of the highest good. Shakespeare uses “ pearl” for “ the élite’ —“TI see thee compassed with thy kingdom’s pearl,’ — “ Macbeth,” v. 7. 56. πέπρακε.---“΄ Sells at once.” The perfect marks the rapidity of the transaction. 47-50.—The Parable of the Net—The separation at the judgment. 47. cayqvy—from which probably comes our word seine—was a large drag-net, which was leaded and buoyed, and then drawn inacircle. “Some row the boat, some cast out the net, some on shore pull the rope with all their strength ; others throw stones and beat the waters at the ends of the net, to frighten the fish from escaping there.”—‘ The Land and the Book.’ 288 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 48, τὰ σαπρά.- ΤῊ 5 may have a reference to the distinction between the clean and unclean fish. The word literally means “putrid,” then, more generally, “ worthless, useless for food” ; so that it may here mean those fish which were not worth preserving. This parable is acomplement to that of the tares; it refers to missionary labours. Not all the converts will display Christian virtues. The missionaries are prepared for disappointment, and for patience and tolerance. 49, adoptotor.—tThe contracted Attic future. Cf. xxv. 32. 51, 52.—The Scribes of the kingdom of heaven. 52. διὰ todro.—An expression of consequence, but not a strong one: “ well then.” ypappartevs—This word, which to the Jew presented the idea of an exponent of the Jewish law, is here ameliorated and re- ferred to the exponent of the religion of Jesus; but in order to distinguish the new Scribes from the old, the clause μαθητευθεὶς τῇ βασιλ. is added. μαθητεύειν τινι properly means, “to be a disciple of any one.” Here the verb is used transitively—‘“‘ made a disciple of the kingdom of heaven.” exBaddre.— Cf. Luke x. 35. θησαυροῦ.---Τὴ the illustration this means the chest (ii. 11, xii.’ 35) in which the householder keeps his money and jewels; in the interpretation it means the stores of knowledge which the teacher has at his disposal for purposes of instruction. καινὰ καὶ tadad.—Thoughts and principles hitherto unknown, and those which had been taught in former ages. The Jewish Scribe taught the old only, and always quoted authority for what he said, and hence in his teaching there could be no progress. The Christian teacher is to find fresh thoughts and illustrations for and from the various countries and ages in which he lives. Jesus had taken His illustrations from the scenery and life of Galilee ; St Paul, after Christianity had spread over the Roman Empire, took his from the Roman soldiers, the Greek πόλις, the Ephesian temple, the Olympian games. The words of Jesus grant liberty to Christian teachers to seek new meanings from the spirit of His teaching: His great sayings will furnish them with new thoughts, as they and their successors in all ages of the ὶ 4 ἱ Π a ᾿ ὶ Διωὰ ee ΟὟ. 0 NOTES TO LESSON XIV. 289 world gain new experiences. They are, so to speak, to work out deductions as well as to learn their book work. New problems will constantly be presenting themselves, to solve which, wisdom, and judgment, and knowledge will be necessary, and the illumina- tion of their Master’s spirit. — THE PARABLE OF THE SEED GROWING SECRETLY AND SLowLy— Mark iv. 26-29. 26. βάλῃ.--- ΤῊ 6 aorist expressing the single act completed once for all, while the presents, καθ. and ἐγείρ., express continually repeated acts. Cf. Matt. xxv. 5, ἐνύσταξαν kal ἐκάθευδον. The construction seems to be, “the kingdom of God is thus, that a man shall have cast’’—1.¢., shall be as though he have cast: it appears to be a combination of ὡς a0. βαλών and ὡς ἐὰν ἄνθ. βάλῃ. ὡς may be either “when,” as in Luke iv. 25, or “how.” Ob- serve the emphatic position of αὐτός, and translate, “ how knoweth not he:” ef. John iii. 8,—‘‘ The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” Both in that passage and in ours, Jesus seems to have had in His thoughts Eccles. xi. 4,6: “ He that observeth the wind shall not sow ; and he that regardeth the clouds shall not reap. In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand; for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good.” Cf. Ps. exxvi. 5, 6. Thomson (‘The Land and the Book’) says: “The idea of the passage in Ecclesiastes is, sow early and sow late as opportunity offers or circumstances require: and the wise farmer in Palestine must act thus; for no human sagacity, no length of experience, will enable him to determine, in any given year, that what is sown early will prosper best. If the spring be late, wet, and cold, the early grain grows too rank, lodges, and is blasted; while the late sown yields a large harvest. 28. πλήρη σῖτον- υ.1., πλήρης σῖτος---ἴ.ε., ἐστι, Which emphasises the fulness. There is another v. /., πλήρης σῖτον, as in Acts vi. 5, πλήρης being indeclinable in the sing. For this usage there is Ἵ 290 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. good authority in the LXX.: cf. (perhaps) John i. 14. But the acc. πλήρη occurs in 2 John 8. The ear may be defined as holy feeling, lofty ideals ; the fruit as virtue that can withstand temptation: the first is a good impulse, the second a good habit. 29. mapadot.—Hither (1) intrans., “deliver itself over ”—.e., by its ripeness in the harvesting ; but it is doubtful whether any other instance of this meaning can be found: cf., however, Virg., Georg., i. 287, “ Multa adeo gelidé melius se nocte dederunt.” The mod- ern Greek version, ὡριμάσῃ, seems to favour this rendering. Or (2)=“allow”: cf. Polyb., xxii. 24. 9, τής ὥρας παραδιδούση-. The tense is the 2d aor. conj., as if from a pres. verb, δόω ; cf. Mark xiv. 11: cf. γνοῖ, as if from yvéw, in Luke xix. 15. ἀποστ. τὸ Spér.—Cf. Joel iii. 13, ἐξαποστέιλατε τὸ δρέπανον ὅτι παρέστηκεν ὃ τρυγητύς: Rey. xiv. 15, 16. LESSON XV. Tor PARABLE OF THE LITTLE CHILD—St Matt. XVlii. 1-14. THE LITTLE ONES OF THE KINGDOM. 1. tis &pa.—‘ Who under these circumstances ?” with a refer- ence to something that had preceded, but what that was cannot now be determined. Jesus and His disciples were about to leave Galilee, and proceed on their way to Jerusalem. The disciples dreamt that Jesus would, on reaching the capital, assume the sovereignty, and already began to apportion the honours among them. Peter, too, had recently been told he was to have the keys of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. xvi. 19), and there were occasions when Peter, James, and John were specially selected by their Master to be His companions. pelLov—i.e., τῶν ἄλλων. Cf. Matt. xiii. 32. 2, Jesus acts a parable: teaching by such parabolic actions was common among the prophets—cf. 1 Kings xxii. 11. 3. στραφῆτε.--“ Turn back ;” ambition is the wrong road: they NOTES TO LESSON XV. 291 must retrace their steps, and seek the road of childlike humility, or they will not even enter the kingdom, far less attain eminence in it. 4, ταπεινώσει, coming before ἑαυτόν, is emphatic. τὸ παιδίον Totto.—The child was probably at that moment displaying its natural modesty by shrinking from the attention drawn to it. 5. δέξηται contains the notion of “cherish and take thought for.” TovovTo—i.¢., one who had become like the child in simplicity and humility, and, being unassuming and unselfish, would especi- ally need protection, and be exposed to wrong from the pushing and self-asserting. év.—Emphatic—.e., a single one. 6. puxpdv..—Cf. x. 42. The passage occurs also in Mark x. 42 and Luke xvii. 2, without any reference to children. Jesus seems to be passing away from the metaphor: perhaps a motion of the hand towards His most recent converts indicated that He meant the young in faith. He speaks with fatherly tenderness of them : cf. the phrase, μικρὸν ποίμνιον in Luke xii. 32, where Jesus is seek- ing to encourage His disciples against fear and anxiety. Here He is probably answering a thought rising in the minds of the dis- ciples —“ If the members of the kingdom are to be like little children, how shall they defend themselves and its dominions in this rough world?” Solomon, in succeeding to the kingdom, had spoken of himself as “a little child” in experience and knowledge (1 Kings iii. 7). ocxavdarion.—Lit., “trip up with a σκανδάληθρον ᾿ (the touch- twig in a trap), and so “ be the cause of his fall.” συμφέρει tva.—tIn classic Greek we should have the inf. μύλος évikds.—The larger kind of millstone, as opposed to that worked by a woman (xxiv. 41). καταποντισθῇ. --- A punishment not spoken of in the Jewish law ; but Josephus (Ant., xiv. 15. 10) records that the Galileans, revolting from their commanders, drowned the partisans of Herod. Among the Romans, a parricide, after being scourged, was sewn up with a dog, a cock, a snake, and a monkey, and thrown into the sea. What is meant is, that such men would subject themselves to a destruction equal to that of the most infamous criminals. mwéXayos.—Curtius says this word means the sea especially in 202 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. its dangerous character, and connects it with the root mAay. Cf. πλήσσω, to beat; and the Lat. plango: cf. Od., v. 335, ἁλὸς ἐν πελάγεσσι ; Hec., 938, ἅλιον ἐπὶ πέλαγος. Others derive it from πλάξ, a flat surface, plain: cf. equor. 7-10 contains a parenthetic lament over the inevitable σκάνδαλα. 7.—ovat.—Not a curse, but a lamentation. τῷ Koop. —Here = humanity. amo.—“ Resulting from,” not “ because of.” Cf. vii. 16; Luke xix. 4. 8. The hand and the foot are symbolical of the energies exercised by them. Cf. v. 29, 30. καλὸν. .. 4.—In later Greek the particle # appears to have gained an independent comparative force, so as occasionally to dispense with a comparative degree: cf. Luke xv. 7, xviii. 14. The usage is very common in the LXX., and was perhaps derived from the Hebrew usage, by which the comparative idea is expressed by the positive adjective, followed by the preposition min (from). There are, however, instances in the classics, as Thuc., vi. 21—aicxpdv βιασθέντας ἀπελθεῖν ἢ ὕστερον ἐπιμεταπέμπεσθαι (Carr). πῦρ αἰώνιον .---ὅδ66 note on v. 22. aiwyviov.—See note on Luke x. 25. 10.—Jesus resumes the reference to the “little ones” interrupted at ver. 7. λέγω tpiv.—This is one of those expressions of solemn certainty which caused His hearers to say that Jesus taught as one having authority, and not as the Scribes (vii. 29). ot dyyeAo..—There are other indications of the belief in guar- dian angels, in Acts xii. 15; Heb. i. 14. BA€rrovor—i.e., “ have oe access to His presence, are in high honour with Him:” the simile is taken from an oriental court. Cf. 2 Kings xxv. 19; Esth. i. 14; 1 Kings x. 8—oi παῖδές σου οὗτοι of παρεστηκότες ἐνώπιόν σου διόλου; Matt. v. 8; Heb. xii. 14: Tobit xii. 15: “Iam Raphael, one of the holy angels which pre- sent the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the ey One.” 12. ἐπὶ τὰ ὄρη.-- ΤῸ be taken with Py sae having let them range over the mountains.” Cf. Matt. xiii. 2, ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν εἱστήκει ; and for ἀφείς, the use of &petos in Asch., Pr., 666, and NOTES TO LESSON XVII. 293 Eur., Ion, 822., where it is used of an animal allowed to range at will. 13.—See Luke xv. 4, where the parable is further expanded. 14. éumpooev.—Hellenistic for ἐνώπιον, “in the presence of.’ Not only are the μικροί not to be despised, but if they go astray those that are stronger in the faith are to seek to amend them. There is an irony in the use of the word μικροί, for the great ones of the earth may be μικροί in the faith. Thus the Emperor Theodosius did public penance, at the bidding of St Ambrose, for the massacre of the people of Thessalonica (A.D. 390). LESSON XVII. On DISPUTES WITHIN THE Kinapom—St Matt. xviii. 15-35. 15-20.—The method of dealing with an offending brother. 15. traye.—Do not wait for him to come: it is easier for the offended person to make the first advances. €&\eyEov.— Convict him of his fault by reasoning: cf. John viii. 9, where the sin of the Pharisees is brought home to them by their own conscience. The precept appears to be an adaptation of Ley. xix. 17: “Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him” (i.e., bear not secret ill-will). Cf. James v. 19. éxépdyoas.—Instead of gaining an advantage in money or other- wise over thy brother in a law-court, and so embittering him more than ever, thou hast gained thy brother for thyself and for God. κερδέω is used in this sense in 1 Cor. ix. 19; 1 Pet. ii. 1. A beautiful illustration of this method is found in the ‘ Medita- tions’ of the Stoic emperor, Marcus Aurelius (xi. 10): “What will the most violent man do to thee if thou continuest to be of a kind disposition towards him, and if, as opportunity offers, thou gently admonishest him and calmly correctest his errors at the very time when he is trying to do thee harm, saying, ‘ Not so, my child ; we are constituted by nature for something else: I shall certainly not be injured, but thou art injuring thyself, my child’ ? 294 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. And show him with gentle tact and by general principles that _ this is so, and that even bees do not as he does, nor any animals that are formed by nature to be gregarious. And thou must do this neither with any double meaning nor in the way of reproach, but affectionately and without any rancour in thy soul; and not as if thou wert lecturing him, nor yet that any bystander may admire, but when he is alone.” 16. ἐπὶ ordépatos.—These words are partly taken from the Law. Cf. Deut. xix. 15; 1 Tim. v. 19 ;.2 Cor. xiii. 1. pipa.—Hebraistically used for “ the fact spoken of.” Cf. Luke ii. 15, τὸ ῥῆμα τοῦτο τὸ γεγονός (the birth of Christ as told by the shepherds). 17. éxkkAnota.—In classical Greek this word signified the as- sembly of the free burghers of a Greek state, called together by a κῆρυξ, the word being derived from ἐκ and καλέω, because the citizens were summoned from among the mass of the population. In this signification it occurs in Acts xix. 32 of the assembly at Ephesus ; but its use in the New Testament must be traced to the LXX., in which it frequently appears as a translation of the Hebrew Kahal, the congregation of Israel summoned or met for a definite purpose, or the community or house of Israel (for the assembly mustered by houses, and on the house the Hebrew polity was based), viewed in the light of a congregation. Thus the word expresses the idea of the Greek πολιτεία, except that the Hebrew nation was a “ holy people,” held together by religious rather than political bonds. It was in the latter sense that the word was adopted by the writers of the New Testament, and applied by them to the new Christian society. . ἐκκλησία occurs only twice in the Gospels (here and in Matt.” ΟΞ ΤΟΣ ΝΕ times in a speech uttered by | Jesus. Itis applied in Acts ii. 47 for the first time to an actually existing institution. It is often found in the writings of St Paul in the sense of “a society” or “community” of Christ, whether belonging to a single locality (1 Cor. i. 2), or the whole body of Christ’s followers, viewed as a house, like Israel,—a community bound together by bonds of religion (Eph. v. 25). It was customary to denounce obstinate offenders in the syna- gogue. The medieval Jewish commentator Maimonides says: “Tf any refuse to feed his children they reprove him, they shame him, they urge him; if he still refuse, they make proclamation ‘NOTES TO LESSON XVII. 295 against him in the synagogue, saying, ‘He is a cruel man, and will not nourish his children,—more cruel than the unclean birds themselves, for they feed their young ones.’ ” ὁ é0viuKds.—The article is generic, as we say, “the historian,” “the poet.’ The Jews had no communion of worship with the Gentiles and publicans,—these were cut off from the holy nation: so Jesus means here that such an obstinate transgressor cannot be associated with as a Christian. We see practical illustrations of the working of this precept in 1 Cor. v. 1-5; 1 Cor. vi. 1-6; οὐδόν: 1: By ἡ: 18. ὅσα ἐὰν δήσητε, «.7.A.—Binding and loosing, in Jewish religious phraseology, meant forbidding and allowing. Many things that the school of Shammai “bound,” the school of Hillel “loosed.” In xvi. 19 this power had been adjudged to Peter; here it is given to all the disciples, representing the Church. In that passage the reference seems to be to the external organisation of the kingdom ; in this, especially to the power of forgiveness of sins. Jesus brought a new power of forgiveness into the world, and has infused it inte His disciples—.c., into those who are filled with His spirit. But besides this, He introduced new moral powers and a deeper code of morals, so that those who are loyal to Him “bind,” that is, “ forbid,’ vindictiveness and lustful thoughts, and pride and selfishness—sins of the thought as well as of the act. Historically, as Christianity has been the religion accepted by the most civilised nations in the world, the precepts of Peter and the other disciples of Jesus have been those which have “bound” and “loosed”—.e., “forbidden” or “allowed ”’ thoughts, words, and acts in the civilised world. 19. mwavtdés.—The construction is a case of attraction: πᾶν should have been the subject of the principal clause of the sen- tence, but was attracted to the subordinate clause and joined to πράγματος, so that without the attraction the clause would run thus: ἐὰν δύο συμφ. περὶ πράγματος, πᾶν ὅ ἐὰν ait. γεν. αὐτοῖς. 20. 8v0.—The trustworthiness of the Christian judgment does not depend on numbers, but on the fulfilment of the true condi- tions of the Christian life. συνηγμένοι.---σύναξις was subsequently used of assemblies of the Church for religious services, and especially for the Holy Communion. 296 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. εἰς TO ἐμὸν Svopa.—For Christian objects and in a Christian temper, having in view what my name implies. ἐκεῖ eit.—The Rabbis also spoke of the Shechinah being present where two or three elders sat together in judgment. 21-35.—The limits of forgiveness : the parable of the Unforgiving Debtor. 21. ποσάκις. --- There must, thought the disciples, be some limit to the forgiveness just implied; so Peter, anxious for a rule, suggests the sacred number seven. Even this was more than twice the number of times declared by the Rabbis to be requisite: they said three times, not four. καὶ ἀφήσω. --- Α Hellenistic construction ; in classic Greek ἁμαρτήσει would be in a participial form. 22. The answer of Jesus has found expression in modern times in the words of the poet Wordsworth, when speaking of self- sacrifice— ‘*Give all thou canst; high heaven rejects the lore Of nicely calculated less or more.” It finds apt illustration in the words of Euripides (Bacche, 209), when speaking of the worship due to a god, δι᾽ ἀριθμῶν δ᾽ οὐδὲν αὔξε- σθαι θέλει---““ The god desires not to be glorified by certain fixed numbers.” So Jesus, in His answer to Peter, implies forgiveness is not a matter of arithmetic: it is to be measured out in quality, not in quantity. ἐβδ. ἑπτά perhaps should be rendered 77 times: cf. Gen. iv. 24 (LXX.), of Lamech’s seventy and seven-fold. The use of the symbolical number intensified was doubtless intended to lead Peter away from any numerical standard,—from the letter to the spirit. 23. διὰ totro.—Because I have enjoined such unlimited for- giveness. @p.01@0n.—Past tense, because the kingdom of heaven was already established with Jesus as King, and His disciples as subjects. συνᾶραι Adyov.—An unclassical expression for διαλογίζεσθαι πρός τινα : cf. chap. xxv. 19. “To take up along with another,” and so “to cast up accounts with another.” The δοῦλοι are the king’s ministers, who are indebted to him through having received money NOTES TO LESSON XVII. 297 on loan, or as treasurers, land stewards, or the like. In an East- ern monarchy all the subjects are slaves. Probably an Eastern satrap would be thought of here. 24. μυρίων tadavtwv.—The Attic talent of silver was equiv- alent to about £243, 15s. of English money, so that the sum would not fall far short of two millions and a half English. This immense sum represents the falling short on the part of man of the standard of the perfections of God. 25. μὴ ἔχοντος.---μὴ states reasons or conditions, οὐ states facts ; but this distinction is not maintained in Hellenistic Greek: hence μὴ ἔχοντος may = (1) when he had not; or (2) because he had not. tmpabfjvat.—The Mosaic law allowed the sale of an insolvent debtor, apparently with his family, but he might be redeemed at the year of jubilee—Lev. xxv. 39, 47. The king was therefore acting simply in accordance with the laws, with no unusual cruelty. Such indeed was the universal code of antiquity: cf. 2 Kings iv. 1. 26. πάντα ἀποδώσω oov.—He has not a very high standard. He thinks the future can make up for the past. The severity of God, as represented in the parable, is like Joseph’s harshness with his brethren, love in disguise. In Wisd. iv. 20 there is a picture of the sinner before the tri- bunal of God that contains a similar figure to that in the parable— “ When they cast up the accounts of their sins, they shall come with fear: and their own iniquities shall convince them to their face.” 27. σπλαγχνισθείς. --- “Touched to the heart,” or simply “ touched.” 28. ἐξελθών.---ΑΒ soon as he leaves his lord’s presence, he is changed from a humble suppliant to a hard-hearted tyrant. So it has been said no one can abide in the presence of God and be without sympathy. The finest illustration in all literature, per- haps, of callousness connected with departure from the divine presence, is found in the terribly brief and telling words about Judas when he left the presence of Jesus in order to betray Him, as recorded in John xiii. 30—AaBay οὖν τὸ ψώμιον ἐκεῖνος, εὐθέως ἐξῆλθεν > ἦν δὲ νύξ. So in the parable, as he leaves the presence of his lord, the night of hatred and selfishness seems to settle down on the soul of the debtor. ἑκατόν Syvdpia.—The denarius was the standard Roman coin. 298 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. It was worth considerably less than one shilling, and may perhaps best be rendered franc. A hundred denarii would be much less than £5. The proportion Jesus wishes to enforce on Peter’s mind is, that the offences of one man against another are to the trespasses of man against the standard of the perfection of God what five pounds are to two millions. ἔπνιγε (imperf.)—As the Roman law allowed creditors to drag their debtors before the judge, holding them by the throat. Cf. Plautus, “ Obtorto collo ad preetorem trahor.” εἴ τι defXers.—The ind. with εἴ implies, “if you owe me, as you do,”—i.e., “you owe me; therefore pay.” He employs the phrase εἴ τι in preference to the more definite ὅτι, because from shame he uses the vaguest expressions he can find in alluding to the sum, so small in comparison with what he owed himself. This conditional form was originally, though not here, a sign of cour- tesy. Cf. Luke xix. 8-—e¥ τινός τι ἐσυκοφάντησα. 29. The phraseology of ver. 26 is dramatically repeated, except that for προσεκύνει is substituted παρεκάλει, a more appropriate word to express the entreaty of an equal. This very posture of his fellow-servant should have reminded him of his Lord’s merey when he was entreating Him in a similar attitude. Cf. Hecuba’s appeal to Ulysses—Eur., Hec., 273-278. 31. ἐλυπήθησαν. ---Α very beautiful word: they were pained, rather than angry. The same phrase is used to express the pain of the disciples when Jesus told them one of them was destined to betray Him—Matt. xxvi. 22. Sierddyoav.—aA strong word, vividly depicting the animation of the indignant narrators. “Told him plainly all that had hap- pened.” So in the Geneva version. The word = declaraverunt. 32. πᾶσαν τὴν ὀφειλήν.---Α very emphatic expression. Wecan estimate the value of the debt if we bear in mind that 10,000 talents of silver is the sum at which Haman reckons the revenue derivable from the destruction of the whole Jewish people—Esth. ii, 9, 34, τοῖς Bacavirrais.—This is a detail from the practice in the East, where torturing to discover hidden money was common ; and cf. Livy, ii. 23: ‘ Ductum se ab creditore non in servitutem sed in ergastulum et carnificinam esse: inde ostentans tergum foedum recentibus vestigiis vulnerum.” There is no mention of torturing in the Old Testament; it was introduced into Palestine by Herod: NOTES TO LESSON XVII. 299 cf. Jos., B. J., i. 80. 2; Ant., xvi. 1. Here the word does not, pro- bably, imply that the debtor was to be tortured, but that he was to be given into the custody of the roughest kind of jailers, who had the power of torturing in certain cases. ἕως ἀποδῷ.- ΤῊΪ5 is too vague to be interpreted as throwing any light on the duration of future punishment. The object of the parable is to teach us there is no moral fitness for the kingdom of heaven in the heart of him who is unsym- pathising, unforgiving, and unkind. 35. ἀπὸ τῶν καρδιῶν. --- Τὸ the exclusion of all μνησικακία, “remembrance of the injury.” Cf. Ecclus. xxvii. 3, 4: “One man beareth hatred against another, and doth he seek pardon from the Lord? he showeth no mercy toa man who is like himself, and doth he ask forgiveness of his own sins ?” The favourite expression for the mercy and forgiving disposition of God in the Old Testament is that found in Ps. xxxvi. 6, lvii. 10: “Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds ;” which is expanded in Ps. ciii. 11,12: “As the heaven is high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward them that fear Him: as far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us.” The finest expression of the purity of God, as contrasted with the impurity of man, is perhaps that in Job xv. 15, 16: “ Behold, He putteth no trust in His saints; yea, the heavens are not clean in His sight. How much more abominable and filthy is man, which drinketh iniquity like water?” and cf. Job iv. 18, 19, xxv. 5: “Behold even to the moon, and it shineth not; yea, the stars are not pure in His sight: how much less man, that is a worm ; and the son of man, which is a worm ?” Cf. Isa. lxiv. 6: “ We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.” In the Book of Job, however, God is regarded as the great and unapproachable Creator ; in the Book of Isaiah, as the King of His people Israel. In the one case man is regarded as puny and unclean beside the vastness and purity of the Creator, as imper- fectly represented by His works ; in the other God’s people are regarded and punished as rebellious subjects, because they have failed to keep His laws: therefore they are sent away into captivity out οἵ His presence. 900 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. But, in the thought of Jesus, God is a Father, and men are brothers in the same family. The profounder the knowledge the children have of the character of their Father, the profounder is their consciousness of their own deficiencies as compared with His perfections. The infinite greatness and purity of the character of the Father is made a ground not for their fear of Him, but for their love and forbearance toward one another. Such a thought the disciples, men of a race the general stability of whose charac- ter made it very difficult for them to uproot the feeling of vindic- tiveness from their hearts, were naturally slow to learn. Neither could Jesus teach them at once the full meaning of the new Chris- tian idea of forgiveness. We find it learnt and taught in the Epistle of St John, i.11, “ He that hateth his brother is in dark- ness ;” iii. 14, “ He that loveth not his brother abideth in death ;” iv. 8, “ He that loveth not knoweth not God;” 20, “He that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” LESSON XIX. On Doine AND Betnc—St Luke x. 25-42. 25-37.—The Good Samaritan. 25.—vopikds.—An interpreter of the Mosaic law. St Mark (xii. 28) uses γραμματεύς in this passage; St Matt. (xxii. 35) νομικός. νομικός seems to be more specific =jurisconsultus ; γραμματεύς more general=literatus. Luke probably prefers νομικός, as more intelli- gible to Gentiles. avéorn.—Jesus and those with Him being seated. Cf. Mark xiv. 57; Acts vi. 9. éxtreipa{wv.-—The preposition strengthens the word ; we may perhaps translate, “putting Him to a strong and carefully chosen test.” CE iv) 123 Deut. wi 16+ Matt. iv. 7; 1 Corr? τί ποιήσας. ---Ηδ was thinking of some isolated act: Jesus di- rects him to a habitual state of the soul—that of love, which does not “nicely calculate less or more.’ He was thinking of eternal NOTES TO LESSON XIX. 301 life as a prize to be gained ; Jesus teaches him that he who loves lives, and he who loves not lives not. ζωήν.---Τὴ Hellenistic Greek ζωή has been ameliorated in usage ; Bios has deteriorated. The classic usage is seen in the derivation of zoology as opposed to biography ; the Hellenistic in such phrases as ἡδοναὶ Tod βίου, in Luke viii. 14, contrasted with αἰώνιος in this passage, and ζωὴ τοῦ θεοῦ in Eph. iv. 18. With the Hebrew, ζωή meant life worth living: cf. Ps. xxx. 5, “In His favour is ζωή: weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” Jesus (Luke xii. 15) says, “A man’s ζωή consisteth not in the abundance of things he possesses.” And when Moses (Deut. xxx. 19) solemnly lays before all Israel the consequences of obedience and disobedience to God, and continues, in ver. 20, to speak of God as their “life,” it is obvious that neither life nor death is used in a barely literal sense, but as identical with good and evil re- spectively. Consequently the Hebrews had no further term than “life” by which to express the enjoyment of the perfect blessings of Messiah’s reign, when 6 αἰὼν οὗτος with all its evils should have passed away, and 6 αἰὼν ὃ ἐρχόμενος at last have come. Hence what the young man means is, “ What shall I do to inherit the blessings of the Messianic reign?” To these blessings the Psalm- ist alludes (Ps. xvi. 10, 11) in the words, “ Thou wilt not leave my soul in the place of the dead: Thou wilt show me the path of life : at [or in] Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” aiéviov.—This adjective means sometimes “ without beginning or end,” as of God, Rom. xvi. 26 (6 μόνος αἰώνιος, 2 Mace. i. 25); sometimes “ without beginning, or ascertainable beginning,” as in χρόνοις αἰωνίοις, Rom. xvi. 25; or “ without end, or ascertainable end,” as 2 Cor. iv. 18, “The things which are seen are for a time (πρόσκαιρα), but the things which are not seen are eternal” (αἰώνια). It does not necessarily mean imperishable ; for in Habak. iii. 6, the everlasting hills (βούνοι αἰώνιοι) are said to be scattered (or fall) to dust. kAnpovopyjow.—An idea consecrated to the Hebrew mind by the promise to Abraham (Gen. xv. 7, 8, and xvii. 8), that his seed should inherit the land of Canaan, and by the actual possession of the land subsequently. κληρονομεῖν τὴν γῆν was the constant Old Testament phrase for the Israelites “ going in and possessing the land” (Lev. xx. 24). The phrase supplied them with a descrip- tion of what should happen when the kingdom should be restored 302 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. to Israel (Acts i. 6), and Messiah should reign in a “ new Jerusa- lem” over a renewed and glorified nation. 26. πῶς ἀναγινώσκεις.---Α customary Rabbinical formula, such as the vouirds probably often used himself: thus the teacher is made to teach himself. 27. ἀγαπήσεις, k.7.A.—These words are from Deut. vi. 5 and Ley. xix. 18. The Jews had to repeat daily, morning and even- ing, the former passage, together with Deut. x1. 13 εὐ seqg.: it ap- pears also on the phylacteries, but not Lev. xix. 18. Jesus may have pointed to one of these, for the Scribe would wear them on his forehead and wrist: they were little leather boxes, containing four texts in their compartments. 28. {qoyn.—Cf. 1 John iii. 15: ‘“ Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him ;” and 1 John iv. 20, 21: “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar ; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, that he who loyeth God love his brother also.” 29. SiKardoat—i.c., to prove that he had put the question with reason and justice. καὶ tls.—The καί is abrupt, and almost rude, implying peevish- ness at being put to a rebuke, or.the arrogant presumption of ex- pected victory in the testing. tAnolov.— Without an article = “ Who is neighbour to me?”’ The Rabbinical answer to this question would be that the Jew’s nearest neighbour is his fellow-Jew. The lawyer expects Jesus to give some heterodox reply. 30. ὑπολαβών.--- A good classic word, only found here in the New Testament =“ taking up by way of reply.” Cf. Lat. excipio, Ain., iv. 114, ix. 258. &v@pwtos.—There is no word about his rank, descent, or reli- gion ; he was a human being—that is his only claim to compas- sion. That he was a Jew we may assume, because it is the hatred that existed between Jews and Samaritans that gives point to the parable. ἀπὸ > Iepovo.—aAs the next incident related took place at Beth- any (v. 38-42), the first village the traveller reaches on leaving Jerusalem for Jericho, it is probable that Jesus was on the very road to which the parable refers. The road descends 600 feet NOTES TO LESSON XIX. 303 from Jerusalem to the Jordan valley: according to St Jerome, it was called the “ Pass of the Red,’ Adummim (Josh. xv. 17), from the blood shed in it by robbers. It runs through gorges, and is overhung by mountains ; numerous caverns afford concealment to the Bedouin robbers, while the sharp turns of the road and pro- jecting spurs of rock facilitate their attack and escape. The dis- tance is about 21 miles. kai—Kat.—The repeated conjunction gives a pathetic emphasis to the tale: they not only stripped him to rob him; but as he resisted, they beat him too. As the sun in the Been aasbced of Jericho is almost tropically hot, and reflected from the limestone mountains, the agony to a wounded man from this exposure would be very great. ἡμιθανῆ.---Τιαῦ. seminex, Ain., v. 275. 31. κατὰ ovykvptav.—aA rare post-classical word, “ by a coinci- dence.” It was unlikely that four such personages should meet at such a crisis, though not impossible. There is perhaps a tinge of irony in the phrase, which prepares the hearers for something of interest to follow. tepevs.—The road would be frequented by priests and Levites, if, as there is reason to suppose, Jericho was a priestly city. The priest and the Levite were probably both fresh from their duties at the Temple services, the object of which was to give outward expression to the love of God, so fully set forth in ver. 27. In thus introducing the official sacrificers displaying indifference to the claims of mercy, Jesus is illustrating the saying from Hosea, which seems to have been a favourite with Him: “I will have mercy, and not [i.e., rather than] sacrifice,” Matt. ix. 13, xii. 7. In a similar spirit, Isaiah, at the commencement of his prophecies, had denounced the futility of the Temple sacrifices when unaccom- panied by morality—lIsa. i. 11, 17: “I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he-goats. . . . Cease to do evil, learn to do well: seek judgment, relieve the oppressed,’ &c. The words “sacrifice” and “devotion” have both a narrow and a wide meaning. The Jewish worshipper gave his sacrifice in the Temple through the priest; but prophets and psalmists alike taught him that that sacrifice was only a symbol of the sacrifice of himself, heart, soul, strength, and mind, to the service of God—that is, of love to his fellow-men (for “God is love”). The Christian worshipper “pays his devotions” to God in church or chapel ; 304 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. these, however, are intended only as aids to the perfect devotion of himself to Christ. The repetition by the priests and Levites of the symbolic acts of sacrifice and devotion in a perfunctory manner, without any thought of the meaning of them, would tend to make them less devoted and self-sacrificing even than others in whom the famili- arity with holy things had not wrought such indifference to their true meaning. τῇ ὁδῷ éxelyy.—There was another road to Jericho which was safer, and therefore more frequently used. i8év.—The Jews were, as a rule, singularly familiar with their sacred books, and the sight of the naked traveller could scarcely fail to bring to the mind of the priest Isa. lviii. 7, “ When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him.” avtTirap.— Passed by in the face of (ἀντι-) that sight.” Cf. Xen., Anab., iv. 3.17: af τάξεις τῶν ἱππέων davtimapnecav— The line of cavalry moved on parallel with them on the opposite side of the river.” 32. κατὰ τὸν Tétrov.—The spot where he lay. A little more de- tail is thus given to the conduct of the Levite than to that of the priest. The words perhaps indicate that the Levite, being less re- fined than the priest, did not, as the latter did, feign to himself that he did not see him: he is curious, though not compassionate. 33. Lapapelrys.—See the following Essay, and cf. John iv. 9, “ Now the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.” We may perhaps illustrate the tale for ourselves by supposing that, during the feuds between England and Scotland, an English Protestant had been left by robbers, half dead on some wild Highland road, and a Protestant clergyman and layman had passed him by, while a wild Roman Catholic Highlander had befriended him. In the case before us, all three men had great temptations to leave the traveller to his fate: the road was very dangerous, and — the traveller might be past help,—and his misfortune was so com- mon! The Samaritan, in addition to this, had his national and religious prejudices to overcome. 84. ém-yxéwv.— While pouring in.” ἔλαιον καὶ otvoy.—Oil would be used to soothe, and wine to cleanse the wound. Oil was highly esteemed for its medicinal properties : cf. Mark vi. 13. In the last illness of Herod the Great, he was bathed in warm oil, Travellers were seldom without oil NOTES TO LESSON XIX. 305 and wine—Gen. xxviii. 18. In an invasion of Arabia by lius Gallus, in B.c. 24, when his army suffered severely from heat and want of water, oil and wine were applied as remedies, both inter- nally and externally. kT¥vos.—Rarely found in the sing. in the classics. Probably an ass is meant here. It is so rendered in the Syriac version. The word literally means cattle; but in Acts xxiii. 24, it means “beasts of burden.” πανδοχεῖον ---ἰ,6., a caravanserai. The ruins of one are still seen on the mountain-side, about half-way between Jerusalem and Jericho. 35. émt—“ towards.” Cf. Acts. iii. 1, ἐπὶ τὴν ὥραν τὴν ἐννάτην. éxBadov.—Out of his girdle or purse. Cf. Matt. xiii. 52. δύο Syvapia.—aA little less than two francs; equal in purchasing value to six or seven shillings of our money. It was the amount of two days’ wages. Cf. Matt. xx. 2; Tobit v.14. But what is the point of this detail? The smallness of the sum indicates that he purposed an early return ; his method and thrift, that it was his habit to be charitable. He was not indulging in a mere impulse of generosity. mavdoxet.— The Attic forms are πανδοκεύς and πανδοκεῖον. This is the only place in the New Testament where a host is mentioned in connection with a caravanserai. As a rule they were empty, and travellers had to bring their own provisions. The addition of a host may have come in with other Greek customs. éy#.—Emphatic : the wounded man was not to be asked. 36. yeyovévat.—“To have shown himself.” Cf. Xen., Anab., i. 7. 4, εὐτόλμων γενομένων. 37. 6 wouoas.—The νομικός, though subdued and softened by the beauty and appropriateness of the tale, cannot bring himself to use the hateful term Samaritan. ποιεῖν ἔλεος is a Hebraism. Cf. i. 72; Gen. xxiv. 12; and ποιεῖν μεγαλεῖα, 1. 49; κράτος, 1. 51; τὴν δικαιοσύνην (kindness), Gen. ἜΣ 19: τὸ ἔλεος.-- ΤῊΘ compassion related. μετά.---ΤῊΘ. prep. with gen. is Hebraistic for the simple dat. Cf. Acts xiv. 27, xv. 4; Gen. xxvi. 29, μὴ ποιῆσαι μεθ᾽ ἡμῶν κακόν. καὶ ov¥.—This belongs to ποίει. U 906 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 38-42.—Martha and Mary. 38. ἐν τῷ tTop—i.ec., on the way to Jerusalem. Mary and Martha lived at Bethany. St Luke appears to have had before him some λόγιον which mentions the fact and the names of the persons, but not the time and place of the incident. avtés.—He Himself, without the disciples. oikfav.—Probably the open leafy booth in which they would live during the Feast of Tabernacles, which was then being celebrated. As the booth probably stood in the court, we can picture to our- selves Martha moving backwards and forwards between it and the house on her busy errands, and seeing, as she passed again and again, Mary still sitting, a rapt listener, not heeding what passed around.—(Edersheim. ) 39. παρακαθεσθεῖσα..---Α late Greek form of the 1st aor. pass. found in Josephus: the usual word would be παρακαθίσασα. Mary sat as a learner, not at the meal, which had not begun. 40. meprermrato.—Also a late Greek word=“ distracted” ; lit., “was being dragged in different directions.’ The adverb ἀπερισπάστως occurs in 1 Cor. vii. 35 (εὐπάρεδρον τῷ Κυρίῳ ἀπερισ- πάστως), where the metaphor in εὐπάρεδρον, and the occurrence of μεριμνᾷ in ver. 34, show that St Paul had this passage in his mind. With the metaphor cf. Hor., Sat., i. 8. 67, “Tene, ut ego accipiar laute, torquerier omni sollicitudine districtum,” and our expression, “to be put about.” In Ecclus. xli. 1, we find ἀνδρὶ ἀπερισπάστῳ, and in Epictetus (Diss., iii. 22. 29), ἀπερίσπαστον εἶναι δεῖ ὅλον πρὸς TH διακονίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ. ἐπιστᾶσα.--- Probably “suddenly coming up”—.e., from the house into the booth. Cf. xx.1; Acts xxiii. 27. In Philo the word generally implies unexpectedness. The verb is a favourite one with St Luke, who is also fond of these participles, which add . vividness to his narrative. KatéXettre.—This implies that she had been helping Martha. εἰπὲ οὖν adty.—“ For it is no use my telling her.” συναντιλάβ. --- The middle implies “taking on one’s self a burden”; ἀντί, “for another”; σύν, “sharing it with him.” The metaphor is of taking hold of along with another. 41. Map0a.— The repetition implies tenderness. Cf. Σίμων, Σίμων, in xxii. 31. Pepipvas.—See note on Matt. vi. 25. SopvBaty.—Translate “anxious and bustling,” or even “ fretting NOTES TO LESSON ΧΧΙ. 307 and fuming.” This word occurs nowhere else in Greek. There is a v. l., τυρβά(ῃ. ὀλίγων, «.7.A.—v. 1., ἑνὸς δέ ἐστι xpela.—Jesus seems to imply that Martha’s preparations were excessive, but He passes from the consideration of bodily to spiritual nourishment, as He did when He spoke to the Samaritan woman of the “living water” (John iv. 10), and to His disciples of His having bread to eat that they knew not of, which He explains of the doing the will of Him that sent Him (John iv. 32, 34). ἑνός, then, will refer to the spiritual nourishment derived from hearing the divine word, the desire for which will naturally lead to simplicity in living, as “plain living and high thinking” go together. The “stuffed body cannot see hidden things.” 42. τὴν ἀγαθὴν peplda.—The article is emphatic=“that part which alone deserves the name of good.” μερίς is the word translated in Gen. xliii. 34 by “ mess”; and Ps. lxxiii. 26, “ God is my portion for ever.” It occurs also in 1 Sam. ix. 23, where Samuel set before Saul the best or “ kingly”’ portion, as Josephus calls it. Mary had chosen the royal mess of the banquet, the listening to Jesus. In Plutarch, μερίς is the share contributed to a common feast, the €pavos. Philo joins μερίδα καὶ κλῆρον. itis—quippe que, “ which is of such a nature that.” οὐκ ἀφαιρεθήσεται-- ἰ.6., primarily by Martha’s requirements, but it was also true absolutely. The terrestrial banquet, the social intercourse of the table, is for this earth only ; but the celestial banquet, the intercourse of spirits, is part of the ζωὴ αἰώνιος, and lasts for ever. LESSON XXI. THE PARABLE OF THE LABOURERS IN THE VINEYARD— St Matt. xx. 1-16. 1. yap refers to the verse immediately preceding. ἅμα mpwi.—mpw) is properly an adverb. In classic Greek we should have ἅμα ἕῳ. For the thought, cf. Jer. xxxv. 14, “I have 908 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.” The Jewish working day is reckoned from sunrise to sunset. μισθώσασθαι eis.—Constructio pregnans. “To hire labourers (to send) into his vineyard.” With ἀμπελῶνα cf. the parable in Isa. v., and the note on Matt. xx. 33. 2. ἐκ expresses the source or foundation of the συμφωνία. CF. ποιήσατε ἑαυτοῖς φίλους ἐκ τοῦ μαμωνᾶ τῆς ddiklas—Luke xvi. 9. The bargain resulted from the money paid. Cf. xxvii. 7—7ydpacav ἐξ αὐτῶν (ἀργυρίων) τὸν ἀγρόν. δηναρίου.---Α Roman silver coin which passed current as equal to the Greek drachma, though, in fact, some few grains lighter. At the end of the Roman Commonwealth it was equal to 83d. of our money, afterwards something less. It was the pay of a Roman soldier for a day in Tiberius’s time, a few years before this parable | was uttered—Tac., Ann.,i. 17, “ Denis in diem assibus animam et corpus estimari.” It is mentioned as the usual wages for a day’s work in Tobit v. 14. It was translated “penny” in the old Anglo- Saxon versions, and by Wycliffe and almost all succeeding trans- lators down to the time of our authorised version. The principal piece of money current among our Anglo-Saxon forefathers was a small silver coin called successively pending, pening, penig, and pent. The word means “a pledge,’ and comes from the Latin pannus, a rag = French pan, English pawn, because a piece of clothing is the readiest article to leave in pledge. Our copper coinage dates from A.D. 1665. δηνάριον would now be more suit- ably rendered “shilling” or “franc”; or, having regard to the purchasing value of money, “half-a-crown.” The coin con- tained more than twice as much silver as the English penny at its heaviest and purest,—more than six times as much as that currrent in the time of our translators. See notes on Luke x. 35 and xv. 8. τὴν ἡμέραν.---Αοο. of respect, not of time. 3. τρίτην dpav.—About nine o'clock in the morning, called some- times πληθώρη ἀγορᾶς, when the market-place was full. 5. ἕκτην καὶ ἐνάτην. --- About mid-day, and at three in the afternoon. 7. ὅτι οὐδείς, x.7.A.—In the story they are not blameworthy, and therefore in the interpretation of the parable they were not NOTES TO LESSON XXI. 309 so. They represent men not living in a Christian land, or, if so, such as have never heard of Christianity,—which may easily be in a place with such a large heathen population as London, for in- stance; or, if they have heard of Christianity, have not yet been fired with any enthusiasm for the cause. Their labour has been for themselves only, and not for others; but when the good in- fluence of Christianity is brought to bear upon them, they yield to it at once. 8. épias.—By the Mosaic law the hirer was bound to pay the labourer before night—Deut. xxiv. 15, “ At his day (αὐθημερόν) thou shalt give him his hire, neither shall the sun go down upon it ; for he is poor, and setteth his heart upon it.” ἐπιτρόπῳ.---Τὴ Luke viii. 3, the word is used of Herod’s steward. The word for the unjust steward is οἰκονόμος. Both words occur in Gal. iv. 2, where the ἐπίτροπος looks after the education and bringing up of the heir, and the οἰκονόμος after his property. οἰκονόμος appears to have a narrower meaning than ἐπίτροπος. The latter means a viceroy, a guardian, one’s man of business. 9. οἱ περὶ, «.7.A—Sub. ἀπεσταλμένοι εἰς τὸν ἀμπελῶνα. ava.—aAt the rate of. 10. τὸ ἀνὰ Synvaprov.—The sum amounting in each case toa denarius. Anpapovrar.—Hellenistic for λήψονται. 11. yoyyt{o.—Ionic and late Greek for the Attic τονθορύζω. γογγύζω is used constantly in the LXX. of the Israelites murmur- ing in the wilderness. 12. otto..— These men,” with a disdainful emphasis. érro(noav.— Spent.” Cf. the phrase ποιεῖν χρόνον, “to spend some time,” in Acts xv. 33 and xviii. 23. So Demosthenes uses the phrase ποιεῖν οὐδένα χρόνον, “to make no long time”—i.e, “not to delay.” Tov Kavowva.—The searching wind of the desert at sunrise. Cf. Matt. xiii. 6, ἡλίου δὲ ἀνατείλαντος ἐκαυματίσθη ; James i. 11, ἀνέτειλε yap ὃ ἥλιος σὺν τῷ καύσωνι ; Jonah iv. 8, ἅμα τῷ ἀνα- τεῖλαι τὸν ἥλιον προσέταξεν ὃ θεὸς πνεύματι καύσωνι συγκαίοντι: cf. Luke xii. 55. In Gen. xxxi. 40, Jacob describes his work as a shepherd by saying that he was consumed by the καύσων by day and the frost by night. The word may be illustrated by the French chémer, “ to be out of work,” or “to keep holiday,” which comes from the medieval 310 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. cauma, the time of day when it is too hot to work, from which again comes French calme, Eng. calm. 13. ératpe.—Lit., “ comrade,”—a mild way of introducing a re- buke, similar to “good friend” among ourselves. It is used to Judas, and to the guest without the wedding garment, chap. xxii. 12, xxvi. 50. Snvaplov.—Gen. of price. 14. dpov.—Cf. ἄρον τὸ κράββατόν cov, Mark ii.11. The word suggests that the wages of the labourer had been laid down for his acceptance, and had been left lying while he was giving vent to his grumbling. τὸ odv.— “Your property,” with a slightly contemptuous accent. “Since you take this purely commercial view of our relations.” 15. twovnpdés—i. 6., “envious.” Cf. Mark vii. 22, ἐγώ, “em- phatic.” LESSON XXII. THE PARABLE OF THE RicH Foot—St Luke xii. 13-21. 13. It was the custom to refer questions of all kinds to the Rabbis for their counsel and decision, which carried great weight, even when informal and extrajudicial. It was almost criminal to dispute or oppose their words. The man, therefore, who asked the question that follows, was in good hopes that, if Jesus would decide for him, he would gain his point. The severity of Jesus’ answer is due to the man’s selfishness, and the unworthy use to which he sought to put Jesus’ influence. He was in a far worse degree acting as Martha did (chap. x. 40). She neglected His teaching to care for His bodily comfort ; but this man neglects it for his own personal interests, and acts as though the great Teacher existed only to gain him an inheritance! ἐκ τοῦ ὄχλου goes with εἶπε. KAnpovop.tav.—The eldest son had a double portion of the in- heritance, and the charge of maintaining his mother and un- married sisters (Deut. xxi. 17). We learn from the parable of NOTES TO LESSON XXII. Be | the Prodigal Son (chap. xv. 12) that the younger son might have his inheritance paid to him at once in money. This man was perhaps one of those younger members who was not satisfied with the sum allotted to him, or who, after having spent it, still claimed, under some pretext or other, a part of the patrimony. “The Jewish law of inheritance was so clearly defined and so just, that if this person had had any good cause there would have been no need to appeal to Jesus.’’—(Edersheim. ) 14. ἄνθρωπε implies disapproval; it is used in Plato in address- ing slaves. Cf. Rom. ii. 1, ix. 20. μεριστήν (v.1., δικαστήν).--- ΤῊ 15 word occurs nowhere else but in this passage, and seems to have been coined to express the Aramaic word used by Jesus to correspond with the verb ex- pressed by μερίσασθαι. Jesus, in His answer, was perhaps refer- ring to Exod. ii. 14, the words of the Hebrew to Moses: tis σε κατέστησεν ἄρχοντα καὶ δικαστὴν ep ἡμῶν. The v. 1. δικαστήν for κριτήν may have arisen from that passage. Cf. Acts vii. 35. 15. mwdaons.— Every kind of.” The πλεονέκτης is one who claims more than his share, one who grasps. Construe, “ Not [οὐκ being emphatic by position] because a man has a superfluity of riches is his life derived from his possessions ” —i.e., “even a superfluity of riches will not constitute a man’s possessions the source of his life.” τινί is the dative of possession after περισσεύειν. ἐστιν ἐκ = “ proceeds from,” “has its source in.” Cf. John xviii. 36, ἡ βασιλεία ἡ ἐμὴ οὐκ ἔστιν ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου τούτου ; Acts xix. 25, ἐκ ταύτης τῆς ἐργασίας ἣ εὐπορία ἡμῖν ἐστιν. “ Riches,” says Jesus, “do not really increase the quantity of a man’s life.’ Quantity may be regarded either as extensive or in- tensive. The rich man has not more life than the poor in extension, because, as Jesus shows in the following parable, His life is as uncertain as that of the poor: he has not more life in intensity, because ζωή is independent of great riches. What is life but the full development of all our faculties, and the perfect exercise of all our energies, physical, intellectual, and spiritual? The poor may be as active in body and as vigorous as the rich, may have greater intellectual faculties, and may display more love to God and man. Extreme riches and extreme poverty both have a tend- ency to paralyse men’s faculties, and therefore to destroy their life. Riches make men indolent in body, because there are many 512 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. to minister to their wants ; inactive in mind, because, as they seem to have all they desire, there is nothing to stimulate them ; unloving, because the ease with which their desires are gratified makes them feel independent of God and of their fellow-men. On the other hand, the extremely poor have neither time nor leisure to develop their physical and intellectual ζωή, and through depression and misery are apt to become callous and indifferent to others. The words of the text may be illustrated by the following pic- ture in ‘ Daniel Deronda,’ contrasting two married couples—the one rich in possessions but poor in love, the other poor in pos- sessions but rich in love: “ While Gwendolen, throned on her cushions at evening [on a yacht in the Mediterranean], and beholding the glory of sea and sky softening as if with boundless love around her, was hoping that Grandcourt [her husband] was not going to pause near her, not going to look at or speak to her, some woman under a smoky sky, obliged to consider the price of eggs in arranging her dinner, was listening for the music of a foot- step that would remove all risk from her foretaste of joy,—some couple bending, cheek by cheek, over a bit of work done by the one and delighted in by the other, were reckoning the earnings that would make them rich enough for a holiday among the furze and heath.” These two brothers quarrelling about their inheritance were losing the more precious possession of one another’s love. Perhaps the most striking examples of men having many pos- sessions but little ζωή are exhibited in the lives of some of the tyrannical Roman emperors, such as Nero, Domitian, and Caligula, to supply whom with luxuries every city and district of the civi- lised world was ransacked, yet who in the midst of splendour led indolent and isolated lives, with but little enjoyment from refined intellectual tastes, and often had their lives cut short by assassination. Far more real ζωή had the Athenian citizen, however poor, whose body had been fully and harmoniously developed by exer- cise in the gymnasium, whose mind and taste were cultivated by listening to the finest oratory and looking upon the noblest statues the world has ever known. But since the spirit is higher than the intellect, still greater abundance of ζωή had the poor Galilean peasants as they hung on the lips of Jesus, and learnt the NOTES TO LESSON XXII. aL new laws of love which were to give them new powers of loving God and man more intensely, and more extensively too, since from their minds the barriers of national prejudice, which limited their love to the love of the men of their own nation, were to be swept away. 16. This parable seems to refer to Ecclus, xi. 18,19: “There is that waxeth rich by his wariness and pinching, and this is the portion of his reward; whereas he saith, I have found rest (ἀνάπαυσιν), and now will eat continually of my goods: and yet he knoweth not what time shall come upon him, and that he must leave those things to others and die.” For Bios and ζωή, see note on Luke x. 25. The difference between the two—between the life that consists in external possession and the life of thought—is beautifully and forcibly illustrated in the following stanzas by Mr Matthew Arnold :— ‘In his cool bath with haggard eyes The Roman noble lay : He drove abroad in furious guise Along the Appian Way. He made a feast, drank fierce and fast, And crowned his head with flowers : No easier and no quicker past The impracticable hours. The brooding East with awe beheld Her impious younger world: The Roman tempest swelled and swelled, And on her head was hurled. The East bowed low before the blast, In patient deep disdain : She let the legions thunder past, And plunged in thought again.” ἡ xepa—The estate. 18. ἀποθήκας.- -“΄ Storehouses.” It is not implied that he was wrong in doing this: his sin consisted in his utter selfishness. He might have learnt differently from Ecclus. xxix. 9-12: “ Help the poor for the commandment’s sake, and turn him not away because of his poverty. Love thy money for thy brother and thy friend, and let it not rust a stone to be lost. Lay up thy treasure according to the commandment of the Most High, and it shall bring thee more profit than gold. Shut up thy alms in thy store- houses, and it shall deliver thee from all affliction.” 314 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 19, &ya0a.—Cf. xvi. 25, where the word is opp. to κακά. It is used of produce in Gen. xlv. 18, δώσω ὑμῖν πάντων τῶν ἀγαθῶν Αἰγύπτου. There is a v. 1. γεννήματα, which is a late Greek word for produce. Observe the egotistic repetition of μου in this verse. The history of Nabal seems to have been in Jesus’ mind: cf. 1 Sam. xxv. 11, “Shall I then take my bread, and my water, and my flesh that I have killed for my shearers.” Both men forget that property has duties as well as privileges. uxy.— For this periphrasis for the person, cf. Eur., Hipp., 174, τί ποτ᾽ ἔστιν μαθεῖν ἔραται ψυχά- “I long to know what it is about.” Animus is used in a similar way. avatravov.—Notice the asyndeton (absence of conjunctions). evppaivov.—Cf. xvi. 19. 20. &ppwv.— Insensate,’ nom. for voc. Cf. μή φοβοῦ τὸ μικρόν ποίμνιον, ver. 32, and 1 Cor. xv. 36. The same usage occurs in English,—as in “ King Lear,” i. 4. 271, “ The jewels of our father, with washed eyes, Cordelia leaves you;” “Julius Cesar,” v. 3. 99, “The last of all the Romans, fare thee well.” For the word cf. 1 Sam. xxv. 25, Νάβαλ (fool) ὄνομα αὐτῷ, καὶ ἀφροσύνη per’ αὐτοῦ. ταύτῃ τῇ vuKTi.—Opp. to the πολλὰ ἔτη of which he had been dreaming. aitoto.v.—There is a v. 1. ἀπαιτοῦσιν. The construction is pro- bably impersonal, as in ver. 48—@ παρέθεντο πολὺ, περισσότερον αἰτήσουσιν αὐτόν : and Matt. ii. 20, “They are dead which sought the young child’s life.’ Cf. the death of Nabal, 1 Sam. xxv. 96. 21. μὴ πλουτῶν .---“ Jf he is not also rich toward God.” This is explained by the θησαυρὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς of ver. 33, and by the phrase, ‘“ He that hath pity on the poor, lendeth to the Lord,” Prov. xix. 17. Cf. Matt. vi. 19-21. That, however, it is the loving temper and loving will, rather than the giving of much riches, that stores up the greatest treasure in heaven, is evident from Jesus’ commendation of the poor widow who cast into the treasury of the Temple out of her penury two mites only, which were all her Bios—Luke xxi. 4. A beautiful illustration of this parable is found in Adams’s allegory of “The King’s Messengers.” The messengers are the poor who carry the alms to the king’s treasury. In that allegory NOTES TO LESSON XXII. 315 the importance of the motive is insisted on. To give alms for ostentation, or the sake of the reward, is not a way of “being rich toward God.” It is the loving temper that swells, and draws from, the treasury of love. Covetousness displays itself (1) in the love of gold for its own sake, This is the narrowest form of covetousness, and the English language, as well as the Italian and Spanish, has uttered the pop- ular verdict on it by stigmatising those who exhibit it as “ misers”’ —‘ miseri””—“ wretched beings.” This term, however, does not, probably, imply any moral feeling: it is a reproach on their folly for relinquishing for the gold itself the pleasures that gold can buy. (2) In the love of other possessions, as land, houses, pictures, &c., for their own sake, for the sake of ostentation, or for the sake of the pleasure they afford; and these grounds are here arranged in the order of merit. Jesus elsewhere, as in the parables of the Talents and of the Dishonest Agent, lays down the principle that all property is held in trust for God, and is to be spent in the interests of the com- munity. He does not enter into details as to how this should be done: hence His principles hold good for all ages, civilisations, and polities. In His time and country almsgiving would be good, because there were no organisations for the dispensation of charity. In our day indiscriminate charity is an evil, and charitable work is, as a rule, best done through organisations, provided these or- ganisations do not destroy the intercourse between the donor and the recipient. Nor is charity now confined to the providing merely for animal existence, as food and shelter: but a man may do more good by providing flowers, pictures, and music for public use. But the principle is the same in whatever way it be applied. The selfish man diminishes his faculties for living, because he diminishes his powers of sympathy and love, and receives less of these from others. The temptation of our own age is not, however, solely to the pursuit of the mere animal pleasures to which the man in the parable is represented as devoting himself. Men may give them- selves up to intellectual pleasures, forgetting or neglecting all the sorrows that are in the world. In his poem, “The Palace of Art,” Tennyson has depicted a soul so doing, and the despair that ensued ultimately from the unnatural absence of human affection. At first— 516 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. *¢ Singing and murmuring in her feastful mirth, Joying to feel herself alive ; Lord over Nature, Lord of the visible earth, Lord of the senses five : Communing with herself, ‘ All these are mine, And let the world have peace or wars, Tis one to me.’” At last— *¢ Shut up as in a crumbling tomb, girt round With blackness as a solid wall; Far off she seemed to hear the dully sound Of human footsteps fall.” Then she resolves to retire to a cottage and pray till she has purged her guilt—to return, perhaps with others, to her palace. Even our studies may make us selfish, and the safest corrective to this for a schoolboy is to take part in the games and other institutions of his school, that he may not become absorbed in himself. LESSON XXIV. THE PARABLE OF THE GREAT SUPPER—St Luke xiv. 7-35. 7-12.—The choosing of the lowest place. 7. tapaBoAnv.—The word is a translation of the Hebrew md- shal, as it is constantly in the LXX. That word meant “simili- tude,” and had a very wide application, sometimes referring to short proverbs, as 1 Sam. x. 12, “Is Saul also among the pro- phets ?”’ sometimes to dark prophetic utterances, as of Balaam in Num. xxiii. 7; sometimes to enigmatic sayings, as in Prov. i. 6, “To understand a proverb, and the interpretation; the words of the wise, and their dark sayings.” It is applied in Luke iv. 23 to the phrase, “ Physician, heal thyself.” The French parole comes from it. Here it seems, from ver. 11, to mean a lesson in humil- ity generally, based upon the practice of it in a particular instance. éréx @V—i.€., τὸν νοῦν. mpwtokd.cias.—The Jews in Jesus’ time had adopted the Roman fashion of reclining at meals. They sat on three divans NOTES TO LESSON XXIV. 317 round the table which was brought in to them, and which was low: there would be several tables in a large feast such as this. The most honourable couch was the medius, then the summus, then the imus. At one end was a railing, on which lay a cushion ; the rest of the places were separated by pillows. The most Summus. Inus. ΒΩ aa | 3 Medius. honourable place was that next the railing, which in the imus would be 1 and in the summus 1, but in the médius 3, and this was the seat of honour of the whole triclinium, and was left for the most distinguished person. Sometimes more than three would recline on each divan, the table being, in that case, oval or elongated. Such, probably, was the arrangement at the Last Supper. ἐξελέγοντο. --“ Were picking out for themselves.” 8. yapous.—This word is translated “feast”? in Esth. ii. 18, but there it may mean “a wedding-feast.” But in Esth. ix. 22 it seems certainly used of any feast, so that the meaning of the word seems to have been expanded. The feast at which Jesus was now present could not be a marriage-feast, for marriages were not solemnised on the Sabbath-day. He may, however, have spoken of a marriage-feast to avoid personality, or because he used “ marriage-feast”’ on other occasions as a type of the king- dom of God. Jesus, in thus speaking, was only acting as acknowledged Rabbis were in the habit of doing. Itis said of one Rabbi, that to pro- duce gravity at a marriage-feast, he broke a vase worth £25; of another, that at his son’s wedding he broke a costly glass; and of a third, that being asked to sing, he exclaimed, “ Woe to us, for we must all die!” As an illustration of the anxiety of the Rabbis to secure for themselves the best couch, we are told that at a banquet given by 318 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. King Alexander Jannzeus, at which several Persian satraps were present, Rabbi Simeon Ben Shatach seated himself between the king and queen; and on being asked his reason, replied that it was written in the book of Jesus Ben Sirach, “ Exalt wisdom and she shall exalt thee, and shall make thee sit among princes.” 9. ἄρξῃ expresses the reluctance with which he will move. The intervening places would by this time be taken. The host or a friend (the master of the feast: cf. John ii. 8, ἀρχιτρικλίνῳ) would arrange who should take them. For the arrangement of guests according to their rank, we may compare Gen. xliii. 33, where Joseph’s brethren are so arranged, and 1 Sam. ix. 22 (the chiefest place—rémov ἐν πρώτοις τῶν κεκλημένων). We know from the Talmud that the Rabbis occupied the uppermost seats. 10. προσανάβηθι.---“ Come up hither towards me.” Cf. Prov. xxv. 7, “ Better is it that it be said unto thee, Come up hither, than that thou shouldest be put lower in the presence of the prince.” ἵνα must be interpreted as introducing a sentence co-ordinate to that introduced by μή ποτε in ver. 8, and almost equivalent to “the result will be that.” To take a lower seat for the purpose of being invited to a higher, is not a spirit Jesus would inculcate. He is pointing out to the worldly Pharisees, whom He elsewhere rebukes for loving the uppermost seats in the synagogues (Matt. Xxill. 6), that even from a worldly point of view their pushing conduct is a mistake. But from this He leads on the conversation to the general principle of ver. 11. The arrangements of modern dinner-parties do not usually ad- mit of this pushing eagerness, but it sometimes—too often—finds its way into our places of worship. 8éfa.—A stronger word than tiuj7—honour accompanied with recognition. 11. Men who overestimate themselves constantly suffer chagrin, and since we are all prone to do so, we are safe in taking up infe- rior positions to those we think our due. Yet men must not shrink from their official positions, in which they are representa- tives of the dignity of others. This saying of Jesus occurs also in Matt. xxiii. 12; Luke xviii. 14, where see note. Cf. Prov. xxix. 23. Men are always very ready to detect presumption, even in those who take chief seats with a justification for doing so. NOTES TO LESSON XXIV. o19 12-14.— Who are our best guests. It was an old custom in Israel to invite the poorer neighbours to the special meals on the consecrated flesh of offerings not used at the altar, and to similar religious feasts. Cf. Neh. vii. 10; Deut. xiv. 28, 29. But in the time of Jesus this usage was a thing of the past, for the priests and Rabbis of His day shrank from contact with the people. It is possible that, in accordance with the freedom of intercourse in the East, many poor neigh- bours had crowded into the courts of the house, some even into the rooms, to look on and listen to the Rabbis, especially to the fam- ous new Teacher. On these the Rabbis, while they pushed for pre-eminence among themselves, would look askance and with contempt. It is probable that this was a feast to which many distinguished persons were invited. 12. ἄριστον ἢ δεῖπνον .---Α breakfast ora dinner. Cf. John xxi. 12, where early in the morning Jesus is represented as saying, “δεῦτε ἀριστήδατε.᾽᾽ It is probable that breakfast took place im- mediately after the return from morning prayers in the synagogue, about 9 or 10 a.M., and dinner towards evening. ἄρ-ιστον is probably connected with our ear-ly. Cf. the Homeric ἢέριος ἠριγένεια. φώνει.--- Τὴ ver. 13 we have the more classic κάλει. The former refers to the calling by the voice, the latter rather to the invita- tion, so that the former implies more ostentation, the latter more feeling. Since φωνέω always in the Greek Testament refers to calling aloud, there may be a reference to the holding of banquets in the open air, to which passers-by were invited. Cf. Gen. xvii. 1-3. In what follows Jesus is speaking rhetorically, not logically, in accordance with the Rabbinical practice, and would be so under- stood by his hearers. The negative μὴ φώνει, followed by ἀλλά, would be regarded as implying that the practice of inviting the poor, &c., as expressed in the latter clause, was to be preferred to that of inviting the rich, &c., as expressed in the former. Cf. Matt. ix. 13, ἔλεον θέλω καὶ οὐ Ovciav—i.ec., “I prefer a compassionate temper to sacrifice.” The negative is actually explained by paral- lelism in Prov. viii. 10: “ Receive my instruction and noé silver ; and knowledge rather than choice gold.” See also ver. 26 of this chap. Here, too, as elsewhere in His teaching, He is thinking of the motive, and the scene to His eyes is a painful one. The dis- 920 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. tinguished guests are thinking each of his own dignity and ad- vancement. They are filled with mean motives, and displaying their customary contempt for the poor and oppressed. Jesus bids them look for the rewards of the pious rather than of the worldly. That it is unworthy to be hospitable for the sake of a return, that we should spend our sustenance in acts of beneficence rather than of ostentatious entertainments,—such isthe instruction Jesus seems here to be giving. It is not likely that His hearers would understand Him as forbidding them to entertain their relations, who, indeed, would often be the poor, nor to abstain from showing hospitality to their neighbours because they were rich. He is reprobating heartless hospitality for the sake of mutual advantage. It is obvious that in our time and country it would not always be a kindness to invite the poor to dinner-parties. But in the time of Jesus there were no poor-laws, workhouses, hospitals, or other organisations for relieving poverty. It is very much due to the influence of His teaching that these have sprung up. The teaching of the Pharisees about pollution had bred a feeling of extreme hardness towards the poor, that does not exist to anything like the same extent in our day. One of the best practical illustrations of carrying out the injunction in detail is perhaps the custom of entertaining the poor and old in the Bir- mingham Town Hall at Christmas time ; one of the most painful illustrations of the social feeling that led to the instruction, the struggle for social eminence and good matrimonial alliances in London society which Thackeray has satirised, especially in the life and conversation of Major Pendennis. The Christian who has the spirit of love in him will naturally shrink from such feasts ; and all his feasts, whether given to the poor or to the rich, will tend to promote Christian love and unity. Seneca recommended masters to sit down to table with their slaves; and Epictetus says, “It would be best if, while making your preparations, and while feasting at your banquets, you dis- tribute among the attendants some of the provisions.” We are told of Pope Gregory (A.D. 590) that he was in the habit of sending dishes from his own table to persons whom he knew to be ashamed to ask relief; that he entertained strangers and wanderers as his guests ; and that, when a poor man had been found dead in the street, he abstained from the celebration of the Eucharist for some days, considering himself the cause of his death. NOTES TO LESSON XXIV. 92] It was in harmony with these words of Jesus that the Council of Niczea (A.D. 325) issued an edict that Xenodochia (ξενο-δοχεῖα), or refuges for strangers, should be erected in every city. 13. 80xqv.—Only found here and in St Luke v. 28, in the New Testament. Cf. Gen. xxi. 8, καὶ ἐποίησε ᾿Αβράαμ δοχὴν μεγάλην. 14. ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῶν Sikalov.— According to the Rabbis, only the perfectly just enter at once into Paradise; all the rest pass through a period of purification and perfection, of various duration, up to one year. The first mention of a resurrection of the body in the Old Testament is in Dan. xii. 3, where a partial resurrection is alluded to. But it takes a more explicit form in the Second Book of Maccabees, chap. vii., where the hope of a resurrection of the body, followed by eternal happiness, sustains, in the midst of torments, a Jewish family, composed of a mother and her seven sons, who, during the persecution of Antiochus Epiphanes, refused to sacri- fice to idols, and died heroically for their faith. The second of the children cries out before expiring: “Thou, like a fury, takest us out of this present life ; but the King of the world shall raise us up, who have died for His laws, unto everlasting life.” The general tone of this remarkable seventh chapter tends to prove that the resurrection of the dead was regarded as reserved only for the children of Israel who were faithful to the law of God. The time of the resurrection is defined, in ver. 29, by ἐν τῷ ἐλέει (in the mercy), as the commencement of the reign of the Messiah. The Jews, first of all, conceived of a partial resurrection at the be- ginning of the Messiah’s reign, and then, later on, of a general resurrection at the end of it. Jesus seems to allude to this first resurrection in chap. xx. 35. Josephus speaks of the Pharisees as restricting the transmigration of souls (writing to Greeks, he prefers this phrase to resurrection) to the righteous; and this view St Paul seems to combat in Acts xxiv. 15, where he speaks of a resurrection both of the just and the unjust. There is pro- bably a distinction in the New Testament between 7 ἀνάστασις νεκρῶν, which refers to the resurrection of the just and the un- just, and ἀνάστασις ἐκ νεκρῶν, which refers to the resurrection of the just only. 15-24.—The parable of the Great Supper. 15. The Rabbis believed that the resurrection of the just was to be followed by a great festival. It is possible that the speaker x 330). GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. here was one whose life did not warrant him in the complacent assurance that he should take part in this festival. Jesus, on other occasions, protested against the theory that none but Jews should do so. Cf. Matt. viii. 11, “‘ Many shall come from the east, and from the west, and shall recline with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus, in the parable, shows how the Jews, by the treatment of God’s messages through the prophets, through John the Baptist, and finally, through Himself, had rejected the invitation to the great banquet, which was a ban- quet of the soul—of love and holiness. payerat.—Fut. for the classic ἔδομαι. Cf. Luke xvii. 8, φάγεσαι. The phrase “eat bread,” both in the Old Testament and among the Rabbis, = “ partake of a meal.” Cf. Exod. ii. 20. 16. ἐκάλεσε.--- ΤῊ 6 technical term for inviting ; Lat., voco. πολλούς here refers to the Jews. δεῖπνον péya.—The mas. form is rare and late. 17.---ἀπέστειλεν Tov SotA0v.—It is still the custom in the East to repeat the invitation when allis prepared. Cf. Esth. vi. 14, where the king’s chamberlains haste to bring in Haman to the*banquet Esther had prepared, and to which she had previously invited him. It was a Roman custom also. Cf. Ter., Heaut., i. 1. 117, “ Monere oportet me hunc vicinum Phaniam, ad ccenam ut veniat”; and Martial, Epig., viii. 67. 1— ““ Horas quinque puer nondum tibi nuntiat, et tu Jam conviva mihi Ceciliane venis.” Thomson, in ‘The Land and the Book,’ describes the servant of a sheikh as inviting his guests at the proper time, in the very formula used in the parable—“ Come, for the supper is ready.” τὸν δοῦλον avtotd.—Jesus is probably referring here to Himself. épxeoe.—This corresponds to the preaching by John the Bap- tist and by Jesus—“ the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” 18. ἀπὸ prds—i.c., γνωμῆς, “consent,” or φωνῆς, “voice.” Philo, in Flacc., has ὡς ἅπαντας ὁμοθυμαδὸν ula φωνῇ κεκραγέναι. ἔχε με παρῃτημένον ---“ Have me as one begged off.” Cf. chap. xix. 20, 7 μνᾷ σου ἣν εἶχον ἀποκειμένην ἐν covdapiy. Xen., Cyr., iii. 1. 35, od θαῤῥοῦντά με ἕξεις. 19. ζεύγη mévte.—So Elisha was found ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen before him—1 Kings xix. 19. NOTES TO LESSON XXIV. 323 δοκιμάσαι.---Α bullock unaccustomed to the yoke would be nearly useless. The excuses include the three motives of wealth, business, and pleasure. As their engagement had been made previously with the host, they were uncourteous, however apparently reasonable. There is a climax of rudeness in their answers: the first says, “éxw ἀνάγκην᾽" ; the second, “ mopevouat”’; the third, flatly, “ οὐ δύ- vauot.” It is related of Sir T. More, that on being sent for by the king, when he was at his prayers in public, he returned answer he would attend him when he had first performed his ser- vice to the King of kings. So all men have a prior engagement with God. Hardly any of the spiritual chiefs of the Jewish nation attached themselves openly to Christ, His messenger. Cf. John vii. 48, “ Have any of the rulers or Pharisees believed on Him?” 21. πλατείας καὶ pipoas—i.ec., broad streets and narrow lanes ; but πλατείας, in modern Greek, would mean squares, as in French place (platea). In Isa. xv. 3, some translate “broad places.” The word was originally an adjective, with 63és understood, which is supplied in Xen., Cyr., 1. 6. 43. Cf. τραχεῖαι, chap. iil. 5. τῆς πόλεως.-- Τὴ the interpretation, “the theocracy ’—i.e., the holy nation of Israel. ῥύμη, from péw=a violent movement, then a “going” ; then like “alley,” from French aller, a narrow lane. Roma is probably ~ connected with the same word, and means “ impetuous strength,” ῥώμη, or perhaps “ the stream town.” πτωχούς, K.T.A.—The repetition of these words from ver. 13 is a great guide to us in interpreting the parable. We must recol- lect that the feast at which Jesus was present commenced with _ His healing aman who had the dropsy. For him the Pharisees aoa showed no sympathy. Then, probably, there were looking on, but not partaking of the feast, many of the classes here spoken of, whom, on account of their pollution, the spiritual rulers regarded as outcasts. Yet these had shown themselves willing to enter into the kingdom of God, to hear the message of John the Baptist and of Jesus, which the Pharisees would not hear. 23. This call probably refers to the Gentiles outside Palestine. paypovs.— Hedges beside which wanderers and beggars and the homeless have encamped. Cf. Mark xii. 1. avaykacov—i.c., in spite of their timidity. Cf. Matt. xiv. 22. Good clothes should not be necessary in Christian churches: the 924 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. shy, the morose, the surly, are all to be won to Christ. Cf. the saying of the Rabbis, “ Let the poor be the sons of thy house ;” and the invitation of Wisdom in Prov. ix. 2, 3. 24. The spiritual rulers of the Jews had voluntarily excluded themselves. The banquet of brotherly love and unselfishness was not for those who were wilfully narrow and selfish. They had put religious form in place of morality, and therefore the Gentile whom they hated, and their own countrymen, polluted by the Gentile, whom they despised, came to the banquet in their place. THE PARABLES OF THE BUILDER AND OF THE KING GOING TO WAR. 25-35.—Jesus, on His way to Jerusalem, discourages those who are following Him from political motives. 25. owvvetropévovto.—Notice the imperf. otpadets.—This is a favourite word with St Luke. Reverence would keep the ὄχλοι from going on in front. 26. The same principle of interpretation applies here as in ver. 12. Cf. Gen. xxix. 30 with 31, “Jacob loved Rachel more than Leah ;” “and when the Lord saw that Leah was hated.” There is a softer form of the saying in Matt. x. 37, “He that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;” in that passage it is addressed to missionaries, in this to the disciples generally. Jesus had left the house of the Pharisee, and was on His journey, surrounded by multitudes from the villages and cities, many of whom He knew were unprepared to sacrifice anything in His cause, and only followed Him from curiosity or self-interest. They were looking forward to His showing Himself in Jerusalem as the political Messiah, and thought to gain advancement or fame. It was necessary they should be undeceived. He knew that He was going to Jerusalem to win neither renown nor posi- tion, but death. Cf. chap. xiii. 33, “It cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.” The idea of utter devotion He was setting before His followers was familiar to them from the descrip- tion of Levi in Deut. xxxiii. 9, “ Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him ; neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor his own children.” The claims of morality over NOTES TO LESSON XXIV. 325 natural affection had been asserted in the stern precept contained in Deut. xxi. 18-21, that if a son showed himself determinately vicious or impious, his father or mother was to bring him before the magistrates that he might be stoned. So the claims of public duty over natural affection were taught to the Romans in the story of Brutus on the tribunal condemning his treasonous sons to death. In His paradoxical saying, and in the parables that follow, Jesus sought to separate from His society followers whose motives and conduct were likely to be a hindrance and embarrassment to Him, and at the same time to prepare those who were sincerely “ hunger- ing and thirsting after righteousness,” for the difficulties and trials that awaited them. The kingdom of heaven was neither to be a field for the ambitious nor a rest for the meditative ; neither the mere statesman and soldier, nor the dreaming mystic and senti- mentalist, would find his ideal there. The followers of Jesus were to be at war with the world, and yet to carry on this war with no pomp or circumstance, fired by nothing of the soldier’s combativeness, and cheered by none of his honours: they were to be peaceful devotees, and yet to forego the rest and solitude of the philosopher or of the Essene. It was their destiny to do battle with Roman vices, not with Roman legions ; and they were to be soldiers under no visible commander, for an invisible country, without the stimulus of patriotism or of pay. In the burning language of St Paul (1 Cor. iv. 9-13), the apostles, at least, resembled the condemned in the Roman theatre. God seemed to have given orders for their sufferings in the arena of the world, even as the Roman emperor gave orders for the con- tests of prisoners with wild beasts in the more confined arena of the amphitheatre. On the degradation and sufferings of the apostles, angels and men seemed to be looking without sympathy ; they were regarded as fools ; they were weak and dishonoured ; they suffered hunger and thirst, and nakedness and buffeting, and had no certain dwelling-place—neither home nor father- land ; they had to preach, and yet had no pay, nor position, nor leisure, but supported themselves by the labour of their own hands; when reviled, they neither retaliated in words, nor satisfied their outraged human feelings with the calm con- tempt of the Stoic, but answered with blessings ; persecution they met with endurance, defamation with mild exhortations ; 926 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. they had become as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things. But perhaps the worst of all the evils the converts to Christi- anity would have to face would be the anger, or, what was far more terrible, the grief of their parents. The home feeling among the Jews was very strong, and among the Romans obedience to parents was one of the first principles of religion ; yet the Jew who be- came a convert must renounce all his home ties, and the Roman go counter to one of his first instincts, and become not only a traitor to his country but a rebel to his father! And we must bear in mind parents and relatives, both Jewish and Roman, would quite conscientiously look on Christianity as a pernicious super- stition calculated to bring down the vengeance of heaven, and to ruin the country or the empire ; nay, they would often regard it as their duty to give up their renegade children to death. Yet if the disciples of Jesus did not set their love for Him above their love of their parents and their home, how was His religion to be propagated? Nay, if children always thought as their parents, how would the world progress? Jesus in these words emancipated children, at least when they have arrived at years of discretion, from the tyranny of parents over their minds and thoughts ; and St Paul laid down the limits of obedience when he said, “ Children, obey your parents im the Lord”’—Eph. vi. 1. 27. τὸν otavpdv.—This figure is used only on this occasion, and at the announcement of the passion in Matt. xvi. 24. We cannot determine whether Jesus had His own death in His mind, or if He were referring to the spectacle, only too common in Pales- tine since the Roman subjugation, of the criminal on his way to crucifixion carrying his own cross. The custom is alluded to in a lost play of Plautus, “The Carbonaria”’: “ Patibulum ferat per urbem, deinde affigatur cruci.” In Latin we never have “ferre crucem,’ but always “ferre furcam” or “ferre patibulum.” It is probable that the criminal carried not the whole cross, but only the transverse beam. Plutarch uses the phrase of a guilty con- science: καὶ τῷ μὲν σώματι τῶν κολαζομένων ἕκαστος κακούργων ἐκφέρει τὸν αὑτοῦ σταυρόν. To the multitudes who were following Jesus at this time-— whether to those who were following Him in the expectation of His leading a revolt from the rule of Rome, or to those who were looking to Him to guide them in their aspirations after a life NOTES TO LESSON XXIV. SOT of tranquil piety—the words must have sounded appalling, and have produced the result He desired, of thinning the numbers of His followers by repelling the merely political or curious. The figure He set before them was not that of the heroic patriot or the peaceful meditative Essene, but of the degraded criminal bending under the yoke of his own cross—a figure that can only be represented to our minds by the image of the murderer carrying his own gallows, his sufferings unrelieved by any of the religious sympathy Christianity now affords to such wretches. St Paul uses the verb σταυρόω metaphorically, speaking of “crucifying the flesh,” and of “being crucified to the world,” Gal. v. 24, vi. 14. We use the weaker word “ mortify,” as St Paul used the weaker phrase “ being dead to sin,” Rom. vi. 2. Cf. Col. ili. 5, νεκρώσατε τὰ μέλη ὑμῶν. Cf. Plautus, Cistell., iii. 1. 16, “ΝΠ mecum tibi, mortuus tibi sum.” tmvupyov.—Towers would be built for the protection of vineyards (Matt. xxi. 33), of wells, of flocks, and of villages. The Herodian family had a passion for building. The word here may mean a turreted mansion. Cf. Hor., Od.,i. 4. 14, “ Pauperum tabernas regumque turres.” 28. xa6lcas.—The participle emphasises the carefulness of the computation. Cf. chap. xvi. 6, and see note on xv. 18. atrapticpov.—This word only occurs here and in Dion., Hal. The adverb ἄπαρτι, in the sense of “ completely,” occurs in Herod- otus, 5. 53. 30. οὗτος is used contemptuously. 31. ἐν δέκα may mean “surrounded by” or “ with.” 32. εἰ δὲ prye—i.e., δυνατὸς εἴη. Cf. Matt. vi. 1. τὰ πρὸς εἰρήνην.---“ Things which tend to peace”—ze., “ar- rangements for peace,” “terms of peace.” 33. amotacoetat.—Lit., “to set apart”; then in later Greek (1) “to bid farewell to,” as in Mark vi. 46; Luke ix. 61: (2) to “abandon” or “renounce,” as here: Vulg., renunciare. Philo speaks of ἀποτάσσεσθαι τῇ γαστρί and ταῖς αἰσθήσεσι, “ renounc- ing the belly” and “the senses.” Notice the solemn repetition of the refrain, οὐ δύναταί μου εἶναι μαθητής. 84. ἐὰν δὲ καί.- ““ But if even the salt.” 35. w.—Emphatic by position, “ out they cast it.” Salt is good to preserve some substances from corruption, and to give to others a taste: so Jesus expects His followers to pre- 928 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. serve the society in which they live from moral corruption, and to give a tone to it. But should they lose their own moral tone, how can they who have known the Highest Example, and felt it, recover their tone from any other influence? They are likely to be of no further use. Their unfaithfulness causes men to be disgusted with Christianity. Again, inferior kinds of salt were used as manure to the soil, and to hasten the decomposition of dung; but savourless salt would be useless even for these purposes. The Christian who has proved unfaithful to his calling will neither fertilise what is good in society nor put an end to what is evil. He is more useless than if he had never been a Christian at all, because he has become a scandal. Travellers tell us of the finding of salt in the East that had lost its flavour, through the earth and other impurities being mixed with it: so may Christians lose their influence by adopting a worldly tone and worldly motives. The saying occurs in the Talmud, and seems to have been a Jewish proverb. The Jews compared the soul, as also the Scrip- tures, to salt. Jesus employs the gnome also in Matt. v. 13; Mark ix. 50. Cf. Job vi. 6 and Col. iv. 6. In this passage it seems to mean, “It will be better that you should not become my dis- ciples, than that you should do so without counting the cost, and so incur the risk of afterwards falling away and being a scandal to my teaching.” Jesus does not say that it is impossible for such of His dis- ciples as fall away to rise again. He points out the great and obvious difficulties of their doing so. ὃ ἔχων ὦτα, k.T.A.—Philo, De Charit., completes the pas Ae τοῖς ὦτα ἔχουσιν ἐν ψυχῇ. NOTES TO LESSON ΧΧΥ. 329 LESSON XXV. THE PARABLES OF THE LOST SHEEP AND THE LOST PIECE OF SILVER—St Luke xv. 1-10. 1. ἦσαν éyy{Lovres.—This periphrastic form of the imperfect is not unusual in classic Greek, though more common in poetry than prose. Cf. Eur., Hec., 122, ἦν δὲ τὸ μὲν σὸν σπεύδων ἀγαθόν. In Hellenistic Greek it is frequent in prose, partly perhaps because it was frequent in Aramaic, the language of natives of Palestine, partly because it is the tendency of language to resolve condensed expressions for the sake of clearness and force. An illustration of this in English is the Elizabethan use of the simple preterite where we should now use the past participle with the auxiliary verb, as in the “ Tempest,” v. 1. 114— “ And since I saw thee, The aftliction of my mind amends,”— where we should now say, “ have seen.” - In this passage the circumlocution seems to imply custom. ΟἿ, Mark ii. 18, ἦσαν of μαθηταὶ ᾿Ιωάννου vnotevorTes. πάντες presents a difficulty from which Luther in his translation endeavoured to extricate himself by rendering “all kinds of pub- licans and sinners.” The word cannot be taken literally, but is a rhetorical way of expressing that on His last journey to Jerusalem Jesus drew to Himself publicans and sinners from every town and village on His route. Cf. the ὄχλοι in xiv. 25 and Matt. 111. 5, τότε ἐξεπορεύετο πρὸς αὐτὸν Ἱεροσόλυμα καὶ πᾶσα ἡ ᾿Ιουδαία, καὶ πᾶσα 7 περίχωρος τοῦ ᾿Ιορδάνου.. tehOvar.— Tax-gatherers.” The word “ publicans”’ is a literal translation of the Latin publicani, adopted by Wycliffe in his version. During the reign of Richard II., when that version was made, it would have been particularly dangerous to give the plain English rendering (Nicholson). The persons here meant were the middle-men between the Roman farmers of taxes—the real pub- licani—and those who were commonly called “publicans,” the ordi- nary collectors of taxes. 990 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. See note on Matt. v. 46, and cf. Luke iii. 13, xix. 8, where their extortionate practices are alluded to. Tax-gatherers are never a popular class, but these men were especially detested as collecting from their own countrymen and co-religionists for the unpopular Roman government ; above all, hated and despised by the advanced national party, the Pharisees and Scribes, who regarded all contact with the Gentiles as pollu- tion, and all breakers of even the details of the Law as accursed. With them to sin was not necessarily to be immoral, but to break the ceremonial law, and hence to be unclean. It is probable, however, that none but the debased and degraded would under- take so odious an office as tax-gathering, and that such men might fairly be classed with “the sinners.” In the state of religious ferment Palestine was in at that time, even they, however, would have their religious aspirations, and many of them who had suc- ceeded perhaps to a hereditary office, or been driven into it by sheer want, would deeply feel their degradation. To such the loving and sympathetic spirit of Jesus, the new Teacher, pre- sented a great contrast to the chilling and supercilious contempt of the Pharisees and Scribes, the professional religionists. Not only did He attract them as a class, but the names of two who attached themselves to Him are especially mentioned,—Matthew (St Matt. ix. 9), the author of the gospel that bears his name, and Zaccheeus (Luke xix. 2). In the trilogy of parables that follow, Jesus seeks to induce the Pharisees to think less of the sins and shortcomings, and more of the aspirations after holiness, of their erring brethren. But though they seem to refer primarily to the relations of Pharisees and publicans, the parables may fairly be regarded as having a wider application to those of Jews and Gentiles generally, and point to the time spoken of by St Paul, when there should be “neither Jew nor Greek, but all should be one in Christ Jesus” —Gal. i. 28. The parables, however, contain a lesson for “the sinners” as well as for the Pharisees, leading them to think of God as a loving and forgiving father, rather, than as a stern, hard task- master. 2. διεγόγγυζον.---ΤῊΘ preposition intensifies the meaning,—“ kept angrily muttering to one another.” Cf. “ curses not loud but deep.” St Luke is fond of verbs compounded with διὰ and ἐπὶ, Cf. διασκορ- NOTES TO LESSON ΧΧΥ. 991 πίζω, ver. 13; διατηρέω, ii. 51; διαφυλάσσω, “to guard carefully,” iv. 10; διαμαρτύρομαι, “to bear solemn attestation,” xvi. 28. Φαρισαῖοι kal ypappartets.—See the Essays, pages 41 and 171. ovtos.—Contemptuous. mpoodéxeTat.—Intensive prep., “receives with welcome.” Cf. Thue. ii. 12; Phil. ii. 29, πρσοδέχεσθε αὐτὸν ἐν Κυρίῳ μετὰ πάσης χαρᾶς. 3. τὴν παραβολήν.---Ο the three parables that follow, the first sets forth the compassion of the Father for sinners, the second the value He sets on them, the third illustrates both. Again, the lost sheep represents the sinner who is altogether ignorant that there is a God and a heavenly home; the piece of coin, the sinner who knows God as a King but not asa Father (for the coin bears the King’s image) ; the prodigal son, the sinner who, having known the Father’s love and the joys of His home, wilfully and knowingly banishes himself from both. Again, the first two parables dwell solely on God’s feeling towards the sinner; the last treats also of the feelings of the sinner towards God. See note on ver. 9. 4. ἐνενήκοντα évvéa.—The Jews often used the expression “ ninety-nine.” épjpw.—Not a sandy desert, but a wide grassy place, without habitations of men, where the rest of the flock would be quite safe. 6. otkov.—His heavenly home, whence He had come forth to earth to seek the lost sheep—the publicans and sinners, or per- haps we may take it as the kingdom of God, the new order of things introduced by Christianity, as opposed to ἔρημος, the Jewish Church. Jesus makes all men one family, into which the outcasts from the theocracy may be admitted, though the Pharisee refuse to join it. 7. otruves.—“ Of the class who.” Contrast with this saying of Jesus that of the Pharisees, ‘“‘ There is joy before God when those who provoke Him perish from the world”’ (Edersheim). With the parable cf. 1 Kings xxii. 17; Num. xxvii. 17. A parable similar to this is ascribed to Rabbi Simeon, the chief of the Ascetics, the great teacher of the Essenes. He is reported to have said that a certain man had a flock of sheep which were daily led to pasture. Here they were joined by a gazelle, who regularly fed with them, and returned with them to the fold. 302 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. The owner of the flock bade his shepherd take the greatest care of the stranger; and when he was asked why he showed it such favour, answered: “This creature has left the wilderness, and, in spite of its own untamed and timid nature, has joined the flock. It is well that I should welcome it more affectionately than I do those who have been fed by me, and tended by my care; for that which is customary with them, is strange to the gazelle.” And thus the Rabbi draws the moral: God will welcome the stranger who joins himself to the chosen people, more than He will those who have always had the blessing of His covenant, because they are born to Israel. 8. Spaxpy.—From δράσσομαι, “ what one can grasp in the hand.” Cf. δράγμα, ἃ sheaf. The Greeks generally reckoned by drachmas, as the Romans reckoned by sesterces. Roman coinage owed the origin of the weights of its gold and silver money to Greece, and the denarius, the chief silver coin, was under the early emperors equivalent to the Attic drachma, then greatly depreciated. The currency in Palestine was mainly of copper, though gold and silver Roman money was also in use. The word dpaxun here is probably another name for the denarius, the coin mentioned in the passage respecting the tribute to Czesar (Matt. xxii. 19). It would bear the head of Tiberius, with the title of Cesar. A denarius appears to have been the ordinary pay for a day’s labour, Tobit v. 14. It was the principal silver coin in circulation in the Roman Empire. On one side of it would be the head of Tiberius, with the inscription, “ TI. CASAR DIVI AUG. F. AUGUSTUS”’; on the other side “ PONTIF. MAX.,” with a seated female figure. It was called denarius, because it was originally equal to 10 asses; but on the reduction of the weight of the as, it was made equal to 16 asses. The denarius of this period would be worth about 84d.; it was subsequently reduced to 74d. See note on Matt. xx. 2. Avxvov.—Necessary, because in the East the room would have no other light than that admitted by the door. ἕως ot.—The relative attracted into the case of its antecedent τοῦ χρόνου understood. 9, τὰς φίλας καὶ γείτονας. --- ΤῸ be distinguished from the τούς of ver 5. In Old English we might say “friendesses and neighbouresses’’ (Trench). ἥν amradeoa.—Contrasted with τὸ ἀπολωλός of ver. 4, because NOTES TO LESSON XXVI. B00 the woman’s search for the coin arises from the value she herself sets on it. It has been suggested that the δραχμαὶ δέκα may have been part of the woman’s head-dress—her most cherished ornament. “The women of Bethlehem and of other parts of the Holy Land still wear a row of coins sewn upon their head-dress, and pendent over their brows ; and the number of the coins is very commonly ten, as I, in common with other travellers, have ascertained by count- ing. The custom reaches far beyond the Christian era.” —(A. G. Weld, in ‘ The Expositor,’ No. xxxvii.) This interpretation throws additional light on the progress of thought in the three parables. Great is the grief of the shepherd for his one sheep lost out of a hundred ; still greater that of the woman for the loss of one of her ten constant and valued ornaments ; but how much greater that of the father for the loss of one of his two sons ? LESSON XXVI. THE PARABLE OF THE PRODIGAL Son—St Luke xv. 11-32. THE DRAMATIS PERSONA: THE PRODIGAL (11-19)—THE FATHER (20-24)—-THE ELDER BROTHER (25-32). 11-19.—The Prodigal. 12. © veotepos.—The younger is represented as the sinner, rather than the elder, as being more likely to be thoughtless, and more easily led astray. Jesus is depicting the follies of inexperience, and the miseries resulting from them—not the deliberate wicked- ness of mature age. The former is a subject for compassion as well as reprobation. The parable lovingly invites all who have, through thoughtlessness, wasted their youth, to return to God, who will gladly receive the service of their lives, however late, pro- vided their repentance be sincere. Cf. Ps. ciii. 3-5, where the forgiveness of God and its healing power are said to renew the sinner’s youth like the eagle’s; and ver. 13, “ Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him.” vat GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. τὸ ἐπιβάλλον wépos.—A quite classical expression. Cf. Hdtus., iv. 115, ἀπολαχόντες τῶν κτημάτων τὸ ἐπιβάλλον. The verb occurs several times in this sense in the Apocrypha. Cf. 1 Mace. x. 30, Tod κάρπου τοῦ ἐπιβάλλοντός μοι. The elder received as his inheritance a double share of the pat- " rimonial lands, the younger members a single share (Deut. xxi. 17). This explains the petition of Elisha to Elijah (2 Kings ii. 9), that a double portion of his spirit should rest upon him—.e., twice as much as on any other of the sons of the prophets, Elijah’s spiritual children. As in this case the father, anticipating the division of the lands, gives the younger son an equivalent in money, the entire domain, on the father’s death, would come to the elder. διεῖλεν αὐτοῖς.- Τὸ both his sons,—reserving to himself, how- ever, the right of usufruct over the portion of the eldest, who re- mained in his service. τὸν Blov.—‘ That whereon the family lived—their means.” Cf. vill. 43 and Mark xii. 44. 13. εἰς χώραν paxpdav.—The pleasures of sin carry men farther away from the presence of God. Cf. Ps. Ixxiii. 26-28, “God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. For, lo, they that are far from Thee shall perish. . . . But it is good for me to draw near to God.” Between an earthly father and son there may be estrangement without separation. A father and son, correspond- ing weekly, while living in different countries, are really nearer - one another than a father and son in the same house, rarely speak- ing, and having no thoughts in common. Sveokdpirice.—N ote the prep., “ scattered wastefully.” Cf. ver. 2. ἀσώτως.- -ἀσωτία occurs in Eph. v. 18; 1 Pet. iv.4. Philo op- poses ἀσωτία to φειδωλία ; Cebes connects it with ἀκρασία and ἀπ- Anotia—“incontinence” and “greediness.” From the adverb comes the title of the parable, which might be rendered by the old Spen- serian word, “a scatterling,” or by “ wastrel,” the opposite to which is “niggard.” “The waster of his goods will very often be a waster of everything besides—will lay waste himself, his time, his facul- ties, his powers ; and so, the active and passive meanings of the word being united, will be himself laid waste—he loses himself and is lost.”—Abp. Trench. In the English version the word is translated “ riotously ”—a word that implies disorderly excess, an ill-regulated indulgence of the passions. Cf. Chaucer’s Wife of Bath’s Prologue— NOTES TO LESSON XXVI. 335 ‘¢ Mercury loveth wisdom and science, And Venus loveth riot and dispence.”’ 14. λιμὸς ἰσχυρά.-- Τὴ classic Greek λιμός is usually mas. The interpretation of this famine is supplied in Amos viii. 11, “ Be- hold, the days come, saith the Lord God, that I will send a famine in the land ; not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord.” The prodigal craves for the spiritual food of his heavenly Father’s home. kata.— Throughout.” αὐτός is used in later Greek for the emphatic “he,” and often does no more than distinguish the new subject,—as here “he” from “the famine” of the previous sentence. In modern Greek it means simply “ he,” without emphasis. 15. ἐκολλήθη.--- He clave to, attached himself to ”—a favourite word with St Luke. That it is a very strong word is evident from St Paul’s use of it in Rom. xii. 9, ἀποστυγοῦντες (loathing utterly) τὸ πονηρόν, κολλώμενοι τῷ ἀγαθῷ. Here the word seems to imply that the citizen of the country to whom he applied was unwilling at first to receive him, and only after persistent entreat- ies took him into his service. It paints more forcibly, therefore, the picture of his degradation. Contrast 2 Kings xviii. 6, where it is said of Hezekiah, ἐκολλήθη τῷ Kuplw—“ he clave to the Lord” ; and cf. 2 Sam. xx. 2, “ But the men of Judah clave (ἐκολλήθησαν) unto their king.” Cf. Acts x. 28. xotpovs.—An abomination to the Jews, being the type of un- cleanness and unwholesome food. Jesus may have been referring to the occupation of the publicans, who would seem, in the eyes of strict and patriotic Jews, to be doing nothing better than keeping swine for foreigners when they collected taxes for the Romans. 16. émeOdper.—Cf. xvi. 21. χορτασθῆναι- Ὑ.1., γεμίσαι τὴν κοιλίαν avTod—“ to fill his belly.” “This may be a periphrastic exposition of the supposed meaning of χορτασθῆναι. It misses the true point, however ; for the pro- digal son could easily ‘fill his belly’ with the ‘husks,’ though he could not ‘be satisfied’ with them.”—(Westcott and Hort.) éx.—Perhaps there is no instance in classic Greek of ἐκ or ἀπὸ being used with a verb of eating ; but ἀπολαύειν ἀπό τινος (to enjoy one’s self) occurs in Plato, Rep., x. 605. Kepatiwy.—The fruit of the carob-tree, which flourishes in South 336 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. Italy, in Spain, in the northern coasts of Africa, and in the Le- vant—being sometimes eaten by the very poor, but oftener used for the foddering of cattle. Cf. Hor., Ep., ii. 1, 123, “ Vivit sili- quis et pane secundo.” The beans were used for weights, and hence probably the word “ carat,’ the botanical name of the tree being Ceratonia siliqua. “There was a Jewish saying, ‘When Israel is reduced to the carob-tree they become repentant’” (Edersheim). éy.—Relative attracted into the case of its antecedent. €8{So0v.— Notice the imperf., “ ever gave him.” 17. eavtév.—His higher or better self, which brought to his mind the memory of the influence his father’s love and training had had upon it. pto@tor.—Men doing his father’s will, with no filial love for him, but yet better off than himself in his banishment. The word δοῦλοι is understood. Cf. πλατεῖαι, xiv. 21. 18. ἀναστάς may express nothing more than the rousing him- self from apathy: “I will up and go to my father.” Cf, Exod. xxxii. 1, “Up, make us gods” —dvdorn@ καὶ ποίησον ἡμῖν θεούς. In classic Greek the verb sometimes means “to rise and go,” as in Thuce., i. 87, ἀναστήτω eis ἐκεῖνο τὸ χώριον St Luke is fond of using participles to give vividness to his nar- rative. Of. ἐπιστᾶσα, in x. 40; καθίσας, xiv. 28, 31, and xvi. 6; σταθείς, in xviii. 11; σπεύσας, xix. 6. eis τὸν ovpavdv.—A Hebraism for “God,” used for reverence. Cf. Pharaoh’s speech in Exod. x. 16, “I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against you ;” and 2 Sam. xii. 13, the words of David’s repentance, “I have sinned against the Lord.” 19. ποίησον, «x.7.A.—This he does not say when he meets his father, for his father’s ready welcome interrupts his speech. The premeditated confession was the confession of fear; the actual confession is the confession of love.—(Godet.) Cf. Rom. vill. 15. 20-24. The Father. 20. éomrAayxvio§n.—Cf. chap. x. 33. The verb seems not to be classical, and was perhaps a coinage of the Jewish dispersion, the metaphor being more common in Hebrew than in Greek. The σπλάγχνα are properly the nobler viscera, the heart, lungs, liver, &c., as distinguished from the ἔντερα, the lower viscera, NOTES TO LESSON XXVI. 337 the intestines. Cf. Aisch., Agam., 1221, σὺν ἐντέροις re σπλάγχνα. The Greeks regarded the σπλάγχνα, but not the ἔντερα, as the seat of the affections, whether love, anger, pity, or jealousy. With the Hebrews ἔντερα as well had this meaning. Hence the common occurrence of the metaphor in the Old Testament. Both “lung” and “spleen” are etymologically connected with σπλάγχνα. In Eph. iv. 32, 1 Pet. iii. 8, εὔσπλαγχνοι means “having a good heart,” in the sense of “ pitiful” ; in Eur., Rhes., 132, εὐσπλαγχνία means “the having a good heart,” in the sense of “courage.” ‘“ Bowels” is used for “the heart” in the sense of “the affections” in Shake- speare. Cf. Troil., ii. 1. 54, “Thou thing of no bowels, thou.” Cf. Ps. xvii. 10, ‘‘ They have enclosed their heart in fat,’—.e., “shut it up against pity.” Cf. Ps. xxiii. 7, exix. 70. κατεφίλησεν - --“ Kissed him again and again.” The word is used of the kiss of Judas—Matt. xxvi. 49. Cf. Luke vii. 38, 45; Gen. xxxiii. 4 (the meeting of Jacob and Esau), προσέδραμεν Ἡσαῦ εἰς συνάντησιν αὐτῷ: Kal περιλαβὼν αὐτὸν, προσέπεσεν ἐπὶ τὸν τράχηλον αὐτοῦ, καὶ κατεφίλησεν αὐτόν. 21. ἥμαρτον---“1 sinned.” ἐνώπιόν cov—Hellenistic. The classic form would be παρά σοι. 22. In Gen. xli. 42, Pharaoh puts a ring upon Joseph’s hand, and clothes him in στολὴ βυσσίνη: so Daniel (Dan. v. 29) is clothed in scarlet. The στολή is the long and wide robe of people of distinction, such as the Pharisees love to walk in—Mark xii. 38. apatnv.—Probably “best,” though it might mean “former” —i.e., which he wore before his wanderings. There is a similar ambiguity in Hor., Odes, ii. 7. 5, “Pompei meorum prime soda- lium.” πρῶτος means “chief” in 1 Tim.i.15. In John i. 30 there may be an ambiguity. Cf. Luke xiv. 7, πρωτοκλισίας, and 1 Sam. ix. 22. So Soph., Philoctet., 1425, ἀρετῇ τε πρῶτος ἐκκριθεὶς στρατεύματος. SaxtvAvov.— Among the Romans the sign of freedom ; among the Jews, of honour and distinction. trodypata—which the slave might not wear. Observe, the father makes no reply to his son: the sight of his misery and nakedness urges him at once to remedy them; deeds, not words, express the depth of his pity and his love. When the sinner shows genuine repentance, which implies self-abasement, the first and most urgent necessity is to restore to him his self- δὴ 338 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. respect. We may compare the swift answer of Nathan when David repented (2 Sam. xii. 13), and Isa. lxv. 24, “ While they are yet speaking I will hear.” Cf. also James iv. 8, “ Draw nigh to God, and He will draw nigh unto you.” Tov μόσχον τὸν oLTevTdv.—The repeated article adds a rhe- torical emphasis: the father in his joy uses it again in ver. 27. But in ver. 30 the elder son has no such emphasis. Cf. Judges vi. 25, τὸν μόσχον τὸν ταῦρον, or (according to another reading) τὸν σιτευτόν. Cf. also 6 ποιμὴν ὃ καλός, John x. 11. As the herds were part of an oriental’s capital, he would only kill on special occasions, but on every farm there would be a calf fatten- ing for festivities. Cf. Gen. xviii. 8. 23. @0cate.—This word seems here to have the extended mean- ing of “slay” generally, instead of “slay for sacrifice.” Cf. Matt. xxii, 4; John x. 10; and Hdtus., i. 126. 24. vexpds.—J.c., in a moral sense, through his sins. Cf. Matt. viii. 22, “Let the dead bury their dead,” and Rev. iii. 1, “ Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” Musonius the Stoic, the teacher of Epictetus, used to say, “ When any man is cowardly or mean, one ought to speak of him as a corpse and say, ‘ Favour us with the corpse and blood of so-and-so’ ”—(Farrar’s ‘ Seekers after God’). Aristophanes, Rane, 491, calls the Athenians dead on account of their misgovernment,—vuvi δὲ δημαγωγεῖ ἐν τοῖς ἄνω vexpoiot. Notice the joyous rhythm of the verse, and cf. ver. 32. The younger son would hereafter love his father much, since to him much had been forgiven (Luke vii. 4). His elder brother knows not forgiveness, because he has no sense of sin; knows not love, because he has no sense of forgiveness. The prodigal has learnt to value his father’s presence through his experience of the want of it, and to value his father’s love through the knowledge he has gained of its depth and tenderness. He will hereafter need all the help this presence and love can afford him in his struggle against the evil habits which indulgence in them has strengthened, and which the tears of penitence alone are not sufficient to resist or break. The years of his life which the locusts of his sins and indulged passions have eaten can be restored (Joel ii. 25) only by the greater intensity of purpose given to his thoughts and actions through the energising influence of this full assurance of his father’s perfect love for him, and NOTES -TO LESSON XXVI. 999 of his watchful sympathy in his efforts “to cleave to what is good, and abhor what is evil” (Rom. xii. 9). On “the sowing of wild oats,” cf. ‘The Christian Year,’ “The Second Sunday after Trinity,” and Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam,’ liii. (old edition, 111.) 25-32. The Elder Brother. 25. The morose character of the elder brother, and his spiritual estrangement from his father in spite of his nearness to him, is brought out, first, by the fact that the father does not send for him to share his joy, and secondly, that he puts his questions to a servant, not to his father. cvpdovias.—The musicians and dancers would both be hired to do him honour. Cf. Eur., Ion, 1177, where, speaking of the incidents of a feast made by a father in honour of a newly found son, the messenger says, ἐπεὶ δ᾽ és αὐλοὺς jHKov.—(Carr.) 26. τί ἄν eln.—Cf. Acts x. 17, the optative signifying remote possibility, “what this could possibly be.” 27. tyvatvovta.—The servant, as compared with the father, is prosaic and matter-of-fact. 28, tapexdder.— Imperf., “kept urging him.” 29. Sovkedw.—The present here signifies service past and still continued,—quite a classical usage. Notice he does not say πατέρ, as his younger brother did (ver. 21). In the eyes of Pharisaism virtue is a task, sin a pleasure ; hence there ought to be a payment for the first, an equivalent of pain for the second. ᾿ The Scribe Antigonus of Socho, however, expressed a different view in the saying, “Be not as slaves that minister to the lord with a view to receive recompense, but be as slaves that minister to the lord without a view to receive recompense ; and let the fear of heaven be upon you.” ἐμοί coming first has the emphasis of wounded selfish feeling. tpihov.—Contrasted with the μόσχος. There is av. 1., ἐρίφιον, “a little kid,’ which would still further enhance the contrast. Similarly the μετὰ πορνῶν of ver. 30 is contrasted with the μετὰ τῶν φίλων of this verse. 30. 6 vids cov.—He will not say, “my brother.” His father corrects him by the ἄδελφος of ver. 31, and further rebukes him by addressing him as τέκνον in ver. 32,—a term of stronger feeling than the vids he had used himself. 940 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ovtos—contemptuous. . 31. tékvov.—A loving word ; σύ emphatic. πάντα, «.7.A.—Cf. 1 Cor. iii. 21, 22, “ All things are yours ; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours.” 32. ebppavOAvar.— To be jovial.” Cf. xvi. 19. The goodness with which the father bore the surly peevishness of the elder brother is little inferior to the mercy shown in pardoning the younger. Though he had been living so many years with his father, the elder brother had known as little of his spirit as the younger : so in spite of his privileges as a member of the holy people, the unloving Pharisee could not know the Spirit of the heavenly Father, for, “ If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and His love is perfected in us.” “ God is love ; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.”—1 John iv. 12,16. To be unloving is to be in a far country away from God. We are not told whether the elder brother went in. It is left for the Pharisees, by their own after conduct, to finish the narrative. The sacred books might have trained the Pharisees out of this slavish spirit. Cf. Proy. iii. 17, “ Her ways are ways of pleasant- ness, and all her paths are peace:” Ps. xix. 8-11, “The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes: the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward:” cxix. 54, “Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage. So they might have found the key to Jesus’ association with publicans and sinners in Isa. lvii. 15, “I [the Eternal] dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit ;” and Ps. li. 17, “The sacrifices of God are ἃ broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise.” NOTES TO LESSON XXVII. 341 LESSON: XXVII. THE PARABLE OF THE UNJust STEwWARD—St Luke xvi. 1-13. MAMMON, LOVE’S KEY THAT UNLOCKS THE GATE OF THE KINGDOM OF LOVE. 1. δὲ kaf.—This may mean simply, “ Here is another specimen of Jesus’ teaching,” or, as the imperfect seems to imply, the con- junctions may be intended to connect the parables of this with those of the preceding chapter. As the latter exhibit the tender compassion of the heavenly Father, so the former teach the sons to imitate that example by showing love to their brother men. There is a similar relation in the Old Testament between Psalms exi, and ¢xii., in which the attributes of God and of the godly man are made to correspond almost verse by verse. Cf. especially exi. 5, “ He [the Lord] hath given meat unto them that fear Him: He will ever be mindful of His covenant ;” with exii. 5, “ A good man showeth favour, and lendeth: he will guide his affairs with discretion ;” and cxi. 9, “ He sent redemption unto His people; He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name;” and cxii. 9, “He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth for ever; his horn shall be exalted with honour.” οἰκονόμον. --- The word might be rendered “ bailiff” (as in Wycliffe and the Rheims version), “agent,” or “factor.” From this parable the word steward has gained a sacred meaning, as the word talent has from the parable recorded in Matt. xxv. 14-30. From the Greek word οἰκονόμος comes our word “economy,” which, though often deteriorated to mean “thrift” or “ parsi- mony,’ properly signifies “management of a house.” The true economist is not he who saves, but he who manages discreetly, gets the most for his money in the best sense, makes his expenses in all directions bear a due proportion to one another, and adjusts his means to his ends. The Christian economist. manages his household with a view to charity and his brother’s need, dispens- ing not merely alms but hospitality, refinement, kindliness, always in a thoughtful manner, with a view to the good of those around him. 342 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. Jesus may have had in his mind the great Italian estates, the owners of which were usually absentees, and left the manage- ment of them to bailiffs who were either slaves or freedmen (villict), such as the οἰκονόμος mentioned in Luke xii. 42, or, where the estates were very large, freemen (procuratores), such as the οἰκονόμος here. On account of the difficulty of obtaining a lease, tenant-farmers were very rare in the Roman empire, and the estates were usually worked by slaves superintended by the bailiff. Whether there were any such estates in Palestine we cannot tell. διεβλήθη, in classic Greek, means “ slandered” ; Wycliffe trans- lated it here “defamed” ; the Rheims version “ was ill reported.” The word occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It implies a hostile denunciation—evidently, however, founded on fact, for the steward does not attempt to defend himself. In Dan. iii. 8, it is used of an accusation that is true. It has followed the law of amelioration. : διασκορπίζων.--- ΤῊ 5 word occurs in chap. xy. 13, and some have thought it a connecting link between the two parables. The prodigal wastes his own substance, the steward his master’s. σκορπίζω is used in a good sense in Ps. οχὶ. 9, ἐσκόρπισεν, ἔδωκε τοῖς mevnow— He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor.” Cf. 2 Cor. ix. 9, where the psalm is quoted. ᾿ 2. dwvjoas.—Stronger than καλέσας, “calling him with the master’s tone.” Cf. xix. 15. τί τοῦτο, x.7.A.—“ Why do I hear this of thee?” or, a con- densed sentence, “ What is this I hear of thee?” τὸν Adyov.—“ The account.” Cf. Matt. xii. 36, where the phrase is used of giving account to God. δύνῃ here hovers in meaning between “may” and “can”; “it is out of the question that you should.” Cf. Matt.ix.15. In the interpretation the dismissal is a summons to die. 3. ἐν ἑαυτῷ.- -Οἵ, xv. 17; xviii. 11. Such soliloquies are com- mon in St Luke. σκάπτειν. --- Such agricultural labour his position had made him best acquainted with. οὐκ ἰσχύω.- “1 am not strong enough.” His luxurious life had unfitted him for manly labour. aio-x vvopar.—Cf. Ecclus. xl. 28, 30, “ Better it is to die than to beg: begging is sweet in the mouth of the shameless, but in his belly there shall burn a fire.” ee ζω NOTES TO LESSON XXVII. 343 4, éyvov.—“ An idea has struck me.” Cf. Eur., Ion, 1115. The form of a statement regarding one’s self is less obtrusive when made in a purely past tense, like the aorist, than when made by the perfect, which in Greek is always a present past. SéEwvrat.—The subject is his master’s debtors. τοὺς olkovs.—The author of Ecclesiasticus (xxix. 22-28) en- larges on the disagreeable character of this mode of living: “ Better is the life of a poor man in a mean cottage, than delicate fare in another man’s house: for it is a miserable life to go from house to house ; for where thou art a stranger thou darest not open thy mouth.” 5. xpewpetAerav.—LEither (1) merchants who used to get their supplies from him on credit, paying him after they had made their own sales ; or (2) tenants, rent in the East being often paid in kind—a system which gave the steward ample scope for cheat- ing, since the produce would vary from year to year. Though, however, the steward exhibits a low moral tone, there was no necessary criminality in his conduct, as he had absolute control over his master’s affairs until he left his service. The βάτος, or bath, seems to have contained about 60 (Josephus says 70) pints. Wycliffe translates “ barrels,” Tyndale and Cranmer “ tuns,” the Rheims version “pipes.” These are far too large. We might better translate “firkins.” A firkin=fourth-kin=the fourth of a barrel (30 galls.) The value of these ten firkins would’probably be about £10 of our money. The value of money in Palestine would be about five times as great as in our country.—(Edersheim. ) 6. τὰ ypappata.—The Vulgate translates “ cautio,’ which was a form of release a debtor obtained from his creditor on satisfying his demand. Wycliffe rendered “caution,” the Geneva Bible “ ob- ligation.” We may render “invoice” or “voucher.” γράμματα is used of one document (like literw) in Acts xxviii. 21. καθίσας.---Α pictorial touch. Cf. chap. xiv. 28. Taxéws.—Hither furtively, or because he has but little time to lose. tmeyTykovtTa.—The Hebrew letters (by which numerals are rep- resented) very nearly resemble one another ; hence a very slight forgery might represent a large difference. The bonds would be written on wax, and figures readily erased by the blotter end of the stylus, which was flat and thick.—(Edersheim. ) 944 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 7. Képovs.—Probably =10 Attic medimni=15 bushels; so that 100 képor=1500 bushels. κόρους might be translated “ quarters,” as Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Rheims version render it. The ἑκατὸν κόροι would be ten times the value of the oil. The steward made a difference in his bribes, knowing perhaps that one man would require a heavier bribe than another By making them commit the forgery with their own hands, he makes them partners in his cheat, if cheat it were. If they were tenants, he thus returns them the produce they had brought as rent. 8. ὁ kiptos.—The steward’s master. τῆς &5uxlas.—Gen. of quality. Cf. ver. 9, μαμωνᾷ τῆς ἀδικίας, and xviii. 6, κριτὴς THs ἀδικίας. Cf. also iv. 22, τοῖς λόγοις τῆς χάριτος. φρονίμως. ---“ Prudently,”—~.¢., adapting skilfully his means to his ends: Wycliffe so renders the word. Cf. Matt.xxv.2. φρόνησις is the practical wisdom by which a man manages the affairs of his life well. Jesus bids His disciples be φρόνιμοι as serpents, and at the same time-innocent as doves—Matt. x. 16. τοῦ αἰῶνος tovTtov.—Cf. xx. 34-36, where of viol τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου are opposed to of καταξιωθέντες τοῦ αἰῶνος ἐκείνου τυχεῖν καὶ τῆς ἀναστάσεως τῆς ek νεκρῶν, who are further defined as viol Θεοῦ and viol τῆς ἀναστάσεως. So that the αἰών here means this world as opposed to eternity, but with a reference to the spirit of the world rather than its external form or the men living in it. It may sometimes almost be rendered “spirit of the age,’ as in Eph. ii. 2, κατὰ τὸν αἰῶνα τοῦ κόσμου τούτου. οἱ viot.—Cf. the phrase, “son of valour,” and 1 Sam. ii. 12, “the sons of Eli were sons of Belial ’’—1.e., “ wicked men.” The υἱοί implies that they belong to the light in the same inti- mate way as a child to its mother. We might render of υἱοὶ rod αἰῶνος rovrov—“ men of the world.” υἱοὺς Tod dwtds.—Jesus had termed His disciples “the light of the world” in the Sermon on the Mount—Matt. v.14. St Paul terms Christians υἱοὶ φωτός and viol ἡμέρας, in contrast to νυκτός and σκότους (1 Thess. v. 5); and still more emphatically, in Eph. v. 8, he says of them that they were once “darkness, but now light in the Lord,” and bids them “ walk ὡς τέκνα φωτός," and continues, by a bold confusion of metaphors, “the fruit of the NOTES TO LESSON XXVII. 345 light is in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth” (the good, the right, and the true). τ ! In 1 John i. 5, 6, God is defined as light, and “the walking in darkness” as incompatible with fellowship with Him. The same idea had been already beautifully expressed in Ps. xxxvi. 9, “With Thee is the fountain of life: in Thy light shall we see light.” As the highest revelation of divinity, Jesus is spoken of in John 1. 5, viii. 12, ix. 5, as “the light of the world”; and He says, “ He that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.” In the classics φῶς is used metaphorically of one who brings joy and victory, as of Agamemnon in Hec., 841, ὦ μέγιστον Ἕλλησιν φάος, and 1]., xvi. 39, ἤν πού τι φόως Δαναοῖσι γένωμαι. On the other hand, σκότιος is used of secret and immoral acts. In Gen. i. 3, God is said to have created light immediately after the creation of the heaven and the earth. In Exod. xiii. 21, the presence of God among the Israelites on their march out of Egypt is symbolised by night by “a pillar of fire.” In Isa. x. 17, God is termed the “light of Israel.” In Isa. xlii. 6, the ideal Israel is described as appointed “for a light of the nations.” In Isa. lx. 19-21, the prophet has a vision of a time when, instead of the sun and the moon which set and wane, God shall be to His people “an everlasting light,” and immediately connects this metaphor with righteousness,—“ Thy people shall be all righteous:” and this connection between light and righteousness is expressed with fine terseness in the last of the prophets, Mal. iv. 2, “ But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings.” While He was on earth, Jesus was to His disciples in the wilder- ness of the world what the pillar of fire had been to the Israelites in the wilderness of their wanderings ; and in John xii. 35, He exhorts them to make progress in holiness while He is still with them: “Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you.” In Philip. ii. 15, St Paul speaks of Christians as τέκνα Θεοῦ and φωστῆρες ἐν κόσμῳ, “luminaries in the world.” In 1 John 11. 9, 10, light and love are connected: “He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light.” So that, in fine, men become “sons of light” by believing in 346 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. Jesus—John xii. 36; the same process by which they become children of God—John i. 12. They are even said to become light in the Lord—Eph. v. 8 ; and the result of this is the renunciation of all immorality—1 Thess. v. 5-8; and the test of their being “sons of light” is the love of their brother man—1 John 11. 9. viol φωτός might be rendered “ Christians”’ as opp. to “men of the world.” In Heb. vi. 4, φωτισθέντας means converted to Christianity, and in ecclesiastical Greek φωτισμός is almost equiv- alent to baptism. φρονιμώτεροι ὑπέρ.---- The prep. strengthens the comparative. Cf. Heb. iv. 12, τομώτερος ὑπέρ. εἰς = “towards” or “as regards.” γενέαν, which usually distinguishes one age from another, or the men of one age from those of another, is here used to distinguish contemporaries who base the actions of their lives on different principles. Cf. Ps. xxiv. 6, Ixxili. 15; Prov. xxx. 11-14. 9, καὶ ἐγὼ tpiv.—A solemn introduction to the application of the parable. ἐγώ 15 in an emphatic place. Jesus is comparing His teaching with that of the steward’s master; and the ὕμῖν is also emphatic, corresponding to the steward in the parable. “ As the lord praised the steward for his providence in dealing with his wealth, so do Z recommend to you foresight in the use of your worldly goods ere you be dismissed from your stewardship, ’’—.e., by death. ἐκ implies either the material or the means. papeva.—An Aramaic word for riches. The original seems to be retained rather than translated into Greek, partly, perhaps, because of the peculiar solemnity of the passage (cf. Matt. vi. 24, and the use of the word ἐπιούσιος in the Lord’s Prayer, Matt. vi. 11), partly because μαμωνᾶ, by its popular usage, represented wealth in a wider aspect than any Greek equivalent would have done. τῆς ἀδικίας.- -Οὗ οἰκονόμος τῆς ἀδικίας above. The mammon is called unrighteous as an instrument of unrighteous dealing. Conversely, Philo (De Judic., ὃ 5) speaks of the ψυχικὸς πλοῦτος, ds μόνος ἀληθείᾳ πλοῦτός ἐστιν, Meaning wisdom and knowledge. St Paul (1 Tim. vi. 10) speaks of the love of money as the root of all evil. Never, perhaps, could wealth with more justice be called ἄδικος than at the time when Jesus spoke, when the wealthy among the ἱγά NOTES TO LESSON XXVII. 941 Romans had for the most part obtained their money by misrule and extortion in the provinces. Most fitly, too, did He speak thus to His disciples, many of whom, as we learn from xv. 1, were tax- gatherers, a class addicted to injustice and extortion. Seneca, Ep. Mor., xxxi. 11, says: “ What is a Roman knight, or a freedman, or a slave? Names which had their origin in ambi- tion or injustice.” It is only the imperfection of human nature that causes any difference between mewm and tuum. In a perfect state of society all things would be in common. Cf. Barrow: “That distinction which thou standest upon, and which seemeth so vast between thy poor neighbour and thee, what is it? whence did it come? whither tends it? It is not anywise natural or according to primitive design. Inequality and private interest in things (to- gether with sicknesses and pains, together with all other infeli- cities and inconveniences) were the by-blows of our guilt: sin introduced these degrees and distances ; it devised the names of rich and poor ; it forged those two small pestilent words, meum and tuum, which have engendered so much strife among men, and created so much mischief in the world.” éxAtrry.—Sub. μαμωνᾶ, which fails by the event of death ; and ef. Heb. 1.12, τὰ ἔτη σου οὐκ ἐκλείψουσιν ; and Xen., Hell., i. 5. 2, ἔχων δὲ ἥκειν τάλαντα πεντακόσια, εἄν δὲ ταῦτα ἐκλίπῃ. SeEwvtrar—i.c., the φίλοι. It may, however, be impersonal, like αἰτοῦσι in chap. xii. 20. : oKynvas.—Jesus probably uses this word on account of its association with the wanderings in the wilderness and the Feast of Tabernacles. That feast was a symbol of the presence of God among the holy people, reminding them of the time when their forefathers pitched their tents in the wilderness round the Taber- nacle or Holy Tent, where the Shechinah or sacred light was a symbol of the presence of God in their midst. The αἰώνιοι σκηναί are opposed to these temporary tents. So in Heb. xi. 9, 10, “ The city which hath the (immovable) foundations, whose builder and maker is God,” is opposed to the tents in which dwelt the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The yearly dwelling in tents at the Feast of Tabernacles was a constant memorial to the Israelites of the transitoriness of this life ;— that their houses were not their own; that in God’s sight no ‘man had any claim to a better habitation than another; that 348 . GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. “Pallida Mors equo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas regumque turres”’ (Hor., i. 4. 13); that the time must come when all would be dismissed from their stewardship, when “the earthly house of their tabernacle would be dissolved” (2 Cor. v. 1). The phrase “ everlasting tabernacles” occurs in 2 Esdras ii. 11, “the everlasting tabernacles which I had prepared for them” (z.¢., Israel); and the Talmud has a saying, “ When the wicked are burnt up, God makes a tent in which He hides the just.” In Ps. xlviii. 11, the graves of the wicked are termed their σκηνώματα eis γενεὰν καὶ γενεάν. We may compare the saying of Jesus (John xiv. 2), “In my Father’s house are many mansions” (or abiding-places) ; and Ps. xy. 1, “ Lord, who shall dwell in Thy tabernacle?” xxvii. 5, “In the secret of His tabernacle shall He hide me;” where the reference is probably to the Temple as the successor of the Tabernacle. But how do the friends whom men make by their money (z.e., by doing kindnesses with their money) receive them into zonian tents (ie, into future happiness)? The best answer to this question is perhaps found in Matt. xxv. 39,40. All men in Jesus have become one brotherhood, and through Him those benefited will admit their benefactors into everlasting habitations. Men prove themselves “sons of light’”’—followers of Jesus—by loving their brothers (1 John ii. 10). The means or test of showing this love is their disposition of the mammon of unrighteousness, of which they have regarded themselves stewards, not lords. It is characteristic of the gracious condescension of Jesus that in- stead of saying, “J may receive you,” He says “they may.” The poor whom loving Christians have befriended are pictured, as it. were, introducing their benefactors into the zonian tents, and making themselves witnesses that by loving deeds to them they have proved themselves “sons of light.” To this picture we may find a contrast in Isa. xiv. 9, where the dead rise up to salute the fallen King of Babylon as he enters the halls of Hades. Virgil (Ain., vi. 664) places among others in the Elysian plains, ** Quique sui memores alios fecere merendo.” 10. πιστός. --- “ Trusty.” Lest any misunderstanding should arise out of the term ἀδικία, Jesus proceeds to supplement the recommendation to prudence by a recommendation to faithful- ness. Cf, xix. 17, ‘Well done, thou good servant: because thou NOTES TO LESSON XXVII. 349 wast found faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities.” 11. a@dnOivdv.—This word —a favourite one in the fourth Gospel—occurs nowhere else in the Synoptics. St Paul, after being with St Luke, uses it once, in 1 Thess. i. 9, where the living and ἀληθινός (real) God is opposed to idols. It occurs three times - in the Epistle to the Hebrews (viii. 2, ix. 24, x. 22). Adjectives in -wos express the material out of which anything is made, as λίθ-ινος, made of stone; évA-wos, made of wood: so ἀληθεινός, made of truth (real). The word means “ that which is genuine.” We may compare St Paul’s phrase, “the unsearchable riches of Christ” (Eph. ii. 8). It is better, perhaps, not to make it agree with μαμωνᾶ, a word of bad signification. The antithesis is not quite perfect. We should expect either τὸ δίκαιον here (opp. to τῷ ἀδίκῳ), or pevdes with μαμωνᾶ : but τῷ ἀδίκῳ μαμωνᾷ seems to be used as a logical noun. Philo speaks of the ἀληθινὸς πλοῦτος ἐν οὐράνῷ ; Seneca says, “Turn thyself to the true riches, learn to be content with a little.” So Jesus speaks of “laying up treasure in heaven” (Matt. vi. 20). Socrates (at the end of the “ Phedrus’’) prays that he may regard the wise man as rich—zAovauoy δὲ νομίζοιμι τὸν σόφον. 12. τῷ ἀλλοτρίῳ.--- ΑἸ] external goods are lent to us by God, and we leave them when we die ; but our characters, our virtues, and graces are given us by God, and remain our own for ever, because they are genuine parts of ourselves; whereas the μαμωνᾶ τῆς ἀδικίας is only lent us to train us in the management of the heavenly riches of the future. : tpétrepov.—Epictetus says (i. 25), “ Keep by every means what is your own: do not desire what belongs to others. Fidelity is your own ; virtuous shame is your own: who then can take these things from you? who else than yourself can hinder you from using them?” If ἡμέτερον be read, we must regard Jesus as associating the inner circle of His disciples with Himself, as in John i. 11, ix. 4.. Cf. also Matt. xvii. 25, 26. δώσει.- -Ηον does God give us τὸ ἀλλότριον; Because He is the source of all good; because χάρις καὶ dAnOela, “grace and truth” (or “reality,” τὸ ἀληθινόν), came by Jesus Christ; and be- cause, in a future state, we believe all obstacles to the perfection of these “ goods” will be removed, whereas the paywva τῆς ἀδικίας will have ceased to exist. This verse is a warning at 350 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. once to the publicans and to the Pharisees: to the publicans, because they were outwardly involved in the world as stewards to their Roman masters, while they were inwardly longing to attach themselves to the teaching and principles of Jesus ; to the Pharisees, because, though outwardly linked with the divine, as being the representatives of the theocracy, their inward life was attached to the world. See Matt. vi. 24. REMARKS ON THE PARABLE GENERALLY. The parable, which was addressed to the disciples (ver. 1), is intended to teach Christians that they ought to be as careful about using their money for good and charitable purposes, as men of the world are about using it for worldly purposes. The motive proposed is at first sight a low one, that of self-interest— the hope of being received into everlasting habitations. But we must remember that Jesus was addressing a homely lesson to homely men, to disciples who were yet children in understanding spiritual truths, and it was not in accordance with His method to ‘pour new wine into old bottles.” After His death His disciples would come to understand, as we can do now, that it is He who will receive us into the everlasting habitations, which is His own presence, and therefore the feeling of self-interest may be merged into a desire to please, and to be with, Him. The parable, therefore, viewed in this light, becomes a warning against regard- ing religion as a sentiment of love for Jesus, unaccompanied by any active charity towards the poor and afflicted with whom He has graciously chosen to identify Himself (Matt. xxv. 36). Put briefly, then, the parable teaches us that they who do not use their money and all that it can buy with a perpetual reference to Christian love, cannot enter the kingdom of love; while they who do so shall be welcomed by the Lord of love, and all who love and whom they have loved. In interpreting the parable, we must regard the lord of the unjust steward—a mere man of the world—as representing God the Father, under whom all men are stewards of all they possess. We shall then have an ὦ fortiori argument similar to that in which God the Father is compared, or rather contrasted, with the unjust judge. “If the man of the world praised his steward for his shrewdness and foresight in making worldly friends out of his ——@~= Έψ'ψυνΨνον NOTES TO LESSON XXVIII. 351 money (even after he had been cheated by him), how much more will your heavenly Father be pleased with you, if you use your money, all that you possess, to increase the happiness and num- bers of those who are to enter into the kingdom of heaven?” See note on chap. xviii. 8. LESSON XXVIII. THe Rich Man anp LazArus—St Luke xvi. 19-31. MAMMON, SELF-LOVE’S KEY THAT LOCKS THE GATE OF THE KINGDOM OF LOVE. This story is connected with the preceding parable in the fol- lowing manner: The rich man might have made a friend of Lazarus out of the money which hardened his heart into self- ishness: as God’s steward he showed himself faithless by using for selfish purposes the money with which he had been intrusted (τὸ ἀλλότριον) ; therefore the genuine good (τὸ ἀληθινόν) was not intrusted to him, and he never won for himself the gift of a loving temper, which might have been his for ever. Love cannot be exercised without an object, and for its full and open display requires an external medium: the poor are the objects, and money, which Jesus calls the mammon of unrighteousness, the medium of its display. To display loving-kindness to the poor by means of money is called by Jesus making friends out of the mammon of unrighteousness, and these friends are depicted in the preceding parable as welcoming their benefactor into the zeonian tents. In this story we are shown the other side of the picture. Instead of the welcome we have the rejection: we have the rich man turned away from Abraham’s bosom because he had been unloving and cold-hearted towards Lazarus, of whom by his mammon he might have made a friend. 19. καὶ ἐνεδιδύσκετο.---Τὴ classic Greek we should expect ὅς. The construction indicates that St Luke is here fausialine from some Aramaic document. πορφύραν ΞΞ- (1) the colour obtained from a sea-shell; (2) that 392 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. which is dyed with it. We learn from Proy. xxxi. 22 that wealthy Jews clothed themselves in purple. This would be used for the woollen outer robe brought from Tyre. Bicoov.—An Aramaic word, used of the clothing of kings (1 Chron. xv. 27), of priests (2 Chron. vy. 12), and of those who were very rich (Esth. i. 6, vill. 15). In the last two passages the adjec- tives βύσσινον and πορφυροῦν occur together. The βύσσος would be used for the inner garment. It consisted of white cotton brought from Beye The rich man’s garments are brought from the north endl the south, and are warm without and delicate within, combining comfort with ostentation. Of the garments of Lazarus we hear — nothing. εὐφραινόμενος Aapmrpds.—Cf. xii. 19 and xv. 32—‘“ Making merry in splendour.” The combination seems to imply that the rich man made mirth and jollity the object of his life, and mingled with them no thought of the misery of the poor, squandering on useless and ostentatious splendour wealth which might have been used to alleviate their sufferings. Cf. the passage in the first chapter of Carlyle’s ‘ History of the French Revolution,‘ describ- ing, on the one hand, the thoughtless extravagance of the Court of Louis XV.: “ Beautiful Armida- Palace, where the inmates live enchanted lives ; lapped in soft music of adulation ; waited on by the splendours of the world ;” and the condition of the poor at the same epoch,—“ Those lank scarecrows, that prowl hunger-stricken through all highways and by-ways of French existence.” And again, in the second chapter, of the nobles,— “Their industry and function is that of dressing gracefully and eating sumptuously ;” of the people,—“ Untaught, uncomforted, unfed ; to pine stagnantly in thick obscuration, in squalid desti- tution and obstruction: this is the lot of the millions.” John Ball, at the time of the peasant’s revolt in 1377-1381, said: “The great folk are clothed in velvet and warm in their furs and their ermines, while we are covered with rags : they have wine and spices and fair bread, and we oat-cake and straw, and water to drink: they have leisure and fine hours; we have pain and labour, the rain and the wind in the fields.” Piers Plough- man says of the poor man to the knights,—“ Though he be thine underling here, well may hap in heaven that he be worthier set and with more bliss than thou.” Cf. George Eliot on “ good NOTES TO LESSON XXVIII. 959 society’ and “the poor.” ‘ Good society has its claret and its velvet carpets, its dinner engagements six weeks deep, its opera and its faéry ball-rooms ; rides off its ennui on thorough-bred horses, lounges at the club. . . . But good society . . . is of very expensive production ; requiring nothing less than a wide and arduous national life condensed in unfragrant deafening factories, cramping itself in mines, sweating at furnaces, grinding, hammer- ing, weaving, under more or less oppression of carbonic acid; or else, spread over sheep-walks, and scattered in lonely houses and huts on the clayey or chalky corn-lands, where the rainy days look dreary.” —(‘ The Mill on the Floss,’ Book IV. chap. iii.) In the time of Jesus, among the Romans, the miseries of the poor were aggravated by the absence of a middle class. Nearly all manual work was done by slaves, who in Rome constituted half the population. Of the remainder, a proportion of six and a half to one were more or less paupers—a proportion very far above that existing in any modern city. On the other hand, (1) the contrast between wealth and poverty was less glaring than it is now ; (2) the gratuitous distribution of corn by the Government or by private persons prevented the pauperism of the masses with which modern charity has to contend ; (3) the climate round the shores of the Mediterranean, which were the home of the countries of ancient civilisation, made the struggle for existence less severe than it is in more northern climes. In our own times the miseries of the poor are being aggravated by the growth of large towns, from which the rich escape by rail- way into the suburbs, while the poor remain crowded together in the back and often unhealthy streets, their wretchedness not even being brought under the notice of the rich, who are thus removed from the sight of it. Lazarus is no longer laid at the door of Dives, and Dives is too apt to forget his existence. With the Romans liberality to the poor took the form, for the most part, of cheap, or even gratuitous, distribution of bread by the State or by individuals. But relief of the poor was not the main object, for it was not the poor alone who took the doles. The motive was, as a rule, a selfish one—policy, ambition, or ostentation. In later times, owing chiefly to the influence of the Stoic philosophy, liberality was based on humanity. Horace (Sat., 11, 2. 203) says, “ Cur eget indignus quisquam te divite?” Seneca, “Dat ut homo homini.” Such sentiments, however, Z 354 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. exercised influence over only a small portion of the community ; and on the whole it is true, as has been said, that Christ found “a world without caritas, though not without liberalitas.” He, by such teaching as is contained in this story, made the relief and elevation of the poor no longer a mere kindly instinct, but an all-embracing principle. Christianity has connected religious worship with the relief of the poor. There was no such connec- tion in the mind of the Roman. The public worship in the Temple was conducted by the priest alone: the people had no part in it. Hence it had no tendency to bind rich and poor together in one community.—(Uhlhorn.) 20. Ad{apos.—A contracted form of the commoner Eleazar. It comes from Eli-ezer, “helped of God.” ‘The Lazarus of the parable has probably nothing to do with the Lazarus of the fourth Gospel. This is the only parable in which a proper name occurs: perhaps the only reason for its occurring here is, that a name was necessary for the dialogue that follows between Abra- ham and the rich man. Some, however, have thought that Jesus, in giving the poor man this significant name, meant to imply that he was pious; but an epithet would have been a more natural way of describing his piety, which, besides, is in- ferred by his being carried after death to. Abraham’s bosom. His piety is not dwelt on, because poverty, not piety, constituted his claim on the humanity of the rich man. Not, however, that either Jesus or the early Christians looked upon undeserving poverty as an object for alms. This appears from a passage which occurs in the recently discovered “Teaching of the Apostles,” a work probably as old as the beginning of the second century—“ Let thine almsgiving drop [lit. sweat] into thy hands, so long as thou knowest to whom thou givest.” It is possible that this, though not recorded in the Gospels, may be a saying of Christ Himself. In the “Teaching of the Apostles,” the idler who seeks to live upon Christian charity is called a “ Christ-trafficker.” —(Farrar, in the ‘Contemporary Review.’) ἐβέβλητο.- - Οἵ, Matt. viii. 6, ix. 2, whence it appears that the verb does not necessarily mean more than “laid.” Edersheim thinks it implies that his bearers were glad to get rid of an un- welcome burden. πυλῶνα.---ΤῊἜ range of piilars enclosing the court of the palace through which the door entered into it. Lazarus would here NOTES ΤῸ LESSON XXVIII. 355 be in full view of the rich man whenever the latter went in or out of his mansion. The termination -dyv, like the Latin -etum (as in quercetum), implies a collection: we have θύραν τοῦ πυλῶνος in Acts xii. 13. εἱλκωμένος---υ. 1., ἡλκωμένος, for which, however, there is little authority. In Eur., Alc., 878, we have ἥλκωσεν. This word (from ἑλκόω) was probably formed by St Luke after the analogy of ἕλκω and ἑλκύω. The term is a medical one, characteristic of Luke the physician. 21. émv6upav.—The law of Moses distinctly bade the rich man to attend to him, Deut. xv. 7, 8. He must have been acquainted, too, with the example of Job (xxxi. 16-22), who could protest that he had not withheld the poor from their desire, or seen any stranger to whom he had not opened his doors. ἀλλὰ καί.- “ΝΥ more,” like the Latin quin et. οἱ kives.—As an aggravation of his sufferings, the dogs whom he had not strength to drive away came and licked his sores. Dogs were regarded by the Jews as unclean, and, as a rule, they had not masters as among us, but wandered about the fields and streets of the cities, devouring dead bodies and other offal. Cf. the fate of Jezebel, 2 Kings ix. 35. It is quite possible, however, that the rich man possessed dogs. Cf. Isa. lvi. 10; Matt. xv. 27. In the last passage, the diminutive κυνάριον is used, which may possibly imply affection, and therefore domestication, and hence -be distinguished from κύνες. 22. τὸν κόλπον ’ABpadp.—The picture seems to be that of a banquet presided over by Abraham, at which Lazarus, as the newest comer, and in requital for his sufferings, has the place of honour on the bosom of the host, just as John lay on Jesus’ bosom, John xiii. 23. Cf. John i. 18. The idea is frequently found in the Rabbinical writings. “This day,” says Rabbi Judah the holy, “he sits in the bosom of Abraham’”’—i.e., is dead. Cf. 4 Mace. xiii. 16, οὕτως παθόντας ἡμᾶς ᾿Αβραάμ καὶ ᾿Ισαὰκ καὶ ᾿Ιακὼβ ὑποδέξοντα. St Augustine says of his dead friend Nebridius: “Nunc 1116 vivit in sinu Abraham. Quicquid illud est quod illo significatur sinu, ibi Nebridius meus vivit.” Jesus adopts the Jewish method of speaking of the future world, but the language is figurative, and cannot be pressed literally. He frequently speaks of the kingdom of heaven as “a feast,” just as from a lower point of view we speak of “a feast of 356 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. reason and a flow of soul.” Cf. Matt. viii. 11: “Many shall come from the east and west, and shall recline (ἀνακλιθήσονται) with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.” éragy.—Nothing is said of the burial of Lazarus; no one troubled to give him a funeral. See pp. 185, 186. 23. ἐν τῷ ady.—Not “hell” but “the unseen place,” or “ Sheol,” Lat. “Orcus.” In the Creed the Greek is κατῆλθεν εἰς ἅδου, the Latin “descendit ad inferna,” or “ad inferos.”. “ Hell” =A\S. helle, Goth. halja=Lat. cella, Gk. καλιά (a cabin). The root is kaA—Lat. cel-are, domi-cil-ium. Cf. the Old Norse god- dess Hel (of death). The Jews looked for a state immediately after death, which they thought would be underground, and called Sheol or hell, where the just were in a state of happiness, the unjust in a state of misery. This is not to be confounded with the state after the resurrection of the body. Bacdvors.—This, of course, is figurative. If we regard the rich man as a disembodied spirit—which we may well do, as nothing is said about a resurrection—we may find a great principle in the description of his torments. In life he had given himself up solely to the indulgence of his bodily appetites ; and now that he has no senses to indulge, he suffers as Tantalus did, for he has no other avenues to enjoyment, no moral or spiritual tastes. Sensation is ascribed to a disembodied spirit in Cardinal New- man’s “ Dream of Gerontius ”:— “‘ Hast thou not heard of those, who, after loss Of hand or foot, still cried that they had pain In hand or foot, as though they had it still? So is it now with thee, who hast not lost Thy hand or foot, but all which made up man ; So shall it be, until the joyous day Of resurrection, when thou shalt regain All thou hast lost, new-made, and glorified.” Virgil places in Tartarus those who had not shared their riches with their relations :— “¢ Aut qui divitiis soli incubuere repertis, Nec partem posuere suis.” —Mn., vi. 610. ἀπὸ paxpd0ev.—The ἀπὸ is redundant. Cf. Il, viii. 365, ἀπ’ οὐρανόθεν. We have a similar redundancy in our word “lesser,” and the phrase “from thence.” - NOTES TO LESSON XXVIII. 351 ἐν τοῖς KéAtrots.—The plural, as compared with the sing. of ver. 22, seems to contain a notion of comprehension, and an allu- sion to the company. Cf. ἀνατολαί, δυσμαί, in Matt. viii. 11; γάμοι, Matt. xxii. 2; οὐρανοί, passim. 24, Dialogues of the dead are found in the writings of the Rabbis. Adtapov—whom alone among the poor he recognises. The position of the rich and poor is reversed. The rich man is now the beggar, and his prayer unheard. τὸ ἄκρον τοῦ Saxtvdov.—He prays for the smallest boon, just as Lazarus had desired merely “ what fell from his table.” tSatos.—“In some water.” A remarkable example of the genitive of the part touched: it comes under the heading of the genitive of ablation, implying a partial separation. Cf. Arist., Acharn., 184, eis τοὺς τρίβωνας ξυνελέγοντο τῶν AlOwy— were gathering some stones into their cloaks.” τὴν yAéooav.—The tongue and palate, which had been pam- pered by riotous living, are now the chief instruments of retribu- tion. Cf. “ King Lear,” v. 3— ““The gods are just, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to scourge us.” ὀδυνῶμαι.---“1 am in anguish.” Cf. ii. 48. 25. tékvov.—Cf. xv. 30. This is a term of pity and tenderness: the Jewish relationship to their father Abraham is expressed by vids in chap. xix. 9. τέκνον is used in affectionate remonstrance in xv. 31; τέκνια to the disciples in John xiii. 33. amékaBes.—“ Didst receive to the full.” Cf. Matt. vi. 2, 5, 16. The Rabbis said, “ As in the next world the good receive a reward for the most trivial good work that they have done, so in this world the wicked receive the reward for the most trivial work they do.” τὰ ἀγαθά cov—i.c., “ what you thought good.” παρακαλεῖται.- -Οὐ, Matt. v. 4; 2 Thess. ii. 16. 26. xaopa.—Translated “gulf” in our version: a word of ambiguous meaning. When the authorised version was pub- lished, the word “chasm” did not exist in English. Deep chasms and steep rocks were common in the landscapes of Palestine. In 2 Sam. xvii. 17, Absalom is said to be taken and cast into a χάσμα μέγα. The Rabbis speak of the separation between the 358 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. two portions of Hades sometimes as “a wall,” sometimes as con- sisting only of the breadth of a hand, or even of a thread. The figure here simply implies the impossibility of communication. émrws.—“ In order that.” 27. otv.—If he cannot come to me here, he may yet perchance be my messenger to earth. The rich man addresses Abraham as his “ father,” as if in submissive reliance on his sympathy; and his words may perhaps imply that he was not entirely selfish, or that his discipline was awakening him to unselfish feelings. They are not, however, indicative of moral tone. His prayer is not for his brothers’ repentance, but for precaution against their future discomfort. The tone of the story is throughout that of menacing severity against selfish conduct and selfish motives. 28, Siapaptipyntar.—Notice the prep., “Bear solemn witness to them.” See note on chap. xv. 2. 29. Μωυσέα kal τοὺς προφήτας.---Τὴ the Jewish canon, the Old Testament books were in three divisions: (1) The Law, or Thorah, containing the Pentateuch ; (2) the Prophets (Nebiim), contain- ing the prophetical books (exclusive of Daniel), and also Joshua, Judges, the two books of Samuel, and of Kings—these latter were included in this division as leading up to and containing the history of prophets who did not write; (3) the “ Writings” or “ Scriptures,” in Hebrew Ketubim, in Latin Hagiographa—these are by some supposed to have been called “ Psalms” (Luke xxiv. 44), because that book commenced the series, but this is doubt- ful: besides the Psalms, this division comprised Proverbs, Job, Ruth, Lamentations, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and the two books - of Chronicles. The canonicity of the books of Esther, Canticles, and Ecclesiastes seems to have been a disputed point in the Apostolical age. The New Testament never refers to them. The Law and the Prophets, but not the Hagiographa, were read regu- larly in the synagogue. What is it that the five brethren are to learn from the Law and the Prophets? Clearly that they will gain admittance into the kingdom of Love only by the claim of possessing loving tempers. The Old Testament Scriptures are full of passages connecting religion and charity. Cf. Lev. xix. 18, “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;” and the description of the righteous man in Ps. exii. 4, 9, “He is gracious, and full of compassion, and righteous. . . . He hath dispersed, he hath given to the poor,’— NOTES TO LESSON XXVIII. 359 passages which correspond to the description of the attributes of God in Ps. exi. 4, 9. 30. odxt.—Cf. ναίχι, for val, “yes.” It is a classic form, more emphatic than ov: it occurs followed, as here, by ἀλλά in chap. i. 60, xiii. 3, 5; John ix. 9; Rom. iii. 27; 1 Cor. x. 29. μετανοήσουσι.---ΤῊ 5 is an improvement on the moral tone of ver. 27. The change of expression, however, may have a no higher motive than a desire to persuade Abraham. There is no sign that the rich man cares for his brothers’ repentance for any nobler reason than to save them from pain. 31. The faith that comes from ghosts is the faith of devils that believe and tremble. Fear cannot produce unselfishness, for it is itself a selfish emotion. The faith the rich man lacked was the faith in a loftier ideal of happiness than that which is produced by pleasure or self-seeking—the faith in the great principle of Jesus, “ Learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls ””»—Matt. xi. 29. The rich man might have derived a kindlier spirit from the examples set before him in the Old Testament. He might have read of the kindly Abraham’s dealings with Lot; of much that was kindly even in selfish Jacob, and of his lifelong punishment for his selfishness ; of Joseph’s love for his selfish brethren ; of meek Moses and chival- rous David. These men had shown loving spirits without the in- tercession of ghosts to bid them, and indeed with little thought, if any, of immortality, which, as St Paul says, was brought to light through the Gospel—2 Tim. i. 10.1. It was enough for them to live in the sight of God in this world, and they never had any doubt whether it were better to be good or evil—to be humane and merciful, or to be sordid, selfish, and heartless. Even if they knew certainly that there was no hell to fear, they could not have lived as this rich man had done—it would have been hell enough to them to attempt it. ovdé.—“ Not even.” teva OycovTar.—Abraham does not say μετανοήσουσι, or even πιστεύσουσι. The rich man asserts that his brethren will repent if one go to them from the dead. “ Nay,’ Abraham replies, in terms each phrase of which is a strong denial of the rich man’s phrases, 1 For the views of the Old Testament writers on the future after death contrast Ps. xlix. 14, Ixxiii. 24; Isa. xxvi. 19, with Ps. vi. 5, xxx. 9, Ixxviii. 10-12, xciv. 17, exv. 17; Job xvi. 22; Isa. xxxviii. 11, 18, 19; Jer. li, 19. 360 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. “they will not even be influenced, even if one rise wp out from the dead.” The story ends as it began, in a warning against selfish- ness. Selfish pursuit of pleasure had brought the rich man into torment. Selfish avoidance of pain will not save his brothers from it. The former part of the story is a warning against worldliness, the latter against what has been called other-worldliness. It is a prophetic protest against selfish works of mercy done for the sake of the doer’s own salvation, his release from purgatory, or a high degree of eternal happiness,—motives which tainted so much of the Christian charity of the middle ages, and still taints much of our own time. Charity thus bestowed, having in view the well- being of the donor rather than the circumstances of the recipient, has led to more beggary and misery than it has relieved. LESSON XXIX. Tur PARABLES OF THE IMPORTUNATE WIDOW AND OF THE PHARISEE AND THE PUBLICAN—St Luke xviu. 1-14. 1-8. The Parable of the Importunate Widow. 1. wavrote.—See p. 66. The precept here seems to refer to urgency in prayer under all circumstances, however adverse. éykaketv.—A military term, from κακός, cowardly. Cf. 2 Cor. iv. 1, 16. “To turn cowardly while engaged in any course of action,” hence “to give up through the weight of overpowering evil.” The word is peculiar to St Luke and St Paul. 2. kpitns.—Among Eastern nations judges were regarded as the representatives of heaven, and so sacred was their function that the title “ gods” was given to them. Cf. Judges v. 8; Ps. lxxxii. 6; John x. 34, 35. Bringing a case to trial before a judge is called “inquiring of God,’—Exod. xviii. 15. The judges, as a rule, were not paid, but there were two stipendiary magistrates in Jerusalem. As one man could not form a Jewish court, this man must be regarded as appointed by Herod or the Romans.— (Edersheim. ) τὸν θεὸν μὴ φοβούμενος. -- A common form of expression for «ὁ ple NOTES TO LESSON XXIX. 361 an unscrupulous person. Cf. Sallust, Cat., 15, ““ Animus impurus, dis hominibusque infestus ;” Livy, ili. 57, “ Decemvir ille deo- rum hominumque contemptor.” For the opposite character cf. 2 Cor. viii. 21—“‘ Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.” In classic Greek we should have οὐ φοβούμενος. Cf. Matt. xxii. 12. ἐντρεπόμενος.-- -“ Standing in awe of.” Cf. xx. 13; Matt. xxi. 37. In classic Greek more frequently found with a genitive. 3. xnpa.—Widows under the law of Moses had no legal provi- sion made for their maintenance, and they were discouraged from marrying again unless they allied themselves to their deceased husband’s brother. They were left dependent partly on the affec- tion of relations, more especially of the eldest son, whose birth- right or extra share of the property imposed on him the duty of providing for his mother, and partly on certain privileges accorded to them with other distressed classes. A portion of the spoil taken in war was assigned to them (2 Mace. viii. 28-30); a special prohibition was laid against taking a widow’s garment in pledge (Deut. xxiv. 17), and this was practically extended to other necessaries (Job xxiv. 3); the widow was commended to the care of the community, and any neglect or oppression of her was strongly reprobated. The judge must therefore, if he were a Jew, have been utterly shameless to neglect to give a decision in this widow’s case. Cf. Isa. i. 23. If, on the other hand, he were a Roman, he must have been very insolent so utterly to outrage the religious feelings of the nation. Hpxeto.—“ Kept constantly coming ”—ventitabat. ἐκδίκησόν pe amd.—Cf. Rey. vi. 10, where the souls under the altar are represented as crying out, Ἕως πότε, ὃ δεσπότης ὃ ἅγιος καὶ ὁ ἀληθινὸς, οὐ κρίνεις καὶ ἐκδικεῖς τὸ αἷμα ἡμῶν ἀπὸ τῶν κατοι- κούντων ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς; The word is late Greek. It occurs in LXX. with ex. Cf. Judges xi. 36; 2 Kings ix. 7. The phrase contains a constructio pregnans—“ Do me justice, and obtain what is due to me from my adversary.” The translation “ avenge” is unfortunate: it is not so much the vengeance on the wronger that is dwelt on, as the righting of the wronged. ἐν ἑαυτῷ.- Ταῦ. secum, Eng. *‘to himself.” Soliloquies are a characteristic of the parables recorded by St Luke. Cf. ver. 11, xv. 17, xvi. 3. 362 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 4, ἐπὶ xpévov.— For a time,” —i.e., “for some time.” Cf. IL, ii, 299; Od., xiv. 193. 5. διά ye.—Cf. xi. 8. εἰς téX0S.—EHither (1) “ coming to the end,” “never ceasing to come,” “ coming for ever,” or (2) “at the end,” “finally.” treomdat{y.—This word means literally “to wound under the _eye,” to “bruise.” St Paul uses it in 1 Cor. ix. 27, where the re- vised version translates “ buffet’ or “box.” Aristotle, in the Pax, 541, speaks of πόλεις ὑπωπιασμέναι, where the cities are personified and spoken of as “ beaten black and blue.” If we take it in this literal sense, we may regard the judge as speaking mockingly— “The woman will become desperate, and lay violent hands on me.” Others have taken the word metaphorically as meaning “ to harass,” “annoy” ; but there is no authority for this usage. In its favour, however, is the fact that the Latin obtwndo is used in this sense. Of. Ter., Adelph., i. 2. 33, “Ne me obtundas de hac re seepius,” and Livy, ii. 15; and the verb σκύλλω has passed through a similar change of meaning from “rend” to “annoy.” Cf. vill. 49. 6. 6 KUptos.—This phrase is not used once of Jesus as a nomina- tive in the correct version of St Matthew or St Mark. In St Luke it is used about twelve times, always in prefaces or other passages peculiar to that evangelist. This usage probably indi- cates that the Gospel of St Luke, like that of St John, was written later than the other two, at a time when the memory of Jesus as He had lived on earth among His disciples was fading, and a greater reverence for Him was taking the place of the tender feelings con- nected with those recollections. ὃ κριτὴς THs aduKias.—Cf. xvi. 8. 7. ἐκλεκτῶν.---Τὰ the Epistles this word means “those called out of the world to be disciples of Christ.” Cf. 1 Thess. i. 4, εἰδότες... THY ἐκλογὴν ὑμῶν, k.7.A.; and 1 Cor. i. 26, 27, βλέπετε τὴν κλῆσιν ὑμῶν,. .. τὰ μωρὰ τοῦ κόσμου ἐξελέξατο. Peter addresses whole Christian communities as ἐκλεκτοί (1 Pet. i. 1). βοώντων ..--“ Cry aloud,” a strong expression, used in Gen. iy. 10, of Abel’s blood crying from the earth; and in Jonah iii. 8, of the men of Nineveh. Cf. James v. 4. Kal μακροθυμεῖ ἐπ’ avtots.—(1) “ Does he delay his vengeance in their case?” or, (2) taken with βοώντων, “ who cry to him day and night, and yet he delays interposing in their cause.” There is av. ἰ., μακροθυμῶν. πα ον ee CU NOTES TO LESSON XXIX. 363 For the construction with ἐπί cf. Matt. xviii. 26, μακροθύμησον ἐπ᾽ ἐμοί, and Acts xi. 19, θλίψεως τῆς γενομένης ἐπὶ Στεφάνῳ. There is a curious parallel to the passage in Ecclus. xxxv. 18 (in LXX., xxxii. 18), 6 Κύριος οὐ μὴ βραδύνῃ, οὐδὲ μὴ μακροθυμήσει ἐπ᾽ αὐτοῖς ἕως ἂν συντρίψῃ ὀσφὺν ἀνελεημόνων' καὶ τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀντα- ποδώσει ἐκδίκησιν. μακροθυμία is one of the attributes ascribed to God in the vision of Moses—Exod. xxxiv. 6. It is alluded to in the parable of the Barren Fig -tree—Luke xiii. 9. It has been defined as “that clemency by which you put a restraint on your anger, and do not immediately punish an offence, but leave the offender an opportu- nity to repent.” The a fortiori mode of argument contained in this verse is very common in Jewish parables, and is called Kal-va-Chomer, or “light and heavy.” Cf. the πόσῳ μᾶλλον in Matt. vii. 11, x. 25, xii. 12, and the note on chap. xvi. 12, sub. fin. Instances of it in the Old Testament are Gen. xliv. 8; Deut. xxxi. 27 (Edersheim)—this last may be compared with ver. 8, “ Behold, while I am yet alive with you this day, ye have been rebellious against the Lord ; and how much more after my death?” There is a Rabbinical parallel to ver. 7 in a commentary on the Book of Jonah, “The bold (we., the unabashed) conquers even a wicked person (1.6., prevails on him to grant his request) ; how much more the All-Good of the world ?’”—(Edersheim. ) 8. πλήν.--- And yet,” an adverbial form (acc. fem. of πλέ-ον). τὴν tiotiv.—Note the article, which implies (1) the faith gen- erally —z.e., Christian faith ; or (2) the faith referred to in the parable—i.e., the faith that persists in prayer, without fainting. 9-14. The Parable of the Pharisee and the Publican. — The Thanksgiving of the Sef-Satisfied for the sins of others.—The Prayer of the Contrite for Mercy on his own. 9. wpds.—Probably simply “to,” since twas follows, though others take it to mean “with reference to.” tiwwas.—Probably some among the disciples, not Pharisees. He would not tell Pharisees a parable about Pharisees. eEovdevotvras.—aA late form for éfovds.—in the New Testament confined to St Luke and St Paul. 10. avéByoav.—Up the hill on which the Temple stood, and up the steps and terraces,—see p. 19. The Pharisee would wear 964 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. his fringe and phylacteries on brow and shoulder ; the publican would be in his common working dress, with no outward sign that he was an Israelite. 11. oraGeis.—This word is always used in the New Testament of taking up a position in preparation to making a formal or set speech, as in Luke xviii. 40, xix. 8; Acts ii. 14, v. 20, xi. 13, xvii. 22, xxv. 18, xxvii. 21. For another instance of prayer in the Temple, cf. Luke ii. 27. It was unlawful to sit in the Temple (cf. Matt. vi. 5; Mark x1. 25). Hence ταῦτα πρὸς ἑαυτόν is a more probable reading than πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ταῦτα. Observe that ἑστώς, a less forcible word, is used of the publican (ver. 13), who did not pose himself. πρὸς éavtov.—To be taken with προσηύχετο, “ with himself ”— 1.6., mentally. He would not have uttered such a prayer aloud. Cf. διελογίζετο ἐν ἑαυτῷ in chap. xii. 17. Cf. 2 Macc. xi. 13. The classical Greek for “standing by himself” would be καθ᾽ ἑαυτόν. Cf. Acts xxviii. 16; James u. 17. evxaptoTa.-—He utters no prayer, but a thanksgiving to God for the shortcomings of other men—to the heavenly Father for the blemishes of His children! Contrast the profession of Paul, the Christian Pharisee, in 1 Cor. xv. 9,10: “ For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God Iam what I am: and His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.” Οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν ἀνθρώπων.--- δ divides men into two classes ; in the one is himself, in the other the rest of mankind. The Rabbis described the majority of their fellow-countrymen as accursed for not knowing the Law (John vii. 49). They divided men into “people of the earth” and “ fellows ”—i. e., educated men. A saying of the Rabbis is quoted, “No brutish man is sin-fearing, nor is one of the people of the earth pious.” ottos.—Contemptuously. Cf. xv. 30. 12. vyoredw.—The Law only required one fast, and that on the great day of Atonement. The Hebrew word for fasting does not occur in the Pentateuch. The term used is “afflicting the soul,” ταπεινοῦν τὴν ψυχήν, Lev. xvi. 29-31. The Pharisee cer- tainly does not seem to be doing this, and it is difficult to refrain NOTES TO LESSON XXIX. 365 from supposing that our Lord may have had this usage of the word ταπεινόω in His mind in ver. 14. In Ezra ix. 5, 6, Ezra, the greatest of all the Scribes, is said to rise up from his “ heaviness ” —ie., “affliction,” or “fasting ’—and pour forth a prayer of an exactly opposite character to that of the Pharisee, commencing, “OQ my God, Iam ashamed and blush to lift up my face to Thee, my God: for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens.” The word “affliction ” is commonly used to denote fasting in the Talmud, and is the title of one of its treatises. Cf. Ps. xxxv. 13, “I afflicted my soul with fasting.” From Zech. vii. 1-7, viii. 19, it appears that the Jews during the captivity observed four annual fasts, in the fourth, fifth, seventh, and tenth months. Zech. vii. 5 and 9 contain an anticipation of our Lord’s teaching on the subject. After the captivity the fasts were multiplied to twenty-eight annual and two weekly ones. The latter were observed on the 2d and 5th days of the week—.e., Monday and Thursday, because Moses was believed to have ascended Mount Sinai on a Thursday and returned on a Monday. It is probable that these fasts were no very great hardship, because the day ended at six, and the great meal of the day would be in the evening. The object of fasting is to produce the very opposite feeling to that to which the Pharisee gives utterance—the feeling of humility and entire dependence on God. Similarly the payment of tithes is an outward expression that we owe everything to God, and are but His stewards in our possessions. caBBarov.—From a Hebrew word signifying—(1) “rest” ; (2) the “Sabbath-day,’—is used in the plural frequently, in the _ singular rarely, for “a week,” as the Hebrew word is in Ley. xxii. 15. τοῦ caBBarov.—Distributive =“ every week.” atrodexatevw.—An Alexandrine word. At least two tithes were required by the Law. One-tenth of the whole produce of the soil was assigned for the maintenance of the Levites, out of which the Levites were to dedicate a tenth to God, for the use of the priests. A tithe, in all probability a second tithe, was to be applied to festival purposes. In every third year either this festival tithe or a third tenth was to be eaten in company with the poor and the Levites. It appears 9566 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. from chap. xi. 42, that the Pharisees, from ostentation or over- scrupulousness, paid tithes on vegetables that scarcely came within the scope of the Law. As the object of the second tithe was mainly to promote charity and brotherly feeling by enabling every third year the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow to partake of the festival with the Levites, it is obvious that, while fulfilling the letter of the institution, the Pharisee was neglecting its spirit. We find indications of the custom of paying tithes during the captivity in Tobit i. 7. KTopar.—< I gain,” not “I possess,” which would be κέκτημαι. With this so-called prayer of the Pharisee and its presumptuous boasting we may contrast the beautiful prayer in Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24: “Search me, O God, and know my heart ; try me, and know my thoughts; and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” 13. paxpd0ey.—Afar off from what? If he were not an Israelite, he would be in the Court of the Gentiles ; but then the Pharisee would not have seen him. It is better to regard him as an Israelite, and to take the word to imply that he did not press forward to the holy place as one whose character gave him a right to do so, and as the Pharisee did. He stood aloof, as in some dark remote corner of a great cathedral. Probably the publicans, being sinners but not hypocrites, would not often be seen in the Temple, where they would encounter the chilling glances of the Pharisees ; so that this man’s presence there is a token of religious earnestness and a longing for repentance. οὐδὲ τοὺς 6parpovs.—The Jews usually stood when praying with arms outspread, the palms turned upward, and the eyes raised. Cf. 1 Tim. ii. 8, ἐπαίροντας ὁσίους χεῖρας. ovdé=“not even ’—i.e., “to say nothing of his head and hands.” ἔτυπτε τὸ στῆθος. -Νοίθ the imperf., “never ceased while praying.” Cf. οὐδεὶς ἐδίδου αὐτῷ, chap. xv. 16. The action is an expression of intense sorrow: it is still used by the Jews in the most solemn part of their confession on the Day of Atonement. Cf. xxiii. 48; Ain., 1. 481, “Suppliciter tristes, et tunse pectora palmis.” Physiologically, the action is an instinctive mode of ministering relief to the tension at the heart. Here it is a contrast to the calm fixed attitude of the Pharisee. NOTES TO LESSON ΧΧΙΧ. 367 τῷ apapTwro.—“ The sinner” —z.¢., “sinner that I am,” im- plying not comparison with others, but deep self-abasement. CT. 1 Tim. i. 15, “Sinners, of whom I am chief,” the self-estimate of the great Christian Pharisee. It is in accordance with the spirit of this prayer that the Confessions stand at the beginning of the English Church Service—a practice derived from the early Church. 14. SeStkarwpévos.—Every Jew is said in the Talmud to go away justified after offering sacrifice. The idea first occurs in Gen. xv. 6, “ Abram believed in the Lord; and He counted it to him for righteousness.” As the self-sufficiency of the Pharisee is a great contrast to the implicit trustfulness in God of the great father of his race, so the publican shows some germs of the faith of Abram in acknowledging that he has come far short of the divine ideal in goodness, and clinging to God’s mercy to help him to improve. yap is made ‘up of γε, verily, and ἄρα, therefore. Here the meaning of ye prevails. With the idea cf. Matt. xxi. 31. The publican “knew himself,” the Pharisee did not. Therefore the former was susceptible to good influences, the latter had made his own pride proof-armour against them. Hence, while the publicans as a class are often mentioned as being attracted to and listening to Jesus, the Pharisees as a class wilfully shut their eyes to His greatness and goodness. So great has been the influence of this parable on men’s minds, that it is perhaps now quite as common for men to say to themselves, “‘ Thank God, Iam not as that Pharisee,” as to say, “Thank God, I am not as that publican.” It is possible, too, for a man to be proud of his humility. Hence Jeremy Taylor says, * Make no reflex acts upon thy own humility, or upon any other grace with which God hath endowed thy soul.” ταπεινωθήσεται.---Α kindred sentiment to this is reported to have fallen from the lips of Rabbi Hillel: “ Humilitas mea est elevatio mea, et elevatio mea humilitas mea.” Cf. Ezek. xxi. 26. The best illustration of the principle is to be found in the magnificent passage on our Lord’s self-abasement in Philip. ii. 8, 9. The future tense may be regarded (1) as the assertion of a law ; (2) as a prophetic and authoritative promise. The sentiment occurs also in Matt. xxiii. 12 and Luke xiv. 11. 368 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. The first passage and the one before us seem to come under (2), the second under (1). It was one of our Lord’s gnomes by which He expresses the influence of humility, meekness, and gentleness on the world, and their greatness in the sight of God. The idea is conveyed in the Old Testament in the vision to Elijah of the still small voice, and is best illustrated from the New Testament by the influence the Gospel of the loving John has had upon the world. We can discover the truth of it in ordinary life by observing the influence those who are known to be unselfish and moderate in speech gain even among the pushing and noisy. The following illustrations of this parable are from Edersheim’s ‘Sketches of Jewish Life’:— “We read in the Talmud that a celebrated Rabbi was wont every day, on leaving the academy, to pray in these terms: ‘I thank Thee, O Lord. my God, and God of my father, that Thou hast cast my lot among those who frequent the schools and synagogues, and not among those who attend the theatre and the circus. For both I and they work and watch—I to inherit eter- nal life, they for their destruction.’ ’ The following anecdote, of an arrogance almost inhuman dis- played by a Scribe, comes from a Rabbinical work :— “Rabbi Jannai, while travelling by the way, formed acquaint- ance with a man whom he thought his equal. His new friend invited him to dinner, and liberally set before him meat and drink. But the suspicion of the Rabbi had been excited. He began to try his host successively by questions upon the text of Scripture, upon the Mishna, allegorical interpretations, and Tal- mudical lore. On none of these points could he satisfy the Rabbi. When dinner was over, Jannai called upon his host, as customary, to take the cup of thanksgiving and return thanks. But the latter was sufficiently humiliated to reply, with a mixture of Eastern deference and Jewish modesty, ‘ Let Jannai himself give thanks in-his own house.’ ‘ At any rate,’ said Jannai, ‘you can join with me.’ And when the latter had agreed to this, Jannai said, ‘A dog has eaten of the bread of Jannai.’” NOTES TO LESSON XXX. 369 BESSON. XXX. THE PARABLE OF THE Mina&—St Luke xix. 11-27. THE ABSENCE OF THE LORD OF THE KINGDOM A TEST OF ITS FRIENDS AND OF ITS FOES. 11, προσθεὶς eitrev.—The translation of a Hebraistic expres- sion = “continuing.” In classical Greek it would be προσθεὶς παραβολὴν εἶπεν. Jesus had been accompanied in His last journey from Galilee by an excited and ever-increasing multitude, who were expecting a glorious manifestation of the King-Messiah at Jerusalem, which He was now approaching. Jericho, which He seems to have just left, was within fifteen miles of the holy city. In the following parable Jesus designs to show that the kingdom is not to be established now, or in the way His followers expect. The parable that follows, though it has many points of resem- blance with, has many points of difference from, that of the Talents (Matt. xxv. 14-30). This parable is designed to represent different degrees of zeal in the management of one and the same thing intrusted to all alike; that of the Talents, to show that in the kingdom of God a man’s acceptance does not depend upon his powers, or the extent of the sphere of his labour, but upon faith- fulness of heart: motive is the burden of the latter, zeal of the former. Cf. p. 215. ἀναφαίνεσθαι.---““ Openly proclaimed.” Cf. Eur., Bacche, 529, ἀναφαίνω σε τόδε Θήβαις ὀνομάζειν: Hdtus., iii. 82, ἀναφανῆναι povvapxos. 12. evyevns.—There is probably a reference to the journey of Archelaus to Rome after the death of Herod the Great, to receive at the hands of Augustus the confirmation of his father’s will, by which he was made tetrarch of Samaria, Judea, and Idumea. The Jews sent a deputation after him to protest against his succession to the throne, and against kingly power altogether. Archelaus had a magnificent palace at Jericho. εἰς χώραν pakpav.—A contrast to the παραχρῆμα of ver. 11. 13. Séka.—Not “his ten slaves,” but “ten slaves of his.” A rich man would have many more than ten. It was not at all 2A 570 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. uncommon for a property owner to make his slaves agents in his absence, either leaving them to till his land and sell his produce, or lending them money to trade with. pvas.—Between £3 and £4 of our money: 100 Attic drachmas. The word is a corruption of the Hebrew maneh (2 Chron. ix. 16). In our money a mina would be toa talent what a threepenny-piece is to a sovereign. A small sum of money for trading purposes, but so much more striking is the greatness of the recompense for “faithfulness in that which is least.” It here stands for the powers bestowed upon us for use in Christ’s service, and sym- bolises the lowly lot of the ordinary Christian disciple, who is expected greatly to execute small tasks. πραγματεύσασθαι.---ΤῊ 5 verb means (1) to take trouble about; (2) to employ by way of commerce or usury. πραγματεία occurs in 2 Tim. ii. 4. For the reading, πραγματεύσασθε, cf. chap. xiv. . 17. épxopar—“ come back.” Cf. John iv. 16. 14. οἱ modtrat.— His fellow-citizens.” Cf. Gen. xxiii. 11. The modern Greek Test. has συμπολῖται. Here the Judean op- ponents of Jesus are meant, in contrast with the δοῦλοι, His Gali- lean disciples. ἐμίσουν... améoretkav.—Note the tenses : the hatred was per- manent, the “sending after him” asingle act. Cf. Matt. xxv. 5. οὐ 0€\opev.—Compare the cry of the Jews at the trial of Jesus, “We have no king but Cesar,” and their saying to Pilate, “ Write not, The King of the Jews,’—John xix. 15, 21. 15. kal ἐγένετο. . . καὶ εἶπεν.-- ΤῊΪΒ is a Hebraism. The second καί shows that εἶπε is contemporaneous with ἐγένετο. yvot—late form for γνῷ, as if from γνόω. Cf. Mark ν. 43, ix. 30. διεπραγματεύσαντο--. l., τίς τί διεπραγματεύσατο. διά implies either completion, or “during the time” =“ what business they had finished ov had carried on during his absence.” For the idea of trading with the Word of God, cf. 2 Cor. ii. 17, ob yap ἐσμεν, ὡς of πολλοί, καπηλεύοντες τὸν λόγον τοῦ Θεοῦ. Cf. also Eph. v. 16, ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν. 16. wov.—He modestly refers his success to his master’s gift, not to his own diligence. 17. ἐγένου .---““ Didst prove thyself.” The reward does not consist in some external or material gain, but in enlarged service. This is the light in which true Christians endeavour to regard earthly promotion,—not as bringing in greater NOTES TO LESSON XXX. ort income, but as involving greater responsibility, and therefore at once harder work and a greater scope for their faculties. Their reward is ever with them, comforting and supporting them. The freedom from the distraction caused by mixed motives, and the sobriety and calmness resulting from perfect confidence in God’s love, enable them to develop their powers for extended work without interruption or intermission. δέκα médAcwv.—After receiving a kingdom, the εὐγενής would be able to distribute such rewards. We may compare the assign- ment to Themistocles by the King of Persia of the revenues of Magnesia for his bread, Myus for his condiments, and Lampsacus for his wine.—(Thucyd., i. 138.) But in that case Themistocles had no responsibilities toward those cities. Josephus tells us that Archelaus did actually reward his faith- ful adherents by placing them over cities. 19. The second servant is not praised; he has shown no exces- sive zeal. 20. elxov.— Kept,” and did nothing else with it. ἀποκειμένην refers to the common practice of hiding treasures in unsettled countries, where there are no banks and few investments. covdapiw.—The Latin word sudarium, a cloth with which to wipe off the perspiration (sudor): then the meaning was extended to that of a napkin or linen cloth of any kind. From the Rabbini- cal writings we gather that the Jews often hid their money in these govddpia, The talent was too large to be so concealed: it is represented as being buried in the earth—Matt. xxv. 25. 21, Eastern despots did not scruple, nor do they scruple now, to appropriate the earnings of their servants and their subjects. Moreover, if the servant had by misadventure lost the money intrusted to him, it might, he believed, be required of him again. If the cause be not false, and a mere covering for sloth, it may depict the moral cowardice and distrust of those who are afraid of labouring actively for the good of others, lest contact with the world should stain the purity of their souls. Cf. the saying of Seneca (Ep. vii.), quoted in the ‘ De Imitatione Christi’ (i. 20), “ Quoties inter homines fui, minor homo redii.” And Tennyson’s “Holy Grail ”— ‘Leaving human wrongs to right themselves, Care but to pass into the silent life.” aveornpdés.—atw=dry ; properly used of astringents that make S12 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. the tongue dry. Cf. Cowper’s “sloes austere.” In 2 Mace. xiv. 30 it is translated “ churlish.” It may here be rendered “strict.” Cf. note on σκληρός, Matt. xxv. 24. The bad servant thinks of the work, and has hard πεν: of the master; the good servant thinks of the master, and has pleasant thoughts of the work. aipets.—J.c., “ Thou wouldest have exacted in hard unmerciful justice, from my property, the equivalent of the sum of money, if I had lost it in trading.” 23. ἐπὶ τράπεζαν .----“ Into a bank.” This may be interpreted of any Christian work to which aid is rendered without any personal exertion, as, e.g., subscribing to churches or charitable organisations; or Jesus may be gently advising timid Christians, who are not adapted for independent labour in the kingdom of God, at least to associate themselves with persons of greater strength, under whose guidance they may apply their gifts to His service. There was a saying traditionally ascribed to Jesus—ylyvecOe δόκιμοι τραπεζῖται, ‘‘ Show yourselves approved money-changers.” ToKw.—Cf. Shakespeare’s “ breed of barren metal.” Fenus is connected with the obsol. feare=gignere. 26. It is not an arbitrary rule, but a principle running through life, that he who has obtains more, and he who has not, or obtains not, loses. In the body we all lose many capacities from not using them: men may even lose the use of limbs altogether from ceasing to exercise them ; and every one loses the use of many tissues and blood-vessels. Again, if a man has learnt to observe for one pur- pose, he will observe for another with the greater quickness ; the habit of attention in one subject will easily be directed to another: and the same principle holds in all mental faculties, as taste, judg- ment, &c. So money begets money; and the richer a man is, the more speedily can he increase his riches. It has even been asserted that the more friends a man has, the more intensely he can love each of them ; and this would certainly almost seem to have been the case with St Paul. See his list of friends in Rom. xvi. 3-16. 27. τοὺς éx@pots.—No longer πολῖται, as in ver. 14. Jesus here seems to be speaking austerely, almost bitterly. He was, how- ever, speaking as a prophet foreseeing the destruction of the nation which refused for its Messiah the Greatest and Best of the time. He said elsewhere, “ Where the carcass is, there will the NOTES TO LESSON XXX. 373 vultures be gathered together”? (Matt. xxv. 28)—i.e., whenever a nation has fallen into moral decay, destruction will soon over- take it; and so here He is plainly foretelling to the Scribes and Pharisees, who were sinning against light in refusing to accept Him, though they must in their hearts have felt His goodness, that destruction will come upon them—the downfall of their nation in this world, their banishment from the kingdom of Love in the next. In the parable this punishment is inflicted by the arbitrary will of the tyrant; in the kingdom of God it follows by a natural law: the nation falls because it is rotten ; the hating soul voluntarily exiles itself from the kingdom of Love. We may apply to the last addresses of Jesus to His countrymen the saying of Hyperides to the Athenians, quoted in Plutarch’s *Phocion,’—“ Examine not whether I am severe upon you, but whether I am so for my own sake.” ADDITIONAL NOTE ON THE COMPATIBILITY OF THE PRACTICE ΟΕ USURY WITH THE CHRISTIAN PROFESSION. In ver. 25 Jesus alludes, without reprobation, to the taking of interest for money. In the Sermon on the Mount, He had bidden His disciples not to turn away from those who wished to borrow of them (Matt. v. 42). The question arises, Did He or did He not regard the taking of interest for loans as permissible? For many centuries the Christian Church regarded such a practice as con- trary to the principles of Christianity. In the English Church, Latimer protested against the laws that allowed usury before the time of Edward VI. ; the Act of Henry VIIL, restricting the rate of usury to 10 per cent, was repealed in 1552 by an Act of Edward VI., which declared that “usury is by the Word of God utterly prohibited.” Under Elizabeth the Act of Henry VIII. was revived with some restrictions. Bishop Andrewes wrote an elaborate treatise to prove that no Christian may take interest for loans. It is only during the present reign that restrictions on the rate of interest have been removed. The Jews were forbidden by the law of Moses to take interest from one another, though not from foreigners. No legal penalty, however, was affixed: the injunction was merely a moral precept. Thus Exod. xxii. 25, and Lev. xxv. 35-37, exhort men not to exact interest from their countrymen who are poor ; Deut. xxiii. 374 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 20, distinctly states that to a stranger money may be lent on usury. That the law was not invariably or even ordinarily observed appears from Ps. xv. 5; Ezek. xviii. 8, 13, xxii. 12,—in which espe- cial praise is bestowed on those who have observed it. With regard to the teaching of the Old and New Testaments, on this as on other topics we must distinguish between the precept which relates to particular times and places, and the principle or spirit of the precept which has a universal application. When the law of Moses was imposed, the Jews were a purely agricultural people, and had no commercial transactions. In ancient times money, when borrowed on usury, was for the most part borrowed not for the systematic prosecution of com- merce, but for the temporary aversion of some pressing want. Usurers traded on the needs of desperate men. In small states, again, where men knew one another and felt the claims of neigh- bourhood, usury was regarded as a selfish encroachment upon the province of neighbourly friendship. Again, while slavery was permitted, the harsh creditor was a gainer by his harshness ; now he is apt to be a loser. Then he could reduce his debtor to slavery, and so gain a slave. Now this temptation to charge exorbitant interest no longer exists ; undue harshness is apt to diminish the chances of payment. Moreover, history has proved the legal prohibition of usury a failure. Thus Adam Smith, in his ‘Wealth of Nations,’ says: “In other countries [besides England] where the interest for money has been prohibited by law, it has been found by experience that the evil of usury has increased, the debtor being obliged to pay not only for the money, but for the risk which his creditor runs by accepting compensation for the use of it.” The wise Tacitus seems to refer to the same failure, when he says in reference to the Germans: “ Foenus agitare et in usuras extendere ignotum ; ideoque magis servatur quam si vetitum esset.” At Rome the legal rate was successively lowered, but the restrictions were con- stantly eluded. Since, then, the teaching of history shows that the attempt to prohibit the taking of money as interest has been a failure, and has also been an impediment to the progress of commerce, and there- fore of the welfare of nations ; since Jesus, in the passage above, refers without reprobation to the practice ; since, now that slavery is abolished, the usurer may often be a friend in need,—we may, it NOTES TO LESSON ΧΧΧΙ. 375 seems, conclude that there is nothing in the principles of Chris- tianity to prevent men from being usurers. Both the spirit and precepts of Jesus, however, distinctly forbid men to use the power of superior wealth to oppress the poor or to be grasping. In the parable of the Talents, we are taught that by the code of Jesus we hold all our wealth in trust for God. (See the Essay, p. 214.) The spirit of the teaching of Jesus on the subject of usury is perhaps best carried out by such Acts as the Bankruptcy Act passed in 1861, by which imprisonment for debt was abolished, except in the case of fraudulent debtors. LESSON XXXII. THE PARABLES OF-THE Two SONS AND OF THE WICKED HusBANDMEN—St Matt. xxi. 23-46. THE REJECTION BY ISRAEL, AS A NATION, OF THE MORAL CLAIMS OF THE KINGDOM. 23. ἐλθόντος αὐτοῦ... αὐτῷ διδάσκοντι.--- ΑἸ anacolouthon, due to the simplicity of the narrative: notice the change of tense —“ After He had come in;” “ while He was engaged in teaching.” ot apxtepets.—This term probably included the heads of the twenty-four courses, and some of those who had been high priests. The deputation seems to have been sent by the Sanhedrim, and to have consisted of members of that body. Their object was apparently to find a pretext for excommunicating Jesus. A similar deputation had waited on John the Baptist—John i. 19. éEovo(a.—Without authorisation from the Scribes, no one could teach authoritatively, though he might be a popular expositor, preacher, or teller of legends.—(Edersheim. ) ταῦτα probably refers to all that Jesus up till that moment had done and was still doing in Jerusalem,—the triumphal entry, the cleansing of the Temple, and the teaching in it. By all this course of conduct Jesus was putting forward a claim to be the Messiah. 25. τὸ βάπτισμα τὸ lwdvou—v. 1., Ἰωάννου. Baptism was the chief symbol of John’s doctrine, the outward sign of the repent- 376 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ance which he taught. John had acknowledged Jesus to be the Messiah, and his influence with the multitude had been very great. He, too, had condemned the ecclesiastics, as Jesus had done, terming them, in language borrowed from the desert ima- gery, “broods of vipers.” He, too, had preached righteousness as the true claim of sonship with God. ‘“ Think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham for our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abra- ham.” He, too, had forecast the downfall of his country unless a moral and spiritual reformation took place in it. “The axe is laid unto the root of the trees: every tree, therefore, that bringeth not forth good fruit, is being hewn down and cast into the fire” — Luke iii. 7-9. If, therefore, the deputation acknowledge the authority of John, they must necessarily acknowledge that of Jesus. ἐν éavtots.—Cf. Matt. xvi. 7, “among themselves.” There is, however, a various reading, παρ᾽ ἑαυτοῖς, where the pronoun may stand for ἀλλήλοις, Cf. Xen., Mem., 11. 6---φθονοῦντες ἑαυτοῖς μισοῦσιν ἀλλήλους“. 27. ἔφη αὐτοῖς καὶ αὐτός.-- οί pronouns are emphatic. “He declined to answer them, as they Him.” The deputation, by professing their incompetence to decide about John, admitted their incapacity to judge about Jesus. Their formal attempt to degrade Jesus in the eyes of the multitude had resulted in their placing themselves in a position of degrading imbecility. Their dishonesty had constrained them to declare that they, the authorised judges of false prophets, could express no opinion on John, who had been the foremost religious teacher of the time. With what face, then, could they pronounce against Jesus, whom John had publicly proclaimed his superior, and whose greatness had already eclipsed the fame of His forerunner ? 28. téxvov.—The term implies affection. In English the Chris- tian name would be used. 29, éy#.—Emphatic, in contrast to the brother’s od θέλω, “IT won’t.” It almost=‘“‘ You may depend on me.” So in 1 Sam. iii. 4, 6, when the Lord calls Samuel, he answers ἰδοὺ, ἐγώ : and in Gen. xxii. 1, when God called Abraham, he replied, ἰδοὺ, ἔγώ. 30. μεταμεληθείς.---μετάνοια is the change of mind consequent upon “ after-knowledge,” and so a change of life: μεταμέλεια, the selfish dread of consequences, or “after care.” μεταμεληθείς is NOTES TO LESSON XXXI. Ott used of the remorse of Judas—Matt. xxvii. 3: weravoéw in the New Testament usually refers to a change of the whole life; μετα- μέλομαι, to single actions. 31. mpodyovow.—He does not say it is too late for them to follow. 32. ἐν ὁδῷ δικαιοσύνης.---76., conducting himself as a strict Jew, paying minute obedience to the Law, fasting, praying, and giving alms. The phrase may, however, mean, “as a teacher of righteousness.” John was the son of a priest, and would therefore be thoroughly initiated in the Temple ritual ; and he would have had the Law expounded to him by the Scribes. His disciples had been per- plexed at the contrast presented by the conduct of Jesus and His disciples in the matter of fasting with that of themselves and the Pharisees—Matt. ix. 14. iSovtes.—~ When or though ye had seen.”’ 33-46. The Parable of the Wicked Husbandmen. In this parable Jesus very plainly announces to the deputa- tion from the Sanhedrim that He foresees they intend to compass His death, and that He must fall by the hands of His country- men, as the prophets before Him had done. It may be that He had thought it not impossible that the public feeling in the capi- tal might yet cause the nation and its rulers to turn to Him as the spiritual Messiah. Their King-Messiah, in the external and political sense, He will not be. But by this time all such hopes had left Him. His own disciples, indeed, had welcomed Him into the capital, but the rulers had kept aloof, and had sullenly re- buked Him for permitting the children to greet Him with their hosannas. After He had purged the Temple of the sacrilegious traffic, instead of recognising this act as a Messianic one, or at least as one in which any righteous zealot would have been justified, they had attempted violence against Him, and were restrained only by the enthusiasm of the people, who were hanging on His lips—Luke xix. 48, 49. Though He must have seemed to them at the least the noblest and the best of His time ; though John, whom all the people recognised as a prophet, had borne witness to Him; though His life was stain- less, and spent in acts of love and beneficence; though none could listen to Him without being fascinated, and many re- 378 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. garded Him as John the Baptist, many as Elijah, many as Jere- miah, or some other of the prophets, many as the Messiah, and a few as the Son of God,—the Pharisees and priests had re- solved He should die. In this parable the victim calmly tells his slayers he sees their intention. But Jesus sees beyond His death to His influence afterwards, and His country’s down- fall. Had the Jews accepted Him as the spiritual Messiah, the history of the world might have been changed. The yoke of Rome would not, indeed, have been violently shaken off, but Jeru- salem might have continued to exist, and the Jews have exercised over the Romans a spiritual influence similar to the intellectual influence exercised by the Greeks. But in their narrow patriot- ism they would not have it so: the spirit of Leviticus and the Maccabees was destined to prevail over the spirit of Isaiah ; and the impetuosity and vindictiveness of the zealots was doomed to bring the country to an untimely end, from which the gentler spirit of Jesus alone could have saved it. Nothing but His spirit, indeed, could have saved the “ place and nation” from being taken away by the Romans. And hereafter, through Him as its repre- sentative, the nation was to enjoy a supremacy over the spirits of mankind of which none even of His most intimate disciples were dreaming. 33. ὅστις, «.7.A.— “A housemaster of the class of vineyard planters.” The parable refers to Isa. v. 1-6, where the prophet, speaking of God as his friend, laments the unfruitfulness of his friend’s vineyard in the form of a song which has been thus translated :— ‘* A vineyard had my dear friend, Upon a richly fruitful height ; And he digged it over, and cleared it of stones, And planted it with choice vines, And built a tower in its midst, Hewed out also a wine-press in it, And he hoped that it should bear grapes,— But it bore wild grapes.” The words φραγμὸν περιέθηκα, πύργον φκοδόμησα, and προλήνιον ὥρυξα, all occur in the above passage, and the vineyard is explained as the house of Israel. The reference by Jesus to this passage would be full of signifi- cance to His hearers, who would think, before He continued His parable, of the continuation of that of the prophet—“‘ Let me NOTES TO LESSON XXXI. 379 tell you what I will do to my vineyard: take away its hedge, that it become grazing-land ; break down its wall, that it serveth for trampling upon: make a desolation of it.” This was the first threat against the holy city, uttered in the beginning of his career by the most brilliant of their prophet- poets. Jesus’ hearers could look back upon its fulfilment, and would be constrained to listen with gloomy foreboding to the revival of it by the new Prophet of Nazareth—this terrible Mes- sianic message of the claimant to the Messiahship—as He fixed upon them His eyes which seemed now to be gazing at and beyond death, while He calmly told His would-be murderers what their deeds should be. ἀμπελών. --- ΝΟ possession was more valuable, none required greater care. In Ps. Ixxx. 8, Israel is spoken of as a vine: brought out of Egypt. That can hardly be the meaning here, for in ver. 43 the vineyard is said to be given over to another nation. It is best, probably, to interpret the vineyard as the kingdom of God, which at first was identical with Israel, but was subsequently extended to the Gentiles. The ἀμπελών may then be regarded as the mass of the people to be guided and instructed: the γεωργοί as the regularly constituted instructors and guides who in successive ages were—(1) the priests and Levites ; (2) the king with his ministers and the priests; (3) the priests and the Scribes. The δοῦλοι would be the extraordinary messengers— the prophets. The γεωργοί and the δοῦλοι were sometimes merged as priests, were sometimes prophets. But the priests as priests never protested against the sins of idolatrous kings, but became sharers in the worship of Baal, of the sun and moon, and of the host of heaven. The priests, again, never of their own accord introduced reform—see p. 203. The prophets are called δοῦλοι in the summary of the history of the ten tribes in 2 Kings xvii. 18, Cf. Jer. xxxv. 15 (English version). It is the chief priests who take the lead in causing Jesus to be put to death. It is to them Judas goes—Matt. xxvi. 3-14. φραγμόν ---Τ 15 refers (1) to the physical boundaries of the Holy Land, which are thus described in Ps, lxxx. 10, 11: “ The hills were covered with the shadow of it, and the boughs thereof were like the goodly cedars. She sent out her boughs unto the sea, and her branches unto the river ”’—see pp. 2, ὃ: (2) to the Law, which was a fence that guarded them against impurity. The word 980 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. φραγμός would recall to the listeners the famous saying of the Great Synagogue, “ Make a fence to the Law”’—1.e., impose addi- tional injunctions, so as to keep at a safe distance from forbidden ground, In Eph. ii. 14, the Law is called a μεσότοιχον Tod φραγμοῦ —i.e., the middle wall of the fence between Jew and Gentile. “ The elevation of the hills and table-lands of Judea,” says Dean Stanley, “is the true climate of the vine. Enclosures of loose stones, like the walls of the fields in Derbyshire or Westmoreland, everywhere catch the eye on the bare slopes of Hebron, Bethlehem, and Olivet, and at the corner of each rises its square grey tower.” The φραγμός would be of stone, or of stone and baked mud. Sometimes, however, thorny shrubs were added or intermingled. &pugtev.—This does not refer to digging out soil, but to scooping out a wine-press in the limestone-rock. Tristram gives the fol- lowing description: “A flat or gently sloping rock is used for their construction. At the upper end a trough is cut about 3 feet deep, and 44 by 34in length and breadth. Just below this in the same rock is hewn out a second trough 14 inches deep, and 4 feet by 3 in size. The two are connected by two or three small holes bored through the rock close to the bottom of the upper trough, so that the grapes being put in and pressed down, the juice streamed into the lower vat.” πύργον .---Α watch-tower for the purpose of guarding the grapes, a place to store the wine, and a residence for the workmen. If we are to regard the detail as having any significance, we may perhaps in interpreting think of the Temple. ἐξέδοτο.---Τὖ would seem that they undertook to give the owner a certain fixed quantity yearly for the produce of the vineyard, and all that was over was to belong to them. This appears more plainly in Mark xii. 2. Cf. 2 Sam. ix. 10, where Ziba tills the land and brings in the fruits to Mephibosheth. This is the most prevalent system of land-tenure in a great part of Italy now. ἀπεδήμησεν .---“΄ Went abroad.” In the interpretation it refers to the invisibility of God, who is, however, regarded as manifesting Himself in special national crises, as in the planting the Israelites in Canaan, the sieges of Jerusalem, and the carrying away into captivity. 35. ἔδειραν .----δέρω properly means “to flay.” It is used of beat- ing, apparently in a slang way, like our word “hide,” in Aristoph., Rane, 619. There is a climax in the three phrases—scourging, NOTES TO LESSON XXXI. 381 killing, stoning. St Mark’s gradation is (1) scourging, (2) stoning, beating on the head, and outraging, (3) killing. St Luke’s narra- tive reserves the killing for the son. The divergency shows that Jesus was not regarded as referring to particular cases of the martyrdom of the prophets, but as summing up the history of their treatment. In Jer. xxxvii. 15, we read how that prophet was “ smitten and cast into a dungeon ;” in 2 Chron. xxiv. 21, of the stoning of Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada. In 2 Kings xxi. 16, Manasseh is said to have shed much innocent blood ; and it is probable that Isaiah perished with others in that time of persecution. There is a not improbable tradition that Jeremiah was stoned by his own countrymen in Egypt. The speech of St Stephen recorded in Acts vii. is a commentary on and development of this parable. 36. awAelovas.—Some take this to mean “better,” “of more importance.” 38. σχῶμεν τὴν KkAnpovowiay.—The vineyard had been planted to produce moral fruits. The Israelites had again and again been warned by the prophets that the retention of their land depended on their maintaining the union of religion and morality. After the Babylonish captivity the pious alone for the most part would have sufficient enthusiasm to face the perils and difficulties of the return. Hence piety and holiness would more than ever be regarded as the true conditions of heirship. In the time of Jesus the conscience of the nation was sufficiently well trained to know who was the holiest, and therefore who the truest Heir. But Jesus refused to promote, as the Heir, the aspirations of the majority of His countrymen for material power, while He excited the jealousy of their ecclesiastical rulers by the spiritual sover- eignty He was winning over the noble minority, the true and spiritual Israel. Hence the rulers sought His death, and the worldly-minded mob were willing to abet them. The ecclesi- astical rulers knew that He was stealing away from them the allegiance of the devout, and they did not dispute the authority of John the Baptist who had borne witness to Him. When, therefore, He spoke of Himself as the Heir and the Son, they must have understood Him, though the Messiah is nowhere in the Hebrew Scriptures clearly and explicitly spoken of as “the Son of God,” nor was the title recognised by the Jews of the time as belonging to the Messiah. 982 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. They were, then, seeking to take the inheritance when they were endeavouring to keep to themselves the kingdom of God— i.e., all the light, knowledge, and privileges which they had heretofore exclusively enjoyed, but which Christ intended, not indeed to take from them, but to extend to other nations. This, however, in their jealous exclusiveness, they regarded not as ex- tending the empire of the kingdom, but as limiting their own control over its affairs. They were like ministers conspiring against their king while on the eve of making fresh conquests, through apprehension lest they should be superseded in their office by rivals from among his new subjects. 39. ἐξέβαλον ¢€w.—This has been regarded as containing a ref- erence to the fact that Jesus suffered outside Jerusalem ; but as’ the vineyard refers to the whole of the Holy Land, it will be better, if we press any interpretation of this detail, to refer it to His excommunication. 41. éyovo.v.— The substance of the words that follow is ascribed by St Mark and St Luke to Jesus Himself. It seems very unlikely that the chief priests and Pharisees, to whom ver. 45 represents the parable as having been addressed, should have used them. If they did, then we must suppose that they were con- strained by the presence of the bystanders, and the calm searching manner of Jesus, to make some reply, and answered as though in continuation to a story with which they were not concerned. The position in that case would be as ironical as the self-condemnation of CGddipus. κακοὺς Kakas.—Cf. Hec., 903, τὸν μὲν κακὸν κακόν τι πάσχειν: Perse, 1020, δόσιν κακὰν κακῶν κακοῖς : Ajax, 866, πόνος πόνῳ πόνον φέρει: Catullus, iii. 13, “ At vobis male sit, male tenebre, Orci.” In the Rheims version it is translated, “The naughtie man he will bring to naught.” Another suggestion is, “The wretches, he will wretchedly destroy them.” 42. Al@ov.—The antecedent is here attracted into the case of the relative, as in Shakespeare’s “ Coriolanus,” v. 6. 5, “ Him I accuse the city ports by this hath entered ;” “ Ant. and Cleop.,” iii. 1. 15, “ Him we serve’s away. /in., i. 573, “ Urbem quam statuo vestra est.” The passage comes from Ps. cxviil., which is thought to have been sung for the first time at the dedication of the second Temple—Ezra vi. 15-18. There may have been some reference to a dispute as to which stone was to be used for the NOTES TO LESSON XXXI. 383 ’future corner-stone at the top, and the priests may have selected a stone rejected by the builders. eis κεφαλὴν yovlas.—* Became for the head of a corner,”’—i.e., the top stone at an angle of the building, of great weight and im- portance in their roofs, which were built of solid flat stones, to admit of being walked on. In the psalm the restored Jews are represented as triumphantly declaring that their nation, dis- carded in its captivity by all other nations, had become the corner-stone of all the nations—.e., they foresaw for themselves, in their exultation, universal dominion. They may have been then referring to Jer. li. 26, where the prophet of the captivity had declared of Babylon, “They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner, nor a stone for a foundation, but thou shalt be a desolation.” Peter, perhaps specially delighting in referring to this passage, on account of its allusion to his own name, quotes it—Acts iv. 11, and 1 Pet. ii. 4-8. In the last passage he combines it with Isa. viii, 14. The Rabbis referred the passage to the Mes- siah, so that His listeners would here understand Jesus as claim- ing the Messiahship. St Paul expands the metaphor in Eph. ii. 19: “Ye are fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God ; built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner-stone ; in whom all the building being fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.” Jesus, as the corner-stone, united all men in one brotherhood. Practically He says: “ As a nation you were rejected and despised by other nations when you were carried into captivity, and your Temple was laid in ruins. Yet you returned, your Temple was rebuilt, and you seemed to yourselves destined for universal dominion through your Messiah. You are now rejecting me, but I am destined to be that head-stone of the corner the Psalmist alluded to. I shall be the corner-stone of a great spiritual Temple, whose influence shall be infinitely greater than that of this material one.” There was great propriety in Jesus quoting this psalm on this occasion, as He had been greeted with quotations from it as He entered the city on the preceding day (ver. 26). atry.—The fem. is used because the passage is a direct transla- tion from the Hebrew, in which language there is no neuter. Cf. Ps. xxvi. 4, μίαν ἠτησάμην παρὰ Kuptov—“I have asked one thing from the Lord.” 384 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. 43, διὰ τοῦτο.---““ Because ye are rejecting this stone.” €6ve..—No particular nation, but the ideal nation of the future, whose invisible king is Christ; the ἔθνος ἅγιον. Cf. 1 Pet. ii. 9. movovvTt.—The pres. = “ who are producing its fruits, and so an- ticipating its establishment.” They are the καρπὸς τοῦ πνεύματος of Gal. v. 22. 44. συνθλασθήσεται.---Α late poetic word. This verse occurs in St Luke immediately after the κεφαλὴν γωνίας of ver. 42, which seems its natural place. It has been proposed, there- fore, to transpose vers. 43 and 44. The passage, however, as it stands, is in accordance with the laws of Hebrew paral- lelism, and is an illustration of the figure chiasmus (see p. 37). The first couplet, from λίθον ὅν to γωνίας, is connected with the fourth, καὶ ὃ πεσών to λικμήσει αὐτόν ; and the second couplet, mapa Κυρίου to ἡμῶν, with the third, διὰ τοῦτο to αὐτῆς. Thus due prominence is given to the head-stone, which occurs first and last. Moreover, the passage as it stands is a climax: the taking away of the kingdom is particular, and refers to the Jews ; the stumbling on the stone, and being ground to powder, is uni- versal, and refers to all mankind. It is, however, not quite certain that the passage is genuine here. It is probably an early addition. The stone is first regarded as lying at rest, and therefore a stone on which some one falls and breaks his limbs, as in Isa. viii. 14, 15; then as lifted to its place, and rolling down on those below with crushing force. The word Atkudw occurs in Theodo- tion’s version, Dan. ii. 44, where the great image seen by Belte- shazzar in avision has its feet broken to pieces by a stone made without hands, and the stone becomes a great mountain, and fills the whole earth ; and Daniel is represented as interpreting this stone of a kingdom set up by God which shall never be destroyed, but shall λεπτυνεῖ and λικμήσει all these kingdoms, and shall itself stand for ever. The word λικμάω means primarily “to winnow corn,’ IL, v. 499 ;'secondarily, “to disperse” and “bring to naught,’—Job xxvii. 21, ἀναλήψεται δε αὐτὸν καύσων καὶ ἀπελεύ- σεται, καὶ λικμήσει αὐτὸν ἐκ τοῦ τόπου αὐτοῦ. In the LXX. ver- sion of Daniel, λικμήσει is rendered by ἀφανίσει, “ destroy,” and this will explain the meaning of λικμήσει here. The stone on which men fall is Jesus in His humiliation; the stone which falls on man is Jesus triumphant. Peter in his re- pentance is the best example of the former. The word contrition NOTES TO LESSON ΧΧΧΊΠΠ. 385 illustrates its meaning. The illustration of the latter can be found in the history of the world since the parable was uttered. The Jews who crucified Jesus soon after ceased to have any local habitation, and their Temple was so utterly destroyed that few traces of it are left. The Roman empire, which rejected His pre- cepts, fell into decay under its own vices. On the other hand, the nations which have acknowledged Him as their head have up to this time been the progressive nations of the world. Since His precepts are those of love among men, and trust in the heavenly Father, it is natural that those who follow Him should prosper, since their efforts after progress are fostered by unity and stimu- lated by hope, while those who reject Him are rejecting the noblest incentives to both. LESSON XXXIII. THe PARABLE OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE Kin@q’s Son— St Matt. xxii. 1-14. THE REJECTION BY ISRAEL, AS A NATION, OF THE JOYS OF THE KINGDOM. 2. yapous.—Plural, because the festivities lasted several days. Cf. our word “ nuptials.” So Athens, Philippi, Colosse, and other towns are plural, because they originally consisted of several settlements. ποιεῖν γάμους = “to prepare a marriage - feast.” Jesus had-already compared Himself to a bridegroom. Cf. Mark ii. 19. See also chap. xxv. 1. This parable resembles that of “The Great Supper” in Luke °* xiv., but there are several obvious points of difference. See the notes there. Here the marriage-feast represents the happiness which the royal Father has prepared for those who are faithful to His Son. Jesus wooed humanity as a bridegroom, that it might with Him enjoy the Father’s love. 3. τοὺς SovAovs.—These would correspond to the Roman voca- tores or wnvitatores. In the East it is still customary to send round servants to inform the invited guests when all things are 2B 386 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ready. By the δοῦλοι are probably meant the prophets. See note on Luke xiv. 17. οὐκ 40eAov.— They refused, one after the other:” this is the force of the imperfect. 4. &ptorov.—A meal corresponding to the French déjeuner and our luncheon. The Jews, like the modern Turks, appear to have had only two meals a-day, the smaller one between ten and eleven o'clock in the morning, the second and larger one after sunset. This early meal commenced the series of feasts connected with the marriage qrotpaxa.—Perf., “I have it prepared.’ Cf. Zeph. i. 7, “The Lord hath prepared (ἡτοίμακε) His sacrifice, He hath bid His guests. 5. ἀμελήσαντες.---“ Having paid no attention.” ἴδιον.--Α late usage: the word is simply equivalent to the possessive pronoun. 6. tBprrav.—The verb implies injury accompanied with insult. In 1 Thess. ii. 2, it is translated “entreated shamefully.” Cf. Chaucer, “‘ Lamentation of Marie Magdalene ” :— ** With their vengeance insatiable Now have they him intreated so That to report is too lamentable.” 7. στρατεύματα .---“ Troops,” a late usage. Cf. Luke xxiii. 11. The reference is probably to the Roman armies. So in Isa. x. 5, the Assyrian is spoken of as “ the rod of God’s anger ;” and in Jer. xxv. 9, Nebuchadnezzar as “ God’s servant.” Jesus foresaw that since His nation would not accept Him as its regenerator, its doom was sealed. There was no hope of con- tending successfully with the power of Rome ; nevertheless, the ’ narrow spirit of Pharisaism, combined with the violence of the zealots, was inevitably leading to that hopeless struggle. 8. Cf. Acts xiii. 46, where Paul and Barnabas say to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, “It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” 9, διεξόδους τῶν ὁδῶν.- Cf. Ps. 1. 3, διεξόδους τῶν ὑδάτων, Since the city was destroyed, this must refer to the crossings of the country roads, where the people were in the habit of congre- NOTES TO LESSON XXXIII. 387 gating most. In the interpretation, the reference is to the calling of the Gentiles in places outside the holy city, as Antioch, Ephesus, or Rome. 10. πονηρούς τε kal dyaSovs.—Those who had led wicked lives —the publicans and harlots—as well as those who were outwardly respectable and irreproachable in conduct, obeyed the call of Jesus and His apostles. Such persons attached themselves to Jesus and His teaching from mixed motives,—some because He seemed to satisfy their souls with the ideal of a nobler life that He set before them, and because His life and teaching from its novelty and lovingness attracted them; others because they hoped to derive some worldly benefit from Him. These last are alluded to in the representation of the man “ who had not on the wedding-garment.” Cf. the parable of the Drag Net (xiii. 47, 48) ; and see St Paul’s description of the Christian con- verts at Corinth in 1 Cor. vi. 9-11. ὁ νυμφών-- Υ. 1., ὁ γάμος. 11. That the Eastern host presented wedding-garments on such occasions cannot be determined; but in any case the parable assumes that the man could easily have procured one, and accord- ing to etiquette should have done so. γάμου is the genitive of the characteristic. Cf. Luke xvi. 9, μαμωνᾷ τῆς ἀδικίας. Cf. Zeph. i. 8, ἐκδικήσω. . . ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐνδεδυμένους ἐνδύματα ἀλλότρια, What this garment was is best explained by Rev. xix. 7, 8, which seems to refer to this passage —“‘Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to Him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the jine linen is the righteousness of the saints.” The guest without the wedding-garment is the man who has accepted Christ’s invitation, but has not understood or imbibed His spirit. He misunderstood the nature of the feast ; his thoughts were of a Mohammedan paradise, not of a banquet of love and purity: since he has not the garment of love and purity, he is not fit for the feast. The Israelite was re- minded that he belonged to God by the distinctive badge of dark blue upon the fringes at the four corners of his garment (Num. xv. 38). St Paul describes the wedding-garment fully in Col. iii. 12. The metaphor is common in LXX. Cf. Job vii. 22, “They that hate thee shall be clothed with shame ;” xxix. 14, “I put on righteousness, and it clothed me.” Cf. 1 Pet. v. 5, τὴν 388 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. ταπεινοφροσύνην ἐγκομβώσασθε, “Put on humility as a slave’s apron.” 12. ératpe.—A mild way of introducing a rebuke, like friend,” “my good man.” Cf. xx. 13, xxvi. 50. πῶς.-- Expressive of astonishment, not of bare inquiry. μὴ €xov.—In classic Greek, and probably here, this means “though thou hast not.” But Hellenistic Greek does not in- variably maintain the difference between ov and μή. From the frequent use of μή with the participle, the New Testament writers seem to have derived an instinctive use of it even where a fact was denied. See Luke iv. 35, τὸ δαιμόνιον ἐξῆλθεν am’ αὐτοῦ, μηδὲν βλάψαν αὐτόν. ἐφυμώθη. ---ΑΒ if he had been gagged. Cf. ver. 34; 1 Pet. ii. 15. The word is used figuratively only in Hellenistic Greek. Jos, Bell. Jud., i. 22, 6 μὲν ἐπεφίμωτο τοῖς ἱμέροις, “he was silent through love.” φιμός is used of the nose-band of a horse in Asch., Theb., 463. 13. διακόνοις = the angels, not the same as the δοῦλοι. ἐκεῖ, x.T.A., appears to be a comment of Jesus on τὸ σκότος τὸ ἐξώτερον, not the words of the king. The “ outer darkness” of the parable was the contrast to the lights of the marriage-feast, which the many delays had caused to be prolonged till night ; the “gnashing of teeth,” to the mirth and music of those who had not been excluded. The parable refers to the self-imposed exclusion of the Jews from the kingdom, and their downfall as a nation ; and secondly, to the calling of the Gentiles, or rather of such a portion of them as responded to the invitation, and complied with its conditions. The preceding parable, that of the Wicked Husbandmen, was a parable of the Old Testament history,—the Son Himself appearing as the last and greatest in the line of its prophets and teachers, the crown and completion of them. In that parable God appears as demanding something of men; in this, as giving something to men. There He is displeased that His demands are not complied with ; here, that His goodness is not accepted: there He requires, here He imparts. The two favourite images under which the prophets of the old covenant set forth the blessings of the new, and of all near com- munion with God, that of a festival and a marriage (Isa. xxv. 6, ¢ ‘good NOTES TO LESSON XXXIV. 389 Ixv. 18; Song of Sol. v. 1), meet in this parable of the marriage- festival. There was always a marriage-feast after a wedding among the Jews. For this reason marriage was not celebrated either on the Sabbath or on the day before or .after it, lest the Sabbath rest should be endangered. The Rabbis describe Moses as “ the friend of the Bridegroom,” who leads out the bride ; while Jehovah, as the Bridegroom, meets His Church at Sinai. In Ps. xlv. we have a royal marriage psalm, or “Song of Loves,’ as the superscription in the Bible has it, apparently celebrating the entrance of the bridal procession into the palace of the royal bridegroom, LESSON XXXIV. Tur PARABLE OF THE TEN ViIRGINS—St Matt. xxv. 1-13. THE TESTING OF THE MEMBERS OF THE KINGDOM BY THE POSTPONEMENT OF ITS CROWNING JOYS. 1. ὁμοιωθήσεται. ---“΄ Shall be made like ”—+.e., the condition of Christians at the coming of Jesus. will resemble the condition of these virgins. Séxa.—Cf. the ten slaves in Luke xix.13. Ten was a favourite number with the Jews. Thus it was ruled that whenever there were ten Jews living in one place there was a congregation, and there a synagogue ought to be built. The common occurrence of the number ten owes its origin simply to the fact that there are ten fingers on both hands. map0évois.—We too have our “bridesmaids.” Cf. Ps. xlv. 15, where the queen is brought home to the royal bridegroom accom- panied by her virgin friends. So in Theoc., xviii. i, twelve Spartan maidens serenade the home of Menelaus after his mar- riage with Helen; and in Catull., lxi., the virgins at a wedding sing a song to Hymeneus. Pindar, too, Pyth., iii., speaks of the παρθένοι ἑταῖραι of the bride as serenading their friend on the manne of her wedding. The fitness of maidens for the office arises from their being 390 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. young, pure in heart, and free from the cares of the world. So the heavenly Bridegroom desires for His festival those whose hearts are young and pure, and whose trust in Him has kept them from the μέριμναι of the world. Cf. Matt. xiii. 22. aitives—not αἵ, because their character is described. τὰς Aapmrddas.—Jesus had already used this word symbolically in Matt. v. 16. In classic Greek this word means “torches,” We find mention of torches at weddings in I], xviii. 492, Νύμφας δ᾽ ἐκ θαλάμων δαΐδων ὕπο λαμπομενάων ᾿Ηγίνεον ἀνὰ ἄστυ. In Rome the bride was brought down from her father’s house to that of the bridegroom in the evening by torchlight. Cf. Ter., Adelph., viii. 9, “ Missa hae face, Hymenzum, turbas, lampadas, tibicinas.” That torches might be fed by oil is evident from the following passage in Elphinstone’s India: “ The true Hindoo way of lighting up is by torches held by men, who feed the flame with oil from a sort of bottle (ἀγγεῖον) constructed for the purpose.” But perhaps λαμπάς is here used for λύχνος, a lamp, and these were lamps, probably attached to stands (ἀγγεῖα), and fed with oil. Weddings among the Jews took place by night. εἰς idvTnow.—They were probably in the house of the bride, where the marriage was to take place on the arrival of the bride- groom. 2. φρόνιμοι.---“ Prudent.” Cf. Matt. vii. 24; Luke xvi. 8. 5. ἐνύσταξαν καί, «.7.A.—Notice the change of tense (cf. Luke xix. 14), “They nodded the head, and began to sleep soundly.” The combination occurs in the LXX. version of the murder of Ishbosheth, 2 Sam. iv. 6: καὶ ἰδοὺ 7 θυρωρὸς τοῦ οἴκου ἐκάθαιρε πυροὺς, καὶ ἐνύσταξε καὶ ἐκάθευδε. “The porteress was sifting wheat,” &c. 6. yéyovev.—Preteritive, “there ariseth.” Cf. Rom. xiii. 11. Kpavyy.—aA cry of joy raised by the people, who see him coming a little way off. They are made aware of his approach from seeing the light of the torches or lamps carried by those who accom- panied him in the procession. The connection of God with His faithful worshippers is compared to that of a bridegroom with his bride in Isa. lxii. 5: “ As a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” 7. ἐκόσμησαν. --- By pouring on fresh oil, and removing the NOTES TO LESSON XXXIV. 391 fungi about the wick. For the latter purpose a sharp- pointed wire was attached to the lamp, and this is still seen in the bronze lamps found in sepulchres. 8. oBévvuvtat.— Are just on the point of going out.” 9. Translate μήποτε οὐ μὴ ἀρκέσῃ, x.7.A.—“ Never (shall we give you of our oil): there will certainly not be enough for us and for you.” Others translate (after the Vulgate), “Lest there be not enough for us and you; go rather to them that sell,” &c. (od μή being simply a strengthened negative). Thereisa v. l., οὐκ ἀρκέσῃ. Each believer must be personally ready. He must not think that the piety of the congregation or community to which he belongs will conceal his own defects. This interpretation is sanctioned by a passage in the recently discovered “Teaching of the Apostles”: “Watch for your life. Let your lamps not be quenched, and your loins not be unloosed, but be ye ready; for ye know not the hour in which your Lord cometh. Ye shall fre- quently gather yourselves together, seeking the things that are profitable for your souls ; for the whole time of your faith shall not profit you unless in the last season ye be found perfect.” —(Farrar’s translation, in the ‘Contemporary Review.’) With the whole narrative we may compare 1 Macc. ix. 37— “After this came word to Jonathan and Simon his brother that the children of Jambri made a great marriage, and were bring- ing the bride from Nedabetha with a great train, as being the daughter of one of the great princes of Canaan. Therefore they remembered John their brother, and went up and hid themselves under the covert of the mountain: where they lifted up their eyes and looked, and behold there was much ado, and great car- riage ; and the bridegroom came forth, and his friends and brethren, to meet them with drums, and instruments of music, and many weapons.” Milton has a beautiful allusion to the parable in his ninth sonnet, addressed “To a Virtuous Young Lady” :— ““ Thy care is fixed, and zealously attends To fill thy odorous lamp with deeds of light, And hope that reaps not shame. Therefore be sure Thou, when the bridegroom with his feastful friends Passes to bliss at the mid hour of night, Hast gained thy entrance, virgin wise and pure.” 392 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. LESSON XXXYV. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS—St Matt. xxv. 14-30. THE TESTING OF THE MEMBERS BY THE MORAL CLAIMS OF THE KINGDOM. 14. t8lovs.—Cf. chap. xxii. 5. SovAouvs.—“ Slaves,” not “servants.” Slaves in antiquity were often artisans, or were allowed to engage freely in business (as was the case with serfs in Russia and slaves in America), paying some fixed yearly sum to their master ; or they had money committed to them with which to trade on his account, or with which to enlarge their business, bringing him in a share of the profits. The share they were allowed to keep to themselves was called “ pecu- lium.” The Romans carried on many lucrative businesses by means of their slaves which they could not or would not have carried on themselves. Cicero tells us a good slave could purchase his liberty in six years. 15. wévre—about £1170 ; δύο, about £460. 16. εὐθέως with πορευθείς expresses the promptitude with which the servants set to work. Some, however, take it with ἀπεδήμησεν, in which case it expresses the absolute independence permitted to them; and we may illustrate it by the haste with which the Duke leaves, in “ Measure for Measure,” Act I. sc. i, 5, and Angelo’s expostulation, “Now, good my lord, let there be some more test made,” &c. εἰργάσατο év.—Quite classical = “ trafficked with them.” Cf. Luke xix. 16. éxépSyoev—. ἰ., ἐποίησεν, which would have the same meaning. Facere is similarly used. 18. The talent, being large, is buried in the earth—a common practice in Palestine, where property was insecure on account of the constant insurrections, and the existence of brigands. Cf. the parable of the Hid Treasure in Matt. xiii. 44. The smaller mina was placed in a napkin. 19. πολὺν xpdvov.—This delay makes the fidelity of the first two more marked, since, in spite of it, they had not been careless, and increases the guilt of the third, who had been idle so long. συναίρει Adyov.—Cf. xviii. 23. NOTES TO LESSON ΧΧΧΥ. 393 21. εὖ may be taken (1) by itself, as in Εἰ. V., but the classic form in this case would have been εὖγε: or (2) with the verb, “Thou wast admirably faithful,” &c. ἔπ᾽ ὀλίγα and ἐπὶ πολλῶν. --- This variety in the case is quite common, and seems to imply no distinction. We might, however, translate, “ Thou hast shown faithful activity over a few things ; I will establish thee in superintendence over many.” εἴσελθε eis. Cf. Ps. χον. 11, “Enter into my rest ;” Num. xiv. 30; Heb. iii. 11. τὴν xapdv.—Cf. Rom. viii. 17, “ Joint heirs with Christ: if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” Heb. xii. 2, “ For the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Among modern Greeks χαράν denotes simply a feast: the Syriac transla- tion has “ feast” as its meaning here. Archbishop Leighton says: “It is but little we can receive here,—some drops of joy that enter into us; but there we shall enter into joy, as vessels put into a sea of happiness.” 24. ἔγνων oe ὅτι.---Τὴ English we should usually have the σε the nominative of the following verb. Cf., however, Shakespeare, “Richard II.,” ui. 3. 49, “March on, and mark King Richard how he looks.” σκληρός (in Luke xix. 21 the word is αὐστηρός), from σκέλλω, σκλῆναι, “to make dry.” It signifies that which, through lack of moisture, is hard and dry, and thus rough and disagreeable to the taste, and even warped and untractable. Hence it expresses roughness, harshness, and untractability in the moral nature of man. It is applied to Nabal in 1 Sam. xxv. 3, ἀνθρωπὸς σκληρὸς kal πονηρὸς ἐν ἐπιτηδεύμασι. The image in σκληρὸς is derived from the touch, in αὐστηρός from the taste. σκληρός is a much stronger word than αὐστηρός, and may be translated “ harsh, inhuman, uncivil.” συνάγων, «.7.A.—“ Gathering with the rake where you have not scattered with the fan” (with reference to the threshing-floor of another man’s farm). διασκορπίζω is used of winnowing in Ezek. ν. 2, τὸ τέταρτον διασκορπιεῖς TH πνεύματι. φοβηθείς.- -Αὐταϊά of losing the talent in business, or of not being able to satisfy thee. This man represents those Christians who shun active work for God, either because they have not courage to face the difficulties and temptations of mixing in the world, or 994 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. because, regarding God as a hard taskmaster rather than as a loving Father, they are not stimulated by love for Him to any active service. They are willing to indulge in sentimental piety ; they carefully guard their characters from contamination ; but they will not strengthen them by energy. They rust out rather than wear out. The foolish virgins erred through presumption, the slothful servant through diffidence. They counted it too easy, he too hard, to serve the Lord. They were sanguine, he melancholic. 27. βαλεῖν apparently means simply “to put,’ without any idea of flinging. Cf. Luke x. 35, where the good Samaritan is spoken of as ἐκβαλών δύο δηνάρια, “taking out two shillings” ; and cf. note on Luke xvi. 20. τραπεζίταις -- ἴγοιη τράπεζα, because the bankers had tables before them. See note on Luke xix. 23. There is a saying traditionally assigned to our Lord, but no- where found in the New Testament, which may have originated from this,—yiverOe τραπεζῖται δόκιμοι, “ Be ye approved money- changers.’’ But that passage seems to mean, “ Be as experienced money-changers, who readily distinguish good coin from bad ;” and seems rather to have arisen out of 1 Thess. v. 21, 22, πάντα δοκιμάζετε, τὸ καλὸν κατέχετε. τόκῳ.- -ΟΥ, Shakespeare’s “ breed of barren metal.” The rate of interest in antiquity was very high—among the Romans 12 per cent. See note at the end of Lesson XXX. Seneca, Ad. Marc., 10, says: “ We have received our good things as a loan. The use and advantage are ours, and the duration thereof the divine Disposer of His own bounty regulates. We ought to have in readiness what He has given us for an uncertain period, and to restore it, when summoned to do so, without com- plaint.” Augustine, preaching on the anniversary of his exaltation to the episcopate, uses this parable in speaking of a temptation which he felt to withdraw from active labour in the Church, and cultivate a solitary piety. Again he says: “If you are cold, faint, looking to yourself alone, and as it were self-sufficient, and saying in your heart, ‘ What have I te do with caring for the sins of others? my own soul is sufficient for me, that I should keep it unharmed for God ’—does there not occur to your mind that slave who hid his talent and would not spend it? for, was the accusation brought NOTES TO LESSON XXXVI. aoe against him that he had lost and not rather that he had saved it, and gained nothing ?” 29. See note on Luke xix. 26. 30. éatepov.—There seems to be no special force in the com- parative, for in Cho., 1023, ἐξωτέρω is used in the same way as ἔξω in Prom., 883. In the one case we have ἐξωτέρω δρόμου, in the other ἔξω δρόμον. So in 3 Kings vi. 29, we have τῷ ἐσωτέρῳ καὶ τῷ ἐξωτέρῳ, in our version translated “ within ” and “ without.” ὁ κλαυθμός.-- -ΤῊ article implies the ideal weeping—. e., weep- ing and gnashing of teeth, in comparison with which none other can be regarded as such. Cf. Matt. xiii. 42. The use of the word falent for ability is due to this parable. In Middle English it meant “ will or inclination,” from the figure of the inclination or tilting of a balance. Chaucer speaks of beasts that have “ talente [will] to flien, or to desiren any thing.” LESSON XXXVI. Tur ALLEGORY OF THE GooD SHEPHERD—St John x. 1-16. The verses from 1-16 form a triptych, or picture in three com- partments: (1) ver. 1-6, which may be called “The Shepherd,” describes the forming and departure of the flock in the morning ; (2) ver. 7-10, “The Gate,” describes the life and activity of the flock in the middle of the day ; (3) ver. 11-16, “ The Good Shep- herd ”—or rather “ The Ideal Shepherd ”’—describes the return of the flock as the shades of evening are coming on. 1-6. The Shepherd. 1. ἀμὴν dpitv.—This double ἀμὴν does not occur in other parts of the New Testament, but we find it twenty-five times in St John, and only in the mouth of Jesus. Cf. note on Matt. y. 18. What the θύρα is, Jesus explains in ver. 7. avaBatywv.—The fold was not covered in, but surrounded by a low wall or fence. éAAayxd0ev=the classic ἄλλοθεν, “from elsewhere ”—1.¢., from another direction than that indicated by the gate. 396 GREEK TESTAMENT LESSONS. κλέπτης — who seeks to avoid detection; λῃστής, who uses open force to secure his ends. 2. wousnv.—