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A FEW NOTES ON THE
GOSPELS ACCORDING .
TO ST. MARK AND. . .
ST. MATTHEW
BASED CHIEFLY ON
MODERN GREEK . .
BY
ALEX. PALLIS
W
LIVERPOOL
THE LIVERPOOL BOOKSELLERS' CO. LTD.
1903
Digitized by the Internet Archive
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IVIicrosoft Corporation
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A FEW NOTES ON THE
GOSPELS ACCORDING
TO ST. MARK AND
ST. MATTHEW
A FEW NOTES ON THE
GOSPELS ACCORDING
TO ST. MARK AND
ST. MATTHEW
BASED CHIEFLY ON
MODERN GREEK
By ALEX. PALLIS
1
LIVERPOOL
THE LIVERPOOL BOOKSELLERS' CO. LTD;
1903
All Jiights Reserved
GENgAL
'll'-=
PREFACE
When I was engaged in translating the Gospels into Romaic/
I had occasion to examine closely a number of passages which
seemed to me to have been misinterpreted ; in some instances
because the force of the Greek had been misunderstood, and in
others because the text was corrupt. In the following pages will
be found a few brief Notes in which some of these passages are
discussed. So far as I know, the suggestions which I offer are
now put forward for the first time. If, however, it should happen
that any of them have been anticipated by others, I trust that
the omission to acknowledge the fact will be ascribed not to
unwillingness or negligence, but to the circumstance that, being
a busy man, I have not had the leisure to read all the commen-
taries which have been written on the Gospels.
From my Notes it will be seen that my mother tongue can
furnish many clues to New Testament problems. The spirit of
ancient Greek has been preserved with comparative fidelity in its
modern descendant, and I am convinced that a systematic study
of the Scriptures in the light thrown on them by the Romaic
would yield valuable results. To give only one example, a
curious instance of the usefulness of Romaic in Biblical inter-
pretation is afforded by John x. 24, tia^ ttotc rrjv ^xqv t^fi^av
* H NEA AIA9HEH /car A rb BariKavb x^P^po-fpo /xeTa(/>pap.]j il iTi'a martyris^ ; assommd ;
harcel^.") If, however, the investigation which I advocate is to
be fruitful, it must be carried out in the immediate future. A
strange disposition prevails among the wealthier classes in
Athens to despise their own language, and to regard the use
of French as a mark of gentility; this tendency is aped by
their social inferiors, with the result that Romaic is rapidly
becoming debased and adulterated with Gallicisms, and will
soon lose those characteristics which link it to old Greek, and
have invested it with such nobility and loveliness. Indeed, if
this unfortunate fashion spreads as quickly as it has done of
late years, only the lapse of a few generations will be required
to cause Greek to become practically extinct.^
The present series of Notes relates only to passages in the
Gospels according to St. Mark and St. Matthew, but I hope
shortly to have an opportunity of dealing in the same way with
the other two Gospels.
* My countrymen fancy that contact with the Turks has spoilt their
language. As a matter of fact, during the Turkish period Greek rather
improved than suffered. Its misfortunes began after the formation of the
Greek kingdom through the action of the Greeks themselves, who first
attacked it with pedantic neologisms, and now strive for its ruin by the
use of a foreign language.
ST. MARK
ST. MARK
Mark i. 6
*'Ea66>i' dxpiSas Kal }UKi aypiOK.
Many, probably, will agree with the view expressed in the
Encyclopadia Biblica (v. "Husks," p. 2136): "Common sense
tells us that locusts would not have been preferred by the
Baptist as his habitual food to nourishment supplied by the
soil." This observation derives considerable support from the
fact that, in other instances where Jewish tradition represents
men as having been driven into the desert either by stress
of circumstances or by a passion for asceticism, their food is
said to have been what the soil produced. Thus Bavow,
an ascetic closely resembling the Baptist, is described by
Josephus (F/V. 2) as Tpor]v T7]v avTo/xaros tfivofxivr^v Trpo(r€-
p6fjL€vos. Again, Judas Maccabaeus, having retired into the
desert, iv rots opea-i SU^rj crvv tois fier avTOv kol ttjv xoprwSrj
rporiv a-iTovfievoL SiereXow (2 Macc. V. 27). Compare also
2 Esdr. ix. 26, And there I sat among the flowers^ and did eat of
the herbs of the fields and the meat of the same satisfied me ; xii. 51,
But I sat in the field seven days . . . and in those days I did eat only
of the flowers of the fields and had my meat of the herbs. Also
Dan. iv. 22, 30, koX yoprov ws )Soi;s ^o-^tc The writer in the
EncycL BibL suggests that by d^ptScs carob pods are meant.
If this interpretation were possible, it would no doubt remove
4 ST. MARK [I. 6
one difficulty; but there is no authority for oKpU as meaning
anything except a locust^ and for a carob pod the Biblical word
is KcpaTLov. Nor are the words ficAt aypiov less puzzling. Eat-
able honey, according to Jewish tradition, was prized as a
delicacy, and was not considered to be hard fare, such as the
context evidently requires. Cp. Ex. iii. 8, cts y^v dya^^v — €ts
yrjv piovaav yaXa koX fxcXi; Ezek. xvi. 19, o-c/xtSaXtv kol cAatov
KOL fiiXt iipiofJLLcrd o"€ j Cant. iv. 11, Krjptov d-jroo'Td^ovo't X^^^V
r}(Tlv — \€y€L'f 30, l6aXfiwv ;
xxi. 31, varepos — Scvrcpos — co-^aTos; xxii. 10, wfiu)v — ya/^os;
xxiv. 45, otKCTCtas — OepaTTCLas; Mark i. 26, (x)vrj(rav — Kpd^av ;
iii. 30, dfiapTca^ — KpL(r€0)o)vrj
€v Ty viJ/rjXfj rjKovaOrj. Now fieXt and K-qptov are synonyms in
the Sacred Books (cp. Prov. xxiv. 13, <^ay€ /icXt, vuj dyaOov
yap Krjpiov'j Cant. iv. 11, K-qpiov d7rocrrdt,ov(rL X^^^V ^®^> ^f^i^Vt
etc.), and I suspect that Krfpiov stood once in the text; but,
being a comparatively rare word in the sense of honey, it was
replaced by its synonym /xcAt on grounds similar to that ad-
duced by Origen in the case of 'Pafid. Further, I suggest that
KrjpCov was a misreading of Kapirov (KAPnON — KHPION).
Should I be right, the corruption must have occurred very
early, certainly before the Gospel according to St. Matthew
was compiled, perhaps in a copy made from the archetype
itself. Such, indeed, were the circumstances under which the
first books of the early Christians were written that misread-
ings of this kind could hardly be avoided; for the narratives
circulated in a community of men who were poor and could
only afford cheap writing materials, — perhaps second-hand,
faulty membranes and bad ink, — and who, being ill-educated,
would probably neither write correctly nor, in copying, take such
pains as a practised literary man would consider necessary.
My conclusion, therefore, is that, instead of ta-Otov d/cptSas
^ ST. MARK [n. 7, 19
Kot fiOu aypLoVf the archetype read io-Omv . . . ptfas kol Kaptrov
oiypLoy, that is, eating roots and wild fruit. With this sentence
compare Strabo, 513, oX pXv ovv Iv rots v^crots ovk €xovt€s
(TTTopLfxa 'PlZO^^yovo-t Kal ArPIOIlS XP^^^^' KAPHOIS.
Mark 11. 7
OoTw XaXci.
The force of this phrase has been missed. The meaning
is, /le speaks at random^ outw being equivalent to the classical
avTws (or sometimes ovtcds). The idiom has been preserved in
modern Greek. See Vlachos, Ac^ikov 'EXXiyvoyaXXtKov, v. ero-i,
"to ctTTtt cTo-i [<^p.], je I'ai dit sans consequence; j'ai parle en
I'air."
Mark ii. 19
Mt] Sui^aKTai 01 ulol toG vM^^lavo^ Iv ^ o v\}\i.^io% |X€t* auTwi' ^ori
fijoreucii' ;
I think that the meaning of the word wfiC)voioVf which
cannot have been possible in a bride-chamber. The word, I
believe, signifies a banquetifig-hall^ in which the wedding feast
took place, perhaps also the wedding itself. Such halls are
common in India at the present time. Weddings in that country
are grand affairs, and are followed by very costly entertainments,
on which the savings of many years' hard work are spent. To
these feasts a great number of relatives and friends, or even all
the caste fellows in the place, are invitfed ; and, as the private
houses are small and totally inadequate for such large gatherings,
public halls of a kind have been provided in which guests are
entertained. It is evident from what we find in the New Testa-
ment (see Matt. xxii. 2 ff.) that weddings in Palestine were also
m. 14] ST. MARK f
followed by great feasts, and I venture to suggest that, owing to
circumstances similar to those which prevail in India, public
halls must have existed in that country for the convenience of
those who entertained. This interpretation of vv/x<^ojv is borne
out by the passage quoted at the head of this paragraph, which
states that the sons of the wfi<^v, namely, those who are in the
wfio)Vi cannot be expected to abstain from eating and drinking ;
in other words, that they are there for the purpose of eating and
drinking. Should my view be correct, then viol tov wfufnovo^
must simply be interpreted, tke guests at a wedding.
But, though the context seems to require the interpretation
which I have submitted, there is no denying that vi;ft<^o>v,
according to its formation, should mean a bride's quarters^ in
which sense we find it in the only two passages of the Old
Testament in which it occurs. It is a point, then, for further
investigation, whether vvfjio)v has not displaced yctftos everywhere
in the New Testament, as it has done apparently in Matt. xxii. lo,
where Codex B gives on the margin the variant ya/x,os, written by
the original scribe himself.
Mark hi. 14
Kal iirolriaev 8(u8cKa 089 Kai dirooroXous ut^ojxaaei' ii^a Qov rov Si/awvos, in accordance with the parallel
sentence which follows, ^laKinpov rov rov Ze/SeSaCov kol 'Icoavryv rov
a8€\6v Tov *IaKw/?ov. These words were most likely rubbed off
for the purpose of making room for the sentence, koI t\€iv —
BaLfwvia. As, however, they consisted of fifty-two letters, and
the sentence inserted of only thirty-five, there was a considerable
space left blank, and I suggest that it was with the object of
filling up this gap that the superfluous words icat liroC-qatv tous
SuiScica were interpolated, this addition bringing up the spurious
letters to fifty-six.
Mark iv. 91
Mi^Tt €p)(€Tat 6 Xux»'os.
The word tpx^rai is impossible, and has been condemned by
several critics. D gives aTrrcTat, and it is such a sense that
we require. I suspect that St. Mark used a Latin root and
wrote apSerat (from ardeo). In St. Matthew we find the equiva-.
lent of the Latin word, i.e. Katovcrt (v. 1 5).
Mark iv. 27
Kal 6 aTTopos pXaora Kal }i.i\Kuv^Ta.i &% ouk otSei^ auTos.
The words ws ov/c oTScv avros clash with the spirit of the
passage, expressing as they do a certain surprise in the mind
of the sower that the seed should grow and become a tree
without any trouble being taken by him. The point of the
parable, on the contrary, is that the sower, after sowing, reverts
to his usual life in the certainty that the seed will do its work
though he pays no further attention to it. I am, therefore,
inclined to think that the text originally read, ws cKa^evScv
(EKA0EYAEN— OYKOIAEN) avros, whilst he himself was sleep-
ing. For the use of ws instead of cws, cp. John ii. 23, xii. 35,
TTcptTraTCiTC a)S to ^a>s ct^ctc; xii. 36.
^) ST. MARK [VI. 20
Mark vi. 20
*0 Y^P 'HpwSrjs e<|>op€iTO t^i^ *\(advr\v ciSws auToi' ai'Spa SixaiOK
Kal ayiOK, Kal auveTqpci. auTOF, Kal dKOuaas auTOu iroXXd i\ir6p€i,
Kal T]S^(i)$ aUTOU tJKOUCI'.
A good deal of confusion seems to have crept into this
passage, of which traces exist in the variety of reading which
has come down to us. Codex B omits the particle /cat before
(rvv€rrjp€i. Again, some MSS. give cTrotct instead of ^opet. This
was the reading before the translator of the Syr. Sin., whose
rendering (according to Mrs. Lewis) is and many things that he
heard from him he did. Then, an old Latin version gives quia
?nulta faciebat, and another quod multa faciebat. It is indis-
putable that the passage presents serious difficulties. In the
first place, there is no reason why Herod should fear John;
nay, the fact that he seized and imprisoned him is a proof
that he did not. We should have rather expected that, as is
stated in the account given in St. Matthew, Herod, like the
chief priests and the elders,^ feared the people, who revered
John as a saint and a prophet, and was unwilling to exasperate
the multitude by executing him. I incline to think that, where
we now find *Itoar»7v, there was once a lacuna which was errone-
ously filled in by that word instead of by ©xXov 09, and that
the text originally ran thus, o yap 'HpwST/s I^o^^to tov oykov o^
€i8s. Lastly, with
regard to the words koX d/covo-as avroO TroAAa i^Tropet, if what I
have already urged is well founded, they cannot possibly stand
in their present form, as the subject of rproptt would necessarily
be 6 0^X09 ; nor can they stand even if we assume 'HpwSiys to be
the subject, for there is no reason why Herod should be said to
feel any agreeable surprise at John's discourses — and this is what
the words must mean if they mean anything — if it is supposed
that he had already acquired a conviction (etSwg) of the Baptist's
righteous and saintly character. Moreover, the variety in the
readings of our MSS., as shown at the beginning of this para-
graph, adds considerably to the suspicious appearance of these
words. What, however, was their original form I am quite unable
to suggest.
Mark vi. 21
Kal y€voii.i\n)^ fifiipas cuKaipov.
The usual interpretation, and ivhen a convenient [it should be,
an opportune\ day was covie^ is very wide of the mark. There
was nothing in the day itself which made it specially oppor-
tune for bringing about the Baptist's execution; it was by
mere accident that the chance presented itself. Had the day
been considered by Herodias as advantageous, we should have
expected to find that everything had been arranged beforehand,
and that her daughter would have promptly answered, there
and then, Herod's question without going out to take her
mother's advice. Now, the word evxatpos sometimes meant
empty (see Sophocles' Lexicon of the Roman and Byzantine
Periods)^ and in modern Greek c7/xat evKaipos means both
12 ST. MARK [VI. 56
/ am empty and, by an extension of meaning, / am at leisure
(see Vlachos, v. cvKatpos ... § qui a du loisir ; libre ... § vide ;
creux). This second signification it must have also had even at
the period when the Gospels were written ; for we find that its
derivative cv/catpa> meant then to be at leisure (see Sophocles, v.
€vKaipui)f a meaning which it still retains (see Vlachos, v. cvKaipw).
Hence cvKaipos i^/jicpa is an empty day, a day without work, a day
of leisure, and is a synonym of crxoA.^ { = a holiday, see Sopho-
cles). Compare also Liddell and Scott, v. cvKaipia = a-xoXri. The
words at the head of this paragraph mean therefore. And on
a festival day. They were inserted in order to show how it
chanced that the daughter of Herodias came out to dance, and
through her dancing prevailed on Herod to behead the Baptist.
Mark vi. 5Q
Kai OTTou t.v cio-cTropeucTO, els K(ufj.a$ ^ els iroXcis >) ds dypous,
€K Tais dyopais ^xiOcaaK tous dcrOci'ouKTas.
I can understand a market-place in a town, or even in a
hamlet; but how can there exist a market-place out in the
aypoi or open country ? I have no doubt that instead of kv rats
ayopais we must read cV rats dyviats (ArYIAlS— ArOPAI^), in
the roads. This conjecture is strikingly borne out by the Syr.
Sin. Codex, in which, according to the translation by Mrs. Lewis,
we have Wheresoever Jesus entered into cities, or villages, or
fields, or streets (I presume that the Syriac word for roads
means also streets). That the Syr. Sin. gives both fields and
streets may be accounted for by the circumstance that dyvtats
stood as a correction on the margin of the Greek MSS. from
which that version was made, and that the translator regarded
the word not as a correction, but as an addition. A further
confirmation of my view is to be found in the reading of
Codex D, Iv rats TrAaTciats. Compare also Acts v. 15, wore Kat
Vn. 8] ST. MARK fj
€ts Ttts TrXttTcias iK€p€(,v Tous aa-Otvei^ koX riOivai — almost a
repetition of the passage under consideration.
Mark vii. 3
The word Trvyfifj can only mean fy or a;/V>4 fke Jisf; and
to wash one's hands with one's fists must be considered,
despite all the desperate efforts to prove the contrary, a most
imperfect method of washing. Respecting the usual interpre-
tation diligently, which is based upon a Syr. version. Dr.
Bloomfield justly remarks, "It would seem that the Syr.
translator rendered by guess, and, being in utter ignorance
of the force of the word, rendered as well as he could.'*
The Syr. Sin. translator, on the other hand, being at a loss
how to translate, has chosen to ignore the word altogether.
May not 'Twyfjirj be a corruption of either irqy^ — with fresh
water from the well (cp. the classical x^pvv^i lai^aloi), or of
the word injyaM
With regard to the latter suggestion, I would refer to
Hesychius, who states, "Tnyyatov to ocrrpaKov 6 koL dpSdviov
bfjLOLU)^ Xcycrai." Now, ocrrpaKov means an earthen vessel^
and apSavtov a water- pot \ Tnjyaiov therefore would mean
an earthen water- pot \ and should this word have existed
in the passage which we are discussing it would signify a water-
pot such as, according to John ii. 6, stood in every
Jewish house, containing the water with which the inmates,
before eating, or on entering the house after contact in
the market-place with unclean persons or things, purified
themselves.
On palaeographic grounds, however, the reading m/y^ is
much preferable.
14 ST. MARK [Vn. 11, 19
Mark vii. 11
Koppdv (o ioTi, hCtpov) o 6.v c| ^fiou w4>cXT)6t]s.
The usual interpretation of this passage, Tkaf wherewith
thou mightest have been profited by me^ is so contrived as to
yield some sort of plausible meaning ; but the words in the
text cannot, without undue straining, be thus construed. The
straightforward rendering is, That wherewith thou mayst (or
wilt) be profited by me ; and this sense obviously does not suit
the context. The meaning required is, What I may owe you
is Korban, which we obtain by writing 6€LXriTaL croi instead
of w€Lk€L in Matt, xxiii. i6.
Mark vii. 19
Kadapi^OK irdvTa rh. Ppupara.
The meaning of /Sptofiara has been misunderstood in this
passage. No doubt the usual signification of fipuifia is meat;
but it also signifies rottenness^ being another form of )8po>/Aos
or (less correctly) ppofios, which means stench. See Sophocles'
Lexicon, in which the verb ppiofiio is also cited in the sense
of to stink. These words are, of course, derived from PippuiaK^-
a-Qai, to be eaten by worms. "^ And inasmuch as what is infested
by worms is putrid and noisome, ySt^/xu/Acvos has come to
mean rotten (Josh. ix. 5, /cat 6 apros avroiy — f>y/3os kcCL cvpoiTitiv
Kol peppiofievos), offensive, and the nouns from the same root
to mean rottenness, and then stench. In modern Greek the
verb pp(siiL^ exists unaltered in the sense of to stink (Vlachos,
"PpitifjiSi- sentir mauvais; puer"), whilst the noun, in the
1 iM»EAHeHS— 0*EIAHTAI20I.
^ Cp. Isa. li. 8, ws ipia Ppud-^ffovrai vwb arjrds.
Vn. 26, Vni. 84-IX. 1] ST. MARK 'IS
feminine form ppoifj^^ is a specific term for both sfencA and
^UA (Vlachos, "^pw/xa* mauvaise odeur, § salet^; ordure").
Thus KaOapi^ov iravra ra ppiofiara means w/iick thing (or
circumstance) clears away all impurities. The syntax is clearly
explained by Dr. Bloom field in accordance with Fritzsche's
view.
Mark vii. 26
'H Sc y^^ ^^ 'EXXtii'Is lupo^oiKiKicraok
The only correct formation of the compound word both in
classical and modem Greek, in so far as the copulative vowel
is concerned, is '%vpo^owiKiav —
avpLov, etc. Ta^v in the sense of avpiov or irpiiA (cp. the German
Morgen) occurs likewise in Isa. Iviii. 8, totc payrja-eTai 7rpa>t/>tov
(? 7rp
Commentators justify the interrogative form by a reference
to xi. 17. But the question in that passage implies an affirma-
tion, whereas here it is put as though there were some hesitancy
and doubt in the mind of Jesus ; and such a feeling is entirely
inconsistent with the context. The words ov Sia tovto are
corrupt, and should be changed into ovScvos tovtwv. Our
Lord was asked whose wife the woman w^ould be, and he
answers, S/ie shall be the wife of none of them.
The corruption has been brought about by the practice
which scribes had (i) of writing the numeral A instead of ir/atoro?,
€1? (see Cobet, Variae Lectiones^ p. 122); and (2) of indicating a
final N at the end of a line by a dash drawn over the preceding
vowel. Thus the text
originally had OYAATOYTO
which was read OYAIATOYTO
instead of 0YAEN02 T0YT12N.
Mark xii. 38
*Ei' o-ToXai? ircpnTaTeii',
The great Reioke conjectured o-roats; and this suggestion
is now confirmed by the Syr. Sin. From a note printed on
the margin of Mrs. Lewis's translation, I understand that this
document uses the Greek word itself.
22 ST. MARK [XTV. 3, 41
Mark xiv. 3
I need not stop to prove the impossibility of rendering
Tricmicrji either as genuine or liquid^ since others have already
performed this task far more thoroughly than I could. I will at
once say that the word which the Evangelist wrote was Trtco-riK^?.
The word ttico-t^ or TrtcoriK^ is not recorded in dictionaries,
nor have I been able to trace it in other books ; but we have
(i) the verb Trtefw in the sense of to press (for the purpose of
extracting), cp. Micah vi. 15, o-v tticVcis iXaiav kol ov fxrj dXci^
eXaioVj and (2) the noun TrtW/xa, respecting which ^phocles
says, "7rt€cr/xa . . . extract in pharmacy {Diosco. i. 106)." In
Geoponicon (xx. 28) we also find fjLvpo/3o\dvov TriW/na, though in
this case the word denotes not the extract itself, but the pulp
left after pressing. Thus an extract of vdpSo's would be vdpSov
irUa-fia or vapSos TrtccTT^ (compare (rraKTYJ) ; and vap8o9 TrtcorriKq
would mean exactly the same thing, though the adjective is
formed as if it meant of an extracted kind. Cp. Ex. xxxvii. 21, ra
vcjiavTCL KOL Ttt pa^iScvfa koX ra irotKtXTtKa (instead of TrotKiXra) ;
cp. also Ex. XXX. 25, fivpov fivpeipLKOv ; 35, Ovfiiafia fxvp€\f/LK6v.
What, of course, was poured over the head of our Lord was
not the extract of vapSos itself, but oil which was strongly im-
pregnated with an infusion of that perfume; it was a a-Kcvaa-Ca
iXaiov -^Sva-fiaTos (Eccles. X. i).
Mark xiv. 41
'Air^X^^y ^XOcv "i] &pa.
It is enough^ the favourite rendering of d7rcx«, is derived
from the Vulgate. But though the whole range of Greek
literature has been ransacked in search of passages where
ttTTcxct might signify sufficity only two examples have been
XIV. 4lJ ST. MARK 2$
found, namely, Anacr. xxvii. 33, and Cyr. Hag. ii. 9. This
dearth in the case of an expression in such frequent use as
Enough is most extraordinary, seeing that it cannot be urged
in this instance that a word belonging to vulgar Greek must
have been constantly altered in our MSS. Even the passages
discovered are hardly trustworthy. In Anacreon, Stephanus
was most likely right in conjecturing aTrc^e; and in Cyril the
context seems to require airix!^- Then again the attempt to
explain how airix^i has come to mean sufficit has not proved
a success. Besides, as the word is placed in the text, no
reader or hearer could help connecting it with wpa, thus mis-
understanding the whole passage as meaning the hour is distant
(this being the usual sense of d7r€;)(ct), it has come. Why,
moreover, should not the Evangelist have said apKci, so as not
to occasion such a misunderstanding? Further, even if airix^L
meant sufficit, it would not at all suit the context; and the
explanations so far given are based upon guesses and far-
fetched subtleties. Lastly, MSS. tradition varies considerably
in this passage.
I agree with M. Biljon that "lectio absurda est." Now,
what is likely to have been written under the circumstances
narrated in the Gospel ? Our Lord announces the approaching
end of his life, and in the Scriptures such proclamations of
impending great events are generally invested with additional
solemnity by being twice, or even thrice, reiterated. Thus
we have in Mark himself, i. 15, 7r€7rA>;pa)Tat 6 KaLp6pa.
But how has the Latin version sufficit arisen? We have
seen in my note on Mark i. 6 that in the. New Testament we
constantly find words replaced by their synonyms. Now, a
synonym of cVcoriy is 6dv€L in the sense of sufficit seem to
have been traced hitherto; but this failure is not surprising
if we consider how old is the art of tampering with colloquial
Greek and replacing its peculiarities by classical words and forms.
I may, in conclusion, add that the preceding phrase, KaOevSere
ToXoLTTov KOL dvaTrav€(rO€, is badly translated by Sleep on now
and take your rest. ToAoittoi/ is equivalent to ovv (just as in
modern Greek), and the passage is well explained by Sophocles,
V. XoLTTov, as implying a rebuke. It should be rendered, J^o ye
then sleep and rest ? I.e. this is not a time for sleep and rest ;
for, behold, the hour is come, and the Son of Man is betrayed.
XrV. 61] ST. MARK 2$
Mark xiv. 51
NcaKUTKOS Tis uYci'.
The usual interpretation of the words iirl yvfivovy over his
naked body^ presupposes an ellipsis, the words understood being
rov (TO)fjLaTo^; but no example has been adduced illustrative of
this ellipsis, nor apparently does the phrase iirl yvfivov tov
o-utfjLaTos occur elsewhere. In Greek, in order to convey the
notion c/ose upon the skin^ the words h xp*e ^^ ^'^'' XP*^^^, or
some similar combination, would have to be used, and such a
phrase is in fact found in Lev. xvi. 4, 7r€ptcr/ccXc9 \lvovv eorai eirl
TOV X/3WT09 avTov. Not Only is the expression iirl yvjxvov singular,
but it is difficult to believe that any man would have adopted
such peculiar outdoor attire as a mantle over his skin, which
seems to imply that while in the house he was nude. Add to
this, that if the incident really occurred as it is narrated in our
present text, we should reluctantly have had to conclude that the
only object of the young man in relating his curious adventure
was to represent himself in a humorous light.
The fact of the matter, however, is that the words iirl
yvfjLvov are corrupt, and have assumed this form under the
influence of yvfivos in ver. 52, which was wrongly taken in its
literary sense as meaning nahed, whereas here it means without
his cloak, t,e, yvfivos t^s ctlvSovo^. Liddell and Scott, v. yv/xvos,
state : " In common language yvfivos meant lightly clad^ i.e.
in the undergarment only (xtTojv), without the IfxaTLov." The
correct reading, I have no doubt, is o-tvSova oltt Alyvn-Tov, i.e. a
cloak of Egyptian linen. Cp. Ezek. xxvii. 7, Pvao-o^ fiera TrotKtXtas
€^ AlyvTTTov. As is well known (see EncycL Biblica, v. " Linen "),
the finer qualities of linen cloth (o-tv8a>i/ or ^va-a-os:) were the
products of Egypt. What the Evangelist wished to convey
26 ST. MARK [XrV. 72
is now clear, namely, that he wore on the eventful night a cloak
of Egyptian linen, and that he owed his escape to the sacrifice
of this costly garment, which he left in the hands of the hostile
crowd to wrangle over. The palseographical resemblance be-
tween AHAirYnTOY (or AnErYHTOY) and EHirYMNOY is
close enough to have caused the error if the writing had become
faint, especially when the copyist was, as I suggest, under the
influence of the yvfivbs close by.
Mark xiv. 72
Kai l7riPaXCl)K IxXaic.
The usual interpretation of imPaXfov, and when he thought
thereon^ cannot possibly stand. Though cTrtjSaAAco (or iTn^dWo}
TTjv Bidvoiav) is applicable to mental action, it does not mean
merely to think on^ but to ponder over; and Peter had no need
to ponder over the words of Jesus and argue out their application.
He would be overcome with grief if only they suddenly flashed
on his mind. I incline to think that tTrtjSaXwv means cVtySaXwi/
TO IfiaTLov or iTTipXrjfjLa, having drawn on his cloak ; that is, having
drawn it over his head or face. In great grief it was usual with
the Jews to cover their heads or faces (see Encycl, Bibl.^ v.
"Mourning"). What has probably misled commentators is
that classical Greek, in order to express this idea, would have
used the middle voice, i.e, iiriPaXofieyo^, But see Gen. xxxviii.
14, trepU^aXf. to OepicTTpov kol c/caXXoTrwraTo. Similarly we find
Deut. xxiii. 13, kol cTrayaywv KoXvj/^cts Tr]V da-xrjfioo-vvrjv (rov (a
passage which has likewise been misunderstood).
ST. MATTHEW
ST. MATTHEW
Matt. ii. 6
BT|OXc€fA, yrj 'louSa, ooSafAws eXaxtcm] ct iv rots •f\y€yL6s iroXiv iv vif/CL wKoBofjLTjfjLevrjv LX6d€ov €)^(lv to^lv
KOL hioUrjaLv KoXrjv, It is not surprising, therefore, that in the
parallel passages of St. Mark (iv. 21) and St. Luke (viii. 16)
the saying does not appear.
MA-rr. v. 28
nds 6 pX^iro)!' Y"*'^^'^^ irpos to ^iriOuixTJaai auT^i' rfin] i^oi\€u6dv€L rovs iinOv-
fiovvras '7rpoyv(i)(r6yvaL = TrpoytvwcrKCTat Trpo rov riva lin6vpJri€rai
avT^s. Cp. also Matt. vi. 8, oTSci/ yap 6 Trarrjp vfiwv tov ;(p«av
€)(€r€ TTpb Tov dvol^at TO a-TOfia (so Codex D).
MA'rr. VI. 5
^iXoGaiK iy rais avvaytoyals Kal ^i^ Tais yuviais twi' TrXaTciui^
— irpoa€ux€ai'wai>' rots dKOpcutrois.
No ostentation seems to be involved in the act of praying
in a synagogue, where people congregate for devotional purposes ;
but it would be a different thing to stand and pray in the road.
I thought, therefore, at first that instead of oT;vaya>yars we
should perhaps read dyvtats, a word which has in another
place (Mark vi. 56) been corrupted. We should thus have
streets and roads joined together as in Luke xiv. 21, cts Tas
uXaTCias Kttl pvfias ', Isa. XV. 3, iv Tats TrXaTCtas atr^s kol iv Tais
pvfxai^ avT^s. But for palaeographic reasons avvoxol^ is far
32 ST. MATTHEW [VI. 11, 22
more probable, and suits the context admirably, i.e. At the
meeting-points and in nooks of the streets, or, in other words,
everywhere in the streets. The scribe seems to have been led
into error by carrying in his mind iv rats (rvvaywyats koX pv/xat?
which he had just copied in ver. 2, where, however, crwaywyats
is in its proper place.
Mait. VI. 11
Tof apTO»' X\^^V TOK CTTIOUO'IOI'.
Scaliger has already derived cTrtovVtov from cTrtcVai, and I
hold it to be another form of the participle Irnovra, just as
rreptova-Lov, €Kov(nov are alternative forms of ireptovTo, cKovra. It
means which falls to our share, and has the same force as
hti^oXKov and cTrtySoAXoi/ra in Luke XV. 12, to €7npdWov /xepo'S
rrjs ovctas, and l Mace. X. 30, tov rifjiLcrovs tov Kapirov — tov
cTTi^aAXovTo? ftot. In their intransitive sense iiTLpdWeLv and
cTTteVat are often synonymous. Thus in respect of time they
both mean to follow, to come on (cp. 2 Mace. xii. 38, t^s k^ho-
fjLdSos irepiaTepav
{? TrepuTTCpas) ; Ezek. i. 26, 6/iot(o/xa ws ctSos avOpfairov; Prov,
vii. 10, 17 Bk yvvrf (rvvavra avTuJ €?8os €)(OV(Ta TropvLKov ', Judg.
viii. 18, a)s cT^os p^p^rj vlC)v jSaa-tXtiDv ', Num. xi. 7, to cTSos avTov
ctSos Kpva-TaXXov.
Matt. viii. 9
"Ai'Opwiros clpt uiro i^ovcriav — €\(t)v uir' c^auxof orpariuTas.
I see from M. Biljon's edition that Dr. Holwerda has con-
jectured iir iiova-tas. The alteration of vrro into iirl is clearly
required by the context, and had already been suggested in a
volume entitled Conjectures on the New Testament^ which was
published in London in 1772. A similar corruption can be seen
in Mark iv. 21, where in Codex B vtro ri]v Av^vtW was at first
written instead of cVl r^ Xv-^Cav ; and in Matt, xxviii. 14, where
our MSS. vary between lin and vtto. But the alteration into the
genitive, though the construction with that case is the one which
is mostly used (Dan. iii. 3, rvpawoi ficydXoL ot iir iiov
and not ptTrro) ; and I am unable to see how commentators have
come to consider these verbs as synonymous. On the other
hand, jacentes, the translation of the Vulgate, is, of course,
possible in the sense of lying ill (Matt. viii. 6, pipXryraL iv ttj
oIklo, irapaXvTLKbs), but it does not seem to me to be appropriate
in this passage. Uncared-for sheep do not lie down, but are
at once scattered (Matt. xxvi. 31, TraTa^w rbv iroLfieva koI
X. 10] ST. MATTHEW 37
hiacTKopTna-Orja'OVTaL to, -nrpo^ara ; 3 Kings xxii. 1 7, tov *l(rpar}\
8L€ivTt<: pi^^oxrLv v/xas) ; and I find in Tischendorfs eighth
edition that there exists manuscript authority for this emenda-
tion. The reading has, however, been so completely neglected
that neither Professor Blass nor M. Biljon even mentions it.
The corruption most probably arose from the fact that ipp-qyjxevoi
was regarded as a participle, not of pT^vfiij but of the form
prjarao), which occasionally meant to throw down (cp. Mark ix.
18; Luke ix. 42; and the Romaic pri)(yi/as. Compare also Isa. xx. 2,
where yvfivos koI dvvTroSvros are parallels.
Mait. XI. 23
Kal au, Ka<^api'aou|ji, jxt] ecus oupai'ou utjrwO'qo-t], Iws "AiSou
Karapi^aT).
No satisfactory construction or interpretation has so far been
evolved out of this vexatious reading, which is that of our best
MSS. The variae lectiones rj vi/^w^ctcra and ^ v\l/wOrj<;, which are
found in more recent MSS., no doubt obviate our difficulties, but
are plainly attempts at emendation. The sense which they yield
is so easy and obvious that it is difficult to see how they could
have been corrupted into the reading found in the older MSS.
Now, it is a well-known fact in palaeography that when
XI. 23] ST. MATTHEW 39
similar syllables occurred in immediate succession, one of them
was apt to be overlooked by the copyist, and so to be left out
of the text. For instance, in Codex B we find, Luke xiv. 27,
ooTts ovv ySooTttJct instead of oo-rts ovv ov fiao-Toi^iLf and Matt,
xix. 1 7, co-Ttv instead of ets eariv. If, then, our text was origin-
ally KAAPNAOYM0YMHEfi2, it would be liable to be copied
as KAAPNA0YMHE02, and the present reading would natur-
ally result. If allowance is made for this easy slip of the
copyist, the passage would read, koL o-v, KaapvaovfjL, ov firf
cs ovpavov vij/oyOrjonrjj And thou^ Capernaum^ thou shalt not be
exalted unto heaven.
My correction is corroborated in a curious way by an
extract from Athanasius which is quoted by Professor Blass, and
which runs thus : lav €o>s tov ovpavov vxl/ayOfj^i oAV €(us "AiSov
KaraPrjarj. In this citation kav is a classical literal paraphrase
of €1, which is so often met with in the Septuagint as an
alternative of ov fiy^ and of which traces are also found in the
New Testament (cp. Mark viii. 1 2 ; Heb. iv. 3). Thus the
reading in the old MSS. evidently varied between ov (jltj and
et, that is, between two words of the same import, a fluctuation
of a kind which may be said to be characteristic of the Scripture
text (see my Note on Mark i. 6). In fact, the variation between
ct and ov exists in Mark viii. 12.
It will be observed in the passage from Athanasius that the
second member of the sentence is introduced by aXkd. I incline
to think that this conjunction was not added by Athanasius,
but was found by him in his text. It is with dAAa, or rather
oAA* rj, that the second member of a sentence generally com-
mences if the first begins with ct having a negative force, or with
ov fLiq. Cp. Ezek. xiv. l6, ct viol ^ Ovyarepc's o-ioOi^a'ovTaL dW*
7] avTOL /wvoL (TuiBrjiTovraL ; 1 8, ov {irj pvirovrai viovs oiSk Ovyaripa^
aXX r} avTOL fxovoL (TtaOT^ovTai,
Thus the passage under consideration, according to all
4Q ST. MATTHEW [XII. 43, 44
probability, had at first this form : Kat a-v Ka>apvaoi>/>t, ov firi
(OTet) ecDS ovpavov vif/wdrjcrr] oAA,' 7/ cws "AiBov Kara^-qcrrj.
Matt. xii. 43
Aiepxcrai 8i* dcuSpoii/ tottwi' ^tjtoCi' dvdTrauo'ii'.
The explanation commonly given of these words is that
"waterless places" are deserts, which were reputed to be the
haunts of demons. It is to be observed, however, that, whereas
Isaiah (xiii. 21, xxxiv. 14) represents demons as delighting
in desert solitudes, our text implies the contrary. The evil
spirit seeks rest and "findeth it not." The passage, moreover,
seems to require that the demon should seek repose in many
places before it returns to its previous abode in the man. I am
inclined to read 8ia /xvptW tottwv, through numberless places.
The palaeographic difference between AIAMYPION and AIA-
NYAPI2N is inconsiderable. The present reading is repeated
in St. Luke, and the corruption must have occurred early.
Mati'. XII. 44
Kal cXdoj' cupiaK€i \rov oIkoi'] axoXd^ojTa, acaapcajxeVoi/ Kat
K€KOa|JlT)|X^VOI'.
The word o-xoXa^ovra is wrongly rendered by empty. The
correct interpretation is on holiday. This is clear from the
words "swept and garnished." In the ancient world, when
people were not punctilious about cleanliness, and when all
dwellings, even those of wealthy people, resembled workshops,
— grinding, spinning, and weaving being daily employments, —
houses were not swept and garnished except for such occasions
as a Sabbath, a holiday, or a wedding, when work stopped.
The Vulgate in translating vacantem appears to me to have
given the word the sense which I suggest. For o-xoAafw is a
XVI. 2] ST. MATTHEW 41.
synonym of dpyw, o-a^/Sarifw, being derived from crxoA.^, which
means a holiday. See Sophocles's Lexicon, v. o-xoX-q] and
compare the Romaic word a-KoX-q^ which is a specific term
for a holiday (Vlachos, "o-xoA-i; [read a-Kok-ql^ jour de fete,
chomable"). It may be pointed out that the usual rendering
would . represent an empty house as " swept and garnished,"
whereas, on the contrary, such houses are naturally neglected
and full of dust.
MaTI'. XVI. 2
'0<)rias Y€KOjx^inf)S XeycTC " EuSia, iruppd^ei yAp 6 oupai^^s • **
Kat irpwt "Ii^p.cpoi' x^''H'^*'> "^^^^oXfi^ Y^P CTTuy^'^i"*' ° oupai'os."
If, when the sky is fiery (which is the meaning of Tryppd^cL^
fair weather is indicated, it cannot also be fiery when foul
weather is threatening; at any rate, an observer would not
be able to prognosticate contrary weather from exactly the
same sign. I, therefore, am disposed to hold the second
TTvppd^ei to be an error, the more so as the sky cannot be
simultaneously fiery (Truppa^wv) and gloomy (o-rvyvos); and in
its place I would read xap^t^ct, i.e. dawns. Thus the observer
in the morning, looking up at the sky, would say : The day
breaks gloomily^ we shall have foul weather ; and this is exactly
what the context requires.
The word x^P^^^h i-^* ^l dawns ^ as an impersonal verb has
been preserved in modern Greek, which also uses yXvKoxapa^ct
(? from XvK-q + xpLpd^€L)j xapdfxaTaf yXuKOxapaftara (besides the
nearly obsolete but delightful x«P<*v77 ^^^ x^P'^/^^'P' ^)- ^^^
Vlachos, **x"P<*^"j 1^ i^^^ commence h poindre; le jour perce."
And Sophocles in his Lexicon quotes an instance of this
verb in the form xapda-a^ia from as early a date as Agathias
(a.D, 582): "tov opOpov xapaa-a-ofiivovy dawning."
^ Popularly felt as xapA + aiJyJ; and xapA + V^po.
42 ST. MATTHEW [XVI. 26, XX. 15
Mait. XVI. 26
'"H Tt Swaci ai/0p(i)7ros dn-dWayfta ttjs <|>0X'i5 ciuroC ;
This question can only be taken as implying that a man
will give everything in exchange for his life ; but, as it stands,
it conveys exactly the reverse meaning. The nature of the
difficulty is shown by the preceding question, tC f nothing in exchange for his
life. This sense we obtain by altering Sioo-tL into Scleral. The
change thus modifies the question into one which, like the
preceding clause, requires ovBkv as an answer.
Matt. xx. 15
""H 6 64>6aX|Ji6s o^ou iroviiipos i6aXfjL6s TTovrjpos can mean an envious eye; but, even if we
grant that the words are used in that sense in the text, I do not
see that they make the sentence logical. For the drift of the
remonstrance would then be : Is your eye envious because I am
generous ? or Are you envious because I am generous ? This
question clashes with common sense. A man does not acquire
an envious nature because he sees a good action ; but, being
already envious, he hates to see generosity. Nor are matters
XXITT. 37, XXV. 31] ST. MATTHEW 4^
improved by assuming that the text means : Are you envious of
my good action 1 because (i) Greek would have expressed this
sense by using yiVcrai, and not cori, and (2) one envies the
recipient of a gift, not the giver.
I suspect that the text originally read /imt^os, and not 6
44 ST. MATTHEW [XXVI. 50
on his throne of glory ^ the pronoun being taken with the word
Opovovy and the genitive S6$r] 'TrcpUcrrrja'av avrov ot — ^*Iov8arot ttoAAo,
Kttt Papia aLTKjjfiara <^cpovTcs. My suggestion is seemingly sup-
ported by the Munich Latin version (q), which gives et induerunt
eum chlamidem coccineam. circumdederunt e u m \et purpureni\. If
circumdederunt in this passage was meant in the sense of Trcpt-
eOrjKavy and not in that of TrepUa-rrja-aVy should not the personal
pronoun, which depends upon it, have been put in the dative
case, and not in the accusative ?
ADDITIONAL NOTE ON MARK I. 6
Since writing my Note on Mark i. 6 it has occurred to
me that dKptSas is a misreading of ck pt^as. There can be no
doubt that, at J:he time when the Gospels were written, ck
must have been construed colloquially with the accusative.^
Dr. Jannaris {Hist. Gr. Gr.^ % 1570, footnote) gives an instance ^
of this construction from a papyrus of as early a date as
B.C. 1 6 1-2. In books this usage seemingly does not appear
before the eighth century; but a-Tro, which is used as an
alternative for ck, is found joined with an accusative in
writings of the second century (Dr. Jannaris, § 15 17). Such
a construction would not occur in literature unless it had
obtained colloquially for a very long period previously, and
had become habitual and almost unavoidable.
Now, a professional scribe, accustomed to bookish Greek
in which Ik would invariably be construed with the genitive,
would be apt to misread EKPIZA2, and unconsciously reproduce
another word of plausible similarity, which would make classical
syntax, such as AKPIAA2. If my conjecture ever has the good
fortune to be proved by documentary evidence, it would give
an idea of the enormous extent to which the language of the
Gospels, especially that of St. Mark, was revised towards classi-
cism when Christianity advanced in prestige and the Sacred
Books came into the hands of men of classical learning;
^ fAf, in the form of o'x, is so construed in Romaic.
2 Dr. Jannaris, however, queries the quotation.
46
ADDITIONAL NOTE 4/
for in our existing MSS. there has not survived a single direct
instance of the construction of €< or diro with the accusative. I
suspect, however, that we have indirect evidence of this syntax
not only in the passage under consideration, but also in i Cor.
ix. 7, where the present readings, t6v Kapirov and ck rov Kapirov
(ovK 1(t6Ui\ most probably represent two different expedients for
avoiding the unclassical U rov Kapirov. In fact, one of the old
Latin translators, in giving de fructum as his rendering, seems
to have been translating Ik Kapirov literally.
For €(rO(i)v €K pii^a? Kal Kapirov ( = ck pi^iav icai Kapirov), cp.
Mark vii. 28, to, Kvvdpia — IcrOCovariv diro ruiv \f/L\L(Dv ; Luke xx.
16, ')(0pTa(T6y}vai. e/c tcov Kepartoyv ; i Cor. ix. 7, c/c rov Kapirov —
OVK €