PA 844- T<3 •«- c *' c«r< r **•£. <«: posed to have reference to some expected prophet, yet not Elias, it then became necessary to show, if possible, that Christ was not referred to in the above-mentioned prophecy. " The reference," says Dr. Middleton, " is, I believe, properly explained in the Anmerkungen of Mi- chaelis, who says, ( Namely, the Prophet promised in Deut. xviii. 15 — 1 9. The Jews understood these words of an in- dividual resembling Moses in greatness and in miracles : I am of a different opinion, and understand them of all and singular the true prophets whom God, from time to time, was to send to the people of Israel : the question, how- ever, is put to John according to the then prevailing in- terpretation.'" (329.) But who, according to that interpret- ation, could possibly be meant, when he was spoken of as the prophet that should come, but the Messias ? After the people had seen the miracle which Jesus performed in feeding the five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, they said, " This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world." Whom did they then allude to ? Dr. Hammond replies, " the Messias, known by the title of 6 spxo/jLsvos, him that conieth." For, as he observes on Matt. xi. 3., " the prophecies of Christ, as the Messias of the Jews, by them expected (and also of the Gentiles, though not by them so discerned), were so plain in the Old Testament, under the title of Shiloh coming, &c, and yet the person and name of him so unknown, that he was by them wont to be expressed by some circumlocutions, THE GREEK ARTICLE? 11 particularly by this of 6 ep^o^isvos, he that cometh." But, if the reference be in this place to the Messias, or Christ, as Dr. Hammond says (and we cannot doubt that he is right), why should the Jews, after asking John, " Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias," immediately add, " neither that prophet," if they meant again the Messias, or Christ ? The explanation given by Michaelis, as to his own way of understanding these words, is of no moment. His opinion of the meaning may, or may not, be correct ; but, when he supposes that the Jews made their enquiry with reference to the Messias, or Christ, for that was " the then prevailing interpretation," their previous question put to John concerning the Christ shows that he must have been mistaken. With regard, however, to the opinion, " that the Jews were in error when they entertained the then prevailing interpretation of this prophecy, and that the words of Moses had reference to all and singular the true prophets whom God from time to time was to send to the people of Israel," it may be sufficient to observe, that the Apostle Peter quotes these words as applicable only to one prophet, Jesus Christ. "For Moses truly said unto the fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren like unto me ; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people," Acts, iii. 22. This application of the same pro- phecy to Jesus Christ is made also by Stephen, Acts, vii. 37. With such authorities against him, Michaelis was certainly bold in giving it as his opinion that these words of Moses were not intended to have any reference to Christ. If the received theory of the Greek article had not seemed to require this, he would probably have 12 WHAT IS THE POWER OF avoided it. Dr. Middleton himself appears subsequently to have had some doubts of the accuracy of Michaelis's judgment, in the quotation which he had made from the Anmerkungen ; and seems to think (351.) that this may be one of the prophecies of the Old Testament which has received a double fulfilment: first, in all the prophets after Moses ; and secondly, in Christ. But the dilemma in which this admission places him is no less embarrassing ; for the point to be determined is, What did the Jews mean when they said to John, " Art thou that prophet ?" or " the Prophet ? " It is the third of three consecutive questions : the two former being, " Art thou the Christ ? " " Art thou Elias ? " They could not have intended to ask John the third time whether he were the prophet that was expected to appear, when both they and he understood the question as having reference to the Messias, which question had been already asked and answered ; neither did they intend to ask him again whether he were Elias. What, then, could have been passing in their minds but this : If thou art not the Christ (the prophet who should come), nor Elias (who was expected to appear before the prophet that should come), art thou a prophet ? speaking, at last, gene- rally, and descending in their enquiry from the greater to the less. u Lightfoot supposes 6 7rpo(fyr}rr)9, to mean one of the ancient prophets spoken of in Luke, ix. 8, 9 ; but this," says Dr. Middleton, " is inconsistent with the presence of the article." p. 330. According to the rule he lays down, (i there is no such thing as an indefinite sense of the article, that which has sometimes been so denominated being no other than its hypothetic use: "(211.) and that this use does not countenance the notion of Dr. Lightfoot, or the mar- ginal reading of our English version, we learn from the fol- lowing remark of Dr. Middleton : " the article, even with the aid of its predicate, does not carry back the mind to any THE GREEK ARTICLE? 13 object with which it has been recently, or is frequently conversant." But is not Dr. Middleton in error here rather than Dr. Lightfoot ? In commenting on John, ix. 17., " He said, he is a prophet," Dr. Middleton again refers to the prophecy in Deuteronomy. "Wolfius is of opinion that the man cured of blindness does not here speak of Christ merely as a 'prophet, but as the one prophet foretold by Moses. . . . The argument of Wolfius proceeds on the supposition that the prophet promised in Deut. xviii. 15. is the Messiah. I have already had occasion on i. 21., to advert to this subject : it may be useful in this place to consider it somewhat further. The principal reason for confining the promise to the coming of Christ is founded on the ap- parent application of the passage to our Saviour by St. Peter, Acts, iii. 23. and by St. Stephen, vii. 37. On the former of these places, Michaelis (Anmerk.) has the following observations : — ' The prophet, like unto Moses, whom God would raise up unto the Israelites from among their brethren, and whom they were to hear, many Christians have understood to be Christ himself : in which case they will have it, that the passage is adduced by Peter as a prophecy respecting the Messiah. But this opinion appears to be improbable. The phrase, — a prophet like myself, — used of Christ, would, in the mouth "of Moses, seem very indecorous and offensive ; and, to judge from the context, the discourse is not of one, but of several true prophets, whom God, from time to time, would oppose to soothsayers and diviners : to these impostors, set up by superstition, the Israelites were not to give ear, but only to the true prophets, resembling Moses, whom God would occasionally send them. Many of the Jews, it is true, in the time of Peter, interpreted the promise of an extra- ordinary prophet, in greatness rivalling Moses, but not Christ ; for they distinguish this prophet from Christ, 14 WHAT IS THE POWER OF calling the former simply the prophet. (John, i. 21 — 25.; vii. 40, 41.) I understand Peter, then, to mean : Moses says, God will raise up to the people of Israel prophets to whom they must give ear ; and whosoever will not hear them, him will God call to an account : all the prophets bear witness of Jesus ; what answer, then, shall he be able to give, who is disobedient to all the prophets?" (350.) To this reasoning of Michaelis it will be sufficient to oppose the plain and strong declaration of St. Peter already quoted. And perhaps we may be allowed to add, that a theory which requires that we should deny the most obvious meaning of certain words used by the Evangelists, and attribute to others a sense contrary to that which the Apostles attributed to them, is one which cannot be said to carry with it any peculiar claim to favour. But lest we should be thought to have pronounced too hasty a condemnation of Dr. Middleton's theory, we will add another instance of the erroneous conclusions to which we think it leads. In John, xviii. 15., we read that " Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did an- other disciple :" thus it stands in the English version. Dr. Middleton, in conformity with his rule already quoted, that " there is no such thing as an indefinite sense of the article," contends that the proper translation of the Greek form, 6 aWos fjLaOrjTrjs, ought to be "the other disciple." But, as no other disciple than Simon Peter had pre- viously been mentioned, an opportunity is here offered for the introduction of a great deal of clever reasoning, to which we cannot do justice without making a somewhat copious extract. " f O aXkos fia6r]T7]s. Grotius says, ( it is certain that in these as well as in other writings, the article is frequently redundant.' Schleusner too adduces some other instances besides the present, in proof of the same assertion (see Lex. voce 6, rj, to) : in the principal, however, of which it THE GREEK ARTICLE? 15 has already been shown that the assertion is wholly groundless ; and it is to be considered as the refuge of ignorance, though of the ignorance of learned men. I am indeed ready to confess that the article, in this place, is a subject of some difficulty ; of greater, perhaps, than in any other in the whole New Testament : yet, though it should be altogether impossible to assign its use with absolute certainty, it is surely more reasonable to impute the obscurity to our own want of knowledge, than to attempt to subvert the whole analogy of language ; for, to say that 6 aXkos and aXkos may be used indifferently, is an assertion which is contradicted alike by experience and by common sense. It is better to understand phrases according to their obvious import, even though we should be compelled to leave the proof of their fitness to more diligent or more fortunate enquiry. Thus to ifKolov, Matt. xiii. 2. and else- where, has always been regarded as merely a certain ship : I should not, however, have acquiesced in this vague in- terpretation, even if I had found it impossible to account for the article in a satisfactory way. I entertain the same feeling with respect to the present passage." (358.) This reference to the case of " the ship" and to the satisfactory manner in which the learned author had suc- ceeded in explaining, on that occasion, the power of the Greek article, carries us for a moment out of our way, and requires us to observe concerning it, that Dr. Middleton adopted the suggestion of Mr. Gilbert Wakefield, who says, in his New Testament, (< a particular vessel is uniformly specified. It seems to have been kept on the lake for the use of Jesus and the Apostles. It probably belonged to some of the fishermen (see Matt. iv. 22.), who, I should think, occasionally, at least, continued to follow their for- mer occupation : (see John, xxi. 3.)." This " solution," says Dr. Middleton, " carries with it an air of strong pro- 16 WHAT IS THE POWER OF bability ; and, when we look at Mark, iii. 9., which appears to have escaped him, his conjecture becomes absolute certainty ; for there our Saviour is said to have directed that a small vessel should constantly be in waiting for him, irpoaKaprspy avro). Moreover, I think we may discover to whom the vessel belonged. In one Evangelist, Luke, v. 3., we find a ship, used by our Saviour for the very purpose here mentioned, declared expressly to be Simon's ; and afterwards, in the same Evangelist, viii. 22., we have to ifkolov [the ship] definitely, as if it were in- tended that the reader should understand it of the ship already spoken of. It is, therefore, not improbable, that, in the other Evangelists also, the vessel so frequently used by our Saviour was that belonging to Peter and Andrew." (212.) The discovery of all these several circumstances did not require much ingenuity to make it ; since we learn from the New Testament the following particulars. That on the Sea of Galilee, or Lake of Gennesareth as it was also called, were two ships or large boats belonging to two families of fishermen, who were partners, all together, in their calling : that one ship belonged to Simon Peter and his brother Andrew ; the other to Zebedee with his tAvo sons, John and James. That before our Lord called the four younger men to follow him and become thenceforth his disciples, they were seen by him all alike engaged in washing and mending their nets. That he entered into Simon's ship, and prayed him to thrust out a little from the land. That he then sat down and taught the people out of the ship ; that is, all the people who had come together there and were standing on the shore. That when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, " Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught : " the result was the miraculous draught of fishes, on seeing which, Simon Peter fell down at Jesus's knees, saying, THE GREEK ARTICLE? 17 " Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, Lord ! " — Simon had previously been told by his brother Andrew that Jesus was the Messiah, for that he himself and John the son of Zebedee had heard the declaration to that effect made by John the Baptist ; and as a consequence of that communication he had brought Simon to Jesus. But this was the first time that Simon appears to have been thoroughly impressed with the conviction that Jesus was that mighty being which he was reported to be, and this miracle was the cause of that conviction. The call im- mediately followed : " Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not, from henceforth thou shalt catch men : and they forsook all and followed him." The ships, however, remained on the lake in the charge of Zebedee, who, with " hired servants " only, instead of his sons and partners (see Mark, i. 20.), followed still the occupation of a fisherman. But though the disci- ples do not appear to have resumed their former labours till after our Saviour's death, and then for a short time only, what was more natural than that one of these ships, and especially that of Simon Peter, should be employed, as occasion required, in conveying Jesus and his disciples from one side of the lake to the other ? We learn from Scrip- ture that this was done : what need then is there to try to make more out of the facts, by saying that " a particular vessel is uniformly specified ; " that " it seems to have been kept on the lake for the use of Jesus and the Apostles;" that " it probably belonged to some of the fishermen ; " and, " I think we may discover to whom it belonged ? " Why make a mystery, and affect a discovery, where there is no room for either ? When our Lord " spake to his disciples, that a small boat should wait on him, because of the multitude, lest they should throng him," (Mark, iii. 9.) it was doubt- less a small boat QirXoLapiov) belonging to one of these two c 18 WHAT IS THE POWER OF ships, see John, xxi. 8. ; and, with respect to the infe- rence drawn from the example in Luke, viii. 22., of to 7r\olov " the ship definitely, as if it were intended that the reader should understand it of the ship already spoken of," it is sufficient to say that neither in the received text, nor that of Mill, nor in the oldest MS. extant, the Vat. 1206, is the article prefixed to ifkolov. Every in- ference, therefore, which is raised on the supposed presence and definite meaning of the Greek article in this case falls to the ground ; and all that " air of strong probability," which the imagination of the writer had converted into " absolute certainty," is found at last to shrink down into the compass of the simple facts as they are recorded in the narratives of the Evangelists. But to return to Dr. Middleton's statement of what is to be understood as deducible from the use of the article in 6 aXkos fjLadrjrr)?, " the OTHER disciple," according to his theory : — " Commentators," he says, " have generally admitted that, by the other disciple here mentioned, St. John means himself; and Michaelis (in his Anmerkungen) well observes, that ( John has never named himself in the whole Gospel, nor has ever said i"; and yet the occurrences which took place in the hall of Annas, as well as St. Peter's denial of Christ, he has described so circumstantially, and has thrown so much light on the dark and seemingly contradictory narratives of the other Evangelists, that we cannot but conclude that he was present.' Supposing, then, that St. John himself is meant by 6 aX\o9 juuaOijrr]^ it may not be impossible to assign something like a plausible reason why he should call himself the other disciple. This phrase obviously implies the remaining one of two persons, who not only were, in common with many others, disciples of Christ, but between whom some still closer relation may THE GREEK ARTICLE? 19 be recognised to exist ; and, if it could be shown that Peter and John stood toward each other in any such rela- tion, the term the other disciple might not unfitly be used, immediately after the mention of Peter, to designate John ; especially if, from any cause whatever, John was not to be spoken of by name. Now, it does appear that a particular, and even exclusive, friendship existed between Peter and John : the circumstance has been noticed in that admirable manual of Christian piety, the Companion for the Fasts and Festivals. e Upon the news of our Sa- viour's resurrection, they two hasted together to the sepulchre. It was to Peter that John gave the notice of Christ's appearing at the Sea of Tiberias in the habit of a stranger ; and it was for St. John that St. Peter was solici- tous what should become of him. See John, xxi. 21. After the ascension of our Lord, we find them both together going up to the Temple at the hour of prayer ; both preaching to the people, and both apprehended and thrown into prison, and the next day brought forth to plead their cause before the Sanhedrim. And both were sent down by the Apostles to Samaria to settle the plantations Philip had made in those parts, where they baffled Simon Magus. — See p. 77.' It might have been added," continues Dr. Middleton, " that the same two were sent by Christ to prepare the last passover, Luke, xxii. 8. It is, more- over, to be observed, that the same expression of 6 aWo? /jba07]T7]s, with some addition indeed, occurs in this Evan- gelist, xx. 2., where, however, I do not perceive that the addition affects the question : it is repeated also in verses 3, 4. and 8. of the same chapter, in a manner which to the modern reader will appear extraordinary, but which, com- bined with the circumstances already related, leads me to infer that this phrase, when accompanied with the mention of Peter, was readily, in the earliest period of Christianity, c 2 20 WHAT IS THE POWER OF understood to signify John ; and it is not impossible that the Evangelist may have employed this expression, in order to remind his readers that, of the Twelve Apostles, two zoere distinguished from the rest by their closer friendship and connexion. If this be a reasonable solution of the diffi- culty (and I cannot help thinking it preferable to the bungling expedient uniformly adopted *), the article ought to be expressed in all future translations : by the omission of it we withhold from the reader's notice a circumstance of considerable interest and beauty" (360.) The questions here raised are, 1. Whether John be the person meant by " the other disciple?" 2. Whether, being that person, he meant it to be inferred, by his using the ex- pression 6 aXkos fia07)T7)9, that he and Peter were most INTIMATE FRIENDS ? Many commentators have certainly admitted that by the other disciple here mentioned, John means himself; though there have not been wanting some of great anti- quity and authority who have expressed a contrary opinion. Nonnus, who flourished, according to Cave, about the year 410, wrote in Greek a paraphrase of St. John's Gospel, still extant, in which he describes thi; person as vsos aXkos kraipos, " another new (or young) companion," a description not likely to have been applied by John to himself. This paraphrase of Nonnus is re- markable for omitting the history of the woman taken in adultery, in which it is supported by all the earliest MSS., and for stating exclusively, but agreeably to the text of all the other Evangelists, that the events which are recorded in John as having taken place about the sixth hour, occurred about the third, (xix. 14.) These circumstances give it some claim to attention beyond that which belongs to it on the ground of antiquity. * That of supposing the article to he redundant. THE GREEK ARTICLE? 21 The judicious Lardncr thinks " it may be questioned whether John hereby intends himself. Chrysostom sup- poseth him to be meant, and that John concealeth his name out of humility and modesty. To the like purpose, also, Theophylact. Nor had Jerom any doubts here. But Augustine was cautious in saying who it was, though he thought it might be John. Let us now observe the sentiments of the moderns. Whitby, upon this place, says, ( He seems not to be John, for he being a Galilean as well as Peter, they might equally have suspected him on that account.' However, to this it might be answered, e But John being known to the high-priest, he was safe.' But, then, another difficulty will arise, for it may be said, ' How came John to be so well known to the high-priest and his family, so as to be able to direct their servants to admit a stranger, as Peter was, and at that time of night ? ' Grotius likewise thought that this other disciple could not be John, or any one of the twelve, but rather some believer, an inhabitant of Jerusalem, and possibly the person at whose house our Lord had eaten the Paschal supper. Lampe hesitates ; and at length allegeth the sentiment of a learned writer, who conjectured that this other disciple was Judas the traitor. For Judas, he thinks, was soon touched with remorse for what he had done, and he might follow Jesus to the high-priest's house, hoping that by some means he might escape out of the hands of those to whom he had betrayed him. Judas, being there himself, might be very willing to let in Peter. Whether this con- jecture be specious or no I cannot say ; but it does not seem to me very likely that St. John should characterise Judas by the title of ( another disciple,' after he had be- trayed his Lord and master. After all, / am not able to determine this point. At first reading the place of St. John, we are naturally enough led to think that by ( the other c 3 22 WHAT IS THE POWER OF disciple' should be meant himself; but upon further con- sideration there arise difficulties that may induce us to hesitate." {Lardner's Works, 8vo, vol. iii. p. 406.) In answer to the remark of Michaelis, that John has never named himself in the whole gospel, nor ever said " I," it may be observed, that the same may be said of the other three Evangelists, except that Luke, in his intro- ductory letter to Theophilus, uses the first person, which is a case where it could not be avoided — a case, also, without parallel in the other gospels ; and that Matthew twice names himself in the third person, once when he was called, and the second time when all the apostles are enumerated — cases, again, without exact parallel in the other Evangelists ; essentially, therefore, the same thing may be said of all. How John came to a knowledge of all the particulars of the treatment of Christ, and the conduct of Peter, in the hall of the high-priest, may be explained by the supposition that Peter himself would communicate what happened to him, and would be able to relate some of the circumstances attending the examination of Jesus; and that the other disciple, whoever he were, might have communicated the rest. But, if the question is to be raised, "How did the Evangelists individually acquire their knowledge of all that they relate ? " it might be asked on many other occasions where it would be answered with greater difficulty. The point of real interest in this discussion is, whether the phrase, 6 aXKos fjLaOrjrr)?, when it first occurs, must mean " the other disciple," to the exclusion of the in- definite form which our translators have adopted, "an- other disciple." Reasons have been assigned in the preceding pages why this latter interpretation may be held to be equally valid with the former, if the sense seems to require it ; but, waving this for the present, let us see by THE GREEK ARTICLE ? 23 what evidence the opinion of Dr. Middleton is supported. First, he says that, in John, xx. 2, 3, 4. and 8., " the same expression of 6 aXkos fjuadrfrr)?, with some addition, indeed, occurs," but that he does not " perceive that the addition affects the question" Would any one, from these words, believe that the addition, which does not affect the ques- tion in a case where the person meant is doubtful, is that descriptive title given to John by which he was commonly known, and by which he has been indisputably recognised by all Christians from that hour to this ? " Then she run- neth, and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they have laid him." There can be no doubt here who is the person meant. This is said in chapter xx. verse 2. ; and in verses 3, 4, and 8. we read, " Peter went, therefore, ' and the other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together, and the other dis- ciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre, &c. Then went in also the other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre." But is there anything extraordinary in this form of speech, " the other disciple," applied to so well- defined an antecedent ? " Yes," says Dr. Middleton, " it is repeated in a manner which to a modern reader will appear extraordinary" But what else could have been said ? On such an occasion, what other words could have been used? This Dr. Middleton does not explain, nor can any one suggest for him. On the contrary, with- out noticing in the slightest degree the addition in the second verse, which determines that he who is meant by " the other disciple " is " the disciple whom Jesus loved," he concludes with the strange declaration : " it is not impossible that the evangelist may have employed this expression (the other disciple), to remind his readers that, C 4 24 WHAT IS THE POWER OF of the twelve apostles, two were distinguished from the rest by their closer friendship and connexion." Supposing him even to be correct in his first position, that by " the other disciple," in chapter xviii., John intended to refer to himself as the friend of Peter, it was hardly possible for him to conceive that John could have had the same object in view in the 19th chapter, when he refers to himself as the beloved of Jesus. Yet this is the statement. Had not Dr. Middleton's partiality for his own theory so blinded his better judgment, as to lead him to invent this notion of an exclusive friendship between Peter and John during the Saviour's abode on earth, he would, with his usual discernment, have been the first to perceive that such a friendship would be utterly inconsistent with that high and all absorbing attachment of the disciples to the Saviour which allowed of no human rivalry. In and through Christ their hearts might be knit together by love to each other, or it was the infirmity of their nature if this were not the case ; but, in comparison with him, they, as all others, were alike required to forsake father and mother, and every other earthly tie, and this they did. Peter says, " Lo ! we have left all and followed thee." Let us make the case our own, let us imagine ourselves in their stead, and then ask our own hearts w r hether it were possible that Peter and John could have cultivated an exclusive friendship for each other while Jesus was with them ? The thought is painful. Would John, who pos- sessed the highest title ever conferred on man, next to that of Abraham, the friend of God; would he, "whom Jesus loved" be willing to forego that glorious distinction, that he might be thought the exclusive friend of Peter ! at the very time, too, when that Apostle had unhappily denied all knowledge of him on whose bosom John was privileged to recline ? Could John think, even if it were true, of his THE GREEK ARTICLE V 25 own partiality for Peter, at the moment when he was writing the account of the most momentous event that had ever occurred in the history of the world, the unmerited and cruel death of his God and Saviour ? Had the pro- fession, at such a time, of any friendship for Peter been possible, few there are that could have regarded it as " a circumstance of considerable interest and beauty ! " Nor would Dr. Middleton have been among the number, had not his zeal for the cause in which he was engaged biassed his better judgment. That he who brought in Peter was not John, but some other disciple, is placed beyond all doubt by the reading of the Vatican MS., the oldest and best of all authorities. In the 15th verse of the 18th chapter, where 6 aXKos /uLa6r)T?]s first occurs, we may read, as in the English version " that disciple was known unto the high-priest : " but in the 16th verse the expression is made stronger by the article ; " Then went out the other disciple, who was AN ACQUAINTANCE (6$ rjv 6 My Joy ; ^ sfMrj BcSa^r}, My Doc- trine. 2. Possessive pronouns, when they are found in the position of the more emphatic adjective, become equally emphatic : as, ray avrcov 7rapa7rrco/jLaTL, " by Their Fall." 3. Those pronouns which, in Greek, are the nominative cases of verbs, or are peculiarly emphatic, may be repre- sented in English by a pronoun with a double acute accent, or by being printed in small capitals without an initial capital : as, syco si/m rj afiirskos, vfjusis ra kXtj/jlcltci, " I" am the Vine, YE are the Branches." 4. Verbs. 1. When the Greek article precedes a verb in the in- finitive mood, it renders it emphatic. To represent this the corresponding English word, and its prefix, should both commence with a capital : as, E//,ot yap to %tjv, yiptaros' icai THE GREEK ARTICLE? 47 to airodaveiv, K£pBo9 f " For me To Live, is Christ ; and To Die, is gain." 2. When two or more verbs in the infinitive mood come together, and the first only has the article prefixed, the others assume it with the small letter a before their initial capital : as, tov hihaaiceLV icai fcrjpvcraeiv, " To Teach and a To Preach." Note. — In these cases, the small a might be omitted, if it had been the uniform practice of our translators to omit the sign of the infinitive mood before the second verb, as, To Teach and Preach ; inserting it only where each verb has a separate article. 3. But Greek infinitives, preceded by the article, are often represented in the English version of the New Tes- tament by the pronoun that and the finite verb. In all such instances, the emphasis will fall on the word That : as, tov hovvai. tj/mv, " That he would grant to us ;" tov acvcao-ac a>9 tov ctltov, " That he may sift you as Wheat." 4. When the article precedes a finite verb, to which it stands in the relation of a nominative, it is -properly a pro- noun of the third person, and essentially emphatic; and must therefore be represented in English by an initial capital : as, ol 8s sittov clvtw, " and They said unto him," Matt. ii. 5. ; 6 Ss airoKpiOeis £L7rs, " but He answered and said." iv. 4. Dr. Middleton, in his own writing, gives us an example of this mode of denoting emphasis : " I am of opinion that in like manner He sometimes refers," &c, alluding to our Saviour. (232.) 5. Participles. 1. When the article is prefixed to a participle in the Greek language, which participle is represented by a sub- stantive in the English, that substantive follows the rule of other substantives, in being commenced with a capital 48 WHAT IS THE POWER OF letter : as, 6 irsipa^wv, the Tempter ; 6 (Saim^M, the Bap- tizer or Baptist. 2. But when the article is treated as a pronoun in English, and the participle follows in its own character, the article, then become a pronoun, should begin with a capi- tal, and not the participle. The presence of the article is thus rendered no less evident in the English than in the Greek language, and its power made equally manifest : for this pronoun with its participle constitutes one term of a pro- position, a form of speech essentially of an emphatic kind ; since " He that tempts " is equally emphatic with " the Tempter," and " He that baptizes " with " the Baptizer." 3. The article before participles, like the article before substantives, adjectives, and infinitives, is not always re- peated when two or more are in agreement, and coupled by a conjunction ; as 6 £%s svofMi^sro vlo9 I(oar]^> rov f H?u rov Mardar ..." Jesus . . . being (as was supposed) the son of Joseph, which was the son of Heli, which was the son of Matthat," &c. Dr. Light* foot suggests " that vlos, and not vlov, should be supplied throughout, so that the sense may be f the son of Joseph, consequently the son of Heli, and therefore ultimately the son of Adam and of God.'" But Dr. Middleton objects that " this is to suppose that the article rov is every where, not an ellipsis of rov vlov, but the article of the proper name * Reizius, Pros. Graec , quoted by Dr. Middleton, p. 17. e 2 52 WHAT IS THE POWER OF subjoined ; " (300.), which he would interpret as our trans- lators have done, making tov a relative pronoun, and thereby contradicting his own previous declaration that it was before proper names a pronoun of the third person. " But in that case," he adds, " we should certainly have found tov prefixed to Ia)cr7}(f>, for no reason can be imagined why it was not as necessary there as elsewhere ; and fur- ther on, in the genealogy, we actually meet with tov Icocrncj) twice." (300.) To this objection, however, it may be replied, that the other Josephs mentioned were really the fathers, respectively, of Janna, and Shimei, and Judah ; but the first Joseph was not really the father of Jesus, being only his reputed father; and hence the article, or emphatic sign, was not required in his case. But whether we regard this genealogy as that of Joseph or of Mary, and many consider it to be that of the latter, it becomes necessary to affix the article, or em- phatic sign, to Heli, Matthat, and the rest ; for Heli was as actually the father of Mary or of Joseph, as Matthat was of Heli. Thus a reason may be assigned, which did not occur to Dr. Middleton, why tov was not affixed to the first Icoarjcj). It accords, also, with that sense which is conveyed by the Evangelist's expression, cav , a Jksus tov fieWovTos Kptvetv a CHiusT, who shall judge. (Rec. Text). 2 Tim. iv. 1. tov irarepa kcu tov vlov the Father, and the Son. 2 John, ii. 22. Tcp Ku€epvrjTr] Kai Tip vavKAypcp the Master-of-the-Sbip, and the Owner-of-the-Ship. Acts,xxvii. 11. (k) When Two or more Titles have the Article prefixed to the First Title only. tov aytov Kat Sikcuov tou uvpiov Kai acaTTjpos tov &eov Kai iraTepa tov Kvpiov fj/xcov Irjaov Xpio'Tov rep &ecp Kat irarpi tov Kvpiov tjjxoov T(p bt

v ayyeKwv tov &eov Kai XpiOTov Irjarov tov jUeA.- Xovros Kptvetv tov iroifxeva icai eirio-Kotrov rwv tyvxw VfXUlV tov airoaroXov Kai apx i6 P ea T7 ?s d/xo' \oyias rjixoov Xptarov Irjaovv the Holy-one and a Just. Acts, iii. 14. the Lord and Saviour. 2 Pet. iii. 2. the Gon and a Father of our Lord, a Jesus a CHRisT. Rom. xv. 6. to the God and a Father of our Lord. (Rec. Text.) Col. i. 3. to God the a Father of our Lord. (Vat. MS.) Col. i. 3. of the Christ and a GoD. Eph. v. 5. to the God and a Father by him. (Rec. Text.) Col. iii. 17. to God the a Father by him. (Vat. MS.) Col. iii. 17. the Father of Mercies and h God of a ALL a Comfort. 2 Cor. i. 3. of the God and a Father, and of Christ. ( Rec. Text. ) Col. ii. 2. of the God Christ. (Vat. MS.)ii. 2. of the Son of God who loved me. (Rec. Text.) Gal. ii. 20. of the God and a CHRisT who loved me. (Vat. MS.) ii. 20. of the God and a LoRD 3 Jesus a CHRisT, and of the Elect Angels. (Rec. Text.) 1 Tim. v. 21. of the God and a CHRisT a jEsus, and of the Elect Angels. (Alex. MS.) v. 21. of the God and a CHRisT a jEsus, who shall judge. (Alex. MS.) 2 Tim. iv. 1. the Shepherd and a Bishop of your Souls. 1 Pet. ii. 25. the Apostle and a High- Priest of our Confession, a Christ a jESus. Heb. iii. 1. 62 WHAT IS THE POWER OF rov Tt)s iricrrews apxwyov /cat TeAeiamji/ llf)(JOVV 6 [xa.Ka.pios Kai jiovos Swaanqs 6 )8a- (ri\evs ruv fiaaiXevovrw «at Kvpios TOiV KVplSVOVTCtiV Tvxlkos 6 ayaiT7]Tos ade\ &ecp Kai irarpi avrov tov peyaXov &eov Kai acorrjpos tjiicav Irjcrov XpicrTov TOV fMOVOV Seo-7roTT]v 3-eoz/ Kai Kvpiov 7)flU)V 17}(T0VV Xpto-Tov TOV fJLOVOV Se0~7T0T7IV Kai KVpiOV T](XU>V Irjcrovv XpicrTov T(p . . . (MOVCf) aOCpCf &€(p 0~WTT]pi Tj/XtoV Tcp . . . fiovcp bey awTripi r)jj.wv of our God and a Father. Gal. i. 4. to our Dearly-beloved and a Fellow- labourer. Phile. 1. to his God and a Father. Rev. i. 6. of our Great God and a SAVjouR, a Jesus Christ. Titus, ii. 13 our Only Sovereign the a GoD and a LoRD, a Jesus a Christ. (Rec. Text.) Jude, 4. our Only Sovereign and a LoRD, & Jesus s Christ. (Vat. MS.) Jude, 4. our Only Wise God the a SAviouR. (Rec. Text.) Jude, 25. our Only God the a SAviouR. (Vat. MS.) Jude, 25. (s) When a Pronoun is attached to each Title, and the First Title only has the Article. tov Trarepa piov Kai iraTepa vp.wv Kai &eov fiov Kai &eov vfiwv to my Father, and your a Father, and my a GoD, and your a GoD. John, xx. 17. (t) When different Pronouns are employed, and the First Title only has the Article. tov adeXcpov Kai avvepyov Kai avo~Tpa- TIWTT]V (XOV, vp-cov 8e a-KoffToKov Kai XsiTOvpyov my Brother and a Companion and a Fellow-Labourer, but your a Apo- stle, and a Minister. Phil, ii 25. THE GREEK ARTICLE? 65 (u) When a Pronoun is attached to each Title, and each has the Article, 5 Kvpios fiou Ktxi 6 &eoy /xov my Loud, and my God. John, xx. 28. Avtos Se 6 &eo? Kai Trarrfp r]^(av Kai 6 Now our God and a Father himself, Kvpios V/J.WV Jrjaous Xpiaros Karev- and our Lord, h Jesus a Christ, Qvvai rrjv boov rjfj.wv direct our way. 1 Thes. iii. 11. The Vatican MS. omits Xpiaros in this passage. Some of the preceding forms are very different from those which are found in our English translation ; but not a few of the latter are inconsistent with each other, and many of them are considered incorrect by our best com- mentators. The phrase which is rightly rendered, in the authorised version, Eph. i. 3., " the God and Father," is, in other places of that same version, translated, " God, even the Father," Rom. xv. 6. ; 1 Cor. xv. 24. ; 2 Cor. i. 3. ; James, iii. 9. ; and " God and the Father," as if they were two distinct persons, Eph. v. 20. ; Col. i. 3. ; Col. iii. 17.; Jas. 1. 27. That which should be rendered "our God and Father," is translated " God and our Father," Gal. i. 4.; Phil. iv. 20.; 1 Thes. i. 3., iii. 11., and "God, even our Father," 1 Thes. iii. 13.; 2 Thes. ii. 16. That which should be " his God and Father," is " God and his Father," Rev. i. 6. That which is rendered by Dr. Hammond, "our great God and Saviour Jesus Christ," is translated "the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," Tit. ii. 13. That which we render "our only Sovereign the God and Lord, Jesus Christ," and Dr. Hammond, " our only Master, God, and Lord Jesus Christ," is translated " the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ," Jude, 4. That which we render " our God, and Saviour, Jesus Christ," and Dr. Hammond para- phrases by " Christ, our God and Saviour," is translated "God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," 2 Pet. i. 1. Our 66 WHAT IS THE POWER OF English version says, in Eph. v. 5., "the kingdom of Christ and of God ;" on which Dr. Middleton observes, " The article of our language, not being a pronoun, has little resemblance to that of the Greeks ; and the proper rendering of tov ~Kpt,aTov kcli Osov is, of Him (being, or) who is the Christ and God." (p. 501.) In Col. ii. 2. the WOrds TOV jJLVaTTJpLOV TOV dsOV KCLI TTCLTpOS KCLI TOV XplGTOV are rendered " the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ;" an unsatisfactory manner of translating the passage. Griesbach considers the words after Osov as not genuine, which gets rid of the difficulty in the Greek form, but is wanting in authority. The Vatican MS. alone supplies a reading which is perfectly unexceptionable, tov Osov XpiaTov "the God, a CHRiST." Griesbach's emenda- tion would not justify the use of the word " mystery," which is thus vindicated by the earliest of all texts. Two objections are made by Dr. Middleton to the ren- dering tov Osov rjfjLcov kcli Kvpiov Irjaov XpiaTov, 2 Thes. i. 12., " of our God, and s Lord, e Jesus a CHRiST." 1. That Kvpios " so far partakes of the nature of proper names that it sometimes dispenses with the article where other words would require it. Thus, for example, had we, in the present instance, instead of Kvpiov, read atoTTjpos, no reasonable doubt could have been entertained that identity was here intended ; there being no reason, derived either from theory or from practice, for omitting the article before acoTTjpos, if different persons be meant. So 2 Pet. iii. 2., no one will deny that tov Kvpiov kcli o-coT7)pos are spoken of one person. But Kvpios Itjctov? XptaTos col- lectively is a title of our Lord familiar to the writers of the epistles. We have, repeatedly, cltto Osov TraTpos tj/jlcov kcli KvpLov Irjcrov XptcrTou. Rom. i. 7. ; 1 Cor. i. 3. ; 2 Cor. i. 2. ; Gal. i. 3. et passim. We have, also, Phil. iii. 20. Kvpiov Irjaovv XpcaTov. Hence it is manifest, that, in the THE CHEEK ARTICLE ? 67 present passage, there is no absolute necessity for detaching Kvptov from Irjaov Xpiarov, in order to couple it with 6 sou." 2. "Another, however, and a much stronger doubt may- arise from the little notice which the Fathers have taken of this text." (525.) As for the last objection, no valid argument can be raised concerning it ; an equally fair inference being, that, if the Fathers took but little notice of this text, they saw nothing in the expression to give it peculiar interest. The former objection has reference to the canon laid down by Dr. Middleton, that, "when two or more attributives, joined by a copulative or copulatives, are assumed of the same person or thing, before the first attributive the article is inserted; before the remaining ones it is omitted." (77.) Now, if the phrase in question does not come within the scope of this rule, it may be that Dr. Middleton was wrong in laying it down with too strict a limitation; for his canon requires that the attributives, or titles, as we have called them, shall be understood to belong, of neces- sity, to the same person, whereas the rule ought properly to be a grammatical one, having no respect to any kind of doctrine. Let this be understood to be the case in the example before us, and we shall find no difficulty but that which is inherent in the circumstances, and which no rule of grammar can determine. We need not, therefore, raise the speculative question, whether the word icvpios be, in this instance, more a proper name than in others, which is a very unsatisfactory mode of evading the requirements of a canon professing to constitute a strict grammatical rule. We have only to attend to the meaning of the words which form the phrase, and suffer them to possess their proper signification, regardless of any doctrine. But to this objection, that the word Kvpios is, in the above form of words, part of a proper name, and not a F 2 68 WHAT IS THE POWER OF title as elsewhere, it may be replied, that this is not likely ; for, under such circumstances, not two common nouns, nor two titles, nor two proper names, but a title and a proper name, to the first of which the article is prefixed, would appear to be coupled together by a conjunction, which is without parallel, except in one questionable instance, in the whole of the New Testament. That instance is, sv sttl- \%pov(f\, When, While, instead of " at the Time" &c. But this brief mode of re- presenting the phrase is not always so satisfactory as the detailed form would be. Thus, we read, in Luke iii. 21., " Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the Heaven was opened," &c. : from which words it might be inferred, that Jesus waited till all the people had been baptized ; whereas the real meaning is, that he was baptized at the same time they were : " Now at the Time all the people were baptized." This meaning is in some degree conveyed by making the adverb emphatic : " Now When all the people," &c, but is, perhaps, not so fully expressed as the Greek phrase requires. — Dr. Middleton again supplies us with an example from his own printed work, in illustration of this method of marking the emphasis of adverbs as well as of adjectives, by observing, " that When any of the words, which in the First Part of this work I have de- nominated Attributives, is placed in apposition with a Personal Pronoun, that Attributive has the Article pre- fixed." (316.) The article being used as a sign of emphasis, calling attention to the word which follows, it results as a matter of course that such verbs as possess that power in themselves, viz., verbs of naming, appointing, choosing, &c, supersede the use of the article : — for instance, ovros sarac /jusyas /cat vlo9 vy\ncrTov Kk^Orjasrai, " He shall be great, and shall be called the son of the highest," Luke, i. 32. Here the whole of the words governed by the verb are placed in a condition of natural emphasis by the peculiar sense of the verb. 78 WHAT IS THE POWER OF V. CASES OF EMPHASIS ARISING FROM THE RELATIVE POSITION OF GREEK WORDS. A great peculiarity of the Greek language, when com- pared with the English, consists in its ability to render certain words emphatic by a change of their position re- latively to other words in the same sentence. We can and do effect something of the kind by the arrangement of English words, but it is accomplished chiefly by bringing them into a situation where the naturally recurring force of utterance, arising from a necessary effluence of the voice at certain intervals, will so fall in with the design of the writer, that the speaker when uttering the words cannot well fail to bring out the sense in the manner which was intended. With the Greeks a different principle prevailed in the administration of emphasis. In their language, generally speaking, the word which precedes another, which it might follow, is in the more emphatic position of the two, as will appear from the following examples : — 1. In the case of the Demonstrative Pronouns, avros, this, e/ceivos, that, and SSs, such. These words are remarkable in this respect, — that they are never found in combination with any nouns substan- tive but those to which the article is prefixed; for though Dr. Middleton mentions an instance or two to the con- trary, they may be regarded as casual exceptions to the general rule : and that whenever they precede the noun they precede the article also. But the peculiarity which brings them under our present notice is, that when they precede their substantive they are the more emphatic of the two words, and, when they follow, the less so. THE GREEK ARTICLE? 79 Of the former class are the Outos 6 Aaos rois x ei tecrt /*e Ti/xa Sti ovtos 6 avQpwiros rjp^aTO outob*o- fltlV Kai us ovtos b tg\uvt)s Ovdeirore ovtws eXaArjcrev avdpunos us ovtos 6 audpuiros ovtos 6 lrjaovs 6 ava\r)(pdeis atf v/xuv Ovtos yap 6 MeAx^eSe/c eav tis (payy €K tovtov tov aprov, fyaeTat eis tov aiuva ovdeis yap Tama Ta trrificia Swarai Tromv tot6 vrjo~Tevo~ovaip ev vteivais Tais fj/AGpaiS XaipeTe eu €Ketvr] tt) rjfiepa 'SirovBao'ufji.ev ovv eicreXdeiv sis cKeivrjv tt)v KaTairavaiv €K€ivos Se 6 SovXos yvovs to ^cArjfxa tov Kvpiov kavrov Tropevau/xeQa €is TTjvSe T7ji/ iroXiv following instances : — This" People honoureth me with their Lips. Mark, vii. 6. that this" Man hegan to build. Luke, xiv. 30. or even as this" Publican. xviii. 1 1 . Never man spake like this" Man. John, vii. 46. this" Jesus which is taken up from you. Acts, i. 11. For this" Melchisedec. Heb. vii. 1 . if any man eat of this" Bread, he shall live for Ever. John, vi. 51. for no man can do these" Miracles. iii. 2. and then shall they fast in those" Days. Luke, v. 35. Rejoice ye in that" Day. vi. 23. Let us labour to enter into that" Rest. Heb. iv. 11. and that" Servant which knew his Lord's Will. Luke, xii. 47. we will go into such" a City. James, iv. 13. Of the second class, where the substantive is the more emphatic, because the pronoun follows, are these ex- amples : — AArjOws 5 avBpuiros ovtos vios t\v Qeov ei fir] 6 aWoyeuTjs ovtos 7?|et Kvpios tov SovAov zkcivov Kai eyeveTO to p"r)y/j.a rrjs oiKias eKtivrjs fieya Truly this Man was the son of God. Mark, xv. 39. save this Stranger. Luke, xvii. 18. the Lord of that Servant will come. xii. 46. and the Ruin of that House was great. vi. 49. On this peculiarity in the case of the nouns stcsivos and ovtos Dr. Hammond makes the following observations : — " Luke, i. 39. In those days. — The phrase sv ravrais rais i)[jLspais, in these days, hath for the most part a pecu- liar signification, differing from sv rj/juspacs sfceivais, in those 80 WHAT IS THE POWER OF days. The latter signifies an indefinite time, sometimes a good way off, but the former generally denotes a certain time then present, instantly, then, at that time ; so, here, that which is said of Mary's going to Elizabeth was surely immediately after the departing of the angel from her, and therefore she rose up fxsra airovh-qs, very hastily. So, verse 24., /jisra ravras ras r^puspas, that is, immediately, Elizabeth conceived ; so vi. 12., sv rats ypuspacs ravrais, that is, then, at that point of time, he went out to the mountain. See xxiii. 7., xxiv. 18. ; Acts, i. 5., xi. 27., and xxi. 15." This remark of Dr. Hammond's is true to a certain degree, but it is not sufficiently discriminating. There is all the difference he speaks of between sv ravrats raus rjfispats, " in these" Days," and sv [rats'] rjfispais SKSivaat, " in those Days : " but when he adds that sv rats rjpuspais ravTais also means then, at that point of time, he has evi- dently mistaken the reason of the difference in the two phrases, which does not consist in the opposition of ravTais to sicswais, but in the circumstance of the pronoun in one case preceding and in the other following its substantive. Whether it be rendered by " these" or (i those" is a cir- cumstance of no moment. That Dr. Hammond is in error will appear from the examples he has selected, and to which he refers us in support of his argument ; for when Luke relates, vi. 12., that " it came to pass in those Days," (or, more correctly, " in these Days," sv rats rjpLspais ravraus) " that Jesus went out into a Mountain to pray," he could not mean it to be understood that our Lord did this at that point of time particularly, for no point of time had been previously mentioned ; but he intended to state generally that during that period of our Lord's abode in Galilee, he went out into a mountain to pray ; and after he had been all night in prayer, he called to him his twelve disciples, &c. So, also, when Cleophas answers (Luke, THE GREEK ARTICLE? 81 xxiv. 18.), " Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there in these Days ? " (sv rats rjfjuspais ravravs), he alludes not only to the Crucifixion, but to a number of other events which had taken place during a lengthened period. The same meaning is observable in the third example, Acts, xxi. 15., " After those Days we took up our Carriages," /jusra 8s ras 7]fjispas Tavras. But when, as in the remaining examples, we may suppose that a particular point of time was intended to be specified, we then find the pronoun precede the sub- stantive, by which means the expression becomes instantly more definitive of a precise period : as when Luke (xxiii. 7.) says that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, " who himself also was at Jerusalem at that" Time," or, more properly, " in these" Days," sv ravrats rats rjfispcus. And so, again, in Acts, xi. 27., "In these'' Days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch," sv tclvtclis rats rjfispais. The reference to Acts, i. 5., "not many days hence," makes nothing either way. 2. In the case of the Pronominal Adjective iras, all, or every one. This word is found in connection with nouns which have not the article as well as those which have it ; but when- ever it precedes the substantive, which has an article, it precedes the article also, with few exceptions ; and when it thus takes precedence, it is peculiarly emphatic. For example : — €(reia6r) iratxa r) iro\is all" the City was moved. Matt. xxi. 10. iracra r\ \ov8cua kcu iracra r/ irepix^pos all" Judaea, and all" the Region round about. iii. 5. avei\e iravras tovs iroiSos tovs ev slew all" the Children which were in Brid\eefx km €u iraai rois bpiois Bethlehem, and in all" the Coasts avrqs thereof. Matt. ii. 16. 82 WHAT IS THE POWER OP a>pixr)ae iraaa r) ayz\r) the whole" Herd-of- Swine rushed. Matt. viii. 32. iravres yap oi irpo rov Koa/xov 6\ov Kepf>7]o-r] if he shall gain the whole World. Matt. xvi. 26. 4. In the case of Pronouns Possessive. These, when they precede their nouns, generally precede the article also, if there be one. But whenever they thus precede, they are more emphatic than when they follow the noun. 6 rpcayow fxou ttjv oaptta Kai irtuwv whoso eateth my" Flesh and drink- fxov to aifxa eth my" Blood. John, vi. 54. Kvpte, av /xov vnrreis rovs ttoSos Lord, dost thou wash my" Feet. xiii. 6. avTov yap ea/xev iroi7]ixa for we are his" Workmanship. Eph. ii. 10. brav TrKrfpcaOr) v/xow t) viraKorj when your'' Obedience is fulfilled. 2 Cor. x. 6. On the contrary — Ov fir] vvtyrjs rovs TroSas /xov eis top Thou shalt Never wash my Feet. aiwua John, xiii. 8. Kvpie, /XT] tovs iroSas /xov /xovov, aA\a Lord, not my Feet only, but also my Kai ras x el P as Kal Tr }i / Ke called the + Light Day and the + Dark- ness he called Night. And the Evening and the Morning were the first Day. And + God said, Let there be a Firmament in the midst of the "'"Wa- ters, and let it divide the Waters from the Waters. And + God made tbe + Firmament, and divided the "•"Waters which were under the "'"Fir- mament from the + Water3 which were above the + Firmament : and it was so. And + GoD called the """Fir- mament Heaven. And the Evening and the Morning were the second Day. And + God said, Let the + Waters- under the + Heaven be gathered to- gether unto one place, and let the "•"Dry land appear : and it was so. And + Gon called the + Dry land Earth; and the + Gathering-together of the "•" Waters called he Seas : and + Gon saw that it was good. And + God said, Let the "'"Earth bring forth Grass, the Herb yielding Seed, and the Fruit Tree yielding Fruit after his kind, whose + Seed is in itself, upon the + Earth : and it was so. And the + Earth brought forth Grass, and Herb yielding Seed after his kind, and the Tree yielding Fruit, whose "•"Seed teas in itself after his kind : and + God saw that it ivas good. And the Evening and the Morning were the third Day. And + Gonsaid, Let there be Lights THE GREEK ARTICLE t 87 Hebrew Text. Septuagint Version. in the Firmament of the + Heaven in the + Firmament of the + Heaven to divide the + Day from the + Night ; to divide the + Day from the + Night ; and let them be for signs, and for and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years : seasons, and for days, and for years : and let them be for Lights in the and let them be for Lights in the Firmament of the + Heaven to give + Firmament of the +Heaven to give light upon the + Earth : and it was light upon the + Earth : and it was so. And . God made two + Great so. And + Gon made two + Great + Lights; the + Greater + Light to rule +Lights; the + Greater +Lightto rule the + Day, and the +Lesser +Light to the + Day, and the +Lesser + Light to rule the + Night : he made the + Stars rule the + Night : he made the + Stars also. And God set them in the also. And + God set them in the Firmament of the + Heaven to give +Firmament of the + Heaven to give Light upon the + Earth, and to rule Light upon the + Earth, and to rule over the Day and over the Night, over the + Day and over the + Night, and to divide the + Light from the and to divide the + Light from the + Darkness : and God saw that it was + Darkness : and + God saw thaiit was good. And the Evening and the good. And the Evening and the Morning were the fourth Day. " Morning were the fourth Day. It appears from these parallel columns, that the only difference between the Hebrew and the Greek use of the article ( + ) lies in the more frequent application of it by the Greek translator ; so far as the article is expressly inserted in the Hebrew text : — if we were to include the article as it is provided for by the vowel points, and by the casus constructus, we should have almost the same in- stances of its use in the Hebrew text as we have in the Greek translation. But waiving this, and taking only the cases of positive insertion, the use of the article in the Hebrew is at least as common in the sacred text as it is in the Greek of Homer. A point, however, of greater im- portance than this is established by the comparison, and that is, the evident employment of the article by the Hebrews as a sign or emphasis. This circumstance will throw light on a passage which, according to Dr. Middleton's theory, remains without any chance of elu- cidation : — JSov, 7) 7rap6svos sv yaarpt e%si, ie Behold, a virgin shall be with child," Matt. i. 23. These words are 88 WHAT IS THE POWER OF a close translation of the original phrase in Isaiah, which thus distinguishes " the Virgin" by prefixing the Hebrew article to the name, nppyn, hd-almah. That the Sept. translators " did well in expressing the article," says Dr. Middleton, " may be inferred from its having been re- tained in the subsequent versions of Aquila, Symmachus, and Theodotion, notwithstanding the readiness of the two former at least, on most occasions, to differ from the LXX. Here, indeed, they all three render 17 vsavis." (168.) But what is the conclusion to which Dr. Middleton's theory compels him to come in the face of these admissions ? It is, that " the force of the article in this place can be sought only from the Hebrew of Isaiah, vii. 14;" but what that force is, and how it may be expressed in English, we are not told : we are informed, only, that " the article, in this place as in many other, appeared to our English trans- lators to be without meaning ; accordingly, they render it a virgin." But it is added : " that the article is never without meaning in the Greek, though it may not always be possible in a version adequately to express its force, has already been demonstrated." (168.) Now it is certainly a remarkable circumstance that this force could not even be described, — that to this instance of the use of the Greek article, or of the Hebrew article from which it is derived, Dr. Middleton could find nothing applicable in all the rules he had laid down — that he could imagine no reason which might support a definite sense in this case, as of " The Virgin," though he disapproved of the indefinite which our translators adopted. We are therefore obliged to conclude that it was inexplicable according to Dr. Middleton's theory, and are forced back upon that interpretation which we have found to be uniformly sustained in every other instance, viz., that the article, both in Greek and Hebrew, was in- THE GREEK ARTICLE? 89 tended to make the following word emphatic : "a Virgin shall conceive." Having freely opposed Dr. Middleton's opinions where- ever we have thought them incorrect, we feel bound in justice to admit, that without his assistance in first clearing the ground, and placing the subject in a distinct point of view, this essay would probably not have been written ; and that, if we have been successful in showing what the Greek article is, it is chiefly because he had previously reduced the question to its narrowest limits, by describing what it ought to be. VII. ORIGIN OF THE GREEK ARTICLE. In conclusion, we would offer a few words on the origin of the Greek article. For this we must ascend to the earliest ages. Its most ancient form was ros, rrj, to, and as the r (tan) was the only unchangeable element in the word, in that letter its peculiar character must have essentially resided. The name of this letter in Greek is the same as that of the Hebrew word Ifi, than, signum, as in Job, xxxi. 35. : " Behold my sign [so in the margin] is, that the Almighty will answer me." And in Ezek. ix. 4. : " Mark a mark upon the foreheads of the men," &c. This letter also is the essential element in nn ath (Chaldee) and rritf oth (Heb.) signum, quod eventurum aliquid por- tendit, vel aliquid in mentem vel memoriam venire facit (Buxtorf), which word is used in Gen. ix. 15. for a mark: " And the Lord set a mark upon Cain." M. Gebelin, the learned author of Le Monde Primitif, informs us that teu is, in the Chinese language, used for a sign to make anything known by. This letter (t) is also the tau of the Egyptians, which, doubled, is the name of Thoth, to whom they attributed the invention of the zodiacal signs, and whose 90 WHAT IS THE POWER OF THE GREEK ARTICLE? emblem was a figure called tau $ , combining 1 ' e two letters which compose the Greek article (to). It is pro- bable the Greek article had its source in this letter, or word, or sign. One of the earliest forms of the Greek t was a cross -f , which is still used by us as a mark or sign of any thing to which attention is wished to be drawn ; and so well does this mark answer the purpose of the Greek article, that it might be substituted for it throughout the English version : as, " Moses gave you not that + bread from + heaven ; but my + Father giveth you the + true + bread from + heaven. For the + bread of + God is + he which cometh down from + heaven, and giveth life unto the + world." (John, vi. 32.) But the more natural and consistent way. would be to employ in our. own language those common signs of emphasis which be- long to it as properly as that used by the Greeks belongs to their language ; or, if instead of these, in the English version of the New Testament, an acute accent were placed after those words in English to which in Greek the article is prefixed, and a double acute accent after the emphatic pro- ?wuns i every useful purpose would perhaps be answered. THE END. London : Printed by A. Spottiswoodf., New- Street- Square. • ) ~>»:» 2? v LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 003 000 423 1 las > r> » ^ zm V«5 > .*>>"! B ► I * . i»y;> >^0»> > >.4»^ -S* ' !S»»> •' >3£a£*S* ->- im&^> i*>>"Sp*3 eiisa^$sSb j^3p> Ta*>:5Ka8i ^ ■!» »>j» >:jk»» ;> > > -3>^^a ■ ^fsSs^^v^ . m> ■^»v>J»>1Pk- . c - 5i-.« *am*\