.
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL
COMMENTARY
ON
THE NEW TESTAMENT.
BY
HEINRICH AUGUST WILHELM MEYEE, Tn.D.,
OBERCONSI8TORIALRATH, HANNOVER.
jTrom tijc frman, totti) tije Sanction of tlje
THE TRANSLATION REVISED AND EDITED BY
WILLIAM P. DICKSON, D.D.,
AND
FREDERICK CROMBIE, D.D.
PART I.
THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
VOL. I.
EDINBURGH:
T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET.
MDCCCLXXX.
PRINTED BY MORRISON AND GIBB,
FOR
T. & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH.
LONDON, HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO.
DUBLIN, . . . . ROBERTSON AND CO.
NEW YORK, . a . . SCRIBNER AND WELFORD.
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL
HANDBOOK
TO THE
GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
BY
HEINEICH AUGUST WILHELM MEYEE, Tn.D.,
OBERCONSISTORIALRATH, HANNOVER.
TRANSLATED FROM THE SIXTH EDITION OF THE GEKMAN BY
EEV. PETEE CHEISTIK
THE TRANSLATION REVISED AND EDITED BY
FEEDEEICK CEOMBIE, D.D.,
PROFESSOR OF BIBLICAL CRITICISM, ST. MARY'S COLLEGE, ST. ANDREWS.
VOL. I.
EDINBURGH:
T. & T. CLAEK, 38 GEOEGE STEEET.
MDCCCLXXX.
PBEFATOBY NOTE BY THE EDITOB.
HE translation of this first volume of the Commentary
on Matthew has been made from the last (sixth)
edition of the original, which had been carefully
revised by Dr. Meyer himself, and which has been
recently edited from his manuscript, with very slight altera-
tions, by Dr. Albert Ritschl, of Gottingen. The translator
of the portion extending from the sixth chapter to the end
is the Eev. Peter Christie, of Abbey St. Bathans, who has
performed his work with care and ability ; but the whole has
been revised and carried through the press by myself. As
in the volumes of the series already published, reference has
been made throughout to the English translations of Winer's
and Buttmann's Grammars of New Testament Greek, and
frequently also to translations of other German works, quoted
or referred to by Dr. Meyer. For the copious Bibliographical
list prefixed to the book, I am indebted to rny learned friend
and co-editor Professor Dickson, who has also translated the
biographical sketch of Dr. Meyer by his son, which accom-
panies it.
For a statement of the circumstances which have led to
the issue of the Commentary of Dr. Meyer in an English
translation, of the special grounds for preferring it to the
kindred work of de Wette, and of the reasons which have
induced the editors to undertake the work of revising the
VI PREFATORY NOTE BY THE EDITOR,
several portions of the translation in the interests of technical
accuracy and uniformity, the reader may be referred to the
" General Preface," prefixed by Dr. Dickson to the volume first
issued, viz. Romans, vol. I.
It is only necessary to say further, that the editors are not
to be held as concurring in Dr. Meyer's opinions on some
matters embraced in this volume, such as his theory of
the original composition of the Gospel, and his views regard-
ing the credibility of certain portions of the history.
FREDERICK CROMBIE.
ST. MARY'S COLLEGE, ST. ANDREWS,
Slsi October 1877.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DE. MEYER
BY HIS SOF, DR GUSTAV MEYER, Pn.D.
|Y father, who died on the 21st June 1873, was born
in Gotha on the 10th January 1800. On the
12th January he was baptized in the St. Margaret's
Church, and received the names Heinrich August
Wilhelm. His father was shoemaker to the ducal court, and
was a native of Riigheim in Lower Franconia. An old family
document, a certificate of my grandfather's baptism, com-
posed with the pleasing diffuseness of the olden time, states
that Eiigheim was " under the dominion of the most reverend
Prince and Lord of the Holy Roman Empire, Lord Francis
Louis, Bishop of Bamberg and Wiirzburg." It is a peculiarity
of this document, drawn up in 1781, that the name is never
written Meyer, but always Majer or Mayer. My late father was
a tender child, and a crayon portrait which has been preserved,
representing him when a boy of about seven years of age, shows
a pale and delicate face in which, however, the large, earnest-
looking eye suggests an active mind. His bodily training was
anything but effeminate. He practised swimming and skating,
not merely as a schoolboy and a student, but at a much later
age, when such exercises had long been given up by many
of his companions. And it was in truth not a time for
rearing boys tenderly. One of his earliest recollections was
of the autumn of 1806, when, not quite seven years old, he
saw the prisoners from the battle of Jena confined in the
churches of his native town. Gotha lay in the line of retreat
Vlii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER.
of the beaten French in the days of October 1813 ; and he was
an eye-witness of the way in which the Cossacks drove before
them and made havoc of the magnificent Imperial Guard.
He received his school training in the Gymnasium of his
native town, which had a reputation passing far beyond the
narrow bounds of the little province, and could point to pupils
drawn from the most remote regions. His teachers were
Doring, Kaltwasser, Galletti, Kries, Schulz, Eegel, Uckert,
Eost, and eventually also Bretschneider as religious instructor.
At the Gymnasium of Gotha he laid the foundations of his
classical culture ; there he first acquired a deep and thorough
familiarity with the laws of the Greek and Eoman languages,
a tenacious adherence to which was a characteristic feature
of his later labours, and not unfrequently brought on him the
reproach of pedantic stiffness. While he greatly lamented
the neglect of modern languages during his days at school, he
was yet far from granting that the methods of instruction pur-
sued in the Gymnasia of more recent times, or the require-
ments of the Abiturient examination, were preferable to those of
his youth. He conceived that in former times there were
greater facilities for each individual following out his own course
of self-development. It was not to be denied that an Abiturient
of the present day, after having passed a good examination,
could show a greater extent and wider range of knowledge ;
but it was to be feared that this knowledge was more of an
encyclopaedic nature, and excluded thoroughness and depth.
Be this as it may, and the question is not even now to be
held as decided, the grammar-schoolboy, August Meyer, who
had gradually been advanced to the highest class and to the
foremost place in it, must have been esteemed by his teachers
as one who had well bestowed his time and strength on fol-
lowing out his predominant bias bordering perhaps on one-
sidedness for the classical languages.
The third centenary celebration of the Eeformation was
duly honoured even in the Gymnasium at Gotha. To Meyer
was entrusted the Latin address on the occasion, which was to
be delivered in hexameters. There lies before me the third
edition of Heyne's Tibullus, which was presented to him by
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER. ix
some of the citizens " in celebration of the jubilee festival of
the Eeformation, 1817, upon the recommendation of his
teachers." Half a year after this incident, important at all
events in the career of a grammar-schoolboy, namely, at Easter
1818, he passed his ^foYwrw^-examination, and entered the
University of Jena to study theology. " These were different
times," he was wont to say, " from the present. Everything was
much simpler and less luxurious than now, when the course of
study costs more than twice as much, and yet not twice as much
is learned." All honour to the greater simplicity of those days ;
but unless money had had a far greater value then than now,
such a course of study, moderate as it was in price, would
not have been possible for him even with the strictest frugality.
The father of the young student of theology had sustained a
serious loss of means by the continuance of the troubles of
war, the quartering of troops in large numbers, severe sickness,
and other misfortunes. His son cost him at Jena 80 thalers
(12) half-yearly. He had no exhibition, no free board;
only he had, of course, mostly free clothing, the renewal of
which was as a rule reserved for the holidays. And yet he
was withal no recluse. The charm of the fresh student-life,
which, just after the War of Liberation, burst into so fair a
bloom, had strong attractions for him. He was a member of
the great Burschenschaft. Most leaves of his note-book
exhibited the crossed rapiers with the G. E. F. V. of the
fraternity. Thoroughly simple must have been the social
life of that joyous academic youth of 1818 and 1819 !
Should these lines perhaps meet the eyes of one or another of
my father's old comrades, especially in Thuringia, and some
are still there, he was wont to say, but not many, they will
possibly awaken recollections of the cheap Commerse in the
public market, of the drinking and guitar -playing, of the
rapier duels fought out in the open street, of the journeyings
home at vacation time, fifteen hours on foot from Jena to
Gotha, without putting up for the night, not seldom in bad
weather, in snow and rain. Many who shared these journeys
are doubtless no longer surviving. One who, on account of
his ever-ready knowledge of Greek, was called by his friends the
X BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER.
Couut of eVi, equally prepared for conflict with the rapier or
with the tongue, was especially often mentioned by him, and
held in sincere esteem. He was called away long before him,
and died universally respected as a Head-master in our pro-
vince. After the unhappy deed of Karl Sand in March 1819,
and the dissolution of the great Burschenschaft which thereupon
ensued, my father took no further part in student-life, but
applied himself all the more zealously to those studies of which
he had not hitherto been neglectful. His theological teachers
were Gabler, Schott, Danz, Baumgarten-Crusius, Kosegarten
the Orientalist, Eichstadt the philologist, Fries the philosopher,
and Luden the historian. As he was fond of recalling
and not without regret that their days were over the
lectures read in Latin, such as Schott' s, he often also, and
with pleasure, called to mind the discussions on theological
subjects, which were started by the young students even in
their walks and were conducted in Latin. He felt himself least
attracted by the prelections on philosophy; his whole bent was
already at that time decidedly towards the field of languages.
After a curriculum of two years and a half, at Michael-
mas 1820 he left the University ; and entered, as domestic
tutor, the educational institution of Pastor Oppermann,
who subsequently became his father-in-law, at Grone near
Gb'ttingen. The time for young theologians then was similar
to what it is now. They were wholly, or almost wholly,
spared that long and laborious career of domestic tutorship,
which led many a one, amidst the subsequent crowd press-
ing forward to the study of theology, to lose heart and hope.
At Easter 1821 he underwent his examination as candidate
at Gotha, and soon he had the choice between an appoint-
ment in the Gymnasium of his native city and a pastorate.
He chose the latter; and in December 1822 was nominated
as pastor at Osthausen in the district of Kranichfeld, which
subsequently (1826) was ceded, on the division of the ducal
inheritance, from Gotha to Meiuingen. In January of the
following year, when exactly twenty-three years old, he was
installed as pastor in Osthausen ; and in July of the same
year he brought home from Grone to fair Thuringia his youth-
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER. XI
ful bride. How soon afterwards came a change of times ! To
the candidates who not long thereafter appeared in numbers
exceeding the demand, men, who had but finished their exa-
minations at the age of thirty, whose hair not . seldom began
to get suspiciously grey while they were still domestic tutors,
and who counted the duration of their affianced state at least
by lustres, it must have sounded almost like a fable, that a
young theologian had established for himself a home of his
own as an independent pastor at the age of twenty-three.
God, who bestowed on him this great favour, granted to him
also a duration of the married state for almost forty years.
The pleasant leisure which fell to the young pastor's lot in
a community of about 400 souls for which down to the close
of his life he cherished the utmost affection did not make his
mind indolent or his hands idle. It was natural that so
juvenile a pastor should still for a time address himself to
private study before corning before the public as an author,
and all the more so in his case, seeing that in 1827 he went
to Hannover for the purpose of passing a Colloquium, with a
view to acquire the privilege of naturalization in the then exist-
ing kingdom. But as early as the year 1829 there was issued
by Vandenhoeck arid Ruprecht the esteemed publishing-house,
with which he so long maintained most friendly relations
the first portion of his work on the New Testament, con-
taining the Greek text and the German translation. In the
year 1830 followed his Libri syrribolici Ecclesiae Lutheranae.
In the same year as a fruit of his Colloquium, and probably
also of the services already rendered by him in the field of
theological literature he was appointed as pastor at Harste,
near Gottingen. Although he had paved the way for such a
step by acquiring naturalization in 1827, and had by his
marriage with the pastor's daughter in Grone become half a
Hannoverian, and indeed a man of Gottingen, the breaking up
of the home established seven years before at Osthausen was a
sore trial to my parents. On the day after Christmas, amidst
a severe snowstorm, when they doubly missed their wonted
comfortable abode, they set out on their perilous journey from
Osthausen amidst tears shed alike by those departing and by
Xii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER.
those left behind. It was not till the third day that the hard-
ships and perils of the winter-migration were over. Their
new relations were not at first of too agreeable a nature. They
needed to be gradually inured to their new position in life
before they could feel themselves at home in it. With the
far less perfect communication at that time between the several
districts of our country, and with the loose connection subsist-
ing between one portion of the Germanic Federation and
another, a journey from the Meiningen to the Gottingen dis-
trict was a more distant, and a transference of abode thither in
more than one respect a more difficult, matter than at present.
Yet, in spite of the many new impressions which had to be
formed and assimilated, the power of which did not permit
him in the remotest degree to anticipate that he would part
from this community also with deep pain, my father did not
allow his scientific labours to lie in abeyance. In the begin-
ning of the year 1832 appeared the second part of his work
on the New Testament, containing the Commentary. The long
time that elapsed between the first part (1829) and the
second is explained by " the change of his place of abode, and
the edition of the Libri symbolici, issued in the jubilee-year of
the Augsburg Confession" (Preface, 20th Jan. 1832). The
Commentary, according to the original plan, was to form two
divisions, the first of which was to extend to the Book of
Acts (inclusive), and the second was to embrace the remaining
books. That this idea proved a mistaken one ; that the work
has extended to 1 6 divisions ; that his own strength did not
suffice to overtake the constantly increasing labour ; that new
editions were continually needed ; that an English transla-
tion of it is in the press, all this is evidence of the rare
favour which the Commentary has retained for more than
forty years among the theological public of all schools. It
would be surprising, if in so long a period the standpoint of
the author, diligent as he was and unwearied in research, had
not undergone modifications ; and that in the course of years
his views did become more positive, is a fact well known to
his readers ; but to the principle of grammatico-historical
interpretation, on which so much stress is laid in the Preface
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DK. MEYER. xiii
of 1832, he remained unalterably faithful down to the close
of his life. And as a zealous representative of this school he
will maintain his place in the history of exegesis, whatever
new literary productions time may bring to light.
With a rare activity of mind, he had the skill to lay hold of
whatever whether from friends or from opponents could be
of service to him. The circumstance that he mastered without
difficulty the contents of the most voluminous Latin exegetes,
and most conscientiously consulted the old Greek expositors,
cannot surprise us, when we consider his preponderant leaning
to classical studies ; but the facts, that he used with ease com-
mentaries written in English and French, that he never left
out of view works composed in Dutch, and that he made him-
self master of Gothic so far as in a critical and exegetical
point of view he had need of it, all serve to attest alike
his uncommon qualifications and his iron diligence. Every-
thing new that made its appearance in the field of theological
literature, especially in the domain of exegesis, excited his
interest ; sparing in self-indulgence otherwise, he conceived
that, so far as concerned the acquisition of books, he had need
to put a restraint on himself; as regards edition, place of
publication, size, rarity, and the like, he had an astonishing
memory. The administration of a large and liberally supported
library seemed to him to be an enviable lot. The theological
public hardly needs to be told that studies so comprehensive
in range required of course years, and many years, to reach
maturity, and that between the Commentary on Matthew of
the year 1832 and the fifth edition of the same work in 1864,
a very considerable difference in every respect is discernible.
Among the MSS. left behind him I find a sixth edition of his
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew, which, although
according to his own expression not yet quite ripe for the
press, to judge from a superficial glance through it, deserves in
every respect to be pronounced an improvement on its pre-
decessor. He was in the habit of long polishing at a work
and correcting it, before he marked it " ready for the press."
The ninth division the Epistles to the Philippians, Colossians,
and Philemon was being printed in a fourth edition, when aii
MATT. b
Xiv BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER.
incurable visceral disorder threw him on his last short, but
painful, sickbed.
It was beyond doubt in great measure a result of the favour
which his Commentary enjoyed, that the author was at a com-
paratively early age withdrawn from the quiet work of a rural
pastor and called to Hoya as superintendent at Michaelmas
1837. In this position as Epliorus and as preacher in a
country town, whose inhabitants must be presumed to have
had other claims than those of simple villagers, two aspects
of his nature had opportunity to show and further develope
themselves that of the practical man of business, and that
of the pulpit orator. In the first- named relation he was
thoroughly exact ; his principle was " to be always ready."
To postpone disagreeable affairs, to put off irksome reports,
was just as impossible for him as to leave accounts unpaid.
He vied with his fellow-commissary, the no less exact von
Honstedt, former high-steward at Hoya, in the quick despatch
of the business on hand, and the art of gaining something
from the day namely, by early rising. As a pulpit orator he
strove honestly and with success to expound the word of the
cross in plain and simple form as the power of God unto
salvation, and he was listened to with pleasure so long as he
acted as a preacher (till Midsummer 1848).
His ministry in Hoya lasted only four years, during which
the publication of his Commentary went on with unabated
vigour. At Michaelmas 1844 he was called to Hannover as
Consistorialrath, Superintendent, and chief pastor of the Neu-
stddter St. Johanniskirche. I well remember the many attesta-
tions of unfeigned affection and cordial attachment, when on
the clear sunny autumn day, thirty-two years ago, he departed
from Hoya to enter upon the more stirring and more respon-
sible career before him in the capital None but a man in
the prime of his vigour could do justice at once to his position
in the supreme ecclesiastical court, and to the duties of super-
intendent and pastor in a community of more than 5000 souls.
He had but little ministerial help in his pastoral office. It
was his duty to preach every Sunday forenoon ; a scantily
paid court-chaplain, who was obliged to make up the deficiency
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OP 1 DR. MEYER. XV
of his income by giving private lessons, had regularly the
service in the afternoon, and was expected, moreover, to act for
him in any pastoral duties when at any time he was hindered
from discharging them. But how often it happened that he
was called away even from the sittings of the Consistory to
administer baptism to infants apparently dying and the com-
munion to the sick, because his court-chaplain was under the
necessity of giving private lessons somewhere ! It required,
in truth, a stubborn following out of his principle of " being
always ready" (as in fact it was his wont, almost without
exception, to prepare for his sermon even on the Monday), to
remain faithful to his vocation as an exegete amidst this
burden of work. It was again the early hours of the morn-
ing which put him in a position to do so. He obtained an
honourable recognition of the services thus rendered at Easter
1845, when he was nominated by the Faculty at Gottingen
Doctor of Theology, " propter eximiam eruditionem artemque
theologicam eainque praecipue editis excellentissimis doctissi-
misque in libros Novi Testamenti commentariis, quibus con-
sensu omnium de ornanda et amplificanda hermeneutica sacra
praeclarissime meruit, comprobatam."
Hitherto the lines of the son of the court-shoemaker in
Gotha had fallen in pleasant places ; but he was now to see
days in which the hand of the Lord was to be laid heavily
upon him. It was doubtless in part a result of the unusual
demands made on his strength to which was added his
taking part in the Church Conference at Berlin in the winter
of 1846 that at the end of February in that year he was
stretched by a severe visceral affection on a sickbed, which
long threatened to be his last. But the goodness of God
averted the danger, and preserved him still for a number of
years to his friends and to theological science. The strenuous
care of the now long departed Hofrath Holscher was success-
ful in putting him on the way to slow recovery, which
was accelerated in a most gratifying manner by a visit to the
mineral waters of Marienbad. But the old indomitable
strength was gone. This he perceived only too plainly, even
when he had for the second time gratefully felt the benefit
XVi BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER
of the Bohemian medicinal springs. His weakened health
imperatively demanded a change in his manner of life, and
a consequent diminution of the burden of labour that lay
upon him. Henceforth he became what he had never
previously allowed himself the time for a habitual walker.
Every morning between 7 and 8 o'clock, after having previously
devoted some hours to exegesis, in wind and storm, summer
and winter, even on the morning of the Sundays when he
had to preach, he took his accustomed walk, to which he
ascribed in no small degree his gradual recovery of strength.
At the same time he became a zealous water-drinker, and he
called water and walking his two great physicians. The
lightening of his labour, that was so essentially necessary,
came at Midsummer 1848, when he resigned his duties as
Ephorus and pastor, in order to devote himself henceforth
solely to the Consistory, in which, however, as may readily
be understood, the measure of his labours became greater in
point both of quality and of quantity. Many of the clergy of
our province belonging to the days when there were still three
examinations to be passed and that in Latin, will recollect
with pleasure the time when he conducted the preliminary,
and regularly took part in the stricter, trials. His easily
intelligible Latin, and his definite and clear mode of putting
questions, were specially spoken of with praise.
His aged mother witnessed with just pride his enjoyment
of the fruit of his exertions ; she did not die till the year
1851, after she had had, and had conferred, the pleasure
of a visit to him at Hannover. On the Christmas eve of
1858 he stood by the bier of a son of much promise, who,
as a teacher of the deaf and dumb at Hildesheim, was carried
off by typhus, away from his parental home, in the flower of
his age, at twenty-three. This blow was no doubt far more
severe than that by which, in 1847, God took from him a boy
of seven years ; but under this painful trial the word of the
cross approved itself to him a power of God. In May 1861
he became OberconsistorialratJi. The constant uncertainty of
his health, moreover, and in particular a very annoying sleep-
lessness, made him even at that time entertain the idea of
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER, xvii
superannuation. In the summer of 1863 he sought and
found partial relief at the springs of Homburg. In January
1864 the hand of God dissolved the marriage-tie, which he
had formed in the year 1823. In the preface to the fifth
edition of the Commentary on St. Matthew he has penned a
well-deserved tribute to the memory of the faithful companion
of his life, who had shared with him the joys and sorrows
of forty years.
From the Midsummer of this year down to his death
exactly, therefore, nine years he lived under the same roof
with me, affectionately tended by my wife, the teacher, friend,
companion, I might almost say playmate, of his two grand-
daughters.
On 1st October 1865 he retired from official life, on which
occasion, in honourable recognition of his lengthened services,
he obtained a higher decoration of the Guelphic Order which
he had already worn since 1847 the cross of a Commander of
the Second Class. At first he retained some share in con-
ducting the examinations ; but this official employment, too,
he soon gave up. Twice after his superannuation he was
present by direction of the Government at Halle to take part
in the Conference, which occupied itself with the settlement
of a uniform text for Luther's translation of the Bible, and
the fruit of which was the edition of 1870, published at the
Canstein Bible-Institute. Now that, at the age of sixty-five,
he was released from professional activity in the strict sense
of the term, he could devote his life the more tranquilly to
science and to the pleasure of the society of his friends.
His two granddaughters accompanied him regularly on his
walks in the morning ; and I know several houses, the inmates
of which looked out every day upon the company regularly
making its appearance, in which hoary age, with blooming
youth playing around it, seemed to return to the bright
clays of childhood. And the kindly grandfather in the midst
of his granddaughters on these morning walks was not mono-
syllabic or mute. On these occasions jest and earnest
alternated with instructions and reflections of the most
varied character. Punctually every morning at the same
xviii BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER.
hour he returned home from these walks, which he continued
to his last day of health. But he returned not in order to be
idle. He was wont by way of joke, even after his super-
annuation, to speak of how precisely his time was meted out,
and how strictly he had to husband it. The earlier rapidity
of his writing no doubt ceased, and increasing age impera-
tively demanded pauses, where his more youthful vigour would
not have even felt the need of a break.
To all political party - proceedings he was thoroughly
hostile; but he followed the mighty events of the years
1866 and 1870 with the liveliest interest. When the
German question was being solved by blood and iron, when
old thrones tottered and fell, he had a cordial sympathy with
much that was disappearing irretrievably; but he did not
obstinately close his eyes to the gratifying fruit which sprang
up on the bloody soil of 1866. Difficult as it certainly
would have been for the old man to reconcile himself
to altogether new relations of allegiance, he sincerely rejoiced
over the increasing strength of Germany, and that with the
greater reason, because he knew from the experiences of his
youth how sad was the prospect in those days when Ger-
many was simply a geographical idea. And if the year 1866
may have kept alive some bitter recollections now and
then in one who had grown grey in the service of the
kingdom of Hannover, he well understood the language of
thunder, in which God spoke to the nations in 1870, and
he recognised the sovereign sway of the Almighty, who with
strong arm saved us from the house of bondage. To a man,
who in the years of his boyhood had so often heard the
French shout of victory, had seen the great Napoleon, had
passed through the times of the Rhenish Confederation, and
had grown up to manhood in the period when so many
political hopes were nipped in the bud, the blows of
Weissenburg and Worth, the united onset of all Germans,
appeared almost like a fable. How often he changed the
direction of his accustomed walks, in order to hear at the
telegraph-office of new victories and heroic deeds ! And
how grateful was he, who had shared in the times of sore
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER. XIX
calamity and ignominy, for what God permitted the Germans
to achieve ! He was born under the last Emperor of the
house of Hapsburg; could anything else be expected of the
Protestant exegete, than- that he should cordially rejoice at
the mode in which the German Empire was reconstituted on
the 18th January 1871 at Versailles-?.
In the sphere of religion, as in that of politics, all ill-
temper and irritation were odious and repugnant to him. He
had, in the course of time, as every reader of his exegetical
work well enough knows, become more positive in his views ;
but he was far removed from any confessional narrow-minded-
ness or persecuting spirit. He desired that there should be
no stunting or spoiling of the homely, simple words of Scrip-
ture either from one side or another ; and he deeply lamented
it, wherever it occurred, let the cause of it be what it would.
He never concealed his conviction ; it has gone abroad every-
where in many thousand copies of his book ; and he carried
with him to the grave the hope that it would please God, in
His own time, to complete the work of the Eeformation.
A mere outward observer of the tranquil and regular course
of life of my late father might not surmise, but those who
were in closer intercourse with him for the last two years
could not conceal from themselves, that his day was verging to
its close. No doubt he still always rose, summer and winter,
immediately after four o'clock ; he was constantly to be seen
beginning his walks at the same time ; his interest in his
favourite science was still the same ; but his daily life became
more and more circumscribed in its range, and the pendulum
of his day's work vibrated more and more slowly, so that its
total cessation could not but be apprehended. The journeys
to the house of his son-in-law, Superintendent Steding at
Drausfeld, where he had so often found refreshment and
diffused joy by his visits, had long since ceased. After a fall,
which he met with about a year before his death, his walks
were curtailed. To this outward occasion he attributed what
was probably a consequence of gradual decline of strength and
advancing age.
The Lord of life and death, who had so graciously dealt
XX BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER.
with him for seventy-three years, as he himself most gratefully
acknowledged, spared him also from prolonged suffering at
the last. On the 15th June he still followed quite his usual
mode of life ; he spent the afternoon with contentment and
cheerfulness in his garden, then took a little walk, and went
to rest punctually at eight o'clock, as he always did in his
latter years. The walk on that Sunday afternoon was to be
his last, and the unfolding glories of the summer were not to
be seen by him again with the bodily eye. During the night,
towards one o'clock, he awoke us, as he was suffering from vio-
lent iliac pains. With the calmest composure he recognised
the hand of the Lord, which would remove him from the scene
of his rich and fruitful labours. He declared that he was
willing and ready to depart, asking only for a speedy and not
too painful end. The medical aid which at once hastened to
his side afforded indeed momentary relief by beneficial injec-
tions of morphia ; but the eye of science saw the ame danger
as those around him had immediately felt and foreboded. 1 It
was an incurable visceral affection, which was conjectured to be
connected with the severe illness that he had happily survived
twenty-seven years before. On the 19th June a transient
gleam of hope shone once more for a short time. " Willingly,"
he said on this day, after an uneasy night, " would I still re-
main with you ; but willingly am I also ready to depart, if God
calls me." It was but a brief gleam of the setting sun before
the approach of night. This we could not but soon perceive,
and this he himself saw with the manly Christian self-
possession, by means of which he had been so often in life a
comfort and example to us. Soon after there set in a state of
half-slumber, during which the most diversified images flitted
in chequered succession before his mind. Now he saw him-
self seated before a large page from the New Testament,
on which he was employed in commenting, while he fancied
1 1 may here be allowed, under the natural impulse of melancholy recollection
conscious of its indebtedness, to mention with the most sincere thanks the
considerate and devoted care of the physicians in attendance on him the chief-
physician Dr. Kollner and chief-staff-physician Dr. Hiibener. So often did
they afford to their dying patient the great blessing of mitigating his pain,
where their tried skill had limits assigned to it by a higher hand.
BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF DR. MEYER. XX i
that he held the pipe in his mouth. In this way had he
devoted many a quiet morning hour to his favourite study,
when his window had been the only one lighted up in the
street. Then, again, he busied himself with the Fatherland ;
" Germany, Germany above all;' we heard him distinctly say.
Was it that the recollections of his cheerful student-days, when
the Bursclienscliaft was full of fervour and enthusiasm speci-
ally for the Fatherland, became interwoven with the mighty
events of his latter years ? Soon afterwards he saw clearly the
cross, of which he had so often during his long life experienced
and diffused the blessing. On the 20th June there was
given the fatally significant intimation that he might be
allowed to partake of anything which he wished. He made
no further use of it than to take some beer, of which he had
always been fond. But it was only for a passing moment ;
and the beer also soon remained untouched, just as his pipe
and box, formerly his inseparable attendants, had since his
sickness lost their power of attraction. Violent vomiting
and the weary singultus, which hardly abated for a moment,
announced but too plainly that the end of that busy life was
closely approaching. Shortly before 10 P.M., on the 21st
June, he entered without struggle upon his rest. His wish,
often and urgently expressed during his lifetime and also on
his deathbed, that his body might be opened for medical
examination, was complied with on the following day. The
result was to exhibit such visceral adhesion and intussuscep-
tion, beyond doubt an after-effect of his earlier illness,
that even the daring venture of a surgical operation could
not have been attended with success. On Midsummer-day
he was buried in the Neustadter churchyard, where he had
so often, during the exercise of his pastoral functions, stood by
the open grave of members of his flock. On the cross at his
tomb are placed the words from Eom. xiv. 8 : " Whether we
live, we live unto the Lord ; whether we die, we die unto
the Lord. Whether we live therefore or die, we are the
Lord's."
HANNOVER, December 1873.
PREFACE TO THE PRESENT (SIXTH) EDITION,
1HE venerable author of the Critical and Exegetical
Handbook to the Gospel of Matthew, who was
called away from this life just this day two years
ago, left behind him a complete revision of the
book with a view to a sixth edition of it. He was most
conscientiously careful in keeping the successive editions, that
were ever being called for, of the several portions of his Com-
mentary on the New Testament thoroughly on a level with
the competing critical and exegetical labours of his contem-
poraries. Accordingly he had prepared in good time the
matter to be substituted for the fifth edition of the present
part, which appeared in 1864. The few material changes
and the supplementary additions, by which this edition is
distinguished from its predecessor, are thus wholly the work
of Meyer. The undersigned, out of friendship for the pub-
lisher, and out of dutiful affection towards the author, with
whom he was closely connected in his latter years, under-
took to look over the manuscript, and has accordingly deemed
himself entitled merely to make alterations of minor compass
in form and style. This Preface, therefore, has no other object
than simply to introduce the book afresh to the theological
public, to whom there is no need that I should descant on the
merits of the deceased author in order to keep alive his memory
and the enduring intellectual influence of his work.
PROFESSOK DK. A. RITSCHL.
GOTTINGEN, 2Ist June 1875.
xxil
EXEGETICAL LITERATURE,
[THE following list which is not meant to be exhaustive, but is
intended to embrace the more important works in the several depart-
ments to which it applies contains commentaries, or collections of
notes, which relate to the New Testament as a whole, to the four
Gospels as such, to the three Synoptic Gospels (including the chief
Harmonies), or to the Gospel of Matthew in particular, alon-;
with the principal editions of the Greek New Testament that are
referred to in the critical remarks prefixed to each chapter, and
the more noteworthy Grammars and Lexicons of New Testament
Greek. It does not include (with the exception of some half-dozen
works that contain considerable exegetical matter) the large number
of treatises dealing with questions of Introduction or of historical
criticism in relation to the Gospels, because these are generally
specified by Meyer when he refers to them ; nor does it contain
monographs on chapters or sections, which are generally noticed by
Meyer in loc. Works mainly of a popular or practical character have,
with a few exceptions, been excluded, since, however valuable they
may be on their own account, they have but little affinity with the
strictly exegetical character of the present work. The editions
quoted are usually the earliest ; al. appended denotes that the book
has been more or less frequently reissued ; f marks the date of the
author's death ; c. = circa, an approximation to it. W. P. D.]
ALBERTI (Johannes), f 1762, Prof. Theol. at Leyden : Observations
philologicae in sacros N. F. libros. 8, Lugd. Bat. 1725.
ALEXANDER (Joseph Addison), D.D., f 1860,'Prof. Bibl. and Eccl.
History at Princeton : The Gospel according to Matthew
explained. 12, New York [and Lond.] 1861.
ALFORD (Henry), D.D., f 1-871, Dean of Canterbury: The Greek
Testament, with a critically revised text . . . and a critical
and exegetical commentary. 4 vols. 8, Lond. 1849-61, al.
xxiil
XXIV EXEGETICAL LITER ATUKE.
ANGER (Rudolph), f 1866, Prof. Theol. at Leipzig: Synopsis
Evangeliorum Matthaei, Marci, Lucae. ... 8, Lips. 1852.
ANNOTATIONS upon all the books of the O. and N. Testament .... by
the joint labour of certain learned divines thereunto appointed
. . . [by the Westminster Assembly of Divines]. 2 vols.
2, Lond. 1645, al
ANSELM, of Laon, f 1117, Teacher of Schol. Theol. at Paris: Glossa
iriterlinearis. 2, Basil. 1502, al.
AQUINAS (Thomas), f 1274, Scholastic philosopher: Catena vere aurea
in quatuor Evangelia. 2, s. 1. 1474, al.
[Translated by Dr. Pusey and others. 4 vols. in 8.
8, Oxf. 1841-45.]
ARETIUS (Benedict), f 1574, Prof. Theol. at Berne : Commentarii in
quatuor Evangelia. 8, Lausannae, 1577, al.
Commentarii in N. T. 2, Paris. 1607, al
ARIAS MONTANO (Benito), f 1598, Spanish monk, Editor of the Ant-
werp Polyglott : Elucidationes in quatuor Evangelia.
4, Antverp. 1573.
ARNAULD (Antoine), f 1694, Port Royalist. Historia et concordia
evangelica. 12, Paris. 1643, al.
ARNOLDI (Matthias) : Commentar zum Evangelium des h. Matthaus.
8, Trier, 1856.
AUGUSTINUS (Aurelius), f 430, Bishop of Hippo : Exegetica commen-
taria in N. T., viz. De consensu Evangelistarum libri iv. ; De
sermone Domini in Monte libri ii. ; Quaestionum Evangeli-
orum libri ii. ; Quaestionum septendecim in Evang. secundum
Matthaeum liber i. ; In Joannis Evangelium tractatus cxxiv. ;
in Epistolam Joannis ad Parthos tractatus x. ; Expositio
quarundam propositionum ex Epistola ad Romanos, liber i. ;
Epistolae ad Romanos inchoata expositio, liber i. ; Expositio
Epistolae ad Galatas, liber i. [Opera, torn. iii. ed. Benedict.
2, Paris. 1680, al]
[Partly translated in "Library of the Fathers" and in "Works
of St. Augustine."]
BAUMGARTEN-CRUSIUS (Ludwig Friedrich Otto), f 1843, Prof. Theol.
, at Jena : Commentar liber das Evang. das Matthaus [und
iiber die Evang. des Markus und Lukas. . . .].
8, Jena, 1844-45.
BAXTER (Richard), f 1691, Nonconformist divine : A paraphrase on
the N. T., with notes. ... 4, Lond. 1685, al
BEAUSOBRE (Isaac de), f 1738, French pastor at Berlin: Remarques
historiques, critiques et philologiques sur le N. T. 2 tomes.
4, La Haye, 1742.
EXEGETICAL LITEKATURE. XXV
And LENFANT (Jacques), f 1728, French pastor at Berlin :
Le N. T. . . . traduit en fran9ois . . . avec des notes literales,
pour e"clairir le texte. 2 tomes. 4, Amst. 1718, al.
BEDA (Venerabilis), t 735, monk at Jarrow : Commentarii in quatuor
Evangelia. [Opera.]
BEELEN (Jean-Theodore), R. C. Prof. Or. Lang, at Louvain : Gram-
matica Graecitatis N. T. . . . 8, Lovanii, 1857.
BENGEL (Johann Albrecht), f 1751, Prelate in Wurtemberg: N. T.
Graecum ita adornatum, ut textus probatarum editionum
medullam, margo variantium lectionum . . . delectum, appa-
ratus subjunctus criseos sacrae, Millianae praesertim, com-
pendium, limam, supplementum ac fructum exhibeat.
4, Tubing. 1734, al.
Gnomon N. T., in quo ex nativa verborum vi simplicitas, pro-
funditas, concinnitas, salubritas sensuum coelestium indi-
catur. 4, Tubing. 1742, al [Translated by Rev. A. R.
Faussett. 5 vols. Edin. 1857-58, al.]
Richtige Harmonic der vier Evangelisten.
8, Tubing. 1736, al.
BERLEPSCH (August, Freiherr von) : Quatuor N. T. Evangelia . . .
orthodoxe explanata. . . . Ratisb. 1849.
BEZE [BEZA] (Theodore de), f 1 605, Pastor at Geneva : N. T. sive
N. Foedus, cujus Graeco textui respondent interpretationes
duae, una vetus, altera nova Theodori Bezae . . . Ejusdem
Th. Bezae annotationes ... 2, Genev. 1565, al.
BISPING (August), R. C. Prof. Theol. at Miinster: Exegetisches
Handbuch zum N. T. 9 Bande. 8, Munster, 1867-76.
BLEEK (Friedrich), f 1859, Prof. Theol. at Bonn: Synoptische Er-
klarung der drei ersten Evangelien. 2 Bande. 8, Leip. 1862.
BLOOMFIELD (Samuel Thomas), D.D., f Vicar of Bisbrooke : The
Greek Testament, accompanied with English notes, critical,
philological, and exegetical. 2 vols. 8, Lond. 1829, al.
Recensio synoptica annotationis sacrae ... 8 voll.
8, Lond. 1826-28.
Bos (Lambert), f 1717, Prof, of Greek at Frarieker : Observationes
miscellaneae ad loca quaedam . . . N. F. 8, Franek. 1707.
Exercitationes philologicae in quibus N. F. loca nonnulla
ex auctoribus Graecis illustrantur. 8, Franek. 1700, al.
BRENT (Johann), f 1570, Provost at Stuttgart : Commentarii in
Matthaeum, Marcum et Lucam. [Opera. Tom. v.]
2, Tubing. 1590.
BRETSCHNEIDER (Karl Gottlieb), t 1848, General Superintendent at
Gotha: Lexicon manuale Graeco-Latinum in libros N. T.
2 volL 8, Lips. 1824, al.
XXvi EXEGETICAL LITERATUKE. .
BROWN (John), D.D., t 1858, Prof. Exeg. Theol. to United Presby-
terian Church, Edinburgh : Discourses and sayings of our Lord
illustrated in a series of expositions. 3 vols. 8, Edin. 1850.
BROWN (David), D.D., Principal of Free Church College at Aberdeen :
A commentary, critical, experimental, and practical, on the
New Testament. [Vols. V. VI. of Commentary ... by Dr.
Jamieson, Rev. A. R. Fausset, and Dr. Brown.
8, Glasg. 1864-74.]
BUCER (Martin), t 1551, Prof. Theol. at Cambridge : In sacra qua-
tuor Evangelia enarrationes perpetuae. . . .
8, Argent. 1527, al.
BULLINGER (Heinrich), t 1575, Pastor at Zurich . N. T. historia evan-
gelica sigillatim per quatuor Evangelistas descripta, una cum
Act. Apost. omnibusque Epistolis Apostolorum explicate
commentariis. 2, Turici, 1554, al.
BUNSEN (Christian Carl Josias von), t 1860, German statesman :
Vollstandiges Bibelwerk fiir die Gemeinde. ... 10 Bande.
8, Leip. 1858-70.
[Band IV. Die Biicher des N. B. Herausgegeben von Hein-
rich Julius Holtzmann.]
BURMAN (Franciscus), t 1719, Prof. Theol. at Utrecht: Harmonic
ofte overeenstemminge der vier h. Evangelisten.
4, Amst. 1713, al.
BURTON (Edward), D.D., t 1836, Prof. Theol. at Oxford: The Greek
Testament with English notes. 2 vols. 8, Oxf. 1831, al.
BUTTMANN (Alexander), retired Professor at Berlin : Grammatik des
neutest. Sprachgebrauchs, im Anschlusse an Ph. Buttmann's
Griechische Grammatik bearbeitet. 8, Berlin, 1859.
[Authorized translation (by J. H. Thayer), with numerous ad-
ditions and corrections by the author. 8, Andover, 1873.]
CAJETANUS [TOMMASO DA Vio], t 1534, Cardinal: In quatuor Evan-
gelia et Acta Apostolorum ... ad sensum quern vocant
literalem commentarii. ... 2, Venet. 1530, al.
CALIXTUS (Georg), f 1656, Prof. Theol. at Helmstadt: Quatuor Evan-
gelicorum scriptorum concordia, et locorum . . . difficiliorum
explicatio. 4, Halberstadii, 1624, al.
CALMET (Augustin), t 1757, Abbot of Senones: Commentaire
litteral sur tous les livres de 1'A. et du N. Testament. 23
tomes. 4, Paris, 1707-16, al.
CALOVIUS (Abraham), t 1676, General Superintendent at Witten-
berg : Biblia Testament! Veteris [et Novi] illustrata. . . .
2, Francof. ad M. 1672-76, al.
[Tom. IV. Cum Harmonia evangelica noviter concinnata.]
EXEGETICAL LITEEATUEE. X:-:vii
CALVIN [CHAUVIN] (Jean), t 1564, Reformer : Commentarii in Har-
moniam ex Evangelistis tribus . . . compositam. . . .
2, Genev. 1553, al.
[Translated by Rev. W. Pringle. 8, Edin. 1844-45.]
CAMERARI us (Joachim), t 1574, Prof, of Greek -at Leipzig: Notatio
figurarum sermonis in quatuor libris Evangeliorum, indicata
verborum significatione et oration is sententia ... Et in
scriptis apostolicis. 4, Lips. 1572.
Subsequently issued under the title, " Commentarius in N. F.
. . ." along with Beza's N. T. and Annotations.
2, Cantab. 1642.
CAMERON (John), 1 1625, Prof. Theol. at Montauban : Praelectiones in
selectiora quaedam loca N. T. 3 voll. 4, Salmur. 162628, al.
Myrothecium evangelicum, hoc est, N.T.,locaquamplurimavel
illustrata, vel explicata vel vindicata. ... 4, Genev. 1632.
CAMPBELL (George), D.D., f 1796, Principal of Marischal College,
Aberdeen : The four Gospels translated from the Greek,
with preliminary dissertations and notes critical and expla-
natory. 2 vols. 4, Lond. 1789, al.
CAPPEL (Jacques) [CAPPELLUS], f 1624, Prof. Theol. at Sedan:
Observationes in N. T. . . . nunc demum ... in lucem editae,
procurante Ludovico Cappello [f 1658, Prof. Theol. at Saumur]
. . . una cum ejusdem Lud. Cappelli Spicilegio. . . .
4, Amstel. 1657.
CARPENTER (Lant), LL.D., f 1840, Unitarian Minister at Bristol: A
harmony or synoptical arrangement of the Gospels. 2d ed.
8, Lond. 1838.
CARTWRIGHT (Thomas), f 1603, Puritan divine : Harmonia evangelica,
commentario analytico, metaphrastico et practice illustrata.
4, Amstel. 1627, al.
CASTALIO [CHATEILLON] (Sebastian), f 1563, Prof, of Greek at Basel :
Biblia V. et N. T. ex versione Sebast. Castalionis cum ejusdem
annotationibus. 2, Basil. 1551, al.
CATENAE Patrum. See CRAMER, CORDEKIUS, POSSINUS.
CHAPMAN (Richard), B. A. A Greek harmony of the Gospels . . . with
notes. 4, Lond. 1836.
CHEMNITZ (Martin), f 1586, Teacher of Theol. at Brunswick : Har-
monia quatuor Evangelistarum, a . . . D. Martino Chemnitio
primum inchoata : D. Polycarpo Lysero post continuata,
atque D. Johanne Gerhardo tandem felicissime absoluta.
3 voll. 2, Francof. 1652, al.
[First issued separately, 1593-1627.]
CHRYSOSTOMUS ( Joannes), f 407, Archbishop of Constantinople : Homi-
liae in Matthaeum [Opera, ed. Bened. VII., a/.]. Homiliae
XXVlii EXEGETICAL LITERATURE.
in Matth. Graece, textum . . . emendavit, praecipuam lec-
tionis varietatem adscripsit, annotationibus . . . instruxit
Fredericus Field. 3 voll. 8, Cantab. 1839.
[Translated in " Library of the Fathers." 8, Oxf. 1843-51.]
CHYTRAEUS [KOCHHAFF] (David), f 1600, Prof. Theol. at Rostock:
Commentarius in Evangelium Matthaei. 8, Vitemb. 1555, al.
CLARIO [CLARIUS] (Isidore), f 1555, Bishop of Foligno : Vulgata editio
V. et N. T., quorum alterum ad Graecam veritatem emenda-
tum est . . . adjectis . . . scholiis . . . locupletibus. . . .
2, Venet. 1542, al.
CLARKE (Adam), f 1832, Wesleyan minister: The Bible . . . with
a commentary and critical notes. 8 vols. 4, Lond. 181026.
CLARKE (Samuel), D.D., f 1729, Rector of St. James', Westminster :
A paraphrase of the four Evangelists . . . with critical notes
on the more difficult passages. 4, Lond. 1701-02, al.
CLAUSEN (Henrik Nicolai), Prof. Theol. at Copenhagen : Quatuor
Evangeliorum tabulae synopticae. Juxta rationes temporum
. . . composuit, annotationibusque . . . instruxit H. N. Clausen.
8, Kopenh. 1829.
Fortolking af de synoptiske Evangelier. 2 parts.
8, Copenh. 1850.
CLERICUS [L.E CLERC] (Jean), j 1736, Prof. Eccles. Hist, at Amsterdam:
Harmonia evangelica Graece et Latine. . . .
2, Amstel. 1699, al.
[Translated. 4, Lond. 1701. See also HAMMOND.]
CONANT (Thomas J.), D.D., Prof. Heb. at New York : The Gospel of
Matthew . . . With a revised version, and critical and philo-
logical notes. [American Bible Union.] New York, 1860.
CORDERIUS [CORDIER] (Balthasar), f 1650, Jesuit: Catena Graecorum
patrum triginta in Matthaeum, collectore Niceta episcopo
Serrarum. Cum versions Latina ed. B. Corderius.
2, Tolosae, 1647.
CRAMER (John Anthony), D.D., f 1848, Principal of New Inn Hall,
Oxford : Catenae Graecorum Patrum in Novum Testa-
mentum. 8 voll. 8, Oxon. 1838-44.
CRELL (Johann), f 1633, Socinian teacher at Racow : Opera omnia
exegetica sive in plerosque libros N. T. commentarii . . .
[Opera. I.-IIL] 2, Eleutheropoli [Amstel.], 1656.
CREMER (Hermann), Prof. Theol. at Greifswald : Biblisch-theologisches
Wb'rterbuch der neutestamentlichen Graecitat.
8, Gotha, 1866, al
[Translated by D. W.Simon, Ph.D., and William Urwick, M.A.
8, Edin. 1872.]
CRITICI SACRI sive doctissimorum virorum in sacra Biblia annotationes
EXEGETICAL LITERATURE. Xxix
et tractatus [In N. T. : Vallae, Revii, Erasmi, Vatabli, Cas-
talionis, Munsteri, Clarii, Drusii, Zegeri, Grotii, Scaligeri,
Cameronis, Pricaei et aliorum]. 9 tomi. 2, Lond. 1660, al.
DEYLING (Salomon), f 1755, Prof. Theol. at Leipzig: Observationes
sacrae, in quibus multae Scripturae V. ac N. T. dubia vexata
solvuntur, loca difficiliora . . . illustrantur. ... 5 partes.
4, Lips. 1708-48, al.
DICKSON (David), f 1662, Prof. Theol. at Edinburgh : A brief exposi-
tion of the Gospel according to Matthew. 12, Lond. 1651.
DIEU (Louis de), f 1642, Prof, at Walloon College, Leyden: Anim-
adversiones sive commentarius in quatuor Evangelia. . . .
4, Lugd. Bat. 1631, al.
Critica sacra, seu animadversiones in loca quaedam difficiliora
V. et N. T. variis in locis ex auctoris manuscriptis aucta.
2, Arnstel. 1693.
DILHERR (Johann Michael), f 1669, Prof. Theol. at Niirnberg : Eclogae
sacrae N. T. Syriacae, Graecae et Latinae, cum observationibus
philologicis. 12, Jenae, 1638, al.
DIONYSIUS CARTHUSIANUS [DENYS DE EYCKEL], f 1471, Carthusian monk:
Commentarii in universos S. S. libros. 2, Colon. 1530-36.
DODDRIDGE (Philip), DvD., f 1751, Nonconformist minister at North-
ampton : The family expositor ; or, a paraphrase and version
of the N. T., with critical notes. ... 3 vols.
4, Lond. 1738-47, al.
DOUGHTY [DOUGTAEUS] (John), f 1672, Rector of Cheam, Surrey :
Analecta sacra, sive excursus philologici breves super diversis
S. S. locis. 2 voll. 8, Lond. 1658-60, al.
DRUSIUS (Joannes) [VAN DEN DRIESCHE], f 1616, Prof. Or. Lang, at
Franeker : Annotationum in totum Jesu Christi Testauientum ;
sive praeteritorum libri decem. Et pars altera. . . .
4, Franek. 1612-16.
Ad voces Ebraeas N. T. commentarius duplex.
4, Franek. 1606, al.
EBRARD (Johann Heinrich August), Consistorialrath at Erlangen :
Wissenschaftliche Kritik der evangelischen Geschichte. . . .
8, Erlangen, 1841, al. 3 te Aunage. 8?, Frankf. 1866.
[Translated in " Foreign Theological Library."]
ECKERMANN (Jakob Christian Rudolph), j 1836, Prof. Theol. at Kiel:
Erklarung aller dunklen Stellen des N. T. 3 Ba'nde.
8, Kiel, 1806-08.
EICHTHAL (Gustave de), Les Evangiles. 1* partie : examen critique
et comparatif des trois premiers Evangiles. 8, Paris, 1863.
MATT. c
XXX EXEGETICAL LITERATURE.
ELSLEY (J.), M.A., Vicar .of Burneston : Annotations on the lour
Gospels; compiled and- abridged. ... 2 vols.
8 C , Lond. 1799, al.
ELSNER (Jakob), f 1750, Consistorialrath at Berlin: Observationes
sacrae in N. F. libros. . . . 2 voll. 8, Traject. 1720-28.
Commentarius critico^philologicus in Evangelium Matthaei,
edidit et notulas -quasdam adjecit Ferdinandus Stosch.
2 voll. 4, Zwollae, 1767-69.
ELZEVIR, or ELZEVIER, name of the celebrated family of printers at
Leyden. The abbreviation .Elz. denotes the edition of the
N. T. issued 'in .J.633 [N. T. Ex regiis aliisque optimis
editionibus cum cura impressum, 12, Lugd. 1633], and
frequently reprinted, which presents what is called the Textus
Receptus.
EPISCOFIUS (Simon), f 1643, Prof. Theol. -at Amsterdam : Notae breves
in xxiv. priora capita Matthaei. [Opera theol. 2, Amstel.
1650.]
ERASMUS (Desiderius), f 1536 : Novum Testamentum omne, diligenter
recognitum et emendatum. . < 2, Basil. 1516. Editio princeps
followed by others edited by Erasmus in 1519, 1522, 1527,
and 1535. Adnotationes in Novum Testamentum, 2, Basil.
1516, et al. Paraphrases in Novum Testamentum, 2, Basil.
1522, et al [Translated. 2 vols. 2, Lond. 1548, al.'}
EUTHYMIUS ZIGABENUS, "j" c. 1118, Greek monk : Commentarius in
quatuor Evangelia Graece et Latine. Textum Graecum . . .
suis animadversionibus edidit C. F. Matthaei. 3 tomi in 4.
8, Lips. 1792.
EWALD (Georg Heinrich August),! 1876, Prof. Or. Lang, at Gbttingen:
Die drei ersten Evangelien ubersetzt'Und erklart.
8, Gotting. 1850, al.
FABRTCIUS (Johann Albrecht), f 1736, Prof. Eloq. at Hamburg:
Observationes selectae in varia loca N. T. 8, Hamb. 1712.
FERUS [WILD] (Johannes), f 1554, Cathedral Preacher at Mentz:
Enarrationes in Matthaeum. 2, Mogunt. 1559, al.
FISCHER (Johann Friedrich), *\ 1799, Principal of the Fursten Col-
legium at Leipzig : Prolusiones in quibus varii loci librorum
divinorum utriusque Testament! . . . explicantur atque illus-
trantur. ... 8, Lips. 1779.
FLACIUS lllyricus (Matthias) [FLACH], f 1575, Prof. Theol. at Jena:
Clavis scripturae sacrae, seu de sermone sacr. litterarum.
2, Basil. 1567, al.
Glossa compendiaria in Novum Testamentum.
2 Basil. 1570, al.
EXEGETICAL LITERATURE. XXXi
FRIEDLIEB (Joseph Heinrich), R. C. Prof. Theol. at Breslau : Quatuor
Evangelia sacra in harmoniam redacta . . . 8, Vratisl. 1847.
FRITZSCHE (Karl Friedrich August), f 1846, Prof. Theol. at Rostock:
Evangelium Matthaei recensuit et cum commentariis perpetuis
edidit D. C. F. A. Fritzsche. 8, Lips. 1826.
GAGNAEUS (Johannes) [Jean de GAGNEE], f 1549, Rector of Univ. of
Paris : In quatuor . . . Evangelia necnon Actus Apostolorum
scholia ex praecipuis Graecorum et Latinorura scriptis selecta.
2, Paris. 1552, ai
GEHRINGER (Joseph), R. C. : Synoptische Zusammenstellung des
griechischen Textes der vier Evangelien. 8, Tubing. 1842.
GERHARD (Johann), f 1637, Prof. Theol. at Jena: Adnotationes
posthumae in Evangelium Matthaei. 2, Jenae, 1663.
Harmonia quatuor Evangelistarum. See CHEMNITZ (Martin).
GILL (John), t 1771, Baptist pastor in Southwark: An exposition
of the New Testament. 3 vols. 2, Lond. 1743-48, al
GLOCKLER (Conrad) : Die Evangelien des Matthaus, Markus, und
Lukas in Uebereinstimmung gebracht und erklart. 2 Ab-
theilungen. 8, Frankf. 1834.
GRATZ( Aloys): Kritisch-historischer Commentar iiber das Evangelium
Matthaei. 2 Theile. 8, Tubing. 1821-23.
GREEN (Thomas "Sheldon), M.A., Headmaster of Grammar School at
Ashby de la Zouch : Treatise on the grammar of the N. T.
dialect. ... 8, Lond. 1842, al
GRESWELL (Edward), B.D., Vice-Pres. of Corpus Christi Coll.,
Oxford: Harmonia evangelica, sive quatuor Evangelia Graece,
pro temporis et rerum serie in partes quinque distributa.
8, Oxon. 1830, al.
Dissertations upon the principles and arrangement of a
Harmony of the Gospels. 3 vols. 8, Oxf. 1830.
An exposition of the parables and of other parts of the
Gospels. 5 vols. in 6. 8, Oxf. 1834-35.
GRIESBACH (Johann Jakob), t 1812, Prof. Theol. at Jena: Novum
Testamentum Graece. Textum ad fidem codicum, versionum
et Patrum recensuit et lectionis varietatem adjecit D. Jo. Ja.
Griesbach. Editio secunda. 8, Halis, 1796-1809, al
Synopsis Evangeliorum. ... 8, Halae, 1776, al.
GRIMM (Karl Ludwig Willibald), Prof. Theol. at Jena: Lexicon Graeco-
Latinum in libros Novi Testamenti. 8, Lips. 1868.
GRINFIELD (Edward William), M.A. : N. T. Graecum. Editio Hel-
lenistica. 2 voll. Scholia Hellenistica in N. T. . . . 2 voll.
8, Lond. 1843-48.
XXXli EXEGETICAL LITERATURE.
GEOTIUS (Hugo), f 1G45, Dutch statesman- Annotationes in N. T.
2, Paris, 1644, al Annotationes in N. T. Denuo emenda-
tius editae. 9 voll. 8, Groning. 1826-34.
HAHN (August), f 1863, General Superintendent in Breslau: N. T.
Graece, post J. A. H. Tittmannum ad fidem optimorum
librorum secundis curis recognovit, lectionumque varietatem
subjecit Augustus Hahn. 8, Lips. 1840.
HAMMOND (Henry), D.D., 1 1660, Sub-dean of Christ Church, Oxford :
Paraphrase and annotations upon all the books of the N. T.
2, Loud. 1653, al.
[Ex Anglica lingua in Latinum transtulit suisque animad-
versionibus auxit J. Clericus. 2, Amstel. 1698, a/.J
HARDOUIN (Jean), } 1729, Jesuit: Commentarius in N. T.
2, Hagae-Com. 1741.
HEINSIUS (Daniel), f 1665, Prof. Hist, at Leyden: Sacrarum exerci-
tationum ad N. T. libri xx. . . . 2, Lugd. Bat. 1639, al.
HENGEL (Wessel Albert van), Prof. Theol. at Leyden : Annotatio ad
loca nonnulla N. T. 8, Amstel. 1824.
HEUMANN (Christoph August), f 1764, Prof. Theol. at Gottingen:
Erklarung des N. T. 12 Bande. 8, Hannov. 1750-63.
HIERONYMUS (Eusebius Sophronius), f 420, monk at Bethlehem : Com-
mentarius in Matthaeum. [Opera.]
HILARIUS Pictaviensis, f 368, Bishop of Poitiers:" In Evangelium
Matthaei commentarius. [Opera. I. ed. Bened.]
2, Paris. 1693.
HOLTZMANN (Heinrich Johann), Prof. Theol. in Heidelberg: Die Synop-
tische Evangelien, ihr Ursprung und geschichtlicher Charak-
ter. [See also BUNSEN.] 8, Leip. 1863.
HOMBERGH zu Vach (Johann Friedrich), f 1748, Prof, of Laws at
Marburg : Parerga sacra, seu observationes quaedam ad N. T.
4, Traj. ad Rhen. 1712, al.
HUNNIUS (Aegidius), f 1603, General Superintendent at Wittenberg :
Thesaurus evangelicus complectens commentaries in quatuor
Evangelistas et Actus Apost. nunc primum hac forma editus.
2, Vitemb. 1706.
Thesaurus apostolicus, complectens commentaries in omnes
N. T. Epistotes et Apocalypsin Joannis . . . novis, quae antea
deficiebant, commentationibus auctus ... 2, Vitemb.
1707. [Also, Opera Latina, III., IV. 2, Vitemb. 1607.]
JANSENIUS (Cornelius), f 1 638, R. C. Bishop of Ypres : Tetrateuchus ;
seu commentarius in quatuor Evangelia.
4, Lovanii, 1639, al
EXEGETICAL LITERATURE. XXXlii
JANSENIUS (Cornelius), f 1576, R. C. Bishop of Gheut: Concordia
evangelica. ... 4, Lovanii, 1549, al.
Commentariorum in suam Concordiam ac totam historiam
evangelicam partes IV. 2, Lovanii, 1571, al.
JUNIUS (Franciscus) [FRANCOIS DU JON], f 1602, Prof. Theol. at Ley-
den : Sacra parallela, id est, comparatio locorum S. S., qui ex
Testamento Vetere in Novo adducuntur. . . .
8, Lond. 1588, al.
KAUFFER (Johann Ernst Rudolph), Court chaplain in Dresden : N. T.
Graece . . . edidit et . . . brevibus notis instruxit J. E. R.
Kauffer. Fasc. I. Evangelium Matthaei. 12, Lips. 1827.
KEUCHEN (Peter), f 1689, Pastor at Arnheim: Adnotata in quatuor
Evangelistas et Acta apostolorum. 4, Amstel. 1689, al.
Annotata in omnes N. T. libros. 4, Amstel. 1709.
KISTEMAKER (Johann Hyazinth), f 1834, R. C. Prof. Theol. at
Minister : Die Evangelien uebersetzt und erklart. 4 Bande.
8, Minister, 1818-20.
IVNAPP (Georg Christian), f 1825, Prof. Theol. at Halle- N. T.
Graece Recognovit atque insignioris lectionum varietatis et
argumentorum notationes subjunxit G. Ch. Knapp.
4, Hal. 1797, al.
Scripta varii argument! maximam partem exegetica atque
historica. 8, Hal. 1805, al.
KNATCHBULL (Sir Norton), Bart., f 1684: Animadversiones in libros
N. T. 8, Lond. 1659, al
KOCHER (Johann Christoph), f 1772, Prof. Theol. at Jena: Analecta
philologica et exegetica in quatuor S. S. Evangelia, quibus J.
C. Wolfii Curae philol. et crit. supplentur atque augentur.
4, Altenb. 1766.
KOSTLIN (Karl Reinhold), Prof. Theol. at Tubingen : Der Ursprung
und die Komposition der synoptischen Evangelien.
8, Stuttg. 1853.
KRAFFT (Johann Christian Gottlob Ludwig), f 1845, Prof. Theol. at
Erlangen : Chronologic und Harmonic der vier Evangelien.
Herausgegeben von Dr. Burger. 8, Erlang. 1848.
KREBS (Johann Tobias), | 1782, Rector at Grimma: Observationes in
N. T. e Flavio Josepho. 8, Lips. 1755.
KUINOEL [KUHNOL] (Christian Gottlieb), f 1841, Prof. Theol. at
Giessen : Commentarius in libros N. T. historicos. 4 voll.
8, Lips. 1807-18, al
Observationes ad N. T. ex libris Apocryphis V. T.
8, Lips. 1794.
XXxiv EXEGETICAL LITERATUBE.
KUTTNER (Christian Gottfried), f 1789: Hypomnemata in N. T.,
quibus Graecitas ejus explicatur et scholiis . . . illustratur.
8, Lips. 1780.
KYPKE (Georg David), f 1779, Prof. Or. Lang, at Kbnigsberg-, Ob-
servationes sacrae in N. F, libros ex auctoribus potissimum
Graecis et antiquitatibus. 2 partes. 8, Vratislav. 1755.
LACHMANN (Karl), f 1851, Prof. Philos. at Berlin : Novum Testa-
mentum Graece et Latine, Carolus Lachmannus recensuit,
Philippus Buttmannus lectionis auctoritates apposuit. 2 voll.
8, Berol. 1842-50.
LAMY (Bernard), f 1715, R. C. Teacher of Theol. at Grenoble: Historia,
sive concordia quatuor Evangelistarum. 12, Paris. 1689.
Commentarius in Harmoniam. ... 2 voll. 4, Paris. 1699.
LANGE (Joachim), f 1744, Prof. Theol. at Halle : Evangelisches Licht
und Recht ; oder richtige und erbauliche Erklarung der
heiligen vier Evangelisten und der Apostelgeschichte.
2, Halae, 1735.
Apostolisches Licht und Recht. ... 2, Halae, 1729.
Apocalyptisches Licht und Recht. ... 2, Halae, 1730.
Biblia parenthetica . . . darinnen der biblische Text durch
gewisse mit anderu Littern darzwischen gesezte Worte nach
dem Grundtext erlautert wird. 2 Bande. 2, Leip. 1743.
LANGE (Johann Peter), Prof. Theol. at Bonn : Das Evangelium des
Matthaeus theologisch-horniletisch bearbeitet. [Theol. -horn.
Bibelwerk.] 8, Bielefeld, 1857, al.
[Translated from the 3d German ed., with additions ... by
Philip Schaff, D.D. New York and Edin. 1865, al.]
LAPIDE (Cornelius a) [VAN DEN STEEN], f 1637, S. J., Prof. Sac.
Scrip, at Louvain : Commentaria in V. ac N. Testamentum.
10 voll. 2, Antverp. 1664, al
LEIGH (Edward), M.P., f 1671 : Annotations upon the N. T.
2, Lond. 1650, al
Critica sacra. ... 4, Lond. 1 650, al.
LIGHTFOOT (John), D.D., f 1675, Master of Catherine Hall, Cam-
bridge : The harmony of the four Evangelists among them-
selves and with the O. T., with an explanation of the chief
difficulties 4, Lond. 1644-50, al
Horae Hebraicae et Talmudicae . . . issued separately first
in English and subsequently in Latin. 4, 1644-64, al
Edited by H. Gandell. 4 vols. 8, Oxf. 1859. [On the
four Gospels, Acts, part of Romans, and 1 Corinthians.]
LIVERMORE (Abiel Abbot), Minister at Cincinnati : The four Gospels,
with a commentary. 12, Boston, U. S., 1850.
EXEGETICAL LITERATURE. XXXV
LOESNER (Christopli Friedrich), f 1803, Prof. Sac. Philol. at Leipzig:
Observationes ad N. T. e Philone Alexandrino.
8, Lips. 1777.
LUCAS (Francois), f 1619, R. C. Dean at St. Omer: Commentarius
in quatuor Evangelia. 2 voll. 2, Antv. 1606.
Supplementum commentarii in Lucam et in Joannem. 2 voll.
2, Antverp. 1612, al
LUTHER (Martin), f 1546, Reformer : Annotationes in aliquot capita
[1-18] Matthaei. . . . [Opera.]
LYRA (Nicolas de), f 1340, Franciscan monk : Postillae perpetuae ;
sive brevia commentaria in universa Biblia.
2, Romae, 1471, al
MACKNIGHT (James), D>D., f 1800, Minister at Edinburgh : A har-
mony of the Gospels, in which the natural order of each is
preserved. With a paraphrase and notes. 2 vols.
4, Lond. 1756, al.
MALDONATO (Juan), f 1583^ Jesuit: Commentarii in quatuor Evan-
gelistas. 2 voll. 2, Mussiponti, 1596, al.
MARIANA (Juan), f 1624, Jesuit: Scholia brevia in V. et N. Testa-
mentum. 2, Matriti, 1619, al.
MARLORAT (Augustin), f 1563, Pastor at Rouen : Novi Testament!
catholica expositio ecclesiastica . . . seu bibliotheca exposi-
tionum N. T. 2, Genev. 1561, al.
MATTHAEI (Christian Friedrich von), f 1811, Prof, of Class. Lit. at
Moscow : N. T. . . Graece et Latine. Varias lectiones . . .
ex centum codicibus Mss. vulgavit . . . scholia Graeca . . .
addidit animadversiones criticas adjecit et edidit C. F.
Matthaei. 12 voll. 8, Rigae, 1782-88.
MAYER (Ferdinand Georg), Prof, of Greek and Heb. at Vienna:
Beitrage zur Erklarung des Evang. Matthaei fur Sprachkun-
dige. " 8, Wien, 1818.
MELANCHTHON (Philipp), f 1560, Reformer: Breves commentarii in
Matthaeum. 8, Argentor. 1523, al.
MENOCHIO (Giovanni Stefano), f 1655, Jesuit at Rome: Brevis ex-
positio sensus litteralis totius Scripturae. ... 3 voll.
2, Colon. 1630, al.
MEUSCHEN (Johann Gerhard), J 1743, Prof. Theol. at Coburg:
Novum Testamentum ex Talmude et antiquitatibus Heb-
raeorum illustratum curis . . . B. Scheidii, J. H. Danzii et J.
Rhenferdi, editumque cum suis propriis dissertaticnibus a J
G. Meuschen. 4, Lips. 1736.
XXXVI EXEGETICAL LITERATURE.
MEYER (Johann Friedrich von), t 1849, Jurist in Frankfort: Die
heilige Schrift in berichtigter Uebersetzung Martin Luther's
mit knrzen Anmerkungen. 3 Theile. 8, Frankf. 1818, al.
MICHAELIS (Johann David), t 1791, Prof. Or. Lit. at Gb'ttingen :
Uebersetzung des N. T. 2 Bande. 4, Getting. 1790.
Anmerkungen fur Ungelehrte zu seiner Uebersetzung des
N. T. 4 Theile. 4, Getting. 1790-92.
MILL (John), D.D., t 1707, Principal of St. Edmund's Hall, Oxford :
Novum Testamentum Graecum cum lectionibus variantibus
. . . et in easdem notis. ... 2, Oxon. 1707.
[ . . . Collectionem Millianam recensuit . . . suisque acces-
sionibus locupletavitLudolphusKusterus. 2, Amstel. 1710.]
MOLDENHAUER (Johann Heinrich Daniel), t 1790, Pastor at Hamburg :
Das N. T. ubersetzt und so erklart dass ein jeder Unge-
lehrter es verstehen kann. 2 Bande. 8, Quedlinb. 1787-88.
HOLLER (Sebastian Heinrich), t 1827, Pastor at Gierstadt in Gotha :
Neue Ansichten schwieriger Stellen aus den vier Evang.
8, Gotha, 1819.
MORISON (James), D.D., Prof. Theol. to the Evangelical Union, Glas-
gow : Commentary on the Gospel according to Matthew.
8, Lond. 1870.
MONSTER (Sebastian), t 1552, Prof. Heb. at Heidelberg: Evangelium
secundum Matthaeum in lingua Hebraica, cum versione
Latina atque succinctis annotationibus. 2, Basil. 1537.
MUNTHE (Kaspar Fredrik), t 1763, Prof, of Greek at Copenhagen :
Observationes philologicae in sacros N. T. iibros, ex Diodoro
Siculo collectae. 8, Hafn. 1755.
MUSCULUS [MEUSSLIN] (Wolfgang), t 1 573, Prof. Theol. at Berne :
Commentarius in Matthaeum. 2, Basil. 1548, al.
NEWCOME (William), D.D., t 1800, Archbishop of Armagh : An
harmony of the Gospels. . . . Observations subjoined.
2, Lond. 1778, al.
NICETAS Serrariensis. See CORDERIUS.
NORTON (Andrews), t 1853, formerly Prof. Sac. Lit. at Harvard : A
translation of the Gospels, with notes. 2 vols.
8, Boston, U. S., 1855.
NOVARINO (Luigi), t 1658, Theatine monk: Matthaeus expensus, sive
notae in Evangelium Matthaei. ... 2, Venet. 1629.
Marcus expensus. ... 2, Lugd. 1642.
Lucas expensus. ... 2, Lugd. 1643.
OECOLAMPADIUS (Johann) [HAUSSCHEIN], t 1531, Pastor at Basel :
Enarrationes in Evangelium Matthaei. 8, Basil. 1536.
EXEGETICAL LITERATURE. XXXvii
OLEARIUS (Gottfried), t 1715, Prof. Theol. at Leipzig: Observationes
sacrae ad Evangeliurn Matthaei. 4, Lips. 1713, al.
OLSHAUSEN (Hermann), t 1839, Prof. Theol. at Erlangen: Biblischer
Commentar iiber sammtliche Schriften des N. T. Fortgesetzt
von J. H. A. Ebrard and A. Wiesinger. 7 Bande.
8, Konigsb. 1830-62.
[Translated in " Foreign Theological Library." 9 vols.
8, Edin. 1847-63.]
OEIGENES, + 254, Catechist at Alexandria : Commentaria in Matthaei
Evangelmm; Series veteris interpretationis commentariorum
Origenis in Matthaeum ; Homiliae in Lucam ; Commentarii
in Evangeliurn Joannis ; Commentaria in Epist. ad Romanes ;
Fragmenta in Lucam, Acta Apostolorum, Epistolas Pauli.
[Opera. Ed. Bened. III., IV.] Philocalia, de obscuris S. S.
locis ... ex variis Origenis commentariis excerpta. . . .
4, Paris. 1609, al.
OSIANDER (Andreas), t 1552, Prof. Theol. at Kbnigsberg : Harmoniae
evangelicae libri quatuor, Graece et Latine . . Item elenchus
Harmoniae : adnotationum liber unus. 2, Basil. 1537, al.
PALAIRET (Elias), t 1765, French pastor at London : Observationes
philologico-criticae in sacros N. F. libros, quorum plurima
loca ex auctoribus potissimum Graecis exponuntur. . . .
8, Lugd. Bat. 1752.
Specimen exercitationum philol.-crit. in sacros N. F. libros.
8, Lond. 1755.
PAREUS (David) [WAENGLER], t 1622, Prof. Theol. at Heidelberg:
Commentarius in Matthaeum. 4, Oxon. 1631.
PAULUS (Heinrich Eberhard Gottlob), t 1851, Prof. Eccl. Hist, at
Heidelberg . Philologisch-kritischer und historischer Com-
mentar iiber das N. T. 4 Theile. 8, Leip. 1800-04.
Exegetisches Handbuch liber die drei ersten Evangelien. 3
Theile in 6 Halften. 8, Heidelb. 1830-33.
PEARCE (Zachary), D.D., t 1774, Bishop of Rochester : A commen-
tary, with notes, on the four Evangelists and Acts of the
Apostles. ... 2 vols. 4, Lond. 1777.
PELLICAN (Konrad), f 1556, Prof. Heb. at Zurich : Commentarii in
libros V. ac N. Testamenti. 7 voll. 2, Tiguri, 1532-37.
PISCATOR [FISCHER] (Johann), t 1626, Conrector at Herborn : Com-
mentarii in omnes libros V. et N. Testamenti. 4 voll.
2, Herbornae, 1643-45.
[In omnes libros N. T. 2 voll. 4, Herbornae, 1613.]
XXXviii EXEGETICAL LITERATURE.
PLANCK (Heinrich), t 1831, Prof. Theol. at Gottingen : Entwurf
einen neuen synoptischen Zusammenstellung der drey ersten
Evangelien. ... 8. Gbtting. 1809.
POOLE [POLUS] (Matthew), t 1679, Nonconformist: Synopsis criti-
corum aliorumque S. S: interpretum et commentatorura. 5
voll. 2, Lond. 1669-74, al.
POSSINUS (Peter), tc. 1650, Jesuit at Rome : Spicilegium, seu commen-
taria in loca selecta quatuor Evangeliorum. 2, Romae, 1673.
Catena Patrum Graecorum unius et viginti in Matthaeum.
2, Tolosae, 1646.
PRICAEUS [PRICE] (John), t 1676, Prof, of Greek at Pisa : Commen-
tarii in varies N. T. libros. ... 2, Lond. 1660.
PRIESTLEY (Joseph), t 1804, formerly Unitarian minister : Harmony
of the Evangelists in Greek, to which are prefixed critical dis-
sertations in English. 4, Lond. 1777 [and in English, 1780].
RABANUS MAURUS, t 856, Archbishop of Mentz : Commentarii in
Evangelium Matthaei. [Opera.]
RADBERTUS (Paschasius), t 865, Abbot at Corbie : Expositionis in
Evangelium Matthaei libri duodecim. [Opera, ed. Sirmond,!.]
RINCK (Wilhelm Friedrich), Pastor at Grenzach in Baden : Lucub-
ratio critica in Act. App. Epistolas catholicas et Paulinas in
qua . . . observationes ad plurima loca cum Apostoli turn
Evangeliorum dijudicanda et emendanda proponuntur.
8, Basil. 1830.
REICHEL (Vincent), Prof. N. T. Exeg. at Prague: Quatuor sacra
Evangelia in pericopas harmon. chronologice ordinatas dis-
pertita. ... 2 partes. 8, Prag. 1840.
REUSS (Edouard), Prof. Theol. at Strassburg: La Bible. Traduc-
tion nouvelle avec introductions et commentaires. N. T.
l e partie, Histoire evangelique (Synopse des trois premiers
Evangiles) ; 2 e partie, Histoire apostolique (Actes des Ap&tres).
8, Paris, 1874-76.
ROBINSON (Edward), D.D., t 1864, Prof. Bib. Lit. at New York: A
harmony of the four Gospels in Greek.
8, Boston, U. S., 1845, al
A Greek and English lexicon of the N. T. 8, Boston,
1836, al. [Edited by A. Negris and J. Duncan, Edin.
1844, al.; and by S. T. Bloomfield, Lond. 1837, al.]
ROEDIGER (Moritz), t 1837, Pastor at Halle : Synopsis Evangeliorum
. . . Textum ... ex ordine Griesbachiano dispertitum cum
varia scriptura selecta edidit M. Roediger. 8, Hal. 1829.
ROSENMULLER (Johann Georg), f 1815, Prof. Theol. at Leipzig :
Scholia in N. T. 5 voll. 8, Nuremb. 1777, al.
EXEGETICAL LITERATURE. XXXIX
Rus (Johann Reinhard), t 1738, Prof. Theol. at Jena; Harmonia
Evangelistarum. ... 3 partes in 4 voll. 8, Jenae, 1727-30.
SA (Manoel), f 1596, Portuguese Jesuit : Notationes in totam sacram
Scriptaram. ... 4, Antverp. 1598, al.
Scholia in quatuor Evangelia. . . . 4, Antverp. 1596, al.
SALMERON (Alphonso), t 1585, Spanish Jesuit: Commentarii in Evan-
gelicam Historiam et in Acta Apostolorum [in omnes Epistolas
et Apocalypsin]. 16 voll. 2, Matriti, 1597-1602, al.
SAND [SANDIUS] (Christoph), f 1680, Socinian, residing at Amster-
dam : Interpretationes paradoxae quatuor Evangeliorum. . . .
8, Cosmopoli [Amstel.], 1669, al.
SCALIGER (Joseph Justus), t 1609, Hon. Prof, at Ley den: Notae in
N. T.
[In N. T. Graec. 8, Eond. 1622, al, and in the Critici sacri.]
SCHEGG (Peter), R. C. Prof, of N. T. Exegesis at Munich: Evangelium
nach Matthaus iibersetzt und erklart. 3 Bande.
8, Munch. 1856-58.
SCHIRLITZ (Samuel Christian), Prof, at Erfurt : Grundziige des neutes-
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xl EXEGETICAL LITERATURE.
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EXEGETICAL LITEKATURE. xli
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EXEGETICAL LITERATURE. xliii
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GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
INTRODUCTION.
SEC. I. BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICE OF MATTHEW.
EGABDING the life and ministry of the Apostle
Matthew, exceedingly little is known to us that is
historically certain. In Mark ii. 14, his father is
named AlpTiaeus. According to Euthymius Ziga-
benus, Grotius on Matt. ix. 9, Paulus, Bretschneider, Credner,
Ewald, and others, this individual is said to have been identical
with the father of James the Less. But this assumption is
rendered extremely improbable by the circumstance, that in
the lists of the apostles (Matt. x. 3 ; Mark iii. 1 8 ; Luke
vi. 15 ; Acts i. 13) Matthew is not grouped along with that
James, and that the name "sbr\ was of very frequent occurrence,
and it would only be admissible if in Mark ii. 1 4 the name Levi
designated a different person from the Apostle Matthew, in
which case Levi would not have been an apostle.
It was Matthew who, before he passed over to the service
of Jesus, was called Levi, and was a collector of taxes by the
lake of Tiberias, where he was called away by Jesus from the
receipt of custom. From Matt. ix. 9, compared with Mark
ii. 14 and Luke v. 27, it is sufficiently evident that the two
names Matthew and Levi denote the same individual ; for the
agreement between these passages in language and contents is
so obvious, that Levi, who is manifestly called to be an apostle,
and whose name is yet wantiny in all the lists of the apostles,
MATT. A
2 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
must be found again in that Matthew who is named in all
these lists ; so that we must assume that, in conformity with
the custom of the Jews to adopt on the occasion of decisive
changes in their life a name indicative of the change, he called
himself, after his entrance on the apostolate, no longer ^, but
KFID, i.e. rnrjo (Theodore = Gift of God). This name, as in
the cases of Peter and Paul, so completely displaced the old
one, that even in the history of his call, given in our Gospel
of Matthew, he is, at the expense of accuracy, called, in
virtue of a historical varepov irporepov, by the new name
(ix. 9) ; while Mark, on the other hand, and after him Luke,
observing here greater exactness, designate the tax-gatherer,
in their narrative of his call, by his Jewish name, in doing
which they might assume that his identity with the Apostle
Matthew was universally known ; while in their lists of the
apostles (Mark iii. 18 ; Luke vi. 15 ; Acts i. 13), where the
apostolic names must stand, they rightly place the name
Matthew.
In this way we dispose of the view, opposed to the pre-
vailing tradition, that Matthew and Levi were two different
individuals (Heracleon in Clement of Alexandria, Strom, iv. 9,
p. 505, ed. Potter ; and Origen, c. Celsum, i. 13), and yet two
tax-gatherers (Grotius, Michaelis, and Sieffert, Ursprung d. erst,
kanon. Evang. p. 59, Neander, Bleek doubtfully), where
Sieffert supposes that in the Gospel of Matthew the similar
history of the call of Levi was referred through mistake by
the Greek editor to Matthew, because the latter also was a
tax-gatherer. So also, substantially, Ewald, Keim, Grimm in
the Stud. u. Kritik. 1870, p. 723 ff. From Clement of Alex-
andria, Paedag. ii. 1, p. 174, ed. Potter, we learn that the
Apostle Matthew was an adherent of that stricter Jewish-
Christian asceticism which refrained from eating animal food
(comp. on Eom. xiv. 1 ff.); and we have no reason to doubt
that statement. Eegarding his labours beyond the limits of
Palestine (e'<' erepovs, Euseb. H. E. iii. 24) nothing certain is
known, and it is only more recent writers who are able to
mention particular countries as the field of his labour, espe-
cially Ethiopia (Kufiuus, H. E. x. 9 ; Socrates, H. E. i. 19 ;
INTRODUCTION. 3
Nicepliorus, ii. 41), but also Macedonia and several Asiatic
countries. See, generally, Cave, Antiquitt. Ap. p. 5 5 3 ff. ;
Florini, Exercitatt. hist, philol. p. 2 3 ff. ; Credner, Einleituny,
I. p. 59. His death, which according to Socrates took place
in Ethiopia, according to Isidore of Seville, in Macedonia,
is already stated by Heracleon (in Clement of Alexandria,
Strom, iv. 9, p. 595, ed. Potter) to have been the result of
natural causes; which is also confirmed by Clement, Origen, and
Tertullian, in so far as they mention only Peter, Paul, and
James the Elder as martyrs among the apostles. As to his
alleged death by martyrdom (Nicephorus, ii. 41), see the Eoman
martyrology on the 21st Sept. (the Greek Church observe
the 18th Nov.), Acta et Martyr. Matth. iu Tischendorfs Ada
Apost. Apocr. p. 167 ff.
SEC. II. APOSTOLIC ORIGIN AND ORIGINAL LANGUAGE OF THE
GOSPEL.
(1.) In the form in which the Gospel now exists, it cannot
have originally proceeded from the hands of the Apostle Matthew.
The evidence in favour of this view consists not merely of the
many indefinite statements of time, place, and other things
which are irreconcilable with the living recollection of an
apostolic eye-witness and a participator in the events, even
upon the assumption of a plan of arrangement carried out
mainly in accordance with the subject-matter ; not merely in
the partial want of clearness and directness, which is a pro-
minent feature in many of the historical portions (even
ix. 9 ff. included), and not seldom makes itself felt to such a
degree that we must in this respect allow the preference to
the accounts of Mark and Luke ; not merely in the want of
historical connection in the citation and introduction of a sub-
stantial portion of the didactic discourses of Jesus, by which
the fact is disclosed that they were not originally interwoven
in a living connection with the history; but also and these
elements are, in connection with the above, decisive the re-
ception of narratives, the unhistorical character of which must
certainly have been known to an apostle (such as, even in the
4 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
history of the Passion, that of the watchers by the grave, and
of the resurrection of many dead bodies) ; the reception of the
preliminary history with its legendary enlargements, which far
oversteps the original beginning of the gospel announcement
(Mark i. 1, comp. John i. -19) and its original contents (Acts
x. 37ff.; Papias in Eusebius, H. E. iii. 39: ra VTTO rov
Xpia-Tov TI X?x#ei/T TJ Trpa^Oevra), and which already pre-
sents a later historical formation, added to the original gospel
history ; the reception of the enlarged narrative of the Tempta-
tion, the non-developed form of which in Mark is certainly
older ; but most strikingly of all, the many, and in part very
essential, corrections which our Matthew must receive from
the fourth Gospel, and several of which (especially those relat-
ing to the last Supper and the day of Jesus' death, as well as
to the appearances of the risen Saviour) are of such a kind
that the variations in question certainly exclude apostolic
testimony on one side, and this, considering the genuineness of
John which we must decidedly assume, can only affect the
credibility of Matthew. To this, moreover, is to be added the
relation of dependence (see Section iv.) which we must assume
of our Matthew upon Mark., which is incompatible with the
composition of the former by an apostle.
(2.) Nevertheless, it must be regarded as a fact, placed beyond
all doubt by the tradition of the church, that our Matthew is
the Greek translation of an original Hebrew (Aramaic) writing,
clothed with the apostolic autlwrity of Matthew as the author.
So ancient and unanimous is this tradition. For (a) Papias,
a pupil, not indeed (not even according to Irenaeus, v. 33. 4)
of the Apostle John, but certainly of the Presbyter, says, 1
according to the statement of Eusebius (iii. 39), in the frag-
1 Eusebius introduces the above-quoted statement regarding Matthew with
these words : *-tf/ Si rev tietrtaito TttvTa, tlftirai. There can be no doubt that
these are the words of Eusebius, and that their meaning is, " regarding Maitheic,
however, it is thus stated (in Papias)," since there immediately precede the
Words ruvra. ftlr tin ivrofiirati TV Utt-ria vrtpi rov Mtipxou. It may be doubted,
however, whether Eusebius, as he has just quoted with regard to Mark what
Papias relates concerning him from a communication received from the Pres-
byter, meant to quote the statement of Papias which follows respecting Matthew
as derived from the same source or not. As Eusebius, however, in what
INTRODUCTION.
ment there preserved of his work \oytcov Kvpia/cwv efrf
MaT#aio< p,ev ovv 'E(3pat'8i StaXe/cra) TO, \6yia
(al. (Tvve^pd^aro), ^p/jujvevcre 8' aura w? r\v BvvaTos e/cacrro?.
An attempt has indeed been made to weaken this very ancient
testimony, reaching back to the very apostolic age, that
Matthew wrote in Hebrew, by means of the well-known
<r(j)68pa jap cr/jLi/cpb^ rjv rbv vovvf which Eusebius states
regarding Papias ; but Eusebius by that expression refers to
what he had stated immediately before regarding the mille-
narianism of the man. A simple historical remark, which
stood in no connection either with millenarianism or with
accounts of fabulous miracles (to which Papias, according to
Eusebius, was inclined), cannot, owing to that depreciatory
judgment, be & priori regarded as suspicious, especially if, as
in the present case, there is added the confirmation of the
whole subsequent tradition of the church. The supposition,
however, that Papias is indebted for his statement to the
Nazarenes and Ebionites (Wetstein, Hug), is pure imagination ;
since one narrative, which he had in common with the Gospel
precedes, refers to the Presbyter only the statement of Papias regarding Mark,
and that purposely at the very beginning (*vayx/a/j vvv -rp/>{ 'jo-opm . . . intpa^/><ri,
$v rtpi Ma.px.av IxrihiTai Si rouruv' xai raura o irptirfivnpos it-iyi' Jildpxo;,
x. r. x.) ; as he, on the other hand, introduces the statement regarding Matthew
with the quite simple expression tripi SE rau Mar0. TKUTK tlptirat, without again
making any mention of the Presbyter, we can thus discover no sufficient
reason for taking this statement also to be derived from a communication of the
Presbyter. It contains, rather, only the simple quotation of what Papias says
regarding Matthew. This in answer to Sieffert, Ebrard, Thiersch, Delitzsch,
and others.
1 See on Papias and his fragment, Holtzmann, Synopt. Evang. p. 248 ff. ;
Weizsacker, Untersuch. iib. d. evang. Geschichte, p. 27 ff. ; Ewald, Jahrb. VI.
p. 55 ff. ; Steitz in Herzog's Encykl. XI. p. 79 f. ; Zyro, neue Beleucht. d.
Papiasstelle, 1869 ; Zahn in the Stud. u. Kritih. 1866, p. 649 ff. ; Riggenbach
in the Jahrb. f. D. Theologie, 1868, p. 319 ff. In answer to the two last (who
regard Papias as a pupil of the Apostle John), see Steitz in the Stud. u. Kritik.
1868, p. 63 ff., and in the Jahrb. f. D. Theologie, 1869, p. 138ff. ; comp. also
Overbeck in Hilgenfeld's Zeitschrift, 1867, p. 35 ff., and Hilgenfeld, ibidem,
p. 179 ff. [also, D. Papias-Fragment, von Wilh. "Weiffenbach, Giessen 1874;
and D. Papias- Fragment, von Carl L. Leimbach, Gotha 1875. ED.].
2 The counterbalance of praise, that Papias was <n ftx^ia-ra ^yiurnns **)
TJjf ypa<ftis ttivput (Eusebius, iii. 36), falls to the ground, as these words are
spurious.
6 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
according to the Hebrews (Eusebius, iii. 39 : Kre0eirai Be KO\
ivropiav rrep\ >yvvaiKO<> 7rl TroXXat? duapriais 8ia/3\r)-
eTrl rov xvpiov, fjv TO /ea#' 'Efipatovs evayye\tov
ire pi %!,, where these last words belong to Eusebius, and do
not contain a remark of Papias), stands altogether without
any reference to the above statement concerning Matthew.
(6) Irenaeus, Haer. iii. 1. 1, relates: o fiev Brj MarOatos ev
TO?? 'Eftpatots rfi ISla StaXe/crw avrwv Kal <ypa<prjv e^
evayyeXiov, rov Ilerpov K. rov IlavXov ev 'P(i)fj,rj
fjt,eva)v K. 6fj,e\iovvTcov rrjv KK\Tj<riav. Against this it has
been objected, that Irenaeus borrowed his judgment from
Papias, whom he esteemed very highly as the friend of
Poly carp (Haer. v. 33). But, irrespective of this, that if this
objection is to deprive the testimony of weight, the authority
of Papias must first fall to the ground, it is extremely
arbitrary, seeing we have now no longer any other authorities
contemporary with Papias, to regard him, and no one else, as
the author of the tradition in question, which, yet, is uncon-
tradicted throughout the whole of ecclesiastical antiquity.
And Irenaeus was not the man to repeat at random. See
Tertullian, de test. anim. i. ; Hieronymus, ep. ad Magn. 85.
(c) Of Pantaenus, Eusebius (v. 1 0) says : o Hdvraivos Kal et?
'I^Soi9 (probably the inhabitants of Southern Arabia) ekddv
\<yerai' evOa ^0705 evpeiv avrbv 7rpo<f>dd<rav rrjv avrov Trapov-
criav TO Kara MarOalov evayye\iov irapd ricriv avroOt, rov
Xpicrrov eTreyvwKocnv, ot? Bap6o\o/jiaiov r&v aTrocrToXeoy eva
auTOi? re 'E/3paifov ^/pd^acn rqv rov Mardaiov
<ypa^>r)V rjv Kal (Ta>ea-6ai ei? rov Sr)\ov/j,evov
This testimony, which is certainly independent of
the authority of Papias, records, indeed, a legend; but this
description refers not to the Hebrew Matthew of itself, but to
the statement that Pantaenus found it among the Indians,
and that Bartholomew had brought it thither (Thilo, Ada
Thomae, p. 108 ). Irrespective of this, Pantaenus, in keep-
ing with his whole position in life, certainly knew so much
Hebrew that he could recognise a Hebrew Matthew as such.
If, however, the objection has often been raised, that it is not
clear from the words whether an original Hebrew writing or
INTRODUCTION. 7
a translation into Hebrew is meant (see also Harless, Luculr.
evangelia canon, spectant. Erlangen 1841, I. p. 12), there
speaks in favour of the former view the tradition of the
entire ancient church concerning the original Hebrew writing
of Matthew, a tradition which is followed by Eusebius (see
afterwards, under e) ; he must therefore have actually desig-
nated it as a translation, if he did not wish to recall the fact
which was universally known, that the Gospel was composed
in Hebrew. The same holds true of the account by Jerome,
de vir. ilhtst. 36:" Reperit [Pantaenus in India], Bartholo-
maeum de duodecim apostolis adventum Domini nostri Jesu
Christi juxta Matthaei evangeliurn praedicasse, quod Hebraicis
literis scriptum revertens Alexandrian! secum detulit." (d)
Origen in Eusebius, vi. 25 : on Trp&Tov fj,ev ryeypcnrrai TO
Kara TOV TTOTG. T\o)i>r)v, varepov Se a7r6crTo\ov 'Irjaov Xpiarov
Mardalov, eVSeSoj/cora avro TOIS drro 'JovSai'oyiou Tncnevaaat,
rypdfjLuacrtv 'Efipa'iKois avvTeray/jievov. He indicates tradition,
indeed, as the source of his narrative (o>9 ev irapaoocrei
fjiadwv) ; but the witness of tradition on so thoroughly un-
dogmatic a point from the mouth of the critical and learned
investigator, who, in so doing, expresses neither doubt nor
disagreement, contains especial weight ; while to make Origen
derive this tradition from Papias and Irenaeus (Harless, I.e.
p. 11), is just as arbitrary as to derive it merely from the
Jewish Christians, and, on that account, to relegate it to the
sphere of error, (e) Eusebius, iii. 24 : MajOaios pev ^ap
TrpoTepov 'Efipalois tcripvj;a<>, &>? e'yu-eXXe /cat e<' erepovs levai,
Trarpiq* <y\u)TTr) rypa<j>f) vrapaSovs TO /car' avTOV evayyeXiov, TO
\elrrov Trj auTOV Trapovaia rovrot? d<f> wv etTTeXXero, Sia TTJS
7/3a<^)?7? aTreTr\ripov. Comp. ad Marin. Quaest. ii. in Mai,
Script vet. nov. collectio, I. p. 64 f. : Xe'Xe/mu 8e oi/re TOV
irapa TOV ep/J,'rjveva'avTO<; Trjv <ypa(f>ijv' o fj,ev <yap
Mar^aio? 'EftatSt yXcoTTij irapecwice TO evayye-
\LOV, K.T.\. It is already evident from the latter passage that
Eusebius relates that the Gospel was composed in Hebrew,
not merely as a matter of history, but that he himself also
adopted that view, against which his own remark on Ps.
Ixxviii. 2 has been erroneously appealed to (in Montfaucon,
f
8 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Collect. Pair. Gfrec. I. p. 466): avrl rov (fr
fnara air up^fjf 'Efipaios wv o Mardaios ol/cela
Keyprjrai citron/' epevgojicu KKpvfA/j,eva CLTTO KaTa/3o\r)<t. For
otKeia eicBocret, cannot here be his own (Greek) translation of
the passage of the Hebrew psalm (Marsh, Hug, and several
others), but only as the reference to Efipaios wv, and the
antithesis to Aquila which there follows, clearly show a
vernacular, i.e. Hebrew edition of the original text, so that the
meaning is : Matthew transcribed the words of the psalm
from a Hebrew edition into his (Hebrew) Gospel ; the result of
which was, that in the Greek they now agree neither with the
LXX. ((/j^eyfo^flM trpofiXtfuaTa air apxns) nor with Aquila,
the Greek editions of which (av& ov 6 /j,ev 'A/cv\a<;' onftprjcrco
aivl<y/jbara e apyjjdev, e'/cSeSawcey, Eusebius continues) had no
influence on Matthew, who wrote in Hebrew. (/) Cyril of
Jerusalem, Catecliet. 1 4 : Mardalos o ypd-^ras TO cvayyeXiov
'EftpalSt, ryXdxra-r) rovro ejpa-^rev. (g] Epiphanius, Haer.
XXX. 3 : MarOalos yw/ovof 'E^palarl /cal 'EfBpaiKols <ypd/jL/jLacriv
ev rfj Kaivrj Bt,a6^Krj eTrot^craTO rrjv TOV evayyektov eK^ecriv r
Kal Kripwyfta. Comp. li. 5,. also xxx. 6, where a converted
Jew testifies that he discovered the Hebrew Matthew in a
treasure-chamber, (hj Jerome, Praef. in Matt. : " Matthaeus
in Judaea evangelium Hebraeo sernaone edidit ob eorum vel
maxime causam, qui in Jesum crediderant ex Judaeis." Comp.
de mr. ill. 3, where he assures us- that he discovered the
original Hebrew text among the Nazarenes in Beroea in
Syria, and that he transcribed it. Comp. also Ep. ad Damas.
IV. p. 148, ed. Paris ; ad Hedib. IV. p. 173 ; in Jes. III. p. 64 ;
in Hos. III. p. 134. The testimonies of Gregory Nazianzen,
Chrysostom, Augustine, and of later Fathers, may, after those
already mentioned, be passed over, as well as that also of the
Syrian Church in Assemann's Bill. Orient. III. p. 8. The
weight of this unanimous and ancient tradition has secured
acceptance down to the most recent times, notwithstanding
the opposition of many critics, 1 for the hypothesis also that
Matthew wrote in Hebrew (Eichard Simon, Mill, Michaelis,
1 See the history of this controversy in Credner, Einleitung, I. p. 78 ff. ; Neu-
decker, p. 195 ff.
INTRODUCTION. 9
Marsh, Storr, Corrodi, J. E. Ch. Schmidt, Haenlein, Eichhorn,
Bertholdt, Ziegler, Kuinoel, Gratz, Guericke, Olshausen, Klener
(de authent. Ev. Matth., Gottingen 1861), Sieffert, Ebrard,
Baur, Weisse, Thiersch, Tholuck, Lange, Luthardt (de compos.
Ev. Matth., Leipsic 1871), Gilder (in Herzog's Encykl. IX.
p. 166), and others). The opposite view of a Greek original
of our Gospel, from which the polemic interest which operated
in the older Protestantism, in opposition to tradition and the
Vulgate, has long ago disappeared, is found in Erasmus,
Cajetan, Beza, Calvin, Flacius, Gerhard, Calov., Erasmus
Schmidt, Clericus, Lightfoot, Majus, Fabricius, Wetstein,
Masch (Grundspr. d. Ev. Matth., Halle 1755), Schubert (JDiss.,
Gottingen 1810), Hug, Paulus, Fritzsche, Theile (in Winer's
and Engelhardt's krit. Journal, II. p. 181 ff. 346 ff.), Buslav
(Diss., 1826), Schott, Credner, Volkmar, Neudecker, Kuhn, B.
Crusius, Harless, Thiersch (with reference to the canonical
Matthew, which, according to him, is a second edition of the
apostle's original work in Hebrew), de Wette, Bleek, Ewald,
Eitschl (in the theolog: Jahrb. 1851, p. 536 ff.), Kostlin
(Ursprung u. Kompos. der synopt. Ev., Stuttgart 1853), Hilgen-
feld, Anger (Ratio, qud loci V. T. in Ev. Matth. laudantur,
3 Programme, Leipsic 1861 f.), Holtzmann (synopt. Ev.
1863), Tischendorf, Keim, and others, predominantly also by
Delitzsch, but is entirely destitute of any external foundation, as
the unanimous tradition of the church is rather insuperably
opposed to it; while to deduce the latter from an error
occasioned by the Gospel according to the Hebrews (Bleek,
Tischendorf, Keim, and others), is a decision of critical
peremptoriness which must give way especially before the
testimony of Jerome, who was minutely acquainted with the
Gospel according to the Hebrews, as well as with the Hebrew
Matthew. The loss- of the Hebrew original is all the more
explicable the more early and widely the Greek Matthew
was circulated ; while the heretics obtained possession of the
Hebrew work, and caused it to lose canonical authority. The
internal grounds, moreover, on which stress has been laid,
are sufficient only to show that our Matthew might be an
original composition in Greek, but not that it is (actually)
10 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
such. For the dissemination of the Greek language in
Palestine at that time (Hug) so little excludes, especially
considering the predilection of the people for their own
language (Acts xxi. 40, xxii. 2), the composition of a Hebrew
Gospel, that it only makes the early translation of such a
work into Greek more conceivable. If, further, it has been
observed (Credner, sec. 46) that to the Hebrew feminine nv 1
no male function (i. 18) can be ascribed without the ante-
cedent medium of the Greek tongue, as indeed in the Gospel
according to the Hebrews the maternal position towards
Christ is actually assigned to the Holy Spirit (Credner, Beit-
rage, I. p. 402 f.) ; so, on the other hand, it holds good that
in i. 18 no male function of the Spirit is at all spoken of, but
a generation in which the specifically sexual meaning remains
out of consideration, as, moreover, the Greek Trvevfia is not
masculine. The unimportant play upon the word in vi. 16
might already have its impress in the original, but may
also, either from intention or accident, have originated with
the translator. With respect to xxvii. 46, see the remarks
in loc. The frequent identity of expression, moreover, in
Matthew with Mark and Luke, does not necessarily point to
an original composition of the former in Greek, but leaves
this question quite unaffected, as the translated Matthew might
either have been made use of by the later Synoptics, or
might even have originated also from the use of the latter,
or of common sources. The most plausible support for an
original composition in Greek is found in the circumstance
that a portion, although a small one, of the quotations from
the Old Testament, especially those which are cited as
Messianic predictions (comp. Jerome, de vir. HI. 3 ; and see,
especially, the copious dissertation by Credner, Beitrage, I.
p. 393 ff. ; Bleek, Beitr. p. 57 ff. ; Eitschl, in the theolog.
Jahrb. 1851, p. 520 ff. ; Kostlin, p. 36 ff. ; Anger, I.e. ; Holtz-
mann, p. 2 5 8 ff. ; Keim, Gesch. Jesu, I. p. 59 ff.), do not
follow the LXX., but deviate with more or less freedom from
it, although taking account also of the same, and follow the
original text as the case requires. This presents the appearance
of not being the work of a translator, who would have adhered
INTRODUCTION. 1 1
more mechanically to the LXX. But, irrespective of the fact
that this observation is by no means always beyond doubt
with regard to the individual passages to which it is applied
(Delitzsch in the Zeitschr. f. Luther. Theologie, 1850, p. 463 f.,
and Entsteh. u. Anl. d. kanon. Ev. I. p. 13 ff. ; Weiss in Stud,
u. Kritik. 1861, p. 91 f.), we are not at liberty to prescribe
limits so narrow either to the freedom and peculiarity of the
manner of citation which was followed in the Hebrew work,
or to that of the translator, who, as generally throughout
his work, so also in the rendering of the quotations, might go
to work with pragmatic independence, that the tradition of
a Hebrew original of the Gospel would be excluded as in-
correct. This conclusion no more follows, than it would be at
all necessary to suppose that the translator must have had as
the basis of his text that of a different writer, more familiar
with the Old Testament (Baur) ; or that this variation betrays
evidence of the hand of a second redactor (Hilgenfeld,
.Keim).
(3.) The original Hebrew writing, however, from which our
present Matthew proceeded through l)eing translated into Greek,
must, apart from the language, have been in contents and Jorm,
in whole and in part, substantially the same as our Greek
Matthew. The general evidence in favour of this view is,
that throughout the ancient church our Greek Matthew was
already used as if it had been the authentic text itself.
Accordingly, although the church knew that it was a text
which had arisen only through a translation, it cannot have
been aware of any essential deviation from the original.
Jerome, however, in particular, de vir. ill. 3, who was minutely
acquainted with the Hebrew original, and made a transcript
of it, makes mention of it in such a way that the reader can
only presuppose its agreement with the translation, and makes
(on Matt. vi. 11, ad Hedib. IV. p. 173, on o-fye, xxviii. 1)
exegetical remarks, which rest upon the presupposition that it
is a literal translation. The same holds true in reference to
the passages of Eusebius quoted under 2 e. On the whole, no
trace is anywhere found that the Greek Gospel in its relation
to the original Hebrew work was regarded as anything else
12 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
than a translation in the proper sense ; and therefore the
opinion which has recently become current, that it is a free
redaction, extended by additions (Sieffert, Klener, Schott, uber
d. Authenticit. d. Ev. Matth., 1834, Delitzsch), is destitute of
all historical basis. If, however, our Greek Gospel of Matthew
is to be regarded as a simple translation, not as an altered
and extended revision ; if, moreover, the Hebrew work, which
was translated, consequently possessed, at the time when the
translation was made, the same substantial extent, contents, and
expression which are presented by our present Matthew, then
it follows, agreeably to what is observed under (1.), that the
Hebrew document cannot have been composed by the apostle in the
shape in which it was translated into Greek.
(4.) Notwithstanding, the Apostle Matthew must have had in
the Hebrew composition, of which our present Gospel is a trans-
lation, so substantial a part, that it could, on sufficient historical
grounds, vindicate its- claim to be regarded, in the ancient and
universal tradition of the church, as the Hebrew euayye\iov
Kara MarQalov. To ascertain what this part was, we must
go back to the oldest of the witnesses in question, which in
fact discloses the original relation of the apostle to the Gospel
which bears his name. The witness of Papias, namely, in
Eusebius, iii. 39 (above under 2 a), declares that Matthew,
and that in the Hebrew tongue, " TO. \6yia a-vveTa^aTo," where
the to us unknown context of the Fragment must have
shown the Xoyta to be those of the Lord. According to this
view, his own work, composed by himself, was a a-vvTagis
or (according to the reading Gweypd-fraro) a <rvyypa<pr) rwv
Xoyi'eoz/, consequently nothing else than a placing together, an
orderly arrangement (comp. on <7iWai9 with gen. in this
literary sense, Polybius, xxx. 4. 11, i. 4. ii. 8, iv. 5. 11 ;
Diodorus Sic. i. 3, xiv. 117), of the sayings of the Lord
(Acts vii. 38 ; Rom. iii. 2 ; Heb. v. 12 ; 1 Pet. iv. 11) ; as in
the Classics also \6<yia is always used of sentences, especially
divine, oracular sentences, and the like (Kriiger on Thucyd. ii.
8. 2). A similar undertaking was that of Papias himself, in
his work : Xo<y<W Kvpiaxcav % t ]'Yn<ri<s, which consisted of five
books (crirffpapfiara). He also gave the \6yta of Christ;
IXTUODUCTION. 13
but in such a way that he explained (l&yjcraTo, comp. on
John i. 1 8) their divine meaning historically (Eusebius himself
quotes such a history), and from other sources (thus, accord-
ing to Eusebius, he also made use of testimonies from some
New Testament Epistles) ; Matthew, on the other hand, had
given no e'f 77 7 ; 0-19, but only a (rvvraj-is of the Lord's sayings.
The work of Papias was an Interpretatio (Jerome : " expla-
natio"} ; that of Matthew was only an orderly Collectio of the
same. Schleiermacher in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1832, p. 735, has
the merit of having brought forward and made good 1 the pre-
cise and proper meaning of \6yia : he has been rightly followed
by Schneckenburger, Ursprung des ersten kanon. Evang. 1834,
by Lachmann in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1835, p. 577 ff., Credner,
Weisse, Wieseler, B. Crusius, Ewald, Kostlin, Reuss, Weiz-
sacker, and others; 2 also by Holtzmann, p. 251 ff. ; Steitz in
1 Although he did not correctly hit the meaning of the second part of the
testimony of Papias : Jipftwoiri 5' a'wra, us 5v 2t/a<; ixtttrres. He referred this
tippvfivfft to the explanation furnished by the addition of the relative histories.
But the bearing of fippivtutrt is to be sought simply in 'Efipat'Si S(aXi*T, so that
the meaning which Papias wishes to convey must be this : every one translated
(Xen. Anab. v. 4. 4 ; Esdras iv. 7 ; additions to Esther vii. fin.) the \oyia.
which were arranged together in Hebrew, according to his capacity, which
refers to that use which, whether ecclesiastically < privately, the Greek Chris-
tians made of Matthew's collection of Hebrew savings, in order to render them
intelligible, by such a process of translation, to those who needed a translation
in order to understand them. They were translated (orally and in writing) by
every one who undertook the work, as well as he was able to do it. When
Papias wrote this, such a self - translation, varying always according to the
capacity of each individual, was no longer requisite, as our Greek Matthew had
already attained ecclesiastical authority, and the Xoyj, originally written in
Hebrew, were contained in it. It is because he was aware of this that rif^r,viu<r*.
is employed, and this ought not to have been called in question (Bleek, Holtz-
mann, and others) ; but it does not follow that the whole of our Gospel of
Matthew (only composed in Hebrew) was the original work written by the
apostle himself.
* Comp. alsoReville, Etudes crlt. svr St. Matth. 1862, p. 1 ff., who has sought
to determine more exactly out of our Matthew the parts of the original Xo>-<.
Holtzmann's view is different : he seeks to reconstruct the collection of sayings
chiefly out of Luke. See his synopt. Evang. p. 140 ff. ; according to him, Luke
made more use of it than Matthew, the 5th and 23d chapters of the latter
being derived from special sources. Weizsacker, Weisse (protest. Kzeit. 1863,
No. 23), Grau, and others, rightly defend the view, that the collection of sayinga
is preponderantly contained in the first Gospel, whose name already rests upcn
this.
14 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the Stud. u. Kritik. 1868, p. 68 ; Grau, Entwickelungsgeschicht.
d. N. T.I. p. 173 f.; Scholten, d. dlteste Evang. ubcrs. v. Re-
depenning, 1869, p. 244 f. On the other hand, many others
have found in the \6yia even evangelic history, so that it
would be a designation a potiori for the entire contents of a
Gospel. So Lucke in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1833, p. 501 f.,
Kern, Hug, Frommann in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1840, p. 912 ff,
Harless, Ebrard, Baur, Delitzsch, Guericke, Bleek, Weiss
(partly), Hilgerrfeld, Thierseh, Glider, Luthardt, Kahnis, Anger,
Keim, Zahn. This is quite untenable, because Papias shortly
before designates the entire contents of a Gospel (that of Mark)
in quite a different way, viz. : ra VTTO rov Xpiarov rj \e%6evra
f) Trpa^evra (comp. Acts i. 1) ; and because, in the title of his
work : e^T^y^crt? rwv Xoytwv KvpiaK&v, he undoubtedly under-
stood the \6yia in the proper sense of the word. i.e. TO, Xe^-
devra, effata, so that the history which his book contained
belonged not to the \oyui, but to the ej-rffrjcrts which he gave
of the \6<yta. And with a comparative glance at this his
literary task, he says of Peter : ov% wa-irep avvra^iv rwv
KvpiaK&v Troiovpevos \6ya)v (var. Xo7oi>), words which are not
therefore to be used to prove the identity of meaning between
\6yia and \e^6ivra and irpa^devra (as is still done by Keim
and Zahn) ; comp. 4, Eem. 1. On the other hand, our
Matthew contains in its present shape so much proper history,
so much that is not given as a mere accompaniment of the
discourses, or as framework for their insertion, that the entire
contents cannot be designated by the one-sided ra \6jia,
especially if we look to the title of the work of Papias itself.
The later Patristic usage of ra \6jia, however (in answer to
Hug and Ebrard), does not apply here, inasmuch as the view,
according to which the contents of the N. T. in general, even
the historical parts, were regarded as inspired, and in so far as
\6yca rov 6eov, did not yet exist in the time of Papias nor in
his writings (Credner, Eeitr. I. p. 23 f. ; Kahnis, vom hetiig.
Geist. p. 210 ff.; Holtzmann, p. 251), against which view the
&><? yejpaTrrai in Barnabas 5 can prove nothing (comp. on
John, Introd. 2, 2). According, then, to this opinion, the
Apostle Matthew, agreeably to the testimony of Papias, has
INTRODUCTION. 1 5
composed a digest of the sayings of Christ? and that in the
Hebrew tongue, but not yet a proper gospel history, although,
perhaps, the \6yta might be briefly accompanied, now and
again, with special introductory remarks of a historical kind,
and a gospel history was thereby, in some measure, formed
beforehand. It is this collection of sayings now which
obtained and secured for the Gospel, which was afterwards
further elaborated out of it, the name of the apostle as author,
the name evayye\tov Kara Mardalov. The collection of
Hebrew sayings, namely, such as it proceeded from the apostle,
was, in the hands of the Hebrew Christians, for whom it was
intended, gradually expanded by the interweaving of the his-
tory into that gospel writing which, translated into Greek,
presents itself in the present Gospel ; and which, under the
name of the apostle, rightly obtained the recognition of the
church in so far that the avvrafys rwv \6yuav, which was
composed by Matthew himself, was substantially contained in
it, and was the kernel out of which the whole grew. This
apostolic kernel by itself perished ; but the name of the apostle,
which had passed over from it to the Hebrew Gospel work
which so originated, led to the latter being regarded as the
original composition of Matthew himself, a view which lies
at the foundation of the testimonies of Irenaeus, Origen,
Eusebius, Epiphanius, Jerome, and others. In any case, how-
ever, this Hebrew work, which gradually grew out 'of the
collection of sayings, must, before it was translated into Greek,
have undergone a systematic, final redaction, by means of
which it received the form which corresponds to our present
Greek Matthew, for the latter is always attested only as a
translation ; and it is precisely to this final redaction, before
the translation was made, that the recognition of the work
by the church as apostolic must have been appended and
1 It is arbitrary to think only of longer, actual discourses (Kostlin), and to
exclude shorter sayings, gnomes, and the like. Both are to be understood. So
also Photius, Cod. 228, p. 248, where TO. xufiaxa. ^'oyia. corresponds to the va
afoffr/>>.ixa Knfuyftatrtt which follow. Without any reason, Anger, III. p. 7,
employs the passage as a proof that xyj denotes the entire GospeL See, on
the other hand, also Weizsacker, p. 32.
16 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
confirmed, because in the rendering of the work into Greek,
the Hebrew was only translated, a view which underlies the
testimonies and quotations of the Fathers throughout. The
Hebrew original, which arose out of the apostle's collection of
sayings, and which corresponds to our present Matthew, fell,
after it was translated, into obscurity, and gradually became
lost, 1 although it must have been preserved for a long time as
an isolated work in Nazarene circles (besides and alongside of
the so-called Gospel according to the Hebrews), where it was
still found in Beroea by Jerome, who made a transcript of it,
and who also testifies that it existed down to his own day in
the library of Pamphilus at Caesarea (de vir. illust. 3). That
the translator was one individual, is attested by the fixed style
of expression which runs throughout the whole (Credner,
Einleit. 37; Holtzmann, p. 2 9 2 ff.) ; who he was, <cannot be
at all determined : " quod quis postea in Graeeum transtulerit,
non satis certum est," Jerome. The opinions, that the trans-
lation was executed by Matthew himself (Bengel, Guericke,
Schott, Olshausen, Thierseh), or at least with his co-operation
(Guericke), or ~by another apostle (Casaubon, Gerhard), perhaps
James the Lord's brother (Synopsis S. S. Pseudo-Athanasius),
or even by John (Theophylact, Scholia on Matthew, Subscrip-
tions in the MSS.), or was prepared under the eye and commis-
sion of the apostles (Ebrard), or tihat two of the disciples of
Matthew had written down, the one in Aramaic, the other in
Greek, the tradition preserved by the apostle (Orelli, Selecta
Pair. Eccles. Capita, 1821, p. 10), easily connect themselves
with dogmatic presuppositions, but are destitute of all his-
torical foundation, and must, in consequence of the testimony
which Papias bears as to what Matthew wrote, altogether fall
to the ground. If, as the result of all that precedes, the
share of the apostle in the work which bears his name must
be referred back to his Hebrew cr<tWaft9 rwv \oyitav, and in
so far the book as a whole cannot be called apostolic in the
narrower sense, but " already a secondary narrative " (Baur),
1 The Syriac Matthew, which Cureton has edited, and which he regards as a
translation of the original Hebrew writing (London 1858), has been derived from
the Greek text. See Ewald, Jahrb. IX. p. 77 ff.
INTRODUCTION. 1 7
the apostolic authenticity? which has been strictly defended
down to the most recent time, can remain only in a very
relative degree. If, however, the gospel history thereby loses
this direct guarantee, so far as in many single points it would
lack the weighty authority of the apostle and eye-witness as
a voucher, yet the gain is to be more highly estimated which
it derives from being completely emancipated from the con-
tradictory statements of two apostles on which apologetic
harmonists, since Augustine, Osiander, Chemnitz, Gerhard ;
Calovius, Bengel, Storr and others, 2 have exercised their
inventive ingenuity with the Sisyphus -labour of a one-sided
acuteness, and from seeing the decisive authority of John in
relation to the first Gospel altogether unshackled. To this
authority must also be subordinated the discourses of Jesus
in individual parts, which, considering the genetic development
under which our Matthew gradually grew up out of the col-
lection of sayings, cannot have remained unchanged (especially
those relating to the last things and to the last Supper). Yet
the greater portion of them, so far as they belong to the non-
Johannean stage of action, are independent of and unaffected
by the Johaniiean accounts of the discourses. If, namely, as
our Gospels furnish the actual proof of it, there was formed
earliest of all a Galilean cycle of gospel history which ex-
tended itself to Judea only at the last great termination of
1 See, especially, Theile in Winer's krit. Journ. II. p. 181 ff. 346 ff. ;
Heidenreich, das. III. p. 129 ff. 385 ff. ; Kuinoel, Fritzsche, Kern, Schott,
Guericke ; Olshausen, A2)ostolica Ev. Matth. or. def., Erlangen 1835-37 ; Kor-
dam, de fide patr. cedes, antiquiss. in iis, quae de orig. ew. can. maxime
Matth. tradider., Hafniae 1839 ; Harless, Ebrard, Thiersch, Delitzsch, Heng-
stenberg, and others.
* Even the most recent, which is set forth in the most consistent form with
the acuteness of comprehensive learning by Wieseler in his chronol. Synapse,
1843 (translated by Venables), and later, down to his Beitr. zur Wiirdlg. d. Ev.
1869 ; in the most bulky shape with the roughness of passionate feeling by
Ebrard in his vnssensch. Krit. d. evang. Gesch. ed. 3, 1868 (2d ed. translated ;
Clark, Edinburgh). Harmonizers have done much harm by fostering the opinion
that the gospel history needed their brittle support. The substance of this
history is altogether independent of such help, as was already correctly recognised
by Griesbach. The discord of harmonists, however, with each other is only the
process of the self-dissolution of their artificial labours, the result of which has
been less to the advantage of the history itself than of its opponents.
MATT. B
18 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the history ; so it is conceivable enough, since Galilee was
actually the principal theatre of the ministry of Jesus, that
Matthew in his avvrafys TO.V \oyiwv already confined himself
to this cycle, while it was reserved for John first, when evan-
gelic historical composition had reached its culminating point,
to include the whole of the Judaic teaching and acting, nay,
by supplementing that older and defective range of narrative,
to place it in the foreground of the history. Delitzsch, in con-
nection with his fiction of a pentateuchal construction of our
Gospel (see afterwards, Section iv.), without any reason regards
Matthew as the creator of the Galilean gospel type : he only
connected himself with it by his collection of sayings, which
an apostle could also do if he did not wish to write a history
of Jesus.
EEMARK The Hebrew Matthew was adopted, as by the
Hebrew Christians in general, so by the Nazarenes and EHon-
ites in particular, as their Gospel, and was overlaid (by the
Ebionites, who omitted the two first chapters, still more than
by the Nazarenes) with heretical and apocryphal additions and
partial changes, as well by spinning out as by omitting, by
which process arose the slayytXiov x.atf 'Eftpafovc ; seethe frag-
ments of the same collected from the Fathers in Credner's Beitr.
I. p. 380 ff. ; by Hilgenfeld in his Zeitschrift, 1863, p. 345 ff. ; and
in the N. I. extra Canon, recept. IV. According to Eusebius,
iii. 39, Papias had already received into his work an apocryphal
history, which was contained 1 in the fuayyeXiov xad' 'EjSpa/oui;,
and which had been already made use of by Ignatius, ad
Smyrn. 3 (see Jerome, de vir. illust. 16), and by Hegesippus
(see Eusebius, iv. 22, iii. 20; Photius, Bibl. Cod. 232). This
essential relationship of the suay/ix/oi/ xad' 'Ej3paiou$ the
1 The remark of Eusebius, TO xaf ' E(->pa.!ei>s ilayyixiot ripi'i^u, leaves it
doubtful whether he intended by the remark to note the apocryphal character of
this history, or at the same time to point to the source from which Papias had
taken it. According to the connection, since two apostolic letters had just
previously been mentioned as having been used by Papias ; and now, with the
addition of the above remark, another, t. e. a non-apostolic history is quoted,
which Papias is said to have narrated, it is more probable that Eusebius wished
to point to the, use of the Gospel according to the Hebrews by Papias (in answer
to Ewald and several others). The history itself (ri/>< yvmixas ) iroXXa."> aftapriai;
^ia^>.nhiirm I*} rov xvpiov), moreover, is not to be regarded as that of the adulteress
in John.
INTRODUCTION. 19
contents of which, according to the remains that have been pre-
served, must have been extensive, 1 and wrought up with skill
and some degree of boldness (see Ewald, Jahrb. VI. p. 37 ff.)
to the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew, makes it explicable how the
former might be regarded by many who did not possess an
exact acquaintance with it, as the Hebrew Matthew itself
(Jerome, contra Pelag. iii. 2, " Ut plerique autumant ;" ad Matt.
xii. 13, "quod vocatur a plerisque Matthaei authenticum ").
To the number of these belonged also Epiphanius, who says
(Haer. xxix. 9) that the Nazarenes possessed rb Kara Mard.
tvayytXiov T^p'tararov (comp. Irenseus, Haer. iii. 11. 7) e{3pai'eri,
but who, nevertheless, does not know whether it also contained
the genealogy. Of the Ebionites, on the other hand, he states
(Haer. xxx. 3. 13) that they did not possess the Gospel of
Matthew in a complete form, but vsvodt-jptvov xal r^porrifiao^vov,
and quotes passages from the Ebionitic 'E/3pa/xoV. We must
suppose that he had an exact acquaintance only with the
Ebionite edition of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, pro-
bably derived from Ebionite writings. Jerome, on the other
hand, had a minute acquaintance with the evangelium secundum
Hebraeos, and, in opposition to the view which has recently
become current, definitely distinguished it from the Hebrew
Matthew. 2 Of the latter, namely, which he found in use among
the Nazarenes at Beroea, he made a transcript (de vir. illust. 3) ;
the Gospel according to the Hebrews, of which, consequently,
there could not have been as yet any widely diffused and recog-
nised translation, he translated into Greek and Latin (de vir.
illust. 2, ad Mick. vii. 6, ad Matt. xii. 13), which of course he
did not do in the case of the Hebrew Matthew, as that Matthew
was everywhere extant in Greek and also in Latin, Jerome
1 According to the stichometry of Nicephorns, it contained 2200 aTi^m ; the
Gospel of Matthew, 2500. See Credner, zur Gesch. d. Kanon, p. 120.
8 It is objected to this (see also Anger, III. p. 12), that Jerome in his epistle
to Hedibia (Opp. I. p. 826, ed. Vallarsi), on ch. xxviii. 1, remarks : " Mihi
vldetur evangelista Matthaeus, qui evangelium Hebraico sermone conscripsit,
non tarn vespere dixisse quam sero, et eum, qui interpretatus est, verbi am-
biguitate deceptum, non sero interpretatum esse, sed vespere." Because Jerome
employs here only a videtur, the word is said to betray on his part a non-
acquaintance with the original Hebrew writing. This objection is erroneous.
Jerome rather means that the Hebrew word, employed by Matthew, is ambiguous ;
that it may signify vespere and sero ; that Matthew appears to have expressed
by it the latter conception, while the translator took it in the former sense.
What Hebrew word stood in the passage Jerome does not state ; it may probably
have been nst?'n nil 22.
20 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
consequently could not share the erroneous opinion of the
plerique above mentioned ; and the very precarious assumption
precarious because of his well-known acquaintance with the
Hebrew language that he held it at a former time, but
abandoned it afterwards (Credner, de "Wette, Holtzmann,
Tischendorf, and several others), or at least expressed himself
more cautiously regarding it (Hilgenfeld), is altogether baseless,
and is only still more condemned by Credner's arbitrary hypo-
thesis (Beitrdge, I. p. 394). It is, however, also conceivable that
it was precisely among the Nazarenes that he found the Hebrew
Matthew, as they naturally attached great value to that Gospel,
out of which their own Gospel, the evangelium secund. Hebraeos,
had grown. Of the former (de vir. ill. 3), as well as of the
latter (c. Pelag. iii. 2), there was a copy in the library at
Caesarea. As Jerome almost always names only the Nazarenes
as those who use the evangelium sec. Hebraeos, while he says
nothing of any special Elionitic Gospel ; nay, on Matt. xii.
13, designates the Gospel according to the Hebrews as that
" quo utuntur Nazareni et Ebionitae," he does not appear to
have known any special Ebionitic edition, or to have paid any
attention to it ; while he simply adhered to the older, more
original, and more widely disseminated form of the work, in
which it was authoritative among the Nazarenes, and was
certainly also retained in use among the Ebionites side by side
with their still more vitiated gospel writing. The supposition
that the evangelium sec. Hebraeos arose out of a Greek original
(Credner, Bleek, de Wette, Delitzsch, Eeuss, Hilgenfeld, Holtz
mann; comp. also Sepp, d. Hebr. Evang. 1870), has against it
the statement of the Fathers (Eusebius, iv. 22 ; Epiphanius,
Haeres. xxx. 3. 13; and especially Jerome), who presuppose a
Hebrew original ; while, further, there stands in conflict with
it the old and widely disseminated confusion between that
Gospel and the original Hebrew work of Matthew. The alleged
wavering, moreover, between the texts of Matthew and Luke,
which has been found in some fragmentary portions, is so
unessential (see the passages in de Wette, sec. 64a), that the
fluidity of oral tradition is fully sufficient to explain it. Just
as little can that hypothesis find any support from the individual
passages, which are still said to betray the Greek original (of
Matthew), from which the evangelium sec. Hebraeos arose by
means of an Aramaic edition. For, as regards the tyxpit in
Epiphanius, Haer. xxx. 13, see on Matt. iii. 4. And when
Jerome, on ch. xxvii. 1 6, relates that in that Gospel the name
Barabbas was explained by filius mayislri eorum, it has been
INTRODUCTION. 2 1
erroneously assumed that the Greek accusative BapaBjSav was
taken as an indeclinable noun (pva = ;in:n 13). So Paulus,
Credner, Bleek, Holtzmann. Such a degree of ignorance of
Greek, precisely when it is said to be a translation from that
language, cannot at all be assumed, especially as the Greek
Bapa/S/3. was written with only one p, and the name N3JO2 and
BapupSus was very common. " Filius magistri eorum " is rather
to be regarded simply as an instance of forced rabbinical inter-
pretation, where N2K was referred, in the improper sense of
magister, to the devil ; and in support of this interpretation, an
eorum, giving a more precise definition, was, freely enough, sub-
joined. 1 When, further, according to Jerome on Matt, xxiii.
3o,filiiis Jofadae stood in the Gospel according to the Hebrews
in place of u/'oD Bapa^/ov, this does not necessarily presuppose the
Greek text, the mistake in which was corrected by the Gospel ac-
cording to the Hebrews,but the jrw 13 may just as appropriately,
and quite independently of the Greek Matthew, have found its
way in, owing to a more correct statement of the tradition, in
room of the erroneous name already received into the original
Hebrew text. Just as little, finally, is any importance to be
attached to this, that, according to Jerome on Matt. vi. 11,
instead of rbv exiovaiov there stood in the Gospel according to the
Hebrews ino, since there exists no difference of meaning
between these two words. See on Matt. I.e. None of these
data (still less that which, according to Jerome, the Gospel
according to the Hebrews, ch. xxv. 51, contained respecting the
breaking of the supraliminare templi ; and what was formerly
adduced, still especially by Delitzsch, Entsteh. u. Anl. d. kanon.
Evang. I. p. 21 f.) is fitted to lay a foundation for the opinion
that that apocryphal Gospel was derived from a Greek original,
and especially from our Greek Matthew, or from the (alleged)
Greek document which formed the foundation of the same,
which is said to have undergone in the Gospels of the Nazarenes
and Ebionites only other redactions, independently of the
canonical one (Hilgenfeld, Evangel, p. 117). The converse
view, that our Greek Matthew proceeded from a Greek trans-
lation of the Gospel according to the Hebrews, which was sub-
jected to modification of various kinds until it finally became
fixed in its present shape in our canonical Gospel of Matthew
1 Quite in the same way has even Theophylact himself explained the name
by TV i/i*e TOV ira.rfos alrut, mu 3;SoXai/. See on ch. xxvii. 16. The interpre-
tation of the name as " films patris, h. e. diaboli," was, on the whole, very
common. See Jerome on Ps. cviii., Opp. vii. 2, p. 206.
22 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(probably about the year 130 A.D.), Schwegler, Baur, renders
necessary the tmhistorical supposition, which especially contra-
venes the testimony of Jerome, that the Hebrew writing of
Matthew was identical with the Gospel according to the
Hebrews; leaves the old and universal canonical recognition
of our Matthew, in view of the rejection by the church of the
Gospel according to the Hebrews, unexplained ; overlooks,
further, that the assumed transformations which our canonical
Matthew underwent prior to its being finally fixed, must since,
according to the unanimous testimony of the church, it is a
translation have related not to the Greek, but only to the
Hebrew work ; and it must, finally, refer the relative quotations
of Justin (and of the Clementines, see Uhlhorn, Homil. u. Recog.
d. Clemens, p. 1 1 9 ff.) to the Gospel according to the Hebrews, or
assume as a source the Gospel of Peter and other unknown
apocrypha (Schliemann, Schwegler, Baur, Zeller, Hilgenfeld,
after Credner's example), although it is precisely our Matthew
and Luke which are most largely and unmistakeably employed
by Justin in his quotations from the a.^o^^o^/^aTa, ruv a-ro-
aroXuv, although freely and from memory, and under the influence
of the oral tradition which had become current, and which stood
at his command (Semisch, d. Apost. Denkwurdigk. Justin's, 1848
[Eng. transl. Messrs. Clark's Cab. Libr.] ; Delitzsch, Entsteh. u.
Anl. d. kanon. Evang. I. p. 26 ff. ; Ritschl in the tkeolog. Jahrb.
1851, p. 482 ff.). See, generally, on the priority of the Gospel
of Matthew to that of the Gospel according to the Hebrews,
which is most decidedly and persistently denied by Hilgenfeld ;
Kostlin, p. 118 ff. ; Bleek, .ffetfr. p. 60 ff., EM. p. 104 ff. ; Frank
in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1848, p. 369 ff. ; Ewald, Jahrb. VI.
p. 36 ff. ; Keim, Gesch. Jesu, I. 29 ff. ; Grau, Entwickelungsgesch.
d.N. T. I. p. 265 ff. ; Volkmar, and others.
SEC. III. READERS, AND OBJECT OF THE GOSPEL TIME OF ITS
COMPOSITION.
Not merely was the collection of discourses composed by
Matthew himself intended for the Jewish Christians of Palestine,
but the Hebrew Gospel also, which gradually grew out of that
collection, as already appears from the language of the work
itself, and as is confirmed by the testimonies of the Fathers
(Irenaeus, Haer. lii. 1 ; Origen in Eusebius, vi. 25 ; Eusebius,
Jerome, and others). Hence the frequent quotations from the
INTRODUCTION. 23
0. T. to prove that the history of Jesus is the fulfilment of
Messianic prophecy, quotations, amongst which are to be
classed even such as, without some explanatory addition, were
intelligible only to those who were acquainted with the
Hebrew language (i. 22) and the Hebrew prophetic manner
of expression (ii. 23) ; and hence, also, as a rule, all in the
Gospel is presupposed as known which, in reference to
manners and customs, to religious and civil, to geographical
and topographical relations, could not but be known to resi-
dents in Palestine as such; while, on the contrary, by the
other evangelists (comp. Mark vii. 2-4 with Matt. xv. 2),
such remarks, explanations, etc. as were unnecessary for the
inhabitant of Palestine, are frequently added in consideration
of readers living out of that country. That the unknown
translator, however, had also in view Jewish Christians out of
Palestine, is clear from the very fact of his undertaking a
translation. It was in reference to such readers that some
interpretations of specially noteworthy names (i. 23, xxvii. 33),
and the translation of the exclamation on the cross in xxvii. 46,
were added by the- translator, to whose account, however,
pragmatical observations such as those in ch. xxii. 23, xxviii.
8, 15, are not to be placed.
The object which was to be attained, both by Matthew's
collection of discourses as well as by the Gospel, could be no
other than to demonstrate Jesus to be the Messiah, which demon-
stration is carried out in the Gospel by means of the history
and teaching of Jesus (in the collection of discourses by means
of His teaching) in such a way that Jesus is set forth as
He who was promised in the 0. T. Credner, Einl. I. p. 60 ;
Ewald, Jahrb. II. p. 211. We must regard, however, as
entirely alien from this view, 1 the premature thought of a
1 According to Hilgenfeld, Evangelien, p. 106 ff. (see also ZdtscJir. f. wlss.
Theol. 1862, p. 33 ff., 1865, p. 43 ff., 1866, p. 136 ff., and elsewhere), our Gospel
is the product of two opposed factors. It originated in an apostolic fundamental
document, which was composed from the particularistic standpoint of strict and
close Judaism ; the later canonical working up of which, however, was effected
soon after the destruction of Jerusalem, from the point of view that the Chris-
tianity which had been disdainfully rejected by the Jews had a universalistio
destination for the heathen world. According to this theory, the incongruous
24 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Jewish Christian (Petrine) party writing (so the anonymous
work, Die, Evangelicn, ihre Geschickte, ihre Verfasser, Leipzig
1845), with which the universalism which pervades the Gospel
from iii. 9 to xxviii. 19 is in decided conflict. The chrono-
logical and even historical exactness, which could be in har-
mony only with a later period (Luke i. 3), retired into the
background before this didactic purpose, and the tradition
which dominates the Gospel found therein that quite un-
limited room to play which was allowed it by the belief of
the community, while it was not lessened on account of its
wanting the testimony of an eye-witness, owing to its redactor
not being an apostle. Considering the Palestinian destination
of the work, and the contents assigned it by the collection of
the discourses, and by the history itself and its tradition, it was
natural and necessary that it should set forth much that was
in antithesis to an unbelieving Judaism and its degenerate
leaders. We are not, however, to assume a special tendential
character referring to that (Kostlin), or the prosecution of an
anti-Ebonitic aim (Grau), as that antithesis has its basis in the
position of Christ Himself and of His historical work ; while
upon a Gospel intended for Palestinian Jewish Christians it
could not but impress itself spontaneously, without any special
purpose, more than on other Gospels. 1 The principal sections
of the Gospel are as follow : (1) History of the birth and
childhood, ch. i., ii. ; (2) Preparations for His appearance
portions are, with great arbitrariness, assigned by Hilgenfeld although they
are irreconcilable even with the scantiest systematic plan of a tendential
redaction to the one or the other of the factors which are supposed as the
determining elements, and transposed in part to places where they do not now
stand. With much greater caution Baur recognises the impartiality of the
Gospel ; declares it, however, to be at least not altogether free from a particular
interest, and from certain tendential leanings, and regards it, besides, as the
original and most credible Gospel, although he holds it to have grown up out
of the Gospel according to the Hebrews by a process of lengthened develop-
ment. See, in answer to Hilgenfeld, Holtzmann, p. 378 ff. ; Keim, Geschichtl.
Christ, p. 54 ff. The latter, however, while laying on the whole decided
emphasis on the unity of the Gospel, admits that additions of very varying value
were made by the individual who worked up the whole (Gesch. Jesu, I. p. 68 ff.).
1 When the principal source of the discourses in Matthew, the collection of
sayings, arose, the sharp party severance of Judaism from Paulinism still
belonged to the future. Comp. Holtzmann, p. 377 ff. By introducing in this
INTRODUCTION. 25
as Messiah, ch. iii.-iv. 11; (3) Messianic ministry in Galilee,
until His departure from the theatre of His work up to
that time, xix. 1 ; (4) Setting out for Judea, and completion
of His Messianic ministry and destiny, ch. xix.-xxviii. 20.
Plans of a more complicated character (see in Luthardt, I.e.
p. 14ff.) are the outcome of subjective presuppositions.
As regards the time of composition, the tradition of the
church assigns to the Gospel of Matthew the first place amongst
the canonical Gospels (Origen in Eusebius, vi. 25; Epipha-
nius, Haer. li. 4 ; Jerome, de vir. ill. 3). Eusebius states more
precisely (iii. 24) that Matthew wrote when he wished to
take his departure from Palestine ; Irenaeus, however, iii. 1, 2
(comp. Eusebius, v. 8), while Peter and Paul were preaching
at Rome. Of these two notices, the first is very indefinite ; but
between the two there certainly lies a long period of time,
especially since, at the dates when Paul made his first apos-
tolic journeys to Jerusalem (Gal. i. and ii.), there is at least
no longer any express trace of Matthew's residence in that city.
This very varying tradition of the time of composition is, how-
ever, conceivable without any difficulty from this consideration,
that Matthew's collection of sayings must in reality have been
composed at a far earlier date than the Gospel which bears his
name. The time when the one originated was easily transferred
to the other, as at a later date, when the first was no longer
extant, the two writings were not, in general, separately
distinguished. Nothing, however, could be more natural than
that Matthew, when he wished to follow his vocation amongst
strangers, should present his Palestinian hearers with a well-
arranged collection of the Lord's sayings, which might remain
with them as a legacy in place of his oral preaching. The
Gospel, which then gradually grew out of this collection of
sayings, might have been in constant process of formation down
to the time indicated by Irenaeus (from 60-70), and then
way these party divisions into our Gospel, we commit a great vfripw -jcfurm. In
Jesus Himself, the consciousness that He was destined for the Jews, and also
that He was destined for all nations, lay side by side with each other ; but with
Him the two come into view always according to the relations of the moment.
the latter most decidedly at His departure in xxviii. 19.
26 THE GOSPEL OF MATTIIEY7.
have received its last redaction, after which also the translation
soon followed, consequently shortly before the destruction of
Jerusalem. For as the Hebrew work is in any case to be
placed before the destruction of Jerusalem, so also is the Greek
translation ; because in xxiv. 29 ff. the Parousia is so definitely
predicted as commencing immediately after the desolation of
Palestine (comp. xvi 28, xxiv. 34), that all attempts to evade
this conclusion remain ineffectual On the other hand, we are
not to infer from xxiii. 3 5, xxiv. 1 5 (Hug, Credner), that at the
time when the last chapters were composed the Eomans had
already taken possession of Galilee, and were upon the point
of conquering Judea. 1 Any more precise determination of the
locality where it was composed is nowhere pointed to, not even
in xix. 1 (see on the passage), where Kostlin finds the resi-
dence of the writer presupposed as being in the country to the
east of the Jordan, to which view Holtzmann also is inclined
(p. 41 4 f.).
REMARK. The above notice of time given by Eusebius is
more precisely determined : by Eusebius of Caesarea, in the
Chronicon, as the year. 41 ; by Cosmas Indicopleustes, as in the
time of the stoning of Stephen ; by Theophylact and Euth.
Zigabenus, as eight years after the ascension ; by the Alexan-
drine Chronicon and Mcephorus, as fifteen years after the
ascension. All these are the outcome of a desire to place the
Gospel as early as possible. In modern times, the determination
of the time within the 60 years has been for the most part
rightly adhered to (Keim, 66). Still, in so doing, any alleged
1 "With regard to xxii. 35, see the commentary. The parenthesis, moreover,
in xxiv. 15, a.va.ywuax.uv vitiTu, only draws attention sharply to the remarkable
prediction, but contains nothing from which the /SStXi/y^a r. Ipvftuirtas should
announce itself as already begun. Baur, p. 605, deduces from the assumption
that the /SStXuy^a T?J ipvpa/r. in xxiv. 15 is the pillar of Jupiter which Hadrian
caused to be erected upon the site of the ruined temple, that the Gospel falls
within the years 130-140. But see remark 3, after chap. xiv. Kostlin, rightly
understanding the destruction in the year 70, yet deals much too freely with the
ivSiu; in xxiv. 29, so as to extend it to a period of about 10 years, and accord-
ingly places the composition of the Gospel after the destruction of Jerusalem,
about 70-80, when it originated amid the most lively expectation of the Parousia.
Within the same time Hilgenfeld also places the final redaction ; the fundamental
document, however, as early as 50-60.
INTRODUCTION. 2 7
use of the Apocalypse (Hitzig, Volkmar) is to be left out of
consideration.
The strange mixture of agreement and divergence in the
Synoptics when compared with each other, in which there appears
an obvious communion, not merely as to the matter and extent
and course of the history, but also .as to the words and trans-
actions, extending even to- the most accidental minutiae and to
the most peculiar expressions, partly, again, a very varying
peculiarity in the manner of receiving and dealing with the
subject-matter, as well as in the selection of the expressions
and links of connection (see the more minute demonstration of
this relation in de Wette, Eiril. sees. 79, 80 ; Credner, sec. 67 ;
Wilke, neutestament. Rhetorik,^. 435 ff. ; Holtzmann, p. 10 ff.),
has, since the mechanical strictness of the older theory of
inspiration had to yield its place to the claims of scientific
investigation, called forth very different attempts at explana-
tion. Either all the three Gospels have been derived from a
common source, or critics have contented themselves with the
old hypothesis (see already Augustine, de consensu Exang. i. 4),
that one evangelist made use of the other, the later of the
earlier one or more, where, however, ancient evangelical writ-
ings and the oral traditions of the apostolic age have been
called in, and could not fail to be so, by way of aid.
I.
A. After Clericus (Hist. eccl. II. prim, saec., Amstelodami
1716, p. 429) had already directed attention, with a view to
the explanation of the affinity in question, to ancient gospel
1 On the history of the investigations bearing upon this subject, see "Weiss in
the Stud. u. Krit. 1861, p. 678 ff. ; Hilgenfeld in his Zeitschrift, 1861, p. 1 ff.
137 f., 1862, p. 1 ff., 1865, p. 171 ff., and in his work, der Kanon u. d. Kritik
d. N. T. 1863 ; Holtzmann, die synopt. Evangelien, p. 15 ff. ; Weizsacker,
p. 10 ff. ; Keim, Oeschichte Je.su, I. p. 99 ff. ; Volkmar, Relig. Jem, p. 375 ff.,
and Urspr. der Evangelien,l866, also die Evangelien oder Markus u. d. Synopsis,
etc., 1870 ; Scholten, d. alteste Evang., German transl. by Eedepenning, 1869 ;
Hilgenfeld in his Zeitschrift, 1870, 2 and 4.
28 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
writings composed by eye- and ear-witnesses, while, at a later
date, Semler in his translation of Townson's Discourses on the
Four Gospels, Halle 1783, I. pp. 221, 290, had assumed one
or more original' Syro-Chaldaic writings, as Lessing also had
(theol. Naclil. 1785, p. 45 ff.) already regarded the Gospel
according to the Hebrews as the common source, in which he
was followed by Niemeyer (Conjectural ad illustr. plurimor.
N. T. scriptor. silentium de primord. vitae J. Ch., Hal. 1790),
C. F. Weber (Untersuch. fib. d. Ev. d. Hebr. 1806), Paulus (In-
troductio in N. T. capita selectiora, Jenae 1799), Thiess,
(Kommentar, I. p. 18 f.), Schneckenburger, and several others,
it was, first, pupils from the school of Eichhorn (Halfeld and
Russwurm in the Gottinger Preisschriften, 1793, and see the
work of the latter on the origin of the first three Gospels,
Eatzeb. 1797), and, soon after, Eichhorn himself (ind. Bill. d.
libl. Literatur, 1794, p. 759 ff.), who came forward with the
hypothesis, which has become famous, of an original written
Gospel, which, with manifold modifications, was adopted by
Marsh (Remarks and Additions to Michaelis, Einl. aus dem
Engl. von Eosenmuller, Gott. I. 1795, II. 1803), Ziegler (in
Gabler's neuest. theol. Journ. IV. p. 417), Hanlein, Herder
(partly), Gratz (see afterwards), Bertholdt, Kuinoel, and several
others.
According to Eichhorn, an original Syro-Chaldaic Gospel,
composed about the time of the stoning of Stephen, contained
the sections common to all the three evangelists ; but in such
a way that four, likewise Aramaic, editions of the same served
as a foundation for the Synoptics, namely, edition A to
Matthew ; edition B to Luke ; edition C, composed of A and B,
to Mark ; and besides these, still an edition D to Matthew and
Luke alike. The less, however, that in this way the verbal
agreement was explained, and that too of the Greek Gospel,
consisting, as it does so often, of casual and unique expressions,
the less could more complicated attempts at explanation fail
to be made. Herbert Marsh, I.e. II. p. 284 ff., set up the
following genealogy : (1) s, an original Hebrew Gospel; (2)
N, a Greek version of the same ; (3) N + a + A, a transcript
of the original Hebrew Gospel, with smaller and larger additions;
INTRODUCTION. 29
(4) N -f /? + B, another transcript of the same, with other
smaller and larger additions ; (5) K + 7 + T, a third tran-
script, again with other additions ; (6) 3, a Hebrew gnomo-
logy in various editions. The Hebrew Matthew, according to
this theory, originated by means ofN + 3+a + A + 7 + P;
the Gospel of Luke, by means ofK + 2 + $ + B + 7+r+N;
the Gospel of Mark, by means ofK+a + A + jS+B + s;
the Greek Matthew, however, was a translation of the Hebrew
Matthew, with the addition of K, and of the Gospels of Luke
and Mark.
In order to remove the objections which were raised against
him, Eichhorn (Einl. I. p. 353 ff.) expanded his view in the
following way : (1) An original Hebrew Gospel ; (2) a Greek
version of this ; (3) a peculiar recension of number 1 ; (4) a
Greek version of number 3, with the use of number 2 ; (5)
another recension of number 1 ; (6) a third recension, derived
from numbers 3 and 5 ; (7) a fourth recension from number
1, with larger additions ; (8) Greek version of number 7, with
the use of number 2 ; (9) a Hebrew Matthew, derived from
numbers 3 and 7 ; (10) a Greek Matthew, from number 9, with
the assistance of numbers 4 and 8 ; (11) Mark, derived from
number 6, with the use of numbers 4 and 5 ; (12) Luke,
from numbers 5 and 8. The hypothesis of an original written
gospel received a somewhat more simple shape from Gratz
(neuer Versuch der Entstehung der drei ersten Evang. zu erk-
Idren. Tub. 1812) as follows: (1) An original Hebrew
Gospel; (2) an original Greek Gospel, derived from former,
with many additions ; (3) shorter evangelic documents ; (4)
Mark and Luke arose out of number 2, with the help of
number 3 ; (5) a Hebrew Matthew, derived from number 1,
with additions, partly its own, partly borrowed from a docu-
ment which here and there agreed with the gnomology em-
ployed by Luke ; (6) a Greek version of the Hebrew Matthew,
in making which the Gospel of Mark was consulted, and ad-
ditions derived from it ; (7) interpolations from the Gospels
of Matthew and Luke, by means of mutual transpositions of
many sections from the one to the other.
Considering the entire want of any historical basis for the
30 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
existence of an original written Gospel of the kind in question,
although it could not but have been regarded as of very high
authority ; considering the meagre and defective materials of
which it must needs have been composed ; considering the con-
tradictions which the testimonies of Luke in his preface, and
of the fragment of Papias, carry in themselves to an original
written Gospel ; considering the artificial nature of the struc-
ture which is raised up upon a presupposed basis by the
arbitrary calling in of materials at will ; considering the
accumulated and strangely trivial cultivation of authorship,
which is presupposed, in opposition to the spirit, the wants,
and the hope of the apostolic age ; considering the dead
mechanical way especially in which the evangelists would have
gone to work, altogether without that independent idiosyncrasy
which, in the case of apostles and apostolic men, cannot, even
in respect to their written activity in the service of the church.
be conceived of as wanting without doing injury to the his-
torical character and spirit of the original Christian age ; con-
sidering the high authority, finally, which the Synoptics have
attained, but which they could scarcely have reached by a
style of writing history so spiritless, so laboriously fettered,
and of so compilatory a character : it can only be regarded as
an advance and a gain, that these artificial hypotheses have
again disappeared, and are worthy of note only as evidences
of an inventive conjectural criticism, which, when we consider
the theological character of its time, cannot astonish us even
in respect of the approval which it received. A beneficial
recoil from this approval was brought about first by Hug
(EM. 1808, 4te Aufi. 1847), who simply went back to the
critical use to which Mark subjected Matthew, and Luke both
his predecessors, consequently in harmony with the order of
succession in the Canon, a view which, at the present day,
is held most decidedly by Hilgenfeld.
The assumption also of many kinds of original gospel
writings and essays as sources of the Synoptics (after Clericus,
I.e., Semler, Michaelis, Koppe, and others ; first, in reference to
the third Gospel, by Schleiermacher, tib. d. Schriften des Luk.
Berlin 1817 [Eng. transl. by late Bishop of -St. David's]), is
INTRODUCTION. 3 1
by no means sufficient to solve the riddle, especially if we
keep in view the harmony of the three in respect of their
plan and design as a whole ; for if we were to explain all the
peculiarities of the relation in this way, we would be entangled
in a mosaic work of multitudinous combinations and separa-
tions, in which there would again fall to the share of the
evangelists themselves nothing but a curiously mechanical skill
as their undeserved fate.
B. Far greater reputation, nay, even permanent approval
down to the most recent time (Guericke, Ebrard, Thiersch,
and many others ; also Schleiermacher, Einl., ed. Wolde, 1845),
has been attained by the hypothesis of an original oral Gospel,
which, after Eckermann (theol. Beitr. V. 2, p. 148), Herder
(Reg el d. Zusammenstimm. unserer Evangel, in : von Gottes Sohn,
der Welt Heiland, 1797), has found its most thoroughgoing
representative 1 in Gieseler's celebrated Versuch iiber die Entste-
liung und friihesten Scliicksale der schriftl. Evang., Leipzig
1818. According to this hypothesis, which may be compared
with that of Wolf regarding the origin of Homer, the doctrines,
acts, and destinies of Christ were, among the apostles and first
Christians at Jerusalem, the oft-repeated subject of their con-
versation, in a greater or less degree, always in proportion as
they appeared more or less as witnesses for the Messiah ship.
The memory of one disciple thus aided that of another in the
way of correction and arrangement, so that the facts and dis-
courses were apprehended in a firm living recollection. By
this process, however, through which men who were destined
to be fellow-labourers with the apostles were prepared for
their vocation, instruction being imparted by one apostle in
the presence of the others, these aTrojutvTj^ovevf^ara attained
a continuous historical shape ; and in order to prevent any
1 See, besides, Sartorius, drei Abh. iib. wiclitig. Geyenst. d. exeg. u. system.
Theol. 1820 ; Kettig, Ephemerid. exeg. Theol. I., Giessen 1824 ; Schulz in the
Stud. if. Kritik. 1829 ; Schwarz, ilber das Verwandtschaftsverhaltn. d. Evan-
gelien, 1844. In reference to Mark, Knobel, de ev. Marci orig. 1831. Here
belongs also Kalchreuter in the Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol. 1861, p. 507 ff.,
who refers the harmony, without any written medium, to the original Gospel of
Christian recollection.
32 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
disfiguration, the expression also, and therewith, at the same
time, the thought, became fixed, 1 which might take place all
the more easily, considering that the state of culture among
the first narrators was pretty much the same. There was
thus formed a standing, as it were stereotype, narrative, which
comprised the sections common to the three Synoptics. As,
however, some portions of the history formed more the topic
of conversation and of narration to the converts, and others
less, always according to their greater or less importance,
which determined, also, a more or less free form of address ;
and as, in addition, special recollections of the apostles flowed
into their addresses, there are explained in this way the
divergencies which are found in some parts of the historical
narrative. This oral narrative was impressed upon the memory
of those who were intended for the vocation of teaching
by frequent repetition. The language of this original type
of oral Gospel, the Aramaic, was with all care translated
into Greek, when Hellenists in increasing numbers were
received into the community. Finally, the word became
fettered by the letter, whereby, the individual author, in select-
ing and setting forth his material, fell in with the wants of his
readers ; so that Matthew handed on a purely Palestinian ;
Mark, a Palestinian Gospel, modified abroad, and for strangers
out of Palestine ; Luke, a Pauline GospeL
The want, however, of all historical testimony for a standing
apostolic tradition of that kind ; the mechanical method, op-
posed to the living spirit of the apostolic age and activity,
which is presupposed in order to its origination and establish-
ment ; the mechanical literary manner in which the evangelists
are said to have continued the oral account which pre-existed ;
the incompleteness and limitation, beyond which a narrative
of that kind could not have risen ; the want of agreement
precisely in the all-important histories of the passion and
resurrection of Christ ; the circumstance that, as already
appears from the Acts of the Apostles and the New Testament
1 Compare the Rabbinical rule in Schabb. f. 15. 1 : " Verba praeceptoris sine
ulla immutatioue, ut prolata ab illo fuerant, erant recitauda, ne diversa illi
affingeretur sententia." See, generally, Gieseler, p. 105 ff.
INTRODUCTION. 33
Epistles, the preachers of the apostolic age (see on Acts xxi. 8)
had to deal chiefly with the whole redemptive work of Christ, and
that therefore they, by preference, announced His incarnation,
His manifestation and ministry, in brief, condensed summary
(see, e.g., Acts x. 37-42), His doctrine as a fact viewed as a
whole, the testimony to His miracles, His sacrificial death,
His resurrection, glorification, and second advent, in doing
which they possessed, in their own recollection, and relatively
in the living tradition, material and warrant enough for the
preaching also of the individual doctrines, discourses, acts, and
destinies of the Lord, which they certainly had likewise to do
in the discharge of this great chief vocation of theirs (comp.
1 Cor. xi. 23, ch. xv. 1 ff. ; see also what Papias says of
Mark, as the hearer of Peter, in Eusebius, iii. 39), and did
not need a previous stereotype didactic preparation ; the want
of every trace of such a standing type in the New Testament
Epistles ; finally, the testimonies of Luke and Papias, which
are exactly opposed to an original Gospel tradition in the sense
assumed ; the complete breaking through of such already by
Luke, and its annulling by John : all these are just so many
reasons why any explanation of the synoptic Gospels upon
that hypothesis of an original oral Gospel (without prejudice,
however, to the necessary and great influence of oral tradition
in general) must be renounced, even apart from this, that the
formation of such an original Gospel, by means of the designed
co-operation of the apostles, would be simply irreconcilable with
the contradictions which are presented by the Gospel of John.
II.
The view, according to which one evangelist made use of the
other, where, however, the gospel tradition, as it existed in a
living form long before it was recorded in writing (Luke i 2),
as well as old written documents, composed before our Gospels
(Luke, I.e.}, come also essentially into consideration, is the
only one which is fitted to enable us to conceive of the synoptic
relationship in a natural manner, and in agreement with the
history.
The order in which the three originated has, according
MATT. C
34 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
to this view, been very variously determined. Namely,
(1.) according to the order of the canon, Matthew wrote first,
Mark made use of him, and Luike, of both. So Grotius, Mill,
Wetstein, Bengel, Townson (Abhandlungen iiber d. vier Evangel.,
aus dem Engl. von Semler, Leipzig 1783, I. p. 275, II.
p. 1 ff.), Seiler (de temp, et ord., quo tria ev. pr. can. scripta
sunt, Erlangen 1805, 1806), Hug, Credner, 1 Hengstenberg,
Grau, and several others ; of the Tubingen school, Hilgenfeld
(d. Markus-JEvangel., Lpz. '1850, krit. Untersuck. iib. d. Evangel.
Justin's, etc., Halle 1850, also in the theolog. Jahrb. 1852,
p. 102 ff., 158 ff., 1857, p. 381 ff., 408 ff., and die Evan-
gelien nach ihrer Entstehung, and 1854, d. Urchristenthum,
1855, and in his wiss. Zeitschrift, 1859, 1861, 1862, 1863,
1865, 1867, 1870; also in his Kanon u. Kritik. d. N. T.
1863), who refers our canonical Matthew to an apostolic
documentary work of a strictly Judeo- Christian character
between the years 60 and 70, which, however, received, imme-
diately after the destruction of Jerusalem, a freer treatment,
and in this way attained its present shape, as he also places,
as an intermediate link, between Matthew and Mark, not
merely the Petrine-Eoman tradition, but also a Petrine edition
of Matthew, a Gospel of Peter, which was also made use of by
the author of our Mark, while he makes the Gospel of Luke
to arise out of a Pauline working up of the two first Gospels,
and other sources about 100 years after Christ. Augustine's
1 According to Credner, Einleit. , it was not long after the destruction of Jeru-
salem, " on the border of the transition period from historical tradition to
legend," that attempts at a written record of the gospel history were first made.
There were found in existence about that time both the Hebrew collection ot
sayings by the Apostle Matthew, and also those observations which Mark, the
companion of Peter, had set down accurately, indeed, but without reference to
arrangement, probably after the apostle's death. A Palestinian writer made
that work of Matthew, with the aid of Mark's memoranda, as well as of oral
tradition, the basis of a written redaction of the gospel history, and there thus
originated "our first canonical Gospel, rightly entitled *T MartaTe*."
Another took those memoranda of Mark as the foundation of his work, and,
arranging and supplementing, worked up the history in agreement with them,
and thus arose the eiayyx. *ar M^xv. Luke, along with oral tradition,
already made use of ^inyrnrtu of the gospel history, and amongst these probably
of our Matthew and Mark, but more certainly of the Xoy/a, which Matthew him-
self had written, and of the observations which Mark himself had recorded.
INTRODUCTION. 35
opinion (de consen. em. i. 4) already was : " Marcus Matthaeum
subsequutus tanquam pedissequus et breviator ejus videtur,"
which Koppe (Marcus non epitomator Matthaei, 1782) rightly
controverts, as is done afterwards also by Herder and others,
proceeding from other principles ; and especially by those
who assign to Mark the priority among the three (see sub-
sequently). (2.) Matthew, Luke, Mark, the so-called hypothesis
of Griesbach. So Owen, Observations on the Four Gospels,
London 1764 ; Stroth in Eichhorn's Repert. IX. p. 144; and
especially Griesbach, Commentat. qua Marci ev. totum e
Matthaei et Lucae eommentariis decerpt. esse monstratur, Jen.
1789, 1790 (also in his Opsuc., ed. Gabler, II. p. 385ff.);
Amrnon, de Luca emendatore Matthaei, Erl. 1805; Saunier, ub.
cl. Quellen des Ev. Mark., Berlin 1825 ; Theile, de trium prior,
ev. necessitud., Leipzig 1825, and in Winer's and Engelhardt's
krit. Journ. V. 4, p. 400 f., Sieffert, Fritzsche, Xeudecker,
Kern, de Wette, Gfrorer, heil. Sage, p. 212 ff., Strauss,
Schwarz, neue Untersuch. ub. d. Verwandtschaftsverhdltniss d.
synop. Evang., Tubingen 1844, p. 277 ff., Bleek, Schwegler
in the theolog. Jahrb. 1843, p. 203 ff., and in the nachapost.
Zeitalter, I. p. 457 ff., Baur, p. 548 ff., and d. Markus- Evangel.,
Tiib. 1851, also in the theolog. Jahrb. 1853, p. 54 ff . ; and
frequently Strauss, Zeller, Dolling, Kostlin, 1 Kahnis, Keim.
1 According to Kostlin, our Matthew, which first arose between the years 70-
80, was composed with the use of the Apostle Matthew's collection of discourses,
as well as of the Petrine Gospel, which is intended in Papias' testimony regarding
Mark, and of other sources, and experienced its last catholic redaction about
the years 90-100. Luke made use of Matthew, although not as a principal
source, but chiefly of South-Palestinian, Judeo-Christian sources, and wrote still
in the first century, in Asia Minor, where the Gospel long circulated as a private
writing, until it became known in Rome also, where ecclesiastical use was not
made of it probably till after the middle of the second century. Our Mark,
finally, an epitomized, neutral, and irenic work, is dependent upon Matthew
and Luke, as well as on the older written source of Mark, is a product of the
idea of catholicity upon an originally Judeo-Christian basis, and originated in
the Roman Church in the first decennium of the second century. Generally the
consideration of the Gospels as tendential writings, in which the development
of early Christianity into the Old Catholic Church is said to disclose itself, is
peculiar to the school of Baur, where, however, Hilgenfeld claims for his method
of apprehending the subject the character of the literary -historical, a name
which does not change the nature of the tendential view.
36 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Among these defenders of the priority of Matthew, Delitzsch,
in a manner which is peculiar to himself, believes that he has
demonstrated the same (see his neue Unters. lib. Entstehung und
Anlage d. kanon. Evangelien, I p. 59), namely, by means of a
presumed pentateucliic plan of the Gospel in harmony with the
setting forth of Christianity as a new, not less divine z/o/io?,
raised above that of Moses. This discovery, however, is
nothing else than a playing of the Rabbinical mind with a
fanciful typology (see especially Lucke : de eo, quod nimium
artis acuminisque est \in ea, quae nunc praecipue factitatur
sacrae scripturae . . . interpretatione, Gb'tt. 1853 ; Baur in the
theolog. Jahrb. 1854, p. 235 ff . ; Weiss in the deutsch. Zeitsckr.
Beibl. 1854, 3), for the sake of laying a foundation for the
confident assertion of the author, that to think of the priority
of Mark will be henceforth quite impossible, a remark which
has been already abundantly refuted by experience.
(3.) Mark, Matthew, Luke. So Storr, ub. d. Zweck d. evang.
Gesch. u. d. Brief e des Johannes, p. 2,74 ff., and de fontibus
evang. Matt, et Lucae, Tub. 1794 (also in Velthusen, Com-
mentatt. III. p. 140 ff.) ; from Mark, namely, the Hebrew
Matthew, and partly, also, Luke were derived, and that the
Greek translator of Matthew then made use of Mark and
Luke.
The order, Mark, Matthew, Zuke, 1 is maintained also by
Lachmann in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1835, p. 570 ff. ; Weisse,
evang. Gesch. 1838, and Evangelienfr. 1856, Ewald, Reuss,
Thiersch ; Tobler, Evangelienfr. 1858; Eitschl in the theolog.
Jahrb. 1851, p. 480 ff. ;,Plitt, de compos, evang. synopt. 1860 ;
Weiss in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1861, p. 29 ff., 646 ff., and
in the Jahrb. f. D. Theolog. 1864, p. 49 ff., 1865, p. 319 ff. ;
1 Against this reputed "pet child of the most recent criticism," Keim, in par-
ticular (Inaugural Address, d. menschl. Entwick. J. Ch., Zurich 1861, and in
his Oesch. Jesu), has come forward in support of Matthew, and to the prejudice
of John. Hilgenfeld continues most zealously to contend against the priority of
Mark ; Kahnis, Dogmatik, I. p. 409, classes the same among the " hardiest
aberrations of modern criticism. " Klostermann (d. Markus Evang. nach s.
Quellenwerthe, 1867) rejects the hypothesis of an original Mark ; finds, however,
in our Mark the traces of an earlier and more original representation of the
history, which may again be recognised in our first Gospel.
INTRODUCTION. 3 7
compare his Marcus- Evangel. 1871; Eichthal, Us evangiles,
1863; Schenkel; Wittichen in the Jahrb. f. D. Th. 1862,
p. 314 ff., 1866, p. 427 ff. ; Holtzmann, d. synopt. Evangelien,
1863 ; Weizsacker, who assumes a written source common to
the three, the extent and arrangement of which may be
recognised substantially in the representation of Mark ;
Scholten, d. dlteste Evang., krit. Unters., aus d. Holland, v.
Redepenuing, 1869. Amongst these, Ewald and Scholten
especially have laid down, in very dissimilar ways, a most
complicated order of origination. This, according to Ewald,
is as follows : (1) The oldest Gospel, describing the most
prominent events in the life of Jesus, made use of by the
Apostle Paul, probably composed by the Evangelist Philip in
the Greek language, but with a Hebrew colouring ; (2) the
Hebrew collection of sayings by Matthew, containing chiefly
large portions of discourses, but also narrative introductions ;
(3) the Gospel of Mark, for which 1 and 2 were used, yet of
independent origin, although no longer preserved quite in its
original form ; (4) the book of the higher history, which under-
took to depict in a new fashion the very heights of the gospel
history, and from which proceeds, e.g., the copious narrative
of the temptation in Matthew and Luke; (5) our present
Gospel of Mattlicio, written in Greek, with the use of 1-4,
especially, however, of Mark, and the collection of sayings,
probably also of a writing upon the preliminary history ;
(6, 7, 8) three different books, which may still be pointed out
from the Gospel of Luke ; (9) the Gospel of Luke, in which all
the hitherto enumerated writings, with the exception, however,
of Matthew, were used. According to Scholten, however, a
sketch by John Mark, after undergoing a first revision (Proto-
Markus}, was united with Matthew's collection of sayings
(Proto - Matthaeus), through which process arose a Deutero-
MattJiaeus, a second recension of which (Trito- Matthaeus]
produced our first canonical Gospel ; the latter, however, must
also have been already known to a second redactor of the
Proto-Markus, i.e. to our canonical Mark (Deutero-Markiis), as
is shown by its putting aside the history of the birth. The
view of Holtzmann is simpler, who regards an original Mark
38 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(-4) as the sole basis of our present Mark, which, however,
was also used, after the collection of sayings (.4), by Matthew
and Luke, yet in such a way that these two, along with A
and A, made use also of other smaller written sources and
oral traditions. Weiss, again, supposes the \6jia to be the
original Gospel, with which portions of the history, of the
nature of sketches, yet without the history of the birth and
passion, were already combined, and then makes our Mark
follow at once, as a working up of the original Gospel with
the recollections of Peter. The question, whether Luke made
use of our Matthew, is denied, not merely by Ewald, but
also by Weisse, Beuss, Thiersch, Plitt, Weiss, Holtzmanu,
Weizsacker.
(4.) Mark, Luke, Mattheiv. So Wilke (der Ur evangelist,
1838), B. Bauer. Comp. also Hitzig, iib. Johann. Markus
und seine Schriften, 1843 ; and especially Volkmar, die
Evangelien od. Markus u. d. Synopsis, etc., 1870, according
to whom the Gospel of Mark is said to be a self-conscious
didactic poem upon a historical basis ; the Gospel of Luke a
Pauline renewal of the original didactic writing against a
Jewish- Christian reaction ; while the Gospel of Matthew is a
combination of both in the universalistic Jewish - Christian
sense. See also Volkmar, Urspr. uns. Evangelien nach d.
Urkunden, 1866.
(5.) Luke, Matthew,. Mark. So Biisching, die vier Evan-
gelisten mit ihren eigenen Wortenzusammengesetzt, Hamb. 1766 ;
Evanson, The Dissonance of the Four generally received Evan-
gelists, 1792.
(6.) Luke, Mark, Matthew. So Vogel (in Gabler's Journ.
fur auserl. theol. Lit. I. p. 1 ff.). A more minute statement
and criticism of these various views belongs to the science of
Historico-Critical Introduction. It may here suffice to note
the following points.
Since the testimony of Papias regarding the work of Mark
furnishes no reason (see afterwards, note 1) for regarding this
work as different from our second canonical Gospel ; and since
our present Gospel of Matthew is not identical with the <rvv-
Ta*s TCOV \oyiav which the apostle composed, but is a nou-
INTRODUCTION. 39
apostolic historic product which gradually grew up out of
this apostolic writing ; since, finally, Luke, who already pre-
supposes a manifold evangelic literature, and who wrote after
the destruction of Jerusalem, must be regarded in any case
as the last of the Synoptists, while the tradition, which
assigns the first place to Matthew, may be fully conceived and
explained from the very early existence of that apostolic avv-
rat5 TWV \oyl(ov, the Gospel of Mark thus most naturally
presents itself, on a historical consideration of the origin of
the three synoptic Gospels and that without the assumption,
which is devoid of historical testimony, and throws everything
back into uncertainty, of an original writing, 1 differing from
its present form as the one which is the oldest amongst the
three, and which alongside of oral tradition and other original
evangelic written sources, exercised a dominant influence upon
the others. With this assumption that Mark is the oldest of
the Synoptics, the distinctive internal character of this Gospel
is quite in harmony, the omission of all preliminary histories
which cannot be explained as resulting from design (according
to Baur, from neutrality), the beginning [of the history] with
the appearance of the Baptist, the as yet altogether unde-
veloped narrative of the temptation, the circumstantial treat-
ment of the history of the miracles, the freedom from legendary-
insertions in the history of the Passion which are found in
Matthew, the objective character which, nevertheless, indi-
1 Weisse, Ewald, Kostlin, Eeuss, Scholten, and several others. It has been
sought to determine the unknown magnitude of an original Mark, against which
Weiss and Klostermann have also decidedly declared themselves, partly by means
of a multitude of interpolations (comp. also Wilke and Volkmar) which our
Mark contains, partly by means of many large omissions which it is said to have
experienced, partly by the assumption of many variations in expression, and in
the setting forth of individual details. Holtzmann reduces the literary treat-
ment which this original writing received through Mark (1) to abbreviations
of the discourses, and to the passing over of minutiae in the narratives ; (2) to
an important abbreviation at the beginning, and a great gap, occasioned by the
Sermon on the Mount, with which, at the same time, two miracles have fallen
out ; (3) to brief explanatory additions and insertions. Weizsacker goes further
in comparing the evangelic fundamental document, which he assumes, with the
present Mark. Wittichen, too, finds in the latter a. redaction of the fundamental
document ; while Scholten brings out the original Mark only after many arbi-
trary excisions.
40 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
cates the theological design and method, and especially the
original stamp of direct liveliness and picturesque clearness of
style and description. " This enamel of the fresh flower, this
full pure life of the materials" (Ewald, Jahrb. I. p. 204), can-
not be explained from the " tendency towards what is drastic
and striking " (Kahnis), or from a purely " subjective manner
on the part of the author " (Kostlin), and is not reconcilable
with the assumption of a compilatory treatment ; while the
peculiar omission, moreover, and abbreviation on the one side,
and the numerous, more circumstantial narratives and indi-
vidual features on the other, which Mark exhibits, when
compared with Matthew, would be conceivable neither psycho-
logically nor historically, if Mark were the copyist and
extractor of Matthew (or even of Matthew and Luke). See
especially Weiss, Holtzmann, Weizsacker, Klostermann. The
Gospel of Mark, which, agreeably to its extent, arrangement,
and presentation of the gospel material, flowed most directly
from the early Christian tradition, must have preceded our
present Gospel of Matthew, and it is only the actual composi-
tion of the Apostle, Matthew's collection of sayings, which can
be regarded as the source which Mark, and that with the inde-
pendence of his peculiar object, which did not go in quest of
copious accounts of discourses, made use of from Matthew. His
Gospel, moreover, had the authority of Peter in its favour (see
the fragment of Papias) ; and it is all the more explicable, when
the Hebrew Gospel of Matthew gradually formed itself amongst
the Christians of Palestine out of the Apostle Matthew's col-
lection of sayings, that it obtained a very substantial influ-
ence not only upon the shaping of this itself as to contents
and form, but was also, at its final redaction and subsequent
translation into the Greek language, made use of in such a way
that the community even of expressions, which appears so often
in the portions that are common, is thereby explained, exactly as
at a later time again Luke had the Gospel of Mark also as one
of his sources, and by the manner in which he made use of
it, might make it appear as if it occupied a middle position
between the first and third Gospels, borrowing in a dependent
manner from both ; a view by which a crying injustice is done
INTRODUCTION. 41
to Mark under the domination of the Griesbachian hypothesis l
(especially, also, by de Wette, Baur, Kostlin, Bleek, Keim).
If accordingly, besides oral tradition, the avvrafys T&V
\oylc0v of the Apostle Matthew, and our Gospel of Mark, are
to be regarded as the chief Christian sources of our first
Gospel, to the latter of which sources the relation of our
Matthew is often directly that of omission and extraction,
there yet must also have been other original evangelic writings
in existence, which were worked up along with these when
the Gospel was moulding itself into shape. Such individual
writings are certainly to be recognised in the genealogy and
in the preliminary history, and though less certainly deter-
minable, yet also not to be denied in the further course of the
history. The uniformity of the linguistic stamp, which exists
in general, finds its sufficient explanation partly in the final
redaction which preceded the translation, partly in the unity
of the translator.
EEMARK 1. The testimony of the Presbyter John (not of the
Evangelist John, as Zahn, Biggenbach, and Klostermann think),
in Papias, regarding Mark, as quoted in Eusebius iii. 39, is as
follows: "Mdpxog fjt,iv,'tpfjc l ^vsvrftg Tlsrpov ysvoftevog, oaa C/AVTJ-
p6riu<ft1 dxpi(3ug e y p a. -^/ f v, ov f&evroi rdt*t/, TO, I/TO rov Xpierov
ra % Kpa^divra- ovrs yap yxov-Gi rov xvpiov o'vre irapr)-
f V avrGJ, var'epov dt, ug tpyv, Herpw, og irpog rag y^pfiag
rag diftaffxa'kiag, dXX' ou^ uairtp ffuvra^iv ruv xvp/a-
Xoywv (al. "koyiuv, as Laemmer reads), "flare
ovSfv jjfAaprt Md.px.og ovrug svia, ypd-^ug ug dirtfAvrifAovtuo'sv
tvbg yap eiroiriaaro vpovoiav, rov fj,qdtv uv qxouffe ffapaXiire/'v ?j
v^suffaff^a/ n iv aitroTg- TaDra [Atv ovv ieropr^ra.1 rOj IlaT/a
nip} rov Mdpxou." This statement, now, in the opinion of Cred-
ner (compare also Schleiermaeher in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1832,
p. 758 ff.), Schneckenburger, Weisse, Schwegler, Baur, Kostlin,
1 Lachmann, N. T., ed. maj. Praef. p. xvi., appropriately says that this hypo-
thesis represents Mark as " ineptissimum desultorem, qui nunc taedio, modo
cupiditate, turn negligentia, denique vecordi studio, inter evangelia Matthaei et
Lucae incertus feratur atque oberret. " The most thorough demonstration of its
inaccuracy, see in Holtzmann, p. 113 ff. Compare also the whole of his excellent
section upon the linguistic character of the Synoptists (p. 271 ff.). The correct
recognition of the linguistic peculiarities of the three decidedly excludes any
mechanical compilation.
42 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
and others, is said not to be appropriate to our Gospel of Mark,
because */?. in general, is a feature that is applicable to it.
According to Baur, the work meant by Papias is to be conceived
of as after the fashion of the Clementine Homilies ; according to
Kostlin, as a Petrine gospel, containing for the most part dis-
courses of Jesus ; according to Ewald and Hilgenfeld, its con-
tents were at least of greater extent than our Mark. But the
meaning of the above passage is as follows : After Mark had
become the interpreter, i.e. not the translator (Grimm in the
Stud. u. Kritik. 1872, p. 686), but the secretary of Peter, he
committed to writing so much of what had either been spoken or
done by Christ as his memory enabled him to recall, although not
in the order of historical succession. He could not have adopted
the latter plan, because he had been neither a hearer nor a
follower of the Lord ; but at a later date, as mentioned (ut dixi,
namely, in the words tpwv. Tlsrpov yw6/u,.\ he became a follower
of Peter, " who regulated his doctrinal teaching according to the
retirements of the occasion, though not in such a way as if he
had intended to set forth the discourses of the Lord in an orderly
combination. Mark therefore committed no error in having
written down some things in the shape that his recollection
presented * them to him ; for one thing he made of importance,
to omit nothing of what he had heard (from Peter), and to
falsify none of tlie statements." The eypa-^tv, mentioned at the
beginning of the statement, refers then to the writing down
which immediately followed the hearing of the addresses of Peter,
which might take place ou rd%si, not according to historical
order, but only in the form of notices, in the fashion of Adver-
saria. The ypa-^ai;, on the other hand, that follows, refers to
the later composition of the Gospel, as clearly appears from the
".MIO, which stands beside it (in opposition to the preceding c<ra).
This tvia, however, brings into prominence some things, out of
the entire contents of his Gospel, which might, indeed, have
been expected to be given in a different way from that in which
Mark's memory recalled them, i.e. in a better pragmatic arrange-
1 Namely, without bringing this ? into the historically connected arrange-
ment. "We might also explain ui *-tpvtif*,. : as he has related it in his treatise
(comp. Plato, Theag. p. 121 D, Tim. p. 20 E, Crit. 110 B ; Xenophon,
Cyr. viii. 2. 13 ; Demosthenes, 345. 10. al.), i.e. in no better order. But the
above view is to be preferred on account of the correlation with ifiiti{*.iviv<r<i.
Observe, moreover, that it is not said that Mark wrote only *, and that
therefore he in general wrote incompletely (so still Weizsacker, p. 29) ; but that
he wrote some things in such way, etc. Kostlin, Weiss, Klostennann, have taken
the right view.
INTRODUCTION. 43
ment and connection ; but in reference to which the presbyter
justifies the evangelist on the ground of the accidental, frag-
mentary style and fashion in which his notices regarding the
matter of the Gospel originated. It is not, then, to the gospel
writing of Mark as a whole, but only to a few individual
portions of it (tvia), that the presbyter denies the property of
rd^ig ; and he explains this defect, and offers an excuse for it. 1
If, then, there is no ground stated in the words of Papias for
any intention to point out in the Gospel of Mark generally a
deficiency in definite arrangement (Ebrard, Reuss), or at least
a deficiency in closeness of succession, perhaps also in chrono-
logical certainty (Zahn), these words cannot, on the other
side, serve also to prove that our present Gospel is not intended.
The ou 7-d^si, seeing it is limited only to some things, is to be left
entirely in its objective accuracy, as an attested defect in the
Gospel of Mark, without our having to refer this attestation to
a comparison lying at its basis with another Gospel, espe-
cially with John (Ewald, Jahrb. I. p. 206) or with Matthew
(Ebrard, Hilgenfeld, Weiss, Bleek, Holtzmann, and several
others), or even with the work of Papias (Weisse). The in-
ference, moreover, is not to be drawn from the present passage,
that the alleged original Mark contained chiefly discourses of
Christ (Kostlin), since oup vamp avvrct iv T % y xvptaxuv KoiovfLivog
Aoy wv characterizes apotiori the instructions of Peter, and that
in a negative manner in comparison with Papias' own work,
which had the Xoyia, as its contents. Peter, in his di&aaxaMai,
certainly communicated the Lord's sayings, but in a sporadic
manner, according to the measure of the varying needs [of his
1 Compare also Klostermann, d. Markusevang. p. 327, who, however, mis-
understands the introduction to the passage of Papias, in interpreting, in a way
which is linguistically incorrect, o<ra, which is quantitative, as qualitative (con-
sequently, as if ola. stood in the passage), and ippv*. n. ye*ip. as a modal defini-
tion of oaa. . . . typx^'r (so also Grau, I. p. 178), where ipftwturvs is said to be
& figurative expression, in so far as Mark presented to his hearers the addresses
of Peter, which they themselves could not hear ; and thereby was, as it were,
an interpreter of the apostle. Apart from this extension of the meaning of Ipptit-
turris, which is forced and artificial, and more appropriate to a poetic context
than to one of so simple a nature, and which is opposed, moreover, to the -testi-
monies of the Fathers, such as Irenaeus, iii. 10. 6, Tertullian, c. Marc. iv. 5, al.,
Klostermann explains the passage as if the words were : Mapxos p\v ipfwuwrii;
Uirpou iyimro, ola. ipttiponvfiv axpifica; ypai^as, or : M. pi* ola. tpinp. axpifius typaij'tr,
ouTUf ipptiviurris uirpau y.epiva s . Klostermann also errs in this, that he ex-
punges the comma after ov pi* T|/, and, again, supplies axpifius sypa-^n after
x-pa.%0i*'ra.. "Or* lju.ytip.ov. is, rather, an intermediate clause : and the TO, *
TO Xpurrou, etc. , is that which Mark wrote axpifius, v pivroi ra%u.
44 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
hearers], but not in such a way as if he had wished to produce
a tfy-ag/j of them ; and he connected them in so far with the
relative historical instructions, that his companion Mark might
write down from the addresses of the apostle to which he had
listened, not merely rot. virb ro\j Xpmrov ^i^dsvrct, but ret
divra %
KEMARK 2. With regard to the order of the synoptic
Gospels in respect of their origin, the tradition of the church is
unanimous for the priority of Matthew, and almost unanimous
for assigning a middle position to Mark, in opposition to which
there is only the isolated notice in Eusebius vi. 1 4, by Clement
of Alexandria, in favour of the hypothesis of Griesbach : vpoys-
ypdipda,! sXfyev ruv svayystJuv TO. ^ipts^ovra. rcej ymaXoy/. That
unanimous tradition, however, is reconcilable also with our
view regarding the origin of the Gospels, in so far, namely, that
Matthew in reality wrote before Mark, i.e. his evvrafys ruv
hoyicuv, out of which our present Gospel then grew up. To this
relation to the first written source of the Gospel is the origin
of that tradition to be referred:- Altogether without reason has
Baur, in the theol. Jahrb. 1853, p. 93, with the approval of
Volkinar, interpreted the predicate of Mark, 6 xoXo/SoSaxruXoj
(with the mutilated finger), in the Philosophumena Origenis,
which cannot, without arbitrariness, be understood otherwise
than quite in its proper sense (see Ewaldi Jahrb. VII. p. 197),
of the epitomatory character of the Gospel
KEMARK 3. Although the Gospel of Mark is the oldest of the
Synoptics, and has apparently preserved in part purer and more
original traditions than the Gospel of Matthew, it may still be
partially inferior in point of originality to the tradition which
has stamped its impress upon the latter, since Mark could mainly
work up his notices, gathered from his connection with Peter,
only by help of tradition ; and since, on the other side, the Gospel
of Matthew was moulded into shape gradually, and in Palestine
itself, so that in any case, even apart from the apostolic collec-
tion of sayings, which passed over substantially into this Gospel,
many older elements of tradition, and older documentary
portions than any in Mark, may have been preserved in it. To
the critical comparison of the narratives given in Matthew
with those of Mark, no hindrance can then be interposed by
the placing of the latter first; as in Mark in comparison with
Matthew, so also in Matthew in comparison with Mark, we
may recognise more original elements, and thus, in so far,
partly assign to the first also a primary position.
SUPERSCRIPTION.
Evay<ye\iov Kara Mardalov.
THIS superscription has the oldest and best witnesses in its
favour. Kara Mar&a?ov (B K, Codd. Lat.) is in conformity with
this, because whole volumes bore the title of EuayyfX/oi/. All
longer superscriptions are of later date, as : rb.x. M. suayyix/ov ;
TO x. M. cLyiov fjayy'eXiov ; tvayyiXiov sx rou x. M. ; sx ro\J x. M.
f-uayyeA/ov. Both the latter are derived from Lectionaries.
Instead of MardaTog, Lachmann and Tischendorf write MaddaToc,
after B D K.
EvayyeXtov signifies in the old language a present given in
return for joyful news (Horn. Od. 152, 166; Plut. Ages. 33 ;
2 Sam. iv. 10 ; Cic. Att. ii. 12), or a, sacrifice, offered up for
the same (Xen. Hell. i. 6. 26, iv. 3. 7; Aristoph. Eq. 656 ;
Diod. Sic. xv. 74; Pollux, v. 129). First in later Greek only
does it also mean the good news itself (Plut. Serf. 1 1 ; Lucian.
Asin. 26 ; Appian, B. G. iv. 20 ; LXX. 2 Sam. xviii. 25).
So throughout the N. T. (corresponding to the Hebrew TjVK'a),
where it signifies /car' e^o^u, the joyful news of the Messiah's
kingdom (Matt. iv. 23, ix. 35, xxiv. 14; Acts xx. 24),
which news preached Jesus as the Messiah. So also in the
superscriptions of the Gospels, which present the know-
ledge of salvation by Jesus as the Messiah in historical form,
in the form of a historical demonstration of the Messiah-
ship of Jesus. The designation of our writings as news of
salvation ty the Messiah (eva<yye\ia) is derived from the most
remote ecclesiastical antiquity. See Justin. Apol. i. 66, Dial,
c. Tryph. 100. Kara Mardalov] The knowledge of Messianic
45
46 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
salvation, as it was shaped (in writing) ty Mattheiv. In Vil-
loison's Scholia on Homer we have the expressions : "0/477/309
Kara ^Apiarap^ov, Kara ZrjvoSorov, Kara 'Apiarrotydv'rjv. There
is thus also a evaryyeXiov Kara Mardatov, Kara Mdptcov, and
so on. Comp. Euseb. iii. 24 : Mardaios . . . ypa<j>f) TrapaSov?
TO /car avrov evayy. Matthew is in this way designated as
the author of this written form of the Gospel, which in itself
is one (Credner, Gesch. d. Kanon, p. 87). It is incorrect,
however, to maintain, as do others, and even Kuinoel, after
older writers, that Kara denotes simply the genitive. For if
so, then, firstly, this case, which certainly most obviously
suggested itself, and which would also have been analogous to
Paul's expression, TO evayyekiov (MOV (Rom. ii. 16, xvi. 25),
would have been employed ; secondly, the Hebrew *? of author-
ship, which is to be viewed as the dative of connection, is not
applicable here, because the LXX. does not express it by
Kara ; thirdly, even in the passages which are quoted from
Greek writers, the genitival relation is not contained directly,
but is only derived in the relation of the thing to the persons,
as in the numerous passages in Polybius (Schweighauser's
Lex. p. 323); comp. already, Thuc. vi. 16. 5 : eV T&> Kar
avrovs fii(p ; Bernhardy, p. 241 ; Valckenaer, Schol. I. p. 4 ;
Buttmann, N. T. Gramm. p. 137 [E. T. pp. 156, 157]. See
also 2 Mace. ii. 13 : ev TO*? virofjivr) Barter pots TOI? Kara rov
NeefjLidv, and Grimm on the passage. It is quite opposed to
history (Introduction, sec. 2) when others (Eckermann in the
theolog. Beitr. 5 Bd. 2 St. p. 106 ff.) fall into the opposite
extreme, and draw the inference from Kara that the com-
position is not here ascribed to the evangelists, but that all
that is said is, that the writings are composed after them, i.e.
after their manner. So Faustus the Manichaean in Augustine,
c. Faust, xvii. 2, xxvii. 2, xxxiii. 3 ; Credner's Einleit. 88-
90 ; Jachmann in Illgen's Zeitschr. 1842, 2, p. 13 ; Volkinar,
who sees himself driven, by the fact that Luke and John were
the authors of the third and fourth Gospels, to the arbitrary
assumption that the superscriptions of the two first Gospels
are to be regarded as original, while those of the third and
fourth were intentionally added by a third hand for the sake
CHAP. I. 47
of uniformity, after the proper meaning of the Kara in the
two first had come to be lost. Even in the titles of the
apocryphal gospels (evayyeX. KaO' 'JE/Spatou?) Kara designates
not the readers, for whom they were intended, but the gospel,
as it had shaped itself under the hands of the Hebrews, etc.,
the gospel as redacted ~by the, Hebrews, in this sense also shortly
termed 'Efipa'ifcov (Epiph. Haer. xxx. 13).
CHAPTEE L
Vv. 1-17. In the writing of the names there are manifold
variations in MSS., verss., and Fathers. Lachm. and Tisch.
have in vv. 1, 6, 17 Aaug/3, which is attested throughout as the
manner of writing the word by the oldest and best MSS. ; ver. 5.
'lujStf, after B C A K, verss. Fathers ; ver. 8 f. 'ofyiav, 'ofyla.;,
after B A K ; ver. 10. 'A/AW?, after B C M A K, verss. Epiph. ;
ver. 10 f. 'lusetav, 'luatlag, after B A tf, Sahid. ; ver. 15. Uadddv,
after B*. Lachmann has, besides, in ver. 5, Boos, after C, and
Tischendorf (8th ed.) Boss, after B K ; Lachm. and Tisch. (8th
ed.) in ver. 7 f. 'A<td<p, after B C K, verss. Ver. 6. 6 ^asiXsvg,
which B r K, 1, 71, Syr. Copt. Sahid. Arm. al omit (deleted by
Lachm. and Tisch.), has the preponderance of voices in its
favour ; its emphasis being overlooked on account of what
precedes, it was regarded as superfluous, and was easily passed
over. Ver. 11. After fyewqffi, M U Curss. have rlv 'iwaxs/X
'iwaxg/> ds ty'&wnffs. A later interpolation (yet already before
Irenaeus), but put in circulation after Porphyry had already
reproached the church with a defective genealogy. Ver. 1 8.
B C P S Z A K, Curss. Eus. Ath. Max. have ysviaig. So also
Lachm. and Tisch. Others : ytw^aic, which has been adopted
by Elz. Scholz, and Rinck. The former is to" be preferred,
because the latter might very easily arise from the frequently
preceding lym^ and lyfwjjtoj, and might also appear more
appropriate to the connection (partus modus). Comp. ii. 1,
Luke i. 14. Ver. 19. vapad&iy^aTisai] Lachm. and Tisch. have
diiypariffui, only, indeed, after B Z X ** I, Schol. on Orig., and
Euseb., but correctly, as fo/y/iar/^w is preserved only in Col.
ii. 15, while Kapaduy(j,a.Ti > u (Heb. vi. 6) is common in the LXX.
and elsewhere, and suggested itself, therefore, as the better
known and stronger expression (comp. Scholion in Tisch.).
Ver. 24. dtc/epdsif] Lachm. and Tisch. (8th ed.) have typOst:, after
48 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
B C * Z K, Curss. Epiph. The less current compound verb gave
place to the very common (comp. ii. 14) simple form. Ver. 25.
riv uiov avrrj$ rbv npuroroKov] Lachm. and Tisch. have simply
u/o'v, after B Z N, 1, 33, Copt. Sahid. Syr cu - Codd. It. Ambr. al.
Certainly (comp. especially Bengel) the Eeceived reading lias
the appearance of having originated from Luke ii. 7 (where
there is no various reading). The witnesses, however, in favour
of the Recepta greatly preponderate-; the virginity of Mary,
also (against which, according to the testimony of Jerome,
doubts were raised in consequence of the ^rpwroVoxov), certainly
more probably suggested the removal of the -rpwroroxov than its
insertion. Comp. Mill and Wetstein. Finally, had v!6v merely
been the original reading in the present passage, the npuToroxov
in Luke ii. 7 could scarcely have remained unassailed.
Ver. 1. jBt/3\o9 ^eveo-eeo?] .Book of origin ; Trinpin nap, Gen.
ii. 4, v. 1, LXX. ; comp. Gen. vi. 9, xi. 10. The first verse
contains the title, of the, genealogy which follows in w. 2-16,
which contains the origin of Christ from the Messianic line
that runs on from the time of Abraham (genitive of contents).
So Beza, Calvin, Grotius, Bengel, Wetstein, Paulus, Kuinoel,
Gratz, de Wette, Baumgarten - Crusius, and others. The
evangelist adopted the genealogical piece of writing (/3//3Xo<?),
and which " velut extra corpus historiae prominet " (Grotius),
without alteration, as .he found it, and with its title also.
Others (Bede, Maldonatus, Schleussner) take -<yeve<ri<i as mean-
ing life, and regard the words as a superscription to the
entire Gospel : commentarius de vita Jesu. Contrary to the
usage of the language ; for in Judith xii. 1 8, and Wisdom
vii. 5, 7ez/e(7K? denotes the. origin, the commencing point of
life ; in Plato, Phaedr. p. .2 52 D, it means existence ; in
Hierocles, p. 298, the creation, or that which is created ; and
in Jas. iii. 6, rpo^o? rr}? <yevicrew<> is the T/JO^O? which begins
with birth. And if we were to suppose, with Olearius (comp.
Hammond and Vitringa, also Euthym. Zigabenus), that the
superscription liber de originibus Jesu Christi was selected first
with reference to the commencement of the history, to which
the further history was then appended with a distinctive
designation (comp. Catonis Censorii Origines), as ninTin also
confessedly does not always announce a mere genealogy (Gen.
CHAP. I. L 49
v. 1 ff., xi. 27 if.), nay, may even stand without any genea-
logical list following it (Gen. ii. 4, xxxvii. 2 ff.), so the
immediate connection in which /8t/3\o<? . . . Xpiarov stands
with viou Aav., viov 'A (3 p., here necessitates us to think from
the very beginning, in harmony with the context, of the
genealogy merely ; and the commencement of ver. 18, where
the yevea-ix in the narrower sense, the actual origination, is
now related, separates the section vv. 1825 distinctly from
the preceding genealogical list, so that the first words of
chap, ii., roy Be 'Iija-ov yevvydevTos, connect themselves, as
carrying on the narrative, with vv. 1825, where the origin
of Jesus, down to His actual birth, is related. This is, at the
same time, in answer to Fritzsche, who translates it as volumen
de J. Christi originibus, and, appealing to the words in the
beginning of ch. ii., regards /3//3\o? yevecrea)*;, K.T.\., as the super-
scription of the first chapter (so also Delitzsch), as well as to
Olshausen (see also Ewald and Bleek), who takes it as the super-
scription of the two first chapters. If the Israelite set a high
value, in his own individual instance, upon a series of ancestors
of unexceptionable pedigree (Rom. xi. 1 ; Phil. iiL 5 ; Josephus,
c. Ap. ii. 7; Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. p. 178), how much more
must such be found to be the case on the side of the Messiah !
'IT/CTOU Xptarov] The name JWirP (Ex. xxiv. 13 ; Num. xiii. 16),
or, after the exile, &W (Neh. vii. 7), ^OJLJ, was very common, 1
and denotes Jehovah is helper. This meaning, contained in
the name Jesus (cornp. Sir. xlvi. 1), came to full personal
manifestation in Christ, see ver. 21. Xpunos corresponds to
the Hebrew T^D, anointed, which was used partly of priests,
Lev. iv. 3, v. 16, vi. 15, Ps. cv. 15 ; partly of kings, 1 Sam.
xxiv. 7, 11, Ps. ii 2, Isa. xlv. 1, cornp. Dan. ix. 25, 26; as
a prophet also, according to 1 Kings xix. 16, might be an
anointed person. From the time of the Book of Daniel for
throughout the whole later period also, down to the time of
Christ, the Messianic idea was a living one amongst the people 2
1 Seethe different persons who bear this name in Keim, Gescht. J. I. p. 384 ff.
2 Comp. Langen, d. Judenthum in Palaestind zur Zeit Christi, 1866. "Weis-
senbach, Jesu in regno cod. diynitas, 1868, p. 47 ff. .
MATT. D
50 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
this theocratic name, and that as a king's name, was
applied, according to the Messianic explanation of the second
Psalm, to the king of David's race, whose coming, according to
the predictions of the prophets, was ever more ardently looked
for, but with hopes that became ever purer, ivho was to raise the
nation to its theocratic consummation, to restore the kingdom to
its highest power and glory, and extend his blessings to the
heathen as well, while, as a necessary condition to all this, He
was, in a religious and moral respect, to work out the true spiritual
government of God, and bring it to a victorious termination.
See on the development of the idea and hope of the Messiah,
especially Ewald, Gesch. Christ, p. 133 ff., ed. 3 [E. T. by
Glover, p. 140 ff.] ; Bertheau in d. Jahrb. f. D. Th. IV. p.
595 ff., V. p. 486 ff.; Riehm in d. Stud. u. Kritik. 1865,
I. and III. [E. T., Clark, Edinburgh, 1876]. According to
B. Bauer (comp. Volkmar, Rel. Jesu, p. 113), Jesus is said to
have first developed the Messianic idea out of His own con-
sciousness, the community to have clothed it in figures, and
then to have found these figures also in the Old Testament,
while the Jews first received the idea from the Christians !
In answer to this view, which frivolously inverts the historical
relation, see Ebrard, Kritik. d. evang. Gesch., ed. 3, | 120 ff.
[E. T. 2d ed., Clark, Edinburgh, p. 485 f.] ; and on the
Messianic ideas of the Jews at the time of Christ, especially
Hilgenfeld, Messias Judaeorum libris eorum paulo ante et paulo
post Christum natum conscriptis illustratus, 1869 ; also Holtz-
mann in d. Jahrb. f. D. Theol. 1867, p. 389 ff., according to
whom, however, the original self-consciousness of the Lord
had been matured at an earlier date, before He found * for it,
in His confession of Himself as the Messiah, a name that
might be uttered before His contemporaries, and an objective
representation that was conceivable for Himself. The official
name X/JKTTO?, for Jesus, soon passed over in the language of
1 In connection with this view, we would be obliged to acquiesce in the belief
of a very radical misunderstanding, which would permeate the gospel history
from the baptism and the witness of John, namely, that the evangelists " appre-
hended as a beginnina what was rather a result." On exegetical grounds this
cannot be justified.
CHAP. I. 1. 51
the Christians into a nomcn proprium, in which shape it
appears almost universally in the Epistles and in the Acts
of the Apostles, with or without the article, after the nature of
proper names in general. In the Gospels, X/Jto-ro? stands as a
proper name only in Matt. i. 1, 16, 17, 18; Mark i. 1; Johni.
1 7 ; and appropriately, because not congruous to the develop-
ment of the history and its connection, but spoken from the
standpoint of the much later period of its composition, in
which 'iT/croO? X/3to-ro<? had been already long established as
a customary name in the language of Christians ; as here also
(comp. Mark i. 1) in the superscription, the whole of the great
name 'Ir/croO? Xpiaros is highly appropriate, nay, necessary.
Further, Jesus could be the bearer of the idea of Messiah, for
the realization of which He knew from the beginning that He
was sent, in no other way than in its national definiteness,
therefore also without the exclusion of its political element,
the thought of which, however, and this appears most fully
in John, was transfigured by Him into the idea of the highest
and universal spiritual government of God, so that the religious
and moral task of the Messiah was His clear aim from the
very outset, in striving after and attaining which He had to
prepare the way for the Messiah's kingdom, and finally had
to lay its indestructible, necessary foundation (founding of the
new covenant) by His atoning death, while He pointed to the
future, which, according to all the evangelists, was viewed by
Himself as near at hand, for the final establishment, glory,
and power of the kingdom, when He will solemnly appear
(Parousia) as the Messiah who is Judge and Ruler. viov
AaveiS] for, according to prophetic promise, He must be a
descendant of David, otherwise He would not have been the
Messiah, John vii. 42 ; Rom. i. 3 ; Acts xiii. 22 f . ; the
Messiah is called pre-eminently "JTn |3, Matt. xii. 23, xxi. 9,
xxii. 42 ; Luke xviii. 38. Comp. Wetstein, and Babylon.
Sanhedr. fol. 97. David is designated as Abraham's de-
scendant, because the genealogical table must begin nationally
with Abraham, who, according to the promise, is the original
ancestor of the series of generations (GaL iii. 16), so that
consequently the venerable chiefs of this genealogy immediately
52 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
appear in the superscription. Luke's point of view (iii. 23)
goes beyond the sphere of the nation, while Mark (I.e.}
sets out from the theocratico- dogmatic conception of the
Messiah.
Vv. 2, 3. K. T. dSeXijboi/? avr.] " Promissiones fuere in familia
Israelis," Bengel. Ver. 3. These twin sons of Judah were
illegitimate, Gen. xxxviii. 16-30. The Jews were inclined
to find a good side to the transgressions of their ancestors, and
alleged here, e.g., that Thamar entertained the idea of becom-
ing an ancestress of kings and prophets. See Wetstein and
Fritzsche. The reason why Thamar is here brought forward,
as well as Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba in vv. 5, 6 (for OVK
rjv e#o9 ryeveaXoyeiadat yvvaiKa^, Euth. Zigabenus), is not " ut
tacilae Jtidaeorum objectioni occurreretur," Wetstein ; for the
reproach of illegitimate birth was not raised against Jesus in
the apostolic age, nor probably before the second century
(see Thilo, ad Cod. Apocr. I. p. 526 f.), and would be very
indelicately referred to by the naming of these women; nor
the point of view of exactness (Fritzsche), which would not
explain why these women and no others were mentioned; least
of all the tendency to cast into the shade the Jewish genea-
logical tree (Hilgenfeld). In keeping with the whole design
of the genealogical register, which must terminate in the
wonderful one who is born of woman, that reason cannot, with-
out arbitrariness, be found save in this, that the women named
entered in an extraordinary manner into the mission of con-
tinuing the genealogy onwards to the future Messiah, and
might thereby appear to the genealogist and the evangelist
as typi Mariae (Paulus, de Wette, Ebrard ; comp. Grotius on
ver. 3), and in so doing the historical stains which cleaved to
them (to Ruth also, in so far as she was a Moabitess) were
not merely fully compensated by the glorious approval which
they found precisely in the light in which their history was
regarded by the nation (Heb. xi. 31; Jas. ii. 25), but far
outweighed and even exalted to extraordinary honours. See
the numerous Rabbinical passages, relating especially to Thamar,
Rahab, and Ruth, in Wetstein in loc., and on Heb. xi. 31.
Olshausen is too indefinite : " in order to point to the mar-
CHAP. I. 5, 6. 53
vellons gracious leading of God in the ordering of the line of
the Messiah." Luther and some of the Fathers drag in here
what lies very remote : because Christ interested Himself in
sinners ; Lange, more remote still, " in order to point to the
righteousness which comes, not from external holiness, but
from faith ; " and Delitzsch (in Eudelbach and Guericke's
Zeitschrift, 1850, p. 575 f.), " because the sinless birth of Mary
was prepared throughout by sin"
Ver. 5. Boaz is also called, in Euth iv. 21 and 1 Chron.
ii. 11, son of Salma; but his mother Eahab is not mentioned.
The author without doubt drew from a tradition which was
then current, and presupposed as known (according to Ewald
it was apocryphal), which gave Salma as a wife to her who
had risen to honour by her conduct in Jericho (Heb. xi. 31 ;
Jas. ii. 25). The difficulties which, according to Eosenmiiller,
Kuinoel, and Gratz, arise from the chronology, namely, that
Eahab must have become a mother at seventy or eighty years
of age, are, considering the uncertainty of the genealogical
tradition, which already appears in Euth iv. 2 0, as well as the
freedom of Orientals in general with regard to genealogies, not
sufficient to justify here the assumption of some other Eahab.
According to Megill. f. 14, 2, and KoheletTi E. 8, 10, Joshua
married Eahab, a tradition which is not followed by our
genealogy.
Ver. 6. Tov AavelB rov fiaaiXea] Although an apposition
with the article follows the proper name, yet AaveiS also takes
the article, not for the sake of uniformity with the preceding
name (de Wette), but in order to designate David demonstra-
tively, as already marked out in ver. 1. In ver. 16, also, the
article before 'Iwo-r)<f>, which is accompanied by an apposition,
has, in keeping with the deep significance of his paternal
relation to Jesus, demonstrative power (Kiihner, II. p. 520).
The rov /Sao-tXea also, and the subsequent emphatic repetition
of 6 /Sao-tXew, are a distinction for David, with whom the
Messiah's genealogy entered upon the kingly dignity. rrj?
rov Ovpiov] Such methods of expression by the simple
genitive suppose the nature of the relationship in question
to be known, as here it is that of wife. Comp. Hectoris
54 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Andromache, Luther's Katharina, and the like. See Kiihner,
II. p. 285 f. Winer, p. 178 [E. T. p. 237].
Ver. 8. 'lopa/j, . . . 'O&av] Three kings, Ahaziah, Joaz, and
Amazia, are wanting between these (2 Kings viii. 24 ; 1 Chron.
iii. 11; 2 Chron. xxii. 1, 11, xxiv. 27). The common opinion
is that of Jerome, that the omission was made for the sake
of obtaining an equal division of the names, in order not to
go beyond the three Tesseradeeades. Such omissions were
nothing unusual: 1 Chron. viii. 1; Gen. xlvi. 21. See
Surenhusius, /3t/3A,. /cara\\. p. 97. Lightfoot, Hor. p. 181.
On the same phenomenon in the Book of Enoch, see Ewakl
in the Kieler Monatschrift, 1852, p. 520 f. The evangelist
accepted the genealogical list without alteration, just as he
found it; and the cause of that omission cannot be pointed out,
but probably was only, and that without special design, the
similarity of those names, in which way the omission also
which occurs in ver. 11 is to be explained. Ebrard and
Eiggenbach, erroneously introducing the point of view of
theocratic illegality (comp. Lange), are of opinion that
Matthew omitted the three kings for this reason, that Joram,
on account of his marriage with the daughter of Jezebel, and
of his conduct, had deserved that his posterity should be ex-
terminated down to the fourth generation (so already some of
the Fathers, Maldonatus, Spanheim, Lightfoot) ; that Matthew
accordingly declared the descendants of the heathen Jezebel,
down to the fourth generation, unworthy of succeeding to the
theocratic throne. This breaks down at once before the simple
eyevvyo-e. The omissions are generally not to be regarded as
consciously made, otherwise they would conflict with ver. 17
(Trda-ai), and would amount to a falsification.
Ver. 11. The son of Josiah was Joakim, and his son was
Jechoniah. Here, consequently, a link is wanting, and accord-
ingly several uncials, curss., and a few versions 1 contain the
supplement : 'leuerta? 8e e<yevvr}cre TOV 'laaxelfA' 'Ja>a/cei//,
1 Amongst the editions this interpolation has been received into the text by
Colinaeus, H. Stephens, and Er. Schmidt, also by Beza (1st and 2d) ; by Cas-
talio in his translation. It has been defended by Rinck, Lucub. crit. p. 245 f. ;
Ewald assumes that ver. 11 originally ran : 'la/<n'aj 5$ lym. T. 'luaxi/* *ai miit
CHAP. I. 12. 55
8e eyevvrja-e TOV 'Ie%oviav (1 Chron. iii. 15, 16). The
omission is not, with Ebrard, to be explained from the circum-
stance that under Joakim the land passed under the sway of
a foreign power (2 Kings xxiv. 4), and that consequently the
theocratic regal right became extinct (against this arbitrary
view, see on ver. 8) ; but merely from a confusion between the
two similar names, which, at the same time, contributed to
the omission of one of them. This clearly appears from the
circumstance that, indeed, several brothers of Joakim are
mentioned (three, see 1 Chron. iii. 15), but not of Jechoniah.
Zedekiah is, indeed, designated in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 1 as the
brother of the latter (and in 1 Chron. iii. 16 as his son), but
was his uncle (2 Kings xxiv. 1 7 ; Jer. xxxvii. 1). That our
genealogy, however, followed the (erroneous, see Bertheau, p.
430) statement in 2 Chron. xxxvi. 10, is not to be assumed
on account of the plural TOU? aSe\<oy<?, which rather points to
1 Chron. iii. 1 5 and the interchange with Joiakim. It is quite
in an arbitrary manner, finally, that Kuinoel has assigned to
the words ical . . . avrov their place only after 2a\a6lr)\, and
Fritzsche has even entirely deleted them as spurious. eVt
T?7<? perotfc. Ba/3v\d)vo<;] during (not about the time, Luther and
others) the migration. See Bemhardy, p. 246 ; Kiihner, II.
p. 430. The statement, however, is inexact, as Jechoniah was
carried away along with others (2 Kings xxiv. 15). The
genitive Ba/3v\. is used in the sense of et? BafivXwva. Comp.
Eurip. Ipli. T. 1073: 7% 7raTpc5a9 vo<rros. Matt. x. 5 :
6805 Mvuv; iv. 15, al. Winer, p/176 [E. T. p. 234].
Ver. 12. Mera . . . /ieroi/c.] After the migration had taken
place. 1 Chron. iii. 16 ; 2 Kings xiv. 8 ; Joseph. Antt. x. 9.
Not to be translated " during the exile" (Krebs, Kypke), which
is quite opposed to the language. fjieroiKeala] change of abode,
migration ; consequently here, " the being carried away to
Babylon" not the sojourn in the exile itself, which would lead
to an erroneous view of the /uera. The above meaning is
yielded by the Hebrew npia, 1 Chron. v. 22 ; Ezek. xii. 11 ;
aSsX^ouy aurov- 'lua.Kifj. Si ly'iii. <rv 'li%ovtai> i<ri T?; f&'roix. Ba/3. The present
form of the text may be an old error of the copyists, occasioned by the similarity
of the two names.
56 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
2 Kings xxiv. 16; Nah. iii. 10. Comp. the LXX. Anihol.
7. 731 (Leon. Tar. 79). The usual word in the classics is
/teTot/ofo-t? (Plato, Legg. 8. p. 850 A), also /ierot/cicr/xo?
(Plutarch. Popl. 22). 2a\adtij\] he is called in Luke iii. 27
a son of Neri and a grandson of Melchi ; a variation which,
like many others in both genealogies, is to be acknowledged,
and not put aside by the assumption of several individuals of the
same name, by the presupposing of levirate relationships (Hug,
Ebrard), or arbitrary attempts of any other kind. 1 Chron.
iii. 17. When, however, in Jer. xxii. 30 the father of Seal-
thiel is prophetically designated as "'TIS, the prophet himself
explains this in the sense that none of his descendants will sit
upon the throne of David. Comp. Paulus in loc., Hitzig on
Jerem. I.e. The Talmudists are more subtle, see Lightfoot in
loc. Moreover, according to 1 Chron. iii. 19, Pedaiah is want-
ing here between Salathiel and Zerubbabel. Yet Zerubbabel is
elsewhere also called the son of Salathiel (Ezra iii. 2, v. 2 ;
Hag. i. 1 ; Luke iii. 2 7), where, however, 1 Chron. iii. 1 9
is to be regarded as a more exact statement. See Bertheau.
Observe, moreover, that also according to 1 Chron. iii. both
men belong to the Solomonic line.
Ver. 13. None of the members of the genealogy after
Zerubbabel, whose son Abiud is not named in 1 Chron. iii. 1 9 f.
along with the others, occurs in the 0. T. The family of
David had already fallen into a humble position. But even
after the exile, the preservation and, relatively, the restoration
of the genealogies remained a subject of national, especially
priestly, concern ; comp. Joseph, c. Apion. This concern could
not but be only all the more lively and active in reference to
the house of David, with which the expectation of the Messiah
was always connected.
Ver. 16. 'Ia/ea>/3 . . . 'Iwo-^] In Luke iii. 24, Joseph is
called a son of Eli. This variation, also, cannot be set aside.
As in the case of most great men who have sprung from an
obscure origin, so also in the case of Jesus, the ancestors of
no reputation were forgotten, and were given by tradition in
varying form. The view, however (Epiphanius, Luther,
Calovius in answer to Grotius, Bengel, Eosenmiiller, Paulus,
CHAP. I. 16. 57
Gratz, Hofmann, Olshausen, Ebrard, Lauge, Arnoldi, Bisping,
Auberlen), that Luke gives the genealogy of Mary, and conse-
quently that in Luke iii. 24 Joseph is entered as son-in-law of
Eli, or Eli as maternal grandfather of Jesus (Spanheim, Wieseler,
Riggenbach in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1855, p. 585 ff., Krafft),
is just as baseless and harmonistically forced an invention
as that of Augustine, de consen. ev. ii. 3 ; or of Wetstein,
Delitzsch, that Joseph was the adopted son of Eli ; or that of
Julius Africanus in Eusebius t 7, that Matthew gives the
proper father of Joseph, while Luke gives his legal father
according to the law of Levirate marriage (Hug), or conversely
(Schleiermacher, after Ambrose and others). The contradic-
tions which our genealogy presents to that of Luke are to be
impartially recognised. See a more minute consideration of
this in Luke after ch. iii It is well known that the Jews
(the Talmud, and in Origen, c. Celsum, i. 32) call Jesus the
son of Pandira 1 or Panthera. See Paulus, exeget. Handb.
I. p. 290; Mtzsch in the Slud. u. Kritik 1840, 1; Keim,
Leben Jesu, I. p. 368; Ewald, Gesch. Christi, p. 187, ed. 3.
avSpa] is to be rendered husband, and not (Olshausen,
after Theophylact, Grotius) betrothed. For when the genealo-
gist wrote, Joseph had been long ago the husband of Mary ;
and the signification of avqp is never that of sponsu,s. ef 779]
see on Gal. iv. 4. 6 \eyo/j,evo<i Xpi<rTo<i] if the assumption
of Storr (Zweck d. evangel. Gesch. u. A. Brief e, Joh. p. 273),
that this addition expresses the doubt of the genealogist, an
unbelieving relative of Jesus, is a pure imagination, and
completely opposed to the standpoint of the evangelist, who
adopted the genealogy, still we are not to say, with Olshausen
(comp. Gersdorf, and already Er. Schmidt), that \eyea-0ai
here means to be called, and also actually to be. This would
be to confuse it improperly with Ka\eio-0ai. See Winer, p.
571 [E. T. 769]. The genealogical source, which found a
Epiphanius, Haeres. 78. 7, thus (Tiadtip) terms the father of
Joseph. John of Damascus, de fide Orthodox, iv. 15, removes this name still
further back in the roll of ancestors. The Jewish book, Toledoth Jeschu, calls
the father of Jesus, Joseph Pandira. See Eisenmenger, p. 105 ; Paulus, exeget.
Handb. I. p. 156 f. ; Thilo, Cod. apocr. I. p. 526 f.
C8 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
reception in our Matthew, narrates in a purely historical
manner : who bears the name of Christ (iv. 18, x. 2, xxvii. 17) ;
for this name, which became His from the official designation,
was the distinctive name of this Jesus. Comp., besides,
Remark 3, after ver. 17.
Ver. 17. This contains the remark of the evangelist in
accordance with (ovv) this genealogical tree, contained in
vv. 216. The key to the calculation, according to which
the thrice-recurring fourteen links are to be enumerated,
lies in vv. 11, 12. According to ver. 11, Josiah begat
Jechoniah at the time of the migration to Babylon; con-
sequently Jechoniah must be included in the terminus ad
quern, which is designated by eto? T^<? /xeroi/ceo-ta? BafivXwvos
in ver. 17. The same" Jechoniah, however, must just as
necessarily again begin the third division, as the same begins
with OTTO 7779 ytterot/ceo-ta? Baj3v\a>vos. Jechoniah, however,
who was himself begotten at the time of the migration, did not
become a father until after the migration (ver. 12), so that he
therefore belonged as begotten to the period liw? TT}? fieroi/c.
Baj3v\., but as a, father to the period airo rrjs peToiK. Ba/3v\.,
standing in his relation to the epoch of the ^erot/cecrta as a
twofold person. It is not so with David, as the latter, like
every other except Jechoniah, is only named, but not brought
into connection with an epoch-making event in the history,
in relation to which he might appear as son and father in a
twofold personality. He has therefore no right to be counted
twice. According to this view, the three tesseradecades are to
be thus divided, 1
I. 1. Abraham; 2. Isaac; 3. Jacob; 4. Judah ; 5. Perez;
G.Nezron; 7. Ram; 8. Aminadab ; S.Naasson; 10. Salma ;
11. Boaz; 12. Obed ; 13. Jesse; 14. David.
II. 1. Solomon; 2. Eehoboam ; 3. Abijah ; 4. Asa; 5.
1 Comp. Strauss, 2d ed. ; Hug, Outachten ; Wieseler in the Stud. u. Kritlk.
1845, p. 377 ; Kostlin, Urspr. d. synopt. Evang. p. 30 ; Hilgenfeld, Evang. p.
46 ; also Riggenbach in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1856, p. 580 f., Leb. Jes. p. 261.
So early as Augustine, and at a later date, Jaiisen and several others, count
Jechoniah twice ; so also Schegg ; substantially also Chrysostom, Theophylact,
Euth. Zigabenus, who only express themselves awkwardly in saying that the
time of the Exile is placed T|S< ysna,-. .. ^
CHAP. I. 17. 59
Jehoshaphat ; 6. Joram ; 7. Ifzziah ; 8. Jotham ; 9. Aliaz;
10. Hezekiah ; 11. Manasseh ; 12. Ammon ; 13. JosiaJi ;
14. Jechoniah (eVt TT)? /u,eTOi/eecrta9, ver. 11).
III. 1. Jechoniah (pera rrjv /j.eTot,K<7iav, ver. 12); 2. /Sa/a-
thiel ; 3. Zerubbabel ; 4. Abiud ; 5. Eliakim ; 6. Azor ; 7.
Zadok ; 8. Achim ; 9. Eliud ; 10. Eleazar ; 11. Matthan ;
12. Jacob; 13. Joseph; 14. Jes^s.
In the third division we have to notice that m awy case
.Tesws a/so rawstf &e counted, because ver. 17 says elw? roO
Xpia-Tov, in keeping with ver. 1, where 'lycrovs Xpiaros is
announced as the subject of the genealogy, and consequently
as the last of the entire list. If Jesus were not included in
the enumeration, we should then have a genealogy of Joseph,
and the final terminus must have been said to be &09 'loxr?^.
Certainly, according to our Gospel, no proper yeved existed
between Joseph and Jesus, a circumstance which in reality
takes away from the entire genealogical tree its character as a
genealogy of Jesus in the proper sense. The genealogist him-
self, however, guards so definitely against every misinterpreta-
tion by the words rov avBpa Mapias, e 779 e'yevvijdr) 'Irjaovs,
that we distinctly see that he means to carry the descent of
Jesus beyond Joseph back to David and Abraham, only in so far
as Joseph, being husband of the mother of Jesus, was His father,
merely putatively so indeed, but by the marriage his father in
the eye of the law, although not his real parent. After all this,
we are neither, with Olearius, Bengel, Fritzsche, de Wette (who
is followed by Strauss, 4th ed., I. p. 13 9), Delitzsch, Bleek, and
others, to divide thus : (1) Abraham to David, (2) David to
Josiah, (3) Jechoniah to Christ; nor, with Storr (Diss. in
libror. hist. N. T. loca, p. 1 ff.), Kosemniiller, Kuinoel,
Olshausen : (1) Abraham to David, (2) David to Josiah,
(3) Josiah to Joseph ; nor are we to say, with Paulus, that
among the unknown links, vv. 1316, one has fallen out
owing to the copyists ; nor, with Jerome, Gusset, Wolf, Gratz,
to make Jechoniah in ver. 11 into Joiakim, by the insertion
of which Ewald completes (see on ver. 11) the second tessera-
decade, without counting David twice ; nor, with Ebrard,
Lange, Krafft, to insert Mary as an intermediate link between
CO THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Joseph and Jesus, by whose marriage with Joseph, Jesus
became heir to the theocratic throne. The latter is erroneous
on this account, that it contradicts the text, which does not
speak of succession to the theocratic throne, but of yeveat, the
condition of which is eyevwrjo-e and tyevvydrj. We must
assume that the reason for the division into three tessera-
decades was not merely to aid the memory (Michaelis, Eichhorn,
Kuinoel, Fritzsche), which is not sufficient to explain the
emphatic and solemn prominence given to the equal number
of links in the three periods, ver. 1 7 ; nor even the Cabbalistic
number of the name David (in, i.e. 14 ; so Surenhusius, Ammon,
Leben Jesu, I. p. 173), as it is not David, but Jesus, that is in
question ; nor a reminiscence of the forty-two encampments in
the wilderness (Origen, Luther, Gfrorer, Philo, II. p. 429, after
Num. xxxiii.), which would be quite arbitrary and foreign to
the subject ; nor a requirement to the reader to seek out the
theocratic references concealed in the genealogy (Ebrard), in
doing which Matthew would, without any reason, have proposed
the proper design of his genealogical tree as a mere riddle,
and by his use of eyevvycre would have made the solution itself
impossible : but that precisely from Abraham to David fourteen
links appeared, which led the author to find fourteen links for
the two other periods also, in which, according to Jewish
idiosyncrasy, he saw something special, which contained a
mystic allusion to the sytematic course of divine leading in
the Messiah's genealogy, where perhaps also the attraction
of holiness in the number seven (the double of which was
yielded by the first period) came into play. Comp. Synops.
Soh. p. 132. 18: " Ab Abraliamo usque ad Salom. quindecim
sunt generationes, atque tune luna fuit in plenilunio, a Salomone
usque ad Zedekiam iterum sunt quindecim generationes, et tune
luna defecit, et Zedekiae effossi sunt oculi" See also Gen. v. 3 ff.,
xi. 10 ff., where, from Adam to Noah, and from Noah to
Abraham, ten links in each case are counted. It is altogether
arbitrary, however, because there is no allusion to it in
Matthew, when Delitzsch (in Eudelbach and Guericke's
Zeitschrift, 1850, p. 587 ff.) explains the symmetry of the
three tesseradecades from this, that Matthew always makes a
CHAP. L 17. 61
generation from Abraham to David amount to eighty years, but
each of the following to forty, and consequently has calculated
1120 + 560 + 560 years. To do so is incorrect, because
7ei/eai receives its designation from eyevvija-e, it being pre-
supposed that yeved denotes a generation.
EEMARK 1. It is clear from vasai that the evangelist sup-
posed that he had the genealogical tree complete, and conse-
quently was not aware of the important omissions.
REMARK 2. Whether Mary also was descended from David,
as Justin, Dial. c. Tryph. xxiii. 45. 100, Irenaeus, iii. 21. 5,
Julius Africanus, ap. Eusebium, i. 7, Tertullian, and other
Fathers, as well as the Apocrypha of the N. T., e.g. Protev. Jacobi
10, de nativ. Mariae, already teach, 1 is a point upon which any
evidence from the N. T. is entirely wanting, as the genealogical
tree in Luke is not that of Mary. Nor can a conclusion be
drawn to that effect, as is done by the Greek Fathers, from the
Davidic descent of Joseph ; for even if Mary had been an
heiress, which, however, cannot at all be established (comp. on
Luke ii. 5), this would be quite a matter of indifference so far
as her descent is concerned, since the law in Num. xxxvi. 6
only forbade such daughters to marry into another tribe, Ewald,
Alterth. p. 239 f. [E. T. p. 208], Saalschutz, M. R p. 829 f.,
and in later times was no longer observed ; see Delitzsch, I.e. p.
582. The Davidic descent of Mary would follow from passages
such as those in Acts ii. 30, Rom. i. 3, 4, 2 Tim. ii. 8, comp.
Heb. vii. 14, if we were certain that the view of the super-
natural generation of Jesus lay at the basis of these ; Luke i.
27, 32, 69 prove nothing, and Luke ii. 4 just as little (in answer
to Wieseler, Beitr. z. Wurdig. der Evang. p. 144); we might
rather infer from Luke i. 36 that Mary belonged to the tribe of
Levi. The Davidic descent of Jesus, however, is established as
certain by the predictions of the prophets, which, in reference to
so essential a mark of the Messiah, could not remain without
fulfilment, as well as by the unanimous testimony of the N. T.
(Rom. i. 3 ; 2 Tim. ii. 8 ; Heb. vii. 14 ; John vii. 41 ; Rev. v. 5,
xxii. 16), and is also confirmed by Hegesippus (in Eusebius
1 In the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, on the other hand, the tribe of
Levi is definitely alluded to as that to which Mary belonged. See pp. 542, 546,
654, 689. In another passage, p. 724, she is represented as a descendant of
Judah. Comp. on Luke i. 36, and see Thilo, ad Cod. apocr. p. 375. Ewald's
remark, that the Prolemng. Jacobi leaves the tribe of Mary undetermined, is
incorrect, ch. x. b. In Thilo, p. 212, it is said : S-n Ma./a/t * puir,; Az/3/S im.
62 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ill 20), according to whom, grandsons of Jude, the Lord's
brother, were brought, as descendants of David (us Jx yevou;
ovra$ Aau/5), before Domitian. To doubt this descent of Jesus,
and to regard it rather as a hypothesis which, as an abstraction
deduced from the conception of Messiah, had attached itself
to the Messianic predicate Son of David (comp. Schleier-
macher, Strauss, B. Bauer, Weiss, Schenkel, Holtzmann,
Eichthal), is the more unhistorical, that Jesus Himself lays
down that descent as a necessary condition of Messiahship ; see
on Matt. xxii. 42 ff. ; besides Keim, Gesch. Jesu, I. p. 326 ff., also
Weiss, bibl. Theolog. 18, and Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 242 ff.
ed. 3.
REMARK 3. As the evangelist relates the divine generation
of Jesus, he was therefore far removed from the need of con-
structing a genealogy of Joseph, and accordingly we must
suppose that the genealogy was found and adopted by him
(Harduin, Paulus, Olshausen, and most moderns), but was not
his own composition (older view, de Wette, Delitzsch). Add
to this that, as clearly appears from Luke, various genealogical
trees must have been in existence, at the foundation of which,
however, had originally * lain the view of a natural ysvt<sic, of
Jesus, although the expression of such a view had already dis-
appeared from them, so that Matt. i. 16 no longer ran 'lucr^ ot
sy'cwqafv 'ir,ffovv, and in Luke iii. 23, wg ivopifyro was already inter-
polated. Such anti-Ebionitic alterations in the last link of the
current genealogical registers of Jesus are not to be ascribed,
first, to the evangelists themselves (Strauss, Schenkel) ; nor is
the alteration in question which occurs in Matthew to be
derived from a supposed redactor who dealt freely with a
fundamental gospel document of a Judaistic kind (Hilgenfeld).
1 It must be admitted that the genealogies owe their origin to the view that
Joseph's paternal relation was real, and that their original purpose bore that
Joseph was the actual, and not merely the putative, father of Jesus, because
otherwise the composition of a genealogical tree of Joseph would have been
without any motive of faith. But we must also grant that the evangelists, so
early as the time when they composed their works, found the genealogies with
the definite statements announcing the putative paternal relationship, and by
that very circumstance saw it adapted for reception without any contradiction to
their belief in the divine generation of Jesus. They saw in it a demonstration
of the Davidic descent of Jesus according to the male line of succession, so far as
it was possible and allowable to give such in the deficiency of a human father,
that is, back beyond the reputed father. The circumstance, however, that
Joseph recognised Jesus as a lawful son, presented to him in a miraculous
manner, although he was not his flesh and blood (Delitzsch and others), assuredly
leads, in like manner, only to a yma which is not real.
CHAP. I. 18. 63
The ' expression 6 Xeyo/tevo; xpiarof in ver. 16 rather betrays
that the genealogical written source pacsad over into the Gospel
in the shape in which it already existed ; neither the author nor
an editor would have written 6 Xsyo/ttvot (comp. vv. 1, 18), or,
had they made an alteration in ver. 1G, they would not have
allowed it to remain.
Ver. 18. Tov 'Irj&ov Xpia-Tov] provided with the article,
and placed first with reference to ver. 16. "The origin of
Jesus Christ, however, was as follows." fAvrja-TevOeia-ijs]
On the construction, see Buttmann, neut. Gram. p. 270 f.
[E. T. 315]. On the betrothal, after which the bride still
remained in the house of her parents without any closer
intercourse with the bridegroom until she was brought home,
see Maimonides, Tract. ni^K ; Saalschiitz, M. R. p. 728 ff. ;
Keil, Archaeol. 109. yap] explicative, namely, see Klotz,
ad Devar. p. 234 ff. ; Baeumlein, Partik. p. 86 ff. -n-plv rf\
belongs as much as the simple Trpiv to the Ionic, and to the
middle age of the Attic dialect ; see Elmsley, ad Eur. Med.
179 ; Eeisig, ad Soph. Oed. Colm. 36 ; it is, however, already
found alone in Xenophon (Ktihner, ad Anab. iv. 5. 1), as also
in Thucydides, v. 61. 1, according to our texts (see, however,
Kriiger in loc.\ but is foreign to the Attic poets. With the
aorist infinitive, it denotes that the act is fully accomplished.
Klotz, ad Devar. p. 726. Comp. Acts ii. 20, vii. 2 ; Mark
xiv. 30; John iv. 49 ; Tob. xiv. 15. a-vve\6elv] Chrysos-
tom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Maldonatus,
Jansen, Bengel, Eisner, Loesner, and others understand it of
cohabitation in marriage. The usage of the language is not
opposed to this. See the passages of Philo in Loesner, Obss.
p. 2; Joseph. Antt. vii. 9. 5; Diodorus' Siculus, iii. 57,
Test. XII. Pair. pp. 600, 701. Just as correct, however, in
a linguistic point of view (Kypke, Obss. p. 1 f.), and at the
same time more appropriate to the reference to vv. 20, 24,
is the explanation of others (Luther, Beza, Er. Schmid, Light-
foot, Grotius, Kypke, Kuinoel, Fritzsche, de Wette, Arnoldi,
Bleek) of the bringing home and of domestic intercourse. Others
(Calvin, Wetstein, Rosenmuller, Olshausen) combine both ex-
planations. But the author in the present case did not con-
64 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ceive the cohabitation in marriage to be connected with the
bringing home, see ver. 25. evpeOri] Euth. Zigabenus (comp.
Clnysostom and Theophylact) appropriately renders it : tydvr).
EvpeOrj Be etTre :a TO cnrpoaSoKijTov. Eupedijvai is nowhere
equivalent to emu. See Winer, p. 572 [E. T. 769]. ev
ryaa-rpl %etv or <J>epeiv, to be pregnant, very often in the LXX.,
also in Greek writers, Herodotus, iii. 32, Vit. Horn, ii; Plato,
Lcgg. vii. p. 792 E. eic irv. ayj] without the article, see
Winer, p. 116 [E. T. 151]. nin? rm or rfn; enp rm, irvevpa,
TTV. ayiov, TTV. TOV eov, is the personal divine principle of the
higher, religious-moral, and eternal life, which works effectually
for the true reign of God, and especially for Christianity, which
rules in believers, and sanctifies them for the Messiah's
kingdom, and which, in reference to the intellect, is the
knowledge of divine truth, revelation, prophecy, etc., in refer-
ence to morals is the consecration of holiness and power in
the moral life of the new birth with its virtues and world-
subduing dispositions, bringing about, in particular, the truth
and fervour of prayer, the pledge of everlasting life. Here
the TTvevfj-a ayiov is that which produces the human existence
of Christ, through whose action which so appeared only in
this, the single case of its kind the origin of the embryo in
the womb of Mary was causally produced (e/c) in opposition
to human generation, so that the latter is thereby excluded.
It is not, however, that divine power of the Spirit (Luke i. 3 5),
which only concurs in the action of human generation and
makes it effectual, as in the generation of Isaac and of the
Baptist, and, as the idea is expressed in the Sohar Gen. (comp.
Schmidt in the fl>l. f, Krit. v. Exeg. d. N. T. I. p. 101):
" Omnes illi, qui sciunt se sanctiftcare in hoc mundo, ut par est
(ubi generant), attrahunt super id Spiritum sanctitatis et exeuntes
db eo illi vocantur filii JeJwvae." Theodore of Mopsuestia
(apud Fred. Fritzsche, Theodori Mops, in N. T. Commentar.
p. 2) : &cnrep yap (TO vrvevfjM TO ayiov) KOWWVOV ecrTt, Trarpi
re Kal VIM et? TTJV TOV Travro? Brj/juovpyiav, ovrfo ical TO e/c
T?}? TrapOevov TOV a"(arrjpo<i <reo/ia Kareo-icevao'e. e/c
TTvevfj,. ay., moreover, is added, not as an object to vpe07), but
from the historical standpoint, to secure at once a correct
CHAP. I. 18. 65
judgment upon the eV jaarrpl e^outra (eOepaTrevve rov \6yov,
Euth. Zigabenus).
EEMARK. As regards the conception of Jesus by a virgin, we
have to notice the following points in their exegetical bearing :
(1) Mary was either a daughter of David (the common view),
or she was not. See on ver. 1 7, Remark 2. In the first case,
Jesus, whose divine generation is assumed, was, as Matthew and
Luke relate, a descendant of David, although not through an
unbroken line of male succession, but in such a way that His
mother alone conveyed to Him the Davidic descent. But if
Mary were not a daughter of David, then, by the divine concep-
tion, the possibility of Jesus being a descendant of David is
simply excluded; because, on that view, the Davidite Joseph
remains out of consideration, and this would be in contradiction
not only with the statements of prophecy, but also with the
unanimous testimony of the N. T. (2) As it is nowhere said
or hinted in the N. T. that Mary was a descendant of David,
we must assume that this is tacitly presupposed in the narratives
of Matthew and Luke. But as a consequence of this supposi-
tion, the genealogical trees would lose all their importance, in
so far as they are said to prove that Jesus was vibg Aai^/3 (ver. 1).
Joseph's descent from David, upon which in reality nothing would
turn, would be particularly pointed out ; while Mary's similar
descent, upon which everything would depend, would remain
unmentioned as being a matter of course, and would not be,
even once, incidentally alluded to in what follows, say
Acm/5, as Joseph is at once addressed in ver. 20 as vio$
(3) Paul and Peter (Eom. i. 3, 4 ; Acts ii. 30 : ex aKepparos, IK
xupvoZ r%$ offpuo;; comp. 2 Tim. ii. 8) designate the descent of
Jesus from David in such a way, that without calling in the
histories of the birth in the first and third Gospels, there is no
occasion for deriving the Davidic descent from the mother, to
the interruption of the male line of succession, for which Gal.
iv. 4 1 also affords neither cause nor justification. Nowhere,
moreover, where Paul speaks of the sending of the Son of God,
1 Certainly, in Rom. i. 4, Paul expressly refers Christ's relation to God as His
Son to His x-viufta ayiuffutns, not to His <rapZ. See on Eom. i. 3. The super-
natural generation is not a logical consequence of his system, as Weiss, bibl.
Theol. p. 315, thinks. If Paul had conceived the propagation of sin as taking
place by means of generation (which is probable, although he has not declared
himself upon the point), he cannot, in so thinking, after the history of the
fall (2 Cor. xi. 3), and after Ps. Ii. 7, have regarded the woman's share as a
matter of indifference.
MATT. E
66 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
and of His human yet sinless nature (2 Cor. v. 21 ; Rom. viii. 3;
Phil. ii. 6 f.), does he betray any indication that he presupposes
that divine conception. 1 (4) Just as little does John, whose
expression 6 Xo'yo? eap% eleven, although he was so intimate with
Jesus and His mother, leaves the question as to the how of this
tyivsro without a direct answer, indeed ; but also, where Jesus
is definitely designated by others as Joseph's son, contributes no
word of correction (i. 46, vi. 42; comp. vii. 27), nay, relates
the self-designation " Son of a man " from Jesus' own mouth
(see on John v. 27), where the context does not allow us to
refer avdpuvou to His mother. (5) It is certain, further, that
neither in Nazareth (Matt. xiii. 55 ; Mark vi. 3 ; Luke iv. 22),
nor in Capernaum (John vi. 42), nor elsewhere in the neigh-
bourhood (John i. 46), do we meet with such expressions, in
which a knowledge of anything extraordinary in the descent of
Jesus might be recognised ; and in keeping with this also is the
unbelief of His own brethren (John vii. 3), nay, even the
behaviour and bearing of Mary (Mark iii. 21, 31 ; comp. on
Matt. xii. 46-50 ; see also Luke ii. 50 f.). (6) We have "still to
observe, that what is related in ver. 1 8 would obviously have
greatly helped to support the suspicion and reproach of illegiti-
mate birth, and yet nowhere throughout the N. T. is there found
the slightest whisper of so hostile a report. 2 If, moreover, in
the narratives of the first and third evangelists, angelic appear-
ances occur, which, according to the connection of the history,
mutually exclude each other (Strauss, I. p. 165 ff. ; Keim, Gesch.
Jesu, I. p. 362 ff.), namely, in Matthew, after the conception,
in order to give an explanation to Joseph ; in Luke, before the
conception, to make a disclosure to Mary, nevertheless that
divine conception itself might remain, and in and of itself be
consistent therewith, if it were elsewhere certainly attested in
1 We should all the more have expected this origin to have been stated by
Paul, that he, on the one side, everywhere ascribes to Christ true and perfect
humanity (Rom. v. 15 ; 1 Cor. xv. 21, al.), and, on the other, so often gives
prominence to His elevation above sinful humanity ; for which reason he also
designates the aafe of Christ which was human, and yet was not, as in other
men, the seat of sin as ofieiaf&a <ra.px.oi aftaprias (Rom. viii. 3), with which
Heb. ii. 14, 17 also agrees.
2 The generation (nay, according to Luke ii. 5, the birth also) before the
marriage was concluded is necessarily connected with faith in the divine genera-
tion. The reproach of illegitimate birth was not raised by the Jews until a later
time (Origen, c. Celsum, i. 28), as a hostile and base inference from the narra-
tives of Matthew and Luke. Thilo, ad Cod. Apocr. I. p. 526 f. They called
Jesus a Mamser [i.e. one born in incest} See Eisenmenger, Entdeckt. Judenth.
I p. 105 ff.
CHAP. I. 18. 67
the N. T., or if it could be demonstrated as being an undoubted
presupposition, belonging to the conception of Christ as the
Son of God.
Taking into account all that precedes, it is clear, in the first
place, that the doctrine which became dominant in the church,
in opposition to all Ebionitism, of the birth of Jesus Christ
from a virgin, is indeed fully justified on exegetical grounds
by the preliminary history in Matthew and Luke; but that,
secondly, apart from the preliminary history, no glimpse of this
doctrine appears anywhere in the N. T,, nay, that elsewhere
in the N. T. it has to encounter considerable difficulties of an
exegetical kind, without, however, breaking down before physio-
logical or theological impossibilities (in answer to Strauss).
Exegetically, therefore, the proposition of faith, that in Jesus
the only-begotten Son of God entered as man into humanity,
cannot be made to depend upon the conception, which is recorded
only in Matthew and Luke, 1 but must also, irrespective of the
latter, remain fast and immutable in its full and real meaning
of the incarnation of the divine Logos, which took place, and
takes place, in no other ; so that that belief cannot be made to
depend on the manner in which Jesus was conceived, and in
which the Spirit of God acted at the very commencement of
His human existence. And this not merely for exegetical, but
also for dogmatical reasons, since the incarnation of the Son of
God is by no means to be subjected to the rule of universal
sinful origin (John iii. 6) in fallen humanity (by which His whole
redemptive work would be reduced to nothing) ; and which in-
deed must also considering the supernatural conception be
conceived as exempted on the mother s side from this rule of
traducianism. 2
1 The comparison with heathen jrapfao'yiKTs, called Tfa.fi'iiioi in Homer, such
as Buddha, Zoroaster, Pythagoras, Plato, Romulus (see the literature in Hase,
Leb. Jesu, 27 a), should have been here left entirely out of consideration,
partly because they belong, for the most part, to an entirely foreign sphere of
life, have no analogies in the N. T., and amount to apotheoses ex eventu (Origen,
c. Celsum, i. 37) ; partly because so many of the xttp6i\>u>i are only the fruits of
the lust of the gods (see Homer, Ilias, xvi. 180ff.). Far too much weight has
been attached to them, and far too much has been transferred to them from the
Christian idea of the Son of God, when the thought is found expressed in them
that nothing can come forth by the way of natural generation which would cor-
respond to the ideal of the human mind, Olshausen, Neander, Krabbe, Schmid,
bibl. Theol. I. p. 43 ; Dollinger, Heidenth. u. Judenth. p. 256.
Comp. Schleiermacher, Christl. Glaube, 97, p. 64 ff., and Leben Jesu,
p. 60 fF. Too much is asserted, when (see also Gess, Pers. Christ, p. 218 f.) the
limitation is imposed upon the divine counsel and will, that the freedom of
68 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Ver. 19. *Av>'ip] Although only her betrothed, yet, from the
standpoint of the writers, designated as her husband. The
common assumption of a proleptic designation (Gen. xxix. 21)
is therefore unfounded. It is different with rrjv ryvvat/cd <rov
in ver. 20. Si/eat 09] not: aequus et benignus. So (after
Chrysostom and Jerome) Euth. Zigabenus (Sid rrjv irpaori^ra
Kal dyadwa'vvrjv), Luther, Grotius, Kuinoel, Fritzsche, B.-
Crusius, Bleek. For Sticaios, like P^V, means generally, he
who is as he ought to be (Hermann, ad Soph. Ajac. 543 ;
Kiihner, ad Xen. Memor. iv. 4. 5 ; Gesen. Thes. III. p. 1151);
therefore rightly constituted, and, in a narrower sense, just, but
never kind, although kindness, compassion, and the like may
be in given cases the concrete form in which the StKaiocrvvr)
expresses itself. Here, according to the context, it denotes
the man who acts in a strictly legal manner. Ai/caios down
to SeiypaTia-ai contains two concurring motives. Joseph was
an upright man according to the law, and could not therefore
make up his mind to retain Mary, as she was pregnant with-
out him ; at the same time he could not bring himself to
abandon her publicly ; he therefore resolved to adopt the
middle way, and dismiss her secretly. Observe the emphasis
of \d6pa. Beiyfiaria-ai] to expose; see on Col. ii. 15. Here
the meaning is : to expose to public shame. This, however,
does not refer to the punishment of stoning (Deut. xxii. 2 3),
which was to be inflicted ; nor to a judicial accusation gener-
ally (the common view), because Seiry/jiaTi<rai must mean a
kind of dismissal opposed to that denoted by \d6pa ; com p.
de Wette. Therefore : he did not wish to compromise her,
which would have been the result had he given her a letter of
divorce, and thus dismissed her </><we/3<w<?. \ddpd] secretly, in
Jesus from original sin must necessarily presuppose the divine conception in the
womb of the Virgin. The incarnation of the Logos is, once for all, a mystery
of a peculiar kind ; the fact is as certain and clear of itself as the manner in
which it took place by way of human birth is veiled in mystery, and is in no
way determinable a priori. This is also in answer to Philippi's assertion (Dog-
matik, IV. 1, p. 153, ed. 2), that the idea of the God-man stands or falls with
that of the birth from a virgin, a dangerous but erroneous dilemma. Danger-
ous, because Mary was not free from original sin ; erroneous, because God could
also have brought about the incarnation of the Logos without original sin in
some other way than by a birth from a virgin.
CHAP. I. 20. 69
private, i.e. by means of a secret, private interview, without a
letter of divorce. This would, indeed, have been in opposition
to the law in Deut. xxiv. 1, which applied also to betrothed
persons (Maimonides, Tract. niBN, c. 1 ; Wetstein in loc. ;
Philo, de leg. spec. p. 788); but he saw himself liable to a
collision between the two cases, of either, in these circum-
stances, retaining the bride, or of exposing her to public
censure by a formal dismissal ; and from this no more legal
way of escape presented itself than that on which he might
with the more propriety lay hold, that the law itself in Deut.
I.e. speaks only of married persons, not of betrothed. De Wette
thinks, indeed, of dismissal by a letter of divorcement, but under
arrangements providing for secrecy. But the letter of divorce
of itself, as it was a public document (see Saalschutz, M. E.
p. 800 ff. ; Ewald, Alterth. p. 272 [E. T. p. 203 ff.]), is in con-
tradiction with the \a6pa. On the distinction between #e'X&>
and j3ov\o/j,ai, the former of which expresses willing in
general, the action of the will, of the inclination, of desire, etc.,
in general ; while ^ovko^ai denotes a carefully weighed self-
determination, see Buttmann, Lexil. I. p. 26 ff. [E. T., Fish-
lake, p. 194 if.], partly corrected by Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I.
p. 316. Observe the aorist e{3ov\r]drj : he adopted the re-
solution.
Ver. 20. 'ISov] as in Hebrew and in Greek writers, directs
attention quickly to an object brought into view. Very fre-
quent in Matthew. KO.T ovap] in somnis, Vulg., Virg. Aen.
ii. 270 ; ev oveipois, Mceph. Schol. in Synes. p. 442. Frequent
in later Greek, but not in the LXX. and Apocrypha ; rejected
by Photius, p. 149. 25, as fidpfiapov ; amongst the old writers,
commonly only ovap. See Phrynichus, ed. Lobeck, p. 423 f. ;
Kara serves to designate the manner and way, and yields the
adverbial meaning, in a dream, #\|a<? ovetpou ev TO> virvy, Herod,
i. 38. The appearance of the angel was an appearance in a
dream; see Klihner, II. 1, p. 413. It might denote the time,
if, as in Joseph. Antiq. xi. 9. 3, Kara TOV<S farvovs, or icaO*
VTTVOV (Gen. xx. 6), had been employed. Express visions in
dreams in the N. T. are related only by Matthew. Com p.
besides, Acts ii. 17. vtos A] The reason of this address
70 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(nominative, see Kiihner, II. 1, p. 43) is not difficult to see
(de Wette) ; it is highly natural in the case of the angel,
because he has to bring news of the Messiah. B.-Crusius says
too little : Joseph is so addressed as one favoured ly God, or,
as he for whom something miraculous was quite appropriate.
Fritzsche says too much : " ut ad Mariam ducendam prom-
tiorem redderet." The former neglects the special connection,
the latter imports a meaning. rrjv Awaited <rov] apposition
to MapiAfi : the Mary, who is thy wife : in which proleptic
designation there lies an element stating the cause. This view
(in answer to Fritzsche, who explains : Mary, as thy wife) is
required by ver. 24. ev avrfj] not for ef avrrjf, but also not
to be translated, with Fritzsche : per earn, as ev with persons is
never merely instrumental, and as the context (ver. 18 : ev
ryaarpi e^oucra ex. TTV. ay.} demands a different rendering ; but,
quite literally, in utero Mariae, that which has been begotten
in her. The neuter places the embryo still under the imper-
sonal, material point of view. Comp., first, ver. 2 1 :
Se viov. See Wetstein, and on Luke i. 35. e/c irv. e
ayiov] proceeds from the Holy Ghost as author, by whom,
accordingly, your suspicions are removed. Observe the emphatic
position, which lays the determining emphasis upon Trvevpouros,
in opposition to sexual intercourse. Upon the distinction
between evdviieicrdat, with the genitive (rationem habere alic.
rei) and the accusative (" when he had considered this "), see
Kiihner, ad Xen. Memorabilia, i. 1. 17 ; Kriiger on Thucyd.
i 42. 1:
Ver. 21. Te^erat Be] and she will bear. " Non additur tibi,
ut additur de Zacharia, Luc. i. 13," Bengel. KaXeo-et? . . .
'Irj<rovv] literally: thou wilt call His name "Jesus" Comp.
LXX. Gen. xvii. 19 ; 1 Sam. i. 20 ; Matt. i. 23, 25 ; Luke i. 13,
31, ii. 21. Exactly so in Hebrew : tofrns &np. The Greeks,
however, would say : /caXeo-et? TO ovofjLa avrbv (or also auroJ)
'Irjo-ovv ; Matthiae, p. 935 [E. T., Kenrick, p. 6 75 ff.] ; Heindorf,
ad Plat. Phaedr. p. 238 A. ^aXeo-et?] the future serves in
classical writers to denote the softened idea of the imperative.
Bernhardy, p. 378; Kuhner, II. 1, p. 149. In the LXX.
and in the N. T. it is especially used of divine injunctions,
CHAP. I. 22, 23. 71
and denotes thereby the imperative sense apodeictically, be-
cause it supposes the undoubted certainty of the result ; comp.
Winer, p. 296 [E. T. 396 f.]. So also here, where a divine
command is issued. When Fritzsche would here retain the
proper conception of the future, it becomes a mere prediction,
less appropriate in the connection ; for it is less in keeping
with the design of the angelic annunciation, according to
which the bestowal and interpretation of the name Jesus is
referred to a divine causality, and consequently the genus of
the name itself must, most naturally, appear as commanded.
avrosi] He and no other. TOV \aov avrov] The people of
Israel : because for these first, and then also for the heathen,
was the Messiah and His work intended, John iv. 22; Eom.
i. 16 ; Gal. iii. 14. As certainly, moreover, as the manner
and fashion in which the promised one was to accomplish the
salvation, and by means of His redemptive work has accom-
plished it, is to be conceived as being present to the eye of
God at the sending of this news, as certainly must Joseph be
conceived as regarding it only in its national definiteness,
consequently as referring to the theocratic liberation and
prosperity of the people (comp. Luke i. 68 ff.), along with
which, however, the religious and moral renewal also was
regarded as necessary ; which renewal must have presupposed
the antecedent forgiveness of sin (Luke i. 77). afjuapnccv,
therefore, is to be taken, not as punishment of sin, but, as
always, simply as sins. avrov, not to be written avrov (for
the angel speaks of Him as a third person, and without any
antithesis) : His people, for they belong to the Messiah, comp.
John i. 1 1 ; on the plural avrwv, see Buttmann, neut. Gr. p.
114 [E. T. 130].
Vv. 22, 23. No longer the words of the angel (in answer
to Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Paulus, Arnoldi),
but of the evangelist, who continues his historical narrative,
and that with a pragmatic observation, which serves to advance
his object. Comp. xxi. 4, xxvi. 56 iva is never e/c/Sart/eoz/ :
so that (Kuinoel and older interpreters), but always reXircov :
in order that ; it presupposes here that what was done stood
in the connection of purpose with the 0. T. declaration, and
72 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
consequently in the connection of the divine necessity, as an
actual fact, by which the prophecy was destined to be fulfilled.
The divine decree, expressed in the latter, must be accom-
plished, and to tliat end, this, namely, which is related from
ver. 18 onwards, came to pass, and that according to the wlwle
of its contents (o\ov). The prophecy itself is Isa. vii. 14
according to the LXX., without any essential variation.
77 vrapdevos corresponds here to '""^pyn, which denotes an
unmarried young woman of nubile years, not also a young
woman (for which Prov. xxx. 1 9 is erroneously appealed to by
Gesenius and Knobel). See Hengstenberg, Christol. II. p. 53 ff.
On the other hand, TOrm means virgin in the strict sense
of the word. The evangelist, nevertheless, interpreting the
passage according to its Messianic destination, understands the
pregnant Mary as a real virgin. Here we have to observe
that such interpretations of 0. T. passages are not to be
referred to any principle of accommodation to the views
of the time, nor even to a mere occasional application, but
express the typical reference, and therewith the prophetic
meaning, which the N. T. writers actually recognised in the
relative passages of the O. T. And in so doing, the nearest,
i.e. the historical meaning of these passages in and of itself, did
not rule the interpretation, but the concrete Messianic contents
according to their historical definiteness a posteriori from
their actual fulfilment yielded themselves to them as that
which the Spirit of God in the prophecies had had in view as
the ideal theocratic subject-matter of the forms which they
assumed in the history of the time. Comp. Eiehm in the
Stud. u. Kritik. 1869, p. 272 f. [E. T., Clark, Edin. 1876,
p. 160 ff.]. The act by which they saw them Messianically
fulfilled, i.e. their Messianic contents become an accomplished
fact, was recognised by them as lying in the purpose of God,
when the declaration in question was spoken or written, and
therefore as " eventum non modo talem, qui propter veritatem
divinam non potuerit non snibsequi ineunte N. T.," Bengel.
This Messianic method of understanding the 0. T. in the New,
which they adopted, had its justification not merely in the
historically necessary connection in which the N. T. writers
CHAP. I. 22, 23. 73
stood to the popular method of viewing the 0. T. in their day,
and to its typological freedom of exposition, but as it had its
justification also generally in the truth that the idea of the
Messiah pervades the whole of the prophecies of the O. T.,
and is historically realized in Christ ; so also, in particular, in
the holy guidance of the Spirit, under which they, especially
the apostles, were able to recognise, both as a whole as well as
in details, the relation of prophecy to its N". T. fulfilment, and
consequently the preformations of Christian facts and doctrines,
as God, in conformity with His plan of salvation, had caused
them to take a beginning in the 0. T., although this result
was marked by varying degrees of certainty and of clearness
of typological tact among the individual writers. Although,
according to this view, the N. T. declarations regarding the
fulfilment of prophecies are to be presupposed as generally
having accuracy and truth on their side, nevertheless the
possibility of erroneous and untenable applications in indi-
vidual instances, in accordance with the hermeneutical licence
of that age, is thereby so little excluded, that an unprejudiced
examination upon the basis of the original historical sense is
always requisite. This way of estimating those declarations,
as it does justice on the one side to their importance and
ethical nature, so on the other it erects the necessary barrier
against all arbitrary typological hankering, which seeks to
find a connection between prophecy and fulfilment, between
type and antitype, where the N. T. has not attested the
existence of such. Comp. also Diisterdieck, de rei prophet,
natura ethica, Gottingen 1852, p. 79 ff. In reference to
types and prophecies generally, we must certainly say with
the N. T. : rovrat Trai/re? ol Trpo^rjrat fjiaprvpovaiv K.T.\., Acts
x. 43, but not with the Eabbins : " Omnes prophetae in
universum non prophetarunt nisi de diebus Messiae," San-
hedrin, f. 99, 1. As regards Isa. vii. 14, 1 the historical sense
is to the effect that the prophet, by his promise of a sign,
desires to prevent Ahab from begging the aid of the Assyrians
against the confederated Syrians and Ephraimites. The pro-
1 Comp. H. Schultz, alttest. Theolog. II. p. 244 ff. ; Engelhardt in the Luther.
Zeitschrift, 1872, p. 601 ff.
74 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
mise itself does not indeed refer directly, by means of an
" ideal anticipation," to Mary and Jesus (Hengstenberg), but
neither also to the wife of the prophet (Gesenius, Knobel,
Olshausen, Keim, Schenkel, and others ; comp. also Tholuck,
das A. T. in N. T. p. 43, ed. 6), nor to any other mother
elsewhere of an ordinary child (Stahelin, H. Schultz), but to
the mother who at the time when the prophecy was uttered
was still a virgin of the expected theocratic Saviour, i.e. the
Messiah? the idea of whom lives in the prophetic conscious-
ness, but has attained its complete historic realization in Jesus
Christ. See especially Ewald on Isaiah, p. 339 f., ed. 2 ;
Umbreit in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1855, p. 573 ff. ; Bertheau in
the Jahrb. f. Deutsche Theologie, 1859, 4 ; Drechsler on Isaiah,
I.e. ; Delitzsch ; Oehler in Herzog's Encyld. IX. p. 415 ; Engel-
hardt, I.e. That we might, however, from the consideration of
the fulfilment of the prophetic oracle, accomplished in the
birth of Jesus from a virgin, find in the word nc6j/ the mother
of the Messiah designated as a virgin, follows, as a matter of
course, from the meaning of no^j;, which by no means excludes
the idea of virginity, and was not first rendered possible by
1 Hofmann has corrected his earlier explanation ( Weissagung und Erfullung,
I. p. 221) in point of grammar (Schriftbeweis, II. 1, p. 85), but not in accord-
ance with the meaning. He sees in the son of the virgin mother the Israel
which does not arise in the way of a natural continuation of the present, but in a
miraculous manner, to which God again turns in mercy. In the person of
Jesus this Israel of the future of salvation takes its beginning ; while that which
in Isaiah was figurative language, is now realized in the proper sense. With
greater weight and clearness Kahnis (Dogmatik, I. p. 345 f.) remarks: The
Virgin and Immanuel are definite but ideal persons. The latter is the Israel of
the future according to its ideal side ; the Virgin, the Israel of the present and of
the past according to its ideal side, in accordance with which its vocation is, by
virtue of the Spirit of God, to give birth to the holy seed ; this Israel will one
day come to its true realization in a virgin, who will be the mother of the
Messiah. Substantially similar also is the view of W. Schultz in the Stud. u.
Kritik. 1861, p. 713 ff., who understands by the Virgin the quiet ones in the
land, the better portion of the community who are truly susceptible of the
working of the Lord. But the whole style of expression, and the connection in
the context farther on, are throughout not of such a character that in the Virgin
and her son, ideal, and indeed collective persons, should have been present, first
of all, to the prophet's view. I must continue, even after the objections of
Hengstenberg, Tholuck, W. Schultz, H. Schultz, and others, to regard Ewald's
view as the right one.
CHAP. I. 24, 25. 75
the Trapdevos of the LXX., by means of the " subtleties of
Jewish Christians" (Keim), and this all the less that even irap-
Osvos also in Greek does not always denote virgin in the strict
sense, but also " nuptas et devirginatas." See Ellendt, Lex.
Soph. II. p. 210. Matthew might also just as well have
made use of i/eaz/t?, which Aquila, Theodotion, and Symmachus
employ. On the article, Bengel appropriately remarks : " ex
specula divinae praescientiae singularem demonstrandi vim
liabet ;" she who is present to the prophet's eye is intended.
they will call. The LXX. incorrectly gives
The evangelist generalizes the third person singu-
lar of the original Hebrew into the plural. 'E/j.pavovr)\]
?x WSJ?, God is with us, which symbolical name, according
to the historical sense in the prophet, derives its significance
from the saving by divine help from the destruction
threatened by the war in question, but, according to its
Messianic fulfilment, which the evangelist now sees begin-
ning, has the same essential meaning as the name Jesus. The
Ka\,e<Tov<n TO ovo/j,a avTov ' E fjL[Mivovrj\ corresponds to the /caXe-
cret? TO 6Vo/4. avrov 'Iqaovv (ver. 21), and therefore the
translator of the Gospel has added the interpretation of the
significant name. The Fathers of the church (Hilary, Chrysos-
tom, Theodoret, Lactantius), and expositors like Calvin, Flacius,
Maldonatus, Jansen, Schegg, interpreted it of the divine nature
in Christ. In the divine nature of the Lord as the Son of
God is found the divine help and safety, which make up the
meaning of the name (Jerome), its dogmatic foundation in
the developed Christian consciousness, as the latter is certainly
to be assumed in the evangelists Matthew (ver. 20) and Luke
(i. 35), according to whom, as a consequence of the super-
human generation, the superhuman character, not merely the
Messianic vocation, is to come forth.
Ver. 24. MTTO TOV VTTVOV] from the sleep in which he had
had the vision. ical Trap e A,.] The course of the thought
proceeds simply, without any participial construction, by means
of the epexegetic and.
Ver. 25. 'Eyivwa-Kev] He had no sexual intercmirse with
her (imperfect). In this sense JTP is used by the Hebrews,
76 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
and yivoxrueiv by the Greeks of a later age (often in Plutarch) ;
also the Latin novi and cognosco (Justin, v. 2, xxvii. 3 ; Ovid.
Meta. iv. 594 ; cornp. Caesar, de bello Gallico, vi 21 : feminae
notitiam habuisse). See Wetstein and Kypke. Since Epi-
phanius, Jerome, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Luther, Calvin,
very many expositors have maintained, with a view to support
the perpetual virginity of Mary, but in opposition to the
straightforward and impartial character of the narrative, that
Joseph, even after the birth of Jesus, had no sexual inter-
course with Mary. 1 But (1) from &? ov of itself no infer-
ence can be drawn either in favour of or against such a view,
as in all statements with " until " the context alone must
decide whether, with regard to that which had not formerly
occurred, it is or is not intended to convey that it afterwards
took place. But (2) that it is here conceived as subsequently
taking place, is so clear of itself to every unprejudiced reader
from the idea of the marriage arrangement, that Matthew
must have eocpressed the thought, " not only until but after-
wards also he had not" if such had been his meaning. That
he did not, however, mean this is clearly shown (3) by his
use of irpwroTOKov, which is neither equivalent to TT/JWTO? teal
fjiovos (Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus), nor does it designate
the first-born, without assuming others born afterwards (so
formerly most expositors). The latter meaning is untenable,
because the evangelist employed Trpwrorotcov as an historian,
from the standpoint of the time when his Gospel was com-
posed, and consequently could not have used it had Jesus
been present to his historical consciousness as the only son of
Mary. But Jesus, according to Matthew (xii. 46 ff., xiii. 55 f.),
had also brothers and sisters, amongst whom He was the first-
lorn. Lucian's remark (Demonax, 29), speaking of Agathocles,
is correct : et pev TT^KOTO?, ov ptovcy el Se /ioi/o?, ov
1 As a logical consequence of this supposition, Joseph was made to be a worn-
out old man (Thilo, ad cod. Apocr. I. p. 361 ; Keim, Gesch. Jes. I. p. 365),
and his children were regarded either as children of a former marriage (Origen,
Epiphanius, and many other Fathers), or the brothers of Jesus were transformed
into cousins (Jerome). Of any advanced age in the case of Joseph there is no
trace in the N. T. In John vL 42, the Jews express themselves in such a way
that Joseph might be conceived as still alive at the time.
CHAP. I. 25. 77
(4) All a priori suppositions are untenable, from which the
perpetual virginity of Mary is said to appear, such as that of
Euth. Zigabenus : TTW? av eTre^elptjaev, rj KOI oXo><? ev6vfj,ij6ri
yvwvai rrjv <rv\\a/3ovcrav IK TrvevpaTos arylov teal TOIOVTOV
Soxelov veyevrjfiewrjv ; of Olshausen : " it is manifest that
Joseph, after such experiences, might with good reason
believe that his marriage with Mary was intended for another
purpose than that of begetting children." Hofmann has the
correct meaning (Schriftbeweis, II. 2, p. 405), so also Thiersch,
Wieseler, Bleek, Ewald, Laurent, neut. Stud. p. 153 if.,
Schenkel, Keim, Kahnis, I. p. 426 f. Comp. on the passage
before us, Diogenes Laertius, iii. 22, where it is said of
Plato's father : odev icadapav yd/iov <f>v\d^ai e&>9 T?}? airo-
/cuTjcreeo? ; see also Wetstein ; Paulus, exeget. Handb. I. p. 168 f. ;
Strauss, I. p. 209 ff. eicdXecre] is not to be referred to Mary,
so that eo>9 ov ere/ce . . . Kal e/cdXecre would be taken together,
as Paulus, after some older interpreters, maintains, but to
Joseph, as is certain after ver. 2 1 ; comp. Grotius.
78 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTEE II.
VER. 8. axpi(3. g&rdaare] According to B C* D N, 1, 21, 33,
82, 124, 209, Copt. Sahid. It. Vulg. Syr. p. Eus. Aug., we must
read e%trdo-art dxpi@Zi<;, with Lachm. and Tisch. Ver. 9. sarri]
B C D N, 33, 209, Or. Eus. read lerdd-n. So Lachm. and Tisch.,
of the nature of a gloss ; for the more precise definition of the
conception in the passive, as in xxvii. 11, in almost the same
manuscripts. Ver. 11. e7&o\i] Elz. : tlpov, against decisive testi-
mony. Ver. 13. tpaivtrai xar ovap] C K n, Curss. Theophyl. :
xar ovap paivtrai, B : xar ovap itpdvri. So Lachm. Latter reading
is derived from i. 20, which passage also led to the xar ovap
being placed first. The Eeceived reading is therefore here to
be retained, and ver. 19, after B D Z K, Curss. Verss., to be
changed into paivsrai xar ovap (with Lachm. and Tisch.). Ver.
17. 6T&] B C D Z N, Curss. Verss. Chrys. Jer. read bid. Corre-
sponds to the standing style of quotation in Matth., therefore
rightly approved (comp. on iii. 3) by Griesbach and Schultz,
after Gersdorf ; adopted by Lachm. and Tisch. Ver. 18. dpyvof
x. xXau0//,os] B Z S, 1,22, Verss. and Latin Fathers have merely
xXavdpos. So Lachm. and Tisch. The Keceived reading is an
extension from that of the LXX. Ver. 21. 5x0ei>] BC K:
i!sri\dfv. So Lachm. and Tisch. 8, correctly : the compound was
easily neglected. Ver. 22. evri] is wanting in B S, Curss. Eus.
Deleted by Lachm. and Tisch. 8. But it was all the more
easily omitted as unnecessary, because the syllable El pre-
ceded it.
The genuineness of the whole of the first and second chapters
has been controverted, or at least suspected, by Williams (A
Free Inquiry into the Authenticity of the First and Second Chap-
ters of St. Matthew's Gospel, Lond. 1771, enlarged, 1790), by
Stroth (Eichhorn's Repert. IX. p. 99 ff.), Hess (Biblioth. d. heil.
Gesch. I. p. 208 ff.), Ammou (Diss. de Luca emendatore
Matthaei, Erl. 1805), J. Jones (Sequel to Ecclesiastical Ee-
searches, etc., Lond. 1813). In answer to Williams, Flemming
wrote a work (Free Thoughts upon a Free Inquiry, etc., Lond.
CHAP. II. 79
1771) and Velthusen (The Authenticity of the First and Second
Chapters, etc., Loud. 1771); in answer to Stroth, Henke (de ev.
Matth. integritate, etc., Helmst. 1782); to Hess, Rau (Symbola
ad quaestionem de authentia, etc., 1793). Amongst the de-
fenders are Griesbach (Epimetron ad Comment, crit. in Matth.
II. p. 47 ff.), Schubert (de infantiae J. C. historiae authentia
atque indole, Gripeswald 1815), Kuinoel (Proleg. 6), Fritzsche
(Commentar. Excurs. III.), Mliller (ilb. d. Aechth. der ersten
Kapitel des Evang. nach Matth., Trier 1830). Amongst the
writers of Introduction, Eichhorn and Bertholdt have gone over
to the side of the opponents. Both chapters are genuine that
is, they were integral portions of the Hebrew Gospel writing,
of which our Matthew is the translation, and consequently
belonged to the latter from the very beginning. For (1) all the
Codices and Versions contain them, the Fathers of the second
and third centuries (Irenaeus, iii. 9. 2 f., Clement of Alexandria,
and others) also quote passages from them, and Celsus has
made reference to them (Orig. c. Gels. i. 28, ii. 32) ; (2) their
contents are highly appropriate to the beginning of a gospel
writing composed for Jewish Christians ; (3) the beginning of
ch. iii. is connected with ii. 23, where the residence of Jesus
at Nazareth is mentioned ; iv. 13 also manifestly refers to ii. 23.
The construction and style of expression are in keeping with
the character of the whole Gospel. See Griesbach, Epimetr.
p. 57; Gersdorf, Beitr. p. 38 ff.; Credner, I. p. 62 ff. ; Fritzsche,
I.e. p. 850 ff. The main argument of those who oppose the
genuineness is, that our chapters were wanting in the Gospel of the
Elionites (Epiph. Haer. xxx. 13). But on a correct estimate of
the Gospel secundum Hebraeos in its relation to the Gospel of
Matthew, that counter argument can be of no weight (see Intro-
duction, 2) ; and, in accordance with Ebionitic views, it is very
conceivable that they did not admit the miraculous preliminary
history, and made their Gospel (according to Epiphanius), in
keeping with the original gospel type, begin at once with the
appearance of the Baptist. It is also related of Tatian (Theo-
doret, Haeret. fab. i. 20) : rds n yma>.oy/aj -^/xo-vj/ag xai TO. aXXa,
offa sx ffKip/uaros Aaj8/5 xara ffupxot, ysytvvq/Atvov rbv xvpiov Seixvvffiv.
But Tatian was a disciple of Docetism, and his treatment was
determined by dogmatic considerations. As, moreover, the
genealogy contained in ch. i. implies the use of a piece of
writing already in existence, so also the legendary character of
both chapters in general, and the certainly peculiar manner in
which the third chapter is connected with them, which, amid
all its literal connection with what has preceded it, passes over
80 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the whole history of the youth of Jesus, appear to point to this,
that the portions composing both chapters were originally special
gospel documents. Ch. i. 1-16 appears to have been one such
document by itself, then vv. 18-25 a second, and ch. ii a
third, in which are now found for the first time the locality and
time of the birth of Jesus. The unity of the Greek style of
expression with that in the other parts of the Gospel is not 1
opposed to this (Ewald, Bleek, Holtzmann), but is to be ex-
plained from the unity of the translator. How much, how-
ever, considering the free style of quoting Old Testament
passages, is to be set down to the account of the first author of
these documents, or to that of the Hebrew editor of the Gospel,
or to the translator, cannot be determined.
Ver. I. 1 Tewr)6evTo^\ The star is to be considered as
appearing contemporaneously with the birth (ver. 7). But how
long it was after the birth when the Magi came, is ascertained
approximately from ver. 16, according to which, even taking
into account all the cruelty of Herod, and his intention to go
to work with thorough certainty, the arrival of the Magi is
most probably to be placed somewhat more than a year after
the birth.
Be is continuative, leading on to another history connected
with the birth of Jesus which has just been related.
I?7?$Xee/u, (house of bread) TT}<? 'louSa/a?, to distinguish it from
Bethlehem in the tribe of Zabulon, Josh. xix. 15. Our village
(Bethlehem Ephrata, Gen. xxxv. 16, 19), designated in John
vii. 42 as /cai^r), was situated in the tribe of Judah (Judg.
xvii. 9, xix. 1 ; 1 Sam. xvii. 12), six miles to the south of
Jerusalem, now the little manufacturing town Beit lachm.
See Eobinson, Pal. II. p. 379 ff.j Tobler, Sethi, in Palast.
1849, and the relative articles in Herzog and Schenkel.
1 See on the history of the Magi, Thilo, Eusebii Emese.nl oratio ripi &/rrpo*ci-
pav, praemissa de magis et Stella quaestione, Hal. 1835 ; Hunter, Stern der
Weisen, 1827 ; Roth (Catholic), de Stella a magis conspecta, 1865. In reference
to chronology based upon astronomical observation, Ideler, Handb. d. Chronol.
II. p. 339 ff.; Anger in the Zeitschr.f. hlstor. Theol. 1847, p. 347 ff.; Wieseler,
chronol. Synopse u. Beitrdge z. Wiirdigung d. Evang., 1869, p. 149 ff. ; also
in Herzog's Encykl XXI. p. 543 f. ; Seyffarth, Chronol. sacr. 1846 ; "Weigl, ub.
d. wahre Geburts- u. Sterlejahr J. Chr. I., Sulzbach 1849 ; Keim, Gesch. J.
I. p. 375 ff.
CHAP. II. 1. 81
ev fjpepais] ^3, Gen. xxvi. 1 ; 2 Sam. xxi. 1 ; 1 Kings x. 21.
'HpcaSov] Herod the Great, son of Antipater, received in
the year 714 u.c. from the Senate the dignity of king through
the influence of Antony, by whom he had been not long before
made tetrarch, but first came into the actual possession of his
kingdom after the capture of Jerusalem by himself and Sosius
in the year 717, and died, after a brilliant and flagitious
reign, in 750. See concerning the whole family of Herod,
Schlosser, Gesch. d. Fam. Herodes, Lpz. 1818; Ewald, Gesch.
d. Volks Isr. IV, and Gesch. Chr. p. 9 5 ff. ed. 3 ; Gerlach in
the Luther. Zeitschr. 1869, p. 13 ff. ; Hausrath, neut. Zeitgesch.
I. and II. fj.dyoi] The Magi ( D ^9) constituted, amongst the
Persians and the Medes, of whom they formed, according to
Herod, i. 101, one of the six tribes, a distinguished priestly
caste, and occupied themselves principally with the know-
ledge of the secrets of nature, astrology, and medicine. Herod.
i. 32 ; Xen. Cyr. viii. 3. 6 ; Diog. Laert. i. 1-9 ; Aelian.
V. H. ii. 17; Porphyry, de abst. an. iv. 16; Cic. de div. i,
41; Plin. N. H. xxiv. 29, xxx. 2 ; Curt. iii. 3. 8. Amongst
the Babylonians also (Jer. xxxix. 3) there was, at the time
when the Chaldean dynasty was in power, such an order, of
which Daniel became the president (Dan. ii. 48). The name
of Magi was then generally transferred, without distinction
of country, to all those who had devoted themselves to
those sciences, which, however, were frequently also accom-
panied with the practices of magic and jugglery (Acts viii. 9.
xiii. 6, 8). See Wetstein, and Mliller in Herzog's Encykl.
VIII. p. 675 ff. airo avarJ] belongs to pdyot, Magi from the
Hast that is, Oriental Magi. The position of the words most
naturally suggests this connection ; but the article (pi airb
ai/ar.) is not required, because pcvyot, is without the article (in
answer to Fritzsche, who connects it with irape^evovro}. The
indefinite expression, eastern lands (viii. 11, xxiv. 27 ; Luke
xiii. 29 ; Eev. xxi. 13), is to be left in its indefiniteness, and
in so doing we are to assume that the evangelist himself had
no more precise information at his command. If Arabia has
been thought of (Justin, c. . Tr. 7 7 f. ; Epiphanius, Tertullian,
Maldonatus, Jansen, Cornelius a Lapide, Grotius, Lightfoot,
MATT. F
82 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Michaelis, Kuinoel, de Wette, Wieseler), or Persia (Chrysostom,
Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Calvin, Beza, Calovius, Petavius,
Casaubon, Wolf, Olshausen), or Parthia (Hydius), or Baby-
lonia (Paulus), or even Egypt (Moller, neue Ansichten in loc.},
yet we have no sure hold, even in a slight degree, either in
the very indefinite avaro\S>v, or in the nature of the presents
in ver. 11. It was entirely baseless to determine their number
from the threefold gifts, and to regard them as kings 1 on
account of Ps. Ixviii. 30, 32, Ixxii. 10 ; Isa. xlix. 7, Ix. 3, 10
(especially since the fifth century ; yet Tertullian, c. Marcion,
already takes this view). Are we to think of heathens (so
most expositors, including Olshausen, Krabbe, B. - Crusius,
Lange, de Wette, Ewald, Hilgenfeld, Bleek, Keim), or of Jews
(v. d. Hardt, Harenberg in the Bill. Brem. VII. p. 470 ff. ;
Miinter, Paulus, Hofmann, L. J. von Strauss gcpruft, p. 249 ;
Rettig in the Stud. u. Krit. 1838, p. 217) ? Iii favour of the
first, the question, Where is the new-born King of the Jews ?
is decisive. And how appropriate was it to the idea of
Messiah, that the very first-fruits of the distant heathen
appeared to do homage to the King of the Jews (Isa. Ix.
3 ff.) ! The expectation of the Jews, that their Messiah was
to rule over the world, might at that period have been suffi-
ciently disseminated throughout the foreign countries of the
East (Sueton. Vesp. iv. ; Tac. H. v. 13 ; Joseph. B. J. vi. 5. 4)
to lead heathen astrologers, for the object in question, to the
Jewish capital. Comp. Dio Cass. Hist. R. xlv. 1 ; Suet. Oct.
xciv. 'Iepoao\vp,a\ In the capital they expected to find, if
not the Babe Himself, at least the most certain information
regarding Him.
Ver. 2. Pdp] Reason of the question. " De re deque
tempore ita certi sunt, ut tantum quaerant ubi" Bengel.
avrov rov dcrrepa] that is, the star which indicates Him. We
are to think of a strange star, which had not previously been
seen by them, from the rising of which they had inferred the
birth of the new King of the Jews, in accordance with their
1 According to Bede, their names also have been commonly given as Caspar,
Helchiw, and Balthasar (see Petr. Comestor. Hist, schol. 8), but also differ-
ently. See Beza in loc., and Paulus, exeget. Handb. I. p. 204.
CHAP. II. 2. 83
astrological rules. Here we must observe the emphasis on
the avTov, which is placed first, the star which refers to Him,
and to no other. From the word acrr^p (not aa-rpov) it is
indisputably certain, ver. 8, that it is not a constellation which
is meant. This is in answer to Kepler, de J. Chr. servator.
nostri vero anno natalitio, 1605; Miinter, Ideler, Paulus,
Neander, Olshausen (with hesitation), Krabbe, Wieseler, Ebrard,
who think of a very close conjunction, which occurred in the
year 747 u.c., of Jupiter and Saturn in the sign of the fishes ;
where Ebrard, however, keeping more closely to the word
avTrip, is of opinion that it is not that constellation itself, but
the new star of the first magnitude, which Kepler saw appear
in the year 1604 at the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn,
and again disappear in 1605; whilst Wieseler summons to
his aid a comet which was observed in China in 750. The
Jew Abarbanel in his Commentary on Daniel (1547) inferred,
from a similar conjunction in the year 1463, that the birth
of the Messiah was at hand, and indicates the sign of the
fishes as that which is of importance for the Jews. If ver. 9,
however, points only to a miraculous star, to one that went
and stood in a miraculous manner, then it is evident that
neither a comet (Origen, Michaelis, Eosenmiiller), nor a fixed
star, nor a planet, nor even a meteor, is what is meant, which
IKTTYIP by itself might signify (Schaefer, ad Apoll. Eh. II. p.
206). The Fathers of the church (in Suicer, sub aa-rijp)
thought even of an angel. The glory of the star is wonder-
fully portrayed in Ignatius, Eph. 19 (sun, moon, and stars,
illuminated by it, surround it as a choir), Protev. Jac. xxi.
See Thilo, ad Cod. apocr. I. p. 390 f. The universal belief
of antiquity was, that the appearance of stars denoted great
changes, and especially the birth of men of importance.
Wetstein in loc. The Jews in particular believed, in accord-
ance with the Messianic passage, Num. xxiv. 17 (see Baur,
alttest. Weissag. I., 1861, p. 346 ff.), in a star of the Messiah;
Bertholdt, Christolog. Jud. p. 55 ff. ev rfj avaro^fj] Several
commentators (Hammond, Paulus, Fritzsche, Ebrard, Wieseler,
Ewald) translate : in the rising. Comp. Luke i. 78 ; Wisd.
xvi. 28 ; 2 Mace. x. 28 ; 3 Esdr. v. 47 ; Plat. Polit. p. 269 A ;
84 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Locr. p. 96 D; Stob. Ed. Phys. i. 20; Polybius, xi. 22. 6.
In this way the avaro\r) corresponds to the te^^ei?. And as
the ordinary explanation, " in the East " (Luther), in accord-
ance with ver. 1, and especially with the current usage of the
word, which in the singular only rarely denotes the East (as
in Herodian, iii. 5. 1, ii. 8. 18), would lead us to expect the
plural (Gen. ii. 8 ; Judg. viii. 11 ; Ezek. xi. 1, xlvii. 8 ; Bar. iv.
36 f. ; 3 Mace. iv. 15 ; Herod, iv. 8 ; Polyb. xi. 6. 4, ii. 14. 4),
the first rendering is to be preferred. Comp. regarding the
use of the word to denote the rising of stars, Valckenaer, ad
Eur. Phoen. 506. irpoa /cvveiv] ^nn&n, to show reverence and
submission to any one by bowing doivn with the face toward the
ground. Gen. xix. 1, xviii. 2, xlii. 6, xlviii. 12 ; Herod, i.
134; Nep. Con. iii.; Curtius, v. 2, vi. 6. See Hoelemann,
Bibelstud. I. p. 96 ff. To connect it with the dative (instead
of the accus.) is a usage of the later Greek. Lobeck, ad Phryn.
p. 463.
Ver. 3. Herod was afraid, because he dreaded the over-
throw of his throne ; the inhabitants of Jerusalem, however,
not so much on account of the times of misfortune which
were expected to precede the Messiah (Lightfoot on Mark
xiii. 19 ; Bertholdt, Christol. p. 45 f.), but in keeping with
their special circumstances, because they dreaded the adoption
by the tyrant, in the maintenance of his rule, of measures
hostile to the people. 'lepoa-o^v/jLa] Feminine form, occur-
ring only here and in iii. 5, and without any various reading in
the Codd. It is found also in Latin (Tac. Hist. v. 2 ; Sueton.
Aug. xciii.). To take the name as neuter, and to supply 7ro7u<?
(Wetstein, Grimm, Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 16 [E. T. 18]),
is not grammatically possible. The feminine form must have
been in actual use, although the neuter, as in ver. 1, and
'Iepov<ra\rifj,, were and remained the prevailing forms.
Ver. 4. ndvra<; . . . \aov] is regarded, after Grotius, by
Pritzsche, Arnoldi, Lange, not as an assembly of the Sanhedrin
(so commonly), but an extraordinary convocation of all the
high priests and learned men. This explanation, in which,
moreover, Travras is not to be taken literally, is the correct
one. Indeed, ol ap%iepei<; /cat jpa/jifjt,ari<;, even without adding
CHAP. II. 4. 85
the third element of the Sanhedrin, the Trpeafivrepoi, may
denote the Sanhedrin (xx. 18, xxi. 15; while, on the other
hand, elsewhere, as in xxvi. 47, xxvii. 1, the ypa^arei^ are
not mentioned along with them). But here travras is decisive,
which would designedly draw attention to a full sitting of the
high council, and therefore would have made it necessary not
to omit an entire class of the members, but to mention in full
all the three classes, as in xvi. 21, xxvii. 41 ; rov XaoO also
stands opposed to the common interpretation, as the latter, in
designating the Sanhedrin in Matthew, serves only to denote
the TrpearfivTepoi more precisely (xxi. 23, xxvi. 3, 47, xxvii. 1).
Herod summoned together all the theologians of the nation,
because he wanted a theological answer ; rov XaoO belongs to
both words ; observe the non-repetition of the article after
teat. apxiepels] certainly comprises partly the actual ruling
high priest (o ap^tepev^, t'inan \r\3 } Lev. xv. 10), partly those
who had formerly held this high official post, which very
often changed hands under the Herods. See Schiirer, Stud,
u. Krit. 1872, p. 593 ff. That the presidents of the twenty-
four classes of priests are also to be understood (Bleek, Ewald),
is nowhere certainly attested, and has against it the designa-
tion of the office itself, dp^tepet^ Both reasons, moreover,
are in opposition to our including, with Wieseler, the priestly
nobles, or, with Schiirer, the members of the at that time
privileged high-priestly families (Joseph. Sell. iv. 3. 6), which
is not justified by Acts iv. 6, and cannot be proved by a few
individual names mentioned in Josephus, whose relation to
the high-priesthood is otherwise unknown (Schiirer, p. 638 f.).
The last high priests who ruled before the death of Herod
were Matthias (5 B.C.), and Jozarus, who soon after followed
him (Joseph. Antt. xvii. 4. 2, xvii. 6. 4). ypapfiaTeis;] cor-
responds to the Hebr. D'HEiD that is, first, writers, then
learned men (Ezra vii. 6, 11 ; Neh. viii. 1 ; Gesenius, Thes. II.
p. 966). This was the name specially of the expositors of
the divine law, who, as Jewish canonists and learned coun-
cillors, belonged chiefly to the sect of the Pharisees, and in
part to the Sanhedrin, and were held in great respect. See
Lightfoot on the passage, and on xxiii. 1 3 ; Leyrer in Herzog's
86 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Encyld. XIII. p. 731 ff. yfvvarai] not in the sense of the
future, but purely present : where is the Messiah born ? The
theologians were to tell what they knew concerning the birth-
place of the Messiah. By this question Herod leaves it quite
undetermined whether the birth had already taken place, or
was still to come.
Ver. 6. In Mic. v. 1 the sense is : Although Bethlehem is
too unimportant to be reckoned among the cities of the district,
yet a ruler in Israel will come forth from it. In Matthew this
thought is, with a slight deviation, changed into : Bethlehem is
undoubtedly an important place, because, etc. It is therefore
unnecessary, with Grotius, to take the passage in Micah as
interrogative : " Art thou, then, Bethlehem, too small," etc.,
and to derive the turn of the thought with ouSa/zco? from this
interrogative interpretation (Hilgenfeld). But the Ruler to
whom Micah alludes is none other than the Messianic King of
David's race (see Ewald, Proph.}, so that in the birth of Jesus
this prophecy receives its complete historical fulfilment. Comp.
John vii. 42. ei/ rot? rj<ye/j,6a-iv] ^NS, LXX. eV %i\idcriv.
The Hebrew ^x denotes the subdivision of the tribes (the
thousands, see Ewald, Alterth. p. 323 f. ; Keil, Arch. II. p.
223), which had their principal places and their heads
See Gesenius, Thes. I. p. 106. The translation by
(Chrysostom : <f)v\dp^oi<;) clearly shows .that either the evan-
gelist himself had read the word in question not "'S?^?, but
'B7K2L, or that his translator had committed this mistake. In
the Septuagint also ^x is rendered by ^e/ico^, Gen. xxxvi.
1 5 f. ; Ex. xv. 1 5 ; 1 Chron. i. 5 1 f. ; Ps. Iv. 1 4. According
to the words as they stand in Matthew, Bethlehem, the town,
appears personified in the midst of the heads of families (Ewald,
" amongst the princes of Judah "), amongst whom it had by
no means the lowest position. Fritzsche conjectures rat?
rjyepcxTiv, in primariis familiarum in Judaea sedibus. But
even thus the sense of ^s? is not yet obtained. How easily,
on the contrary, might the evangelist or his translator derive
'abtf from sptf, as the rpyauftsftR which follows must have been
before him ! 777] not city, but strip of land, province, which
includes the same, 1 Mace. v. 68. Often likewise in the
CHAP. II. 7-9. 87
tragic \triters. See Fritzsche in loc. Comp. Scidler, ad Eurip.
Troad. iv. ; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 361. e^e\evcrerai\
will come forth, namely, by birth. Thus N^ Gen. xvii. 6.
Comp. Heb. vii. 5; 1 Mace. i. 10. Trot/iaz/et] Comp. the
Homeric Trot/tei/e? \awv. In like manner njn is used of rulers,
2 Sam. v. 2, vii. 7 ; Jer. xxiii. 2 ff. ; Mic. v. 3.
Ver. 7 f. AdOpa] Inconsistently enough, as that could only
arouse suspicion ; but to adopt secret measures is natural to
wickedness ! The question after the time of the appearance
[of the star] has its reason in this, that the mistrustful Herod
already thinks of the possibility of his not seeing the Magi
again, and that he will then still have a hold for taking
further proceedings against the mysterious child (ver. 16).
riKpifiwc-e] with the accusative does not mean : he investigated
minutely (aKpiftoo) irepi TWOS may mean this), but : after he
had made them come to him secretly, he obtained from them a
minute knowledge, and so on. Vulgate appropriately says :
" Diligeuter didicit." Comp. Plat. Charm, p. 1 5 6 A ; Xen.
Mem. iv. 2. 10 ; Eur. Hee. 1192 ; Lucian, Jov. trag. 27, Piscat.
xx.; Herodian, i 11. 14. But the passages where it means
to make exact (Aquila, Isa. xlix. 1 6 ; Simonides, Ixxxiv. ; Xen.
Cyr. ii. 1. 26) do not apply here. Euth. Zigabenus rightly
says : Trpoc-eSoicrja-e yap, art ore ouro? (the star) e<f)dvr), rare
iruwTWS eyevvrjOi] Kal^o Xpicrros. roO <j>aivofj,evov ao-repo?]
Grotius : " Non initium, sed continuitas" Herod asked : How
long does the star appear ? how long does it make itself visible ?
namely, since its rising in the east, where ye saw it arise
(ver. 9). Thus the present is not to be taken either in the
sense of the aorist or of the imperfect (de Wette, Bleek).
Tre/i^a?] not contemporaneous with the etTre (de Wette), but
prior to it ; comp. xi. 2. After he had directed them to
Bethlehem (in consequence of ver. 5 f.), he added the commis-
sion, etc. Otherwise it would have been eTre^ev . . . elirwv.
Ver. 9. '-4/eouo-ai/T65 TOV /Sao-tX.] After they had heard the
king, they set off on their journey. Description of their un-
suspicious behaviour. Comp. Theophylact. tcai ISov, 6 ao-r^p,
K.T.X.] They travelled by night, in accordance with Eastern
custom. See Hasselquist, Reise nach Palast. p. 152. Bengel
88 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
appropriately remarks on ISov : " Toto itinere non Viderant
stellam." ov elSov] The aorist in the relative sentence, where
we use the pluperfect. See Kiihner, II. 1, p. 145 ; Winer,
p. 258 [E. T. 343]. Trpofjyev] is the descriptive imperfect,
not praecesserat (Hermann, Siiskind, Paulus, Kuinoel), as if the
star had again first shone upon them after they had come to
Bethlehem. This explanation is ungrammatical (Buttmann,
neut. Gr. p. 173 [E. T. 200]), and serves only to help to
diminish the miraculous element, which is quite opposed to
the character of the narrative. The common view alone is in
keeping with the words : the star, which they had seen in its
rising, went before them, on their journey from Jerusalem to
Bethleliem, and took up a position over the place (the house)
where the child was. Amongst the Greeks also stars are
mentioned as extraordinary guides, Eisner, p. 5 f. ; Wetstein
on the passage. etrdva) ov ?iv\ See ver. 11, rrjv ol/ciav. The
going and standing of the star is miraculous ; hence also the
manner in which the particular house is indicated is left
undetermined.
Ver. 10. 'E^dptjaav] Euth. Zigabenus correctly says: o>?
evpovres rov d-^revBeararov oSiyyov' eTrXrjpotyoprjdrja-av yap
\OITTOV, on KOI TO fyjTov/ji,vov vpij<rov(Tt,. <T(f)6Bpd] Adverbs
at the end; comp. iv. 8; Schaefer, ad Demosth. V. p. 367;
Bornemann, ad Xen. Andb. ii. 6. 9 ; Mem. iii. 5. 17. e%p-
X a P-] " Etenim ubi nomen per se ipsum verbi significationem
neque circumscribit neque intendit, adminiculo opus est vel
adjectivi vel pronominis vel articuli, quo reram genus certum
designatur," Lobeck, Paralip. p. 507. Therefore here ^apav
fj,eyd\i)v crtyoSpa. Comp. Mark v. 426 ; Wilke, neutestam.
Rhetor, p. 380. The opposite, fjueydXijv \vTrr)v \VTreta6ai,
John iv. 11 ; fa/Beio-dai <f)6/3ov peyav, Mark iv. 41.
Ver. 11. Els rrjv ol/clav] As the Magi did not arrive till
some time after the birth (ver. 1), it does not follow indeed
from et? T. OIK. in and ~by itself that the evangelist makes Jesus
be born not in the stable of a friend (Luke), or in a cave
(Justin and Apocrypha), but in Josephs house. Certainly,
however, the latter follows from this, that, according to
Matthew, Bethlehem is the dwelling-place of Joseph ; see
CHAP. II. 12. 89
Remark after ver. 23. TO jraiSiov pera Mapias] The non-
mention of Joseph is not to be ascribed to any design. TOV?
OTjaavpoix;] the chests which held their treasures, Xen. Anal.
v. 4. 27 ; 1 Mace. iii. 29 ; 4 Mace. iv. 4. See Wetstein and
Valckenaer, ad Herod, iv. 162. To find symbolical references
in the individual presents is arbitrary. Tertullian and Chry-
sostom : Incense and myrrh they presented to Him as to a
God ; Irenaeus, Origen (in answer to Celsus, who ridiculed
the divine worship of a 1/7777-409), Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus,
Erasmus, Luther : as a king, they presented Him with gold ;
as a God, with incense and with myrrh, &>9 /neXXoz/rt yevcracrdcu
6avdrov. Comp. the Christian Adamsbuch in Ewald, Jahrb.
V. p. 81, which makes the three gifts and their meaning to be
derived from Adam. It was and still is the Eastern custom
not to approach princes without presents, Gen. xliii. 11 ;
1 Sam. x. 27 ; 1 Kings x. 2 ; Aelian, V. H. i. 31 ; Harmar,
Beobacht. tib. d. Orient, II. p. 1 f. That the gifts of the Magi
are said to have enabled the poor parents to make out their
journey to Egypt (Wetstein, Olshausen, and others), is a
strange conceit.
Ver. 12. xprj/Aaria-QevTes] Vulgate correctly renders:
response accepto: passages in Wetstein, Kypke, Krebs, and
Loesner. The question that preceded is presupposed, Luke ii.
26 ; Heb. xi. 7. Comp. on Acts x. 22. Bengel well says : " Sic
optarant vel rogarant." The passive is found in this meaning
only in the New Testament and in Josephus (Antt. iii. 8. 8,
xi. 8. 4). avaKafi^at, . . . az/e^wp^o-ai/] The latter is not :
they turned lack (vv. 13, 14, 22, iv. 12), but they withdrew,
went away, made off ; avaKa^ai is " cursum reftectere." They
were not to turn lack to Herod, from whom they had come
hither, and that with the instruction, ver. 8, but were to select
another way to their home, Luke x. 6 ; Acts xviii. 2 1 ; Heb.
xi. 15 ; Herod, ii. 8 ; Plat. Phaed. p. 72 B; Diod. Sic. iii. 54.
The divine direction had for its object, that Herod should
not at once take measures against the true Child wJw was
pointed at.
REMARK. The narrative regarding the Magi, as it bears in
90 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Matthew the stamp of real history, has its profound truth in
the ideal sphere, in which the Messianic idea, which was
afterwards set forth, realized in all its glory in the historical
life of Jesus, surrounded the little known childhood of this life
with the thoughtful legends its own creation preserved in
Matthew and Luke. The ideal truth of these legends lies in
their corresponding relation to the marvellous greatness of the
later life of the Lord and His world-embracing work ; they
are thereby very definitely distinguished from the legendary
poetry, which assumed various shapes in the Apocryphal nar-
ratives of the infancy. Whether, moreover, any real fact may
have lain at the basis of the narrative of the Magi, 1 and what
the nature of this is, cannot be more minutely ascertained.
Certainly Eastern astrologers may, according to the divine
appointment, have read in the stars the birth of the Jewish
Messiah, who was to be the light of the heathen, and with this
knowledge have come to Jerusalem ; but how easily did the
further miraculous formation of the history lay hold of the
popular belief in the appearance of a miraculous star at the
birth of the Messiah (see Fabricius, Cod. pseudepigr. I. p. 584 f. ;
Schoettgen, II. p. 531 ; Bertholdt, Christol. 14), a belief which
probably had its basis in Num. xxiv. 17 compared with Isa.
Ix. 1 ff. (Schoettgen, II. p. 151 f.), as well as in the Messianic
1 Schleiermacher, Schr. d. Lukas, p. 47, L. J. p. 75, assigned a symbolical
character to the narrative. According to Bleek, the symbolical point of view
("the first destinies of the Christian church being, as it were, reflected") pre-
dominated at least in the mind of the first author ; but the preference in point
of historical truth is due to Luke. According to de Wette, the narratives con-
tained in ch. ii. are to be regarded more with a dogmatico-religious than with a
strictly historical eye ; the dangers surrounding the child Jesus are a type of the
persecutions awaiting the Messiah and His church, and an imitation of the
dangers which threatened the life of the child Moses, and so on. According to
Weisse, what is set forth is the recognition which Christianity met with amongst
the heathen, the hatred it experienced amongst the Jews, and then how it took
refuge amongst the Hellenists in Egypt. According to Ewald, the inner truth
of the narrative is the heavenly Light, and the division amongst men, on the
other hand, into the faith of the heathen and the hatred of the Jews. According
to Hilgenfeld, it is the expression of the world-historical importance of Jesus,
and of the recognition which, amid the hostility of the Jews, He was to find
precisely amongst the heathen. According to Kostlin, the narrative has an
apologetic object, to declare Jesus in a miraculous manner to be /W/Xswf rZ*
'lovlx'iui, at the basis of which, perhaps, was the constellation of the year 747.
According to Keim, it is an ideal history, the true form of which stands before
the eyes of the Christians of all ages, and which proceeded from the fundamental
thought of the conflict of the Messiah with the pseudo-Messias (Herod).
CHAP. II. 13. 91
expectation that foreign nations would bring gifts to the Messiah
(Ps. Ixxii. ; Isa. lx.), as on other occasions, also, rich temple gifts
had arrived from the East (Zech. vi. 9 ff.). It was easy to
connect with this, by way of antithesis to this divine glorifying
of the child, the crafty and murderous interference of Herod as
the type of decided hostility, with which the ruling power of the
world, necessarily and conformably to experience, entered with
cunning and violence the lists against the manifested Messiah
(Luke i. 51 f.), but in vain. If we were to regard the whole
narrative, with its details, as actual fact (see amongst the
moderns, especially Ebrard and Gerlach), the matter would be
very easily decided ; the difficulties also which have been raised
against so extraordinary an astral phenomenon, both in itself
and from the science of optics, would be authoritatively removed
by means of its miraculous nature (Eusebius, Demost. ev. 9 ; John
of Damascus, defide orthod. ii. 7), but there would still remain
unexplained the impolitic cunning and falsehood of the other-
wise so sly and crafty Herod, who allows the Magi to depart
without even a guide to make sure of his designs, and without
arrangements of any other kind, his expenditure of vigilance
and bloodshed, which was as unnecessary as it was without re-
sult, and the altogether irreconcilable contradiction between our
account and the history narrated by Luke, 1 according to which
the child Jesus received homage of an altogether different kind,
and is not threatened by any sort of persecution, but at the date
when the Magi must have arrived, had been for a long time
out of Bethlehem (Luke ii. 39). Considering the legendary
character of the star phenomenon, it is not adapted to serve as
a chronological determination of the birth of Christ, for which
purpose it has been used, especially by Wieseler and Anger,
who calculate, according to it, the beginning of the year 750 as
the date of that birth. (Ideler, Mlinter, Schubert, Huschke,
Ebrard, 747 ; Kepler, 748 ; Lichtenstein and Weigl, 749 ;
Wurin, 751; Seyffarth, 752.)
Ver. 13. 'Ava^cop. Se avrwv] The divine direction and
flight into Egypt must be conceived as taking place imme-
diately after the departure of the Magi. Ver. 16.
1 The assumption (Paulus, Olshausen, Wieseler, Lichtenstein, Ebrard) that
the presentation in the temple took place before the arrival of the Magi, breaks
clown at once before Luke ii. 39. See, besides, Strauss, I. p. 284 ff. The
accounts in Matthew and Luke are irreconcitoWe (Schleiermacher, L. J. pp. 65 ff.,
75). This is also recognised by Bleek, who gives the preference to Luke.
92 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
historic present. The continuation of the narrative in con-
nection with the legend of the murder of the children by
Herod makes Jesus take refuge in Egypt, not because it was
near at hand, not subject to Herod, and inhabited by many
Jews, but because a residence in Egypt, and that as an anti-
type to that of the Israelites in that country, was in accord-
ance with the passage in Hos. xi. 1 (ver. 15). A later age
named Matarea, near Leontopolis, as the locality (see Paulus,
Merkw. Reisen in d. Orient, III. p. 256 ; Schubert, Eeise in d.
Morgenl. II. p. 170). eo>9 av ei-rrco crol] until I shall have
told thee (av, of a case occurring), that is, that thou shouldst
come back again. Ellipsis of the common " it " is, since the
time of Homer (Nagelsbach on the Iliad, pp. 60, 120, ed. 3), in
universal use. rov aTroXeo-cu] Expression of the intention;
see Kiihner, II. p. 204; Buttm. neut. Gr. p. 232 [E. T. 270].
Ver. 15. Tbv vlov pov] refers in Hos. xi. 1 (quoted accord-
ing to the original text) to the people of Israel (Ex. iv. 22 ;
Jer. xxxi. 9). The Septuagint has ra reicva avrov (Israelis).
Upon the iva irXrjpwdy, see on i. 22. Here it refers to the
arrival of Jesus in Egypt and His residence there, which could
not but take place as an antitype to the historical meaning of
Hos. xi. 1, in order that that declaration of the prophet might
receive its Messianic fulfilment.
Ver. 16. 'EveiraL^drf] mocked, made a fool of. Sophocles,
Ant. 794 ; Lucian, Trag. 331 ; Jacobs, ad Anthol. XI. p. 108 ;
Luke xviii. 32 ; and frequently in N. T., LXX., and Apocrypha.
The words are from Herod's point of view. airo SteroO?]
Whether this is to be taken as masculine, a bienni, from two
years onwards (Syr., Ar., Erasmus, Beza, Bengel, Fritzsche,
Bleek), or as neuter, a bimatu, from the age of two years (Vulg.,
Castalio, Calvin, Er. Schnaid, Eosenmtiller, Gratz), is not
determined by the similar passages^ Num. i. 3, xx. 45 ; 3 Esdr.
viii. 1; 1 Chron. xxvii. 23; 2 Chron. xxxi. 16. It is in
favour, however, of the latter view, that although several are
spoken of, yet the singular always stands (not a?ro Sierwv) ; so
likewise the analogy of eVl Stere?, Dem. 1135. 4 ; Aesch. in
Ctes. 122; err* rpieres, Arist. H. A. v. 14. Comp. likewise
Arist. H. A. ii. 1, and UTTO rpierovs, Plat. Legg. vii. p. 794 A.
CHAP. II. 18. 93
ical KctTwrepa)] (beginning) from two years old and (con-
tinuing) dmvnwards. The opposite expression is : KOI eVai/a>
(Num. i. 3 ; 2 Chron. xxxi. 16). The boys of two years old
and younger, in order the more unfailingly to attain his
purpose. riKpiftoxre] he had obtained precise knowledge
(ver. 7). He had therefore ascertained from the Magi that,
agreeably to the time of the appearance of the star, the child
could not be more than two years old at the most. ev Tra&t
TOIS opiois avr.] The houses and courts outside of Beth-
lehem which yet belonged to its borders.
Ver. 18. Jer. xxxi. 15 (freely quoted according to the
Septuagint) treats of the leading away of the Jews to Babylon,
whose destiny Eachel, the ancestress of the children of
Ephraim, bewails. According to the typically prophetic view
in Matthew, the lamentation and mourning of Eachel, repre-
sented by the prophet, has an antitypical reference to the
murdering of the children of Bethlehem, who are her children,
because she was the wife of Jacob, and the mother of Joseph
and Benjamin (Gen. xxxv. 18). And this reference was all
the more obvious that, according to Gen. xxxv. 19, 1 Eachel
was buried at Bethlehem (Eobinson, I. p. 373). Accord-
ing to Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Piscator,
Fritzsche, Eachel is regarded as the representative of Beth-
lehem, or of the mothers of Bethlehem. But why, in keeping
with the antitypical view of the prophet's words, should not
Eachel herself appear as lamenting over the massacre of those
children ? Rama, however, where, according to the prophet,
that lamentation resounded, is here the type of Bethlehem.
Eegarding the position of Eama (now the. village er Earn], near
to Gibeah, two hours to the north of Jerusalem, belonging at
one time to Ephraim, at another to Benjamin, and on its
identity, which is denied by others, with the Eamah of
Samuel (Gesenius, Thes. III. p. 1275 ; Thenius, Winer, von
Eaumer, Keim), see Graf in the Stud. u. Krit. 1854, p. 858 ff. ;
Pressel in Herzog's EncyU. XII. p. 515 f. There the exiles
were kept in custody, Jer. xl. 1. K\atova-a] The participle,
1 Where, however, the words Dl"6 JV2 Kin are to be regarded as a gloss. See
Thenius on 1 Sam. x. 2 ; Graf in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1854, p. 868.
94 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
which in general never stands for the finite tense (in answer
to de Wette), has here its government either with ^KovaOrj
(Fritzsche) or with OVK ij0e\e, where /cat is to be translated
" also " (Rachel weeping . . . was also inaccessible to consolation ;
on the distinction between teal OVK and ouSe, see Hartung,
Partikell. I. p. 212 f.). The first is to be preferred as the
most natural and most appropriate to the emotional style, so
that 'Pa-)(r]\ K\aiovaa links itself on as an apposition, and
then the author " sequentium sententiarum gravitate corn-
motus a participio ad verbum finitum deflectit," Kiihner, ad
Xen. Mem. ii. 1. 30. On the tragic designation OVK elvai,
mortuum esse, comp. xlii. 36 ; Thuc. ii. 44. 2 ; Herod, iii. 65 ;
Wetstein in loc. ; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 515.
KEMAKK. The slaughter of the children at Bethlehem is
closely connected with the appearance of the Magi, and was in
its legendary character already extended as early as Justin
(c. Tr. 78) to all the children of Bethlehem. Josephus, who
makes such minute mention of the cruelty of Herod (Antt. xv.
7. 8, xvi. 11. 3, xvii. 2. 4; see Ottii Spicileg. p. 541), is silent
regarding this event, which, had it been known to him as a
matter of history, he would most probably have mentioned on
account of its unexampled brutality. The confused narrative of
Macrobius (Sat. ii. 4) 1 can here determine nothing, because it first
proceeded directly or indirectly from the Christian tradition.
Finally, the slaughter of the children itself appears not only as
an altogether superfluous measure, since, after the surprising
homage offered by the Magi, the child, recently born under
extraordinary circumstances, must have been universally known
in the small and certainly also provincial village of Bethlehem,
or could at least have been easily and certainly discovered by
the inquiries of the authorities ; but also as a very unwise
measure, since a summary slaughter of children could by no
means give the absolute certainty which was aimed at. To
understand the origin of the legend, it is not enough to point
back to the typical element in the childhood of Moses, or even
1 Ed. Bipont. p. 5541 of Augustus : " Cuin audisset, inter pueros, quos in
Syria Herodes, rex Jndaeorum, intra bimatum jussit interfici, filium quoque
ejus occisum, ait : melius est Herodis porcum (S) esse quam filium. (//>)." A
confusion of the murder of Antipater (Joseph. Antt. xvii. 7) with our history,
as if a son of the king himself (in answer to Wieseler, Beitr. p. 154) had been
among the murdered Syrian children.
CHAP. II. 20, 21. 95
to the dangers undergone in childhood by Romulus, Cyrus, and
so on (Strauss) ; but see the Remark after ver. 1 2. It is arbitrary,
however, to exclude the flight of Jesus into Egypt from this
cycle of legends, and to explain it historically in an altogether
strange fashion, from the terrible commotion in which, after the
death of Herod, Jerusalem and the surrounding localities were
plunged (Ammon, L. J. I. p. 226 f.). It is indissolubly con-
nected with the slaughter of the children, and stands or falls
with it ; in the preliminary history of Luke there is no place
whatever for it.
Vv. 20, 21. TeOvijKacri . . . fyrovvres] is to be understood
simply of Herod. The plural is very often used where the
conception of a species is to be expressed, and then denotes
the subject, not according to number, but chiefly according to
the category to which it belongs. Reisig, ad Soph. Oed. C.
966, and Conject. in Aristoph. p. 58 ; Wunder, ad Soph. 0. 11.
361; Elwert, Quaestion. ad philolog. sacr. 1860, p. 10 f . ;
Winer, p. 165 [E. T. 219]. Frequently, particularly in
the tragic writers, it contains a special emphasis, Hermann,
ad Viger. p. 739, which also announces itself in the present
passage. Others (Euth. Zigabenus) regard it as including
Herod and his councillors or servants. Ver. 19 is decisive
against this view. Others (Gratz, B. Crasius, de Wette) : the
plural is put, because the words are taken from Ex. iv. 19. But
there the plural is required not only by the iravres, which
stands in the text, but likewise by the whole connection. The
resemblance to Ex. iv. 19 is either accidental, or, more pro-
bably, intentionally selected in the consciousness of being a
historical parallel. et<? 7. 'Icr/>.] Note the extent and in-
definiteness of the designation ; Joseph could thus afterwards
turn his steps to Galilee without acting in opposition to the in-
struction. Comp. 1 Sam. xiii. 19 ; Ezek. xi. 17. ^ijreiv rrjv
tyvxr/v] B'Sirns B^a, seek the said that is, seek after one's life
(Rom. xi. 3). The present participle with the article used as
a substantive, see Winer, p. 103 f. [E. T. 219]. Comp.
Dissen, ad Dem. de cor. p. 238. Herod died in Jericho
(according to Gerlach, in Jerusalem) in the year 750, his
genitals and bowels being eaten up of worms (Joseph. Pell.
96 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
i. 33. 1, 5 ; Antt. xvii. 6. 5 ; Euseb. H. E. i. 68), in the thirty-
seventh year of his reign, and in the seventieth of his age,
Josephus, Antt. xvii. 8. 1, xvii. 9. 3. The tyrant became a
prey to despair at his death, an attempt at suicide having
failed in his last extremity.
Ver. 22. Augustus, after the death of Herod and the com-
plications connected with it, 1 divided the kingdom amongst
his three sons in such a manner that Arctielaus received the
half of the four quarters of the kingdom, namely, Judea,
Idumaea, and Samaria ; Antipas, Galilee and Perea ; Philip,
Batanea, Trachonitis, and Auranitis. Both the latter were
called Tetrarchs, but Archelaus obtained the title of Ethnarch,
Josephus, Antt. xvii. 8. 1, xvii. 11. 4, which was to be ex-
changed for the title of king should he prove worthy of it.
But after nine years he was banished by Augustus on account
of his cruelty to Vienne (Josephus, Antt. xvii. 13. 2 ; B. J. ii.
7. 3), and died there. His territory was added to the province
of Syria, and placed under the administration of a procurator.
@a<rt\eveiv is therefore here taken generally: regnare, as
it often is in the classics. On avrl, compare Herod, i. 108 ;
Xen. Anab. i. 1, iv. 2 ; 2 Chron. xxxiii. 20 ; 1 Mace. iii. 1,
ix. 31, xiii. 4. e< 0/377 #17] for Archelaus resembled his father
in his suspicious and cruel temper, Josephus, Antt. xvii. 11.
2 f. eKei aire\0iv] a well-known attraction : adverbs of
rest with verbs of direction, xvii. 20; John vii. 35, viii. 21,
xi. 8, xviii. 3; Eom. xv. 24; LXX. Deut. i 37; 2 Sam.
xvii. 18 ; Winer, p. 439 [E. T. 591]; Bernhardy, p. 349 f.
Ta\t,\aia<$\ in the portions of his district belonging to Galilee.
(xv. 21, xvi. 13 ; Acts ii. 10), so that he avoided Judea, and
did not return to Bethlehem. The voluptuary Antipas was
known to be more humane than Archelaus.
Ver. 23. 'E\0(0v] to Galilee. et? iro\iv\ et? does not
belong to eXBcav (Fritzsche, Olshausen), but to KarwKTja-ev,
beside which it stands in Gen. xiii. 1 8 ; /tan-awe, includes the
movement connected with the settlement, and that in such a
way that the latter was the predominating element in the
1 Comp. Schneckenburger, neutest. Zeitgesch. p. 201 ff. ; Hausrath, neut.
Zeitgesch. I. p. 284 ff. ; Keirn in Scheiikel's Bibdlex.
CHAP, ii, 23. 97
thought of the writer : he went and settled at Nazareth.
Comp. iv. 13; Acts vii. 4 ; 2 Chron. xix. 4. See Kiihner,
I. p. 471. Nazareth 1 ] in Lower Galilee, in the tribe of
Zabulon, situated on a hill (Luke iv. 20), with pleasant
environs. Robinson, Paldst. III. p. 419 ff. ; Hitter, Erdk.
XVI. p. 739 ff. ; Purer, Wander, durch Paldst. p. 267 ff. ;
Tobler, Nazar. in Paldst., 1868. Mentioned neither in the
0. T. nor in Josephus. OTT&X?] in order that. See i. 22.
Sta rS>v Trpo<f>.] not the plural of category (ver. 20, so
Fritzsche), according to which Isaiah only could be meant, but
the prophets generally, Luke xviii. 31 ; Eom. i. 2. OTI] not
the Eecitativum, although its use in the Gospel of Matthew
cannot be denied, vii. 23, ix. 18, xiv. 26, xxvii. 43, 47, but
" that" as no individual express statement is quoted.
Naa>paio9] of Nazareth, xxvi. 71. In Isa. xi. 1, the Messiah,
as the offspring of David, is called ~i), shoot, with which, in
the representation of the evangelist, this designation was
identified, only expressed by another word, namely, n (Jer.
xxiii. 5, xxxiii. 15 ; Zech. iii. 8, vi. 12 ; Isa. iv. 2) ; therefore
he wrote, Bta TWV trpo^rwv. In giving this prophetic title
of 1X3 to the Messiah, he entirely disregards the historical
meaning of the same (LXX. Isa. xi. 1 : avOos}, keeps by the
relationship of the name Nazareth to the word 1V3, and recog-
nises, by virtue of the same, in that prophetic Messianic name
Nezer, the typical reference to this, that Jesus, through His
settlement in Nazareth, was to become a Na&palos ; the
translator therefore, rightly apprehending this typical reference,
1 Upon the form of the name Nafa, which, although attested as ancient in
many ways, is yet found only in a few passages in the Mss. of the N. T., and
very unequally supported (Tischendorf, 8th ed., has received it into the text in
iv. 13, and in Luke iv. 16), see Keirn, I. p. 319 ; comp. also Delitzsch, Jesus
u. Hillel, p. 13. In the passage before us it is without any support, as well as
in xxi. 11, and in the remaining passages of the other evangelists, except Luke
i 26, iv. 16. The form N^a^ is often found in Mss., as also Naa/>r. But it
is the admission of Na^tr (or Nafs0) alone into the text that can be justified,
and that as the standing reading, all the more that even in iv. 13 and in Luke iv.
16 there is by no means a decisive predominance of testimony for Naap, which
has no support, moreover, in Acts x. 38. Although Nazara was the original
form of the name (see in answer to Ewald's doubts, Keim, II. p. 421 f.), which is
probable, it must notwithstanding have been strange to the evangelists.
MATT. G
98 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
expressed the Hebrew 1V3 by Nafapalos, although he may
have also found in the original Hebrew draft of the Gospel
tw p, or, more probably, nw. The evangelist must in any
case have derived the name Nazareth from 1V3, and it is like-
wise probable in itself ; see Hengstenberg, Christol. II. p.
124 ff. " Eruditi Hebraei" already referred the Na^cop. K\i]0.
back to the *i!M ; see Jerome on Isa. xi. 1, and, more recently,
Piscator, Casaubon, Jansen, Maldonatus, Surenhusius, Bauer
(bibl. Theol. I. p. 163), Fritzsche, Gieseler, Kern, Krabbe,
de Wette, B. Crusius, Kostlin, Bleek, Hengstenberg, Kahnis,
Anger, formerly also Hilgenfeld. But others (Chrysostom,
Theophylact, Clericus, Gratz) regard the words as a quotation
from a lost prophetical book. But always, where in the N. T.
the prophets are quoted, those in the completed canon are
meant. Others (Michaelis, Paulus, Kuinoel, Gersdorf, Kaliffer,
Olshausen, Ebrard, Lange) are of opinion that Na^wpalos
refers to the despised and melancholy position of the Messiah
depicted by the prophets in accordance with Ps. xxii., Isa. liii.
For Nazareth was despised, see John i. 47, vii. 52. But the
question here is not as to a prophetic description (of the
lowliness of the Messiah), but as to the definite prophetic
name (K^tjOijaerat), to which the settlement in Nazareth may
correspond ; and, indeed, the evangelist must have found the
name itself in the prophets, and not have inserted it ex eventu,
namely, because Nazareth served to make the Messiah an
object of misapprehension (in answer to Hofmann, Weissag. u.
Erf till. p. 66). For that reason also the opinion of others is
to be rejected (Erasmus, Beza, Calvin, Grotius, Wetstein, Hil-
genfeld), who, after Tertullian and Jerome, take Na%. for the
Hebrew "VW, that it might be fulfilled . . . that He shall be
(called) a Nazarite. Jesus had neither represented Himself
to be such a consecrated person, Matt. xi. 19, nor can any
passage in the prophets be pointed out as referring to this ;
therefore Ewald, in opposition to Sia rwv rirpofy., assumes the
statement to be taken from an Apocryphal book, in which the
Messiah, on His first appearance, was represented as a Nazarite,
so that the evangelist was led, from the similarity of the word,
to infer a reference to Nazareth. If, however, in Na%(0paio<;
CHAP. II. 28. 99
the Hebrew "W3, Preserver, has been supposed to be contained,
and that in such a way that it had as its basis either Ex.
xxxiv. 6 f. (Zuschlag in Guericke's Zeitschr. 1854, III. p.
417 ff.) or Ps. xxxi. 24 (Riggenbach in the Stud. u. Krit.
1855, p. 606 f.), then something entirely foreign is thus
imported, as in those passages there is to be found neither a
designation of the Messiah nor any prophetic declaration. Still
more arbitrary is the reference of Hitzig in the theol. Jahrb.
1842, p. 410, to Isa. xlix. 6, where ^3 has been taken as
singular, and explained as a predicate of the Messiah, as the
leader of those who are saved. Delitzsch has referred to Isa.
xlii. 6 ; so that Christ is predicted as He who is preserved in
dangers (1^3, Isa. xlix. 6), whilst Nazareth was His place of
concealment.
EEMARK. The evangelist expresses himself in ver. 23 in
such a manner that throughout the narrative Nazareth cannot
appear to the reader as the original dwelling-place of Joseph
and Mary. Bethlehem rather, according to his account, appears
to be intended as such (ver. 22), whilst Nazareth was the place
of sojourn under the special circumstances which occurred after
the death of Herod. The account given by Luke is quite
different. This variation is to be admitted, and the reconcilia-
tion of both accounts can only be brought about in an arbitrary
manner, 1 which is all the more inadmissible that, on the whole,
the narratives of Matthew and Luke regarding the birth and
early infancy of Jesus in important points mutually exclude
1 That Joseph, brought to Bethlehem by the census, settled there. Matthew
accordingly represents Bethlehem as his dwelling-place. The flight to Egypt,
however, again soon broke up the residence in Bethlehem, so that the sojourn
was only a passing one, and therefore Luke rightly regarded the subsequent
settlement at Nazareth as a return thither. See Neander, Ebrard, Hofmann,
Krabbe, Lange. Wieseler's reasons also (clironolog. Synopse, p. 35 ff.) against
the view that Matthew makes Bethlehem appear as the original dwelling-place
of Jesus, will not stand. This view is to be regarded, by the account in Matthew,
which is to be looked on as independent, and standing by itself, as a necessary
exegetical result by means of ver. 22, and is undoubtedly confirmed by ver. 23,
where Joseph's settlement in Nazareth appears as something new, which must
occur in order to fulfil a prophetic prediction, so that consequently no reader of
Matthew could come to think that Nazareth had been Joseph's dwelling-place.
"Wieseler, however, has, moreover, strikingly demonstrated the unhistorical
nature of the view that Jesus was born at Nazareth
100 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
each other. Amid all their other variations, however, in the
preliminary history in which they are independent of one
another, they agree in this, that Bethlehem was the place of birth,
and it is in opposition to the history to relegate this agreement
to the sphere of dogmatic reflection, and to transport the birth
of Jesus to Nazareth (Strauss, Hilgenfeld, Keim), since the
designation of Jesus as belonging to Nazareth (Matt, xiii 34 ;
Mark vi. 1 ; Luke iv. 1 9) finds its natural and complete ex-
planation in the short and passing sojourn of His parents at
Bethlehem after His birth, whereas, had Jesus Himself been a
native of Galilee, He would neither have found a believing
reception amongst His people, nor, on the other hand, could
His Messiahship have been held to be based on a prophetic
foundation. Comp. also Luke ii 39 and John vii 42.
CHAP. III. 1. 101
CHAPTER III.
-VEIL 2. xa! Xsywn] Lachm. and Tisch. have merely \iyuv, only
after B K, Hil. and some Verss. The superfluous xai was easily
overlooked. Ver. 3. 0^] B C D K, 1, 13, 33, 124, 157, 209,
Syr" Sahid. Aeth. Vulg. It. Sax. read 3/a; so Griesbach,
Gersdorf, Schulz, Lachm., Tisch. Correctly; see on ii. 17.
Ver. 4. The position %v aurou (Lachm., Tisch.) is, by means of
B C D K, 1, 209, so sufficiently attested, that it must be pre-
ferred to the ordinary position auroS %v, which spontaneously
suggested itself to the copyists. Ver. 6. 'lopddvp] B C* M A N,
Curss., and many Verss. and Fathers, add -rora/Aw; so Lachm.
and Tisch. 8. Addition from Mark i. 5. Ver. 7. The auroD
was easily passed over after pdxnGfjt.a as unnecessary; it is
wanting, however, only in B K*, Sahid. Or. Hil., but is deleted
by Tisch. 8. Ver. 8. xap^bv a%iov] Elz. has xap-jrove a%<w$, after
too weak testimony. Eetained by Fritzsche. It arose from the
copyists, who deemed the plural more appropriate to the sense,
and had Luke iii. 8 in view. Ver. 10. ds xai] Lachm. Tisch.:
8t, which is so preponderantly attested by B C D M A N, Curss.
Verss. Or. Ir. Did. Bas., that di x/is to be regarded as introduced
from Luke iii. 9. Ver. 14. Instead of o bt 'luavvyc, Lachm. and
Tisch. 8 have only o ds, after B K, Sahid. Eus. Correctly ; the
name was much more easily interpolated than omitted. Ver.
16. The transposition evdvs avifiq in B D N, Curss. Verss. and
Fathers (so Lachm. and Tisch.), is a change, which assigned to
the tv6u$ its more usual place (Gersdorf, I. p. 485). aurw] is
bracketed by Lachm., deleted by Tisch., but has a decided pre-
ponderance of witnesses in its favour, and its significance was
easily misunderstood and passed over. xa/] before tfxJ>^. is to
be defended on decisive testimony, against Tisch. 8 ; comp. on
ver. 2.
Ver. 1. 'Ev . . . Keivai<i\ ann D'oja, Ex. ii. 11, 23 ; Isa.
xxxviii. 1. Indefinite determination of time, which, however,
always points back to a date which has preceded it. Mark
102 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
i. 9 ; Luke ii. 1. Here : at the time when Jesus still sojourned
at Nazareth. The evangelist passes over the history of the
youth of Jesus, and at once goes onwards to the forerunner of
the Messiah ; for he might not have had at his command any
written documents, and sufficiently trustworthy traditions
regarding it, since the oldest manner of presenting the gospel
history, as still retained in Mark, began first with John
the Baptist, to which beginning our evangelist also turns
without further delay. It employs in so doing only the very
indefinite transition with the same simplicity of unstudied
historical writing, as in Ex. ii. 11, where by the same expres-
sion is meant the time when Moses still sojourned at the
court of Egypt, though not the time of his childhood (ver. 10),
but of his manhood. Accordingly, the following hypotheses
are unnecessary ; that of Paulus : in the original document,
from which Matthew borrowed the following narrative, some-
thing about John the Baptist may hav v e preceded, to which
this note of time was appended, which Matthew retained,
without adopting that preliminary matter ; of Holtzmann :
that a look forward to Mark i. 9 here betrays itself; of
Schneckenburger (fib. d. erste kanon. EV. p. 120): that in the
gospel according to the Hebrews ev rat? rj/jiepais 'HpcoBou
erroneously stood, instead of which Matthew put the indefinite
statement before us ; of Hilgenfeld, Evang. p. 55 : in the older
narrative, which lay at the foundation of our Matthew, the
genealogical tree of Jesus was perhaps followed by / rat?
%/j,epai<$ 'HpooBov rov /3acrtXea>9 rf)? 'lovBaias f)\0v (or eyepero)
' 'Iwdvvrjs ; compare also Keim, Gesch. J. I. p. 61. The correct
view was already adopted by Chrysostom and his followers,
Beza, Camerarius, Bengel : " Jesu habitante Nazarethae, ii. 23 ;
notatur non breve, sed nulla majori mutatione notabile inter-
vallum." It is Luke iii. 1 which first gives the more precise
determination of time, and that very minutely. IT a pay i-
vrai] Historic present, as in ii 13. Euth. Zigabenus : iroQev
o 'Iwdvvrjs 'irapcuyk'yovev ; OTTO 7779 evBortpas 'pijfjiov. Opposed to
this is the ev rfj eprj^u) that follows. Matthew has only the
more general and indefinite expression : he arrives, he appears.
Luke xii. 51 ; Heb. ix. 11. o /SaTTTto-r.] Josephus, Antt.
CHAP. III. 2. 103
xviii. 5. 2 : 'Iwdvv. o tiriKaXovpevos (BaTniaTifc. ev Ty
eptjfMO) TT}? 'loySata?] n T' n . " l ?'7 r ?, Judg. i. 16, Josh. xv. 61, a
level plain adapted for the feeding of cattle, sparsely cultivated
and inhabited, 1 which begins at Tekoa, and extends as far as
the Dead Sea. Winer, fiealworterb. s.v. Wilste ; Tobler, Denk-
Ucitter aus Jerus. p. 682 ; Keim, Gesch. J. I. p. 484 f. The
mention of the locality is more precise in Luke iii. 2 f. ; but
that in Matthew, in which the wilderness is not marked off
geographically from the valley of the Jordan, which was
justified by the nature of the soil (Josephus, Sell. iii. 10. 7,
iv. 8. 2 f.), and involuntarily called forth by the following
prophecy, is not incorrect. Comp. Ebrard (in answer to
Strauss) ; Keim, I.e. p. 494.
Ver. 2. Meravoeire] denotes the transformation of the
moral disposition, which is requisite in order to obtain a share
in the kingdom of the Messiah. Sanhedrin f. 97, 2 : " Si
Israelitae poenitentiam agunt, tune per Goelem liberantur."
In the mouth of John the conception could only be that of
the Old Testament (cni, 31$), expressing the transformation
according to the moral requirements of the law, but not yet
the Christian idea, according to which perdvoia has as its
essential inseparable correlative, faith in Jesus as the Messiah
(Mark i. 15), after which the Holy Spirit, received by means
of baptism, establishes and completes the new birth from
above into true %wr). John iii. 3, 5 ; Tit. iii. 5 f. ; Acts ii. 38.
r/774/ce] it is near ; for John expected that Jesus would
set up His kingdom. Comp. iv. 17, x. 7. r) J3aa-i\eia rS>v
ovpavwv] See Fleck, de regno div. 1829 ; Weissenbach, Jesu
in regno coelor. dignitas, 1868 ; Keim, Gesch. J. II. p. 40 ff. ;
Kamphausen, d. Gebet des Herren, p. 56 ff. ; Wittichen, d. Idee
des Reiches Gottes, 1872. The kingdom of heaven (the plural
is to be explained from the popular idea of seven heavens ;
see on 2 Cor. xii. 2) corresponds to the Eabbinical DWn mafo
1 The idea of a flat surface called "I31D is given us partially in the Liine-
burger Heath. See generally, dome, Bekrdge zur Erlddr. des N. T. p. 41 ff.
Not to be confused with rmjj, steppe, concerning which see Credner in the
Stud. u. Krit. 1833, p. 798 ff. Compare in regard to our wilderness, Robinson,
Pal. II. p. 431.
104 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(Schoettgen, Diss. de regno coelor. I. in his Home, I. p. 1147 ff.,
and Wetstein in loc.}, an expression which is used by the
Eabbins mostly indeed in the e^/wco-theocratic sense, but also
in the eventually historical meaning of the theocracy, brought
to its consummation by the Messiah (Targum, Mich. iv. 75 in
Wetstein). In the N. T. this expression occurs only in
Matthew, and that as the usual one, which, as that which was
most frequently employed by Jesus Himself, is to be regarded
as derived from the collection of sayings (in answer to Weiss).
Equivalent in meaning to it are : fta<rt\eia rov 6eov (also
in Matthew, yet much rarer and not everywhere critically
certain), /3aeri\. T. Xpiarov, f) ftaaikeia. Comp. Isa. xx. 6 ;
Dan. ii. 44, vii. 14 ff., 26 f. The kingdom of the Messiah
is designated by 17 /3a<r. r. ovp., because this kingdom, the
consummated theocracy in its glory, is no earthly kingdom,
John xviii 36, but belongs to heaven, appears to us as descend-
ing from heaven, where, up till that time, its blessings, its
salvation, and its Sofa are preserved by God for bestowal at
some future period. Although among the Jewish people the
theocratic idea, of which the prophets were the bearers, had
preserved its root, and from this people alone, in accordance
with its divine preparation and guidance, could the realization
of this idea, and with it the salvation of the world, proceed,
as, indeed, the profounder minds apprehended and cherished
the mighty thought of Messiah in the Sense of the true rule
of God, and of its destination for the world, yet the common
idea of the people was predominantly political and particular-
istic, frequently stamped with the fanatical thought of a world-
rule and with millenarian ideas (the Messiah raises up the
descendants of Abraham, then comes the kingdom which lasts
a thousand years, then the resurrection and the condemnatory
judgment of the heathen, the descent of the heavenly Jeru-
salem, and the everlasting life of the descendants of Abraham
on the earth, which has been transformed along with the
whole universe). In the teaching of Christ, however, and in
the apostolic writings, the kingdom of the Messiah is the
actual consummation of the prophetic idea of the rule of God ;
and as it is unaccompanied by millenarian ideas (which exist
CHAP. III. 2. 105
only in the non-apostolic Apocalypse), so also is it without
any national limitation, so that participation therein rests
only on faith in Jesus Christ, and on the moral renewal
which is conditioned by the same, and " God all in all " is
the last and highest aim, without the thought of the world-
rule, and the expectation of the renewal of the world, of the
resurrection, of the judgment, and also of the external glory
losing their positive validity and necessity, thoughts which
rather form the subject of living Christian hope amidst all
the struggles and oppressions of the world. Moreover, those
expressions, ftacrikeia r&v ovpavwv, K.T.\., never signify any-
thing else than the kingdom of the Messiah (Koppe, Exc. I. ad
Thess.*), even in those passages where they appear to denote the
(invisible) church, the moral kingdom of the Christian religion,
and such like ; or to express some modern abstraction of the
concrete conception, 1 which is one given in the history, an
appearance which is eliminated by observing that the manner of
expression is frequently proleptic, and which has its historical
basis in the idea of the nearness of the kingdom, and in the
moral development which necessarily precedes its manifesta-
tion (coinp. Matt. xi. 12, xii. 28, xvi. 19). Comp. on Eom.
xiv. 17; 1 Cor. iv. 20; Col. i. 13, iv. 11; Matt. vi. 10.
That John the Baptist also had, under divine revelation, appre-
hended the idea of the Messiah's kingdom in the ethical light,
free from any limitation to the Jewish people (John i. 29),
without, however, entirely giving up the political element, is
already shown by ver. 7 ff. It cannot, however, be proved,
and is, considering the divine illumination of the Baptist,
improbable, and also without any foundation in xi. 3, that
too much has been put into his mouth by ascribing to him
the definite announcement of the kingdom. If Josephus, in
his account of John, makes no mention of any expression
1 e.g. an organized commonwealth under the principle of the divine will
(Tholuck) ; arrangement of things in which this will has come to its consumma-
tion, and now alone is operative (Hofmann). Schleiermacher : "The idea of
the kingdom of God must have originated in Christ from His self-consciousness
and His perception of sin, if He conceived of His life as disseminated among tfie
masses"
106 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
pointing to the Messiah, 1 yet this may be sufficiently explained
from his want of susceptibility for the higher nature of Chris-
tianity, and from his peculiar political relation to the Eomans.
Ver. 3. rdp] " Causa, cur Johannes ita exoriri turn
debuerit, uti v. 1, 2, describitur, quia sic praedictum erat,"
Bengel. Does not belong to John's discourse, ver. 3, so that
by ouT09 he points to himself, as Er. Schmid, Eaphel, Fritzsche,
Paulus, Rettigin the Stud. u. Krit. 1838, p. 205 f., maintain,
since so prominent a self-designation has no basis in the con-
nection (John i. 2 3 ; on the other hand, John vi. 50, 5 8) ;
further, the descriptive present earl is quite in keeping with
Trapayiverai in ver. 1 ; and auro9 Se, ver. 4, is quite in keep-
ing with the sense of the objectively and generally delivered
prophetic description (the voice of one calling, and so on), and
leads to the concrete person thereby intended. ev rfi epr)p,w\
belongs in the original text to erotfjudcrare, and in the LXX.
also there is no reason for separating it from it ; but here it
belongs to /3ooWo5, according to ver. 1 : Kypvaa-wv ev rfj epj?//.&>.
This in answer to Eettig, Hofmann, Weissag. u. Erf. II. p.
77 f., and Delitzsch. The passage, Isa. xi. 3, quoted accord-
ing to the LXX., contains historically a summons to prepare
the way for Jehovah, who is bringing back His people from
exile, and to make level the streets which He is to traverse,
after the analogy of what used to take place in the East when
rulers set out on a journey (Wetstein and Miinthe). In this
the evangelist recognises (and the Baptist himself had recog-
nised this, John i. 23) the typically prophetic reference to
John as the prophet who was to call on the Jews to prepare
themselves by repentance for the reception of the Messiah
(whose manifestation is the manifestation of Jehovah). In
Isaiah, the voice which calls is that of a herald of Jehovah,
who desires to begin his journey ; in the Messianic fulfilment,
it is the voice of the Baptist. Faith in a God-sent fore-
1 Antt. xviii. 5. 2 : Knitu TUTOI 'Upturns, ayaiei eiv&pet xai <r"t* 'Iu3a/aij xi),i-j-
ciTft afirni Itraffxouvras *<*' TJJ rpo; a/.XtiXsi/; ^ixattxrvyri xai rpas for f'.ot ivfftpsiet
u; ftavrifftv rvviivai' tliTu yap Ktti <rr,t ftifriaii air ebiKTri* a,vTca Qav.iccxi, fjLti
t a.f*.<tfru&ui rapuirvrti xptiftitvf, aXX' i^' ctyvito. <rov ffufj.tt.ros, rt $n *ai rf,;
CHAP. III. 4. 107
runner of the Messiah, based on prophecy (Mai. iii. 1 ; Luke
i. 17, 76) and confirmed by Jesus Himself (xi. 10, xvii. 11),
and attested as realized in the appearance of the Baptist, had
in various ways (see Bertholdt, Christol. p. 58) assumed the
form of the expectation of the return of one of the ancient
prophets. Comp. xvi. 14 ; John i 21.
Ver. 4. AVTOS] ipse autem Johannes, the historical person
himself, who is intended (ver. 3) by that fairf of Isaiah.
et%e . . . Kap,r)\ov\ He had his (distinctive, constantly worn)
robe of camels' hair. The reading is avrov, which is neither
to be written avrov (it is used from the standpoint of the
narrator, and without any reflective emphasis), nor is it super-
fluous. Whether are we to think of a garment of camels'
skin, or a coarse cloth of camels' hair ? Er. Schmid and
Fritzsche are of the former opinion. But as hair alone is
expressly mentioned as the material * (comp. also Mark i. 6),
the latter is to be preferred. Even at the present day coarse
cloth is prepared from camels' hair for clothing and for cover-
ing tents. See Harmar, III. p. 356. Of clothes made from
the hides of camels (probably, however, from sheep and goat-
skins, compare Heb. xi. 37) there is not a trace to be found
among either ancient or modern Oriental saints (Harmar, III.
p. 374 ff.). Sepf^aTivrjv] not of a luxurious material, but
like Elijah, 2 Kings i. 8, whose copy he was (comp. Ewald,
G-esch. d. Volks Isr. III. p. 529). Dress and food are in
keeping with the asceticism of the Baptist, and thereby with
the profound earnestness of his call to /ieraz/ota. " Habitus
quoque et victus Johannis praedicdbat" Bengel. a/cpiSes]
Several kinds of locusts were eaten, Lev. xi. 22. Comp. Plin.
N. H. vi. 35, xi. 32, 35. This is still the custom in the
East, especially amongst the poorer classes and the Bedouins.
The wings and legs are torn off, and the remainder is sprinkled
with salt, and either boiled or eaten roasted. Niebuhr, Eeise,
I. p. 402 ; Harmar, I. p. 274 f . ; Eosenmliller, altes und neues
Morgenl. in loco. The conjectures of the older writers, who,
deeming this food unworthy of John, have substituted soine-
1 Comp. Josephus, Bell. Jud. xvii. 24. 3 : ; VT) <r &&ffi).ix*i> i r<i%ti npifn-
fcva-iv tavrccTf i* rpt%a rifiinfj.inif.
108 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
times cakes (^yaptSw), 1 sometimes crabs (KapiSes), or fruits of
the nut kind (dicpoSpva) and other articles, deserve no con-
sideration. /iteXt ayptov] Commonly: honey prepared by
wild bees, which in the East flows out of the clefts of the rocks.
Euth. Zigabenus : TO ev rait rwv Trerpwv a^ia^al^ VTTO T&V
fjieXia-a-wv jewpyovfievov. Bochart, Hieroz. II. 4. 12 ; Suicer,
TJies. II. p. 330; Ewald, Gesch. Isr. III. p. 50. It is still
frequently found in abundance at the present day in the
Jewish wilderness. Schulz, Leitungen d. Hochsten auf den
Reisen durch Eur. As. Afr. V. p. 133 ; Eosenmliller, L 1, p. 7 ;
Oedmann, Sammlungen aus d. Naturk. zur Erkl. d. heil. Schr.
VI. p. 136 f. Others (Suidas, Salmasius, Eeland, Michaelis,
Kuinoel, Fritzsche, Schegg, Bleek, Volkmar) understand tree
honey, a substance of the nature of honey which issues from
palms, figs, and other trees. Diod. Sic. xix. 9 4 ; Wesseling
in loc. ; Plin. N. H. xv. 7 ; Suidas, s.v. dtepk. Comp. Heyne,
ad Virg. Ed. iv. 30. Similarly, Polyaenus, iv. 3. 32 : TO vov
/tteXt, the Persian manna. This explanation of tree honey is to
be preferred, as, according to Diod. Sic. I.e. and Suidas, the
predicate aypiov, as terminus technicus, actually designates this
honey, whilst the expression /ie\t aypiov cannot be proved to
be employed of the honey of wild bees (which, moreover, is the
common honey).
Ver. 5. 'H Tre/ot^twpo? TOW 'lopSdvov] HI-L 1 "'S?, Gen.
xiii. 10, 11 ; 1 Kings vii. 47 ; 2 Chron. iv. 17. The country
on both sides of the Jordan, now Elgor, see Robinson, Pal. II.
1 Epiph. Haer. xxx. 13 quotes from the Gospel according to the Hebrews :
xa.i ft fipwf&a aiirtv, Ifvffi, fti).i aypiov, eu ri 'ytufis ri* rau pawec us iyxpif in Xa/ (con-
jecture : i ^EX/T/). A confusion has here been supposed between *^'Ssj and
iyxptiis, and it has been inferred that that Gospel was derived from Greek sources,
especially from the Greek Matthew. So also Credner, Beitr. I. p. 344 f. ; Bleek,
Beitr. p. 61 ; Harless, Erl. Weihnachtsprogr. 1841, p. 21. Comp. Delitzsch,
Entsteh. u. Anl. d. kanon. Ev. I. p. 20. But that passage from the Gospel to
the Hebrews contains only one kind of sustenance employed by John, the ,i>/
ciypiav, the taste of which is described according to Ex. xvi. 31, Num. xi. 8.
The Ebionites altogether omitted the locusts, as being animal food, but did not
substitute, as Epiphanius erroneously supposes, lyxpfits for a.xptiis. The resem-
blance of the tree honey to the manna could not but be welcome to their Jewish
point of view ; but because the word lyxp!; occurs in the books of Moses in the
description of its taste, they adopted it ; this has no relation whatever to our
CHAP. III. 5. 109
p. 498 ff. Comp. Lightfoot, Hor. p. 216. The whole passage
conveys an impression of solemnity, with which also the
naming of the town and district, instead of the inhabitants
(Nagelsbach on the Iliad, p. 103 ff. ed. 3), is connected. The
baptism of John has been erroneously regarded as a modified
application of the Jewish baptism of proselytes. So Selden
(jus. nat. ii. 2), Lightfoot (Hor. p. 220 ff.), Danz (in Meus-
chen, N. T. ex Talm. ill. pp. 233 ff., 28*7 ff.), Ziegler (theol.
Abh. II. p. 132 ff.), Eisenlohr (hist. BemerL ftb. d. Taufe,
1804), Kaiser (bibl. Theol. II. p. 160), Kuinoel, Fritzsche,
Bengel, ub. d. Alter d. Jud. Proselytent. 1814. For the
baptism of proselytes, the oldest testimony to which occurs in
the Gemara Babyl. Jebamoth xlvi. 2, and regarding which
Philo, Josephus, and the more ancient Targumists are alto-
gether silent, did not arise till after the destruction of Jerusalem.
Schneckenburger, ub. d. Alter der Jud. Proselytent. u. deren
Zusammenst. m. d. joh. u. chr. Eitus, 1828; Paulus, exey.
Handb. I. p. 307 ff. The reception of proselytes was accom-
plished, so long as the temple stood, by means of circumcision
and the presentation of a sacrifice, which was preceded, like
every sacrifice, by a lustration, which the proselyte performed
on himself. It is not, however, with this lustration merely,
but chiefly with the religious usages of the Jews as regards
washings, and their symbolical meaning (Gen. xxxv. 2 ; Ex.
xix. 1 ; Num. xix. 7, 19; 1 Sam. xvi. 5 ; Judith xii. 7),
that the baptism of John has its general point of connection
in the history of the people, although it is precisely as baptism,
and accompanied by the confession of sin, that it appears only
as something new given to this dawn of the Messiah's king-
dom, under the excitement of the divine revelation, of which
John was the bearer. Venerable prophetic pictures and
allusions, like Isa. i. 16, iv. 4, xliv. 44, 3 Ez. xxxvi. 25,
Zech. xiii. 1, Ps. li. 4, might thus serve to develope it still
further in the soul of this last of the prophets. What was
symbolized in the baptism of John was the uerdvoia. Comp.
Josephus, Antt. xviii. 5. 2. 1 To this, however, the immersion
1 See this passage of Josephus above on ver. 2. Without any reason has this
meaning been discovered in it, that John viewed his baptism as a means of
110 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
of the whole of the baptized person, as the perdvota, was to
purify the whole man, corresponded with profound signifi-
cance, and to this the specifically Christian view of the sym-
bolic immersion and emersion afterwards connected itself
(Rom. vi. 3 ff. ; Tit. iii. 5) by an ethical necessity. egofio-
Xo7.] In the same way as in the case of the sin-offering
(Lev. xvi. 21 ff. ; Num. v. 7), and in general to be taken as a
venerable pre-condition of divine grace and blessing, Ps. xxxii.
5, li. 1 ff . ; Ezra ix. 6 ; Dan. ix. 5. The participle is not to
be taken as if it were conditional (Fritzsche : " si . . . conftteren-
tur "), as the subjection to this condition, in the case of every
one who came to be baptized, is necessarily required as a
matter of course ; but : they were baptized whilst they con-
fessed, during the confession, which is conceived as connected
with the act of baptism itself. Whether is it a summary or
a specific confession which is intended ? Both may have
taken place, varying always according to the individuals and
their relations. The compound, however (Josephus, Antt. viii.
4. 6 ; passages in Philo ; see in Loesner), expresses, as also in
Acts xix. 18, Jas. v. 16, an open confession.
Ver. 7. The Pharisees (from K^S, separavit, the separated
ones, Bia rrjv e6e\oTrepia-(ro0pr)cr(ceiav, Epiphanius, Haer. i. 16)
received, besides the law, also tradition ; taught the doctrine of
fate, without, however, denying the freedom of the will ; of im-
mortality, and that in the case of pious persons, in pure bodies ;
of good and evil angels, and were, in all the strictness of external
righteousness, according to law and statute, the crafty, learned,
patriotic, and powerful supporters of the degenerate orthodoxy.
The Sadducees l recognised merely the written law, and that
covenant, by explaining &avrur?tM <TVVMO.I to mean : to unite through or for baptism
(Strauss, Keim, Hausratk). The meaning of the passage is rather : John com-
manded the Jews to be wise in the exercise of virtue, and so on (sapere, comp.
Rom. iii. 11 ; 2 Cor. x. 12), by means of baptism.
1 Epiphanius, Haer. i. 14 : ivovofta^ouffi iavrov; 'S.aS&ovxaioVi SSJ08V a.vl dixaioffvvvs
**-, \viK\naius oppugns. The Jewish tradition derives it from the proper name
Zadok. R. Nathan, ad Pirke Aboth, i. 3. The latter is to be preferred, with
Ewald, Geiger, Hitzig, and others ; see Keim, Gesch. J. I. p. 275. Hausrath,
Zeitgesch. 1. p. 118. That name, however, is to be understood as that of an old
and distinguished priestly family; 2 Sam. vii. 17, xv. 24; Ezek. xlviii. ]1 ;
1 Mace. vii. 14.
CHAP. III. 7. Ill
not only of the Pentateuch, but of the whole of the O. T.,
although according to the strict exposition of the letter, and to
the exclusion of tradition ; they denied the existence of higher
spirits, of fate and personal immortality, and adhered to a
strict code of morals ; they had less authority with the people
than the exclusive orthodox Pharisees, against whom they
formed a decided party of opposition, but had much influence
over men of rank and wealth. The strictly closed order of
Essenes, in its separation from the world and the temple, as
well as in its ascetic self-satisfaction and self-sanctification,
the quiet separatistic holy ones of the land, connected together
by community of goods, and under obligation, besides, daily to
perform holy lustrations, kept themselves far away from the
movement evoked by John. Observe that the article is not
repeated before Sa&SovK., because they are conceived as forming,
along with the Pharisees, one unworthy category. " Nempe
repetitur articulus, ubi distinctio logica aut emphatica ita
postulat," Dissen, ad Dem. de cor. p. 574. evrt] not contra
(Olearius), which would be quite opposed to the context, but
telic, in order to be baptized ; comp. Luke xxiii. 48. Why
should the Pharisees and Sadducees not also have come to
baptism, since they shared with the people the hope of the
Messiah, and must have felt also on their part the extraordi-
nary impression made by the appearance of John, and the
excitement awakened by it, and, in keeping with their moral
conceit, would easily enough have compounded with the con-
fession of sins ? It is, however, already probable a priori,
and certain, by means of Luke vii. 30, that they, at least so
far as the majority were concerned, did not allow themselves
to be baptized, although they had come with this intention,
but were repelled in terror by the preaching of repentance
and punishment, ver. 8 ff. There exists, therefore, no
variation between this and Luke vii. 30 ; the Pharisees and
Sadducees are no addition by Matthew (Ewald, Holtzmann),
and neither is Matthew to be blamed for committing a his-
torical mistake, occasioned by John i. 24 (Schneckenburger,
Bleek), nor is Luke to be charged with want of originality in
this section (de Wette). But the former relates with more
112 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
minuteness than Luke (iii. 7 : rot? . . . o^Xot?) in separating
the persons in question from the mass along with whom they
came. yevvrjftctra exiSvwv] cunning, malignant men! xii.
34, xxiii. 33 ; Isa. xiv. 29, lix. 5 ; Ps. Iviii. 5 ; Wetstein on
the passage. Comp. Dem. 799. 4: trucpov Kal e%iv rrjv
<t>vcriv avSpwirov. r?}? //.eXXouo-?;? 0/977)9] is to be un-
derstood of the divine wrath which is revealed at the Messianic
judgment (Rom. ii. 5 ; 1 Thess. i. 10). The common belief
of the Jews referred this to the heathen (Bertholdt, Christol.
pp. 203 ff., 223 ff.). John, however, to the godless generally,
who would not repent. The wrath of God, however, estab-
lished as a unity in the holy nature of the divine love as its
inseparable correlate, is not the punishment itself, but the holy
emotion of absolute displeasure with him who opposes His
gracious will, and from this the punishment proceeds as a
necessary manifestation of righteousness. The revelation of
the divine wrath is not limited to the last judgment (Rom.
i. 18 ; 1 Thess. ii. 16 ; Luke xxi. 23), but in it attains its
consummation. Comp. Rom. i. 18 and Eph. ii. 3, and so on,
especially Ritschl, de ira Dei, 1 1859 ; Bartholomaei in the
Jahrb. f. deutsche Theol. 1861, II. p. 256 ff. ; Weber, vom
Zorne Gottes, 1862. <j>vyelv OTTO] is, like IP n"i3 (Isa. xlviii.
20, xxiv. 18), constructio praegnans : to flee away from, xxiii.
33 ; Mark xvi. 8 ; John x. 11 ; Horn. Od. xii. 120 : (frvyeeiv
KapTia-Tov air au-ny?, Xen. Mem. ii. 6. 31; Plat. Phaed. p.
62 D. The infinitive aorist designates the activity as momen-
tary, setting forth the point of time when the wrath breaks
forth, in which the flight also is realized. Meaning of the
question : Nobody can have instructed you, that you should
escape. Comp. xxiii. 33 : 7r<u9 ^vjrjre.
Ver. 8. Ovv\ Deduction from what precedes. In your
impenitent condition you cannot escape from the wrath ; proceed
then to exhibit that morality of conduct which is appropriate to
the change of mind as its result. Instead of your unrepentant
1 Who determines the conception, p. 24, thus: "Certum argumentum jus-
titiae divinae ab humana diversae, quatenus valet ad defendendum adversus
homines contumaciter Deo fidem denegantes finem ejus summum et absoluture,
per Christum cum genere humano communicatum. "
CHAP, in, 9, 10. 113
condition, I require of you a practical repentance, the hind-
rance and opposition to which arises from your overweening
conceit as children of Abraham (ver. 9). What John here
requires applied, indeed, to the people in general, but was
especially appropriate to their scholastic leaders. TT)?
voias is governed by agtov (Acts xxvi. 20) ; on tcapw-bv
like '"]> rfiwy. (occurring likewise in Greek writers), borrowed
from fruit-trees, comp. vii. 1 7 f. oil. ; KapTroiroios, Eur. Ehes.
964 ; Kapir. is collective, Gal. v. 22 ; Eph. v. 9 ; Phil. i. 11.
Ver. 9. A 6 gyre] Do not allow yourselves to suppose, do not say
to yourselves, 1 Cor. xi. 16; Phil. iii. 4. \eyeiv ev eavrols]
tepa IDX, cogitare secum. It objectively represents reflection as
the language of the mind. Ps. iv. 5, x. 6, xiv. 1 ; Matt. ix. 21;
Luke iii. 8, vii. 49. Delitzsch, Psych, p. 180 [E. T. 213].
Comp. \eyeiv trpbs eavrov in Plat. Phaed. p. 88 C. irarepa
. . . 'Afipadft] The Jews of the common sort and their party
leaders believed that the descendants of Abraham would, as
such, become participators of salvation in the Messiah's king-
dom, because Abraham's righteousness would be reckoned as
theirs. Sanhedrin, f. 901 : sin D^J?i> p^n urh W ^mw W>.
Bereschith, E. xviii. 7. Wetstein on the passage. Bertholdt,
Christol. p. 206 ff. Comp. in the N. T., especially John
viiL 33 ff. orfc Svvaraj,, .r.\.] God is able, notwithstanding
your descent from Abraham, to exclude you from the Messiah's
salvation ; and, on the other hand, to create and bring forth out of
these stones j which lie here around on the bank of the Jordan,
such persons as are GENUINE children of Abraham, that is, as
Euth. Zigabenus strikingly expresses it : ol ras aperas avrov
ptfjiovfjievoi teal TTJS aur?}9 avTto Kara^iovfj,evot fjiepiSos ev rfj
/Jao-tAeia TWV ovpavwv. Comp. Rom. iv., ix. 6 ff. ; Gal. iv. ;
John viii. 39 f. It is an anticipation, however, to find the
calling of the heathen here indicated. It follows first from
this axiom.
Ver. 10. Already, however (it is then high time), is the
decision near at hand, according to which the unworthy are
excluded from Messiah's kingdom, and are consigned to
Gehenna. In ^8rj is contained the thought that the hearers
did not yet expect this state of things ; see Baeumlein,
MATT. H
114 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
PartiJc. p. 139 ; the presents eKKOTrrerai and fidXkerai denote
what is to happen at once and certainly, with demonstrative
definiteness, not the general idea: is accustomed to be hewn
down, against which ovv is decisive (in answer to Fritzsche),
the meaning of which is : " that, as a consequence of this,
the axe, etc., every tree will be, and so -on." See upon the
present, Dissen, ad Find. Nem. iv. 39 , p. 401.
Ver. 11. Yet it is not I who will determine the admission
or the exclusion, but He who is greater than I. In Luke iii.
16 there is a special reason assigned for this discourse, in
keeping with the use of a more developed tradition on the
part of the later redactor. els perdvotav} denotes the telic
reference of the baptism (comp. xxviii. 19), which imposes an
obligation to fierdvoia. To the characteristic evvSari et?
voiav stands opposed the higher characteristic ev
ayiq) K. irvpL, the two elements of which together antitheti-
cally correspond to that " baptism by water unto repentance ; "
see subsequently. ev is, agreeably to the conception of
/3a7TTt&> (immersion), not to be taken as instrumental, but
as in, in the meaning of the element, in which immersion
takes place. Mark i. 5 ; 1 Cor. x. 2 ; 2 Kings v. 14 ; Polyb.
v. 47. 2 : /3a7mo/iez/ot ev rot? re\puffi\ Horn. Od. ix. 392.
6 Be oTriaw .pov ep%6/j,evo<;] that is, the Messiah. His
coming as such is always brought forward with great emphasis
in Mark and Luke. The present here also denotes the near
and definite beginning of the future. la^vpor, jiov ecrriv]
In what special relation he is more powerful is stated after-
wards by auro9 y/ia? fiaTrrlaei,, K.T.\. ov OVK el pi, /c.r.X.] In
comparison with Him, I am too humble to be fitted to be one
of His lowest slaves. To bear the sandals of their masters
(/Sacrrao-at), that is, to bring and take them away, as well as
to fasten them on or take them off (the latter in Mark and
Luke), was amongst the Jews, Greeks, and Romans the busi-
ness of slaves of the lowest rank. See Wetstein, Eosen-
mtiller, Morgenl. in loc. ; cornp. Talmud, Kiddusch. xxii. 2.
auro9] He and no other, i. 21. v/ta?] was spoken indeed
to the Pharisees and Sadducees ; but it is not these only who
are meant, but the people of Israel in general, who were repre-
CHAP. III. 12. 115
sented to the eye of the prophet in them, and in the multitude
who were present. ev trv. ay. K. Trvpt] in the Holy Spirit,
those who have repented ; in fire (by which that of Gehenna
is meant), the unrepentant. Both are figuratively designated
as fiaTTTi&iv, in so far as both are the two opposite sides of
the Messianic lustration, by which the one are sprinkled with
the Holy Ghost (Acts i. 5), the others with hell-fire, as per-
sons baptized are with water. It is explained as referring to
the fire of everlasting punishment, after Origen and several
Fathers, by Kuinoel, Schott (Opusc. II. p. 198), Fritzsche,
Neander, de Wette, Paulus, Ammon, B. Crusius, Arnoldi,
Hofmann, Bleek, Keim, Volkmar, Hengstenberg, Weber, vom
Zorne Gottes, p. 219 f. ; Gess, Christi Vers. u. Werk, I. p. 310.
But, after Chrysostom and most Catholic expositors, others
(Erasmus, Beza, Calvin, Clericus, Wetstein, Storr, Eichhorn,
Kauffer, Olshausen, Glb'ckler, Kuhn, Ewald) understand it of the
fire of the Holy Spirit, which inflames and purifies the spirits of
men. Comp. Isa. iv. 4. These and other explanations, which
take TrvpL as not referring to the punishments of Gehenna, are
refuted by John's own decisive explanation in ver. 12 : TO Se
ayvpov KaraKavaet Trvpi aa/Seo-ro). It is wrong, accordingly,
to refer the Trvpi to the fiery tongues in Acts ii. (Euth. Ziga-
benus, Maldonatus, Eisner, Er. Schmid, Bengel, Ebrard).
The omission of ical Trvpi is much too weakly attested to
delete it, with Matthaei and Einck, Lucubr. crit. p. 248. See
Griesbach, Comm. crit. p. 25 f.
Ver. 12. And fire, I say ; for what a separation will it
make ! ov] assigns a reason, like our : He ivhose [German, Er,
dessen]. See Ellendt, Lex. Soph. II. p. 371 ; Klihner, II. p. 939.
It is not, however, as Grotius, Bengel, Storr, Kuinoel think,
pleonastic, but the literal translation is to be closely adhered
to : whose fan is in his hand ; that is, he who has his (to him
peculiar, comp. ver. 4) fan in his hand ready for use. Comp
LXX. Isa. ix. 5. According to Fritzsche, eV rg %eipl avrov
is epexegetical : " cujus erit ventilabrum, sc. in manu ejus."
But such epexegetical remarks, which fall under the point of
view of Appositio partitiva, stand, as they actually occur, in
the same case with the general word, which they define more
116 TIIE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
minutely (ov TO TTTVOV, -ri}? %etpo<? avrov). See Eph. iii. 5, and
remarks in loc. a\cova] a\w? (Xen. Oec. xviii. 6; Dem.
1040. 23), in Greek writers commonly after the Attic
declension, is the same as pa, a circular firmly - trodden
place upon the field itself, where the grain is either trodden
out by oxen, or thrashed out by thrashing machines drawn
by oxen. Keil, Arch. II. p. 114; Robinson, III. p. 370.
Similarly in Greek writers ; see Hermann, Privatalterth.
xv. 6, xxiv. 3. The floor is cleansed in this way, that
the seed grains and the pounded straw and similar refuse
are not allowed to lie upon it indiscriminately mingled
together, in the state in which the threshing has left this
unclean condition of the floor, but the grain and refuse
are separated from each other in order to be brought to
the place destined for them. In the figure, the floor, which
belongs to the Messiah, is not the church, (Fathers and
many others), nor mankind (de Wette), nor the Jewish
nation (B. Crusiue), but, because the place of the Messiah's
activity must be intended (Ewald), and that, according to the
national determination of the idea of the Baptist, the holy
land, as the proper sphere of the work of the Messiah, not
the world in general (Bleek), as would have to be assumed
according to the Christian fulfilment of the idea. In accord-
ance with this view, we must neither, with Zeger, Fischer,
Kuinoel, de Wette, explain r. a\cava, according to the alleged
Hebrew usage (Job xxxix. 12 ; Ruth iii. 2), as the grain upon
the floor ; nor, with Fritzsche, regard the cleansing as effected,
removendo inde frumentum, which is an act that does not follow
until the floor has been cleansed. The SuiKaOapi^etv, to
purify thoroughly, which is not preserved anywhere except
in Luke ii. 17, designates the cleansing from one end to the
other ; in classical writers StatcaOaipeiv, Plat. Pol. iii. pp.
399 E, 411 D ; Alciphr. iii. 26. air oOrjKtjv] place for storing
up, magazine. The grain stores (crnoftdXiov, Polyb. iii. 1 0. 4 ;
Orjo-avpol ffirov, Strabo, xii. p. 862 ; o-iroSoKi], Pollux) were
chiefly dry subterranean vaults. Jahn, Archaol. I. 1, p. 376.
a^vpov] not merely chaff in the narrower sense of the word
(pb), but all those portions of the stalk and ear which contain
CHAP. III. 13. 117
no grain, which are torn in pieces by the threshing, and re-
main over (!?n), Herod, iv. 72 ; Xen. Oec. xvii. 1, vi. f. ; Gen.
xxiv. 25 ; Ex. v. 7. These were used as fuel. Mishna
tract, SchaVbath ii. 1 ; Parah. iv. 3. Paulsen, vom Aclcerbau
der Morgenl. p. 150. The sense, apart from figurative lan-
guage, is : The Messiah will receive into His kingdom those who
are found worthy (comp. xiii. 3 0) ; but upon the unworthy He
will injlict in full the everlasting punishments of Gehenna.
Comp. Mai. iii. 19. der/Sea-reo] which is not quenched (Horn.
II. xvii. 89 ; Find. Isthm. iii. 72 ; Dion. Hal. Antt. i. 76, corre-
sponding to the thing portrayed; comp. Isa. Ixvi. 24). Not,
therefore : which is not extinguished till all is consumed (Paulus,
Bleek).
EEMARK. John i. 26 is not to be regarded as parallel with
Matt. iii. 12, for, according to John, the Baptist speaks after the
baptism of Jesus, and to the members of the Sanhedrim. And
doubtless he had often given expression to his testimony regard-
ing Christ, who was the point which the prophet had in view
in his preaching of repentance and baptism. That he is not yet
definitely designated in Matthew as Elijah (Luke i. 1 7 ; Matt.
xi. 10, 14), is rightly regarded as an evidence of the truth of the
gospel narrative, which has not anticipated the subsequently
developed representation of John. To relegate, however, the
announcement of the Messiah from the preaching of the Baptist
into the realm of legend (Strauss) is a mockery of the entire
evangelical testimony, and places it below the narrative of
Josephus, which was squared according to the ideas of political
prudence (Antt. xviii. 5. 2).
Ver. 13. Tore] at that time, when John thus preached the
advent of the Messiah, and baptized the people, vv. 1-1 2.
OTTO r. r*aX,tX.] See ii. 23. It belongs to irapaj. The posi-
tion is different in ii. 1. TOV ^aim^O. vir avrov] Jesus
wished to be baptized by John (genitive, as in ii. 13), but
not in the personal feeling of sinfulness (B. Bauer, Strauss,
Pecaut), or as the bearer of the guilt of others (Riggenbach,
Krafft) ; not even because He, through His connection of
responsibility with the unclean people, was unclean according to
the Levitical law (Lange), or because He believed that He
was obliged to regard the collective guilt of the nation as His
118 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
guilt (Schenkel) ; just as little in order to separate Himself
inwardly from the sins of the nation (Baumgarten), or make it
certain that His crap d&deveias should not be opposed to the
life of the Spirit (Hofmann, Weissag. und Erf Oil. II. p. 82), or
because the meaning of the baptism is : the declaration that
He is subjected to death for the human race (Ebrard) ; not even
to bring in here the divine decision as to His Messiahship
(Paulus), or to lay ike, foundation for the faith of others in
Him, so far as baptism is a symbol of the regeneration of
those who confess Him (Ammon, L. J. I. p. 268), or in order to
honour the baptism of John by His example (Calvin, Kuinoel,
Keim), or to bind Himself to the observance of the law (Hof-
mann, Krabbe, Osiander) ; or because He had to conduct
Himself, before the descent of the Spirit, merely as an Israelite
in general. The opinion also of Schleierrnacher, that the
baptism of Jesus was the symbolical beginning of His announce-
ment of Himself, and, at the same time, a recognition of John's
mission, is foreign to the text. The true meaning appears
from ver. 15, namely, because Jesus was consciously certain
that He must, agreeably to God's will, subject Himself to the
baptism of His forerunner, in order (w. 16, 1 7) to receive the
Messianic consecration ; that is, the divine declaration that He
was the Messiah (%va uvaSei^Of) ro> XacS, Euth. Zigabenus), and
thereby to belong from that moment solely and entirely to this
great vocation. The Messianic consciousness is not to be re-
garded as first commencing in Him at the baptism, so that He
would be inwardly born, by means of baptism, to be the
Messiah, and would become conscious of His divine destina-
tion, to full purification and regeneration as the new duty
of His life ; but the irperrov ea-rlv fjfuv, ver. 15, presupposes a
clear certainty regarding His vocation ; and John's relation to
the same, as in general the existence of that consciousness,
must have been the necessary result of His own consciousness,
which had attained the maturity of human development,
that He was the Son of God. But that baptism, to which He
felt certain that He must submit Himself, was to be for Him
the divine ordination to the Messiahship. It is clear, according
to this, that His baptism was quite different from that of others,
CHAP. III. 14. 119
so far as in Him, as a sinless being, there could be no confes-
sion of sin ; but the lustrative character of the baptism could
only have the meaning, that from that moment He was taken
away from all His previous relations of life which belonged
to the earthly sphere, and became, altogether and exclu-
sively, the Holy One of God, whom the Father consecrated
by the Spirit. Although He was this God-sanctified One from
the beginning, yet now, as He was aware that this was the
will of God, He has, by the assumption of baptism, solemnly
bound and devoted Himself to the full execution of His
unique destiny, a devotion which was already more than a
vow (Keim), because it was the actual entrance into the Mes-
sianic path of life, which was to- receive at the very threshold
its divine legitimation for all future time. In so doing, He
could, without any consciousness of guilt (xi. 29), associate
Himself, in all humility (xi. 2 9), with the multitude of those
whom the feeling of guilt impelled to baptism ; because in His
own consciousness there was still the negation of absolute
moral goodness, to which He, long afterwards, expressly gave
so decided expression (xix. 17).
Ver. 14. According to John i. 33, it was revealed to the
Baptist that He upon whom he should see the Spirit descend-
ing was the Messiah. It was accordingly not until this
moment that the recognition of Jesus as the Messiah entered
his mind ; and therefore, in the Gospel of John, he says of
the time which preceded this moment : Kaya> OUK fjSeiv avrov.
The passage before us is not in contradiction with this, for the
recognition of the Messiahship of Jesus does not yet lie at its
foundation, but the prophetic anticipation of the same, which
on the approach of Jesus, as that solemn decision was about
to begin through the revelation of the a-ypeiov, seized the soul
of the Baptist involuntarily and miraculously, and yet psycho-
logically, in keeping with the spiritual rapport prepared by
revelation. Comp. Luther : " he scents the Spirit." Accord-
ingly, we are not to assume in our passage either a recogni-
tion only of higher excellence (Hess, Paulus, Hofmann), or a
contradiction with John (Strauss, de Wette, Keim), or, after
Lticke, Holtzmann, and Scholten, that .the oldest and shortest
120 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
tradition of Matthew contained nierely vv. 16, 1*7, while vv.
1 4, 1 5 were a later addition of the complete Matthew, 1 which
Hilgenfeld seeks to support from the silence of Justin regard-
ing the refusal of the Baptist, whilst Keim gives, indeed, the
preference to the statement of Matthew over that of John, but
still allows it to be very problematical. SiK(o\vev] Stronger
than the simple verb. The word (which does not occur else-
where in the N. T. nor in the LXX., yet in Judith iv. 7, xii. 7,
and frequently in the classical writers) is selected, in keeping
with the serious opposition of the astonished John. The
imperfect is descriptive, and, indeed, so much so, that " vere
incipit actus, sed ob impedimenta caret eventu," Schaefer, ad
Eur. Phoen. 81. Kiihner, II. 1, p. 123. John actually repelled
Jesus, and did not baptize Him at once, but only when the latter
had made representations to the contrary effect. 6701 %petav,
/c.T.X.] Grotius : Si alter nostrum omnino baptizandus sit, ego
potius abs te,ut dignissimo, baptismum petere debui. Thus spoke
John in the truest feeling of his own lowliness and sinfulness,
in the presence of the long-longed for One, the first recogni-
tion of whom suddenly thrilled him. KOI a-v ep^y Trpos
fie ;] A question indicative of the astonishment with which
the Baptist, although he had received the divine declaration,
John i. 33, was yet seized, through the impression made on him
by the presence of the Lord. Moreover, this discourse neces-
sarily excludes the idea that he too connected the baptism of
Jesus with the profession of a confession of His sins. Yet the
1 According to Epiphanius, ffaer. xxx. 13, the Gospel according to the
Hebrews contained the conversation, although with embellishments, but placed
it after the baptism. The want of originality of this narrative in itself (in answer
to Schneckenburger, Hilgenfeld) already shows its apocryphal and extravagant
character. The correctness of its position has found favour, indeed, with Bleek
(p. 179 f., and in the Stud. u. Krit. 1833, p. 436), Usteri (in the same, 1829, p.
446), and Liicke, and Keim also, at the expense of our Gospel ; but, after what
has been said above, without any reason, as the want of agreement between
Matthew and John is only apparent, and is not to be removed by changing the
meaning of the simple and definite oux. j?Suv alr'ov. See on John i. 31. The
Wolfeributtel Fragmentist (vom Zwecke Jesu, p. 133 ff.) has notoriously misused
John i. 31 to assert that Jesus and John had long been acquainted with each
other, and had come to an understanding to work to each other's hands, but
to conceal this from the people.
CHAP. III. 15, 16. 121
apocryphal Praedicatio Pauli, according to Cyprian, Opp. p. 142,
Kigalt (Credner, Beitr. I. p. 360 ff), had already made Jesus
deliver a confession of sin ; in the Evangelium sec. ffebraeos,
on the other hand, quoted by Jerome, c. Pel. iii. 1, Jesus
answers the request of His mother and His brethren to let Him-
self be baptized along with them : " Quid peccavi, ut vadam et
baptizer ab eo ? nisi forte hoc ipsum quod dixi ignorantia est."
Ver. 15. "Apri] now, suffer it just now. The antithesis
of time is here not that of the past (see on Gal. i. 9), but of
the future, as in John xiii. 37 ; 1 Cor. xiii. 12. Chrysostom :
ov Strjveicws ravra earat,, d\V crvjret pe ev TOVTOIS ol<j eTri6vfj,et$'
apn fjievToi vTropeivov TOVTO. The meaning : " sine paulis-
per " (Fritzsche), comp. de Wette : " let it be for once," is not
sufficient. Schneckenburger, p. 122, regards the a$e? as
having been inappropriately transferred from the Gospel ac-.
cording to the Hebrews. Erroneously, as it there belongs (in
the sense : let it remain) to the apocryphal addition, according
to which John, after the baptism of Jesus, prays tJie latter to
baptize him ; and Jesus answers : a0e9, ort OVTCOS e'ari irpeTrov
7r\r)pa)6fjvat, irdvra (Epiphanius, Haer. xxx. 13). This apo-
cryphal outgrowth is manifestly a farther spinning out of the
tradition, as recorded in Matthew. Several of the Fathers
likewise inferred from apn, in our verse, that John was after-
wards baptized by Jesus. ^/LUZ/] to thee and to me. To refer
it merely to Jesus (Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus,
Glockler), or, in tJie first place to Jesus (de Wette, Bleek), is
opposed to the context. See ver. 14. iraaav SiKaioo-vvrjv']
all righteousness, all which as duty it is obligatory on us to do.
Ch. R Fritzsche in Fritzschior. Opusc. p. 81. Comp. TrXyp.
ev<re(3euiv, 4 Mace. xiv. 15. If I do not allow myself to be
baptized, and thou dost not baptize me, there remains some-
thing unfulfilled (therefore, OUTCD) which ought to be done by
us, in accordance with the divine will ; then satisfaction is not
made by us to all righteousness. Comp. on Traa-av the plural
expression SiKaioavvai in Sir. xliv. 10 ; Job ii. 14.
Ver. 16. Ev6vs\ which cannot belong to avear^d. (Maldo-
natus, Grotius, B. Crusius), nor can it be referred to paTrrurdek
by supposing a hyperbaton (Fritzsche) ; see Kiihner, II. 2, p.
122 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
642. Matthew would have written, teal evOiis fiaTrn&dek. It
belongs to di/e/3??, beside which it stands : after He was bap-
tized, He went up straightway, etc. This straightway was
understood at once as a matter of course, but does not belong,
however, merely to the descriptive, but to the circumstantial
style of the narrative, setting forth the rapid succession (of
events). ave^^drja-av avrat ol o vp a voC] designates neither
a clearing up of the heavens (Paulus), nor a thunderstorm
quickly discharging itself (Kuinoel, Ammon), since the poetic
descriptions, as in Sil. It. i. 535 ff., are quite foreign (see
Drackenborch, ad Sil. It. iii. 136 ; Heyne, ad Virg. Aen. iii.
198) to our simple historical narrative; as, moreover, neither
in the Gospel according to the Hebrews, nor in Epiphanius,
Haer. xxx. 13, nor in Justin, c. Tryph. 88, 1 is a thunderstorm
meant. Only an actual parting of the heavens, out of which
opening the Spirit came down, can be intended. Ezek. i. 1 ;
John i. 52; Rev. iv. 1; Acts vii. 56; Isa. Ixiv. 1. avrw
does not refer to the Baptist (Beza, Heumann, Bleek, Kern,
Krabbe, de Wette, Baur), since ver. 16 begins a new portion
of the history, in which John is no longer the subject. It
refers to Jesus, and is the dative of purpose. To Him the
heavens open ; for it was on Him that the Spirit was to de-
scend. Comp. Vulgate. etSe] Who ? not John, but Jesus,
without eV avrov standing for e<' ainov (Kuinoel) ; Klihner,
II. 1, p. 489 f. ; Bleek on the passage. The Gospel according
to the Hebrews clearly referred etSe to Jesus, with which Mark
i. 10 also decidedly agrees. 2 axrel irepta-repdv] The ele-
ment of comparison is interpreted by modern writers not as
referring to the shape of the visibly descending Spirit, but to the
manner of descent, where partly the swiftness (Fritzsche), partly
the soft, gentle movement (Bleek) and activity (Neander), and the
like, have been imagined as referred to. But as all the four
evangelists have precisely the same comparison (Mark i. 10;
1 In the Gospel according to the Hebrews : npi's^aff^iv rot rivo* <ps ftiy/x.
Justin : xttrit-fivros TOV 'lr,aau if'i TO u^up xail -rvp a.*f,$0n it TU 'lapSdtn.
2 Schmidt in the Jahrb. f. D. Th. 1869, p. 655, erroneously says : If Jesus
were the subject, i<p' avro* must necessarily have been put. See Buttmann,
Or. p. 97 f. [E. T. Ill f.].
CHAP. III. 17. 123
Luke iii. 22 ; John i. 32), which, as a mere representation of
the manner of the descent, would be just as unessential as it
would be an indefinite and ambiguous comparison ; as, farther,
Luke expressly says the Spirit descended, a-cafjMriKa> etSet wcret
TTepia-Tepd, where, by the latter words, the crwfjLar. etSet is
defined more precisely (comp. the Gospel according to the
Hebrews in Epiphanius, Haer. xxx. 13 : etSe, namely, Jesus,
TO TTvevp-a rov Oeov TO a<yiov ev el'Set TrepKTTepds KaTe\0ov<rrj<> ;
also Justin, c. Tr. 88), so that interpretation appears as a
groundless attempt to lessen the miraculous element, and only
the old explanation (Origen and the Fathers in Suicer, Thes.
s.v. irepia-Tepd, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Luther), that the
form of a dove actually appeared, can be received as the correct
one. So also Paulus (who, however, thought of a real dove
which accidentally appeared at the time !), de Wette, Kuhn
(L. J. I. p. 319), Theile (zur Biogr. Jesu, p. 48), Keim, Hilgen-
feld, who compares 4 Esdr. v. 26. The symbolic element of
this divine a-rj^eiov (see remarks after ver. 17) rests just in
its appearance in the form of a dove, which descends.
Ver. 17. $(0vv). . . \eyovcra] Here neither isejveroto be
supplied, after Luke iii. 22 ; nor does the participle stand for
the finite tense. See onii. 18. But literally: and lo, there, a
voice from heaven which spoke. Comp. xvii. 5 ; Luke v. 12, xix.
20 ; Acts viii. 27; Eev. iv. 1, vi. 2, vii. 9. o ayaTryTos]
dilectus, not unicus (Loesner, Fischer, Michaelis, and others).
The article, however, does not express the strengthened concep-
tion (dilectissimus), as Wetstein and Eosenmliller assert, but is
required by grammar ; for the emphasis lies on o vio<s /uoi/, to
which the characteristic attribute is added by way of distinc-
tion. Comp. Kiihner, II. 1, p. 529 f. Exactly so in the same
voice from heaven, xvii. 5. ev o> evSoKrjcra] Hebraistic
construction imitative of 3 fan. See Winer, p. 218 [E. T.
291]. Fritzsche, ad Rom. II. p. 371 (Polybius ii. 12. 13
does not apply here) ; frequently in LXX. and Apocrypha.
The aorist denotes : in whom / have had good pleasure (Eph.
i. 4 ; John xvii 24), who has become the object of my good
pleasure. See Hermann, ad Viger. p. 746 ; Bernhardy, p.
381 f. ; Kiihner, II. 1, p. 134 f. The opposite is
124 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Rom. ix. 13 ; ij%0r)pe tcpovitov, Horn. 77. xx. 306. The divine
voice solemnly proclaims Jesus to be the Messiah, 6 vlos pov ;
which designation, derived from Ps. ii. 7, 1 is in the divine
and also in the Christian consciousness not merely the name
of an office, but has at the same time a metaphysical meaning,
having come forth from the Father's being, Kara irvev^ia, Rom.
i. 4, containing the Johannine idea, 6 \6yo<; crapj; eyevero (accord-
ing to Matt. i. 20, Luke i. 35, also the origin of the corpo-
reity). That the passage in Isa. Ixii. 1 (comp. Matt. xii. 18)
lies at the basis of the expression of that voice, either alone
(Hilgenfeld) or with others (Keim), has this against it, that
o vlos fjuov is the characteristic point, which is wanting in Isaiah
I.e., and that, moreover, the other words in the passage do not
specifically correspond with those in Isaiah.
REMARK. The fact of itself that Jesus was baptized by John,
although left doubtful by Fritzsche, admitted only as possible
by Weisse, who makes it rather to be a baptism of the Spirit,
while relegated by Bruno Bauer to the workshop of later
religious reflection, stands so firmly established by the testi-
mony of the Gospels that it has been recognised even by Strauss,
although more on d priori grounds (L. J. I. p. 418). He rejects,
however, the more minute points as unhistorical, while Keim
sees in it powerful and speaking figures of spiritual occurrences
which then took place on the Jordan ; Schenkel again intro-
duces thoughts which are very remote ; and Weizsacker recog-
nises in it the representation of the installation of Jesus into
His vocation as Ruler, and that by the transformation of a
vision of Jesus into an external fact, and refers the narrative
to later communications probably made by the Lord to His
disciples. The historical reality of the more minute details is
to be distinguished from the legendary embellishments of them.
The first is to be derived from John i. 32-34, according to
which the Baptist, after an address vouchsafed to him by God,
in which was announced to him the descent of the Spirit as
1 In the Gospel according to the Hebrews the words of the voice ran, accord-
ing to Epiphanius, ffaer. xxx. 13 : tu pov i7 o vies iyairnrot, It vti tv&oxtffa,- ai
xo.\ir iy* fftifttpof yiy'ivvwa. <ri. So also substantially in Justin, c. Tr. 88.
Manifestly an addition from later tradition, which had become current from the
well-known passage in Ps. ii. Nevertheless, Hilgenfeld regards that form of
the heavenly voice as the more original. See on the opposite side, Weisse,
Evangelienfrage. p. 190 ff.
CHAP. III. 17. 125
the Messianic awtfo* of the person in question, saw the Holy
Spirit in the form of a dove descend upon Jesus, and abide
upon Him, and, in accordance with this, delivered the testimony
that Jesus was the Son of God. The seeing of the Baptist, and
the testimony which he delivered regarding it, is accordingly
to be considered as based on John i. 32-34, as the source of the
tradition preserved in the Synoptics, in the simplest form in
Mark. According to Ewald, it was in spirit that Jesus saw
(namely, the Spirit, like a dove, consequently " in all its liveli-
ness and fulness" according to Isa. xi. 2) and heard what He
Himself probably related at a later time, and that the Baptist
himself also observed in Jesus, as He rose up out of the water,
something quite different from what he noticed in other men,
and distinguished Him at once by the utterance of some extra-
ordinary words. But, considering the deviation of John's
narrative from that of the Synoptics, and the connection in
which John stood to Jesus and the Baptist, there exists no
reason why we should not find the original fact in John.
Comp. Neander, L. J. p. 83 f. ; Schleiermacher, p. 144 ff. ;
Ewald, Gfesch. Chr. p. 230 f. Moreover, that seeing of the Spirit
in the form of a dove is a spiritual act, taking place in a vision
(Acts vii. 55, x. 10 ff.), but which was transformed by the tradi-
tion of the apostolic age into an external manifestation, as the
testimony of John (John i. 34), which was delivered on the basis
of this seeing of his, was changed into a heavenly voice (which
therefore is not to be taken as Bath Kol, least of all " as in the
still reverberation of the thunder and in the gentle echo of the
air," as Ammon maintains, L. J. p. 273 f.). The more minute
contents of the heavenly voice were suggested from Ps. ii. 7, to
which also the old extension of the legend in Justin, c. Tryph.
88, and in the Ev. sec. ffebr. in Epiph. Haer. xxx. 13, points.
Consequently the appearance of the dove remains as an actual
occurrence, but as taking place in vision (Orig. c. Gels. i. 43-48.
Theodore of Mopsuestia : sv t't'dsi fffpiffrepas yivo^vr^ f) rov <>rviufj,aro
ou nasiv ZxpSri ro?<; irapovaiv, aXXa xard riva
rt
rot, irciffiv adstLprtra fiXeffsiv , . . cirrae/a 'yap %v, od puff/s ri
, as also the opening of the heavens (Jerome : " Non
reseratione elementorum, sed spiritualibus oculis"). Origen
designates the thing as dtwpia vorinx^. Comp. Grotius,
Neander, Krabbe, de Wette, Bleek, Weizsacker, Wittichen.
Finally, the question * whether before the time of Christ the
1 Talmudic and Rabbinical witnesses, but no pre-Christian ones, are in exist-
ence for the Jewish manner of regarding it (amongst the Syrians the dove was
126 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Jews already regarded the dove as a symbol of the Divine
Spirit, is so far a matter of perfect indifference, as the Baptist
could have no doubt, after ike divine address vouchsafed to him,
that the seeing the form of a dove descending from heaven was
a symbolical manifestation of the Holy Spirit ; yet it is pro-
bable, from the very circumstance that the ov-rada took place
precisely in the form of a dove, that this form of representation
had its point of connection in an already existing emblematic
mode of regarding the Spirit, and that consequently the Eab-
binical traditions relating thereto reach back in their origin to
the pre-Christian age, without, however (in answer to Liicke on
John), having to drag in the very remote figure of the dove
descending down in order to brood, according to Gen. i. 2. Here
it remains undetermined in what properties of the dove (inno-
cence, mildness, and the like ; Theodore of Mopsuestia : <p iX6e-
ropyov x. (pfravdpuKov uov) the point of comparison was originally
based. Moreover, according to John i. 32 ff., the purpose of
what took place in vision does not appear to have been the
communication of the Holy Spirit to Jesus (misinterpreted by
the Gnostics as the reception of the Xo'yo;), but the making
known of Jesus as the Messiah to the Baptist on the part of
God, through a eriptTov of the Holy Spirit. In this the difficulty
disappears which is derived from the divine nature of Jesus,
according to which He could not need the bestowal of the
Spirit, whether we understand the Spirit in itself, or as the
communicator of a nova virtus (Calvin), or as ci/sD^a ^PO^TIKOV
(Thomasius), or as the Spirit of the divine e%ouff!a for the work
of the Messiah (Hofmann), as the spirit of office (Kahnis), which
definite views are not to be separated from the already existing
possession of the Spirit. The later doubts of the Baptist,
Matt. xi. 2 ff. (in answer to Hilgenfeld, Weizsacker, Keiin),
as a momentary darkening of his higher consciousness in human
weakness amid all his prophetic greatness, are to be regarded
neither as a psychological riddle nor as evidence against his
held sacred as the symbol of the brooding power of nature ; see Creuzer, Symbol.
II. p. 80). See Cfutgig. ii., according to which the Spirit of God, like a dove,
brooded over the waters (com p. Bereshith rabba, f. iv. 4 ; Sohar, f. xix. 3, on Gen.
i. 2, according to which the Spirit brooding on the water is the Spirit of
the Messiah). Targum on Cant. ii. 12: "Vox turturis, vox Spirituss." Ir.
Gibborim, ad Gen. i. 2 ; Bemidb. rob. f. 250. 1. See also Sohar, Num. f. 68,
271 f., where the dove of Noah is placed in typical connection with the Messiah ;
in Schoettgen, II. p. 537 f. Comp. besides, Lutterbeck, neutest. Lehrbegr. I. p.
259 f. ; Keim, Gesch. J. I. p. 539. The dove was also regarded as a sacred bird
in many forms of worship amongst the Greeks.
CHAP. III. 17. 127
recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, which was brought about
in a miraculous manner ; and this is the more conceivable when
we take into consideration the political element in the idea of
the Messiah entertained by the imprisoned John (comp. John
i. 29, Eemark). If, however, after the baptism of Jesus, His
Messianic appearance did not take place in the way in which
the Baptist had conceived it, yet the continuous working of the
latter, which was not given up after the baptism, can carry
with it no well-founded objection to the revelation of Jesus as
the Messiah, which is related in the passage before us. Comp.
on John iii. 23.
128 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTEE IV.
VER. 4. 6 avOpuv.'] Elz., Scholz omit the 6. It might easily
have been added from the LXX. in Deut. viii. 3, where, how-
ever, it is wanting in several witnesses ; but as the article is
superfluous, and the witnesses in its favour greatly prepon-
derate, there are decisive reasons for retaining it. tiri vavri]
iv vavTlis found in C D, 13, 21, 59, 124, 300; approved by Griesb.,
adopted by Fritzsche, Lachm., Tisch. Kightly ; / was just as
easily suggested by the first clause of the sentence by itself as
by the reading of the LXX., which is attested by preponderat-
ing witnesses. Ver. 5. iffrqaiv] B G D Z K, 1, 33 : ter^etv.
Eecommended by Griesb., adopted by Lachm. and Tisch. 8.
The aorist interrupts and disturbs the representation as present,
and has been introduced from Luke iv. 9. Ver. 6. \iyti\
Lachm., but upon very slight authority, reads tJvtv, which is
not to be adopted, even in ver. 9, instead of xiys/, with Lachm.
and Tisch. 8, after B C D Z X and Curss. It is taken from
Luke. Ver. 10. 6 */*&> /*ou] is wanting in Elz., deleted also
by Fritzsche and Tisch. 8, bracketed by Lachm. The wit-
nesses are greatly divided, and the preponderance is uncer-
tain (against it: B C* K P S V A K, Curss., Or. Ir. and
other Fathers, and several Verss., among which Syr. Vulg. ; in
favour : C** I) E L M U T Z, and several Curss., Justin., and
many Fathers and Verss., amongst which is It.). An old in-
sertion from xvi. 13, where the circumstance that Peter is there
the person addressed, might cause the less difficulty that he
also is called Satan. In Luke iv. 8, vnayt OT/VW /*ou car. is also
an interpolation. Ver. 12. 6 'lj<joDs] is wanting in BC*DZN,
16, 33, 61, Copt. Aeth. Or. Eus. Aug. The omission is approved
by Griesbach. Kightly ; the addition of the subject suggested
itself the more easily that a new section begins in ver. 12.
Comp. ver. 18. Deleted also by Tisch. Ver. 18. 31] Elz. adds
o 'ijffoy, against decisive testimony. Comp. on ver. 12. Ver.
23. oXjjv r. raX/x.] Lachm. : x?j r. raX/Xa/a, without evidence,
as not merely C but B also has Iv oXj r. raX., which Tisch. has
adopted, 8th ed. N* has merely Iv rf Tax. The reading of
CHAP. IV. 1-11. 129
Tisch. 8 is to be adopted ; the Received reading is a change
made to harmonize with the more common construction.
Vv. 1-11. Temptation of Jesus. Mark i. 12 f . ; Luke
iv. 1 ff. ; Alex. Schweizer, eoceg. hist. Darstellung d. Versuchs-
gesch. in s. Kritik d. Gegensdtze zw. Rationalism, u. Supernat.
1833; P. Ewald, d. Versuch. Christi mit Bczugnahme auf d.
Versuch. d. Protoplasten. 1838 ; Kohlschlitter in the Sachs.
Stud. 1843; Ullmann, Silndlosigk. Jesu, ed. 7,1863; Graul
in Guericke's Zeitschr. 1844, 3; Pfeiffer in the Deutsch.
Zeitschr. 1851, No. 36; Koenemann (purely dogmatic) in
Guericke's Zeitschr. 1850, p. 586 ff. ; Laufs in the Stud. u.
Krit. .1853, p. 355 ff. ; Nebe, d. Versuch. d. Hernn e. dussere
Thatsache, 1857 ; v. Engelhardt, de Jesu Chr. tentatione, 1858 ;
Held in Hilgenfeld's Zeitschr. 1866, p. 384 ff. ; Haupt in
the Stud. u. Krit. 1871, p. 209 ff. ; Pfleiderer in Hilgenfeld's
Zeitschr. 1870, p. 188 ff. The narrative in Matthew (and
Luke) is a later development of the tradition, the older and
still undeveloped form of which is to be found in Mark.
rore] when the Holy Spirit had descended upon Him.
dviJX07)] He was led upwards, i.e. from the lower ground of
the river bank to the higher lying wilderness. Luke ii. 22,
xxii. 66. rr}v eprj/jLov] the same wilderness of Judea spoken
of in ch. iii. According to the tradition, we are to think of
the very rugged wilderness of Quarantania (wilderness of
Jericho, Josh. xvi. 1), Ptobinson, Pal. II. p. 5-52 ; Schubert,
Reise, III. p. 73 ; Eaumer, p. 47. But in that case a more
precise, distinctive designation must have been given; and
Mark i. 1 3, yv /zera rwv dypiwv, is a point which has a suffi-
cient basis in the idea of the wilderness in general. Nothing
in the text points to the wilderness of Sinai (Chemnitz,
Clericus, Michaelis, Nebe). VTTO TOV TrvevpaTos] ly the
Holy Spirit, which He had received at His baptism. avrj^Qfj
does not indicate (Acts viii. 39 ; 2 Kings ii. 16) that He was
transported in a miraculous, involuntary manner, but by the
power of the Spirit, which is expressed still more strongly in
Mark i. 12. Others (Bertholdt, Paulus, Glockler) understand
Jesus' own spirit, Paulus regarding it as an ecstatic condition.
This would be opposed to the context (iii. 16), and to the
MATT. 1
130 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
view of the matter taken by the Synoptics, which, in Luke
iv. 1, is expressed without any doubt whatever by the words
aytov irKr/pr]?. Euth. Zigabenus well remarks :
eavrov fiera TO /SaTrrtoywi TG> ayiw TrvevjuiTi KOI vir
avrov ayerai TT/OO? o av efcelvo K\evrj } KOI dvd^erai ei<? rrjv
epr)]j,ov eTTt TCO TroXe/iT/fl^z/at VTTO TOV 8ia/36\ov. 7retpa<r Oijvai]
designates the purpose for which the Spirit impelled Jesus to
go into the wilderness : n-eipd^etv, to put to the proof, receives
its more precise definition in each case from the connection.
Here : whether the Messiah is to be brought to take an unrighteous
step which conflicts with His calling and the will of God. UTTO
row Sta/QoXou] In what shape the devil appeared to Him,
the text does not say ; and the view of the evangelist as to
that is left undetermined. Yet the appearance must be con-
ceived of as being directly devilish, not at all as taking place
in the form of an angel of light (Ambrose, Menken), or even
of a man.
KEMAKK. The two opposed principles, uvb ?o\j w. and l*b ?>
&a/3., are essentially related to one another ; and the whole
position of the history, moreover, immediately after the descent
of the Spirit on Jesus, proves that it is the victory of Jesus,
filled with the Spirit (Luke iv. 1, 2), over the devil, which is to
be set forth. It appears from this how erroneous is the inven-
tion of Olshausen, that the condition of Jesus in the wilderness
was that of one who had been abandoned by the fulness of the
Spirit. The opinion of Calvin is similar, although more cau-
tiously expressed, ver. 11:" Interdum Dei gratia, quamvis
praesens esset, euin secundum carnis sensum latuit."
Ver. 2. IV^o-revo-a?] to be taken absolutely. Luke iv. 2.
Comp. Deut. ix. 9 ; Ex. xxxiv. 28 ; 1 Kings xix. 8. It is
explained, without reason, by Kuiuoel, Kuhn, and many others
in the sense of deprivation of the usual means of nourishment.
This relative meaning, which, if presented by the context,
would be admissible (Kuhn, L. J. I. p. 364 ff.), is here, how-
ever, where even the nights are mentioned as well as the days,
contradicted by the context, the supernatural character of the
history, the intentionally definite statement of Luke (iv. 2),
and the types of Moses and Elijah. It is just as irrelevant
to change the forty days as a sacred number into an indefinite
CHAP. IV. 3. 131
measure of time (Koster) ; or, as a round number, into several
days (Neander, Krabbe). That, moreover, the forty days' fast
became the occasion of the temptation, cannot appear as out rf
keeping (Strauss, de Wette) with the object, but, according to
ver. 1, was contained in the design of the Spirit. varepov]
of itself superfluous, indicates, however, the circumstance that
the hunger did not attack Him until He had fasted. Bengel :
" Hactenus non tarn fuerat tentatio, quam ad earn praeparatio."
Comp. the similar usage of etra and eireira after participles by
classical writers, Stallbaum, ad Plat. Phaed. p. 70 E.
Ver. 3. 'O Treipd^wv] Part, present taken substantively.
See on ii. 20. Here : the devil. Comp. 1 Thess. iii. 5. ei]
does not indicate that Satan had doubts of Jesus being the
Son of God (Origen, Wolf, Bengel), or was not aware of it
(Ignat. Phil, interpol. 9), comp. xxviii. 40 ; but the problematical
expression was to incite Jesus to enter upon the unreasonable
demand, and to prove Himself the Son of God. Euth. Ziga-
benus : Sero, on Trapa/cvia-OrjaeTcu ra> \6y<p, KaOdirep oveiSio--
0et<? eVl r<n fir] elvai wo<? 6eov. ino? roO 6eov\ See iii. 17.
The devil makes use of this designation of the Messiah, not
because he deemed Jesus to be only a man, who vioQerrjOr]
T<X> 6eq> Sia ra? dperas avrov (Euth. Zigabenus), or because
he had become doubtful, owing to the hungering of Jesus, of
His divinity, which had been attested at His baptism (Chry-
sostom) ; but because Jesus' supernatural relation to God is
well known to him, whilst he himself, as the principle opposed
to God, has to combat the manifestation and activity of the
divine. Observe that by the position of the words the
emphasis lies on uuo?: if Thou standest to God in the
relation of Son. etTre, iva] iva after verbs of commanding,
entreaty, and desire, and the like, does not stand in the sense
of the infinitive, as is commonly assumed (Winer, de Wette,
Bleek), in opposition to the necessary conception of the words,
but is, as it always is, an expression of the purpose, in order
that, the mistaking of which proceeds from this, that it is not
usual in the German language to express the object of the
command, and so on, in the form of a purpose. Here : speak
(utter a command) in order that these stones, and so on.
132 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Comp. xx. 21. The oldest examples from Greek writers after
e6e\eiv, o(f>pa, in Horn. II. i. 133 (see Nagelsbach thereon),
occur in Herodotus and Demosthenes. See Schaefer, ad Dem.
279. 8: aguJvv, iva #077077077; Kuhner, II. 2, p. 519. ot
\iOoi OVTOI] comp. iii. 9. <apro<i] Bread, in the proper
sense; not, like on?, food in general. Comp. vii. 9. The
Son of God must free Himself from the state of hunger, which
is unbecoming His dignity, by an act similar to the divine
creation, and thus employ His divine power for His own
advantage. The tempter introduces his lever into the imme-
diate situation of the moment
Ver. 4. Deut. viii. 3, after the LXX., contains the words of
Moses addressed to the Israelites, which have reference to the
divinely-supplied manna. Note how Jesus repels each one
of the three temptations, simply with the sword of the Spirit
(Eph. vi. 17). eV apr(d\ the preservation of life does not
depend upon bread alone. Examples of tftv eVi in Kypke,
Obss. I. p. 141; Markland, ad Max. Tyr. Diss. xxvii. 6 ;
Bergler, ad Alciphr. p. 294. This construction is a common
one in classical writers with ex, 0,77-0, or the simple dative.
^crerat] The future tense designates in Deut. i. 1, and in
LXX. as well as here, simply the future, that which will
happen, the case which will occur under given circumstances.
So also in classical writers in general sentences. Dissen, ad
Dem. de cor. p. 369. o av6pa>7ro<t] universal: Man. So
in the original text and in the LXX. ; there is the less reason
to depart from this, and to explain it : de insigni illo hominc,
that is, Messiah (Fritzsche), as the application of the uni-
versal statement to Himself on the part of Jesus was a matter
of course. popart] Word, in its proper sense. By every
statement which proceeds from the mouth of God, that is,
through every command which is uttered by God, by which the
preservation of life is effected in an extraordinary, supernatural
manner (without apro?). 1 Comp. Wisd. xvi. 26. pfjfia is
1 Amongst the Israelites it was effected by means of the manna ; therefore we
must not say with Euth. Zigabenus : a> pvpa ix.-roptuop.iva> ato. ff<rafnarcs Qiw i*i
TOV -TfMuiita. S/x)v rfefyris ffvt/i%it TV* %uvv avTau. Comp. ChrySOStom : ^vvurai a
ties *a< pr.ftari tf'f^-cti <re tutu*-*. Pfleiderer also refers it to the power of
CHAP. IV. 5. 133
not res O?* 1 !). n t even in xviii. 16, Luke ii. 15, Acts v. 32,
1 Mace. v. 37, since eWop. Sia CTTO/A. deov necessarily points to
the meaning of word, declaration, which, however, is not to be
explained, with Fritzsche (comp. Usteri and Ullmann) : omni
mandato divino peragendo.
Ver. 5. IIapa\a/ji{3J] he takes Him with him, 1 Mace. iii.
37, iv. 1, and frequently in Greek writers. rrjv ay lav
TroXtv] tsn'pn -vy, Isa. xlviii. 2, Iii. 1 ; Neh, xi. 1. Jeru-
salem, the city of God, on account of the national temple,
v. 35, xxvii. 53 ; Lukeiv. 9 ; Sir. xxxvi. ISjxlix. 6 ; Josephus,
Antt. iv. 4. 4 ; Lightfoot, Hor. p. 43 ;. Ottii Spicileg. p. 9.
Even at the present day it is called by the Arabs : the place
of the Sanctuary, or the Holy City [El Kuds]. Hamelsveld,
bibl. Geogr. I. p. 204 ff. ; Bosenmuller, Morgenl. in loc. The
designation has something solemn in contrast to the devil.
ta-Trja-iv] not " auctor erat, ut Christus (with him) illuc se con-
ferret " (Kuinoel, Fritzsche), but : he places Him, which im-
plies the involuntary nature of the act on the part of Jesus,
and the power on the part of the devil. Comp. Euseb. H. E.
ii. 23 : ecrrrja-av . . . rov 'IdKojjSov eirl TO Trreptjiov rov vaov.
A more precise determination of what is certainly a miracu-
lous occurrence (conceived of by Jerome as a carrying away
through the air) is not given in the text, which, however, does
not permit us to think of it as something internal taking
place in the condition of a trance (Olshausen). Comp. Acts
viii. 38. TO Trrepvyiov rov lepov] the little wing of the
temple l is sought for by many on the temple building itself, so
that it is either its battlement (Luther, Beza, Grotius), that
is, the parapet surrounding the roof, or the ridge (Fritzsche,
Winer), or the gable, pediment (Vulgate : pinnaculum ; Paulus,
Bleek), the two latter from their wing shape ( A ), or roof
generally (Keim, and older expositors. See especially Krebs
spiritual nourishment contained in the divine word ; as also Calovius, who says :
' ' Revocat a verbo potentiae, quo lapides erant in panem convertendi, ad verbum
gratiae, cui adhaerentes vivent, etiamsi pane careant."
1 Amongst the Greeks (Strabo, Plutarch, the Scholiasts), x-Tt/wr, wing, is
specially used in an architectural sense. See the Lexica, also Mtiller, Archaol.
220. 3. On art/if? in this sense, comp. Poll. vii. 121 ; on vrtpvyiit, Joseph.
Antt. xv. 11. 5 ; on a- rifuft.it, Vitruv. iii. 3. 9.
134 TIIE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
on the passage), that is indicated. But, apart from this, that
the roofing of the temple house, according to Josephus, Antt.
v. 5. 6, vi. 5. 1, was furnished on the top with pointed stakes
as a protection against birds, and, moreover, on account of
the extreme sacredness of the place, would hardly be selected
by tradition as the spot where the devil stationed himself,
the rov lepov is opposed to it, which does not, like z/ao<?,
designate the main building of the temple, properly speaking,
but the whole area of the temple with its buildings. See
Tittmann, Synon. p. 178 f. The view, therefore, of those is
to be preferred who, with Euth. Zigabenus, Olearius, Reland,
Valckenaer, seek the -rrrepvyiov in an outbuilding of the temple
area ; where, however, it is again doubtful whether Solomon's
portico or the aroa fiaaiXifaj, the former (Josephus, Antt. xx.
9. 7) on the east side, the latter (Josephus, Antt. xv. 11. 5)
on the south, both standing on an abrupt precipice, is intended.
Wetstein and Michaelis prefer the former ; Kuinoel, Bret-
schneider, B. Crusius, Arnoldi, the latter. In favour of the latter
is the description of the giddy look down from this portico
given in Josephus : et n<s air' aicpov rov ravrt]^ reyovs
avvridels ra fiddr) SiOTrrevei, (TKoroSivtav, OVK
T?}<? o-vjrew? et9 dfArpr)Tov rov ftv66v. In Hegesippus, quoted
by Eus. ii. 23 (where James preaches downwards from the
irrepvyiov rov vaov, and the scribes then go up and throw
him down), it is not the gable, but the pinnacle, the balustrade
of the temple building, which formed a projection (aKpcorrjpiov),
that we are to think of. Comp. Hesychius : nrepv^iov
aicpwrripiov. The article denotes that the locality where the
occurrence took place was well knovni.
EEMAEK. The second temptation in Matthew is the third in
Luke. The transposition was made with a view to the order in
which the localities succeeded each other. But in a climactic
point of view, how inappropriate is the order in which it occurs
in Luke, and how appropriate is that in Matthew, 1 whose
1 Luther : At the first temptation, the devil appeared as a black one ; at the
second, where he puts forth a word of Scripture, a light, white one ; at the
third, " quite as a divinely majestic devil, who comes out straightway, indeed,
as if he were God Himself."
CHAP. IV. 6, 7. 335
greater originality must here also be maintained against
Schneckenburger and Krafft. The variation itself, however, is
not removed by the circumstance that Matthew only continues
the narrative with TOTS and KO.XIV (Ebrard), but it remains and
is unessential.
Ver. 6. In Ps. xci. 11, 12, according to the LXX., it is
God's providential care for the pious in general that is spoken
of. Here the tempter, who now himself grasps the weapon
of Scripture, which had just been used against him, cunningly
applies the typical expressions in the Psalms (the figure is
borrowed from maternal anxiety) strictly to the Messiah.
ort], not the recitative, but a part of the passage. The Son of
God, in reliance on the divine protection, must undertake a
daring miracle of display in order to win over the masses for
Himself. For the multitudes, with a view to influencing
whom this miracle is proposed, are understood to be, as a
matter of course, on the temple area ; and therefore we are not
to assume, with Kohlschiitter, Ullmann, Engelhardt, that it
was only an exhibition of divine favour and protection, and no
public spectacle, which was aimed at. On that view no suffi-
cient reason is shown why Jesus is brought from the wilder-
ness to the most populous centre of the metropolis. Euth. Ziga-
benus strikingly remarks : Sia KevoSoJ;ia<; e\eiv avrbv eTri^eipet.
Ver. 7. Hd\iv\ rursus, never signifies in the N. T., not
even in 2 Cor. x. 7, Gal. v. 3, 1 John ii. 8, at quoque, e diverse,
a meaning which it frequently has in classic writers (Ellendt,
Lex. Soph. II. p. 485), as Erasmus, Er. Schmid, Schleusner,
B. Crusius, have interpreted it ; but here means, on the other
hand, looking back to the yeypaTrrai of the devil in ver. 6,
and introducing another passage of Scripture as something
which again has been written; comp. v. 33. Bengel well
says : Scriptura per scripturam interpretanda et concilianda.
OVK eK7reipd<rei<;~\ future, as in i. 21 ; the compound strengthens
the meaning ; comp. on 1 Cor. x. 9. The meaning is : " Do
not let it be a question whether God will save thee from dangers
on which thou hast entered uncalled." Flacius : Si habuisset
expressum mandatum dei, non fuisset tentatio. Deut. vi. 16
(LXX.), comp. Ex. xvii. 2.
136 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Ver. 8 f. ndaas . . . Koo-pov] jnsn tfcBOri Ezra i. 2. Not
a hyperbolical expression : amplissimum terrarum tractum, but
actually all the kingdoms of the world, Luke iv. 5. The
devil could indeed regard only all heathen lands as his dis-
posable possession (Luke iv. 6 ; Lightfoot, p. 1088; Eisen-
menger, entd. Judenth. II. p. 820 ff.) ; but even unto those remote
heathen lands, and beyond, and far beyond the small country
of Palestine, has the marvellous- height of the mountain
enabled the eye to look ; the Holy Land, with the temple and
the peculiar people of God, certainly belonged besides to
the Son of God as a matter of course ; therefore to explain it
away as omnes Palaestinae regiones- (Krebs, Loesner, Fischer,
Gratz) is quite away from the point, -eav Tfecr. . . . poi] If
Thou wilt have cast Thyself down before me as Thy master,
and thereby have manifested Thy homage (ii. 2) to me. By
the fulfilment of this demand the devil would have made
Jesus unfaithful to Himself, and would have secured his own
world-rule over Him. Where the mountain in question is to
be sought for (according to Michaelis, it was Nebo ; according
to others, the Mount of Olives, Tabor, Mbriah, HoreV) is, con-
sidering the miraculous nature of the scene (Luke iv. 5 : cv
crxtfy/iJ; xpovov), not even to be asked ; just as little is Beifcwaiv
to be rationalized as if it denoted not merely the actual
pointing, but also the verbis demonstrare (Kuinoel, Glockler) ;
the Sofa avrwv, moreover, is the external splendour of the
kingdoms that lay before His eye.
Ver. 10. "TTraye] The spurious words oiriffw /*ov would
have to be explained: go behind me that is, go back that
I may see thee no longer ! acjjavia-drjTi, Euth. Zigabenus.
oTTio-ci) with the genitive belongs to the LXX. and the Apo-
crypha, after the Hebrew, 'a ^.ns ; in this way the Greeks
construe O7rta-0v. aaTava] to infer from this that Jesus
now for the first time (too late) recognises Satan (de Wette),
is arbitrary, and opposed to the representation of the matter
in ver. 1, according to which Jesus cannot have been unaware
of the intention of the Holy Spirit, who impelled Him to go
into the wilderness. That He now calls Satan "by name, is in
keeping with the growing intensity of the emotion in general,
CHAP, iv 11. 137
as well as with the personal address of the tempter in ver. 9.
" Tentatorem, quum is maxime favere videri vult, Satanam
appellat," Bengel. tcvpiov, K.T.\.] Jehovah alone shalt ihou
worship, do homage to Him only as thy master. Deut. vi. 13,
according to the LXX., freely applied to the proposal of
Satan. According to this arrangement, it is by the way of
obedience to God that Jesus is aware that He will attain to
the government of the world. John xviii. 36 ; Phil. ii. 6 ff. ;
Matt, xxviii. 1 8 ; Acts x. 3 6 ff.
Ver. 11. "AyyeXot,"] Angels, without the article. Sirj-
KOVOVV] ministered to Him. The remark of Bengel is correct:
" sine dubio pro eo, ac turn opus erat, sc. allato cibo." So
Luther, Piscator, Jansen, Wolf, Hammond, Michaelis, Paulus,
Fritzsche, Strauss, de Wette, Ewald, Bleek, Nebe, Keim.
Concerning the use of Siaicovelv in this sense, see Wetstein,
and Matthiae, ad Soph. Phil. 284; and how pragmatically
does this appearance of angels, after a series of temptations
that have been victoriously withstood, correspond to the
appearance of Satan in> ver. 3 ! Comp. 1 Kings xix. 5.
Others, not referring it to food, say that extraordinary
divine support (John i. 52) is intended (Calvin, Maldonatus,
Kuinoel, Olshausen, Kuhn, Ammon, Ebrard), on which view
the angels themselves are partly left out, partly effaced from
the narrative ; whilst Chrysostom (who compares the carrying
of Lazarus by angels into Abraham's bosom), Theophylact, Euth.
Zigabenus, Grotius, do not enter into any more minute exposi-
tion of the Sta/coveiv. But considering the appropriateness of
the above definite explanation, it is not right to be satisfied
with one that is indefinite and wavering.
EEMAEK. According to the representation of the evangelists,
the temptation of Jesus by the devil appears in the connection
of the history as a real external marvellous occurrence. See Ch.
F. Fritzsche in Fritzschior. Opusc. p. 122ff. To abide by this
view (Michaelis, Storr, Ebrard, P. Ewald, Graul, Konemann,
Arnoldi, Schegg, Delitzsch, Nebe, Engelhardt, Hofmann, Eiggen-
bach, Baumgarten) is a necessary consequence of the denial of
any legendary elements in the canonical Gospels, and is equally
justifiable with this denial in general. The evangelists were
aware that they were relating a real external history in time
138 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
and space (in answer to Kuhn, Lichtenstein), and the choice
only remains between adopting either this view or assuming
that of an ideal history in the garb of legend, gradually brought
into shape by the power of the idea. All attempts at explain-
ing away the devil and his external appearance are arbitrary
contradictions or critical carpings, opposed to the design and
representations of the evangelists, more or less of a rationalistic
character. This holds good, not merely of the absurd, and, in
relation to the third act, even monstrous view of those who,
instead of the devil, introduce one or even various individuals,
perhaps a member of the Sanhedrim or high priest, who
wished to examine Jesus and to win Him over, or destroy Him
(Herm. v. d. Hardt, Exegesis loc. difficilior. qiiat. ev. p. 470 ff. ;
Basedow, Venturini, Holier, neue Ansichten, p. 20 ff. ; Eosen-
miiller, Kuinoel, Feilmoser in the Tub. Quartalschr. 1828, 1, 2),
but also of the view which regards the event as a vision, whether
this was brought about by the devil (Origen ? Pseudo- Cyprian,
Theodore of Mopsuestia), or by God (Farmer, Inquiry into the,
Nature, and Design of Christ's Temptation, London, 1761 ; comp.
also Calvin on ver. 5), or by natural means (Balth. Becker,
Scultetus, Clericus, Wetstein, Bolten, Bertholdt, Jahn, Gabler,
Paulus, Gratz, Pfleiderer), or of those who view it as a signi-
ficant morning dream (Meyer in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1831, p.
319ff.), which interpretations, moreover, are in contradiction
with the clear repose and moral definiteness of the divine-
human consciousness of Jesus, in virtue of which there never
occurs in His life any condition of ecstasy, or a trace of any
special manifestations in dreams. Akin to this, but equally
offensive to the gospel history, and besides by no means leaving
unaffected the moral character of the development of Jesus
Himself, if we look to Heb. ii. 18, iv. 15, is the view which
transforms the occurrence into an internal history, which took
place in the thoughts and fancy of Jesus (Doderlein, Eichhorn,
allg. Bill. III. p. 283 ff. ; Thaddaeus d. i. Dereser, d. Versuch.
Christi, Bonn 1794; Hezel, Augusti, Bretschneider, Weisse,
Kritik d. ev. Gesch. II. p. 1 2 ; Hocheisen in the Tub. Zeitschr.
1833, 2 ; Kohlschutter, Pfeiffer, Eink, Ammon, Laufs, Schenkel,
Held). On this view the devil has again been recently brought
forward, on grounds exegetically justifiable, as the operating
principle (Krabbe, Hoffmann, Schmid, libl. TJieol. I. p. 65 ; and
very indirectly also by Ullmann) ; while, in a more arbitrary
manner, it has been attributed to the disciples that they appre-
hended in an objective form the inner fact related to them by
Jesus, that He had rejected the false idea of the Messiah ; whilst
CHAP. IV. 11. 139
Neander, L. J. p. 120ff., substantially giving up the reality of
the history of the temptation (" a fragmentary symbolical setting
forth of the facts of His inner life," where the manner of the
devil's co-operation is left undetermined), holds hesitatingly by
its truth ; and Kuhn, moreover, is divided between the historical
and unhistorical view of the manner of its occurrence. To
those who transfer the history into the inner life of, Jesus'
spirit, belong also Hase and Olshausen, the former of whom
recognises in it the whole history of His mental growth, pro-
bably externalized by Himself, with reference to Ex. xvi., Deut.
viii. 2, Ps. xci. 1 1 f., into an individual fact, but in the tradition
assumed to be actual history, and who volatilizes the devil into
the spirit of the world ; while Olshausen, notwithstanding the
ucri roD irvsu^ctaro; in ver. 1, finds the reality of the occurrence
in this, that the soul of Jesus was exposed to the full operations
of the kingdom of darkness ; while Lange regards the internal
temptation of Jesus as caused by the devil, but brought about
by human means that is, as an assault of the sympathetic
inworking of the national and world spirit upon His soul, and
as the tentative representatives of this spirit, drags in, by an
invention that is his own, the deputation of the Sanhedrim,
which had been despatched to John (John i. 1 9), as they were
on their way back to Jerusalem. With more caution and with
profotmder historical insight, Keim (comp. Weizsacker, p. 239 ff.)
regards the history of the temptation in the light of the victo-
rious beginning of the struggle with Satan, xii. 25 ff., where the
historical kernel is the heavy weight of questions and doubts
which were imposed on the soul of Jesus whilst He was calmly
meditating upon the obligation and the manner of His vocation
to the Messiahship, and on His decision to enter upon it, which
had so powerfully taken hold of Him on the banks of the
Jordan ; on this initial victory Jesus could not have left His
disciples without some information. But however we may
apprehend the narrative as an historical occurrence in the mind
of Jesus, the monstrous nature of the external formation of the
history remains the more inexplicable the more directly its
origin is brought into connection with Jesus Himself and His
circle of disciples, especially as the threefold details of the
temptation were still unknown to Mark. To view the event
as a parable, is in contradiction to the narrative, arbitrary in
itself, and alien to the style of parabolic address employed by
Jesus elsewhere. So, after older writers, who, however, endanger
the sinless character of Jesus, it has been viewed as a sym-
bolical address of Jesus or of one of His disciples directed
140 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
against false Messianic hopes. See Schleiennacher, Sclir. d.
Lukas,p. 54 f., and L.J. p. 157 ff.; B. Crusius, UU. Theol. p. 303,
and on Matthew, p. 82; Usteri in the Stud. u. Krit. 1829, p.
455 ff., who at a later time recanted this opinion, and regarded
the narrative as a myth (1832, p. 768) ; Kichter, formam narrat.
Matth. iv. 1-11, parabolicam ex Judaeor. opinions de duplici
Adamo esse repetend., Viteb. 1824; Schweizer, Bleek; comp.
Theile, z. Biogr. J. p. 49 : "a warning directed by some adherent
or another in support of the spiritually moral view, in opposition
to the chief elements of the earthly Messianic hope." Against
the parabolic character, see Hasert in the Stud. u. Krit. 1830,
p. 74 f. ; Strauss, L. J. I. p. 444 f. ; Schmid, UU. Theol. I. p. 60 ;
Engelhardt, Nebe. As now, however, the history of the
temptation in the first and third evangelists, viewed as an
actual external occurrence, contains not merely a legendary
magical scenery which is still foreign to the oldest Gospel, but
also absolute impossibilities and contradictions with the moral
character of Jesus as filled with the Spirit, who does not at
once get rid of Satan, but allows him to proceed to the utmost
extreme ; as, moreover, this occurrence on the other side stands
in contradiction with the devil's cunning and craftiness (Paulus,
cxeget. Handb. I. p. 376), whose assaults as proceeding from the
devil against the Son of man would be planned with as much
clumsiness as pointlessness, there thus remains nothing else
than to explain the narrative which in Mark still exhibits its
first undeveloped beginnings, the first crystallisations of its
ideal contents, the subject of which the narrators deemed to be
true history, and repeated as such, as a legend, the contents of
which, regarded as thought, possessed historical truth, and which
arose among Jewish Christians, 1 being derived from the idea
of the Messiah as opposed to the devil, and the necessity and
complete realization of which was exhibited in the whole life
and work of Christ, placed, like a compendious programme, an
" epitome omnium tentationum " (Bengel), at the beginning of the
Messianic career, which commenced at the baptism. Not as if
1 Various conceptions from the legendary or mythical point of view, see in
Theiss, Lbffler, kl. Schr. II. p. 185 ff.; Fritzsche, Usteri in the Stud. u. Krit.
1832, p. 768 ff.; Strauss, I. p. 479 f.; de Wette, Gfrorer, Gesch. d. Urchr. I. 1,
p. 379 ff.; Ewald. The locality of the temptation, the wilderness, was at once
suggested as the idea gradually assumed bodily form from the sojourn of Jesus
with the Baptist, and from the popular belief that demons had their dwellings
in the wilderness; the forty days, however, found their venerable point of con-
nection in the types of Moses and Elias (hardly of the forty years' duration of
the wanderings of the people in the wilderness, which Delitzsch, Baumgarten,
CHAP. IV. 11. 141
there had not been on the part of Jesus after His baptism, and
before His entrance on His work, the most serious preparation
and most intense concentration of thought in still retirement, in
which the whole opposition of the devil, as well as the manner
of His own struggles and conquests which had been peculiarly
determined by God, must have presented themselves vividly
before His eyes ; although this alone could not have given rise
to the history of the temptation. For that purpose it was
necessary that His holy life, that actual victory over Satan,
should first be completed. That narrative might now first
have arisen in the living history-moulding power of the ideas
which prevails generally throughout the preliminary history,
first of all in the form in which it appears in Mark, but soon
after gradually expanded into detail, yet again silently excluded
by John, considering the impossibility of assigning a place to
it in connection with his history. Its expanded form, however,
as it lies before us in Matthew and Luke, corresponds with the
highest internal truth to the main relations of the opposition
directed by the power of the devil against the second Adam and
His kingdom, an opposition which is decidedly to be recog-
nised from the very beginning onwards to the end, and victory
over which was the condition of His whole work. In this way
the contents of the narrative, the psychological factors of which
are quite as much the temptability as the sinlessness of the
Lord, certainly belong to the history, but not as a concrete
occurrence with its three individual acts, but as a summary
reflection of the work of Jesus in His vocation in relation to
the demoniacal kingdom, without, however, our being obliged
to assume as an historical foundation any internal temptation
taking place in thought, and any originally symbolic repre-
sentation of the same, which was transformed into actual
history in the course of tradition (de Wette). This foundation
is rather the complete victory of our Lord over the craft and
power of the devil, as the whole course of His Messianic life
is a series of temptations by the devil, with the result of the
latter being conquered both in detail and in the main (Heb.
and others drag in here as a type). They are also not excluded by the statement
of Justin, c. Tr. 103, that, according to the uTofivnpo*. T. avrea-r., the devil came
to Jesus apa <ru a.* infant at avrot atro TOU roTa./j.ou TOJ 'lopSamu ; but this statement
agrees with Mark i. 12f. As regards the individual temptations, the first was
thus connected with the forty days' fast of Moses, Dent. ix. 9, 18 ; the second,
with the necessity which existed in the case of the Messiah of His being
accredited by miracles; the third, with the certainty of the Messiah's rule over
the world, by means of which the government of the devil must come to an end.
142 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ii. 18, iv. 15); comp. John xiv. 30. With profound meaning
and truth (for from, the, very beginning must Jesus make expe-
rience of the enemy of His kingdom, begin the struggle with
him, and become certain of the right victory) has the synoptic
tradition unanimously assigned to the narrative the early place
which it occupies; and the attempt cannot be successful to
maintain a later special situation as the historical seat of its
origin, as Pfleiderer does, who transposes the vision which he
assumes into the time of ch. xv. xvi., making use, moreover,
of John vi. 26 for the first act of the temptation. That the
history of the temptation in Matthew is even a later insertion
derived from oral tradition (Kostlin), is a very arbitrary infer-
ence, from the circumstance that ver. 12 does not make any
reference to the history of the temptations ; Matthew follows
Mark, and quotes his short notice from a special source. The
existence of Satan, as well as his personality, is attested
throughout the whole of the New Testament, and is altogether
independent of the view which may be taken of this individual
narrative; see in answer to Hofmann, Schriftbew., Philippi,
Dogm. III. p. 332 ff. ed. 2.
Ver. 12. Fritzscbe gives the sense and connection of vv. 12
to 1 6 thus : " Post conditi in carcerem Johannis famam dis-
cessit Jesus in Galilaeam, et relicta Nazaretha Capharnaumi
quidem consedit, ut, quemadmodum apud prophetam est,
magnis, amisso Johanne, tenebris oppressi Galilaei splendida
Messiae luce fruerentur." But it appears, from the words in
ver. 12, that Jesus, upon learning that the Baptist had been
delivered over to Herod, deemed it dangerous to appear in the
same district where the latter had baptized and excited so
much attention, and that therefore He withdrew into the more
remote Galilee (comp. xii. 15, xiv. 13). This belonged,
indeed, to the dominion of Herod Antipas, who had caused
the Baptist to be apprehended (xiv. 3) ; but it removed Jesus
more from his attention and that of the hierarchical party, and
gave Him the natural retirement of home. According to John
iii. 24, John had not yet been apprehended, and the journey to
Galilee was occasioned by the marriage at Cana (ii. 1). In
Luke iv. 14 no external reason is stated for the journey, which
is a later avoidance of the inaccuracy of the earlier tradition
(retained in Mark and Matthew) (in answer to Schnecken-
CHAP. IV. 13, 14. 143
burger). The contradiction, however, between Matthew and
John is to be recognised, and to the latter is to be assigned
the preference in point of accuracy. 1 Comp. on John iii. 24.
A longer intervening period between the temptation and the
return to Galilee is not hinted at by Matthew (nor even by
Mark), and is excluded by Luke.
Vv. 13, 14. Ka(f)apvaovfj,] so, with Lachmann, Tischen-
dorf, we must write B1D3 i?3, vicus Nachumi, not ^wpiov
7rapaK\rjaeca<; (Origen), or villa pulcherrima (Jerome). It was
a prosperous manufacturing town on the north-west shore of
the Lake of Tiberias. Not mentioned in the Old Test. ; in
Josephus, Vit. Ixxii., nwfjuj Kefapvuftr). It has now dis-
appeared, and not even can its site be determined with cer-
tainty (Tell Hum ? so also Wilson's Lands of the Bible, II. p ;
137 ff., and Furer in Schenkel's Bibellex. III. p. 494 f., like-
wise Bitter, Ewald, and several others ; Eobinson, 2 III. p.
543 fi.,and Later Researches,-^. 457 ff. ; Saulcy, II. p. 491 ff. ;
Hitter, Erdk. XV. 1, p. 338 ff.). The designation of the situa-
tion by T. 7rapa6a\. and eV 6/>iW, etc. (where the boundaries
of both tribes touch each other), is given with reference to the
following prophecy, for which even the position of these
boundaries was not a matter of indifference (in answer to
Hengstenberg, Christol. II. p. 93), as, in consequence of it, the
settlement in Capernaum had reference to the districts of both
the tribes. KaraXnr. T. Na^ap.] why, Matthew does not
say, but see Luke iv. 16 ff. Misconceived in Nazareth, Jesus
preferred as a place of settlement the more populous, and,
1 We cannot say that it is the journey to Galilee, John vi. 1, which is intended
in our passage (Wieseler, chronol. Synapse, p. 161 f., and Beitr. z. Wurdig. d. Eu.
p. 174 ff.), for that Matthew conceived the journey recorded by him as the first
after the sojourn in the wilderness, is shown not only by the whole context, but
also by ver. 13 ff., where the settling down at Capernaum is related, and the reason
assigned for it ; and by ver. 17, where Jesus first actually begins His office as
teacher. This holds good against the frequent assumption that the journey to
Galilee, Matt. iv. 12, coincides with John iv. 3, 43-45 (Kuhn, Ebrard, Lang'e,
Marcker, Uebereinst. d. Matth. u. Joh., 1868, p. 9). Exegetically, the dis-
crepancy must remain a blank, which is also recognised by JBleek and Keim ; by
the latter, however, in such a way that he denies to John's account a strictly
historical character.
2 According to Robinson, it is the present Khan Minieh, farther south than
Tell Hum ; so also Sepp, Keim.
144 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
through intercourse with strangers, the more liberally-minded
Capernaum. Considering His migratory life and work, neither
viii. 5 1 nor viii. 20 can be regarded as not agreeing with the
statement in our passage (in answer to Hilgenfeld).
Vv. 15, 16. As the evangelist, ii. 23, found a prophecy in
support of the settlement at Nazareth, so also now for the
removal to Capernaum, viz. Isa. viii. 22, ix. 1 (quoted from
memory, but adhering to the LXX.) : The land of Zabulon
and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond
Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles, the people which sat in darkness,
and so on. 777 is not the vocative, but the nominative, corre-
sponding to o Xaos, etc., ver. 16. The article was not re-
quired ; see Winer, p. 114 f. [E. T. 2-2]. As, by the 6Sov
6a\dcra-T)<}, the rrjv Trapada\a<Tviav expressed of Capernaum in
ver. 13 is prophetically established, so must #aXa<r 0-779, in the
sense of the evangelist, refer to the Sea of Galilee, the Lake
of Gennesareth. These words, namely, determine the situation
of yij Zaf3. and 777 Ne<j>8., and are to be translated seawards.
The absolute accusat. 6S6v is quite Hebraistic, like TH in the
sense of versus (Ezek. viii. 5, xl. 20, xli. 11 f., xlii. 1 ff. ; 1 Kings
viii 48; 2 Chron. vi. 38; Deut. i. 2, 19), a usage which
is partly retained in the LXX. 1 Kings viii. 48, 6Sbv 7779
avTcav, in the direction of their land; exactly so in 2 Chron.
vi. 38, and most probably also in Deut. i. 19. In this sense
has the evangelist also understood QJ? ^Hl in the original text
of the passage before us ; so also Aquila and Theodotion, not
the LXX., according to B (in A, by an interpolation). No
completely corresponding and purely Greek usage is found, as
the accusatives of direction, in Bernhardy, p. 144 f., comp.
Kiihner, II. 1, p. 268 , do not stand independent of a verb.
rrepav TOV 'Jo/aS. is not, like 6Sbv 0a\., a determination of the
position of yfj Zaft. and 7?) Netyd., as these tribes were situated
on this side the Jordan, while irepav (in answer to Bengel,
Kuinoel, Linder in the Stud. u. Krit. 1862, p. 553) can never
signify on this side (Crome, Beitr. p. 8 3 ff.) ; but it designates,
after these two lands, a new land as the theatre of the work-
ing of Jesus, viz. Peraea (comp. on ver. 25), whose customary
designation was p~pn isy, irepav TOV 'lop&uvov that is, the land
CHAP. IV. 16. 145
east of Jordan. The evangelist includes this land as well as
PaXtX. T. edvwv, because it stands in the prophetic passage
along with the others (not with reference to the Peraean
ministry of Jesus, de Wette, Bleek, which has no place here),
leaving it, besides, to the reader to decide that it was only in
<y>) Za/3ov\o)v . . . 0a\da-<ri]<; that the specific element of
locality which was to be demonstrated from the prophecies
was contained. The citation, moreover, which specially sets
forth that Jesus, after He had quitted Nazareth, settled at
Capernaum, on the borders of Zebulon and Naphtali, in their
telic connection with a divine prediction (iva of the divine
determination), shows in this very circumstance the Messianic
fulfilment of the historical relation of the prophetic declara-
tion, according to which there was announced to northern
Galilee safety and salvation from the oppression of the
Assyrians, and consequently theocratical, political salvation.
Fa\. T. edvG)v\ D'pan ?v3 (district of the heathen), that is, in
keeping with the originally appellative term ^j, which had
become a proper name, Up/oer Galilee, in the neighbourhood
of Phoenicia, inhabited by a mixed population of heathens
(Strabo, xvi. p. 760) and Jews. 1 Mace. v. 15 : laXtX.
d\\o(f)v\a)v. Its geographical limits are defined by Joseph.
Bell. iii. '6. 1.
Ver. 16. 'O Xao<? o Kadrfpevos, /e.r.X.] In opposition to
PaXtXai'a rwv idvwv, whose inhabitants are characterized as
darkened, that is, devoid of divine truth, and sunk in ignorance
and sin. The great light, however, which these darkened ones
saw is Jesus. ical TO? KaOrjpevois, /e.r.X.] repeats the same
thought, with the climactic designation of darkness : ev %/? K.
cricia Oavdrov, in the land and darkness, which belong to
death. Death, that is, spiritual death (viii. 22, see on Luke
xv. 24), the negation of that living activity which recognises
the truth and is morally determined, is personified; the land,
whose inhabitants are spiritually dead, belongs to it as the
realm of its government, and darkness surrounds it. The
common interpretation of it as ev Sia Svoiv: "in regione et
in spissis quidem tenebris = in regione spiss-is tenebris obducta "
(Fritzsche), is, indeed, admissible (see Fritzsche, Exc. IV. p.
MATT. K
146 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
856 ; Nagelsbach on Horn. II. iii. 100), but unnecessary, and
takes away from the poetic description, which is .certainly
stronger and more vivid if davdrov is connected not merely
with <TKM ( n .}'??V, infernalis obscuritas, i.e. crassissima), but
also with x<w/9- On the significant KaOrjpevos, comp. Lam. I.e.
Find. 01. i. 133 : ev OVCOTW Ka6r)n,evo$. " Sedendi verbum aptum
notandae solitudini inerti " (Bengel). Comp. especially, Jacobs,
ad Anthol. VI. p. 397; Bremi, ad Dem. Phil. I. p. 119. Nagels-
bach on Horn. II. i. 134. aurot?] see Winer, p. 139 F.
[E. T. 265]; Buttmann, p. 125 [E. T. 381].
Ver. 17. 'ATTO rare] from tliat time' onwards that is, after
this return to Nazareth and Capernaum. It determines the
commencement of the preaching not merely from Capernaum
onwards. In the N. T. OTTO rare stands only here, xvi. 21,
xxvi. 16 ; Luke xvi. 16. More frequently in the writers Of
the Koivrj, LXX. Ps. xciii. 2 ; Wetstein in loc. Not in classical
writers. Phrynichus, ed. Lobeck, p. 461. fiaa: TWV ovpavwv]
See on iii. 2. Jesus in the presence of the people does not
yet designate Himself as the Messiah, but announces in quite
a general way the nearness of the Messianic kingdom, the
divinely-ordained bearer of which He knew Himself to be ;
this is quite in keeping with the humility and wisdom of His
first appearance, when He resumed the preaching of John.
The view, that at the beginning He did not regard Himself as
the Messiah, but only as a forerunner like John, and only at a
later time appropriated to Himself the Messianic idea (Strauss,
Schenkel), is in contradiction to all the four Gospels. But in
His self-attestation as the Messiah He proceeded to work,
according to the Synoptics, in a more gradual manner than
He did according to John. Comp. Gess, Christi Person u.
WcrJc, I. p. 247 ff.
Ver. 18. Comp. Luke v. 1 ff. 0d\acra. rr)<; PaXtX.] Lake
of Gennesareth or Tiberias (see on John vi 1) is 140 stadia
long and 40 broad, with romantic environs, and abounding in
fish (Josephus, Sell. iii. 10. 7), about 500 feet below the level
of the Mediterranean. See Eobinson, Pal III. pp. 499, 509 ;
Hitter, Erdk. XV. 1, p. 284 ff. ; Eiietschi in Herzog's EncyTd.
V. ; Keim, Gesch. J. I. p. 599 ff. TOV \eyou,. Ilerpov] not
CHAP. IV. 19, 20. 147
a ficnepiv -irporepov, but see on xvi. 18. That the evangelists
always have (with the exception of the diplomatic passage,
John i. 43) the name Peter, which in Paul is certainly found
only in Gal ii. 7 ,f., ,not Cephas, is explained in the case of
Matthew by the circumstance that his Gospel is only a trans-
lation, and that at the time of its composition the Greek name
had become the common one.
Vv. 19, 20. JeOre OTTIO-OJ pov] come here after me 1 ! T)fiK w
(2 Kings vi. 19 ; 1 Kings xi. 5), be my pupils. The disciples
were in constant attendance on their teacher j.Schoettgen, Hor.
in loc. * 7rot77<7&> . . . dvOpatTTcov] I will put you in a position
to gain men, tJiat they may become members of the kingdom of the
Messiah. Words borrowed from the domain of hunting and
fishing (Jer. .xvi. 16) often denote the winning over of souls
for themselves or others. Wetstein and Loesner, Hemster-
husius, ad Lucian. Dial. Mort. viii. ; Burmann, ad fhaedr.iv. 4.
Comp. on 2 Cor. xi. 20. Here the typical phraseology sug-
gested itself from the circumsta nces. eu#e&>9] belongs to
d<f>evT<;, not to r)K_o\. ^/coX] as disciples. lunufftSh either
arranging (Bengel) or repairing (Vulgate and most commen-
tators). We cannot determine which ; Luke has
.EEMAKK. The want of harmony between Matthew iv. 1 8 ff.
and John i. 35 ff. is to be recognised, and is not (as the Fathers
of the church, Kuinoel, Gratz, Olshausen, Hoffmann, Krabbe,
Neander, Ebrard, Arnoldi, Luthardt, Bleek, Piiggenbach, Lange,
Ewald, Hausrath, Marcker, have attempted) to be removed by
supposing that in Matthew it is a second calling of the apostles
in question that .is recorded, viz. that they had already been at
an earlier date (John i. 35 ff.) disciples of Jesus in the wider
sense of the word, but that now for the first time, they had
become so in the narrower sense that is, had become apostles.
Comp. on John, remark after ch. i. Matthew does not even
agree with Luke v. 4 ff. See remarks on the passage, and
Keim, Gesch. J. II. p. 215. We must in any case (in answer
to Baur, Hilgenfeld) seek the true history of the occurrence in
John, in whose account a merely preliminary adherence to
Jesus is the less to be thought of, that immediately afterwards
oi fAadrjrai auroD go with Him to Cana (ii. 2), to Capernaum
(ii. 12), and to Jerusalem (ii. 17, 22). This also in answer to
Llicke on John, I. p. 466 f., and to Wieseler, who distinguishes
148 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
a threefold act in the selection of the disciples : the preliminary
calling in John i. 35 ff. ; the setting apart to be constant attend-
ants, Matt. iv. 18 ff., ix. 9 ff. ; and the selection of the Twelve
to be apostles, Matt. x. 2-4. Wieseler (chronol. Synopse, p.
278) lays especial weight on the circumstance that John names
rots Swfcxa for the first time in John vi. 67. But John in
general, with the exception of this passage (and the verses 70
and 71 belonging to it), only once again expressly mentions the
rove 8uBsxa (viz. in xx. 21), which is determined by the anti-
thetic interest in the context. Especially in vi. 67 are the
Twelve opposed to those others, many of whom had deserted
Him. Previously, however, John had no opportunity, where
this or any other antithetical relation might give him occasion,
to give prominence to the number of the Twelve. Besides, the
history of the calling in Matthew, if it were not in contradic-
tion to John, would by no means bear in itself a mythical
character (Strauss finds in it a copy of the call of Elisha by
Elijah, 1 Kings xix. 19 ff.), but is to be explained from the
great, directly overwhelming impression made by the ap-
pearance of Jesus on minds prepared for it, which Matthew
himself experienced (ix. 9) ; and this also is to be applied to the
Johannine account. This narrative, which Schenkel and Keim
relegate to the sphere of free invention, does not exclude the
profound and certainly original words, " fishers of men," which
may have proceeded from the mouth of Jesus to His first called
disciples on that day, John i. 40 ; and upon the basis of these
words the narrative of the call, as it is preserved in Matthew
and Mark, might easily be formed.
Vv. 23, 24 serve by way of introduction to the Sermon on
the Mount, where the description is manifestly exaggerated as
regards the time of the first ministry of Jesus, and betray
the work of a later hand in the redaction of our Gospel.
Comp. ix. 35. The synagogues were places of assembly for
public worship, where on Sabbaths and feast days (at a later
period, also on the second and fifth days of the week, Jerusalem
Megillah, f. 75. 1 ; Babylonian Bava Cama, f. 82. 1) the
people met together for prayer, and to listen to the reading of
portions of the Old Testament, which were translated and
explained in the vernacular dialect. With the permission of
the president, any one who was fitted might deliver addresses.
Vitringa, de synagoga veterum, Franecker 1696; Keil, ArcMol.
CHAP. iv. 24. 149
30 ; Leyrer in Herzog's EncyU. XV. p. 299 ff. ; Keim, GcscJi.
J. I. p. 432 ff. aiiT&v] of the Galileans. Traaav] every
kind of sickness which was brought to Him. See Hermann,
ad Viger. p. 728, pakaicia, weakness, deprivation of strength
through sickness. Herod. Vit. Horn. 36, and often in the
LXX. Comp. fia\aKi^ofj,ai and /taXa/aw, Lobeck, ad Phryn.
p. 389. In the K T. only in Matthew (x. 35, x. 1).-
ev TO) Xa&>] belongs to QepaTr. Comp. Acts v. 12, vi. 8.
Observe that such summary accumulations of the activity of
Jesus in healing as v. 23 f. (viii. 16, xii. 15) are not men-
tioned in John's Gospel. They are, moreover, especially at so
early a date, not in keeping with the gradual progress of the
history, although explicable enough in the case of a simple
historian, who, easily anticipating the representation which he
had formed from the whole history, gives a summary state-
ment in the account of a single portion of the narrative.
Ver. 24. Els o\v)v rrjv Svptav] His reputation spread
from Galilee into the whole province. Trdvras rovs tcaKus
e%ovTa<i] all the sufferers that there were. The following
7rotfci\. voaois belongs not to Kaica)? e^ovras (Syriac, Euth.
Zigabenus), but to o-vvexpjjievovs. v6<roi<; K. fiaa-dvois]
Sicknesses and torments. The first is general, the last
special. /cat Baipov. ical creX^z/. K. TrapaXur.] makes
prominent three special kinds of what had previously been
described in a general manner, so that the first xal is to be
rendered: especially also particularly also. 8ai/j,ovi^ofj,evovs]
according to the popular view, shared by the evangelist :
possessed by demons (ix. 34, xii. 26), whose bodies had become
the seat and organ of demoniacal working ; Saifj,6viov is not a
diminutive form, little devil (Ewald, Keim), but the neuter of
Saifjiovios as substantive. See Stallbaum, ad Plat. Ap. Socr.
p. 2 7 f. They were real sick persons with diseases of a
peculiar character (mania, epilepsy, delirium, hypochondria,
paralytic condition, temporary dumbness), whose sufferings,
being apparently inexplicable from physical causes, were
believed to have their foundation not in an abnormal organi-
zation, or in natural disturbances of the physical condition,
but in diabolical possession that is, in the actual indwell-
150 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ing of demoniac personalities, very many of which might
even be counted in one sick person (Mark v. 9, xvi.
9). 1 This belief, which is conceivable from the decay of
the old theocratic consciousness arid of its moral strength,
which referred all misfortune to God's sending, is, however,
a belief which rendered healing possible only through the
acceptance of the existing view leaving the idea itself un-
touched, but made it all the more certain for the Messiah,
who has power over the kingdom of devils, and who now, in
the pure manifestation of Jesus, accompanied with miraculous
1 After the old view of actual bodily possession of the sick had, after Balth.
Becker (bezauberte Welt, iv. 5 ff.), Mead (medico, sacra, ix.), Wetstein, been,
especially by Sender (Comment, de daemoniacis, 1760, u. umstandliche Untersuch.
d. ddmonischen Leute, 1762), successfully refuted, and had disappeared altogether
(see also Timmermann, de daemoniac. evangelior. 1786 ; Winzer, de daemanologia
jV. T., 1812, 1821), although attempts at its defence were not wanting ^Storr,
Opusc. I. p. 53 ff. ; Eschenmayer, Mysticism, 1823 ; Jahn, Nachtragezu s. theol.
Werken, 1821), the old view was again -brought forward, partly before (v.
Meyer, Bibekleut. p. 40 ff. ; Olshausen on Matt. viii. 28, and others), partly
after, the assaults of Strauss (Krabbe, Hoffmann, Ebrard, Arnoldi, Hofmann,
Steinmeyer), and supported with more or less acuteness, and with turns of a
partly obscure and evasive character, especially by means of comparisons with
magnetism. Delitzsch, bibl. Psychol. p. 293 ff. ; Ebrard in Herzog's Encykl.
III. p. 240 ff. Not so, however, Lange, 11. 1, p. 285 ff., who, regarding the
condition' as a natural one, refers it to a nervous disease, having an elective
affinity with demoniacal influences, which the patient as well as the people re-
presented to himself as possession. By this the old view is not' retained even in
appearance. Against its tenability, however, irrespective of all objections of a
physiological and medical kind, the following are decisive proofs : (1) The non-
occurrence of demons in the 0. T> ; (2) the undisputed healing of the same by
exorcists (Matt. xii. 27 ; Mark ix. 38 ; Josephus, Antt. viii. 2. 5 ; Justin, c.
Tryph. 85 ; Lucian. Ph'dopseud. 16) ; as well as (3) the non-occurrence of reliable
instances in modern times (? Justinus Kerner, Gesch. Besessener neuerer Zeit.,
Carlsruhe 1834), although the same sicknesses, which were deemed to be de-
moniacal, are common ; and (4) the complete silence of John, which (comp.
especially Luke ix. 49) is the more eloquent the more essentially he also regards
miraculous healing as belonging to the work of the Messiah, and the conquest of
the devil as the Messiah's task. In John, moreover, diabolical possession is
found mentioned (xiii. 27), but not as the effect of physical sickness, but of
spiritual domination and obduracy, the so-called obsessio spiritualis. Comp.
John vii. 28, viii. 48, x. 20. Definite references to the expulsion of demons from
the sick are wanting also in Paul's Epistles, although they might be included
with others in 1 Cor. xii. 9. Observe, moreover, (5) the demoniacs were not at
all filled with godless dispositions and anti- Christian wickedness, which, never-
theless, was necessarily to be expected as the result of the real indwelling of
devils.
CHAP. IV. 25. 151
working, stood victoriously opposed to all diabolic power.
Comp. Ewald, Jahrb. VII. p. 54 ff., also Bleek, Neander, p.
237 ff. If we assume, however, that Jesus Himself shared
the opinion of His age and nation regarding the reality of
demoniacal possession of the sick (Strauss, Keim, Weiss),
we find ourselves in the dilemma of either being obliged
again to set up the old doctrine upon the authority of
Jesus, or of attributing to the latter an erroneous belief not
by any means remote from the religious sphere, and only
of a physiological kind, but of an essentially religious charac-
ter, and which would be irreconcilable with the pure height
of the Lord's divine knowledge. /cat a-eX^i/. K. TrapaXur.J
Epileptics, whose sufferings, it was observed, increased as the
month advanced (Wetstein), and sufferers from nervous diseases
(Richter, de paralysi, 1775). Epilepsy also might be of such
a kind as to be regarded as demoniacal sickness (xvii. 15) ;
here, however, is meant the form of sickness which is regarded
as natural
Ver. 25. ^de/caTroXeo)?] a strip of land with ten cities
(Josephus, Vit. 9), chiefly inhabited by the heathen, on the
other side of the Jordan, in the north-east of Palestine. As
to the towns themselves, which were reckoned as included in
it, and to which Scythopolis, Gadara, Hippo, and Pella cer-
tainly belonged, there was, so early as the time of Pliny
(ff. N. v. 16), no unanimity of opinion, Lightfoot, Hor. p.
563 ff. ; Vaihinger in Herzog, III. ; Holtzmann in Schenkel's
Bibellex. irepav rov 'lop&dvov] as in v. 15, xix. 1,
Mark iii. 8, a geographical name : Peraea (Josephus, Bell.
ix. 3. 3 ; Plin. v. 15), the land east of the Jordan, from Mount
Hermon down to the river Arnon.
152 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTER V.
P
VER. 1. avrp] is wanting in Lachm., after B. Correction,
with a view to improve the style. Ver. 5. Lachm. Tisch.
have this verse before ver. 4, but on too weak authority (D,
33, Lat. Verss. Syr cur Or. Eus. and other Fathers). A logical
bringing together of the -TTTU^O) r$> KVSV/AUTI and of the wpatTs.
Ver. 9. avroi] bracketed by Lachm., deleted by Tisch. 8,
wanting in C D K, 13, 134, Lat. Verss. Syr. Hil. But how
easily would the omission occur in writing, since here the
similarly ending vki follows (otherwise in ver. 4 ff.) ! Ver.
11. p 5J/.4 a] is deleted by Lachm. and Tisch. 8, after B D N,
Vulg. It. and other Verss. and some Fathers. But as the word
is altogether unnecessary as far as the meaning is concerned,
it might easily be omitted, especially after the syllable PON.
-^ivdo/tivoi] is wanting only in D, Codd. of the It., and
Borne Fathers, including Origen. Suspected, indeed, by Gries-
bach, and deleted by Fritzsche, Tisch. 7 ; wrongly, however,
since the word is quite decisively attested (again restored by
Tisch. 8). A definition that appeared so much a matter of
course might easily be passed over. Ver. 13. $Xq 03 '' ?""<*(]
Lachm. Tisch. 8; fixydtv t%u, after B C K, 1, 33. An attempt
to help out the style. Ver. 22. s/xSj] is wanting in B K,
48, 198, Vulg. Aeth. Or. and some other witnesses. Ex-
pressly rejected as spurious as early as Jerome and Augustin.
Retr. i. 19, and Pseud. -Athan. Iren. and Hil. place it
after opy. Deleted by Fritzsche, Lachm., Tisch. It is an
inappropriate addition, resulting from bias, although of very
ancient date (already in Syr. It. Eus.). Ver. 25. The second
a Kapadti is wanting only in B N, 1, 13, 124, 127* Arm.
Aeth. 13, 124, 127* Chrys. Hilar. Arn. Deleted by Lachm.
and Tisch. 8. Passed over as unnecessary, because its em-
phasis was mistaken. Ver. 27. sppedy] Elz. adds 70?$ a^a/o/s,
for which, however, decisive testimony is wanting. Taken
from vv. 21 and 33. Ver. 28. svid. a-irjji/] Elz.: smd. aurSjj,
against decisive testimony. N, 236, Clem. Or. Chrys. Isid.
Tert. have no pronoun at all. So Fritzsche and Tisch. 8.
CHAP. V. t. 153
But the testimony for avryv is too strong, and the omission
might easily have aris ( en from its being unnecessary. Ver. 30.
,SX)j()5j tlsyiivvav] Lachm. and Tisch. : sis ytimuv airsXQri, after
B I) ? K, Curss. and many Verss. and Fathers ; it is uncertain
whether also in Or. Correctly ; the Eeceived reading is derived
from ver. 29. Ver. 31. or/] is wanting in B D L K, Curss.
Vulg. It. Chrys. Suspected by Griesbach, deleted by Lachm.
and Tisch. Eightly. An addition that easily suggested itsejf.
See the exegetical remarkson ii. 23. Ver. 32. og av airo'/.var^]
Lachm. and Tisch. 8 : nas 6 avoXuuv, after B K L M A n N,
Curss. Vulg. It. and other verss. A change made in accord-
ance with vv. 22, 28; Luke xvi. 18. fj,ot^as8<x.i] Lachm. and
Tisch. 8 : /toiyjvBrivai. So B D K, Curss. Theoph. Or. Chrys.
Theod. A gloss (to le seduced to adultery) to distinguish it from
^otyJtTai, which follows. Lachm. has afterwards xai 6 d-roXeXy-
/iii/TjK yap'/iaag, after B and some Curss., connected with the
reading eras o airol.vuv at the beginning of the verse. Ver.
39. pacr/ffs/] B N, 33: favifyi ; so Tisch. 8. Correctly; the
future is a conformation to ver. 41. Ver. 42. didov] Lachm.
and Tisch.: Me, after B D K, 13, 124, Clem. The Eeceived
reading is taken from Luke vi. 30. Ver. 44. roT$ piao\Jciv\
Elz. : roil*; fjueowras, against the best and most numerous wit-
nesses. To exchange, with Lachm. and Tisch., the whole pas-
sage from suXoy. to pie. fyiSj, after B K, Curss. Copt. Syr cur and
many Fathers (including Or. Eus.), and to explain it as an
interpolation from Luke, is too bold, since in Luke vi. 27 f. the
sentences stand in different order. Omissions, however, caused
by the Homoeoteleuta might easily occur. s^pia^ovruv i/,u;
7.0.1 is, however, very suspicious ; it is wanting in B N, Curss.
and many Verss. Or. (five times ; he has the words twice, but
then sea/ diuK. lif^a.g is wanting) ; also in Cypr. Aug. Lucif. and
in others stands after 8iux. ; it therefore betrays itself as an
interpolation from Luke vi. 28. Ver. 47. adt^povs] p/Xou?, in
E K L M S A n, Curss. Arm. Goth. Bas. Lucif., is a gloss.
!0n/xo/]Elz. ; Matthaei and Scholzhave nXStvcn, against B D Z N,
Curss. Verss. and Fathers. Brought hither from ver. 46. Ver.
48. 6 lv ToTg ovpavt>?$] Lachm. and Tisch.: 6 ovpdviog; also
approved by Griesb., in accordance with very important wit-
nesses. Is to be preferred ; the Eeceived reading flowed as a
gloss from ver. 45.
Ver. 1. See on the Sermon on the Mount, the exposition
of Tholuck, ed. 5,1872. [Achelis, Die Bergpredigt, 1875.]
Luther's exposition (sermons of 1530), which appeared in
154 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
1532. Toi5 o%Xou5] see iv. 25. The evangelist does
not determine either the time or place precisely, yet he
by no means agrees with Luke vi. 17. The fjiad^ral avrov
are not the twelve apostles (Fritzsche, Hilgenfeld), against
which ix. 9 is already decisive, but, besides the first four
that were selected (iv. 1 8 ff.) His disciples generally, " qui
doctrinam ejus sectabantur," Grotius. et? TO 0/105] The
article is not indefinite : upon a mountain (Luther, Kuinoel),
which explanation of the article is always incorrect (Bengel on
xviii. 1 7), but also not generic ; upon tJie hilly district, or on the
heights (Ebrard, Bleek), as 0/305 in the singular (on the plural,
comp. xviii. 12, xxiv. 16) in the N. T. is always only a single
hill, as in classical writers ; but TO 0/505 designates that hill ivhich
is situated in the place, where Jesus saw the o^Xoi>5. Comp.
John vi. 3 ; Euth. Zigabenus : TO 0/305 TO 7r\rja-iov. Others
(Fritzsche, de Wette) make it the well-known hill ; comp.
Delitzsch : " the Sinai of the New Testament ; " Ewald : " the
holy hill of the gospel history." These are arbitrary presup-
positions, opposed to the analogy of xiv. 23, xv. 29. It is a
misuse of the article, however, to assume that in the Gospels the
same mountain is always designated by TO 0/305 (Gfrorer, heil.
Sage, I. p. 139 ; B. Bauer; Volkmar). Tradition points out
the " mount of beatitudes " as near the town of Saphet ; see
Eobinson, Palestine, III. p. 485. Comp. also Schubert, III. p.
233 ; Sitter, Erdk. XV. 1, p. 387 ; Keim, Gesch. J. II. p. 236.
Ver. 2. 'Avoiyeiv TO o-To/ua] after ns nr\B ; Vorstius, de
Hebraismis, p; 703 ff. Individual instances also amongst
classical writers; Aristophanes-,^. 1720; Aeschylus, Prom.
612; Lucian. Philops. 33. This phrase belongs to the distinctly
descriptive style of narrative, and denotes of itself nothing else
than the opening of the mouth to speak, where the connec-
tion alone indicates whether in this descriptive element the
emphasis of solemnity, of boldness, or the like is contained or
not. Comp. on 2 Cor. vi. 11 ; Eph. vi. 19. Here, where the
first extensive discourse of Jesus, which forms the great pro-
gramme for the membership of His kingdom, follows, the
solemn character of the moment, " He opened His mouth," is
not to be mistaken; compare xiii. 35. A similar indication
CHAP. V. -10. 155
of purpose in Job iii; 1, Dan. x. 16, Acts viii. 35, x. 34,
but not in Acts viii. 14. Luther well says, "There the
evangelist makes a preface and shows how Christ placed
Himself to deliver the sermon which He intended ; that He
goes up a mountain, sits down, and opens His mouth, that men
may see that He was in earnest." avroix;] rovs pati^-ras.
Jesus at first directed His discourse to the entire circle of His
disciples, but kept also in view the o%\oi, who, according to
vii. 2 8, pressed after Him, and became hearers of the discourse ;
see also Luke vi. 20, vii. 1.
Vv. 310. The beatitudes in general, in order to set forth,
first, in a general way, the moral conditions of future partici-
pation in the Messiah's kingdom. " That is, indeed, a fine,
sweet, friendly beginning of His teaching and sermon. For
He does not proceed, like Moses, or a teacher of- the law, with
commands, threats, and terrors, but in a most friendly manner,
with pure attractions and allurements, and pleasant promises,"
Luther. pa/cdptoi] "Initiale hoc verbum toties repetitum
indicat scopum doctrinae Christi," Bengel. What the blessed-
ness is C^K) which He means, is stated by all the causal sen-
tences 1 with on in vv. 3-10, viz. that which is based on this,
that they will attain the salvation of the kingdom, which is
nigh at hand. ol Trrw^ot ra> Tr-vevpcnt] the ^UJJ, E 11 ?^*?
(see Isa. Ixi. 1, Ixvi. 2, and the post-exilian Ps. xxxvii. 11)
were those who, according to the theocratic promise of the
0. T., had to expect the Messianic blessedness (Luke iv. 18).
Jesus, however, according to Matthew, transports the idea of
the poor (les miserables) from the politico-theocratic realm (the
members of the oppressed people of God, sunk in poverty and
external wretchedness) into the purely moral sphere by means
of the dative of more precise definition, r<a Trvevnan (comp.
1 These causal sentences justify also the usual enumeration of the Makarisms
as the " seven beatitudes." For vv. 3 and 10 contain the same promise, which,
therefore, is to be counted only once in order to retain the number seven ; comp.
Ewald, Jalirb. I. p. 133 ; also Kostlin and Hilgenfeld. Others, like Weizsacker
and Keim, counting ver. 10 specially with the others, arrive at the number t'vjht.
But Delitzsch, to bring out an analogy with the Decalogue, reckons, besides the
paxdpi/H in ver. 11, the %a!ptrt * ^*->.. also in ver. 12, as "the full-sounding
finale," and in this way knows how to force out ten beatitudes.
156 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ver. 8) : the poor in reference to their spirit, the spiritually
poor that is, those who feel, as a matter of consciousness,
that they are in a miserable,, unhappy condition; comp. Isa.
Ivii. 15 ; Prov. xxix. 23. The Trrw^e/a intended is then sub-
jectively determined according to the consciousness of the
subject, so that these latter (comp. vv. 4-6) are conceived of
as those who feel within them the opposite of having enough,
and of wanting nothing in a moral point of view ; to whom,
consequently, the condition of moral poverty and helplessness
is a familiar thing, as the praying publican, Luke xviii. 1
(the opposite in Eev. iii. 1 *7 ; 1 Cor. iv. 8), was such a poor
man. We have neither to supply an " also " before TU>
nor, with Baur, to explain it as if it meant ol
a\\a TO> irvevpart irKovaiot, ; comp. 2 Cor. vi. 10.
Chrysostom is substantially correct (comp. Theophylact) : ol
Taireivol K. a-vvrerpi^evot, vrjv Sidvoiav. Comp. de Wette in the
Stud, von Daub und Creuzer, III. 2, p. 309 ff. ; de morte eocpiat.
p. 8 6 f. Jerome strikingly says : " Adjunxit spiritu, ut humili-
tatem intelligeres, non penuriam." Comp. 1^77X09
Eccles. vii. 8. They are not different from the //^
in John ix. 39. They know that in point of knowledge and
moral constitution they are far from divine truth. The
declaration that such are blessed, however, at the begin-
ning of the Sermon on the Mount, is in perfect accordance
with the fundamental condition of participation in the king-
dom of the Messiah, the ^eravoel-re, with the call to which
both Jesus and John began their public appearance. The
TTTw^eia ra> irvevfjuari is the precondition of TrXovrelv et9 6eov
(Luke xii. 21), and of becoming a true TrXovaios TW Trvev/uLan
(Barnabas 19). These poor people are humble, but we are
not to say that TTTW^. r. irv. signifies the humble (in answer to
Kuinoel and older interpreters) ; for which reason we have not
to appeal to Isa. Ixvi. 2, where nn does not agree with ^V-
Fritzsche, in a way that is not in harmony with the moral
nature and life of the whole discourse, limits the meaning to
that of discernment : " Homines ingenio et eruditione parum
florentes ;" so also Chr. Fritzsche, Nov. Opusc. p. 241, in which
meaning (consequently equivalent to ol irrm^ol ry Siavota, as
CHAP. V. 4. 157
Origen, de princ. iv. 22, calls the Ebionites) the saying was
already made a subject of ridicule by Julian. Older Catholics
(Maldonatus and Corn, a Lapide), after Clement of Alexandria
and many Fathers, taking TrvevfjiaTt of the self-determination,
misused our passage in support of the vow of voluntary poverty.
On the other hand, Calovius strikingly remarks : " Paupertas
haec spiritualis non est consilii, sed praecepti." Others (Olearius,
Michaelis, Paulus) connect rw irvev^art with pa/cdpiot: the
poor are spiritually happy. Opposed to this is the position of
the words and ver. 8. Moreover, no example is found in the
N. T. or in the Jewish writings, where, in the case of beati-
tudes, to the fiaKaptos, or *y?$, or ^ib, any more precise
designation of fortune was immediately subjoined. Comp.
especially, Knapp, Scripta var. arg. pp. 351-380. According
to Kostlin, p. 66, the TG> Trvevfian, which is not expressly
read in the Clementines (see Homily xv. 10) and Polycrates
ii. (as also rrjv Sifcaioa. ver. 6), is said to be a limiting addition
proceeding from later reflection, one of the many changes
which must be assumed as having taken place in the original
collection of discourses ; comp. also Hilgenfeld, Ewald, Bleek,
Wittichen, Jahrb. f. D. Tlieol. 1862, p. 323; Holtzmann,
p. 176; Schenkel, and others. But see on Luke vi 23.
rj ft a or. T. ovpJ] the kingdom of heaven belongs to them (see
on iii. 2), namely, as a certain possession in the future. Comp.
the following futures. Observe in all the beatitudes, vv. 3-10,
the symmetrically emphatical position of avrwv, avroi ; it is
just they who.
Ver. 4. Ol irevdovvres] Comp. Isa. Ixi. 2, Ivii. 17 f.
After Chrysostom, these have frequently been understood as
those who mourned over their own sins and those of others.
These are not excluded, but they are not exclusively or
specially meant by the general expression (Keim). They are
generally those who are in suffering and distress. Think, for
example, of Lazarus, of the persecuted Christians (John xvi.
20; Heb. xii. 11), of the suffering repentant ones (2 Cor.
vii. 9), and so on ; for that no unchristian Trevdetv, no XI/TTT; rot)
Koa-fiov, is meant, is (2 Cor. vii. 10) understood of itself from
the whole surroundings. The TrevQouvres shall, Eom. viii. 18,
150 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHETV.
2 Cor. iv. 17, John xiv. 13, be comforted as , matter of fact
in the Messiah's kingdom by the enjoyment of its blessedness
(Luke ii. 25, xvi. 25), therefore the Messiah Himself is also
called amo (Schoettgen, Hor. II. p. 18 ; Wetstein, I. p. 665).
According to the beatitudes, which all refer to the Messiah's
kingdom, there is no , mention of temporal comfort by the
promise of the forgiveness of sins, and so on. This in answer
to Kienlen in the Stud. u. Kritik. 1848, p. 681.
Ver. 5. According to Ps. xxxvii. 11, where the LXX. have
ot Se Trpaet? KXypovo/jLTJaovpi yrjv. The Trpaei? (xi. 29, xxi. 5)
are the calm, meek sufferers relying on God's help, who, without
bitterness or revenge as the Tcnretvol K. rjo-v^ioi (Isa. Ixvi. 2),
suffer the cruelties of their tyrants and oppressors. The
opposite is ^aXeTrot (Plat. Pol, vi. p. 493 B), Triicpol (Dem.
315, 5), arypwi, and the like; Plat. Def. p. 412 D : rrrpaor^
Kardcrracris icivrjcrea)? rfjs VTT' 0/37%' /epa<u<? tyvxTJs cru//,yu.eTpo?.
Comp. 1 Pet. iii. 4. The very ancient popular (Gen. xv. 7 f.)
theocratic conception : to come into possession <o/ the land (of
(Palestine) (in Ps. xxxvii. : after the expulsion of their haughty
enemies), has been raised to its antitypical Christian idea, so
that the Messiah's kingdom and the receiving possession of it is
intended. Comp. on Gal. iii. 18 ; Eph. i. 11.
Ver. 6. Concerning Treivrjv and St^z/, which regularly
govern the genitive with the accusative, where the object is
conceived as that which endures the action, see examples of
this rare use in Kypke, Obss. !. p. 17 ; Loesner, Obss. p. 11 ;
and especially Winer, p. 192 [E. T. 256]. The meta-
phorical meaning (Isa. Iv. -1; Ps. xlii. 3; Sir. li. 24) of the
verbs is that of longing desire. See Pricaeus and Wetstein
in loc. ; as regards Sity., also Jacobs, ad Anthol. VI. p. 26, VIII.
p. 233. The Sucaioavvr), however, is the righteousness, the
establishment of which was the aim ,of Christ's work, and the
condition of participation in the Messiah's kingdom. They
are designated ; as such whose "great earnestness, desire, and
fervour" (Luther) are directed towards a moral constitution
free from guilt. i,uther, besides, strikingly draws attention to
this, that before all these portions of the beatitudes, " faith
must first be there as the tree and headpiece or sum" of
CHAP. V. 7, 8. 159
righteousness. ^opracrOijcrovrai] not generally rcgni Mcs-
siani felicitate (Fritzsche), but, as the context requires, Siicaio-
crvi/779 : they will obtain righteousness in full measure, namely,
in being declared to be righteous (Eom. v. 19 ; Gal. v. 5, and
remarks thereon) at the judgment of the Messiah (Matt.
xxv. 34), and then live for ever in perfect righteousness, so
that God will be all in all (1 Cor. xv. 28). Comp. 2 Pet.
iii. 13. On the figurative %opTd%., Ps. xvii. 15, cvii. 9.
Ver. 7. Ol e\e 77/4 01/69] the compassionate (Heb. ii. 17 ;
Horn. Od. v. 191) in general, not, as de Wette arbitrarily
limits it, in opposition to the desire for revenge and cruelty
against the heathen, which were contained in the ordinary
Messianic hopes. eXerjOija-ovrai] that is, in this way, that
they get assigned to them the salvation of the Messiah's kingdom,
which will be the highest act. of the divine compassion, Luke
i. 72 ; Eom. ix. 16, v. 17. The divine maxim, which lies at
the foundation of the statement/Matt, vii. 2, xxv. 35. Kienlen
is wrong when he says the e\et}0. refers to the forgiveness of
the sins which still cleave even to the regenerate ; it points
to this, that the entire bestowal of Messianic salvation is the
work of divine grace, which follows in its procedure its own
moral rules (faith working by love).
Ver. 8. Ol KaOapol TTJ KapSia] denotes the moral Uame-
lessness of the inner life, the centre of which is the heart, in
conformity with the view that iraa-a apapria pinrov evriOija-t,
rf) ^rvxy, Origen, Horn, in Joh. Ixxiii. 2. Comp. Ps. Ixxiii. 1,
xxiv. 4 ; 1 Tim. i. 5, iii. 9 ; Plat. Crat. p. 403 E, ^rv^rj
KaOapd, p. 405 B, al. How this purity is actually attained
(by justification and the sanctification of believers) remains
even now left over to the future. TOV Bebv otyovrai]
certainly refers, according to the analogy of all the other
beatitudes, to the alwv yu,eXX&)j/, but is not (in accordance with
the Oriental idea of great good fortune in being an intimate
friend of the king's, 1 Kings x. 8 ; Esth. i. 14) 'to be taken
as a typical designation of tlie Messianic happiness in general
(Kuinoel, Fritzsche, and others), nor as an inward seeing of
God (knowledge, becoming conscious of God, inmost fellowship
with God), as de Wette also understood it to mean direct
100 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
spiritual fellowship with God here on earth and there in
heaven ; but, as the words do not allow us to understand it
differently : of the seeing of God who gloriously reveals Himself
in the Messiah's kingdom, a seeing ivhich will be attained in the
condition of the glorified body, Eev. vii. 15, xxii. 4; 1 John
iii. 2 ; Heb. xii. 14. Passages like Ex. xxxiii. 20, John
i. 18, vi. 46, Col. i. 15, Eom. i. 20, 1 Tim. vi. 16, are not
opposed to it, because they refer to seeing with the earthly
eye. The seeing of God, who, although Spirit (John iv. 24),
has His essential form of manifestation (Phil, ii 6), will one
day be the consummation of the IT poo-ay wy 77 obtained through
Christ (Eom. v. 2). Comp. Clem. Horn. xvii. 7.
Ver. 9. Ol elprjvoTroiot] not the peaceful (eipvjviKoi, Jas.
iii. 17, 2 Mace. v. 25 ; or elprjvevovres, Sir. vi. 7), a meaning
which does not appear even in Pollux, i. 41, 152 (Augustine
thinks of the moral inner harmony ; de Wette, on the contrary,
of the inclination of the contemporaries of Jesus to war and
tumult ; Bleek reminds us of Jewish party hatred), but : the
founders of peace (Xen. Hist. Gr. vi. 3. 4 ; Plut. Mor. p. 279 B ;
comp. Col. i. 20 ; Prov. x. 10), who as such minister to God's
good pleasure, who is the God of peace (Eom. xvi. 20 ; 2 Cor.
xiii. 11), as Christ Himself was the highest Founder of peace
(Luke ii. 14; John xvi. 33; Eph. ii. 14 ff.). viol 6eov
K\i)6ria:] again a characteristic designation of community in
the future kingdom of the Messiah, so far, namely, as the
participators in it have obtained the vloOecrla, a relation which
begins with their reception into the kingdom ; comp. on Luke
vi. 35. If we import the conception of being loved by God
(Kuinoel), or of resemblance to God (Paulus, de Wette), and the
like, then we are not in harmony with the expression, and,
contrary to the context, we identify it with the conception of
the temporal Sonship of God, as it appears in John as a being
begotten by God; in Paul, as adoption ; see John i. 12, 14.
Certainly this temporal Sonship is the moral premiss of that
future one ; but it is only the latter which can here be meant ;
comp. Eom. viii. 19, 23. K\v)0rja-ovTai] What they are is
designated as expressly recognised by the (honourable) name
in question, by which they are called. That icakdaBai, does
CHAP. V. 10. 1G1
not stand for eiuai, see Fritzsche on i. 16 ; Winer, p. 571 f.
[E. T. 769]. Comp. Eur. #ec. 625 : o S' tv TroXmu? rlfuot
reX?;^eVo9 ; and Pflugk on the passage; Horn. //. ii. 260;
and Nagelsbach ,in loc.
EEMARK. In the beatitudes, vv. 3-9, the various character-
istic designations of the Messianic happiness ingeniously cor-
respond to the various designations of the subject, so that in
the first declaration, ver. 3, the subject of the promise, the
kingdom of the Messiah, is named expressly, and as a whole,
and in the following it is always those individual sides of the
happiness of this kingdom that are brought forward which
correspond to the subjects designated. Thus, .to those who
mourn corresponds the state of being comforted ; to the patient
sufferers, who now allow themselves to be oppressed, the future
condition of possession and mastership ; to the hungry, that of
being filled ; to the merciful, the receiving of mercy ; to the
pure in heart, the seeing of God, of which no impure person is
capable ; to the founders of peace, the sonship of God, who
Himself in His own Son has reconciled men to Himself, and to
one another. Merely different beams of light from the same
glory. At the close, after the seven independent beatitudes, in
ver. 10, which is the foundation and transition to the following
direct address, the Messiah's kingdom is once more expressly
named, and as a whole, as : in the beginning, ver. 3. In this
way vv. 3-10 form an ingenious and profound harmonious
whole. To this unity and completeness belongs also the series
of the subjects, which, taken together, set forth the whole position
(vv. 3-5) and the whole endeavours and life (vv. 6-9) of the
future member of the kingdom. For as to his position, he
is full of lowly feeling (ver. 3), a bearer of suffering (ver. 4), in
quiet patience (ver. 5). But as to his endeavours and life : full
of fervour after moral perfection (ver. 6), he cherishes towards
others the feeling of compassionate love (ver. 7), and by the
purity of heart which he attains (ver. 8), his outward actions
tend towards peace (ver. 9), whether he also suffer persecution
(this by way of transition to ver. 11) for righteousness' sake
all springing from the one root, faith in his Lord.
Ver. 10. Comp. 1 Pet. iii. 14, iv. 14. Sucatovvv., as in
ver. 6 eveK. &IK., is, as to substance, not different from eveicev
/AOV, ver. 11. In communion with Christ there is righteous-
ness, and in this evetcev e/tov is expressed the full Messianic
MATT. L
162 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
consciousness? the certain holy self-feeling of which for the
persecuted begins (Acts ix. 4). To take the avrv ecrriv %
/Sao-iX. r. ovp. differently from ver. 3 (Kienlen in d. Stud. u.
Krit. 1848, p. 678 : ver. 3 is the entrance, into the kingdom
of God ; ver. 1 0, the consummation in the same, comp. Lange)
is purely arbitrary. See rather the preceding remark.
Vv. 11, 12. Comp. Isa. 1L 7 ff. Application of ver. 10 to
the disciples. To explain ovetSifeii/, to 'make, reproaches
(Wurm, Dinarch. p. 77), and Sifoicetv (comp. 1 Cor. iv. 12),
with Beza, Eaphel, and Wolf, of indignities and accusations
before the court, is an unwarrantable limitation. The whole of
the hostility which is to assail His disciples stands even now
before the soul of the Lord, and He prepares them for it ;
there is accordingly no reason to see in vv. 10-12 an addition
by the evangelist (Hilgenfeld). The tyevSo/Aevoi, which is to
be defended as genuine (see the critical remarks), easily and
appropriately connects itself with Ka6' V/JLWV, so that the latter
forms with evetcev epov an emphatic correlative ; the whole
participial definition, however, from etWwo-t to pfj/Jta, is ap-
pended as a statement of modality, " in their speaking falsely
against you for my sake " that is, because you belong to me,
which is their motive for making lying statements against you.
On tyevSea-Oai with Kara, contra, comp. Jas. iii. 14 ; often
thus amongst Greek writers.
Ver. 12. 'O fiicrQos] comp. Karep^d^erai, 2 Cor. iv. 17, and
remarks thereon. The article denotes : the reward which is
destined, kept in readiness for you (Matt. xxv. 34 ; Col. i. 5),
and that for the indignities, persecutions, and lies borne
through faith in me. ev rot? ovpavols] is great in heaven.
A reference to the book of life (Fritzsche, Gratz), Phil. iv. 3,
Eev. iii. 5, xx. 15, xxi. 27, Dan. xii. 1, is not yielded by
the text, which only presents the idea that the reward is laid
up in heaven until the future communication of it, which
1 This putting forward the person as Lord and Master is, in Weizsa'cker's
view, p. 151, a reason for regarding ver. 11 f. as a later explanation to the
original text. But even in the whole train of the discourse that follows from
ver. 17 onwards, such a personal assertion comes out strongly enough ; comp.
especially the constant symmetrical recurrence of iyu St >.ijn>> iftTv, and imme-
diately in ver. 17 the expression of the Messianic consciousness, Jx^ov, *.T.A.
CHAP. V. 13. 163
begins with the establishment of the kingdom, and therefore
not ea-rat, but e<m, is to be supplied ; and this is to be taken
not as irrespective of time (de Wette), but as present. 7/>]
assigns the reason from the recognised certainty (x. 41) that
to the prophets, who formerly were persecuted in like manner
(xxiii. 29 ff.), great reward is reserved in heaven for future
communication in the kingdom of the Messiah. The prophets
(comp. vii. 52) are a typical example for the disciples. On
the conception of pi<r66s, which Kara %dpw \(yyi^erai (Rom.
iv. 4), comp. xx. 1 ff. ; Luke xvii. 1 ; see generally Weiss in
d. Deutsch. Zcitschr. 1853, p. 40 ff. ; Bill. Theol. p. 104 ff.
Vv. 1 3-1 6. The course of thought : The more important
and influential your destined calling is, all the less ought you
to allow yourselves to be dispirited, and to become faithless
to your calling through indignities and persecutions ; you are
the salt and the light ! Weizsacker rightly claims for this
section (in answer to Holtzmann, Weiss) originality in this
connection, in which it attaches itself with great significance
to the last beatitude and its explanation.
Ver. 13. To aAo.<? rfj<} 7^?] A figure of the power which
counteracts corruption, and preserves in a sound condition
the effect which salt has upon water (2 Kings ii 20), meat,
and such like. Thus the ministry of the disciples was des-
tined by the communication of the divine truth to oppose the
spiritual corruption and powerlessnesa of men, and to be the
means of bringing about their moral soundness and power of
life. An allusion to the use of salt in sacrifices (Mark ix. 49)
is not hinted at here (in answer to Tholuck). Comp. rather
Col. iv. 6 ; Theodoret, Heracleon (in Cramer, Cat, p. 33) : aXa?
r. 7% ICTTIV TO ^rv^iKov apTvpa. Without this salt
humanity would have fallen a prey to spiritual <f>0opd.
Fritzsche, overlooking the positive efficacy of salt, derives the
figure only from its indispensable nature. Observe, moreover,
how the expression T% 77}?, as a designation of the 'mass of
the inhabitants of the earth, who are to be worked upon by
the salt, is as appropriately selected for this figure as rov
for the following one. And Jesus thus even now throws
down the thought of universal destination into the souls of
164 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the disciples as a spark to be preserved. pwpavBf)] will have
become savourless, Mark ix. 5 : avakov <yewr)Tai ; Dioscorides in
Wetstein : piai yeverafievw^wpal. evrivi aTcia-Oijcrerai, ;]
by what means will it again receive its salting power ? Theo-
phylact : Siopdctid^a-erat. Laying figures aside : If you, through
failing to preserve -the powers bestowed upon you, and by
allowing them to perish, .become in despondency and torpidity
unfaithful to your destiny and unfitted for your 'Calling, how
will you raise yourselves again to the power and efficiency
appropriate to your vocation, which you have lost. 1 Your
uselessness for your calling will then be an irreparabile
damnum ! " Non enim datur sal salis," Jansen. Grotius well
says, " ipsi emendare alios debebant, non autein exspectare,
ut ab aliis ipsi emendarentur." Augustine, de serm. in mont.
i. 16. Luther differently : Wherewith shall one salt ? Erasmus,
Paraphr. : " quid tandem erit reliquum, quo multitudinis
insulsa vita condiatur ? " Putting figure aside : Who, then,
will supply your place ? However appropriate in itself this
meaning might be, nevertheless et? ovSev ta-^vei stands opposed
to it. 2 See also Mark ix. 50. VTT.O TU>V av0p.] ab homini-
bus " obviis quibusque" Beugel.
Ver. 14. To <fxo<? TOV Kocrpov] As the natural light illu-
mines the world, which in itself is dark, so are ye intended to
spiritually enlighten humanity. Christ is principaliter the
Light (John i. 4, ix. 8, xii., al.~) ; the disciples mediate (Eph.
1 Whether the salt can really become quite insipid and without power, and
thus lose its essential property, is not at all the question. Jesus puts the case.
We need not therefore either appeal, with Paulus, to the salt which has been
exposed to the weather and become tasteless, which Maundrell (Seise nach Pal.
p. 162 ; Rosenmiiller, Morgenland, in loc.) found in the district of Aleppo, or
make out of the common cooking' salt, saltpetre (Altmann, Vriemoet), or
asphalt (v. d. Hardt, Sehoettgen), OP sea-salt (Ebrard).
2 This ils olll* !f xvti, etc., clearly sets forth. its utter uselessness for the pur-
pose for whkh it was designed, not the exclusion from the community, or the
being rejected by Christ (Luther, Chemnitz, and others), to which the idea, "it
is fit for nothing but," is not appropriate. It would be different if Christ
had said (M.vMfft'rai \\u, etc. Theophylact understands exclusion from the
dignity of teacher ; Chrysostom, Erasmus, and others, the most supreme con-
tempt. Observe, moreover, that the expression lex,"" (has power for nothing
except, etc.), and so on, contains an acumen in its relation to the following
passive /3AViii>a<, etc.
CHAP. V. 15, 16. 165
iii. 9), as the mediators of His divine truth to men ; and all
Christians in general are, as those who are enlightened, also,
on their part, bringers of light, and light in the Lord (Phil,
ii. 15 ; Eph. v. 8). ov 8vvarai 770X49, /e.r.X] If you would
desire timidly to withdraw into concealment (comp. vv. 1 1, 13),
then that would be conduct as opposed to the purpose for
which you are destined as if a town set on a hill should wish
to be concealed, or if one were to place (ver. 15) a light
under a bushel. No definite town is intended ; Saphet has
been conjectured ; see, on the other hand, Eobinson, Pal. III.
p. 587. We are not to think of Jerusalem (whose destination
the disciples are, in the opinion of Weizsacker, to realize,
p. 336). It is just any city in. general situated upon a hill.
Ver. 15. 'IVo rov poSiov] Fulgentius, iii. 6: " lucernam-
que modio contegit." The article denotes' the grain measure
that is at hand in the house. On ftoSto?, comp. Plut. Demetr. 33.
It was one-sixth of the /ieoVyaz/o?, the peBifjivos, according to
Boeckh, 2602 Paris cubic inches [nearly 12 gallons English].
What Hebrew measure did Jesus mention ? most probably
HND, as in Mark x-iii. 33. The icai is the consecutivum : and,
and thus, that is, placed upon the candlestick ; comp. iv. 19;
Maetzner, ad Lycurgum, p. 253. On the lamps which were
in domestic use, and the candlesticks upon which they were
placed, see as regards the Greeks, Hermann, Privatalterth.
xx. 23 ; Becker, Charikl. II. p. 214 ff. ; as to the Greek ex-
pression \vxyia, Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 313.
Ver. 16. O{/TO>] like a burning lamp upon its stand.
TO </>co9 v(j,a)v] the light, of which you are the trusted posses-
sors. This shines before men, if the disciples come forward
publicly in their office with fidelity and courage, do not draw
back, but spread abroad the gospel boldly and freely. 6V&>?
iBwcriv vfioSv, /c.T.X.] that they may see the excellent works done
by you. These are not their virtues in general, but, in
accordance with the whole context from ver. 11, their ministry
as faithful to its obligations, their specific works as disciples,
which, however, are also of a moral nature. ical Sogdawa-t,,
K.T.X] that He has made you fit (2 Cor. iii. 5) to perform such
works, they must recognise Him as their author ; comp. ix. 8 ;
166 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
1 Pet. ii. 12. The opposite, Rom. ii. 24. r. IT en. v
r. ev rot? ovp.] see on vi. 9. This designation of God, which
Christ gives forth from the fundamental standpoint of His
gospel, already presupposes instructions previously given to
the disciples upon the point. Observe, moreover, that here it
is not vfjiwv which, as formerly, has the emphasis.
Vv. 17-48. Messianic fulfilment of the law by the setting
forth of which Jesus now, after He had made clear to the dis-
ciples their high destiny, desired to establish before all other
things the relation of His ministry to the religion of the Old Testa-
ment, introducing it, indeed, with fj,rj vo^lcnjre, K.T.\. ; because
the thought of an abrogation of the law by the Messiah (which
was actually current among the Jews, upon the basis of Jer.
xxxi. 31, see Gfrorer, Jahrh. d. Heils, II. p. 341), and there-
with a renewal of religion from the very foundation, might
easily suggest itself so as to become highly injurious, and might
give to the work of the disciples themselves an altogether
perverted direction, as it was, moreover, maliciously laid hold
of by their enemies in order to accuse the Lord (xxvi. 61) and
His disciples (Acts vi. 14, xxi. 21). The more designedly
Jesus introduces and carries through this part (of His dis-
course), the less does it suffice to assume the occasion thereto
as arising from the law retiring into the background in His
daily life, and from a neglect of the law thus inferred (Keim) ;
or from this, that Jesus was accustomed to set out, not from
the law, but from the universal truths of faith, from testi-
monies of nature and life (Weizsacker, p. 346). In this
way the twice sharply emphasized " destroy " especially would
appear altogether out of proportion.
. Ver. 17. 1 A connection with what precedes is not to be
1 Special writings upon the passage : Baumgarten, doctrina J. Ch. de lege
Mos. ex oral. mont. 1838 ; Harnack, Jesus d. Christ oder der Erfuller d.
Gesetzes, 1842 ; J. E. Meyer, iiber d. Verhaltn. Jesu und seiner Jiinger zum
alttest. Gesetz. 1853. See especially, Ritschl, altkathol. K. p. 35 ff. ; Bleek
in d. Stud. u. Krit. 1853, p. 304 ; Lechler, ibidem, 1854, p. 787 ff. ; Weiss,
ibidem, 1858, p. 50 ff., and bibl. Theol. 27 ; Ewald, Jahrb. X. p. 114 ff. The
collection of sayings is to be simply regarded as the source of this section, not
any special treatise upon the position of Jesus towards that law (Holtzmann) ;
comp. Weiss in d. Stud. u. Krit. 1864, p. 56 L
CHAP. V. 17. 167
artificially sought out. Jesus breaks off and introduces the
new section without any intermediate remarks, which corre-
sponds precisely to its pre-eminent importance (for He shows
how the Christian BiKaioo-vvrj, having its root in that of the Old
Testament, is its consummation). On prj vo^ia: ort, rj\0., comp.
x. 34. T/] never stands for icai (see Winer, p. 410 [E. T.
549 f.] ; comp. on 1 Cor. xi. 27), but is always distinctive.
Here, to abrogate the one or the other. I have to abrogate
neither that nor this. The VO/AOS is the divine institute of the
law, which has its original document in the Pentateuch. The
further Old Testament revelation, in so far as its final aim is
the Messiah and His work, is represented by ol Trpo^rjrai,,
who make up its principal part ; accordingly, o vopos and ol
Trpoffirai, summarily denote the whole Old Testament revelation
(comp. Luke xvi. 6), partly as a living divine economy, as
here; partly as jpa^, as in Luke xxiv. 27; Acts xxiv. 14,
xxviii. 23 ; Rom. iii. 21. Moreover, in the expression rot/?
irpo^raf we are not to think of their predictions as such (the
Greek Fathers, Augustine, Beza, Calovius, and others ; also
Tholuck, Neander, Harnack, Bleek, Lechler, Schegg, and
others), as nobody could imagine that their abrogation was to
be expected from the Messiah, but, as the connection with
i/o/io? shows (and comp. vii. 12, xxii. 40 ; Luke xvi. 29), and
as is in keeping with the manner in which the idea is carried
out in the following verses, their contents as commands, in
which respect the prophets have carried on the development
of the law in an ethical manner (Bitschl, altkath. Kirche, p.
36 f.). In i/o/io<?, however, to think merely of the moral law is
erroneous, as it always signifies the entire law, and the dis-
tinction between the ritualistic, civil, and moral law is modern ;
comp. on Eom. iii. 20. If, afterwards, sentences are given
from the moral law, yet these are only quotations by way of
illustration from the whole, from which, however, the moral
precepts very naturally suggested themselves for quotations,
because the idea of righteousness is before the mind. He has
fulfilled the entire law, and in so doing has not destroyed the
slightest provision of the ritualistic or civil code, so far as its
general moral idea is concerned, but precisely everything which
168 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the law prescribes is raised to an ideal, of which the old legal
commands are only a-roi^eta. Theophylact well illustrates
the matter by the instance of a silhouette, which the painter
ov Kara\vei, but carries out to completion, avaWk^pol.
fcara\vcrai] often employed by classical writers to denote the
dissolution of existing constitutions (specially also of the
abrogation of laws, Isocr. p; 129 E; Polyb. iii. 8. 2), \vhich
are thereby rendered non-existent and invalid ; comp. 2 Mace.
ii. 22 ; John vii. 2 3 ; also vopov ttarapyeiv, Rom. iii. 3 1 ;
aQerelv, Heb. x. 28 ; GaL iii 15. The 7r\ijpa)<ri<; of the law
and the prophets is their fulfilment by the re-establishment of
their absolute meaning, so that now nothing more is wanting
to what they ought to be in accordance with the divine ideas
which lie at the foundation of their commands. It is the
perfect development of their ideal reality out of the positive form,
in which the same is historically apprehended and limited. So
substantially, Luther, Calvin (comp. before them Chrysostom ;
he, however, introduces what is incongruous), Lightfoot, Ham-
mond, Paulus, Gratz, de Wette, Olshausen, Eitschl, Ewald,
Weiss, Hilgenfeld; likewise Schleiermacher, L. J. p. 314ff.,
and others. Gomp. Tholuck (who, however, brings together
the too varying elements of different explanations), also Kahnis,
Dogmat. I. p. 474, who understands it as the development of
what is not completed into something higher, which preserves
the substance of the lower. This explanation, which makes
absolute the righteousness enjoined and set forth in the law
and the prophets, is converted into a certainty by the two
verses that follow. The matter is represented by fr\i}p. as a
making complete (John xv. 1 1 ; 2 Cor. x. 6), in opposition to
KaraXvcrtu, which expresses the not allowing the thing to remain.
Others (Bretschneider, Fritzsche) : facere quae de Messia pre-
scripta sunt ; others (Kauffer, B. Crusius, Bleek, Lechler,
Weizsacker, after Beza, Eisner, Vorst, Wolf, and many older
interpreters) : legi satisfacere, as in Rom. xiii. 8, where, in
reference to the prophets, 7r\rip. is taken in the common sense
of the fulfilment of the prophecies (see specially, Euth. Ziga-
benus, Calovius, and Bleek), but thereby introducing a reference
which is not merely opposed to the context (see ver. 1 8 f.), but
CHAP. V. 17. 169
also an unendurable twofold reference of TrXrjp. 1 Luther
well says : " Christ is speaking of the fulfilment, and so deals
with doctrines, in like manner as He calls ' destroying ' a not
acting with works against the law, but a breaking off from the
law with the doctrine." The fulfilling is " showing the right
kernel and understanding, that they may learn what the law
is and desires to have." / did not come to destroy, but to fulfil ;
the object is understood of itself, but the declaration delivered
in this general way is more solemn without the addition of
the pronoun.
REMAKE. The Apostle Paul worked quite in the sense of
our passage ; his writings are full of the fulfilment of the law in
the sense in which Christ means it; and his doctrine of its
abrogation refers only to its validity for justification to the
exclusion of faith. It is without any ground, therefore, that
this passage, and especially vv. 18 f., have been regarded by
Baur (neutest. TheoL p. 55) as Judaistic, and supposed not to
have proceeded in this form from Jesus, whom, rather in
opposition to the higher standpoint already gained by Him,
(Schenkel), the Apostle Matthew has apprehended and edited iii
so Judaistic a manner (Kostlin, p. 55 f.), or the supposed Matthew
has made to speak in so anti-Pauline a way (Gfrorer, h. Sage,
II. p. 84) ; according to Hilgenfeld, in his Zeitschr. 1867, p. 374,
ver. 17 is indeed original, but in accordance with the view of
the Hebrew gospel ; vv. 18 f., however, is an anti-Pauline addi-
tion; Weizsacker sees in ver. 19 only an interpolation; but
Schenkel finds in vv. 18 f. the proud assertion of the Pharisee,
not Jesus' own conviction. Paul did not advance beyond this
declaration (comp. Planck in d. theol. Jahrl. 1847, p. 268 ff.),
but he applied his right understanding' boldly and freely, and
1 Vitringa, who compares "1)03, even brings out the meaning "to expound."
The explanation of Kuinoel goes back to the legi satisfacere, but gives as
meaning, docendo vivendoque stabilire. Comp. Keim, " to teach the law, to
do it, and to impose it." The older dogmatic exegetes, who explained it by
satisfacere, here found the satisfactio activa. See, for example, Er. Schmid and
Calovius ; recently, Philippi, vom that. Gehors. Chr. p. 34 ; Baumgarten, p. 15.
On the other hand, B. Crusius and also Tholuck. According to Bleek, p. 304,
Christ has fulfilled the moral law by His sinless life, the ceremonial law by His
sacrificial death, by means of which the prophecies also are fulfilled. According
to Lechler, Jesus fulfils the law as doer, by His holy life and sacrificial death ;
as teacher, in teaching mankind rightly to understand and fulfil the command-
ments.
170 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
iu so doing the breaking up of the old form by the new spirit
could not but necessarily begin, as Jesus Himself clearly
recognised (comp. ix. 16; John iv. 21, 23 f.) and set forth to
those who believed in His own person and His completed
righteousness (comp. Eitschl). But even in this self-repre-
sentation of Christ the new principle is not severed from the
O. T. piety, but is the highest fulfilment of the latter, its anti-
typical consummation, its realized ideal. Christianity itself
is in so far a law. Comp. Wittichen, p. 328 ; Holtzmann,
p. 457 f. ; Weizsacker, p. 348 f. ; see also on Rom. iii. 27 ; Gal.
vi. 2; 1 Cor. ix. 21.
Ver. 18. ^Afjurjv yap Xeyw vplv\ for verily (ajj^v = a\r}-
, Luke ix. 2 7), that is, agreeably to the truth, do I tell you.
What He now says serves as a confirmation of what preceded.
This form of assurance, so frequently in the mouth of Christ,
the bearer of divine truth, is not found in any apostle. eeo?
av irape\6r), /e.r.X] until heaven and earth shall have passed
away. These words of Jesus do not indicate a terminus, after
which the law shall no longer exist (Paulus, Neander, Lechler,
Schleiermacher, Planck, Weizsacker, and others), but He says :
onwards to the destruction of the world the law will not lose its
validity in the slightest point, by which popular expression
(Luke xvi. 17 ; Job xiv. 12) the duration of the law after the
final catastrophe of the world is neither taught nor excluded.
That the law, however, fulfilled as to its ideal nature, will
endure in the new world, is clear from 1 Cor. xiii. 3 (070^-77) ;
1 Pet. i 25 ; 2 Pet. iii. 3 (SiKaio<rvvij). The unending
authority of the law is also taught by Bar. iv. 1 ; Tob. i. 6 ;
Philo, vit. Mos. ii p. 656 ; Joseph. 'c. Ap. ii. 38, and the Rabbins.
See Bereschith R. x. 1, " omni rei suus finis, coelo et terrae
suus finis, una excepta re, cui non suus finis, haec est lex."
Schemoth E. vi., " nulla litera aboletur a lege in aeternum."
Midrash Cohel.i. 71, 4, (lex) " perpetuo manebit in secula
seculorunL" The passage in 1 Cor. xv. 28 is not opposed to
our explanation ; for if God is all in all, the fulfilled law of
God yet stands in its absolute authority. eta? av Trdvra
ryevrjTat] not : until all the prophecies are fulfilled, that would
then be down to the Parousia (Wetstein, J. E. Meyer, comp.
Ewald) ; nor even till all is carried out theocratically which I have
CHAP. V. 18. 171
to perform (Paulus), or what lies shut up in the divine decree
(Kostlin), or even until the event shall occur by means of
which the observance of the law becomes impossible, and it
falls away of itself (Schleiermacher) ; but, in keeping with the
context, until all which the law requires shall be accomplished
(vi. 10), nothing any longer left unobserved. This sentence
is not co-ordinate to the first eitu?, but subordinate (Kiihner, ad
Xen. Mem. i. 2. 36) : " So long as the world stands shall no
iota 1 of the law pass away till all its prescriptions shall be
realized." All the requirements of the law shall be fulfilled ;
but before this fulfilment of all shall have begun, 2 not a single
iota of the law shall fall till the end of the world. Fritzsche :
till all (only in thought) is accomplished. He assumes, accord-
ingly, agreeably to the analogous use of conditional sentences
(Heindorf and Stallbaum, ad Plat. Phaed. p. 6 7 E ; Kiihner,
II. 2, p. 988 f.), a double protasis: (1) eiws av 7rape\0p, K.T.\.,
and (2) &os . . . yevrjrai. But the parallel passages, Matt,
xxiv. 34, Luke xxi. 32, are already opposed to this; and
after the concrete and lively ecu? av irape\6rj o ovpavbs K.
rj 777, this general and indefinite ecu? av iravra yevrjTat would
be only a vague and lumbering addition. As correlative to
ev and pia, irdvra can only mean all portions of the law,
without, however, any definite point of time requiring to be
thought of, in which all the commands of the law will be
carried out, according to which, then, the duration of the
1 'lam, the smallest letter, and mpaia, horn, a little stroke of writing (Plut.
Mor. p. 1100 A, 1011 D), especially also in single letters (Origen, ad Ps. xxxiii.),
by which, for example, the following letters are distinguished, 3 and 2, "1 and "7,
H and H. See Lightfoot, Schoettgen, and "Wetstein. Both expressions denote
the smallest portions of the law ; see ver. 19.
8 Im this is contained the perpetually abiding obligation of the law ; for that
condition of things, in which no part of the law remains unfulfilled, in which,
consequently, all is accomplished, will never occur until the end of the world.
Of the itaiia., moreover, nothing is to be excluded which the law contains, not
even the ritualistic portions, which are to be morally fulfilled in their ideal
meaning, as e.g. the Levitical prescription regarding purification by moral
purification, the sacrificial laws by moral self-sacrifice (comp. Rom. xii. 1), and
so on, so that in the connection of the whole, in accordance with the idea of
*>.*ipiaffif, not even the smallest element will perish, but retains its importance
and its integral moral connection with the whole. Comp. Tholuck ; Gess, Chrlali
Pers. und Werk, I. p. 292; and before him, Calvin on ver. 17.
172 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
present condition of the world would be conformed. This
thought is rendered impossible by the nearness of the Parousia,
according to xxiv. 29, 34, as well as by the growth of the
tares until the Parousia, according to xiii. 30. The thought
is rather, the law will not lose its 'binding obligation, which reaches
on to the final realization of all its prescriptions, so long as heaven
and earth remain. Observe, moreover, that the expression in
our passage is different from xxiv. 35, where the permanency
of the Xoyot of Christ after the end of the world is directly
a'nd definitely affirmed, but that in this continued duration
of the \6yoi of Christ the duration of the law also is implied,
i.e. according to its complete meaning (in answer to Lechler, p.
797) ; comp. on Luke xvi. 17. " The Si/catocrvvr) of the new
heavens and of the new earth will be no other than what
is here taught," Delitzsch. So completely one with the idea
of the law does Jesus in His spiritual greatness know His
moral task to be, not severed from the latter, but placed in
its midst.
Ver. 19. Conclusion from ver. 18. On 05 lav with the
conjunctive of the aorist, denoting that which was probably
to happen in the future (the contingent futurum exactum),
see Winer, p. 28 7 f. [E. T. 385]; Kiihner, II. 2, p. 929;
edv for av, see Winer, p: 291 [E. T. 390]. Xvo-^] like
KaTa\v<rai, ver. 1 7 ;* Fritzsche and Arnoldi (after Castalio,
Beza, Wolf, and others) : transgressus fuerit, on account of the
n-onja-r} in the opposition ; comp. also Eitschl, p. 40. But
this TTorfa-r) partly forms a very appropriate antithesis to the
\vcrp in our sense, which, after /fara\vaai, in ver. 17, would
be abandoned only from arbitrariness ; partly there is by no
means wanting between \vew and SiSda-Keiv an appropriate,
i.e. a climactic, distinction (they shall declare it to be of no
authority, and teach accordingly) ; partly it is not credible
that Jesus should have declared that the transgressor of the
1 Comp. on Xi/t/v in the sense of abrogating, overturning of laws, John vii. 23 ;
Herod, iii. 82 ; Demosth. xxxi. 12. 186. 14. Ebrard (on Olshausen) erroneously
explains it : " the mechanical dissolution of a law into a multitude of casuistical
and ritualistic precepts. " The TOUTUI **> iXa^iVra/v should have prevented this
view. Amongst Greek writers also the simple verb represents the compound
that has preceded it ; comp. on Rom. xv. 4.
CHAP. V. 20. 173
law was eka-^Lirrov ev TT} (3a<T. r. ovpavdav, see xi. 11. Doing
(770477077) and teaching (Bt,8dj;rj) refer, as a matter of course,
without it being necessary to supply any object besides the
general word " is " (translated : whosoever shall have done and
taught it), to that which is required in the smallest command-
ment, and that in the sense of the 77X77/30x745, ver. 17. rv
evro\wv TOVTWV T&v i\AvitfTO>v~\ TovTtov points back to
what is designated by iCra and fcepaut in ver. 18, not forwards
to vv. 22,28 (Bengel) ; eXa^to-ron/ refers, therefore, not to
the Pharisaic distinctions between great and small command-
ments (see especially, Wetstein, p. 295 f.), but to what Jesu-s
Himself had just designated as Iwra and xepaia, those precepts
which in reality are the least important. They stand, how-
ever, in accordance with the 77X77/30)0-45 of the law, in essential
organic connection with the ideal contents of the whole, and
can therefore be so little .regarded as having no authority, that
rather he who does this (\varf), and teaches others to act in
this manner (BiSd^rj'), will obtain only one of the lowest places
(one of the lowest grades of dignity and happiness) in the
kingdom of the Messiah. He is not to>be excluded (as Augus-
ine, Luther, Calvin, Calovius, Wolf, Bengel, and others have
misinterpreted the meaning -of eX%. K\r)0.), because his
antinomianism is not a principle, not directed against the law
as such, but only against individual precepts of the law, which
in themselves are small, and whose importance as a whole
he does not recognise. 1 Comp. 1 Cor. iii. 15. Note the
correlation of rwv e\a^Lcrro)v . . . e\d%icrTO<i . . . peyas.
Ver. 20. Tap] Unnecessary difficulties have been raised
on account of this connection (Eitschl and Bleek, who even
declare Se to be more appropriate), and the obvious sense
passed over (de Wette, who, as well. as Hilgenfeld, refers back
to ver. 17). Jesus does not state any ground for recognising
1 Ver. 19 stands in so essential a connection with the discourse, that the
supposition of Olshausen, that Jesus had in view special acts of an antinomian
tendency on the part of some of His disciples, appears just as unnecessary as it
is arbitrary. Kostlin and Hilgenfeld find here a very distinct disapproval of
the Apostle Paul and of the Paulinites, who break free from the law ; nay, Paul,
thinks Kostlin, was actually named by Jewish Christians the smallest (Eph.
iii. 8), as he so names himself (1 Cor. xv. 9). A purely imaginary combination.
174 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
why there must be distinctions of rank in the kingdom
(Ritschl), which must be understood as a matter of course ;
but He assigns the reason and how important was that for
the vocation of the disciples ! for the Troi^a-rj K. SiSa^y which
He had just uttered, in accordance with its necessary connec-
tion : " For if ye do not unite acting with teaching, then can
ye not enter into the kingdom, being upon the same stage of
righteousness as the scribes and Pharisees" (xxiii. 2 f., 14).
irepicra: TrXeioi/ is to be rendered : shall have been more
abundant than} Comp. irepta-a-evetv virep riva, 1 Mace. iii. 30.
rj SiKaio<rvvr) vfj.(bv] your moral righteousness, as in w.
6, 10, not the justitia fidei (Calovius), although the truly
moral life rests upon the latter. rwv ypappar. K. $apia.]
well-known comparatio compendiaria for rfjs StKaioa-vvir; TWV,
K.T.X., Klihner, II. p. 847. It is understood, besides, as a
matter of course, that Jesus here has in view the false
righteousness of the Pharisees in general, so that nobler mani-
festations, like Gamaliel, Nicodemus, and others, do not deter-
mine His general judgment.
Ver. 21. There now follow on to the end of the chapter six
neither five (Hilgenfeld) nor seven (Kostlin) antithetic
examples of the fulfilling of the law of Jesus, not merely
derived from the Decalogue, or from its second table (Keim),
but from the Pentateuch generally ; not, however, of an anti-
nomian kind, consequently not in opposition to the divine law
itself (Chrysostom and many Fathers, Maldonatus, Neander,
Bleek, Socinians and Arminians), but opposed, indeed, to all
the manifold limitations and one-sided apprehensions and
applications of the same, as it was represented and followed
out in life by the common traditional Judaism, and specially
by the Pharisees, without insight into the deeper unity and
1 These men thought and appeared to make themselves prominent by abun-
dant acts of ^maiea-vvn, whilst they " ceremonialem et forensem morali missa
tutati sunt" (Bengel). An abounding in righteousness on the part of His
disciples in a higher degree and measure of morality, which r>.t7i ) however, in
accordance with the actual relation of the thing compared, contains in itself an
essentially quite different kind of $ixait><ruiti, is required by Christ on the ground
of faith in Him. That external righteousness, whilst the heart is impure, ' ' does
not belong to heaven, but to hell " (Luther).
CHAP. V. 21. 175
the purely moral absolute meaning. Comp. also Hofmann,
Schriftbew. I. p. 5991; Harless, d. JEhescheidungsfrage, 1861,
p. 7 f. ; Weiss, Keim. That use of the law produced a false
legalism, without sincerity and virtue, in opposition to which
Jesus wishes to develope and assert the true and full righteous
morality out of the divine law. ^Kovcrare] from the law
which is read before you (John xii. 34; Rom. ii. 13 ; Gal.
iv. 21 ; Acts xv. 21), and from the instruction which you
have received regarding its exposition. rot? dpxatois] may
grammatically be taken not only as a dative (Chrysostorn,
Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Luther, Erasmus, Grotius,
Wetstein, Bengel, and many others ; also Tholuck, Neander,
de Wette, Ritschl, Bleek, Weizsacker), but also as an ablative :
by the ancients (see Kiihner, II. 1, p. 368 f.; Winer, p. 206
[E. T. 277]); so Beza, Piscator, Schoettgen, Eaphel, and
many ; also Paulus, Kuinoel, Fritzsche, Olshausen, Baum-
garten, Ewald, Lechler, Keim. On the first rendering, which
most obviously suggests itself (Eom. ix. 12, 26; Gal. iii. 16;
Eev. vi. 11, ix. 4), the ancients are the Jewish generations of
earlier times (before Christ), to which Moses and his followers
(xxiii. 2 f.), the scribes, spoke (de Wette, Ritschl), not simply
the Israelites in the time of Moses, to whom the latter spoke
(Neander, Bleek) ; on the latter view it is Moses (who would
not have to be excluded, as Keim maintains), and his ancient
expositors learned in the Scripture; for there follow their
sayings, which are partly without, partly accompanied vjith,
additions proceeding from the scribes. The decision between
th'ese two views is given not merely by the constant usage of
the N. T., which joins eppeOrj with the dative, but also by the
antithesis 6700 8e \ey(o vplv, in which eyo> corresponds to the
logical subject of eppeQr), and vpiv to rot? ap^aiW ; the latter
consequently cannot itself be the subject. Luther therefore
rightly renders : that it is said to them of old time. 1 Pointless
1 Instead of Iffitn, Lachmann and Tischendorf have, after B D E K V, the form
ippMv. Both forms are found in Plato (see Heindorf, ad Gorg. p. 46), to whom,
however, Schneider, ad Pol. V. p. 450 A, everywhere assigns the latter as the
proper one. The first is the more common in the later Greek, and therefore to
be preferred in the N. T. See in general, Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 447. Comp.
on Rom. ix. 12 : Gal. iii. 16.
176 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
objections are made by Keim, II. p. 248, who even finds in
this view something opposed to the sense ; because the people
of the present day have not yet .heard of that which was
enjoined on them of .old time, but of what has been enjoined
upon themselves. On the other hand, it is to be recollected
that it was precisely a peculiarity of the .Jewish method of
instruction, and still is so, to refer the present generation to
those of old time, to inculcate upon the former the irapdSoa-Ls
which had been common in ancient times, and had been
already given to their forefathers. Thus the people of the
present time have certainly heard in the synagogues what was
said to them of old time. Cornp., moreover, Diodorus Siculus
xii. 20 : a\w9 et/j^rat rot? TraXatot?, cm, K.T.\. ov <fyovevcrei<i\
Ex. xx. 12. The prohibition refers to the act, though not by
itself, but as the effect of anger, of hostility, and so on ; for
there is also a putting to death .which is permitted, nay,
even commanded. The Pharisaic explanation and application
of the legal saying was confined to the literal prohibition of
the act ; the fulfiller of the law lays open the whole disposition
that deserves punishment, which, as the ethical condition of
the act, was aimed at by the prohibition of the latter. The
following words contain a traditional addition, although one
not alien to the law, by the scribes, .who interpreted that pro-
hibition externally. /c/jt'o-i?, according to ver. 22, opposed to
the Sanhedrin, is the local court, found, according ,to Dent,
xvi. 18, in every "city of .Palestine, to ,which it belonged to
take cognizance of and to punish even murder (execution by
the sword), 2 Chron. xix. 5 ;.Joseiphus,Antt. iv. 8. 14. Accord-
ing to the Eabbins, it consisted of twenty-three members ;
according to Josephus, of seven. See generally, Tholuck,
Keil, Arch. II. p. 250 ff. To the higher court of justice, the
Sanhedrin, ver. 22, it belonged to take cognizance also of
crimes punishable by .stoning.
Ver. 22. I, on the other hand, as the fulfiller of the law,
already declare unrighteous anger to be as worthy of punish-
ment as the act of murder was declared to be to those of old
time ; as still more worthy of punishment, however, the ex-
pression of such anger in injurious language, to which I, in
CHAP. V. 22, 1T7
the worst cases, even assign the punishment of hell. Observe
(1) that Jesus does not at all enter into the question of
murder itself, by which He makes it to be felt that it was
something unheard of amongst those who believed on Him ;
(2) that for the same reason He does not mention any out-
bursts of anger in acts, such as ill-usage and the like ; (3)
that the abusive words, which are quoted by way of example,
represent different degrees of outbursts of anger in speech, in
accordance with the malignity of the disposition from which
they proceed ; and (4) that tcpltris, a-vveSpwv, yeevva, illustrate
different degrees of greater culpability before God (for icpiais
and vvveBpiov are also analogical representations of divine,
although temporal, penal judgment), down to the everlasting
damnation ; so that (5) as the general moral idea in the con-
crete discourse, whose plastic ascent in details is not to be
pressed, the highest and holiest severity appears in the point of
unlovingncss (comp. 1 John iii. 15), and therein lies the ideal
consummation of the law, ov fovevcreis, not only in itself, but
also in the antithesis of its traditional threat, 09 S 1 av fovevo-y,
etc. o opyiZop.] has the emphasis of opposition to foveveiv.
TO) aSeX<j&eu] does not go beyond the popular conception
(a member of the nation, comp, ver. 47), out of which grew
at a later time the representation and designation of Christian
brotherly fellowship. The conception of the ir^ffiov from
the point of view .of humanity, Luke x. 29, is not contained in
the dSe\<o9. If eitcfj were genuine (but see critical remarks),
then this idea would be contained in it, that Jesus does not
mean simply being angry, but the being angry without a
reason (Eom. xiii. 4.; CoL ii. 18), the anger of mere passion-
ateness, ivithout moral justification ; eltcf) would stand as equiva-
lent to dXo7/o-TG)<? (Polyb. i. 52. 2), TrapaXoya)? (Polyb. i
74. 14), aoveoTra)? (Polyb. iv. 14. 6). There is, moreover, a
holy anger, which has its basis in what is right, and in its
relation to the unholy world. Comp. on Eph. iv. 26. But
never ought it to be unloving and hostile anger ; and that such
an anger is here meant is shown by the context, therefore
elxfj would not even be an appropriate closer definition.
POKU] as Jerome and Hesychius already correctly interpret
MATT. M
178 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
it, is the Chaldee K^l, vacuus, that is, empty head ! At that
time a very common word of opprobrium. Buxtorf, Lex.
talm. p. 2254; Lightfoot, HOT. p. 264; Wetstein in loc.
That it is, so far as regards its idea, of the same nature with
pwpe that follows, speaks rather in favour of than against
this common interpretation. Comp. icevos (Jas. ii. 20 ; Soph.
Ant 709), Kevo<j)pwv (Aesch. Prom. 761), tcevoicpavos (Sibyll.
iii. p. 418). Ewald thinks of the Aramaic Kyp~i, and inter-
prets it: rascal. fitope] -'33, fool, but in the moral sense
(Hupfeld on Ps. xiv. 1), as the virtuous man was rightly
regarded as wise (comp. Xen. Mem. iii. 9. 4) and the wicked
as foolish ; therefore equivalent to " wicked" and thus a
stronger word of opprobrium, one affecting the moral character,
than paicd; see Wetstein. eis rrjv yeevvav] literally: into
hell, 1 which is to be regarded as a pregnant expression from
the idea of being, cast down into hell. Winer, p. 200 [E. T.
267]; Buttmann, p. 148 [E. T. 170]. Plastic represen-
tation with the increasing liveliness of the discourse, instead
of the more abstract dative. No example elsewhere. <yeevva,
properly Dan K^, or ESrrja soa (Dlin, name of a man otherwise
unknown ; other interpretations, as " valley of howling" are
arbitrary), a valley to the south of the capital, where the
idolatrous Israelites had formerly sacrificed their children to
Moloch (2 Kings xxiii. 10; Jer. vii. 32, xix. 2); Eitter,
Erdk. XVI. 1, p. 372 ; Eobinson, Pal II. p. 38. The name
of this hated locality was transferred to the subterranean
abode of the damned. Lightfoot, HOT. ; Wolf on the passage ;
Eisenmenger, Entdecktes Judenthum, II. p. 323 ff. So always
in the N. T., where, however, it is found only in the Synoptics
and James.
1 The attributive genitive rou trvpa; (xiii. 42 ; 2 Thess. i. 8), as an expression
of the specific nature, is to be explained from the well-known popular represen-
tation of hell (comp. iii. 11, xviii. 8 f., xxv. 41, and elsewhere). The explana-
tion of Kuinoel, who follows the older interpreters, " is dignus est, qui in valle
Hinnomi vivus comburalur, " is, irrespective of the illegality of burning alive,
opposed to the constant usage of yiitta. as signifying hell, which usage also for-
bids us to think of the burning of the body in the valley of Hinnom (Michaelis)
after execution, or at least of a casting forth of the latter into this detested place
(B. Crusius, comp. Tholuck).
CHAP. V. 23, 24. 179
Ver. 23 f. 'Eav . . . 7rpocr(j}epr]<i] If thou, then, art about to
present thy sacrifice (Bdopov, viii. 4, xv. 5, xxiii. 18, also in the
LXX., Apocrypha, and Greek writers) ; consequently, art
already occupied with the preparation of the same in the
temple. 1 This explanation is required by the words epTrpoa-
6ev rov 6v&. (ad aram), ver. 24. eVt TO Ova-iacrTj] to the
altar, in order that the priests may offer it upon the same.
Kdfcei fi vt) o-0?79, tf.r.A,.} "inter rem sacram magis subit re-
cordatio offensarum, quam in strepitu negotiorum," Bengel.
The injured part is the aSe\(f>6<} ; differently in Mark xi. 25,
where forgiveness is required. efiTrpovO. rov 0v<ria<rT.~\ A
closer definition added to eet. -rrp&rov] in the first place
(vi. 33), before everything else, what thou now hast to do.
Compare Tore afterwards. It is to be connected with inrasye
(Luther, Erasmus, Castalio, Bengel, and many others; also
Gersdorf, p. 107 ; de Wette, Ewald, Arnoldi, Bleek). Comp.
vii. 5, xiii. 30, xxiii. 26. The connection with Sta\\dy.
(Beza, Calvin, Er. Schmidt, and many others ; also Kuinoel,
Fritzsche, Tholuck, and others) overlooks the essential moment
which is contained in the connection precisely by the vjraye,
the unavoidable, surprising, nay, repellent removal of oneself
from the temple. For that inrwye is not here merely an
appeal, age, is shown by the context through the words a<e?
e'/cet, etc. In xviii. 15, xix. 21, also, it means obi. 8ia\-
Xdyrjdi] be reconciled, deal so that a reconciliation may begin
with him who has been injured by thee. Comp. 1 Sam.
xxix. 4, and on the passage 1 Cor. vii. 11. In this way the
act of sacrifice receives the moral foundation of a disposition
pleasing to God, by which it is no mere external work, but is
at the same time Xoyiicr) \arpeia, Rom, xii. 1. Flacius well
remarks, s.v. munus : " Vult primam haberi rationem moraliuni,
secundum ceremonialium." Moreover, the distinction asserted
by Tittmann to exist between StaXXao-o-etv and
1 The severance of the Jewish believers from the temple service was only to
begin at a later time, John iv. 21. The Catholic exegesis knows, indeed, how
to find here the permanent sacrifice of the Eucharist, regarding which Christ is
said in the passage before us to have given a law which is for ever valid,
ger, Christenthum und Kirche, p. 250 f., ed. 2.
180 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
that the former denotes the removal of mutual hostility, the
latter that of one-sided enmity (Synon. p. 102), is decidedly
erroneous. Fritzsche, ad Bom. I. p. 276 ff.
Ver. 25 f. The precept, to be reconciled with the injured
person in order not to be cast into hell by God the judge, is
made clear by the prudential doctrine of satisfying a creditor in
order not to become liable to imprisonment. To abide merely
by the prudential doctrine itself which the words convey (Theo-
phylact, Vatablus, and others, including Paulus), is opposed to
the context (vv. 21-24) ; to take the <j>v\aKrj, however, as the
representation of purgatory (many Catholics, not Schegg), or of
Sheol (not Gehenna) (Olshausen), is forbidden by the idea
of the judgment, which also excludes the vague and indefinite
" transference of that which is destructive for the external
life to that which is destructive in a higher sense " (de Wette).
Luke xii. 58 has the precept in quite a different connection;
but this does not justify us in not regarding it in the present
passage as belonging te it (Pott, Kuinoel, Neander, Bleek,
Holtzmann, Weiss, and others), since it may be given here and
there as a popular symbolical proverb ; while precisely here it
is most clearly and simply appropriate to the connection.
evvooov] be loell disposed that is, inclined to satisfy him by
making payment or composition. TO> ai/TiSt/cw <TOV\ The
opponent (in a lawsuit) is to be conceived of as a creditor
(ver. 26). The injured brother is intended ; comp. ver. 23.
Explanations of the Fathers referring it to the devil (Clement
of Alexandria), to God (Augustine), to the conscience (Euth.
Zigabenus), see in Tholuck. ra^.y] without delay, without
putting off, xxviii. 7 f . ; John xi. 29; Eev. ii. 16. " Tarda
est superbia cordis ad deprecandum et satisfaciendum," Bengel.
eo>9 OTOV] If by ra^v it was intimated that the compli-
ance should begin without delay, so it is now stated that it
shall remain till the extreme termination : even until thou art
with him on the road to the judge even then still shalt thou
yield compliance. Not of itself (in answer to Tittmann, Synon.
p. 167), but, in virtue of the context, is eco? the inclusive
" until," as according to the context it may also be exclusive
(comp. on the passage, i. 2 5). The servant of justice
CHAP. V. 27, 28. 181
^67779) belongs to the representative of the legal act ; and who
is meant thereby, is evident from xiii. 41 f. {3\ij #770-77]
The future, which might be dependent on /i^Vore (Winer,
p. 468 f. [E. T. 629]; Buttmann, newt. Gr. p. 201 [E. T.
233]; see on the passage, Col. ii. 8), taken independently,
gives the appropriate emphasis to the tragic closing act.
In ver. 26 is by no means contained the finality of the con-
dition of punishment, but its non-finality ; since the aTro&iSovcu,
that is, the removal of the guilt of sin, is for him who is in
this $v\aicr) an impossibility, xviii. 34, xxv. 41, 46, etc.
9 states, then, a terminus which is never reached. Comp.
xviii. 34. The quadrans is As in copper, or 2 Xerrra, f of a
farthing (Mark xii. 42) ; see on the Eoman coins in circula-
tion amongst the Jews, Cavedoni, bill. Numismat. I. p. 78 ff.
Ver. 27 f. From w. 28-30 it appears that the tradition
of the Pharisees limited the prohibition in Ex. xx. 14 to
adultery proper, and left out of consideration adulterous
desires. /SXe-Trwi/] he who looks upon a woman, opposed to the
actual fj,oi^eveiv. Awaited] woman in general, so that it may
be a married (Erasmus, Grotius, Tholuck, de Wette, Bleek) or
an unmarried one ; for the /SXeVwi/ is conceived of as a married
man, as is clear from the signification of ov /iot%eu<ret9, which
means adultery. 7rpb<t TO iiriGvp^aai avrijv] not ita ut,
etc., not even in accordance with (Weiss), but, agreeably to the
constant usage of Trpos with the infinitive, to denote the telic
reference (vi. 1, xxvi. 12, and elsewhere): in order to desire
her. The $Xe7ri/, which terminates in lustful desire, which
is kindled and felt to be strengthened by gazing on, is de-
signated. 'O yap (nrov&dfav opav ra? evjJLopfyovs o^eis, avrof
paXivra rrjv Kapivov avdirret, rov 7ra#ot/9, Chrysostom. Comp.
Augustine : " qui hoc fine et hoc animo attenderit, ut earn con-
cupiscat, quod jam non est titillari delectatione carnis, sed
plene consentire libidini." He who looks upon a woman with
such a feeling has already (jam eo ipso, Bengel), in virtue of
the adulterous desire with which he does so, committed
adultery with her in his heart, which is the seat of feeling
and desire. Thus he is, as regards his moral constitution,
although without the external act, already an adulterer.
182 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Similar proverbs from the Eabbinical writers in Lightfoot and
Schoettgen ; from the Greek and Roman writers, in Pricaeus.
On fjioi^eveiv with the accusative, comp. Plato, Eep. p. 360 B.
eTTiOvpeiv] with the accusative, is rare and late. Comp.
Ex. xx. 17 ; Deut. v. 20 ; Judith xvi. 22 ; see Winer, p. 192
[E. T. 255]. Even if avrrfv were spurious, it could not be
explained with Fritzsche : " ut adsit mutua cupiditas."
Ver. 29. 1 Unconditional self-denial, however, is required in
order not to stumble against the prohibition of adultery in its
complete meaning, and thereby to fall into hell. Better for
thee that thou decidedly 'deprive thyself of that which is so
dear and indispensable to thee for the temporal life, and the
sacrificing of which will be still so painful to thee, than that
thou, seduced thereby, and so on. In the typical expression
of this thought (comp. on Col. iii. 5) the eye and hand are
named, because it is precisely these that are the media, of lust ;
and the right members, because to these the popular idea gave
the superiority over the left, Ex. xxix. 20 ; 1 Sam. xi. 2 ;
Zech. xi. 17; Aristotle, 'de animal, incessu, iv. The non-
typical but literal interpretation (Pricaeus, Fritzsche, likewise
Ch. F. Fritzsche in his Nov. Opusc. p. 347 f., Arnoldi) is not
in keeping with the spirit of the moral strictness of Jesus ; and
to help it out by supplying a limitation (perhaps in the extreme
case, to which, however, it cannot come ; comp. Tholuck) is
arbitrary. The view, however, which is, indeed, also the
proper one, but hyperbolical, according to which the plucking
out is said to represent only the restraining or limiting the use,
does not satisfy the strength of the expression. So Olshausen,
comp. already Grotius. Only the typical view, which is also
placed beyond doubt by the mention of the one eye, satisfies
the words and spirit of Jesus. Yet, having regard to the
plastic nature of the figures, it is not the thought " as is done
to criminals " (Keim), but merely that of thoroughgoing, un-
sparing self-discipline (Gal. v. 24, vi. 14; Eom. viii. 13).
a typical designation, borrowed from a trap
and <rKavSa\.edpov, the trap- spring), of the idea of
1 Comp. xviii. 8 f. ; Mark ix. 43 ff. Holtzmann assigns the original form to
Mark. On the other hand, see Weiss.
CHAP. v. si. 183
seducing to unbelief, heresy, sin, etc. Here it is the latter
idea. The word is not found in Greek writers, but in the
LXX. and Apocrypha, and very frequently in the N. T.
Observe the present. What is required is not to take place
only after the completion of the seduction. <rvij,<j>epei yap
(TO i, iva, /C.T.X.] not even here, as nowhere indeed, does tva stand
instead of the infinitive (comp. xviii. 6), but is to be taken as
teleological : " it is of importance to thee (this plucking out of
the eye), in order that one of tliy members may be destroyed,
and not thy whole body be cast into hell" Thus Fritzsche alone
correctly ; comp. Kauffer. The alleged forced nature of this
explanation is a deception arising from the customary usage of
the infinitive in German. Kal /AT; o\ov . . . yeevvav] namely,
at the closely impending establishment of the kingdom ; comp.
x. 28. Ver. 30 is the same thought, solemnly repeated,
although not quite in the same words (see the critical re-
marks). " Sane multos unius membri neglecta mortificatio
perdit," Bengel.
Ver. 31 f. 1 In Deut. xxiv. 1 there is stated as a reason for
the dismissal which is to be carried out, "i^J nny, something hate-
fid, loathsome (see Ewald, Alterthum. p. 272 ; Keil, Archdol.
II. p. 74 f . ; Gesenius, Thes. II. p. 1068). This was explained
by the strict Eabbi Sammai .and his adherents as referring to
adultery and other unchaste behaviour; but the gentle Eabbi
Hillel and his school as referring to everything in general that
displeased the husband (Josephus, Antt. iv. 8. 23 ; Vita, 76).
Lightfoot, p. 2 73 ff. ; Ewald, Jahrb. X. p. 56 ff., 81. Eabbi
Abika went still further, who allowed dismissal if the husband
found a more beautiful woman ; see Wetstein. To these and
other (see Othonis, Lex. Edbb. p. 504) ill-considered principles
for Hillel's doctrine had become the prevalent one Christ
1 The assertion that, if Jesus had delivered this declaration here, the dis-
cussion regarding divorce in .ch. xix. could not have taken place (Kb'stlin,
p. 47; Holtzmann, p. 176f.), has no foundation, especially as in xix. 3, Mark
x. 2, the discussion is called forth by the Pharisees ; comp. Weiss. Olshausen
and Bleek also find in ch. xix. the historical position for the declaration, which
Hilgenfeld regards as a non-original appendix to what precedes ; which is also
substantially the judgment of Eitschl, who regards the metabatic 2 in ver. 31
as introducing an objection to vv. 29, 30.
184 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
opposes Himself, and draws out from the original and inmost
nature of marriage (comp. xix. 4 ff.) a firm rule, preserv-
ing the sanctity of the idea, and admitting only that as a
ground of separation by which the nature of marriage and its
obligations is, as a matter of fact, directly and immediately
destroyed. 1 aTroXver^] not repudiare constituent (Fritzsche
after Grotius), but will have dismissed. In this is implied the
oral declaration of dismissal, the accomplishment of which as
a fact is to take place by means of a letter of divorce. The
command to give the letter of divorce, moreover, the use of
which was already in existence before the law, is only indi-
rectly implied in Dent. xxiv. 1 ; comp. on xix. 7. The Greek
expression for the dismissal of the woman is aTroTrepTretv,
Bekker, Anecd. p. 421 ; Bremi, ad Dem. adv. Onetor. iv. p. 92.
On the wanton practice of the Greeks in this matter, see
Hermann, Privatalterth. 30. aTrovTaffiov] departure, that
is, by means of a f3if3\lov aiToa-rao-iov, Deut. xxiv. 1 ; Matt,
xix. 7; Mark x. 4; Jer. iii. 8. In Demosthenes, 790. 2,
940. 15, it is the desertion of his master, contrary to duty,
by a manumitted slave; Hermann, I.e., 57. 17. The
formula of the letter of divorce, see in Alphes. in Gittin, f. 600;
in Lightfoot, p. 277. The object of the same was to prove
that the marriage had been legally dissolved, and that it was
competent to enter into a second marriage with another man
(Ewald, I.e.}. Observe, moreover, how the saying of the
scribes, which has been quoted, is a mutilation of the legal
precept, which had become traditional in the service of their
lax principles, as if it, beside the arbitrary act of the man,
were merely a question of the formality of the letter of divorce.
Ver. 32. Hape/cro? \6yov iropv^] that is, except (see on
2 Cor. xi. 28) if an act of whoredom, committed by the woman
during marriage (consequently adultery, John viii. 41 ; Amos
vii. 17; Hos. iii. 3; Sir. xxvi. 9, xiv. 12), is the motive
(Xo705, comp. Thuc. i. 102, iii. 6, Ixi. 4; and see on Acts
x. 2 9). In spite of the point of controversy which lies at the
foundation, Paulus and Gratz are of opinion most recently
especially, Dollinger, Christenthum und Kirche, p. 392ff.,
1 Comp. Harless, Eheschddungsfrage, p. 17ff.
CHAP. V. 32. 185
460 ff., ed. 2 (comp. Baeumlein in the Stud, und Krit. 1857,
p. 336) that by tropveia, which does not mean adultery, 1
whoredom before marriage is meant, so that the man, instead
of a virgin, receives one who is no longer so. 2 The correct
view is already to- be found in Tertullian, and in the whole
old exegetical tradition, where, however, on the Catholic side,
the permission was limited only to- separation a toro et mensa.
On the subject, comp. the explanation which was specially
called forth on a later occasion, xix. 3 ff. But in Mark x. 11,
Luke xvi. 18 (also 1 Cor. vii. 10 f.), this exception is not
expressed, not as if Jesus had at the beginning made greater
concessions to the pre-Christian Jewish marriages, and only at
a later time completely denied the dissolubility of marriage
(Hug, de conjugii christ. vinculo indissolub. 1816, who therefore
declares, in xix. 9, prj eVt iropveia to be spurious), nor even as
if that TrapetcTos, /c.r.X., were a later modification, and not
originally spoken by Christ (Bleek, Wittiehen, Weiss, Holtz-
mann, Schenkel, and others), but Mark and Luke regard this
exception by itself, understanding it as a matter of course ; and
rightly so, 8 since adultery eo ipso destroys the essence of all
marriage obligations ; comp. Weiss in d. Zeitschr. f. christl.
Wissensch. 1856, p. 261. But as the exception which Jesus
1 It means in general every kind of whoredom (Dem. 403. 26, 433. 25, 612. 5).
Where it specially refers to adultery (^ai^ila,) this is clear from the context, as
here and xix. 9. Thus, for example, it means also the idolatry of the people of
God, because that is adultery against Jehovah r #pn!ee, as in Hos. i. 2 ; Ezek.
xvi. 15, xxiii. 43.
* How can one seriously suppose that Jesus could have laid down so slippery
an exception ! indelicate, uncertain, unwise, a welcome opening to all kinds of
severity and chicanery, especially considering the jealousy of the Jews. And
the exception would have to hold good also in the case of marriages with
widows !
3 But by the circumstance that Jesus here expressly quotes as an exception
this actual ground of separation, which was understood as a matter of course,
He excludes every other (comp. especially Caloviusy ; and it is incorrect to
say that, while He grants one actual ground of separation, He still allows
several others (Grotius, de Wette, Bleek, and others; comp. also Werner
in d. Stud. u. Krit. 1858, p. 702 ff.), which is quite opposed to the point of
view of moral strictness, from which He excepts only that case in which the
actual dissolution of the marriage in its innermost nature is directly given.
That Christ bases His answer on the question of divorce purely upon the nature
of the divine ordinance of marriage as it was already given at the creation (una
186 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
here makes cannot become devoid of meaning by 'means of
Lev. xx. 10 (in answer to Schegg, see John viii. 3 ff.), so also
it is not to be annulled on critical grounds, which in view of
the witnesses is impossible (in answer to Keim here and on
xix. 9). The second half of the verse also, teal .09, K.T.\., cannot
be condemned with Keim on the authority of D and Codd. in
Augustine. iroiel avrrjv ft,oi^aff6ai\ "per alias nuptias,
quarum potestatem dat divortium" (Bengel), although, ac-
cording to that principle, she is still the wife of the first
husband ; therefore the man also, if he marries again, fiot^aTat
(xix. 9). /cot] not causal, but and, and on the other side.
f^oi^drai] because he has intercourse with a person who,
according to the divine law, is the wife of another. That by
a7ro\\viJ,evr}v, a woman who is dismissed illegally, consequently
not on account of adultery, is intended, was understood as a
matter of course, according to the first half of the verse.
Ver. 33. TlaKiv] as in iv. ,7. OVK eTriopKrja-eis] Doc-
trinal precept, according to Ex. xx. 7; Lev. xix. 12. It is
not to the eighth commandment that Jesus refers (Keim,
following an artificially formed scheme), but the second com-
mandment forms the fundamental prohibition of perjury.
The Pharisaic tradition made arbitrary distinctions between
oaths that were binding (by Jehovah) and those that were not
binding (coinp. also Philo, de Spec. Legg. p. 770 A). See Light-
caro, ix. 5), not upon its object, is of decisive importance for the legislation in
question, where we have also to observe that the altered form of divorce (the
judicial) can make no change in the principles laid down by Jesus. Otherwise
the legislation relating to marriage is driven on and on, by way of supposed
consistency, to the laxity of the Prussian law .and that of other lands (comp. the
concessions of Bleek). Moreover, as regards malicious desertion, the declarations
of Christ admit of application only so far as that desertion quoad formam, con-
sequently according to its essential nature, is fully equivalent to adultery,
which, however, must always be a question in each individual case. It cannot
be shown from 1 Cor. ix. 15 that malicious desertion .was regarded as a reason
for dissolving Christian marriage. See on the passage. Of that case of separa-
tion, where the man commits adultery, Christ does not speak, because the law,
which does not know of any dismissal of the man on the part of the woman,
presented no occasion to it. But the application of the principle in the case of
adultery on the part of the woman to that of the man as a ground of divorce
rightly follows in accordance with the moral spirit of Jesus ; comp. Mark x. 12 ;
GaL iii. 28 ; 1 Cor. xi. 11.
CHAP. V. 34 -?6. 187
foot, p. 280 ; Eisenmenger, II. p. 490 ; Wetstein on ver. 36 ;
Michaelis, Mos. Recht,\. p. 141 ff., upon their loose principles
regarding this matter. The second half of the precept quoted
(formulated after Num. xxx. 3 ; Deut. xxxiii. 22) was so
weakened by them, that special emphasis was laid upon the
words TcS Kvpiw, and other oaths were deprived of their
obligatory powers.
Vv. 34-36. My opoa-ai oXta?] to swear not at all (the
adverb placed emphatically at the end, compare ii. 10), de-
pendent upon \ejd) vfj,tv (comp. Plat. Phaed. p. 5 9 E, Menex.
240 A), in which the command is implied (Jacobs, ad Anthol.
X. p. 200; Kiihner, ad Anal. v. 7. 34; Wunder, ad Soph.
0. C. 837), interdicts all kinds of swearing in general; 1 not
merely that of common life, which is at variance with reverence
for God (Luther, Calvin, Calovius, Bengel, Fritzsche, Ewald,
Tholuck, Harless, Hilgenfeld, Keim, and others), nor even
merely oaths regarded " ex Judaeorum sensu " (thus Matthaei,
doctrina Christi dejurejur. Hal. 1847). The simple prohibition,
given, however, to the disciples, and for the life of fellowship
of true believers, and in so far not less ideal than the require-
ments that have preceded, appears from the words themselves
(comp. Jas. v. 12), and also from ver. 37. Christianity as it
should be according to the will of Christ, should know no oath
at all : TO fir) oftvveiv oX<u<? eTrtreti/et fiaXiara rrjv eixrefieiav,
Euth. Zigabenus. To the consciousness of the Christian, God
should always be so vividly present, that, to him and others
in the Christian community, his yea and nay are, in point of
reliability, equivalent to an oath. His yea and nay are oath
enough. Comp. on oXa>9, prorsus ( = TrayreXw?, Hesychius),
Xen. Mem,, i. 2. 35 : Trpoayopevofjuev rot? i/eot? 0X0)9 ^ Sia\ey-
1 Comp. West in the Stud. u. Krtt. 1852, p. 221 ff. ; Nitzsch, christl. Lehre,
p. 393 ff. ; Werner in the Stud. u. Krit. 1858, p. 711 ff. ; Wuttke, Sittenl. II.
277 ; Acheiis in the Stud. u. Krit. 1867, p. 436 ff. Jerome had already re-
marked, with striking simplicity : " evangelica veritas non recipit juramentunv
cum omnis sermo fidelis pro jurejurando sit. " The emphatic clas forbids, how-
ever, the limitation only to the forms of the oath that are afterwards mentioned
(Althaus in d. Luther. Zeitschr. 1868, p. 504, and already Theophylact, 1), so
that the oath by the name of God would remain unaifected ; in like manner, the
restriction of the prohibition to promissory oaths (Ficker in the same Zeitsclir.
1870, p. 633 ff., and already Grotius).
188 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ecrOai, Oecon. xx. 20. Accordingly, it is only in the incom-
plete temporal condition of Christianity, as well as in the
relation to the world in which it is placed, and to the existing
relations of the department of public law, to which it conforms
itself, that the oath has its necessary, indeed (comp. Heb.
vi. 1 6), but conditional and temporary existence. Christ Him-
self has sworn (xxvi. 63 f.) ; Paul has frequently sworn (Eom.
i. 9 ; 2 Cor. i. 23, xi. 3f.; Gal. ii. 20 ; Phil. i. 8); nay, God
swears to His own people (Gen. xxii. 1 6, xxvi. 3 ; Num.
xiv. 23 ; Isa. xlv. 23 ; Luke i. 73 ; Acts vii. 17 ; Heb. vi. 13).
Therefore Anabaptists and Quakers are wrong in rejecting an
oath without any exception, as was already done by Justin,
Irenaeus, Clement, Origen, Chrysostom, Jerome, and other
Fathers. The various but altogether arbitrary explanations
of those who here recognise no absolute prohibition may be
seen in Tholuck. The direct oath, by God, is not indeed ex-
pressly mentioned along with others in what follows ; its pro-
hibition, however, is implied, just as a matter of course, and
entirely, first of all in the general fivj ofioa-at 0X009, as it is
the reference to God which constitutes precisely the funda-
mental conception and nature of the oath, and, as in the
doctrine here discussed, ver. 33, the direct oath is contained
not only in OVK eViop/e., according to Lev. xix. 12, but also
expressly in aTroSeoo-et? T<J> Kvplw, etc. If Christ, therefore,
had intended to forbid merely the oaths of common life, He
would, instead of the altogether general statement, ^ o/j,6<rat
o\&)?, have made use of a form of expression excluding oaths to
be taken in relation to the magistracy (probably by a Tra/oe/cro?,
as in ver. 32). It is true, indeed, that in the special pro-
hibitions which follow, He mentions only indirect oaths,
consequently not those that are valid in a court of justice,
but just because the prohibition of the direct oath was already
contained in ^ O/AOO-. oX9, first of all and before all other
kinds of oaths ; and His object now is simply to set forth that
even indirect swearing fell under the general prohibition of
swearing. And He sets this forth in such a way, that in so
doing the prohibition of the direct oath forms the presupposition
of His demonstration, as it could not otherwise be expected
CHAP. V. 3-1-26. 189
after yJr] opcxrai 0X0)9. Wl.at a scanty TrA^poxn? of the law
and one altogether out of keeping with the ideal character
of the points which preceded would it have been had Jesus
only intended to say : I forbid you " the wanton oaths of the
streets, of the markets" (Keim), in all their forms! ^77 re
ev rc5 ovp., /C.T.X.] not to swear in general, nor (specially) by
heaven, nor by earth. See on /i^ ... /LM?T, Klotz, ad Devar.
p. 709 ; Kiihner, II. 2, p. 828 f. ; Winer, p. 454 [E. T. 612];
also Baeumlein, Part. p. 222. The kinds of swearing cen-
sured by Jesus were very common amongst the Jews ; Philo,
de Spec. Legg. p. 770 A; Lightfoot, I.e. ; Meuschen, N. T. ex
Talm. illustr. p. 58. Opov-os 6eov and viroTroBiov . . . avrov]
(Isa. Ixvi. 1 ; Matt, xxiii 22). rov pey. /3a<r.] of Jehovah
(Ps. xlviii. 2, xcv. 4 ; Job xiii. 1 8 ff. : therefore the holy city,
iv. 5). fj.rjre 1 ev ry /ce^aA,?}] Not merely the Jews (Bera-
choth, f. iii 2 ; Lightfoot, Hor. p. 281), but also the heathen
(Eur. Eel. 835), swore ly their head. Dougtius, Anal. II.
p. 7 f. ; Wetstein on the passage. Comp. the exposition of
Virg. Aen. ix. 300. f>fj,vveiv is by the Greek writers con-
nected with Kara 711/09, or with the accus. (Jas. v. 1 2). Here,
as in xxiii. 1 6 f., Jer. v. 7, Dan. xii. 7, with ev (in harmony
with the idea that the oath cleaves to the object appealed to,
comp. on 6/j,o\oyetv ev, x. 32), and with' 6*9 (directing the
thought; comp. Plut. Oth. 18), after the; Hebrew '3 ???.
or i ov SvvcKrai, tf.T,X.]/0r thou art not in a condition to
make, one. single hair (if it is black) white or (if it is white)
Hack. There is, of course, no allusion to the dyeing of hair.
Wolf, Kocher, Kuinoel, and others incorrectly render it : thou
canst not produce a single white or black hair. On such a
signification, what means the mention of the colour \ The
meaning of the whole passage is : " Ye shall not swear by all
Vt were here the reading (Fritzsche), then the 'meaning would be: not
even by thy head ; see Hartung, Partik. I. ,p. 196. But this reading is neither
critically admissible as it has only $$** in its favour nor exegetically neces-
sary, since the series of negations is symmetrically continued with p*Tt i r.
i<p. <r., which symmetry is not interrupted by oft,a<rs, because the latter does not
stand before r* *ip. <r. Matthew might have written p*>$i (comp. also Borne-
mann, ad Xen. Anab. iii. 2. 27; Ellendt, Lex, Soph. II. p. 123), but he was
not obliged to do so.
190 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
these objects; for all such oaths are nothing less than the oath
directly by God Himself, on account of the relation in which
those objects stand to God." In the creature by which thou
swearest, its Creator and Lord is affected.
Ver. 37. Let your manner of asseveration be affirmation or
negation, without an oath. The repetition of the vat and ov is
intended to make prominent the earnest and decisive nature
of the assurance. 1 Similar examples of jn }n and N^ N^ in the
Eabbins, in Lightfoot, and Schoettgen, p. 41. Comp. the val
teal ov IIvdayopcKov in Ausonius, Idyll. 17: "Si consentitur,
mora nulla intervenit est est; Si controversum, dissensio sub-
jiciet non." As a matter of course, by this representation
other asseverations made, however, without an oath are not
excluded. TO 8e Trepia-a: TOUT.] whatever is more than yea
and nay (TOVTWV), that is swearing. e'/c TOV Trovrjpov] Euth.
Zigabenus : e' TOV Sia(3o\ov : auctorem habet diabolum. So
Chrysostom, Theophylact, Beza, Zwingli, Castalio, Piscator,
Wetstein, and others; also Fritzsche, Keim. Comp. John
viii 44; 1 John iii. 8, 12. Others (Luther, Calovius, Bengel,
Bosenmiiller, Kuinoel, Paulus, Tholuck, de Wette, Baumgarten
Crusius, Ewald, Bleek, and others) take TOV Tr&vrjpov as neuter,
so that it would have to be explained : is in the category of
evil, is sinful. Comp. the use of eVe ToO ejAffravovs, e/c TOU evTrpe-
7ro{9, etc., Matthiae, p. 1334. But how insipid and devoid
of meaning is the closing thought if this be the meaning !
how energetic if o Trowjpos, xiii. 19, 38, is intended ! And
by this energetic rejection of the oath amongst the ideal
people of God, to whom the completed law applies, there is no
opposition to the Old Testament sacredness of an oath. But
if under the completed law the mere yea and nay are to have
1 In answer to Beza's erroneous explanation, " let your affirmative discourse
be yea, and your negative, nay;" and, in answer to Grotius (comp. also Eras-
mus), who takes the second vz/ and oS to refer to the act which corresponds to
the assurance, so that the meaning would be: " fidem a nobis praestari debere in
promissis etiam injuratis," see Fritzsche on the passage. According to Hilgen-
feld, the original text is said to have been, in accordance with the quotations in
Justin (Apol. i. 16, p. 63) and the Clementines (Rom. iii. 55, xix. 2) : IO-TU Si
i[j.ui re J a,i, *at TO eS ell. Comp. Jas. v. 12 ; 2 Cor. i. 17. Matthew would
appear again to introduce an assurance like an oath. Keim also deems the form
of statement as given by Matthew to be less correct.
CHAP. V. 38. 191
the weight and reliability of an oath, then this highest moral
standard and ordinance of truthfulness would be again taken
away and perverted by him who nevertheless should swear ;
while the yea and nay would again be deprived of the
guarantee of truthfulness, which, like all opposition to the
truth, -would be diabolical (John viii. 44). The oath by God
could not be rejected by Jesus, in and ~by itself, as etc rov
Trowrjpov, for it certainly rests upon the divine law ; but (in
answer to Keim) it has, upon the standpoint of the TrX^pwo-t?
of the law, given way to the yea and nay, therefore its re-
establishment would only be a desertion of these higher stages,
a falling away from the moral TeXeiorr)?, up to which Christ
means to fulfil the law. This could not proceed from God,
but only from the enemy of His will and kingdom. In a
similar way, as Theophylact rightly saw, circumcision in the
0. T. is ordained of God, and is worthy of honour ; but to
uphold its validity in Christianity to the injury of faith, and
of righteousness by- faith, is sinful, devilish; 2 Cor. xi. 3, 14.
So also with sacrifices, festival days, prohibition of meats, and
so on.
Ver. 38. 'O(f)0a\/j,bv . . . oSovTo<j] supply Staa-ei, which sup-
plement is presupposed as well known from the saying referred
to (see Ex. xxi. 24). In the usual formula (comp. also Lev.
xxii. 20, xxiv. 20 ; Deut. xix. 21) is expressed the jus talionis,
the carrying out of which was assigned to the magistracy
(comp. XII. Tab. : " si membrum rupit, ni cum eo pacit, talio
esto"). Instead of seeking and asserting this right before
the magistracy, the Christian, in the feeling of true brotherly
love, free from all desire of revenge, is to exercise self-denial,
and to exhibit a self-sacrificing spirit of concession. Comp.
1 Cor. vi. *7. This principle of Christian morality, laid down
absolutely as an ideal, by no means excludes, under the deter-
mining circumstances of sinful life, the duty of seeking one's
legal rights, as is clear, moreover, from the history of Christ
and His apostles. That Jesus, moreover, is speaking against
the misuse by the Pharisees of the legal standard, as a standard
within the sphere of social life, is a groundless supposition of
Luther, Beza, Calvin, Calovius, Bengel, B. Crusius, Keim, and
192 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
others, especially as in ver. 40 KptOfjvcu, follows. But certainly
the Pharisees may, unlovingly enough, in cases occurring in
social life, have claimed those rights before the magistracy,
and have influenced others also to practise similar unloving
conduct. Glosses in reference to the payment in money of
legal tcdio, see in Lightfoot.
Vv. 39, 40. To> TrovTjptp] is neither to be understood of
the devil (Chrysostom, Theophylact), nor, as neuter (Augustine,
Luther, Castalio, Calvin, Ewald, and others), of injustice ; but,
in accordance with the .antithesis aXV oo-u9 ere pairL&i, etc.,
and with vv. 40 and 41 : homini maligno. Christ names
first the right cheek, although the blow most naturally strikes
first the left, but after the common fashion of naming
the left after the right. KpiQr\vaC\ to go to law.. Vulgate
well renders : in judicio contendere. Comp. on 1 Cor. vi. 1 ;
Eom. iii. 4 ; and see Wetstein, Nagelsbach on the Iliad, p.
305, ed. 3. It refers to legal controversy, not to the extra-
judicial beginnings of contention (de Wette ; also Beza, Grotius,
Kuinoel, and others), by which the distinction between the
two cases, vv. 39 and 40, is quite overlooked. xtrcova]
rohs, the shirt-like under-garment, tunica ; on the other hand,
ifidriov] '"WB>, "U3, the mantle-like over-garment, toga, which
also served for a covering by night, and might not therefore be
retained as a pledge over night ; Ex. xxii. 26 ; Deut. xxiv. 13.
The indnov was more valuable .and more indispensable than
the ^trow; that is the point which, according to Matthew,
Jesus has in view. It is different in Luke vi. 29 (according
to the order of succession in covering the body). \a(3elv]
by the lawsuit, which follows from xpiOfjvat ; whilst the
pettiness of the object is not opposed to this, seeing that the
method of illustration is by way of concrete example.
Ver. 41. 'Ayyapeveiv, passed over from the Persian (see
Gesenius, Thes. I. p. 23) into Greek, Latin (angariare, Vul-
gate, Augustine, ep. 5), and into the Rabbinical dialect (Np.33K,
Buxtorf, Lex. Rabb. p. 131 ; Lightfoot on the passage), to force
into transport service. The Persian arrangements respecting
post messages, instituted by Cyrus, justified the couriers
(ayyapoi) in making requisitions from station to station of
CHAP. V. 42. 193
men, or cattle, or carriages for the carrying on of their
journey, Herodotus, viii. 98 ; Xenoph. Cyrop. viii. 6. 17 ;
Josephus, Antt. xii. 2. 3. See Dougtius, Anal. II. p. 9 f.
Here it refers to continuing a forced journey, comp. xxvii. 32.
/ttt'Xtai/] One thousand steps, or eight stadia, one-fourth of
a German mile. A .late word found in Strabo.
REMARK. The spirit of the ethics of Jesus, His own example
(John xviii. 22 f.) and that of the apostles (Acts xxiii. 3, xvi.
35, xxvi. 25, xxv. 9 f.), require us to recognise, in these mani-
festly typical representations, vv. 39-41, not precepts to be
literally followed, but precepts which are certainly to be deter-
mined according to their idea. This idea, which is that of love,
yielding and putting to shame in the spirit of self-denial, and
overcoming evil with good, is concretely represented in those
examples, but has, in the relations of external life and its in-
dividual cases, the measure and the limitation of its moral
practice. Comp. on ver. 38. Luther appropriately lays emphasis
here upon the distinction between what the Christian has to do
as a Christian, and what as a .worldly person (in so far as he
is in a position or an office, and so on). The Lord leaves to the
state its, own jurisdiction, xxii. 21.
Ver. 42. A precept (in opposition to selfishness) which does
not stand indeed in essential connection with what precedes,
but which is still brought into connection with it through the
natural connection of the thoughts. According to Ewald,
who here lays weight (Jahrb. I. p. 132 f.) upon the number
seven in the quotations of the 0. T. laws, there must have stood
after ver. 41 in the original collection of sayings the following
words : rjicovcrare, OTI epprj&y ov /cXe\Jreis, aTroS&Jcrei? 8e TO
lfj,driov TO) TTTtw^o!/ lyo> Se Xeyw vjjuv' ry alrovvri, and so on,
and then, ver. 40. The command that is wanting was put
together from Ex. xx. 15 ; Deut. xxiv. 12 f. A very thought-
ful conjecture, which is followed by Holtzmann ; but unneces-
sary, for this reason, that the contents and order of the
sentences, vv. 40-42, attach themselves to one funda-
mental thought ; and improbable, because not merely an omis-
sion, but also a transposition, is assumed, and because rot
alrovvri, /c.r.X., does not correspond to the prohibition of
MATT. N
194 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
thieving as its fulfilment. Saveta:] That Jesus did not think
of lending out at interest, appears from Ex. xxii. 24 ; Lev.
xxv. 37 ; Deut. xv. 7, xxiii. 20 ; Ewald, Alterthumer, p.
242 f. [E. T. 181].
Ver. 43. Tov 7rXi/erioz> crov] In Lev. xix. 18, ^JH denotes
a member of the nation, whereby the proselyte also is included
with others ; hatred towards the heathen, however, is not con-
ceived of by the legislator as an antithesis that follows of
itself, and therefore we may all the less assume that Jesus
Himself introduced into the law hatred of one's enemies, as an
abstraction from the national exclusiveness, in which the law
keeps Judaism towards heathenism, as if it commanded this
hatred (Weiss, Bleek). The casuistic tradition of the Pharisees,
however, explained Lev. xix. 18, as the antithetical f. fydpov a-.
shows, of a friend, and deduced therefrom (perhaps with the
addition of passages like Deut. xxv. 1719, comp. Mai. i. 3)
the antithesis (which confessedly was also a principle of the
common Hellenism), see Stallbaum, ad Plat. Phil. 110, p. 154 ;
Jacobs, ad Del. epigr. p. 144 : KOI fjLia-ija-ei*) rov e%6p6v aov, by
which was meant not the national enemy (Keim), but the
personal (<rov) private enemy, in opposition to the law (Ex.
xxiii. 4 f. ; Lev. xix. 18) and to the pious spirit of the Old
Covenant (Ps. vii. 5, xxxv. 13 f. ; Job xxxi. 29 ; Prov. xxiv.
17, 29, xxv. 21 f . ; comp. Gen. xlv. 1 ; 1 Sam. xxiv. 7,
xviii. 5 ; 2 Kings vi. 22). Jesus Himself also may have
understood the Pharisaic addition only to refer to private
enemies, as is clear from His antithesis, w. 44 ff.
Ver. 44. Observe the entire love which is here required :
disposition, word, act, intercession ; " primo fere continetur
tertium, et secundum quarto " (Bengel). But it is as a<yairav
(to esteem highly], not as $i\eiv (amare), that we are required
to love our enemy. Comp. on John xi. 5. It rests upon the
clearness and strength of the moral will to separate between
the person of the enemy and his hostile disposition towards
us, so that the latter does not prevent us from esteeming the
former, from blessing it, and applying to it acts of kindness and
intercession. The Christian receives this moral clearness and
strength, and the consecration of enthusiasm thereto, in his
CHAP. V. 45, 46. 195
self-experience of the divine love of one's enemy in Christ
(xviii. 21 if. ; Eph. iv. 32 ; Phil. ii. 1 f . ; 1 John iv. 10 f.).
Ver. 45. "OTTW? yevrja-Be viol, AC.T.X.] is commonly under-
stood, in keeping with the ort, rov rfkiov, AC.T.X., that follows, of
the ethical condition of similarity to God, according to which
the child of God also exhibits in himself the divine disposition
and the divine conduct (Eph. v. 1 f,). But the correct inter-
pretation is given by ver. 9, and is supported by yevrj^Be (for
yivea-Ocu is never equivalent to elvai). What is meant is, as
in ver. 9, the obtaining of the coming salvation in the kingdom
of the Messiah, which, according to the connection, as in ver. 9,
is designated as the future sonship of God, because the partici-
pators in the Messianic blessedness must necessarily be of the
same moral nature with God as the original type of love ;
therefore the words that follow, and ver. 48. rov ev ovpav.]
See on vi. 9. As to the thought, comp. Seneca, de lenef. iv. 26 :
" Si deos imitaris, da et ingratis beneficia ; nam et sceleratis
sol oritur, et piratis patent maria." o-rt] is not equivalent
to 09, but the simple as (for), stating that 6Vo>9 yevqaBe viol,
K.T.\., is rightly said. Fritzsche here inappropriately (comp.
already Bengel) drags in the usage of et<? etcelvo OTI (see on
John ii. 18, ix. 17, etc.). avare\\et] transitive, Horn.
II. v. 777; Find. Isthm. vi. 5, v. Ill; Soph. Phil 1123 ;
Diod. Sic. xvii. 7 ; LXX. Gen. iii. 1 8 ; Sir. xxxvii. 1 7 ;
Clem. Cor. I. 20. rov ri\io-v avrov] " Magnifica appel-
latio ; ipse et fecit solern et gubernat et habet in sua unius
potestate" (Bengel). The goodness of God towards His
enemies (sinners) Jesus makes His believers feel .by the
experimental proof of His all good administration in nature
a proof which, like every one derived a posteriori in favour
of a single divine attribute, is, on account of opposing ex-
periences (God also destroys the good and the evil through
natural manifestations), in itself insufficient, but, in popular
instruction, has its proper place, and is of assured efficacy,
with the same right as the special consideration of individual
divine attributes in general.
Ver. 46. Argumentum e contrario in favour of the command
to love one's enemy ; for the mere love of one's friend belongs
196 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
to no higher stage of moral life than that of the publicans and
heathens. In what follows neither is a povov to be supplied
after TOW? a^air. u^ta?, nor is e^ere to be taken for l^ere (both
in answer to Kuinoel and others). Jesus opposes the doctrine,
" Love them wJw love you" and views the reward, as in ver. 12,
vi. 1, as a possession, preserved in heaven with God, to be
realized in the kingdom of the future. ol re\u>vai] the tax-
gatherers (partly natives, partly Romans), who were employed
in the service of the Koman knights, who farmed the revenues.
They were generally greatly hated amongst the Jews on
account of their severity and avarice, especially, however, for
being the servants of the Roman power. Wetstein on the
passage ; Keirn, II. p. 217 f.
Ver. 47. And if ye shall 1mm welcomed your brethren alone
(saluted them lovingly), what special thing have you done 3
The conception, " to act in a friendly manner " (Luther,
Tholuck, Bleek, Hofmann), is not the significatio, but certainly
the adsignificatio of aafrd^eaOai, as often in classic writers.
Comp. atnrd&ffdai KOI </>tXe>, Stallbaum, ad Plat. Ap. p. 2 9 D,
and Rep. 499 A. rot's d8e\^>. vpuiv povov] is not to be
limited to the members of families and other close associations
(Tholuck and others), as was already done by the reading
<f)[\ov<j, approved of by Griesbach ; but it refers to the members
of the nation, and applies to the national particularism of the
Jews ; consequently the national antithesis is ol cOvtKol.
Comp. Bleek. rl irepia-crov} what preference? what dis-
tinguishes you above others, "ut decet filios Dei," BengeL
Comp. Eom. iii. 1 ; Soph. 0. R. 841. Instead of rl irepia-
aov, Justin, Apol. i. 15, quotes rl icaivov, which substantially
agrees with rl Trepicro-ov, and belongs only to another form of
the idea, not to a higher point of view (Hilgeufeld). See
Eitschl in the Theol. Jahrb. 1851, p. 490 f.
Ver. 48. "Ea-ecrBe] imperatively. ovv] draws a deduction
from vv. 44-47, where the emphatic t>/u,ets forms the sublime
antithesis to the last-mentioned publicans and heathens. The
highest summary of the unending obligation of Christian love.
re\ioi] ev fir)8evl XetTro/tevot, Jas. i. 4. Euth. Zigabenus
well remarks : ol /j.ev dya7rvre<; rov<? dycnrwvTas
CHAP. V. 48. 197
el<riv els ayaTTijv : oi Be rov<; e^Opovs, ovrot
Comp. Luther : " after the example of the heavenly Father,
who does not piece nor divide His love," and already Ignatius,
ad Philad., interpol. 3. Thus the closing admonition stands
in close relation to what precedes. Others (Beza, Fritzsche,
Kuinoel, Ewald, who also regards vii. 12 as originally belong-
ing to this passage) : integri, sine vitiis in general, without
exclusive reference to the commandment of love. They con-
sider the verse as the top-stone of the whole discourse, directed
from ver. 20 onwards against the Pharisees. But this anti-
Pharisaic tendency is still continued also in ch. vi., and the
pointing to the example of God would at least not be appro-
priate to vv. 27 ff. and to 31 ff. axnrep] equality of the
moral modality, ver. 45, by which the relation of the adequate
degree is not required, and yet the ideal task, the obligation of
which is never exhausted (Eom. xiii. 8 ff.), is for ever made
sure. Observe, moreover, how this wcnrep corresponds, indeed,
to the Platonic conception of virtue (oftotovcrOcu TU> 0ee5) ; the
latter, however, is surpassed, on the one side, by the specific
requirement of love as similarity to God ; and, on the other,
by the idea of God as the heavenly Father.
198 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTER VI.
VER. 1. After vpoa's^. Tisch. inserts 8t, no doubt only in con-
formity with L Z X, Curss. Verss. ; yet correctly, inasmuch as ds
would be readily omitted from its coming immediately after
the syllable TE, and from its reference not being noticed.
dtxaioavvqv] Elz. Matth. Scholz have eXiri/ioewr.v, against B D K,
1, 209, 217, It. (Brix. excepted) Vulg. Or. and some other
Fathers. A false gloss. Ver. 4. auT6$] not found in B K L
U Z K, Curss. Vulg. It. Copt. Syr cur and several Fathers. It
seemed superfluous, and was accordingly omitted, and that all
the more readily that it is likewise wanting in vv. 6, 18. Can-
celled by Fritzsche, Lachm. and Tisch. 8. <ro/] Elz. Griesb.
Matth. Scholz add lv r& <pavtp&, which is not found in B D Z N,
Curss. Codd. gr. in Aug. Syr cur Copt. Vulg. and several Fathers.
Also in the case of ver. 6, the testimonies in favour of omitting
are essentially the same ; while, as regards ver. 1 8, the testimony
for excluding is far more decided. It should be retained in
vv. 4 and 6, but in ver. 1 8 it is an interpolation, and ought to
be deleted. 1 Ver. 5. irpoaevxy, ^ x * a ?>] Lachm. and Tisch.:
npofftvxriadi, ovx. tasffdt, after B Z, 1, 22, 116, Copt. Sahid. Aeth.
Goth. It. Vulg. Or. Chrys. Aug. Correctly ; the singular was
occasioned by the use of that number in what precedes and
follows. N has Kpoatu-xy oux steeds ; see, however, Tisch. on Cod.
K. Ver. 12. Ap/i/4ivj D E L A n, 157, 253, Ev. 26: Apioptt',
B Z K*, 1, 124 (on the margin), Harl. For. Or. Nyss. Bass.:
a<prix.a/tfv. So Lachm. and Tisch. The latter is to be adopted.
The reading of the Received text and aplopsv are from Luke xi. 4,
into which, again, as quoted in Origen (once), a<fr,^a^v has
found its way from our present passage. Ver. 13. vovqpov]
Elz. Matth. add the doxology : on eou term ^ /SaovXs/a xai q <5of a
i/$ TO-JS aiuvag, ' \fLi)v. Against a preponderance of testimony, and
contrary to the whole connection with ver. 14 f. A very old
(Syr.) addition from the liturgy ; one, however, that has assumed
1 Lachm. and Tisch. have deleted lv ipav^f in all the three passages ; in
ver. 18 it is also erased by Griesb. Matth. and Scholz.
CHAP. VI. 1. 199
a variety of forms. Ver. 15. T ^apairr. alruv] is correctly de-
leted by Tisch. It is wanting in D N, Curss. Vulg. It. Syr. Aug.,
and how easy was it mechanically to insert it as a supplement
from ver. 14! Ver. 18. eoi\ Elz. Fritzsche add tv ry <py,vepu;
see on ver. 4. Instead of xpvvrp, Lachm. and Tisch., in both in-
stances, have xpupa/w, after B D X, 1, 22; correctly, seeing that
xpvTrrZ is the common reading, and derived from vv. 4, 6.
Ver. 21. Instead of vpuv, B N, 1, 128, and important Verss. and
Fathers, have aw both times, which Griesb. has recommended,
and Fritzsche, Lachm. Tisch. have adopted. Correctly; vpuv
is taken from Luke xii. 34. Ver. 22. After the first op0aX/*o's
Lachm. has aou, only after B, Vulg. Aeth. Codd. It. Or. Hil.
Taken from the one which follows. Then in what comes next
Lachm. places the j immediately after olv, only according to B.
In K and several Verss. and Fathers ouv is omitted ; deleted by
Tisch. 8, against decisive testimony. Coming as it does after
lav, it might easily be left out through an oversight on the part
of the transcriber. Ver. 25. xai r'i\ Fritzsche, Lachm. i) ri,
according to B, Curss. and a few Verss. and Fathers. Too in-
adequate testimony. K Curss. Verss. and Fathers, who are fol-
lowed by Tisch. 8, omit x.l ri virin altogether. In conformity
with Luke xii. 22. Ver. 28. Instead of av%dvu, xoma, and vrjjtei,
Lachm. and Tisch. have the plurals, after B X, Curss. Ath. Chrys.
Correctly. See Luke xii. 27. Likewise in ver. 32, where
Lachm. and Tisch. have !-/r/?jroDff/i>, the sing, is used to conform
with Luke xii. 30. Ver. 33. r. /3a<r. r. 6to\j x. r. otxa/off.
auroD] Lachm. : r. dixaioa. xal T^V /Saff/Xs/av aOroy, only after B.
In N, r. 6to\j is wanting ; and its omission, in which Tisch. 8 con-
curs, is favoured by the testimony of the reading in B. Several
Verss. and Fathers also leave out r. &oD, which, as being a
supplement, ought to be deleted. The testimony is decisive,
however, in favour of putting r. I3aff. first. Ver. 34. ra. eaurqs]
Lachm. and Tisch. have merely saurqs, according to important
testimony. Correctly ; from the genitive not being understood,
it was attempted to explain it by means of ra, and in other
ways (tip! savr^g, tavrqv, saury).
Ver. 1. Connection : However (irpoae^ere Se, be upon your
guard), to those doctrines and prescriptions regarding the true
Siicaioa-vvr), I must add a warning with reference to the prac-
tice of it (iroieiv, 1 John iii. 7), This warning, stated in
general terms in ver. 1, is then specially applied in ver. 2 to
almsgiving, in ver. 5 to prayer, and in ver. 16 to fasting.
200 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Accordingly Si/caiocrvvr) is righteousness generally (v. 6, 10, 20),
and not benevolence specially, which, besides, it never means,
not even in 2 Cor. ix. 10, any more than npnv (not even in
Prov. x. 2-, xi. 4 ; Dan. iv. 24), which in the LXX., and that
more frequently by way of interpretation, is rendered by
\T]fj,oavvii, in which the SiKaioa-vw) manifests itself by acts
of charity; comp. Tob. ii. 14, xii. 9. On et 8e /irfye, after
which we are here to supply Trpoae^ere rrjv Siicaiocrvv. v/ju. fj,rj
nroielv, etc., see on 2 Cor. xi. 16. pia-dov . . . ovpavols]
See on v. 12, 46.
Ver. 2-. M r) vdhTrla-rjff] do not sound a trumpet, meta-
phorically : make no noise and display until it (Chrysostom,
Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus). Comp. Achill. Tat. viii.
p. 507; Cic. ad Div. xvi. 2-1: " te buccinatorem fore exis-
timationis meae." Prudent, de Symmach. ii. 68. Here e/ivrp.
refers to> the idea of a person sounding a trumpet, which
he holds up to his mouth. Others (Calvin, Calovius, Wolf,
Paulus, also rives referred to by Euth. Zigabenus) render :
cause not a trumpet to be sounded before tJiee. They think that,
in order to make a display, the Pharisees had actually made
the poor assemble together by the blowing of trumpets. But
the expression- itself is as decidedly incompatible with this
extraordinary explanation as it is with the notion that what is
meant (Homberg, Schoettgen) is the sound produced by the
clinking of the money, dropped into the alleged trumpet-like
chests in the temple (see on Mark xii. 41), and this notwith-
standing that it is added, eV T. <rvvary. n. ev T. pi')/*. On the
injunction generally, eomp. Babyl. Chagig. f. v. 1 : " E. Jannai
vidit quendam nummum pauperi dantem palam ; cui dixit :
praestat non dtedisse, quam sic dedisse." In the synagogues it
was the practice to collect the alms on the Sabbath ; Lightfoot
and Wetstein on this passage. viroKptraC] in classical
writers means actors; in the New Testament, hypocrites.
" Hypocrisis est mixtura inalitiae cum specie bonitatis," Bengel.
aTre^ova-i . . . avTwii] inasmuch as they have already
attained what was the sole object of their liberality, popular
applause, and therefore have nothing more to expect, atre-^eiv,
to have obtained, to have fully received. See on Phil. iv. 18.
CHAP. VI. 3-5. 201
Ver. 3. 2ov Be] in emphatic contrast to hypocrites. /U.T;
f) apiffrepd aov, /c.r.X] The right hand gives, let not
the left hand know it. Proverbial way of expressing entire
freedom from the claiming anything like self-laudation. For
sayings of a similar kind among the Fathers, see Suicer, Thes.
I. p. 508. De Wette, following Paulus, thinks that what is
referred to is the counting of the money into the left hand
before it is given away with the right. This is out of place,
for the warning is directed, not against a narrow calculating,
but against an ostentatious almsgiving. For the same reason
we must object to' the view of Luther, who says : " When you
are giving alms with the right hand, see that you are not
seeking to receive more with the left, but rather put it behind
your back," and so on,.
Ver. 4. 'O P\eirwv ev ro3 tcpwrrrat] who sees, i.e. knows
what goes on in secret, where He is equally present. Grotius
and Kuinoel arbitrarily take the words to be equivalent to ra
ev rc3 Kp. aw TO 5 a TTO Stooge* aoi] He Himself will reward
you, that is, at the Messianic judgment (i.e. ev TO> fyavepw,
2 Cor. v. 10); avro<j forms a contrast to the human rewards,
which the hypocrites, with their ostentatious ways of acting,
managed to secure in the shape of applause from, their fellow-
men, ver. 2.
Ver. 5. OVK ea-ea-de] See the critical remarks. The future,
as in v. 48. OTI] as in v. 45. <pi\ovcriv] tliey have
pleasure in it, they love to 'do it, a usage frequently met with
in classical writers (Ellendt, Lex. Soph. II. p. 910 f.), though
in the New Testament occurring only here and in xxiii. 6 f.
eo-T cores] The Jew stood, while praying, with the face
turned toward the temple or the holy of holies, 1 Sam. i. 26 ;
1 Kings viii. 22; Mark xi. 25; Luke xviii. 11; Lightfoot,
p. 292 f. ; at other times, however, also in a kneeling posture,
or prostrate on the ground. Therefore the notion of fixi, immo-
biles (Maldonatus), is not implied in the simple eo-reSr., which,
however, forms a feature in the picture ; they love to stand
there and pray. ev rat? yovtais T. TT\.] not merely when
they happen to be surprised, or intentionally allow themselves
to be surprised (de Wette), by the hour for prayer, but also at
202 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
other times besides the regular hours of devotion, turning the
most sacred duty of man into an occasion for hypocritical
ostentation.
Ver. 6. Tapeiov] any room in the interior of the house, as
opposed to the synagogues and the streets. We are there-
fore not to think exclusively of the closet in the strict
sense of the word, which was called inrepwov ; see note on
Acts i. 13. For the expression, comp. Isa. xxvi. 20 ; for
rafjuelov, conclave, see Xen. Hell. v. 4. 5 ; Matt. xxiv. 26 ; Sir.
xxix. 12; Tob. vii. 17. aTroSdxrei <roi\ for thy undemon-
strative piety. It is not public prayer in itself that Jesus con-
demns, but praying in an ostentatious manner ; rather than this,
He would have us betake ourselves .to a lonely room. Theophy-
lact : o T07T09 ov (SKdirrei,, dXA,' o T/JOTTO? ical 6 O7co7ro9.
Ver. 7. A e] indicating a transition to the consideration of
another abuse of prayer. f3arTo\oyelv] (Simplic. ad Epict.
p. 340) is not to be derived, with Suidas, Eustathius, Erasmus,
from some one of the name of Battus (passages in Wetstein),
who, according to Herod, v. 155, was in the habit of stammer-
ing, but, as already Hesychius correctly perceived (tcaTa pi^aiv
n)<? <jxovf)<i), is to be regarded as a case of onomatopoeia (comp.
jBarraXo? as a nickname of Demosthenes, ^arrapi^co, /Sarra-
pto-/i05, fiaTTapta-Tris), and means, properly speaking, to stammer,
then to prate, to babble, the same thing that is subsequently
called iro\v\oyia. B N have the form ySarraXo^ ; see
Tisch. 8. ol edvi/coi] Whose prayers, so wordy and full of
repetitions (hence, fatigare Deos\ were well known. Terent.
Heautont. v. i. 6 ff. In Eabbinical writers are found recom-
mendations sometimes of long, sometimes of short, prayers
(Wetstein). For an example of a Battological Jewish prayer,
see Schoettgen, p. 58 f., comp. Matt, xxiii. 15 ; and for dis-
approval of long prayers, see Eecles. v. 1, Sir. vii. 14. ev
T7) 7ro\v\oyia avr&v] in consequence of their much speaking ;
they imagine that this is the cause of their being heard. As
to the thing, consider the words of Augustine : " Absit ab
oratione multa locutio, sed non desit multa precatio, si fervens
perseveret intentio ; " the former, he adds, is " rem necessariam
superfluis agere verbis," but the multum precari is : " ad eum,
CHAP. VI. 8, 9. 203
quern precamur, diuturna et pia cordis excitatione pulsare "
(Ep. 130. 20, adprobam).
Ver. 8. Ovv] seeing that you are expected to shun heathen
error. olSe yap, /c.r.X] so that, this being the case, that
(3aTTo\oyeiv is superfluous.
Ver. 9. " Having now rebuked and condemned such false
and meaningless prayer, Christ goes on to prescribe a short,
neat form of His own to show us how we axe to pray, and
what we are to pray for," Luther. The emphasis is, in the
first place, on oi/T<9, and then on vftek, the latter in contrast
to the heathen, the former to the /SarroXoyeiy ; while ovv is
equivalent to saying, " inasmuch as ye ought not to be like
the heathen when they pray." Therefore, judging from the
context, Christ intends ourw? .to point to the prayer which
follows as an example of one that is free from vain repetitions,
as an example of what a prayer ought to be in respect of its
form and contents if the fault in question is to be entirely
avoided, not as a direct prescribed pattern (comp. Tholuck),
excluding other ways of expressing ourselves in prayer. The
interpretation, " in hunc sensum " (Grotius), is at variance with
the context ; but that of Fritzsche (in some 'brief way such as
this) is not " very meaningless " (de Wette), but correct,
meaning as he does, not brevity in itself, but in its relation to
the contents (for comprehensive brevity is the opposite of the
vain repetitions). On the Lord's Prayer, which now follows,
see Kamphausen, d. Gebet d. Herrn, 1866 ; J. Hanne, in d.
Jahrb. f.D. Th. 1866, p. 507 ff.; and in Schenkel's Bibellex.
II. p. 346 ff. According to Luke xi. l,the same prayer, though
in a somewhat shorter form, was given on a different occasion.
In regard to this difference of position, it may be noted: (1)
That the prayer cannot have been given on both occasions, and
so given twice (as I formerly believed) ; for if Jesus has
taught His disciples the use of it as early as the time of the
Sermon on the Mount, it follows that their request in Luke
xi. 1 is unhistorical ; but if, on the contrary, the latter is
historical, then it is impossible that the Lord's Prayer can
have been known in the circle of the disciples from the date
of the Sermon on the Mount. (2) That the characteristic
204 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
brevity of Luke's version, as compared with the fulness of
that of Matthew, tells in favour of Luke's originality ; but,
besides this, there is the fact that the historical basis on which
Luke's version is founded leaves no room whatever to suspect
that legendary influences have been at work in its formation,
while it is perfectly conceivable that the author of our version
of Matthew, when he came to that part of the Sermon on the
Mount where warnings- are directed against meaningless repe-
titions in prayer, took occasion also to put this existing model
prayer into our Lord's mouth. Schleiermacher, Baumgarten-
Crusius, Sieffert, Olshausen, Neander, de Wette, Ewald, Bleek,
Holtzmann, Weiss, Weizsacker, Schenkel, Hanne, Kamphausen,
also rightly declare themselves against the position of the
prayer in Matthew as unhistorical. The material superiority
of Matthew's version (see especially Keim) remains unaffected
by this verdict. On the Marcionitic form, especially in the
first petition, and on the priority of the same as maintained
by Hilgenfeld, Zeller, Volkmar, see the critical notes on Luke
xi. 24. Trdrep rjfiwv] This form of address, which rarely
occurs in the O. T. (Isa. Ixiii. 1 6 ; Deut. xxxii. 6 : in the
Apocrypha, in Wisd. ii. 16, xiv. 3; Sir. xxiii. 1, li. 10;
Tob. xiii. 4 ; 3 Mace. vL 3), but which is constantly em-
ployed in the N. T. in accordance with the example of Jesus,
who exalted it even into the name for God (Mark xiv. 36 ;
Weisse, Evangdienfr. p. 200 ff.), brings the petitioner at once
into an attitude of perfect confidence in the divine love ;
" God seeks to entice us with it," and so on, Luther. 1 But
the consciousness of our standing as children in the full and
specially Christian sense (eomp. on v. 9), it was not possible
perfectly to express in this address till a later time, seeing
that the relation in question was only to be re-established by
the atoning death. o iv rots ovpavois] distinguishes Him
who is adored in the character of Father as the true God, but
the symbolical explanations that have been given are of an
1 In his translation, Luther renders it here and in Luke xi. 2 by unser Vater ;
in the Catechism and manuals of prayer and baptism, Vater unser, after the
Latin Pater noster. See Rienecker in d. Stud. u. Krlt. 1837, p. 323 f. Kamp-
hausen, p. 30 f.
CHAP. VI. 9. 205
arbitrary character (Kuinoel, " Deus optime maxime, benignis-
sime et potentissime;" de Wette, " the elevation of God above
the world ;" Baumgarten-Crusius, " God who exists for all
men ;" Hanne, " Father of all "). Surely such a line of inter-
pretation ought to have been precluded by ver. 10, as well as by
the doctrine which teaches that Christ has come from heaven
from the Father, that He has returned to heaven to the right
hand of the Father, and that He will return again in majesty
from heaven. The only true God, though everywhere present
(2 Chron. ii. 6), nevertheless has his special abode in heaven ;
heaven is specially the place where He dwells in majesty, and
ivhere the throne of His glory is set (Isa. Ixvi. 1 ; Ps. ii. 4,
cii. 19, cxv. 3; Job xxii. 12ff.; Acts vii. 55, 56; 1 Tim.
vi. 16), from which, too, the Spirit of God (iii. 16 ; Acts ii.),
the voice of God (iii. 17 ; John xii. 28), and the angels of God
(John i. 52) come down. Upon the idea of God's dwelling-
place is based that very common Jewish invocation D'wai? u*3K
(Lightfoot, p. 229), just as it may be affirmed in a general
way that (comp. the #eot ovpaviwves of Homer) " Traj/re? rov
av&Tarco T&> 0LO) TOTTOv aTToSiSoaat," Aristot. de Coelo, i. 3.
Comp. generally, Ch. F. Fritzsche, nov. Opusc. p. 2 1 8 ff.
Augustine, Ep. 187. 16, correctly thinks there may be an
allusion to the heavenly temple, " ubi est populus angeloruni,
quibus aggregandi et coaequandi sumus, cum finita peregrina-
tione quod promissum est suniserimus." On heaven as a
plural (in answer to Kamphausen), comp. note on 2 Cor. xii. 2 ;
Eph. iv. 10. aryiacr6r)Ta>] Chrysost, Euth. Zigabenus,
&o%aa-6iJT(o ; more precisely, let it be kept sacred (Ex. xx. 8 ;
Isa. xxix. 23). God's name is, no doubt, "holy in itself"
(Luther), objectively and absolutely so ; but this holiness must
be asserted and displayed in the whole being and character of
believers (" ut non existiment aliquid sanctum, quod magis
offendere timeant," Augustine), inwardly and outwardly, so
that disposition, word, and deed are regulated by the acknow-
ledged perfection of God, and brought into harmony with it.
Exactly as in the case of Vfaty, Lev. x. 3, xxii. 2, 32 ; Ezek.
xxviii. 22, xxxviii. 23; Num. xx. 13; Sir. xxxiii. 4; 1 Pet.
iii. 15. TO ovopd <rov] Everything which, in its distinctive
206 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
conception, Thy name embraces and expresses, numen tuum,
Thy entire perfection, as the object revealed to the believer
for his apprehension, confession, and worship. So rrirp DB>,
Ps. v. 12, ix. 1.1; Isa. xxix. 23; Ezek. xxxvi. 23; and
frequently also in the Apocrypha. Everything impure, repug-
nant to the nature of God, is a profanation, a /Se/S^XoOz/ TO
ovofj,a TO aytov (Lev. xviii. 21). Observe once more that the
three imperatives in w. 9, 10 are not meant to express the
idea of a resolution and a vow (Hanne, comp. Weizsacker),
which is opposed to Trpoarev^ea-de, but they are al-rrj^aTa
(Phil. iv. 6), supplications and desires, as in xxvi. 39, 42.
Ver. 10. 1 'EX0eT&>, /e.r.X.] Let the kingdom of the Messiah
appear. This was likewise a leading point in the prayers of
the Jews, especially in the Kaddisch, which had been in
regular use since the captivity, and which contained the
words, Eegnet tuum regnum ; redemptio mox veniat. Hence the
canon, nra ru' rvota m jw na-a ba. Bab. Berac. f. 40. 2.
Here, likewise, the kingdom of God is no other than the king-
dom of the Messiah, the advent of which was the supreme
object of pious longing (Luke ii. 25, xvii. 20 ; Mark xv. 43 ;
Luke xxii. 18, xxiii. 51 ; 2 Tim. iv. 8). This view of the
kingdom and its coming, as the winding up of the world's
history, a view which was also shared by the principal Fathers
(Tertullian, Chrysostom, Augustine, Euth. Zigabenus), is the
only one which corresponds with the historical conception of
the /SaatXeta T. 6eov throughout the whole of the N. T. ; comp.
on iii. 2, the kingdom comes with the Messiah who comes to
establish it; Mark xi. 9, 10; Luke xxiii. 42. The ethical
development (xiii. 31 ff., xxiv. 14 ; comp. on iii. 2, v. 3 ff., 48 ;
also on Acts iii. 21), which necessarily precedes the advent of
the kingdom (Luke xix. 11) and prepares the way for it, and
with which the diffusion of Christianity is bound up, xxviii. 1 9
(Grotius, Kuinoel), 'forms the essential condition of that advent,
and through eXflereo, /e.r.X., is thus far indirectly (as the means
toward the wished-for end) included in the petition, though
1 On the inverted order of the second and third petition in Tertullian, see
Nitzsch in the Stud, u, Krit. 1830, p. 846 ff. This transposition appeared more
logical and more historical.
CHAP. VI. 11. 207
not expressly mentioned in so many words, so that we are not
called upon either to substitute for the concrete conception of
the future kingdom (Luke xxii. 18) one of an ethical, of a
more or less rationalistic character (Jerome, Origen, Wetstein :
of the moral sway of Christianity ; Baumgarten-Crusius : the
development of the cause of God among men), or immediately
to associate them together. This in answer also to Luther
(" God's kingdom comes first of all in time and here below
through God's word and faith, and then hereafter in eternity
through the revelation of Christ"), Melanchthon, Calvin, de
Wette, Tholuck, " the kingdom of God typified in Israel, coming
in its reality in Christ, and ever more and more perfected by
Him as time goes on;" comp. Bleek. yevr)0ijTca>, /e.r.X]
May Thy will (vii. 21; 1 Thess. iv. 3) be done, as by the angels
(Ps. ciii. 21), so also by men. This is the practical moral
necessity in the life of believers, which, with its ideal re-
quirements, is to determine and regulate that life until the
fulfilment of the second petition shall have been accomplished.
" Thus it is that the third petition, descending into the depths
of man's present condition and circumstances, damps the glow
of the second," Ewald. " Coelum norma est terrae, in qua
aliter alia fiunt omnia," Bengel. Accordingly the will of God
here meant is not necessarily the voluntas decernens (Beza),
but praecipiens, which is fulfilled by the good angels of heaven.
This petition, which is omitted in Luke, is not to be taken
merely as an explanation (Kamphausen) of the one which
precedes it, nor as tautological (Hanne), but as exhibiting to
the petitioner for the kingdom the full extent of moral require-
ment, without complying with which it is impossible to be
admitted into the kingdom when it actually comes. As,
according to ver. 33, the Christian is called upon to strive
after the kingdom and the righteousness of God; so here,
after the petition for the coming of the kingdom, it is asked
that righteousness, which is the thing that God wills, may be
realized upon the earth.
Ver. 11. Tbv dprov] same as DH?, victus ; Gen. xviii. 5;
Prov. xxx. 8 ; 2 Thess. iii. 12 ; Sir. x. 26 ; Wisd. xvi. 20.
rbv eirioiHriov] occurring nowhere else in the Greek language
208 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
but here and in Luke xi. 3. See Origen, de Oral. 27 : eot*re
ire7r\acf6ai VTTO rwv evay<ye\t<TTQ)v. It is possible that it may
be derived from ovcria, and accordingly the phrase has been
supposed to mean : the food necessary for subsistence, ^n Dr6,
Prov. xxx. 8. So Syr., Origen, Chrysostom, Theophylact,
Euth. Zigabenus, Etym. M. ; Beza, Maldonatus, Kuinoel, Tho-
luck, Ewald (de Wette undecided), Arnoldi, Bleek, Weizsacker,
Keim, Hanne, and probably this explanation has also given
rise to the rendering "daily bread" (It., iChrysostom, Luther),
e</7/A609, Jas. ii. 15; comp. Victorinus, <c. Ar, ii. p. 273,
Augustine. But ova La does not mean subsistence (o-uarrao-t?),
but (Ast, Lex. Plat. II. p. 491 f.) essence, as also reality, and,
finally, possessions, res familiaris, in which sense also it is to
be taken in Soph. Track. 907 (911), where the words ra?
amuSa<? ovarias denote a home without .children. In deriv-
ing the expression, therefore, from ovvia, the idea of necessary
food * must be brought out in a very indirect way (as Gregory
of Nyssa : that which is requisite or sufficient for the support
of the body ; comp. Chrysostom, Tholuck, Hitzig). Again, if
the word were to be derived from ova-la (elvai), it would have
to be spelt, not eVtoyo-io?, but eirov<rio<s, in a way analogous to
the forms eirovaia, overplus, eVoyo-toiS^?, non-essential, which
come from elvai. Forms in which there is either a different
preposition (such as Trepiovcnos], or in which the derivation
has no connection with elvai, (as eViop/cetv), have been brought
forward without any reason with a view to support the above
ordinary explanation. After all this we must, for reasons
derived from grammatical .considerations (in answer to Leo
1 To this amounts also the view of Leo Meyer in Kuhn's Zeitschr. f. vergleich.
Sprachforsch. VII. 6, p. 401 ff., who, however, regards the word as expressing
adjectively the idea of the aim involved in the l-ri : "what If! is." In this
Kamphauseu substantially concurs. The word is said to be derived from
irt7nti : "belonging to," in which the idea of being "sufficient" or necessary is
understood to be implied. But in that case we should also have expected to
find imvirios, and besides, \vtlim certainly does not mean to belong to, but to be
by, also to be standing over, to impend, and so on. This explanation of inovim;
is an erroneous etymological conjecture. Bengel very properly observes : " /
non semper quidem in compositione ante vocalem amittit, sed amittit tamen in
ix-nrnr." [See Lightfoot, A Fresh Revision of the, English New Testament,
Appendix on the words \-rnut us, nfiavrnf. ED.]
CHAP. VI. 11. 209
Meyer, Weizsacker, Kamphausen, Keim), prefer the other
possible derivation from r) cTrtova-a (therefore from eirievai),
dies crastinus (Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 464; Prov. xxvii. 1),
which is already expressly given by Ambrose, lib. v. de sacram.
4. 24, and according to which we should have to interpret the
words as meaning to-morrow's bread. 1 So Ar., Aeth., Copt,
Sahid., Erasmus, Annot., Scaliger, Salmasius, Grotius, Wolf,
Bengel, Wetstein, Valckenaer, Schol. I. p. 190, and V; also
Winer, p. 92 [E. T. 120], Fritzsche, Kauffer, Scliegg, D61-
linger, Hilgenfeld, Holtzmann, Schenkel, Wittichen. This
explanation, furnished historically by the Gospel according to
the Hebrews, where Jerome found "ino, is recommended in the
context by the o-rfpepov, which, besides, has no correlative, nor
is it incompatible with ver. 34, where the taking no thought
for to-morrow does not exclude, but rather presupposes (1 Pet.
v. 7), the asking for to-morrow's bread, while, moreover, this
request is quite justified as a matter of prayer, considering how
certain is the uncertainty of life's duration. The granting
to-day of to-morrow's bread is, accordingly, the narrow limit
which Christ here assigns to prayers for earthly objects, a
limit not open to the charge of want of modesty (Keim), inas-
much as it is fixed only at de die in diem. Of late, Olshausen
and Delitzsch ("the bread necessary for man's spiritual and
physical life") have again adopted, at least along with the
other view, the erroneous explanation, exegetically inconsis-
tent with a-rifMepov, but originating in a supposed perverse
asceticism, and favoured by the tendency to mystical interpre-
tation generally, no less than by the early (Irenaeus, Haer.
iv. 18) reference to the Lord's Supper in particular, the
explanation, namely, that what is here meant is supernatural?
1 Not what is necessary for the next meal (Rettig in the Stud. u. Krit. 1838,
p. 238). Baumgarten-Crusius, correctly, "to-day, what we need for to-
morrow." On rripifov was founded the very ancient (Constitutt. apost. vii. 24.
1 f., Tertullian, Cyprian) daily use of the Lord's Prayer.
2 The expression was derived partly from l-nuv (as Ambrose) the bread of
the world to come (so again Weisse, Evangelienfr. p. 201) ; partly from <,
in which case it was interpreted to mean : the bread requisite for the life of the
soul ; or, as though it were irtfivfios : panis supersubstantialis ; as in the Vulg.
and Jerome ("super omnes substantias"). Melanchthon fully and pointedly
MATT.
210 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
heavenly food (John vi.), as, indeed, many Fathers (Cyprian and
Jerome) and older expositors understood loth kinds of bread to
be included
Ver. 12. f /2? Ka\ ^et9, /c.r.X.] does not indicate the extent
(Chrysostom, Baumgarten-Crusius) to which forgiveness is
asked from God, which is not in harmony with the tone of
the prayer ; rather is o>? the as which assigns the reason as
well as makes the comparison, doubtless not as being directly
equivalent to nam (Fritzsche)j but it expresses the existence
of a frame of mind on the part of the petitioner corresponding
to the divine forgiveness : s then, we also, and so on. See
on John xiii. 34 ; Schaeffer, ad Dem, V. p. 108; Hartuug,
Partikell. I. p. 46 ; Klotz, -ad JDevar. p. 766; comp. Luke
xi. 4. Yet not as though human forgiveness can be supposed
to merit the divine pardon, but the former is the necessary
moral " requisitum subjecti " (Calovius) in him who seeks for-
giveness from God. Oomp. xviii. 21 ff. . ; Apol. Conf. A.
p. 115 f . ; Cat. maj. p. 528; Kamphausen, p. 113.
d^^Ka/jLev] see the critical remarks. Jesus justly pre-
supposes that the believer who asks from God the remission of
his own debts has already forgiven (Sir. xxviii. 2 ; Mark xi. 25)
those who are indebted to him that, according to Luke, he
does it at the same time.
Ver. 13. After the petition for forgiveness of sin, comes
now the request to be preserved from new sin, negatively and
positively, so that both elements constitute but one peti-
tion. Luke makes no mention whatever of the d\\a pvaai,
etc. pr) ela-eveyfcys, #:T.X.] Neither the idea of mere per-
mission (p/rj frapa^wprjay^ elcreve^Bfjvai, Euth. Zigabenus, Ter-
tullian, Melanchthon), nor the emphatic meanings which have
been given, first to the elcrevej/cr)^ (fj,rj KaTaTroOfjvai viro TOV
ireipaa-fjiov, Theophylact), then to the 7retpao-/i05 (Jerome, in
Ezek. xlviii. : " in tentationem, quam ferre non possumus "), and
lastly, to the a? (Grotius: " penitus introducere, ut ei suc-
expresses his opposition to the view of heavenly bread, when he says: "Its
advocates are deficient in eruditio et spirituale judicium." However, it is
likewise found in Erasmus' Paraphr.; but Calvin pronounces : "prorstis
absurdum est."
CHAP. VI. 13. 211
cumbas "), are in keeping with the simple terms employed ;
such interpretations are rationalistic in their character, as is
also, once more, the case with Kamphausen's limitation to
temptations with an evil result. God leads into temptation in
so far as, in the course of His administration, He brings about
a state of things that may lead to temptation, i.e. the situations
and circumstances that furnish an occasion for sinning ; and
therefore, if a man happens to encounter such dangers to his
soul, it is caused ty God it is He who does it (1 Cor. x. 13).
In this way is solved, at the same time, the apparent contra-
diction with Jas. i 13, where it is a question of subjective
inward temptation, the active principle of which is, not God,
but the man's own lusts. 1 In these latter are also to be found,
in the case of the believer, and that in consequence of his
adpj; (xxvi 41; Gal. v. 17), the great moral danger which
renders this prayer a matter of necessity. d\\a pvcrat,
ri/j,a<; d'rro TOV irovripov] Rom. xv. 31; 1 Thess. i. 10;
2 Thess. iii. 2 ; 2 Tim. iv. 18. But TOV Trovtjpov may be
neuter (Augustine, Luther, see, however, Cateeh. maj. p. 532 f.,
Tholnck, Ewald, Lange, Bleek, Kamphausen) as well as
masculine (Tertullian, Origen, Chrysostom, Theophylact, Eras-
mus, Beza, Maldonatus, Kuinoel, Fritzsche, Qlshausen, Ebrard,
Keim, Hilgenfeld, Hanne). In the former case, it would not
mean " evil " in general (" omne id, quod felicitati nostrae
adversum est," Olearius), but, according to the New Testament
use of Trovrjpos, as well as the context, moral wickedness, Eom.
xii. 9. However, it is more in keeping with the concrete
graphic manner of view of the New Testament (v. 37, xiii. 19 ;
John xvii. 15 ; 1 John ii. 13, iii. 8, 12 ; Eom. XVL 20 ; Eph.
vi. 1 6 ; 2 Thess. iii. 3), to prefer the masculine as meaning
the devil (/car' efo^;j/i/ Be OUTO? e'/eetvo? KaXetrai, Chrysostom),
whose seductive influence, even over believers, is presupposed
in the seventh petition, which also supplicates divine deliver-
ance from this danger, by which they know themselves to be
threatened (CLTTO: away, from; not etc, as in Eom. vii. 24;
2 Cor. i. 10 ; Col. i. 13 ; 2 Tim. iii. 11, iv. 17 ; 2 Pet. ii. 9).
Hofmann, Schriftbeweis, I. p. 447 ; Krummacher in the Stud.
1 Comp. Koster, bibl. Lehre v. d. Versuch, p. 19 f.
212 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
u. Krit. 1860, p. 122 ff. For an opposite view of a by no
means convincing kind, see Kamphausen, p. 136 ff.
KEMA.KKS. The Lord's Prayer, as it stands in Matthew, is an
example of a prayer rich and true in respect of its contents, and
expressed in language at once brief and comprehensive ; see on
ver. 9. It is only in an indirect way that it presents itself in the
light of a summary of the principal matters for which one is to
pray (Nosselt, Exercitatt. sacr. p. 2 ff., Kuinoel, de Wette), inas-
much as Jesus, as matter of course, selected and connected with
each other such leading requests as were appropriate to the
solemn period when the establishment of His kingdom was at
hand, that, by setting before us a prayer of so comprehensive a
character, He might render the model thus supplied all the more
instructive. Tertullian, indeed, correctly describes the contents
of it as breviarium totius evangelii. According to Moller (neue
Ansichten, p. 34 ff.) and Augusti (Denkwurdigk. IV. p. 132), the
prayer before us is made up merely of the opening words of
well-known Jewish prayers, which Jesus is supposed to have
selected from the mass of Jewish forms of devotion as being
eminently adapted for the use of His disciples. Wetstein
already was of opinion that it was " ex formulis Hebraeorum
concinnata" But between the whole of the parallels (Light-
foot, Schoettgen, Wetstein), not even excepting those taken
from the synagogal prayer Kaddisch, there is only a partial
correspondence, especially in the case of the first and second
petitions ; but lively ecJwes of familiar prayers would so naturally
suggest themselves to our Lord, and any reason for rejecting
them was so entirely wanting, that the absence of such popu-
larly consecrated echoes, extending to the very words, would
even have been matter for surprise. Augustine divides the
contents into seven petitions ; and in this he is followed by the
Lutheran practice, as also by Tholuck, Bleek, Hilgenfeld. On
the other hand, Origen and Chrysostom correctly make six, in
which they are followed by the practice of the Eeformed church
in the catechisms of Geneva and of the Palatinate, as also by
Calvin, Keim. As to the division of the prayer in respect of form,
it is sufficient to observe, with Ben gel: "Petita sunt septem, quae
universa dividuntur in duas partes. Prior continet tria priora,
Patrem spectantia : tuum, tuum, tua ; posterior quatuor reliqua,
nos spectantia." According to Calvin, the fourth petition is the
beginning of " quasi secunda tabula " of the prayer. In. regard
to the matter, the twofold division into coelestia and terrena,
which has been in vogue since Tertullian's time, is substantially
CHAP. VI. 11-16. 213
correct ; and in the more detailed representation of which there
follows after the upward flight towards what is of highest and
holiest interest for believers, and the specific nature of which,
with the aim for which it longs, and its moral condition, floats
before the praying spirit a humble frame of spirit, produced
by the consciousness of man's need of God's favour, first in
the temporal and then in the moral sphere, in which the realiza-
tion of that with which the prayer begins can be brought about
only through forgiveness, divine guidance, and deliverance from
the power of the devil The division into vows and petitions
(Hanne) is inaccurate ; see on ver. 9.
Ver. 14 f. Tap] points back to ver. 12, the subject of
which is now further discussed. a^^o-et] like the pre-
ceding d(J3rJTe, placed first to render it emphatic. For the
thought, the fundamental basis of which was stated in ver.
44 ff., comp. Sir. xxviii. 2 ff.
Ver. 16. Je] indicating a transition from the subject of
prayer to another kindred subject. vy a- reu^re] here with
reference to private fasting, which depended on the inclination
of the individual (Ewald, Alterth. p. 110), though regularly
observed by the Pharisees on Thursday (when Moses is sup-
posed to have ascended Mount Sinai) and on Monday (when
he is believed to have come down again), but never on the
Sabbath and festival days, except at the feast of Purim.
Mourning attire was worn during the fasting. Isa. Iviii. 5,
Ixi. 3 ; Joel ii. 12 ; Zech. vii. 3 ; Dan. x. 3 ; 2 Sam. xii. 20,
xiii. 19; 1 Mace. iii. 47. a-tcvdpcoirol] common in the
classics ; " plerumque in vitio ponitur et notat hominem non
solum tristem et tetricum vultum habentem, sed fingentem
vel augentem," Bremi, ad Aeschin. adv. Ctesiph. p. 290 f.
a<l>avl%ov(Ti\ is a play upon the word in allusion to tyavwcri.
They conceal their countenances with a view to their " being
seen of" and so on. This is intended to indicate how, partly
by sprinkling themselves with ashes, and by the dirt on the
unwashed face and beard, and partly by actual veiling of
themselves (2 Sam. xv. 30 ; Esth. vi. 12), they contrive to
prevent it being seen what their countenance is really like.
It should be observed, however, that dfavl&iv does not mean
to disfigure, but, even in passages like the one quoted from
214 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Stob. Serm. 74, 62, with reference to a painted woman, it
denotes to make invisible, e conspectu submovere. The Vulgate
correctly renders by exterminant, i.e. e conspectu removent.
Beck, Anecd. p. 468, 25 : oX&>? TO ave\eiv KOI d<f>ave<} Troifjo-at,
oTrep etcaXovv durr&ffa^ Hence in Greek writers it is often
associated with Kpinrreuv.
Ver. 17. Dress thyself as if to go to a festive entertain-
ment. Ps. xxiii. 5 ; Luke vii. 46 ; Suicer, TJies. I. p. 185 ;
Wetstein. Of course- Jesus does not intend the anointing,
and so on, to be taken literally ; but under this form of require-
ment He expresses the sincerity which He desires in connec-
tion with the of itself voluntary practice of fasting. Comp.
Chrysostom. The form is one that is- suited to an attitude of
radical opposition to Jewish formalism. Luther : " If thou
so fastest between thyself and thy Father alone, thou hast
rightly fasted in that it pleases Him ; yet not as if one must
not go on a fast-day with few clothes, or unwashed, but the
additional ceremony is rejected, because it is observed for the
sake of applause, and to hoodwink people with such singular
demeanour."
Ver. 18. Tw ev TO> Kpvfyaiai} sc. OVTI, i.e. who is present
where we are hidden from human eye. He who fasts is eV TO>
icpvfyaiw everywhere, when he is present as anointed and
washed, for in this state of his person no one will be able to
recognise him as fasting. In accordance with this, we are
bound to reject the explanation of Fritzsche, who supplies
vqa-Teveiv (" eo quod clam inediam in te suscipias"\ which,
however, is far-fetched, and introduces a superfluous meaning,
besides being inconsistent with ver. 6. aTroScoo-t c-oi] not
the fasting by itself, but the sincerely penitent and humble
frame of mind, which seeks to express itself in that devout
fasting which is free from everything like pretence and osten-
tation ; there is therefore no satisfactory reason for expunging
vv. 1618 (as also w. 16) from the Sermon on the Mount
(Wittichen, Idee des Menschen, p. 100).
Vv. 19-34. Comp. Luke xii. 33 f. r xi. 34 ff., xii. 22 ff.
The theme stated in ver. 1 is still pursued, and, without any
formal indication of a transition, a new and essential point in
CHAP. VI. 19, 20. 215
the discourse is here introduced, viz. care, about earthly things,
which is treated (1) as striving after wealth, vv. 1924, and
(2) as care for food and raiment, vv. 25-35. To give up the
idea of a fixed plan from this point onwards (de Wette), and
especially to regard vv. 19-34 as an irrelevant interpolation
(Neander, Bleek, Weiss), is quite unwarranted, for we must
not lose sight of the fact that the discourse was intended not
merely for the disciples, but for the people as well (vii. 28).
The unity of the Sermon on the Mount is not that of a sermon
in our sense of the word ; but the internal connection of the
thought in ver. 19 ff. with what goes before lies in the airo-
Soicrefc a-oi just mentioned, and the object belonging to which
is, in fact, the heavenly treasures.
Ver. 19. Oija-avpoixi] Treasures. To understand par-
ticular kinds of them, either stores of corn, or costly raiment,
or gold and silver, is a mistake, for the special treasure meant
would also require to have been specially indicated. fipaHris]
eating, corroding in general. Any further defining of the
matter, whether with the Vulgate and Luther we understand
rust (Jas. v. 2, 3) or weevils (Clericus, Kuinoel, Baumgarten-
Crusius) to be meant, is arbitrary, as is also the assumption
of a ev Sia Svoiv for 0-7)5 fipaxncovcra (Casaubon in Wolf).
dtfravi^ei] causes to disappear, annihilates. Comp. note on
ver. 1 6. On OTTOV (upon earth) Bengel correctly observes :
" Habet vim aetiologiae." The thieves dig through (the wall,
comp. Dem. 787. 13, 1268. 12 ; Job xxiv. 16 ; Ezek. xii. 5)
and steal.
Ver. 20. 'Ev ovpav\ belongs to Grjaavpi^ere. By what
means is this done ? By everything which the Lord has
hitherto been insisting upon from ver. 3 onwards as the con-
dition on which those who believe in Him are to obtain
eternal salvation, and which therefore constitutes the sum and
substance of the Si/caioa-vvri that comes through faith in Him.
In this way, and not specially by almsgiving, xix. 21, which,
according to v. 7, vi. 3, is here only included along with other
matters (in answer to Chrysostom), do men gather treasures
(the Messianic felicity) for themselves, which are reserved for
us with God in heaven until the establishment of the Messiah's
21G THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
kingdom, in which their bestowal is then to take place. Comp.
on v. 12.
Ver. 21. For (deep moral obligation to comply with that
exhortation) if the treasure which you have gathered is upon
earth, so will your heart, with its feelings, dispositions, and
tendencies, be also upon the earth as in the congenial sphere
of your inner life, will be ethically bound to the earth, and
vice versa. From the treasure, which is the result of effort
and the object of love, the heart also cannot be separated. In
the ground of obligation just stated it is assumed that the
believer's heart must be in heaven (Phil. iii. 3 ; Col. iii. 2 ff. ;
2 Cor. iv. 17; 1 John ii. 15 ff.).
Vv. 22, 23. Connection: In order to fulfil the duty men-
tioned in vv. 19, 20, and warranted by what is said in ver.
21, you must not allow the light within you, i.e. the reason
(6 1/01)9, Chrysostoin), which apprehends divine truth, to be-
come obscured, i.e. it must be preserved in that state of normal
action in which error and moral evil find no place. The
obscuring of this faculty of thought and volition, by which the
divine is perceived and morally assimilated, imparts a wrong
tendency and complexion to the entire life of the individual
man. Comp. Luther : " This is a warning not to allow our-
selves to be taken in by fair colours and outward appearance,
with which avarice may trick itself out and conceal the knave."
The supposition that ver. 22 f. originally stood immediately
behind v. 16 (Ewald, Jahrb. I. p. 129) is therefore without
sufficient logical warrant, and Luke xi. 33-36 may be a later
digest of similar import. Observe, moreover, that nothing is
said here about the capability of the natural reason, purely as
such, to apprehend the divine by its own unaided efforts ; for
Jesus has in view those who are believers, whose 1/01)9 is already
under the influence of the divine truth which He has revealed
to them (Eph. i. 18; Eom. xxii. 2). However, the subjective
meaning of o$0aX/i09 and <&>9 must be preserved intact, nor is
0o>9 to be understood, with Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 320,
as referring to the holy nature of God, which seeks to illuminate
the hearts of men. 6 \v%vo<} rov <7&>//,aT09 ecrrtv 6 6<f)0a\-
/to 9] for without the eye the body is in darkness ; the blind man
CHAP. VI. 22, 23. 217
is without light, which comes through the medium of the eye
as though it were a lamp. The subject is not 6 6<#aX/zo9
(Luther, Bengel), but 6 Xi/^z/o? rov o-eo/i., to which corresponds
TO <(U9 TO ei> trot, the subject in the application of the illustra-
tion. aTrXoC? and irovripo^ are mostly understood in the sense
of: healthy (which many have defined more precisely as the
opposite of double-sight), and damaged. But usage is in favour
only of irowrjpos being employed in this sense (see Kypke ;
comp. Plat. Hipp. min. p. 374 D: irovrjpia 6<f>da\fj,a)v, also
the German expression " lose Augen"), but not duXou?, which
means only integer in the moral sense of the word. Comp.
Test. XII. pair. p. 624: aTrXoV-?;? ofyOakpwv, as meaning the
opposite of the dishonest, hypocritical cast of the eye. Con-
sequently the above meaning is contrary to usage, and both
words must be understood in their moral signification, so that
Jesus has selected the predicates in His illustration in view of
the state of things to which the illustration refers, and in which
the darkness of the vovs is the result of the evil will resisting
divine truth (Eom. i. 21). Therefore: if thine eye is honest,
i.e. if it honestly does its duty, and : if it is good for nothing, i.e.
if it maliciously refuses to perform its functions. (fjcareivov]
is enlightened, so that it is clear round about him ; through the
light which is perceived by the eye, no one of his members is
in darkness. et ovv, /c.T.X] Inference a minori ad majus.
TO </>&>? TO ev a-oi] i.e. the 1/01)5 especially as practical reason
(Vernunft). The figurative designation (Philo, de cond. mund.
I. p. 12: OTrep 1/01)9 eV ^v^, TOVTO o<#aXyu,o5 ev a-(a/j,ari,, comp.
Plat. Rep. vii. p. 533 D : TO T^? -^1^75 op,fia, Soph. p. 254 A.
Creuzer, ad Plot, de pulcr. p. 361) is suggested by, and is
correlative to, o Xi^i/o?, etc., ver. 22. Comp. Euth. Zigabenus :
o vovs 6 &(opi<)6el<i et? TO </>&meM/ /cat oSrjyetv TTJV ^rv^v.
CT/COTO?] corresponds to TTOI/^/JO? above, though denoting at the
same time the effect of the evil condition. TO O-/COTO? iroaov]
s.c. earl: how great then (since the worthlessness of the out-
ward eye involves one in darkness) is the darkness, TO GT/COTO?,
in which thou liest ! But TO CT/COTO?, from being put first, is
very emphatic. Luther (following the ordinary reading of the
Vulg.: ipsae tenebrae) and Calvin interpret incorrectly: how great
218 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
will then be the darkness itself. Thine, in that case, is the
condition in which there is no susceptibility for that divine
truth which would enlighten and sanctify thee ; and this dark-
ness, how great is it !
Ver. 24. But certainly do not suppose that ye can combine
the eager pursuit of wealth with striving after the kingdom of
God ! no, aut, aut ! Svcrt] i.e. of course, two who are of oppo-
site characters. r) yap . . . Kara<j)pov^a-ei] he will either
hate A and love B, or if not, vice versd, he will cleave to A
and despise B. In the second clause evos is without the article,
because the idea is somewhat different from that in the first,
namely : " or he will cleave to one (not both) and despise the
other concerned." uua-eiv and a7a7rai/ ; like SMS? and 2Htf,are used
neither here nor anywhere else (Gen. xxix. 31 ; Mai. i. 2, 3 ;
Luke xiv. 26, xvi. 13 ; John xii. 25 ; Eom. ix. 13) "with a
less forcible meaning " (de Wette, Tholuck, Bleek), so as to be
equivalent to posthabere and praeferre. See, on the other
hand, note on Eom. ix. 12, also Fritzsche on this passage.
The two masters are conceived of as being of such a nature
that the one is loved, the other hated, and vice versd, and that
in a decided manner, without any intermediate attitude of
indifference. Luther : although the world can do it skilfully ;
and as it is expressed in German, by " carrying the tree on both
shoulders." In the second alternative, then, the Kara^povelv
corresponds to the fttcreiv as being the effect of the hatred, while
to the ayajrav corresponds the avTe^eadai as the effect of the
love. avOe% erat] he will hold to him, faithfully cleave to him.
Plat. Hep. x. p. 600 D ; Phil. p. 58 E; Ax. p. 369 E ; Dem. 290.
9 ; 1 Mace. xv. 34 ; Tit. i. 9. ^a^a>va^\ Chaldee WtoO, Syr.
poV>V>, consequently it should be spelt with only one /j>, and
derived, not from |K, but from fota, so that its origin is to be
traced to fio^D, thesaurus (Gen. xliii. 23). Gesenius, Thes. I. p.
552. It means riches, and, according to Augustine, is, in the
Punic language, equivalent to lucrum. In this instance it is
personified owing to its connection with Sov\eveiv, and from
its antithesis to #e&>: wealth conceived of as an idol (Plutus).
Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. p. 1217 f. Moreover, the idea implied
in the Bov\eveiv prevents the possible abuse of the saying.
CHAP. VI. 25, 26. 219
Luther says well : To have money and property is not sinful ;
but what is meant is, that thou shouldst not allow them to be
thy master, rather that thou shouldst make them serve thee,
and that thou shouldest be their master. Comp. Chrysostom,
who quotes the examples of Abraham and Job. According to
the axiom in the text, Christ justly (sec on Luke xvL 9, the
note) requires unfaithfulness in regard to mammon.
Ver. 25. Aia roOro] because this double service is impos-
sible. y%t 'n y l rv X^> Af - T -^-] Chrysostom: OTOIVVV TO /zei^oz/
(life and body) Sov? 7r&>9 TO e'XaTToi> (food and clothing) ov Bcao-et ;
The care has been unwarrantably limited to anxious care, a
meaning which is no- less- unjustifiable in Sir. xxxiv. 1 ; the
context would be expected to- furnish such a limitation if it
were intended. Jesus does not only forbid believers the
pifjivav (Xen. Gyr. viii, 7. 12), or the aA/yetz/a?
d? (Soph. Ant. 850), the fj,pifivijfj,aT e%eiv /3dpv) (Soph.
Phil. 187), or such like, but His desire is that simply giving
themselves to the undivided (curae animum diverse trahunt,
Terence) service of God, ver. 24, and trusting to Him with
true singleness of heart they should be superior to all care
whatsoever as to food, drink, etc. (PhiL iv. 6}' nevertheless,
to create for themselves such cares would amount to little faith,
ver. 30 ff., or a half-hearted faith as compared with their
duty of entire resignation to that God whose part it is to
provide for them. It is only by absolute and perfect faith that
the moral height of avrdpiceia, (Phil. iv. 1 1 ff.), and of exemp-
tion from earthly care, is to- be attained. Comp. A. H. Franke's
example in founding the orphanage. rfj "fyv%fi] Dative of
immediate reference : in regard to the soul (as the principle of
physical life, x. 39, xvi. 25, ii. 20), in so far as it is sustained
by means of food and drink. In the ease of pept/jivdv the
object (TI (f>dyr)Te) is in the accusative (1 Cor. vii. 32-34,
xii. 25 ; Phil. ii. 20, iv. 6).
Yer. 26. To. Treretva TOV ovpavov] DW? fpy, the birds
that fly in the air, in this wide, free height, are entirely
resigned! Genitive of locality, as in ver. 28. This is mani-
fest (in answer to Fritzsche: towards the heavens) from the
juxtaposition of the words in Gen. i. 25, ii. 19 ; Ps. viii. 9,
220 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
civ. 12 ; comp. Horn. II. xvii. p. 675 : vTrovpaviw Trererjvwv. On
the saying itself, comp. Kiddushin, s. fin. : " Vidistine unquam
bruta aut volatilia, quibus esset aliqua officina ? et tamen ilia
nutriuntur absque anxietate." orC\ equivalent to et? e/ceivo
ort, John ii. 18, ix. 17, xi. 51, xvi. 9 ; 2 Cor. i. 18, xi. 10.
To this belongs all that follows as far as avrd. f*a\\.
Sta(f>epeTe avrfav] This //.aXXoi/ (magis) only strengthens the
comparative force of &ia(f)epetv TWOS (to be superior to any one).
Comp. on Phil. i. 23, and the fjt,a\\ov that frequently accom-
panies TrpocupeiaQai.
Ver. 27. Trjv ^XiKiav] the duration of life (Hammond,
Wolf, Eosenmiiller, Kuinoel, Schott, Kauffer, Olshausen, de
Wette, Baumgarten-Crusius, Tholuck, Ewald, Bleek, Hilgen-
feld). For, after the more comprehensive exhortation of ver.
2 5, Jesus passes in ver. 26 to the special subject of the
support of life by means of rpo^, with which subject ver. 27
is intimately connected. Vv. 28-30 refer, in the first place,
specially to the body itself, regarded by itself and as an out-
ward object. The duration of life determined ~by God is set forth
under the figure of a definite lineal measure. Comp. Ps. xxxix.
6; Mimnermus in Stobaeus, 98. 13. In opposition to this,
the only true connection, others (Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus,
Luther, Maldonatus, Jansen, Bengel, Fritzsche), following the
Vulgate and Chrysostom, interpret : the height of the body, the
stature, Luke xix. 3, ii. 52. But what an absurd dispropor-
tion would there be in such a relation in representing a very
trifling addition (Luke xii. 26) by TT^I/I/! For TTT^U?, n>N, is
equivalent to the whole length of the lower part of the arm,
two spans or six handbreadths, Bockh, metrol. Unters. p. 2 1 ff.
Fenneberg, ub. d. Ldngen-, Feld- u. Wegemaasse d. Volk. d.
Alterth. 1859, who thinks, however, without any reason, that
the sacred ell (seven handbreadths) is meant.
Ver. 28. Kal irepl evBv/j,.'] the new object of care placed
first in the sentence. Kara/judOere] consider, observe : occur-
ring nowhere else in the New Testament, frequent in Greek
writers, Gen. xxiv. 21, xxxiv. 1 ; Job xxxv. 5. fcpivov, JEW,
lilies generally, various kinds of which grow wild in the East,
without cultivation by human hands (rov dypov). There is
CHAP. VI. 29-82. 221
no reason to think merely of the (flower) emperors crown
(Kuinoel), or to suppose that anemones are intended (Furer
in Schenkel's Bibellex) ; the latter are called avefjiwvai in
Greek. TTGK] relatively: how, i,e. with what grace and beauty,
they grow up ! To take mo? av!~. interrogatively (Palairetus,
Fritzsche), so that ov KOTT., etc., would form the answer, is not
so simple, nor is it in keeping with the parallel in ver. 26.
They toil not, neither (specially) do they spin, to provide their
raiment. The plurals (av^dvovo-iv, etc., see the critical remarks)
describe the lilies, not en masse, but singly (Kiihner, ad Xen.
Mem. iv. 3. 12, ad Andb. i. 2. 23), and indeed as though they
were actual living persons (Kriiger on Thuc. i. 58. 1). Comp.
in general, Schoemann, ad Isaeum ix. 8.
Ver. 29. 'Ev irdcrr) ry So^rj avrov] Not even (ovoe) Solo-
mon when he appeared in all his glory, not merely in his royal
robes (Kuinoel) ; it is in TrepteySaXero that the special part of
the whole Sofa is first mentioned. On the Sofa of Solomon,
see 2 Chron. ix. 1 5 ff. avrov, not avrov. Observe further the
/ : his glorious apparel was not equal to any one of these.
Ver. 30. Tbv %6prov rov dypov] Placed first for sake of
emphasis ; 6 ^0/3x09, however, is simply the grass, so that Jesus
mentions the genus under which the lilies (which grow among
the grass) are included, and that intentionally with a view to
point them out as insignificant ; 1 Cor. iii. 12 ; 1 Pet. i. 24.
o-rf/juepov ovra] which to-day exists. 45 /cX//3. /SaXXo/u..]
expresses what is done to-morrow, hence the present. Comp.
Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 178 [E. T. 206]. Dried grass with
its flower-stalks and such like was also used for the purpose
of heating baking ovens (K\i/3avoi, or Attic icpiftavoi, see
Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 179). Comp. remark on iii. 12 ; Harmar,
Beobacht. fib. d. Orient, I. p. 239 f. 'iro\\m yu-dXX.] express-
ing certainty.
Ver. 32. The second yap does not append another reason
co-ordinate with the first, but after the injunction contained
in ver. 31 has been justified by the reference to the heathen
(to whom they are not to compare themselves), this same
injunction is provided with an explanation of an encouraging
nature, so that the first yap is logical, the second explanatory,
222 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
as frequently in classical writers (Ktihuer, ad Xen. Anal, v.
6. 6. Frotscher, ad Hieron. 11. 6). The referring of the
second yap to something to be supplied after TO, edvri, such
as " who know nothing of God " {Tholuck), is arbitrary.
oZSe is emphatic; is certainly known to your Father, and so
on. ori] that, not o, TI (Paulus : that, which; Fritzsche :
quatenus).
Ver. 33. Zijrelre Se] now states what they ought to do,
instead of indulging that care forbidden in ver. 31.
Trp&rov] in the first place, before you strive after anything
else ; your first striving. In that case a second is, of course,
unnecessary, because their food, their drink, and their raiment
Trpoa-redija-erai,. But in the irptarov the subordinate striving
after something is not even " darkly " sanctioned (de Wette) ;
on the contrary, and notwithstanding the irparov, this striving
is excluded as much by ver. 32 as by Kal . . . rrpoareO. Accord-
ingly, that first striving is the only one. The simple fyrelre
is distinguished from eVt^r. not in respect of degree, but only
in such a way that the latter points out the direction of the
striving. Hence eTrifyrelv erri nva, 2 Sam. iii. 8. Comp.
note on Kom. xi. 7; Phil. iv. 7. rrjv /3acrt\. teal rrjv
&t,Kat,oo-vvr)v avrov] (see the critical remarks) where the avrov
belonging to both substantives refers, according to ver. 32, to
God, and is meant to convey the idea that what is to form the
object and aim of our .striving is the Messianic kingdom, the
becoming partakers in it, the being admitted into it, and the
moral righteousness which God imparts to the believer to assist
him to attain the kingdom. ravra Trdvrd] See w. 31, 32.
The distinction between rain a vdvra and irdvra ravra lies
merely in this, that in the former it is the demonstrative idea
on which the , emphasis is placed, whereas in the latter it is
the idea of universality that is so. See Winer, p. 510 [E. T.
686]. Cornp. Lobeck, ad Aj. 1023 ; Saupp, ad Hipparcli.
VI. 5. rcpoGreOrjve'rai] will be added, namely, . to the
moral result of your striving. Comp. the saying of Christ
handed down by Clement, Origeu, and Eusebius : alrelre ra
f*eyd\a, Kal ra /jLifcpd vpJiv TTpovredrfcrerai,' teal alrelre ra CTTOV-
pdvia, Kal ra eTrryeia irpoGreOrjcrerai, vpJiv (Fabricius, Cod.
CHAP. VI. 84. 223
Apocr. i. p. 329), which differs from our passage in the
generality of its terms, and in having alrelre.
Ver. 34. Concluding saying of this section practical, fresh,
bold, and taken from the life. Fritzsche arranges the words
thus : 17 jap avpiov fiepi/mv^o-ei. Ta eaim/9 apicerbv TTJ f)/J>epa,
rj /caKia aur?}?. He takes rj KUK. avrrjs as in apposition with
TO, eairrr/?; which is forced in itself, and precluded by the
reading eavrf)*; without rd. If this reading be adopted, the
meaning will be as follows : Therefore (inference from all that
has been said from ver. 25 onwards) have no care about to-
morrow; for to-morrow will care for itself will have itself as
the object of its care, which you ought not, to-day, to take
away from to-morrow (rj avpiov is personified). The day, i.e.
every day (Bernhardy, p. 315) as it comes round, has enough
(does not need to have anything more added, as would be the
case if we cared for to-morrow) in its own evil, i.e. in its evil
nature, as represented by dangers, sorrows, and so on. Luther
well observes : Why wilt thou be concerned beyond to-day,
and take upon thyself the misfortunes of two days ? Abide
by that which to-day lays upon thee : to-morrow, the day will
bring thee something else. Comp. on tcafcia (Chrysostom :
raXatTTO/Jt'a), Luke xvi. 25; Eccles. vii. 15, xii. 1; Amos
iii. 7 ; Sir. xix. 6 ; 2 Mace. iv. 47. In classical writers,
commonly /ea/co-nfc; Horn. 77. xi. 382; Od. v. 290; Herod,
ii. 128; Soph. El. 228. Comp. however, also Kaicta, Thucyd.
iii. 58. 1 ; Plato, Legg. vii. p. 814 A. pepipvav does not occur
elsewhere with the genitive, but, like <f>povTieiv TM/OV, may be
connected with it; Bernhardy, p. I76f. ; Kriiger, 47. 11 ;
Ku'hner, IV. 1, p. 325. On the well-known neuter usage,
aprcerov, sufficient, see Kuhner, IL 1, p. 52 f.
224 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTEE VII.
VER. 2. pirpvd.'] In opposition to decisive testimony, Elz. has
avripsrprid., from Luke vi. 38. Ver. 4. For &v6, Lachm. Tisch.
8 read Ix, found only in B K, Curss. With sxfi&Xu and ver. 5
before them, the copyists involuntarily wrote the sx. Ver. 6.
Lachm. and Tisch. have the future xa-raKarriaovGiv, according to
B C L X, 33. With such important testimony in its favour, it
is to be preferred to the generally received aor. conj. Ver. 9.
The omission of ianv in B* L, Curss. and several versions (Lachm.:
?! ng), as well as the reading ov airqeti which follows (Lachm.
Tisch. 8), is meant to help out the construction. Ver. 10. x;
sav ixdvv airqarf] Lachm. Tisch. 8 : 95 xoc/ i%6i>v aiTqffii, as in B C X,
Curss. Verss., after Luke xi. 11. Ver. 13. q TUXJJ] is deleted
by Lachm. and bracketed by Tisch. 8, but only, however, after
tf Codd. of the It. and Fathers (Clem. Or. Cypr. Hilar. Lucif.).
From its resemblance to -s-XarE/a immediately preceding, this
word was very liable to be omitted. The authority for its
omission in ver. 14 is decidedly weaker (K being in this case
against it). Here also it is bracketed by Lachm. and Tisch. 8.
Ver. 14. r/J Elz. and Tisch., with a decided preponderance
of testimony against them, prefer on, which owed its origin to
on TXarf/a, etc., ver. 13, the meaning of /' not being under-
stood. Ver. 16. ffrapvXriv] Schulz, Lachm. Tisch. 8 have
crapuXas, according to B N and several Curss. and Verss. The
plural originated in consequence of ffuXXiy. and suxa. Ver. 1 8.
Tisch. 8. has evf/xtTv for voisTv in both instances, against decisive
testimony. After v&v Lachm. has ouv in brackets (C** L Z,
Curss. Verss.). An interpolation for the sake of connection, ren-
dered in Brix. by enim, and in Germ. 2 by autem. Ver. 21.
After sv (Lachm. Tisch. 8 : ev roTg, according to B Z K) ovpuvoJs,
Fritzsche, following Bengel, inserts <&TO$ tiaihtvaerai sic rfo /3a<r.
TUV ovpavuv, but on far too slender authority. A supplementary
gloss. Ver. 24. o/totuxsu aurov] B Z K, Curss. Verss. and
several Fathers have o/Aoiutyesrai. Derived from ver. 26 for
the sake of the nominat. tag. Adopted by Lachm. and Tisch.
8. Ver. 28. euvtrehsfftv Lach. Tisch. read friXftfv, accordin
CHAP. vii. i. 225
to B C Z ? r K, Curss. Or. Chrys. But how easily might the
syllable <nv drop out between OTE ETE ! especially as cwr&iTv
occurs nowhere else in Matth. Ver. 29. Lachm. inserts alrujv
xal oi <bot.piaaibi after ypafj,,uari?g, on authorities of unequal value.
The evidence is stronger in favour of a'jTuv, which, moreover, is
confirmed by K. Tisch. has adopted merely avruv after ypa/j,-
pureTf, in which, however, he is right ; because, whilst there was
no reason for adding avruv, the omission of it was natural in
itself, and suggested by Mark i. 22.
Jesus warns (1) against judging, vv. 1-6 ; urges (2) to
prayer, vv. 711 ; then (3) prepares for the transition, ver. 12,
to the exhortation to enter the Messianic kingdom through
the strait gate, w. 13, 14; warns (4) against false prophets,
vv. 15-23 ; and concludes with the powerful passage regarding
the wise and the foolish man, vv. 24-27.
Ver. 1. Without any intermediate connection, the discourse
passes on to a new subject. Comp. v. 17, vi. 1. pr) fcplvere]
tcpivetv means nothing more than to judge, and the context
alone will decide when it is used in the sense of a condem-
natory judgment, as in Rom. ii. 1, xiv. 4; Gal. v. 10; Heb.
x. 30 (frequently in John). In this respect it resembles the
Heb. BSIP. But in this instance it is proved by ver. 2 and
vv. 35 that tcpivetv is not to be explained as synonymous
with /carafcpiveiv (in answer to Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus,
Kuinoel, and Olshausen). Nor is this required, but, on the
contrary, plainly forbidden, by Luke vi. 37, for there the
difference between xpivetv and KaraBiKa^eiv is of the nature of a
climax, the latter being the result of the former. Accordingly,
the correct interpretation is this : Do not sit in judgment
upon others ; do not set yourselves up as judges of their faults
(ver. 3), meaning thereby an officious and self-righteous
behaviour (the opposite of that prescribed in Gal. vi. 1-5),
that ye may not become obnoxious to judgment, i.e. that ye may
not be subjected to the divine, the Messianic, judgment ; that
instead of obtaining mercy and the forgiveness of your sins
in that judgment, you may not draw down upon yourselves
that judicial sentence (which, according to v. 7, vi. 15, is
averted by cherishing a forgiving spirit). To refer Kpt6rjre
MATT. P
226 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
to our being judged by others (Erasmus, Calvin, Kuinoel,
Fritzsche), and not, with Chrysostom, to the future judgment,
is wrong; because ver. 2, if referred to the Nemesis of the
existing order of things, would not tte altogether true ; and
further, because, throughout His address, Jesus treats the idea
of retribution from the Messianic point of view (v. 112, 19,
20, 22, 25, 29 f., vi. 1, 4, 6, 14 f., 18, 20, 33, vii. 13, 19,
21, 23, 24ff.). Of course it is unnecessary to say that, in
forbidding judging, Christ is not speaking " de ministeriis
vel officiis divinitus ordinatis, sed de judiciis, quae fiunt extra
seu praeter vocaliones et gubernationes divinas" Melanchthon.
Nor does He forbid the moral judging of others in general,
which is inseparable from truth and love, and is at the
same time a necessary element in the duty of brotherly
vovOerelv. " Canis pro cane et porous pro porco est habendus,"
Bengel.
Ver. 2. *Ev] Instrumental repetition of the same thought:
Sota, ed. Wagenseil, p. 52. Comp. Schoettgen, p. 78. The
second ev is also instrumental, by means of, and perpov is to
be understood as a measure of capacity (Luke vi. 38).
Ver. 3. Ka/30o9, a minute fragment of twig, wood, or straw,
which, in entering the eye (see Wetstein), becomes the
figurative representation of a slight moral fault ; So/eo?, again,
is the figure by which a heinous 1 fault is denoted. Comp.
Lightfoot, p. 307; Buxtorf, Lex Talm. p. 2080. Tholuck
prefers to find the point of comparison in the pain caused by
the splinter or beam in the eye. This is inadmissible, for
otherwise it could not be said, in reference to the learn in
the eye, ov KaTavoel?, i.e. thou perceivest not, art not aware. It
is the magnitude of his own moral defects that the self-
righteous man fails to discover. The brother, as in v. 22.
1 The view of Theophylact, Baurngarten-Crusius, and several others, that the
beam in a man's own eye is calculated to make him conscious of his incapacity
for recognising the faults of others, is foreign to the context. Luther correctly
observes : " That He may the more earnestly warn us, He takes a rough simile,
and paints the thing before our eyes, pronouncing some such opinion as this,
that every one who judges his neighbour has a huge beam in his eye, while he
who is judged has only a tiny chip, (and) that he is ten times more deserving of
judgment and condemnation for having condemned others."
CHAP. VII. 4-6. 227
Notice, further, the arrangement of words so appropriate to the
sense in the second clause.
Vv. 4, 5. Or how will it be morally possible for thee to say,
and so on. The TTW?, like TI (cur), ver. 3, expresses what is
morally absurd. " Est enim proprium stultitiae, aliorum vitia
cernere, oblivisci suorum," Cic. Tusc. iii. 30. 73. KOI ISov,
K.T.X] The more emphatic from there being no eVrt ; and lo,
the beam in thine eye! ,/e/8uA,&>] Conjunct, hortatory, and in
the present instance, in the sense of calling upon oneself
(used also in the singular, see Kiihner, II. 1, p. 185 ; Nagels-
bach on Iliad, p. 404, ed. 3 ; Bornemann, in d. Sachs. Stud.
1846, p. 30). vTTOKpiTa] Hypocrite, who pretendest to be
free from faults. The attribute is here taken from his
demeanour as seen from its objective side, while the subjective
side, which here presents itself as hypocrisy, is the conceit
of self-delusion. Siafi^etyeisi] neither imperative nor per-
missive (thou mayest see), but future. The result of self-
amendment will be the earnest effort to help others to
amendment. Observe the compound (correlative of the simple
verb, ver. 3) intenta acie spectabis. Comp. Plat. Phaed. p.
86 D ; Arist. de Som. 3 ; Plut. Mor. p. 36 E.
Ver. 6. The endeavour to correct the faults of others must
be confined within its proper limits, and not allowed to become
a casting of holy things to the dogs. As is usual, however,
in the case of apophthegms, this progress in the thought is
not expressed by a particle (aXXa). To abandon the idea of
connection (Maldonatus, de Wette, Tholuck), or to suppose
(Kuinoel, Neander, Bleek ; Weiss doubtful) that vv. 6-11, at
least ver. 6, do not belong to this passage, is scarcely war-
ranted. TO a<yiov] the holy, not the holy flesh, tf'JP "IB'?, Jer.
xi. 15, Hagg. ii. 12, the flesh of sacrifices (v. d. Hardt, Paulus,
Tholuck), which, besides, would require to be more precisely
designated, otherwise there would be just as much reason to
suppose that the holy bread, tnp Dr6 (1 Sam. xxi. 5), or any
other meat-offering (Lev. xxii. 2), was meant. Christ has in
view the holy in general, figuratively designating in the first
clause only the persons, and then, in the second, the holy thing.
What is meant by this, as also by TOU? fj.ap'yapi'ras immediately
228 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
after, is the holy, because divine evangelic, truth by which men
are converted, and which, by TOU<? papyap. v^v, is described
as something of the highest value, as the precious jewel which
is entrusted to the disciples as its possessors. For Arabian
applications of this simile, comp. Gesenius in Eosenm. Rep. I.
p. 128. Dogs and swine, these impure and thoroughly despised
animals, represent those men who are hardened and altogether
incapable of receiving evangelic truth, and to whom the holy
is utterly foreign and distasteful. The parallelism ought to
have precluded the explanation that by both animals two
different classes of men are intended (the snappish, as in Acts
xiii. 46; the filthy livers, Grotius). piJTrore Karair., K.T.\.,
ical (TTpatyevres, /c.r.X.] applies to the swine, who are to be
conceived of as wild animals, as may be seen from avroix; and
the whole similitude, so that, as the warning proceeds, the
figure of the dogs passes out of view, though, as matter of
course, it admits of a corresponding application (Pricaeus,
Maldonatus, Tholuck). But this is no reason why the words
should be referred to both classes of animals, nor why the
trampling should be assigned to the swine and a-rpd<f>. pij^. to
the dogs (Theophylact, Hammond, Calovius, Wolf, Kuinoel).
For the future KaraTr. (see the critical remarks), comp. note on
Mark xiv. 2; Matt. xiii. 15. kv TO 45 "rroa-lv avrJ] instru-
mental. arpa<f>evTes] not: having changed to an attitude
of open hostility (Chrysostom, Euth. Zigabenus), or to savagery
(Loesner), but manifestly, having turned round upon you from
the pearls, which they have mistaken for food, and which, in
their rage, they have trampled under their feet ; the meaning
of which is, lest such men profane divine truth (by blasphemy,
mockery, calumny), and vent upon you their malicious feeling
toward tlie gospel. In how many ways must the apostles have
experienced this in their own case ; for, their preaching being
addressed to all. they would naturally, as a rule, have to see
its effect on those who heard it before they could know who
were " dogs and swine," so as then to entice them no further
with the offer of what is holy, but to shake off the dust, and
so on. But the men here in view were to be found among
Jews and Gentiles. It is foreign to the present passage (not
CHAP. VII. 7-9. 229
so xv. 26) to suppose that only the Gentiles as such are
referred to (Kostlin, Hilgenfeld).
Vv. 7-9. The new passage concerning prayer begins, without
any trace of connection with what goes before. Comp. note
on ver. 1. It is otherwise in Luke xi. 9, which, however,
does not affect Matthew's originality (in answer to Holtzmann,
Weiss, Weizsacker), nor does it warrant the opinion that some
connecting terms have been omitted. Influenced by a later
tradition, Luke has given the sayings in a connection of his
own, and one that, so far as can be discovered, has no claim
to be preferred to that of Matthew. alreire, ^relre,
Kpovere] Climax depicting the rising of the prayer into
intense fervour, that " he may thereby urge us all the more
powerfully to prayer " (Luther). Ver. 8. The obvious limi-
tation to this promise is sufficiently indicated by d<ya6d in
ver. 11 (1 John v. 14), just as the childlike, therefore believing,
disposition of the petitioner is presupposed 1 in vv. 9-11.
Ver. 9. 77] or, if that were not the case, then, in the analogous
human relation must, and so OIL rt's eo-nv . . . //,?; \i6ov
7ri&. avrw] Dropping of the interrogative construction with
which the sentence had begun, and transition to another. A
similar change in Luke xi. 11. See Fritzsche, Conject. p.
34ff.; Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 243 f. [E. T. 284]. This
irregularity is occasioned by the intervening clause, quern si
filius poposcerit panem. The sentence is so constructed that
it should have run thus : rj r/<? ea-riv e' vp&v dvOpcoTro?, ov eav
alrrjcrri (i.e. 09, eav avrbv alT^a-rj, see Kiihner, II. 2, p. 913),
6 wo? avrov dprov, \L6ov emSwa-et avra> (without fir)} ; but
after the relative clause the construction with pr) supersedes
that at the beginning of the sentence. py \iOov eiriS.
avrw] surely he will not give him a stone? With regard to
the things compared, notice the resemblance between the piece
of bread and a stone, and between a fish and a serpent ; and
1 The specific determination of prayer that will certainly be heard, as prayer
offered in the name of Jesus (John xiv.-xvi.), was reserved for a further stage of
development. Comp. on vi. 13, note 2. It is not the divine relation to men
in general (Baur), but to His own believing ones, that Jesus has in view. Comp.
Weiss, bibl. Theol p. 67 f., ed. 2.
230 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
on the other hand, the contrast with regard to the persons :
e vfj.a)v avOpwiTos, and o Trarrjp vp,. o ev T. ovpavois.
Ver. 11. novrjpol orre?] although ye, as compared with
God, are morally evil. 1 Comp. xix. 17. Even Kuinoel has
given up the false rendering, niggardly (in conformity with
Prov. xxiii. 6 ; Sir. xiv. 5). otSare BiBovat] not soletis dare
(Maldonatus, Wetstein, Kuinoel), but ye know, understand,
how to give (1 Tim. iii 5, and see note on Phil. iv. 12), not
as referring, however, to the disposition (de Wette, Fritzsche),
which in so doing is rather presupposed, but appropriately
pointing to the thoughtful nature of paternal love, which, in
spite of the irovypia, understands how to render possible the
giving of good gifts to children. 86/j,aTa djaOd] wholesome
gifts, in contrast to the stone and the serpent. For the
second dya6d, Luke xi. 13 has irvevpa ayiov a later sub-
stitution of the particular for the general. For the inference
a minori ad majus, comp. Isa. xlix. 15.
Ver. 12. At this point Jesus takes a retrospective glance
at all that He has been saying since v. 1 7, beginning with
Moses and the prophets, concerning our duty to our neigh-
bour, but introducing, indeed, many other instructions and
exhortations. But putting out of view such matters as are
foreign to His discourse, He now recapitulates all that has
been said on the duties we owe to our neighbour, so that ovv
points back to v. 1 7. The correctness of this view is evident
from the following : ovro? <ydp kanv o vopos, etc., from which
it further appears that ovv does not merely refer back to
v. 15 (Kuinoel, Neander, Baumgarten-Crusius). As Luther
well observes : " With those words He concludes the instruc-
tions contained in those three chapters, and gathers them all
into one little bundle." Fritzsche is somewhat illogical when
he says that ovv generalizes the conclusion from otSare
a . . . re/cvoi? vfioSv, which proposition, however, was a
1 Chrysostom appropriately says : ravra St Ixsys* ov 3//3a>.x T fy<r/
Qvffit, aiSt xctxiZu* TO ytvos, aXXa <rpe; aT($/a<TTaXjv <rfi; a.ya.6'oT^tat tft; aiiriu (of
God) TJ ^t\etT(y'n*.i rtit trarpixri* vrampiar x.a\ui. It is not original sin, but the
historical manifestation of the sin of all men, which is spoken of, of which, how-
ever, original sin is the internal, natural root. Comp. IT. 19; John iii. 6.
CHAP. VII. 13. 231
mere lemma. Ewald thinks that ver. 12 is here in its wrong
place, that its original position was somewhere before arycnrare,
v. 44, and might still be repeated after v. 48 ; according to
Bleek and Holtzmann, founding on Luke vi. 31, its original
position was after v. 42. But it is precisely its significant
position as a concluding sentence, along with its reference to
the law and the prophets, that Laike has taken away from it.
Comp. Weiss. On BeKetv iva, see note on Luke vi. 31.
OUTW] not for ravra, as if the matter were merged in the
manner (de Wette), but in such a manner, in this way, corre-
sponding, that is, to this your 0e\ew. The truth of this
Christian maxim lies in this, that the words 6<ra av deXtjTe,
etc., as spoken by Jesus, and, on the ground of His fulfilment
of the law (ovv), which presupposes faith in Him, can only
mean a willing of a truly moral kind, and not that of a self-
seeking nature, such as the desire for flattery. OVTO?, etc.]
for this is the sum of moral duty, and so on. For parallels
from profane writers, see Wetstein ; Bab. Schdbb. f. 31. 1 :
" Quod tibi ipsi odiosum est, proximo ne facias ; narn haec est
tota lex." But being all of a negative character, like Tob.
iv. 15, they are essentially different from the present passage.
For coincidences of a more meagre kind from Greek writers,
see Spiess, Logos Spermat. p. 24.
Ver. 13. There now follow some additional concluding
exhortations and warnings, which in Luke are partly omitted,
partly scattered and displaced (in answer to Calvin, Keim)
and abridged. With ver. 13 comp. Luke xiii. 24. The
thought is one of the fundamental thoughts of the Sermon on
the Mount. ela-eXOere] where the entering leads to is not
stated till ver. 14. ort] assi^ninar the reason e contrario.
J O O
49 rrjv a7T(i)\6iav] i.e. to eternal death, as being the punish-
ment of such as are condemned in the Messianic judgment.
Phil. i. 28 ; Heb. x. 39 ; 2 Pet. iii. 7, 16. The opposite is
<o?7, the eternal life of felicity in the kingdom of the Messiah.
Wide gate and broad way ; figures representing the pleasures
and excesses of sin and wickedness. Strait gate and narrow
way ; representing, on the other hand, the effort and self-
denial which Christian duty imposes. It is only when re-
232 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
generated that a man comes first to experience the lightness of
the yoke (xi. 29), and of the commandments (1 John v. 3),
and all the more the further progress he makes in the love of
Christ (John xiv. 15 ff.). 17 dyaTr. et<? r. a-TreoX.] refers
equally to 17 7rv\r) (Kuhner, II. 1, p. 70 f.), to which again the
Si' 00x775 belongs. There is a similar construction in v. 14,
where avr^v in like manner refers to TTV\TJ.
Vv. 14, 15. TC\ quam (Vulg.) : how strait is the gate ! as
conforming to the Sept., which renders "o in this sense by ri
(2 Sam. vi. 20 ; Cant, vit 6 ; Luke xii. 49), though not good
Greek. The rendering why, as though there were something
sorrowful in the question (Fritzsche), is unsuited to the whole
tone of the discourse. evpicrfcovTes] The strait gate requires
to be sought, so far is it from being readily seen, or from
obtruding itself upon the attention. By most, the gate is
erroneously conceived to be at the end of the way; with
Bengel, Schegg, and Lange, it is to be understood as at the
beginning of it, as opening into it, for which reason, in w. 13,
14, the gate is mentioned before the way. The entering by
the strait gate is therefore the entering into life (into the
Messiah's kingdom), but still brought about through following
the narrow way, which is reached by means of the strait gate.
Trpoo-e^ere Se] But in order to find it, beware, and so on.
The -fyevSoTrpoffiTcu are not the Pharisees (Tholuck), nor
Jews, pretending to be divine messengers (Bleek), nor people
like Judas the Galilean (Acts v. 37, de Wette), but false
Christian teachers without a divine call (xxiv. 11, 24), as
is evident from w. 21-23. Comp. Chrysostom, Calvin,
Grotius, Calovius. A warning in view of coming events, and
such as Jesus knew His followers would soon be needing.
ev v8v/j,a(Ti TrpoySar.] dressed in sheep's clothing. Here we
are not to think of literal sheep skins (Grotius, Kuinoel), seeing
that these were worn by others, and were not specially the
prophets' dress (comp. iii. 4), but as emblematic of the outward
appearance of innocence and gentleness, not of the external
profession of a member of the Christian church ("nominis
Christian! extrinsecus superficies," Tertullian, de praescr. 4),
which would have been admissible only if the context had
CHAP. VII. IG-23. 233
spoken of the church in the light of a flock, in which case
the false prophets would have been far more appropriately
represented as in shepherds' clothing. Bengel well remarks :
" Vestibus ut si essent oves" e<ro>6ev\ i.e., according to the
figure ; under the sheep's clothing ; in reality ; in their true
inner nature, which is disguised by hypocrisy. With \VKOL
apTrayes, as representing soul-destroying agency, comp. Acts
xx. 29; John x. 12.
Vv. 16-18. 'ETriyvaxr.] Ye will know them, not ye should
(Luther). The icapiroi are the results of principles, as seen
in the whole behaviour, the works (vv. 21, 23, xii. 33), not
the doctrines (Jerome, Calvin, Calovius). atcctv0at, K. rpi-
/SoXot] Thorns and thistles occur together in a corresponding
figurative sense in Heb. vi. 8. OVTW] application of those
images to the false prophets, in such a way, however, that the
latter, in keeping with airo T.tcapir. avr. (comp. ver. 20), just
before, appear again as trees. A SevSpov ayadov is, as con-
trasted with the a-airpov, a sound, healthy tree ; for a a-cnrpov
is not some tree of an inferior species, but one whose organism
is decaying with age, etc., rotten, the aairpoT^ of which (Plat.
Eep. p. 609 E; Diosc. i. 113), owing to a defective and cor-
rupted state of the sap, admits of nothing in the way of fruit
but what is bad, small, and useless. Comp. %v\ov aairpov,
Job xli. 19. a-atrpol artyavoi, Dem. 615. 11. " Bonitas
arboris ipsius est veritas et lux interna, etc. ; bonitas/rwcfaram
est sanctitas vitae. Si fructus essent in doctrina positi, nullus
orthodoxus damnari posset," Bengel. With the ov Svvarat
of the corrupt tree, comp. Eom. viii. 7 f. In this emphatic
ov Svvarat, lies the progressive force of the simile.
Ver. 19. Simply a thought introduced by the way (not as
being necessary for the logical connection of vv. 16-20), and
pointing to the condemnation to Gehenna which awaits the
false prophets. Comp. with iii 10.
Ver. 20. v Apa<ye] itaque (xvii. 26 ; Acts xi. 18), pointing
to the inference from vv. 17, 18, and, by way of emphasis,
introducing once more that which was already stated in ver.
1 6 as the theme of discourse.
Vv. 21-23. Jesus now states in literal terms what He
234 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
meant to convey through the simile of the fruit. There is
much that is arbitrary in the way this passage is dealt with
by those who, from their having supposed the i|rei;8o7r/30(/>.
of ver. 15 to be Jews, are under the necessity of adopting a
different explanation in the ^present instance. De Wette,
going against the context, sees a gradual transition from
teachers who teach what is unsound (vv. 1520) to such
(teachers and others) as are satisfied with the mere acknow-
ledgment of their belief. That it is still the same false pro-
phets against whom the warning in vv. 21-23 is directed,
appears from the use of TrpoefyriTevaapev in ver. 22, and of
ol epya%. r. avopiav in ver. 23, the latter further showing
that Kapirol irovijpoi is to be understood as denoting the
characteristic mark of such prophets. ov Tras] not, no one
(Eisner, Fritzsche), but, not every one, 1 Cor. xv. 39. Winer,
p. 161 [E. T. 214]. Not all who acknowledge me as their
teacher will enter the Messianic kingdom, only those among
them, and so on. Many will not enter therein. Therefore it
is not the case that the teachers are not referred to till ver.
22, according to the idea of gradation which de Wette intro-
duces into that verse : " even those who work in my name,"
and so on. Kvpte, Kvpie] In addressing their teachers, the
Jews employed the title ^} or "i. Accordingly it came to be
used as a title in addressing the Messiah (John xiii. 13 f.),
and in the church itself came to be regarded as the summary
of belief, inasmuch as it contained the full recognition of the
majesty of Jesus' person (1 Cor. xii. 3 ; Phil. ii. 11). Christ
Himself called no man master. It is on this occasion, and
while applying to Himself this Messianic title, that He also
says for the first time, 6 Trarrjp fj-ov (comp. iii. 17). The
twice repeated Kvpte is meant to convey the idea of earnestness.
See Borneinann, Schol. in Luc. p. 53, and in the Stud. u.
Krit. 1843, p. 124. Comp. xxv. 11 ; Add. adEsth. iii. 2, 3 ;
LXX. Ps. Ixxi. 5, 16.
Vv. 22, 23. 'Ev /c. rfj rjpepa] Euth. Zigabenus,
eKeivrjv etTre Trjv T% pi'trW?, o>9 eyvcoff fievrjv Kal Trpo
pevrjv. Comp. the Jewish phraseology ; Schoettgen, Hor. in
loco, TO> cro> ovofiarij not jussu et auctoritate sua (as the
CHAP. VII. 22, 23. 235
majority of commentators, Fritzsche included), as if it had
been ev TQJ o-&> ovop,., but by means of Thy name, i.e. through
Thy name (" Jesus Messiah "), having satisfied our religious
consciousness, and having become the object of our confession.
It was by this, as forming the condition and instrument, that
the works in question were accomplished. In the casting out
of devils and in performing miracles the name was pronounced,
Acts iii. 6, xix. 13; comp. on Luke ix. 49, x. 1*7. Notice
the stress laid upon the <ra>, and the threefold repetition of the
prominent words rta erw ovofj,., as expressing that by which
the individuals in question think to shelter themselves from
disapprobation and rejection, and make good their claim to
the Messianic kingdom. 7rp&6<f>r)Tv<T.'] not in the special
sense of foretelling (Grotius, Fritzsche), but (comp. ver. 15)
with reference to those who taught under the influence of a
prophetic enthusiasm (see note on 1 Cor. xii. 10). The dis-
tinguishing feature in those men is an impure, often fanatical,
boldness in the faith, which, though enabling them to perform
outward acts of a marvellous nature, yet fails to exercise any
influence upon their own moral life just the sort of thing
described by Paul in 1 Cor. xiii. 2, and the manifestations of
which are to be met with in every age, especially in times of
great religious excitement. Ver. 23. 0/40X07.] " aperte, magna
potestas hujus dicti," Bengel. The conscious dignity of the
future judge, of the world. OTL] Recitative, The rendering
because, to which a different arrangement of the words by Origen,
Chrysostom, Cyprian, and others has given rise (on . . . fyta?
after aTro^w/j.), is less in harmony with the emotion of the
passage. eyvuv] not -probam (Kuinoel), but novi. Because
("etsi nomen meum allegatis," Bengel) I have never known
you, have obtained no knowledge of you whatever, which I
would have done (John x. 14) had ye really been in fellow-
ship with me. Comp. Luke xiii. 27. The knowledge is the
knowledge of experience founded upon the possession of a com-
mon life. Similarly 1 Cor. viii 3, xiii. 12; Gal. iv. 9.
aTTO^tapelre, /c.r.X] according to Ps. vi. 9. Comp. xxv. 41.
ot ep7ao/*. is used as a substantive ; while az/o/ua is the
antithesis of Succuocrvvi), 2 Cor. vi 14, Heb. i. 9, as in xiii. 41,
236 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
xxiii. 28, xxiv. 12. Notice how in this passage the great
utterance of w. 17, 18 continues to echo to the last, and to
bear the impress of the final judgment ; comp. Rom. ii. 13.
Vv. 24-27. Conclusion of the whole sermon, but, as appears
from ovv, taking the form of an inference from what is said
immediately before, where admission into the Messianic kingdom
is made to depend on moral obedience. irat ovv ocms,
K.T.X.] The nominative with rhetorical emphasis placed anaco-
louthologically at the beginning in x. 14, xiii. 12, xxiii. 16.
See Kiihner, II. 1, p. 42; Winer, p. 534 f. [R T. 718].
6fj,oi(t)aa)] This future, as well as opoi&Orja-erai, ver. 26, is not
to be taken as referring to the comparison immediately following
(which is the common view), which is not warranted by the
interrogatory passages, xi. 16, Mark iv. 30, Luke vii. 31, xiii. 18,
20, but to be understood (like 6fi,o\oyr)cr(i) in ver. 23) of the day
of judgment (Tholuck), when Christ will make him who yields
obedience to those sayings of His, like (i.e. demonstrate as
matter of fact that he is like) a wise man, and so on. 'Ofioioca
therefore does not here denote comparare, but the actual making
him like to (Plat. Rep. p. 393 C ; Matt. vi. 8, xxv. 1, xiii 24 ;
Eom. ix. 29). See the scholion of Photius in Matthaei, ad
Euth. Zig. p. 290. De Wette is at one with Fritzsehe as re-
gards o/jiOKaa-ci), but differs from him, however, in his view of
ofj,oiw6ri<TeTai as referring to the future result that is developing
itself. <f>povifi<p] as in xxv. 2. eirl rrjv Trerpav] upon
the rock. No particular rock is intended, but the category, as
in ver. 26 : upon the sand. Observe the emphatic, nay solemn,
polysyndeta, and (instead of ore or eirei, followed by a statement
of the consequence ; Kriiger, Xen. Anal. p. 404; Kiihner, II.
2, p. 782 f.) the paratactie mode of representation in w. 25
and 2 7, as also the important verbal repetition in ver. 2 7, where,
in the last of the assaults, "Trpoa-eKo^av (they assailed it) is only
a more concrete way of describing the thing than the corre-
sponding TrpoaeTrevov of ver. 25. The three points in the
picture are the roof, the foundation, and the sides of the house.
On the pluperfect Te#e/ieXiWo without the augment, see
Winer, p. 70 [E. T. 85]. //, 670X17] " magna, sane totalis,"
BengeL The meaning of this simple but grand similitude,
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 237
harmonizing in some of its features with Ezek. xiii. 1 1 ff., is
this : Whoever conforms to the teaching just inculcated is
certain to obtain salvation in my kingdom, though trying
times may await him ; but he who is disobedient will lose the
expected felicity, and the dire catastrophe that is to precede
the advent of the Messiah will overwhelm him with aTrd!>\.eia
(inasmuch as the Messiah, at His coming, will consign him to
eternal death).
With regard to the Sermon generally, the following points
may be noted :
(1.) It is the same discourse which, though according to a
different tradition and redaction, is found in Luke vi. 2049.
For although it is there represented as occurring at a later
date and in another locality (ver. 1 7), and although, in respect
of its contents, style, and arrangement it differs widely from
that in Matthew, yet, judging from its characteristic introduc-
tion and close, its manifold and essential identity as regards
the subject-matter, as well as from its mentioning the cir-
cumstance that, immediately after, Jesus cured the sick servant
in Capernaum (Luke vii. 1 ff.), it is clear that Matthew and
Luke do not record two different discourses (Augustine,
Erasmus, Andr. Osiander, Molinaeus, Jansen, Biisching, Hess,
Storr, Gratz, Krafft); but different versions of one and the
same (Origen, Chrysostom, Bucer, Calvin, Chemnitz, Calovius,
Bengel, and most modern commentators).
(2.) The preference as regards originality of tradition is not
to be accorded to Luke (Schneckenburger, Olshausen, Wilke,
B. Bauer, Schenkel, and, in the main, Bleek and Holtzmann),
but to Matthew (Schleiermacher, Kern, Tholuck, de Wette,
Weiss, Weizsacker, Keim), because, as compared with Matthew,
Luke's version is so incomplete in its character, that one sees
in it merely the disjointed fragments of what had once been
a much more copious discourse. In Matthew, on the other
hand, there is that combination of full detail, and sententious
brevity, and disregard of connection, which is so natural in
the case of a lengthened extemporaneous and spirited address
actually delivered, but not suited to the purpose of a mere
238 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
compiler of traditions, to whose art Ewald (Jahrb. I. p. 131)
ascribes the structure of the discourse. The Sermon on the
Mount is omitted in Mark. But the view that this evangelist
originally borrowed it, though in an abridged form, from
Matthew's collection of our Lord's sayings, and that the place
where it stood in Mark iii. 19, just before KOA, ep-%. et9 OLKOV,
may still be traced (Ewald, Holtzmann), rests on the utterly
unwarrantable supposition (Introduction, sec. 4) that the
second Gospel has not come down to us in its original shape.
On the other hand, see especially Weiss. Besides, there is no
apparent reason why so important a passage should have been
entirely struck -out by Mark, if it had been originally there.
(3.) Since the original production of Matthew the apostle
consisted of the \6yia rov tcvpiov (Introduction, sec. 2), it may
be assumed that the Sermon on the Mount, as given in the
present Gospel of Matthew, was in all essential respects one
of the principal elements in that original. However, it is
impossible to maintain that it was delivered (and reproduced
from memory), in the precise form in which it has been pre-
served in Matthew. This follows at once from the length of
the discourse and the variety of its contents, and is further con-
firmed by the circumstance that Matthew himself, according
to ix. 9, did not as yet belong to the number of those to
whom it had been addressed. By way of showing that the
Sermon on the Mount cannot have been delivered (Luke
vi. 20) till after the choice of the Twelve (Wieseler, Tholuck,
Hilgenfeld, Ebrard, Bleek, Holtzmann, Keirn), reasons of this
sort have been alleged, that, at so early a stage, Jesus could
not have indulged in such a polemical style of address toward
the Pharisees. This, however, is unsatisfactory, since even a
later period would still be open to a similar objection. On
the other hand, it is to be observed further, that so important
a historical connection (viz. with the choice of the Twelve)
could not fail to have been preserved among the ancient
traditions recorded by Matthew if such connection had actually
existed, while again it is in accordance with the natural
development of tradition, to suppose that the presence of the
i (Matt. v. 1), which is historically certain, as well as the
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 239
numerous important references to the calling of the disciples,
may have led to the adoption of a later date in the subsequent
traditions. Those who represent the evangelist as introducing
the Sermon at an earlier stage than that to which it strictly
belongs, are therefore charging him with gross confusion in
his determination of the place in which it ought to stand.
But although Matthew was not present himself at the Sermon
on the Mount, but only reports what he learned indirectly
through those who were so, still his report so preserves that
happy combination of thoughtful purpose with the freedom of
extemporaneous speech which distinguished the discourse, that
one cannot fail clearly enough to recognise its substantial
originality. This, however, can only be regarded as a relative
originality, such as makes it impossible to say not only to
what extent the form and arrangement of the discourse have
been influenced by new versions of the \6jia on the one hand,
and new modifications of the Gospel on the other, but also
how much of what our Lord altered on some other occasion
has been, either unconsciously or intentionally, interwoven
with kindred elements in the address. But, in seeking to
eliminate such foreign matters, critics have started with sub-
jective assumptions and uncertain views, and so have each
arrived at very conflicting results. Utterly inadmissible is
the view of Calvin and Semler, which has obtained currency
above all through Pott (de natura atque indole orat. mont.
1788) and Kuinoel, that the Sermon on the Mount is a con-
glomerate, consisting of a great many detached sentences
uttered by Jesus on different occasions, 1 and in proof of which
we are referred especially to the numerous fragments that are
to be found scattered throughout Luke. No doubt, in the
case of the Lord's Prayer, vi. 9 ff., the claim of originality
1 Strauss compares the -different materials of the discourse to boulders thai
have been washed away from their original bed ; while Matthew, he thinks, has
shown special skill in grouping together the various cognate elements. This is
substantially the view of Baur. Both, however, are opposed to the notion that
Luke's version is distinguished by greater originality. Holtzmann ascribes to
Matthew the arrangement and the grouping of the ideas, while to Jesus again
he ascribes the various apothegms that fill up the outline. Weizsacker regards
the discourse as fabricated, and having no reference to any definite situation,
240 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
must be decided in favour of Luke's account. Otherwise,
however, the historical connection of Luke's parallel passages
is such as, in no single instance, to justify their claim to the
originality in question. In fact, the connection in which most
of them stand is less appropriate than that of Matthew (Luke
xi. 34-36 compared with Matt. vi. 22 f. ; Luke xvi. 17
compared with Matt. v. 18 ; Luke xii. 58 ff. compared with
Matt. v. 24 ff. ; Luke xvi. 18 compared with Matt. v. 32),
while others leave room for supposing that Jesus has used the
same expression twice (Luke xii. 33 f. comp. Matt. vi. 19-21 ;
Luke xiii. 24 comp. Matt. vii. 13 ; Luke xiii. 25-27 comp.
Matt. vii. 22 f. ; Luke xiv. 34 comp. Matt. v. 13 ; Luke xvi.
13 comp. Matt. vi. 24) on different occasions, which is quite
possible, especially when we consider the plastic nature of the
figurative language employed. For, when Luke himself makes
use of the saying about the candle, Matt. v. 1 5, on two
occasions (viii. 16, xi. 33), there is no necessity for thinking
(as Weiss does) that he has been betrayed into doing so by
Mark iv. 21. Luke's secondary character as regards the
Sermon on the Mount is seen, above all, in his omitting Jesus'
fundamental exposition of the law. In deriving that expo-
sition from some special treatise dealing with the question of
Jesus' attitude towards the law, Holtzmann adopts a view that
is peculiarly untenable in the case of the first Gospel (which
grew directly out of the \6<yia) ; so, on the other hand, Weiss,
1864, p. 56 f.
(4.) Those whom Jesus addressed in the Sermon on the
Mount were, in the first instance, His own disciples (v. 1),
among whom were present some of those who were afterwards
known as the Twelve (iv. 18 ff), for which reason also a part
of the discourse has the apostolic office distinctly in view ;
with a view, as he thinks, to show the relation of Jesus to the law, and there-
with its introduction into the kingdom of God ; what interrupts this branch of
the discourse, which was sketched as a unity, viz. v. 11 f., vi. 9ff., vii. 21-23,
are inexplicable additions, and vii. 1-23 contains insertions which have a general
relationship to the principal thoughts. According to Weiss, the following
passages in particular belong to the insertions : v. 13-16, v. 25 f., vi. 7-15, vi.
19-34, vii. 7-11. The discourse, moreover, is said to have begun originally
with only four beatitudes.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT. 241
but the surrounding multitude (vii. 28) had also been listening,
and were deeply astonished at the instruction they received.
Accordingly, it may well be supposed that though Jesus'
words were intended more immediately for the benefit of His
disciples (v. 2), the listening multitude was by no means over<
looked, but formed the outer circle of His audience, so that by
look and gesture He could easily make it appear what was
intended for the one circle and what for the other ; comp. v. 2.
What is said of ancient oratory is no less true of the anima-
tion with which Jesus spoke : " in antiqua oratione oculus,
manus, digitus vice interpretis funguntur " (Wolf, ad Lcptin.
p. 365). These observations will suffice to explain the pre-
sence of a mixed teaching suited to the outer and inner circle,
partly ideal and partly of a popular and less abstract character
(in answer to Wittichen, Jahrb. f. D. Th. 1862, p. 318 ff.).
(5.) The object of the sermon cannot have been the conse-
cration of the apostles (Zacharias, Pott, Ewald, Jahrb. I. p. 129),
partly because the connection in which Luke places this address
with the choosing of the Twelve is not to be preferred to the
historical connection given in Matthew (see above, under 2) ;
partly because Matthew, who does not record any passage con-
taining special instructions for the apostles till ch. x., makes
no mention whatever of such an object (he only says e'S/Sao7cei/
auTov<;, v. 2); and partly because the contents are, as a whole,
by no means in keeping with such a special aim as is here
supposed. Judging from the contents, the object of Jesus, as
the fulJUler of the law and the prophets, is to set forth the moral
conditions of admission to the approaching Messianic kingdom.
But the principle of a morality rooted in the heart, on which
He insists, is, seeing that it is His disciples that are immediately
addressed, necessarily faith in Him, as Luther especially has
so often and so ably maintained (comp. Hofmann, Schriftbew.
I. p. 598 ff., Tholuck). The whole discourse is a lively com-
mentary on the words with which Jesus introduced His public
ministry : peravoetTe, rjyyiice <yap f) ftacri\6ia rwv ovpavcav, set-
ting forth the great moral effects of the fjuerdvoia which He
requires, and declaring them to be the condition of Messianic
bliss for those who believe in Him. So far the discourse may
MATT. Q
242 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
be correctly described as the inaugural address of His kingdom,
as its "magna charta" (Tholuck), less appropriately as the
" compendium of His doctrine " (de Wette).
(6.) The passages in which Jesus plainly reveals Himself
as the Messiah (v. 1 7 f., vii. 2 1 ff.) are not at variance with
xvi. 17 (see note on this passage), but fully harmonize with
the Messianic conviction of which He was already possessed at
His baptism, and which was divinely confirmed on that occa-
sion, and with which He commenced His public ministry
(iv. 1 7) ; just as in the fourth Gospel, also, He gives expression
to His Messianic consciousness from the very outset, both within
and beyond the circle of His disciples. Consequently, it is
not necessary to suppose that a varepov irporepov (de Wette,
Baur) has taken place, which, according to Kostlin, had already
been forced into the \oyta ; nor need we allow ourselves to be
driven to the necessity of assigning a later date to the dis-
course (Tholuck, Hilgenfeld). Besides, in the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus does not as yet assume to Himself any express or
formal designation as Messiah, although a Messianic sense of
the importance of His eya) runs through the entire discourse ;
and the notion that His consciousness of being the Messiah only
gradually developed itself at a later period (Strauss, Schenkel,
Weissenbach), is contrary to the whole testimony of the
Gospels.
Ver. 28. Kal ejevero] . Winer, p. 565 [E. T. 760].
CTTL] as throughout the New Testament. In classical Greek
the usual construction is with the dat., sometimes with the
ace., and more rarely with eiri (Xen. Cyrop. i. 4. 27 ; Polyb.
v. 48. 3, ii 3. 3, al.). The discourse, which has been listened
to with deep and unwearied attention, having now been brought
to a close, there follows an outburst of astonishment, " quod
nova quaedam majestas et insueta hominum mentes ad se
raperet," Calvin. This in answer to Kostlin, p. 77, Holtz-
mann, who regard this statement as borrowed from Mark i. 2 2.
Ver. 29. *Hv 8i8d<rtccov] expresses more emphatically
than a simple imperf. that it was a continuous thing, Klihner,
II. 1, p. 35. Winer, p. 526 f. [E. T. 437]. o>9 ct-ovtriav
CHAP. VII. 29. 243
e^o) v\ as one who is invested with prophetic authority, in con-
trast to the vpa/j,/j,aTeis, in listening to whom one could hear
that they were not authorized to speak in the same fearless,
candid, unconstrained, convincing, telling, forcible way. " All
was full of life, and sounded as though it had hands and feet,"
Luther. Comp. Luke iv. 32, 36; Mark i. 22, 27; Eev.
ix. 19.
244 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTER VIII.
VEK. 1. xaraftavn ds avru] Lachm. According to Z Codd.
of the It. Hil. : xai xarafiavTog avrou, instead of which B C N**
Curss. have xaru@dvro$ de aurou. A mere correction, like the
similarly attested titriXdovros ds auroZ, ver. 5, in Lachm. and
Tisch. 8. Ver. 2. IX 6uv] Lachm. and Tisch. : KpostXdw, accord-
ing to B E M A N and several Curss. as well as some Verss.
and Fathers. Correctly, vpos having dropped out owing to the
final syllab. of fovpoe. Ver. 3. 6 'iy<sovi\ is not found in
B C* tf, Curss. Verss. Deleted by Lachm. and Tisch. A
common supplementary addition, and evidently such in the
present instance, from its shifting position, for several authori-
ties have it before ^-vj/aro. Ver. 5. aur<] Elz. : T& 'lj<roD, con-
trary to decisive authorities. Ver. 8. Xo'yw] Elz.: Xoyov,
against such decisive authority, that X6yw must not be regarded
as introduced from Luke vii. 7 ; but Xo'yov seems to be a cor-
rection through ignorance. Ver. 9. After s%ovciav Lachm. has
racffoptvos (B N, 4, 238, 421, Vulg. It. Chrys.) ; taken from Luke
vii. 8. Ver. 10. ovfie sv rw *I<rpai)X roeavrqv K/'ariv tZpot]
Lachm.: nap ovdsv! iroaavTrjv irienv sv ru 'lap. sbpov, only according
to B, Curss. and several Verss. and Fathers. The same reading,
though not so well attested, is also found in Luke vii. 9. An
interpretation in which the meaning of ovde has been missed,
and the prefixing of sv rf 'laprtfa. misunderstood (comp. Vulg.).
Ver. 12. x/3xj0J3<r.] Tisch. 8: eeXsu<roi/ra/, on too slender
authority; among the Codd. only X*. Ver. 13. auroD] want-
ing in B K and several Curss. and Verss. and in Basil. De-
leted by Lachm. and Tisch. 8. Passed over as unnecessary.
For what immediately follows Lachm. reads a-^b r%$ Zpac exsivqs,
in accordance with less important authorities (C A). In con-
formity with ix. 22, xv. 28, xvii. 18. Ver. 15. aur] so also
Scholz, Lachm. and Tisch., according to decisive authority. The
avroTs of the Received text, defended by Griesb. and Fritzsche, is
taken from Mark i. 31, Luke iv. 39. Ver. 18. *roXXoi)s o^Xoug]
Lachm.: o^Xov, only according to B, but correct. Matth. would
certainly have written S^Xou; ToXXoug, as in ver. 1, xiii. 2, xv. 30,
CHAP. vni. 245
nnd all through ; for only in xiv. 1 4 does he put croXu; first, where,
however, the singul. occurs. Besides, the reading of the Received
text might easily be a gloss to strengthen the expression.
Ver. 23. rb vhoTov] The article is omitted in B C, Curss. Or.,
and is deleted by Lachm., but had been left out from not being
understood. So also in ix. 1, xiii. 2, in which cases it is deleted
by Tisch. 8 as well. Ver. 25. 01 padvirai] The Received text
inserts auroD, which, however, is deleted, in accordance with
decisive testimonies, o/ /aa^ra/ is also omitted in B K, Verss.
as well as by Jerome, Bede. Bracketed by Lachm., deleted by
Tisch. 8. But the omission may be accounted for from the fact
that, similarly in the parallels of Mark and Luke, this, the
obvious subject, is not expressed. ^5] is wanting in B C K
1, 13, 118, 209. Justly deleted by Fritzsche, Lachm. and
Tisch. ; for, while there seemed to be no reason why it should
have been omitted, the insertion of it, on the other hand, would
naturally suggest itself, if it did not happen to be noticed how
the mode of expression is suited to the feeling of the passage.
Ver. 28. sX66vei aural] Lachm. Tisch. 8 : eXdon-o? aurou, accord-
ing to B C ** and Curss. See ver. 1. Tipaaqvuv] Fritzsche and
Scholz, also Tisch. : radapqvuv, according to B C M A, Curss.
Syr. utr. Perss. Eus. Epiph. ; Elz. : Tipyserivuv, according to C***
E K L S U V X K. See in general, Orig. iv. p. 140. The
reading Tadapwuv, which Orig. found Iv oXiyoig, has topographical
reasons in its favour; Tepueqvuv, however, is supported by
Origen's statement, that in his time it was the prevailing read-
ing. 1 Ver. 29. <ro/] Elz. and Scholz insert 'ijjffoD, which is not
found in B C L K, Curss. Codd. It. Copt. Cypr. Or. Taken from
Mark v. 7, Luke viii. 28. Ver. 31. eirirpt-^ov q/tTv avtXdfTi/]
Griesb. Lachm. Tisch. : amarsiXov vpS.;, according to B N, Curss.
Syr. and the majority of Verss. Correctly ; the reading of the
Received text is adopted from Luke viii. 32 (where several
authorities have avt^dsTv instead of fie&QfTv). Had it been a cor-
rection from Mark v. 1 2, we should have found vs^ov instead of
avosrsiXov in the present passage. Ver.'32. ilc, TOVS ^olpovs] as
Lachm. and Tisch. 8, according to B C* N, Curss. and most Verss.
But the Recept. tic n}v ayiXriv ruv ^oipuvia to be preferred all the
more that the adoption of sis rws %o/>ouj, from the parallels in
Mark and Luke, was favoured by the greater definiteness of
meaning (into the bodies of the swine). After jj ayXj Elz.
1 Tipatr. is still found in the Syr. p. on the margin, Sahid. Sax. It Vulg.
Hilar. Nyss. Ath. Juv. Prud. Adopted by Lachm. For the decision, see
exegetical notes. N* has Ta^apntu, which is only another way of pronouncing
Tat Jap. ; see Grimm on 1 Mace. iv. 15.
246 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
inserts rZv %o/>wv. It is wanting, indeed, in B C* M A K, Curss.
and the majority of Verss., and is deleted by Griesb. Scholz,
Lachm. and Tisch. 8. But how easily may it have been omitted
as quite unnecessary, owing to the parallels in Mark and Luke !
In a case where the meaning was so obvious, there was no
motive for inserting it.
Ver. 1. Avru> . . . avroS] as in v. 40, and frequently in
Matthew as well as in classical writers. See Bornemaun, ad
Zen. Symp. iv. 63; Winer, p. 139 f. [E. T. 275]. The
healing of the leper occurs in Luke (v. 12 ff.) before the Sermon
on the Mount, and in Mark (i. 40 ff.) and Luke not till after
the healing of Peter's mother-in-law. It is not to be regarded
as the earliest of all the miracles of healing.
Ver. 2. AeTrpos] \e7rpa, nynv, a most dangerous, contagious
disease, descending to the fourth generation, which lacerated
the body with scales, tetter, and sores ; Trusen, bill. Krarikh.
p. 103 ff.; Kurtz in Herzog's Encykl. I. p. 626 ft; Furer in
Schenkel's Bibellex. I. p. 317ff. ; Saalschutz, M. R. p. 223ff.
Kvpie] To express the reverence that is founded on the
recognition of higher power. eav OeXys] entire resignation
to the mighty will of Jesus. KaOapia-ai] from the disease
that was polluting the body ; Plut. Mor. p. 134D. exa0a-
pia-07) avrov 17 \eirpa] and immediately his leprosy was
cleansed (John xi 32), xiii. 25,' xxii. 13, xxv. 51. The
leprosy is spoken of as cleansed, according to the idea that
the disease experiences the healing that the disease is healed
(iv. 23). Differently and more correctly expressed in Mark
i. 42. On 6i\a), Bengel aptly observes : " echo prompta ad
fidem leprosi maturam." In answer to Paulus, who under-
stands the cleansing in the sense of pronouncing clean, as
also Schenkel, Keim, see Strauss, II. p. 48 ff., and Bleek.
Ver. 4. The injunction, not to mention the matter to any one,
cannot be regarded as an evidence of Matthew's dependence
on Mark (Holtzman ; comp. xii. 15 with Mark i. 43 and
iii. 7 ff.), because the connection in Mark is supposed to be
somewhat more appropriate, but is only to be taken as ex-
pressing a desire on the part of Jesus to prevent any commo-
tion among the people with their fanatical Messianic hopes, at
CHAP. VIII. 4. 247
least as far as, by discouraging publicity, it was in His own
power to do so (Chrysostom) to prevent what, according to
Mark i. 45 (Luke v. 15), actually took place through a dis-
regard of this injunction. Comp. ix. 30,xii. 16 ; Mark iii. 12,
v. 43, vil 36, viil 26, 30; Matt. xvi. 20, xvii. 9. The
miracle was no doubt performed (ver. 1) before the people (in
answer to Schenkel), and in the open air; but, in the first
place, only those standing near would be in a position to hear
or see the course of the miracle with sufficient minuteness ;
and, secondly, in giving this injunction, Jesus was also keeping
in view the fact of the leper's being about to visit Jerusalem,
and to sojourn there. Consequently we must reject the view
of Maldonatus, Grotius, Bengel, Wetstein, Kuinoel, Paulus,
Glockler, to the effect that He wished to provide against any
refusal on the part of the priests to pronounce the man clean.
Equally inadmissible is that of Fritzsche, Baumgarten-Crusius,
and Keim, that at present, above all, He insisted on the more
important duty, that, namely, of the man's subjecting him-
self to the inspection of the priests, which is not in accordance
with the occasional opa (conip. ix. 31) ; nor can we accept
Olshausen's view, that the motive for the injunction ig to be
sought in the man himself. Baur holds that the injunction
is not to be regarded as historical, but only as the product of
tradition, arising out of the application to Jesus of Isa. xlii. 1 ff.
But the truth is, that prohibition is not once mentioned in
Isa. xlii., which contains only a general description of the
Messiah's humility. Moreover, it would not be apparent why
the passage from Isaiah is not quoted here, when the injunc-
tion in question occurs for the first time, but afterwards in
xii. 17. <reavTov\ thyself. Instead of making a talk about
the matter, go and present yourself in person before the
proper authorities. T&> te/oet] Lev. xiv. 2. TO Swpov] the
offering prescribed in Lev. xiv. 10, 21. See Ewald, Alterth.
p. 210 f . ; Keil, Archdol. 59. et<? jjuaprvptov avrol<i\ as
an evidence to them, i.e. to the people, that thou hast been
healed. This reference of avrois follows contextually from
opa, fMTjSevl eiTr?;?, and that of papTvpiov (evidence that tho'ti
art cleansed) from a consideration of the object of the legal
243 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
prescription in question ; see Lev. xiv. 5 7. It is importing a
foreign element, to suppose that the testimony was further
meant to show that " I am not abrogating the law " (Chry-
sostom, Theophylact ; see what follows) ; comp. also Fritzsche,
who looks upon the words as containing a remark by Matthew
himself : " Haec autem dixit, ut turbae testaretur, se magni
facere Mosis instituta." As decisive against the latter view,
we have the fact that both Mark and Luke record the words
els paprvpiov avTois, and that, too, in such a way as to make
it evident that they formed part of what was spoken by Jesus
(Luke v. 14). Chrysostom and Fathers understand aurot? as
referring to the priests, in which case the testimony is regarded
as intended to show either (what is in itself correct) Jesus'
respect for the law (Euth. Zigabenus, Bengel, Keim), to which
the person cleansed was expected to bear witness "before, the
priests (Chrysostom : et? e\ey^oi>, ei? aTroSeifyv, 19 Kar^opiav,
eav dyv(i)fju)V(t)(Tiv), or the reality of the cure, " si sc. vellent in
posterum negare, me tibi sanitatem restituisse " (Kuinoel,
Erasmus, Maldonatus, Grotius), and at the same time the
Messiahship of Jesus (Calovius). According to Olshansen, it
is a testimony borne by the priests themselves that is meant ;
inasmuch as, by pronouncing the man clean, they become
witnesses to the genuineness of the miracle, and at the same
time condemn their own unbelief (a confusion of two things
that are no less erroneous than foreign to the purpose). If
auroi? referred to the priests, then of course paprvptov could
only be understood as meaning an evidence or proof that the
cleansing had taken place (Grotius). However, the offering
was not meant to furnish such evidence to the priests, but to
the people, who were now at liberty to resume their intercourse
with the person who had been healed.
KEMARK. Attempts of various kinds have been made to
divest the miracles of Jesus 1 of their special character, and to
1 See Schleiermacher, L. J. p. 206 ff. ; Julius Miiller, de miraculor. J. Ch.
natura et necessitate, I. II. 1839, 1841 ; Kostlin, de miraculor. quae Chr. et
primiej. discip. fecerunt, natura et ratione, 1860; Rothe iu d. Stud. u. Krit.
1858, p. 21 ff., and zur Dogmat. p. 104 ff. ; Beyschlag, ub. d. Bedeut. d.
Wwiders im Christenth. 1862; Dorner, Jesu sundlose Vollkommenh. 1862,
CHAP. VIII. 4. 249
reduce them to the order of natural events (Paulus), partly by
accounting for them on physiological or psychological grounds,
and partly by explaining them on certain exegetical, allegorical,
or mythical principles of interpretation. Some, again, have
sought to remove them entirely from the sphere of actual fact,
and to ascribe their origin to legends elaborated out of Old
Testament types and prophecies (Strauss) ; to the influence of
religious feeling in the church (B. Bauer) ; to narratives of an
allegorical character (Volkmar) ; to the desire to embody cer-
tain ideas and tendencies of thought in historical incidents
(Baur) ; as well as to mistakes of every sort in the understand-
ing of similitudes and parables (Weisse). To admit the super-
natural origin of Christianity is not inconsistent with the idea
of its historical continuity (Baur) ; but the denial of miracles
involves both an avowed and a covert impugning of the evan-
gelic narrative, which, as such, is in its substance conditioned
by miracles (Holtzmann, p. 510), and consequently does away
almost entirely with its historical character. As a further
result, Christianity itself is endangered, in so far as it is matter
of history and not the product of the independent development
of the human mind, and inasmuch as its entrance into the
world through the incarnation of the Son of God is analogous
to the miracle of creation (Philippi, Glaubensl. I. p. 25 ff., ed. 2).
The miracles of Jesus, which should always be viewed in con-
nection with His whole redeeming work (Kostlin, 1860, p.
14ff.), are outward manifestations of the power of God's Spirit,
dwelling in Him in virtue of His Sonship, and corresponding to
His peculiar relation to the world (Hirzel), as well as to His
no less peculiar relation to the living God ; their design was to
authenticate His Messianic mission, and in this lay their telic
necessity, a necessity, however, that is always to be regarded
as only relative (Schott, de eonsilio, quo Jesus mirac. ediderit,
Opuse. I. p. Ill ft.). And this according to John ii. 11. In
exercising His supernatural power of healing, the usual though
not always (Matt. viii. 5ff.; John iv. 47 ff. ; Matt. ix. 23ff. ;
Luke xxii. 51) indispensable condition on which He imparted
the blessing was faith in that power on the part of the person
to be healed ; nothing, however, but positive unbelief prevented
p. 51 ff.; Hirzel, ilb. d. Wunder, 1863; Giider, ub d. Wunder, 1868; Stein-
meyer, Apolog. Beitr. I. 1866 ; Baxmann in d. Jahrb.f. D. Th. 1863, p. 749 ff. ;
Kostlin, ibid. 1864, p. 205 ff; Bender, d. Wunderbeg. d. N. T. 1871. On the
synoptic accounts of the miracles, see Holtzmann, p. 497; and on the various
kinds of miracles, Keim, II. 125 ff. ; on the miracles of healing, see Weizsacker,
p. 360 ff.
250 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
this power from taking effect (Matt. xiii. 58; Mark vi. 5f. ;
comp. Julius Miiller, II. p. 17); but Christ's heart-searching
look (John ii. 25) enabled Him to detect those cases where the
attempt would be fruitless. Moreover, the miracles of Jesus
are not to be regarded as things that contradict or violate the
laws of nature, but rather as comprehended within the great
system of natural law, the harmonious connection of which in
all its parts it is not for us to fathom. In this respect the
phenomena of magnetism furnish an analogy, though a poor
and imperfect one ; and the more that is known of the laws of
nature, the idea of any annulling or suspension of these laws
only appears the more absurd. See Kostlin, 1860, p. 59 ff.,
1864, p. 259 ff.; Eothe, p. 34 ff. The miracles, therefore, are
" reflections in nature " of God's revelation of Himself (Bey-
schlag), " something strictly in accordance with law" (Nitzsch),
which, in the sphere of nature, appears as the necessary and
natural correlative of the highest miracle in the spiritual world
viz. the accomplishment of the work of redemption by the
incarnate Son of God. As this work has its necessary condi-
tions in the higher order of the moral world established and
ruled by the holy God in accordance with His love, so the
miracles have theirs in the laws of a higher order of nature
corresponding to the loving purposes of the Creator, inasmuch
as this latter order, in virtue of the connection between nature
and spirit, is upheld by that Being whose spiritual power
determines all its movements. Comp. Liebner, Christologie, I.
p. 351 : "The miracles of Christ are occasional manifestations
of the complete introduction, through the God-man, of that
relation between nature and spirit which is to be perfected in
the end of the world " means by which the Xoyos reveals Him-
self in His human impersonation and work, so that they are
always of a moral nature, and have always a moral aim in view,
unfolding, in their essential connection with His preaching, the
miracle of the incarnation on which His whole work was based
(Martensen, Dogm. 155 [E. T. p. 301]). Observe, moreover,
how the power to work miracles was a gift and ff^sJbv of the
apostles (Rom. xv. 19 ; 2 Cor. xii. 12 ; Heb. ii. 4), and a ^dpta/ia
of the apostolic church (1 Cor. xii. 9 f.), a fact which warrants
us in assuming, indeed in inferring a minori ad majus, the
reality of the miracles of Jesus Himself in general, we mean,
and without prejudice to the criticism of the narratives in
detail. At the same time, in the application of such criticism,
the hypothesis of legendary embellishments should be treated
with great caution by a modest exegesis, and all the more that,
CHAP. VIII. 5-7. 251
in the fourth Gospel, we have a series of miracles bearing the
attestation of one who was an eye-witness, and which, in their
various features, correspond to many of those recorded by the
Synoptists.
Ver. 5. The centurion was a Gentile by birth, ver. 10, but
connected with Judaism (Luke vii. 3), probably from being a
proselyte of the gate, and was serving in the army of Herod
Antipas. The narrative is, in the main, identical with Luke
vii., differing only in points of minor importance. The ques-
tion as to which of the two evangelists the preference in
point of originality is to be accorded, must be decided not in
favour of Matthew (Bleek, Keim), but of Luke, whose special
statements in the course of the incident (misinterpreted by
Strauss and Bruno Bauer, comp. de Wette) cannot, except in
an arbitrary way, be ascribed to an amplifying tendency ; they
bear throughout the stamp of historical and psychological
originality, and nothing would have been more superfluous
than to have invented them for the sake of giving greater
prominence to the man's humility, which is brought out quite
as fully and touchingly in Matthew's narrative. Comp.
Neander, Krabbe, Lange. For the points of difference in the
account John iv. 47 fi'., see note on that passage.
Ver. 6. 'O Trals pov] not son (Strauss, Neander, Baum-
garten-Crusius, Bleek, Hilgenfeld, Keim), but slave (Luke vii.
7 ; Matt. xiv. 2) ; yet not : my favourite slave (Fritzsche,
comp. Luke vii. 2); but either the centurion had only the
one, or else he refers to that one in particular whom he had
in view. From ver. 9, the former appears to be the more
probable view. /SeySX^rat] is laid down. Comp. ix. 2.
The perf. as denoting the existing condition. The description
of the disease is not at variance with Luke vii. 2, but more
exact. TrapaXur.] see on iv. 24.
Ver. 7. And Jesus (perceiving, from his mode of address
and whole demeanour, the centurion's faith in His divine mira-
culous power) answered him : I (emphatically) will come, and
so on. Fritzsche puts it interrogatively. But (real, by way of
coupling an objection, Person, ad Eur. Phoen. 1373) said Jesus
to him, Am I to come and heal him (depair. conj. aor.) ? This
252 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
is refining more than is necessary, and not in keeping with
the simple character of the passage. Ben gel well says,
" Divina sapientia Jesus, eos sermones proponit, quibus elicit
confessionem fidelium eosque antevertit."
Ver. 8. Aojw] Dat. of the means and instrument, as in
Luke vii. 7 ; speak it, i.e. command, with a word, that he
become whole. This is by way of expressing a contrast to
the proffered personal service. Lobeck, Paralip. p. 525.
Here again the iva does not represent the infinitive construc-
tion, but : I am not sufficient (worthy enough) for the purpose
that Thou shouldst go (John i. 27) under my roof (Soph. Ant.
1233). As a Gentile by birth, and loving, as he does, the
Jewish people (Luke vii.), he feels most deeply his own
unworthiness in presence of this great miracle- worker that has
arisen among them, and " non superstitione, sed fide dixit, se
indignum esse," Maldonatus.
Ver. 9. Kal . . . el;ov<Tiav]a7roTOv tcaO* eavTov vTroSeiy/jLaros
Karaa-Kevd^ei, on, Kal Xojw /MOVM Svvarai, Euth. Zigabenus.
"Av0p. VTTO e. go together (in answer to Fritzsche). The con-
necting of this substantive with %a)v, etc., serves to indicate
at once his own obedience and that which he exacts and
receives from others. It is quite gratuitous to suppose that
the centurion regards the disease as caused by demons that
are compelled to yield to the behests of Jesus (Fritzsche,
Ewald) ; and it is equally so to impute to him the belief that
the duty of carrying out those behests is entrusted to angels
(Erasmus, Wetstein, Olshausen, Baumgarten-Crusius). From
the context it simply appears that he looked upon diseases as
subject to Christ's authority, and therefore ready to disappear
whenever He ordered them to do so (Theophylact, Euth. Ziga-
benus, Bengel, de Wette). It is thus that he commands the
fever in Luke iv. 39, and it ceases. Observe with Bengel the
" sapientia fidelis ex ruditate militari pulchre elucens." His
inference is a case of reasoning a minori ad majtis.
Ver. 10. OvBe ev r. 'lap.] not even among Israelites,
the people of God, who are in possession of ras Trepl e/nou
fuzprvpias TWV ypatywv (Euth. Zigabenus). So the centurion
was not a proselyte of righteousness ; comp. ver. 1 1 f., where
CHAP. VIII. 11, 12. 253
Jews and Gentiles are contrasted with each other. And yet in
him faith and humility were found inseparably united as by
nature they ought to be, and that more than in the case of the
ordinary native Jew. With this unfavourable testimony against
Israel, comp. the history of the woman of Canaan, xv. 22 ff.
Ver. 11. 'Airo avar. ical Svcr/*.] from the most widely
separated quarters of the world Gentiles. Comp. Isa. xlv. 6 ;
Mai. i. 11. According to Jewish ideas, one of the main
elements in the happiness of the Messianic kingdom was the
privilege of participating in splendid festive entertainments
along with the patriarchs of the nation. Bertholdt, Christol.
p. 196. Schoettgen on this passage. Jesus employs the expres-
sion in a symbolical sense (xxvi. 29 ; Luke xiii. 28, xiv. 15 ;
Eev. xix. 9 ; Matt. xxii. 30 ; 1 Cor. xv. 50): many Gentiles
will become believers, and so have their part in the blessings of the
Messianic kingdom in happy felloivship with tlie patriarchs of
the people of God. In sharp contrast to incarnate (iii. 9)
Jewish pride, Tanchum (in Schoettgen) : " In mundo futuro,
(dixit Deus) mensam ingentem vobis sternam, quod gentiles
videbunt et pudejient." Bertholdt, p. 1*76. Hilgenfeld sees
in the whole narrative the milder comprehensive Judaeo-Chris-
tianity of the author of the revised Gospel ; but Keim again,
while upholding the account in all other points, ascribes ver.
1 1 f. to the hand that framed the later version, although, with
ver. 10, preparing the way for them, the words neither inter-
rupt the connection nor clash with the then standpoint of
Jesus (iii. 9), seeing that in the Sermon on the Mount (espe-
cially vii. 21 .) He has taken away from the kingdom of God
anything like national limitation.
Ver. 12. The sons of the kingdom: the Jnvs, in so far as,
according to the divine promise, they have the right, as the
theocratic people, to the Messiah's kingdom (John iv. 22 ;
Eom. ix. 4, 5, xi. 16 f.), and are, in consequence, its potential
subjects. The article describes them, summarily, in a body,
wo?, }3, as denoting physical or moral relationship, Winer, p.
223 [E. T. 298]. The true viol T. par., who are so in
point of fact, see xiii. 38. TO eg&repov] which is outside the
(illuminated) Messianic banqueting hall. Wetstein on this
254 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
passage, comp. on egwrepos, LXX. Ex. xxvi. 4, xxxvi. 10 ;
Ezek. x. 5 ; not found in Greek authors. For the thing, see
xxii. 13, xxv. 30. It is not some special degree of infernal
punishment that is represented to us (Grotius), but the
punishments themselves, and that as poena damni et sensus
at once. o K\av6po<t . . . oSovriov] indicating the wail of
suffering, and the gnashing of teeth that accompanies despair.
The article points to the well-known (KUT efo^i/) misery
reigning in hell (xiii. 42, 50, xxii. 13, xxiv. 51, xxv. 30).
Found in Luke only at xiii. 28, where the same expression
occurs on a different occasion, a circumstance which is not in
Luke's favour (de Wette, Gfrorer), but is to be explained from
the fact that Jesus made frequent use of the figure of the
Messianic reclining at table, and of the expression regarding
the infernal /cXavdjios, etc.
Ver. 13. 'Ev rfj &pa e/c.] a>pa is emphatic. In the very
hour in which Jesus was uttering these words, the slave
became whole, and that through the divine power of Jesus
operating upon him from a distance, as in John iv. 46 ff.
The narrative is to be explained neither by a desire to present
an enlarging view of the miraculous power of Jesus (Strauss),
nor as a parable (Weisse), nor as a historical picture of the
way in which God's word acts at a distance upon the Gentiles
(Volkmar), nor as being the story of the woman of Canaan
metamorphosed (Bruno Bauer) ; nor are we to construe the
proceeding as the providential fulfilment of a general but sure
promise given by Jesus (Ammon), or, in that case, to have
recourse to the supposition that the healing was effected
through sending an intermediate agent (Paulus). But if, as is
alleged, Jesus in His reply only used an affirmation which was
halfway between a benediction depending on God and the
faith of the house, and a positive act (Keim), it is impossible
to reconcile with such vagueness of meaning the simple
imperative and the no less impartial statement of the result.
Moreover, there exists as little a psychical contact between the
sick man and Jesus, as at the healing of the daughter of the
woman of Canaan, xv. 22, but the slave was cured in con-
sideration of the centurion's faith.
CHAP. VIII. 14-17. 255
Ver. 14. Mark i. 29 ff., Luke iv. 38 ff., assign to the
following narrative another and earlier position, introducing
it immediately after the healing of a demoniac in the syna-
gogue, which Matthew omits. The account in Mark is the
original one, but in none of the reports are we to suppose the
evangelists to be recording the earliest of Jesus' works of
healing (Keim). et? TTJV oltciav Ilerpov] in which also
his brother Andrew lived along with him, Mark i. 29. Not
inconsistent with John i. 45, as Peter was a native of Beth-
saida, though he had" removed to Capernaum. Whether the
house belonged to him cannot be determined. rrjv Trevdepav
avrov] 1 Cor. ix. 5.
Vv. 15, 16. AirjKovei] at table, John xii. 2 ; Luke x. 40.
There is a difference, though an unimportant one, in Luke's
account (iv. 39) of the mode in which the miracle was per-
formed. oi/rta9 Se 7i/.] with more precision in Mark and
Luke, at sunset. Besides, in the present instance there is
nothing of the special reference to the Sabbath which we find
in Mark and Luke, but we are merely given to understand
that Jesus remains in Peter's house till the evening (comp. on
xiv. 15). By this time the report of the miraculous cure had
spread throughout the whole place ; hence the crowds that
now throng Him with their sick, a fact which accords but
ill with the attempt to destroy or weaken the supernatural
character of the act ("mitigating of the fever," and that by
gentle soothing words or a sympathetic touch of the hand,
Keim, comp. Schenkel). \6yy] without the use of any other
means.
Ver. 1 7. This expelling of demons and healing of diseases
were intended, in pursuance of the divine purposes, to be a
fulfilment of the prediction in Isa. liii. 4. Observe that this
prophecy is fulfilled by Jesus in another sense also, viz. by
His atoning death (John i. 29 ; 1 Pet. ii. 24). The passage
is quoted from the original (Hebrew) text, but not according
to the historical meaning of that original, which would involve
the necessity of representing the Messiah, in the present
instance, as the atoning sin-bearer (see Kleinert in d. Stud. u.
Krit. 1862, p. 723 f.), which, however, is not suited to the
256 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
connection but rather according to that special typical refer-
ence, which also seems to have been contemplated by that
prediction when read in the light of the acts of healing
performed by Jesus. At the same time, \afj,(3dveiv and /Sao--
rd&iv must not be taken in a sense contrary to that of N2 : J
and 7?9> t to^ 6 away, to remove (de Wette, Bleek, Grimm) ;
but when their ailments are taken away from the diseased,
the marvellous compassionate one who does this stands forth
as he who carries them away, and, as it were, bears the burden
lifted from the shoulders of others. The idea is plastic,
poetical, and not to be understood as meaning an actual
personal feeling of the diseases thus removed.
Ver. 18. Els TO irepav] from Capernaum across to the
east side of the lake of Tiberias. He wished to retire. In-
stead of putting the statement in the pragmatic form (it is
different in Mark iv. 35) adopted by Matthew, Luke viii. 22
merely says, /cat eyevero ev /ua TWV f)p,epwv. According to
Baur, it is only the writer of the narrative who, in the histo-
rical transitions of this passage (here and ver. 28, ix. 1, 9,
14, 18), "turns the internal connection of all those events
into an outward connection as well."
Ver. 19. El? jpa/jifjiaTev^] Never, not even in passages
like John vi. 9, Matt xxi. 19, Eev. viii. 13 (in answer to
Winer, p. Ill [E. T. p. 145]; Buttmann, neut. Or. p. 74
[E. T. 85]), is el? equivalent to the indefinite pronoun rk,
to which the well-known use of el? T/? is certainly opposed,
but is always found, and that in the N. T. as well, with
a certain numerical reference, such as is also to be seen
(Blomfield, Gloss, in Persas, 333) in the passages referred
to in classical writers (Jacobs, ad Acliill. Tat. p. 398, ad
Anthol. XII. p. 455). It is used (vi. 24) in the present
instance in view of the erepo? about to be mentioned in ver.
21 ; for this 7/>a/i/taTet9, ver. 19, and the subsequent ere/309,
were both of them disciples of Jesus. It is therefore to be
interpreted thus : one, a scribe. It follows from ver. 2 1 that
this <ypafj,fjMTv<; already belonged to the number of Jesus'
disciples in the more general sense of the word, but he now
intimated his willingness to become one of His permanent and
CHAP. viii. 20. 257
intimate followers. The difference in time and place which,
as regards the two incidents, vv. 19-22 (in Mark they are
omitted), is found in Luke ix. 57-60, is not to be removed.
The question as to which evangelist the preference is to be
assigned in point of the historical faithfulness of his narrative,
falls to be decided in favour of Matthew (Eettig in d. Stud. u.
Krit. 1838, p. 240 ff.), as compared with the loose and in-
definite account in Luke (Schleiermacher, Schneckenburger,
Gfrorer, Olshausen, Arnoldi, Holtzmann), who, moreover, adds
(ix. 61 f.) still a third, and doubtless no less historical an
incident with which he had been made acquainted. Schleier-
macher inaptly refers OTTOV av dnep^r) to the various roads by
which Jesus might travel to Jerusalem (Schleiermacher, Schrift.
d. Luk. p. 169). It is clear, however, from the fact of this
narrative occurring so far on in Luke, that he cannot have
supposed that the 7/oa/z/iaTev? was Judas Iscariot, and that
the ere/305 was Thomas (Lange). As far was he from suppos-
ing that the one was Bartholomew and the other Philip (Hil-
genfeld), according to the discovery already made by Clement
of Alexandria. Observe, further, how quite differently Jesus
answers the scribe with his supposed claims as compared with
the simple-minded erepo? (Ewald), and how in addressing the
latter He merely says, dfco\ovdei fiot,.
Ver. 20. KaTaa-Kijvaxreis] Places of abode, where, as in
their quarters, so to speak (Polybius, xi. 26. 5), they used to
dwell. Comp. xiii. 32; Wisd. ix. 8; Tob. i. 4; 2 Mace.
xiv. 35. Not nests specially. o v/o? rov dv6p. 1 Jesus,
who thus designates Himself by this title (in Acts vii. 56
1 For the idea of the Son of man, see Scholten, de appell. rev v'mu <r.
1809 ; Bb'hme, Geheimniss d. Menschensoknes, 1839 ; Gass, de utroque J. Chr.
nomine, 1840 ; Nebe, ub. d. Begr. des Namens o vlos T. vfy. 1860 ; Baur in Hil-
genfeld's Zeitschr. 1860, p. 274 ff. ; Hilgenfeld in his Zeitschr. 1863, p. 330 ff. ;
Holtzmann in the same Zeitschr. 1865, p. 213 ff. ; Schulze, vom Menschensohn
u. v. Logos, 1867 ; Weissenbach, Jesu in regno coel. dignitas, 1868 ; Gess,
Christi Person u. Werk, I. 1870, pp. 185 ff., 208 ff. ; Keim, Gusch. Jesu, II. p.
65 ff. ; Beyschlag, Christol. d. N. T. p. 9 ff. ; Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 304 f.,
ed. 3 ; Wittichen, Idee des Menschen, 1868 ; Holsten, z. Ev. d. Paul u.
Petr. 1868, p. 179 ff. ; Colani, J. Chr. et les croyances messian. p. 112 ff,,
ed. 2 ; Weiss, bibl. Theol. p. 53 ff., ed. 2 ; Volkmar, d. Evangelien, 1870, p.
197 ff.
MATT. B
258 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW,
Stephen does so likewise), means nothing else by it than
" the Messiah" according to its significant 'prophetic character-
istic, which, assuming it to be known to those whom He
addressed, the Lord claims for Himself. But this self-chosen
title, the expression of His full Messianic consciousness, is not
founded (Delitzsch, Kahnis, Dogm. I. p. 446), not even in the
first place, at least (Keim), upon Ps. viii 5, seeing that evi-
dence of a Messianic interpretation of this psalm is nowhere
to be found in the New Testament (not even in Matt.
xxi 16). Still less again must we start with the well-known
usage in Ezek. ii 1, iii. 1 (Weizsacker), which has nothing to do
with the Messianic idea. Much rather is it to be traced, and,
as specially appears from xxiv. 30, xxvi. 64, to be solely
traced, to the impressive account of that prophetic vision,
Dan. vii. 13, so familiar to the Jews (John xii. 34), and
vividly reflected in the pre-Christian Book of Enoch, a
vision in which the Messiah appears in the clouds, twt* ">3?, &><?
v/o9 avdpdnrov, surrounded by the angels that stand beside the
throne of the divine Judge, i.e. in a form which, notwith-
standing His superhuman heavenly nature, is not different
from that of an ordinary man. 1 Comp. Eev. i. 13, xiv. 14 ;
Hengstenberg, Christol. III. 1, p. 10 f. ; Schulze, alttest. Theol.
II. p. 330 f. ; Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 146 ff. ; Schulze, p. 26 ff. ;
Weissenbach, p. 14 ff. The whole depended, then, on whether
those who were present when Jesus named Himself the Son
of man would understand this predicate in Daniel's sense or
not. In himself, however, this Son of man, whose form had
been delineated in Daniel's vision, was Jesus Himself, as the
historical reality, in so far as in His person He who there
appeared in heavenly form had come down to earth. As often,
therefore, as Jesus, in speaking of Himself, uses the words,
" the Son of man," He means nothing else than " the Son of
1 Hitzig, Schenkel, Keim understand by " the son of man " in Daniel, not the
Messiah, but the people of Israel. This, however, is unquestionably wrong.
See, on the other hand, Ewald, Jahrb. III. p. 231 f. On the son of man in the
Book of Enoch, see Dillmann, d. B. Henoch, p. xx. ff. ; Ewald, Gesch. Chr.
p. 147 ; Weizsacker, p. 428 ; Weissenbach, p. 16 ff. ; Wittichen, Idee des
Menschen, p. 66 ff. On insufficient grounds, Hilgenfeld is disposed to delete
ch. xxxvii.-lxxi. of the Book of Enoch as a Christian interpolation.
CHAP. VIII. 20. 259
man in that prophecy of Daniel," i.e. the Messiah. 1 But,
behind the consciousness which led Him to appropriate to
Himself this designation from Daniel, there was, at the same
time, the correlative element of His divine Sonship, the neces-
sary (in answer to Schleiermacher) conviction, more decidedly
brought out in John, of His divine pre-existence (as Logos),
the Soga of which He had left behind, in order, as the
heavenly personage in Daniel's vision, &>? wo? avdpwirov, to
appear in a form of existence not originally belonging to Him.
And so far those are right, who, following the Fathers, have
recognised (Grotius contradicted by Calovius) the Pauline
/ee'z/wo-19 in this self-designation, based as it is upon the con-
sciousness of His pre-existent divinity. Comp. Chrysostom
on John iii. 13, where he says : Jesus has so named Himself
OTTO T}5 e\ttTToi>o9 ov<Tia<$ ; and Augustine, de consens. ev. ii. 1,
who observes : in this we are taught " quid misericorditer dig-
natus sit esse pro nobis." It is to import ideas historically
inconsistent with Dan. vii., when, in spite of the definite
nature of the expression in Dan. vii. 13, it has been so under-
1 Markviii. 27 ff., where the settled faith of the disciples is contrasted with
the views of the people, is plainly a very decisive passage (in answer to Weisse,
Hvangelienfrage, p. 212 f.) in favour of the Messianic nature of the expression ;
for in ver. 31 of that chapter vlcg nv iifpuirov is evidently identical with
i XpnTTts, ver. 30. On John xii. 34, see the notes on that passage. Comp.
also on Matt. xvi. 13, which passage, according to Hofmann, Weiss, u. Erf.
II. p. 19, Schriftbew. II. 1, p. 79, and Kahnis, is also supposed to contradict
our explanation of the vies *<> Mpvvou. Only let it be carefully observed that
the expression, "the son of man," is not directly synonymous with "the Mes-
siah, " but acquired this definite meaning for others only when first they came
to refer it, in Daniel's sense, to Jesus, so that it did not immediately involve the
idea of " the Messiah," but came to do so through the application, on the part
of believers, of Daniel's prophetic vision. But we must avoid ascribing to this
self-designation any purpose of concealment (Ritschl in d. theolog. Jahrb. 1851,
p. 514 ; Weisse, Wittichen, Holtzmann, Colani, Hilgenfeld), all the more that
Jesus so styles Himself in the hearing of His disciples (already in John i. 52).
Comp. with Mark ii. 8. And He so names Himself in the consciousness that in
Him the above prediction has been fulfilled. For those, indeed, who did not
share this belief, this designation of Himself continued, as well it might, to be
mysterious and unintelligible, as xvi. 13. But to suppose that Jesus has chosen
it " to avoid the consequences of a haphazard Messianic title " (Holtzmann),
would be to impute a calculating reserve which would scarcely be consistent
with His character.
260 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
stood as if Christ meant thereby to describe Himself as the
man in the highest sense of the word, as the second Adam,
as the ideal of humanity (Herder, Bohme, Neander, Ebrard,
Olshausen, Kahnis, Gess, Lange, Weisse, Beyschlag, Witti-
chen), or as the man toward whom, as its aim, the whole
history of humanity since Adam has been tending (Hofmann,
Schrifibew. II. 1, p. 81 ; Thomasius, Chr. Per. u. Werk, II. p.
15), or as the true man renewed after the image of God
(Schenkel), as He who is filled with the whole fulness of God
(Colani), and such like. Fritzsche supposes Jesus to have
meant, filius ille parentum humanorum, qui nunc loquitur,
homo ille, quern bene nostis, i.e. ego, and that, on the strength of
Dan. vii. 13, the Christians were the first to ascribe to the
words the signification of Messiah. This would only be con-
ceivable if 6 ito9 rov av0p<a7Tov had happened to be a current
self-designation in general, in which case it would not be
necessary to presuppose a special historical reason why Jesus
should so frequently have used the title in reference to Him-
self. Consequently Baur is likewise in error in thinking that
the expression denotes the man as such who stands aloof from
nothing human, and esteems nothing human foreign to himself.
In like manner Holtzmann's view, viz. that Jesus intends to
describe His central place in the circle of the viol rwv dvdpdt-
TTCOV, is at variance with the original meaning of the phrase as
used in Daniel, and rests upon inferences from expressions
which Jesus, while designated as above, has used in reference
to Himself, which predicates, however, cannot determine the
meaning of the subject. This, at the same time, in answer to
Weizsacker, p. 428 ff., who thinks that by that expression
Jesus had endeavoured to bring His followers to a higher
spiritual conception of the Messiah, for whom it was possible
to appear without royal splendour. In 6 vlb? rov avdp. He
describes Himself as the great Messiah, and that in the form
of a human life, but not specially as the lowly, self-humbling
servant of humanity (Keim), or he who is intimately bound
up ivith humanity (Gess, I. p. 186). According to the cor-
responding passages elsewhere, ideas of this sort are found
first to emerge in predicates, and, as a rule, in the course of
CHAP. VIII. 21, 22. 201
the context ; which, however, is not the case here, where
the main point is the contrast, as seen in the fact that He
who is that son of man of the prophet's vision has not
where to lay His weary head. Finally, Holsten asserts what
is contrary to the whole Christology of the New Testament,
as well as irreconcilable with Rom. i. 3 f., when he says that
as Messiah of the aio>v oSro?, Jesus is Daniel's wo<? rov
avOpoyjrov, and that as Messiah of the future alcav He passes
over into the form of existence belonging to the wo? rov
Oeov, which latter He is in this present era of time, as being
the Son of man, destined to become the Son of God. In the
analysis of the phrase, rov dvOpamov is to be understood
neither of Adam (Gregoiy Nazienzen, Erasmus) nor of the
Virgin Mary (Euth. Zigabenus), but, according to Dan. I.e., to
be taken generically ; so that, as far as the essential meaning
goes, it is in no way different from the anarthrous dvOpdyrrov
in Daniel. rrov rrjv K<p. K\Lvrf\ i.e. a resting-place, a sleep-
ing-place which He can call His own. Of course an evidence
of poverty (in contrast to the earthly aims of the scribe, which
the eye of Jesus had fully penetrated), but of that which is
connected with an unsettled life, which is not necessarily to
be identified with want (John xiii. 29, xii. 5, xix. 23).
Ver. 21. Tv /j,a0i)ra)v'] of His disciples, in the more
general sense of the words. This is evident from erepos,
which (see note on ver. 19) places him whom it represents in
the same category with the scribe. According to Luke ix. 59,
the erf/309 is not spoken of as fj,a0r)rij<;, and is summoned by
Jesus to follow Him, which is to be regarded as an altered
form of the tradition. n-ptorov] in the first place, before I
follow thee, vv. 19, 22. 0a-Jrcu] It was, and, to some
extent, is still the practice of the Jews, to bury their dead on
the very day on which they die, Matt. ix. 23, Acts v. 7 f. ;
nnd it was the sacred duty of sons to attend to the obsequies
of their parents. Gen. xxv. 9 ; Tob. iv. 3 ; Schoettgen,
Horae, on this passage.
Ver. 22. Tovs vetcpov? . . . veicpov<i\ The first vexp. (not
the second likewise, as Weisse improperly holds) denotes the
spiritually dead (comp. on iv. 16, on John v. 21, 25, and on
2 02 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Luke xv. 24), who are without the spiritual life that comes
through Christ. Origen in Cramer's Catena : tyvyr] ev Katcta
ova-a vexpd eeriv. The second literally ; the dead belonging
to their own circles. Fritzsche (comp. Kaeuffer, de not. o>?7?
alwv. p. 34) interprets literally in both cases : let the dead
bury themselves among one another, as a paradox by way of
refusing the request. What a meaningless view of Jesus'
thoughtful way of putting it ! The seeming harshness of
Jesus' reply (in answer to Weisse, Bruno Bauer) must be
judged of by considering the necessity which he saw of
decided and immediate separation, as compared with the
danger of the contrary (Chrysostom) ; comp. x. 3 7. More-
over, it is to be inferred from aKoXovdet, pot. Comp. with
Luke ix. 60, that this paOrjTrjs proceeded at once to follow
the Lord, while that ^/pa^arev^ of ver. 19 probably went
away like the rich young man mentioned in xix. 22.
Ver. 23 ff. Comp. Mark iv. 36 ff. ; Luke viii. 22 ff. TO
ir\olov\ the boat standing ready to convey them over, ver. 18.
01 jj,a6r)Tai~^ not the Twelve in contrast to the multitude,
ver. 18 (Fritzsche), which is forbidden by ix. 9, but His
disciples generally, who, as appears from the context, are in
the present instance those who had joined themselves more
closely to Him, and were following Him, as the scribe also of
ver. 1 9 and the person indicated in ver. 2 1 had declared their
willingness to do.
Vv. 24, 25. 5 1 660-^69] Agitation, specially in the sense
of earthquake, here : storm (Jer. xxiii. 1 9 ; Nah. i. 3).
The waves were dashing over the boat.
Se GKaOevbe] but He Himself was sleeping, contrasting
with the dangerous position of the boat in which He was.
" Securitas potestatis/' Ambrose. a-axrov, a7roXXv/ie#a]
Asyndeton indicating urgent alarm, and this alarm with Jesus
present was the ground of His rebuke. On the situation of
the lake, as rendering it liable to gusts and storms, see Eobinson,
Pal. III. p. 571 ; Eitter, Erdk. XV. p. 308.
Ver. 26. 'ETreTifitja-e] increpuit, on account of the un-
seasonable fury of its waves. Similarly "W3, Ps. cvi. 9 ; Nah.
i. 4. Comp. xvii. 18 ; Luke iv. 39. This rebuking of the
CIIAP. VIII. 27. 263
elements (at which Schleiermacher took special offence) is the
lively plastic poetry, not of the author of the narrative, but of
the mighty Euler. On Tore Bengel observes : " Animos discipu-
lorum prius, deinde mare composuit." Unquestionably more
original than Mark and Luke ; not a case of transforming
into the miraculous (Holtzmann). The miraculous does not
appear till after the disciples have been addressed. ya\^vr)
/&ey.] Ver. 24. eretoyio? pey. Here was a greater than Jonas,
xii. 41.
Ver. 27. Ol avOpwrroi] Meaning the people who, besides
Jesus and His disciples, were also in the boat, not the disciples l
included (de Wette, Baumgarten-Crusius, Bleek), seeing that
the specially chosen avdpumoi, (Matthew does not at all say
7rai/T9) most naturally denotes other parties than those pre-
viously mentioned, viz. " quibus nondum innotuerat Christus,"
Calvin. Fritzsche's homines guotguot hujus portenti nuntium
acceperant is incorrect. From the nature of the case, and by
means- of the connection with ver. 28, Matthew represents the
astonishment and the exclamation as coming immediately
after the stilling of the tempest, and in the boat itself. ori\
seeing tliat. Giving the reason for the TroraTro? (qualis, see on
Mark xiii. 1). The narrative itself must not be traced to a
misconception on the part of the disciples, who are supposed
either to have attributed the cessation of the storm to the
presence of Jesus and His observations regarding this con-
dition of the weather (Paulus), or to have misapprehended the
Lord's command to be still, addressed to the storm within them
at the moment when that which raged without was over
(Hase). As little should we have recourse to a symbolical
explanation of the fact, as though it had been intended to
exhibit the superiority of the friend of God to the war of the
elements (Ammon), or to represent the tranquillity of the
inner life that is brought about by the spirit of Christ
1 According to Mark iv. 41, Luke viii. 25, it was the disciples who uttered the
exclamation. Possibly a more original part of the tradition than the statement
in Matthew, which presupposes a wider reflection than Mark's account, that
statement being that what the exclamation asked the disciples already knew.
Moreover, the preference, in all essential respects, is due to Matthew's account ;
comp. Weiss in d. Stud. u. Krit. 1865, p. 344.
264 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(Schleiermacher). But if Strauss has classed the narrative in
the category of mythical sea stories, Keim again, though feeling
sure that it is founded upon fact, is nevertheless of opinion
that the actual event has been retouched, beyond recognition,
with the colouring and in the spirit of the psalms (such as
cvi., cvii.), while Weizsacker sees in it nothing more than an
evidence of the spiritual power with which, in a case of out-
ward distress, Jesus so works upon the faith of His disciples
that they see themselves transported into a world of miracles ;
the miracle, he thinks, resolves itself into the extraordinary
impression produced by what had taken place. It is to do
manifest violence to the clear and simple account of the
Gospels, to adopt such expedients for divesting the narrative of
its supernatural character, as Schenkel also has had recourse
to, who thinks that, after the pilot had despaired, Jesus, with
assured confidence in His destiny, stood up, and, after rebuking
and allaying the fears of those around Him, assumed to Him-
self the direction of the boat. The text renders it necessary
to insist on treating the event (Keander, Steinmeyer) as
miraculous as a proceeding the cause of which is to be found
in the divine energy dwelling in the Lord (Luke xi. 20) in
a powerful exercise of His authority over the elements, which
there should be no more difficulty in admitting than in the
case of His other miracles in the sphere of nature (the feeding,
Cana) and upon the bodily organism (even when dead).
Ver. 28 ff. Comp. Mark v. 1 ff. ; Luke viii. 26 ff.. Comp.
Ewald, Jahrb. VII. p. 54 ff. repaa-yvwv] Since Gerasa, the
eastern frontier town of Peraea (Joseph. Sell. iii. 3. 3, iv. 9. 1),
which Origen and others look upon as even belonging to
Arabia, stood much too far to the south-east of the Sea of
Tiberias, as the ruins of the town also still prove (Dieterici,
Reisebilder aus d. Morge.nl. 1853, II. p. 275 ff. ; Eey, Voyage
dans le Haouran, 1860); since, further, the reading Tep-
'yea-ijvwv has the preponderance of testimony against it, and
since that reading has gained currency, if not solely on the
strength of Origen's conjecture (on John i. 28, ii. 12; Opp.
iv. p. 140, ed. de la Rue), at least mainly on the strength of
his evidence ; since, again, no trace is found of a Gergesa
CHAP. VIII. 28. 265
either as town (Origen : TroXt? up^aia) or as village (Ebrard),
Josephus, in fact, Antt. i. 6. 2, expressly stating that of the
ancient Fepyea-atot (Gen. xvi. 21, x. 16 ; Deut. viii. 1 ; Josh,
xxiv. 11) nothing remains but their names ; since, finally, the
reading Ta&aprjvwv has important testimony in its favour (see
the critical remarks), being also confirmed by Origen, though
only as found ev 0X17049, and harmonizes with geographical
facts, we are therefore bound to regard that as the original
reading, whilst Tepaarjv&v and Tepryeffrjvwv must be supposed
to owe their origin to a confusion in the matter of geography.
Even apart from the authority of Origen, the latter reading
came to be accepted and propagated, all the more readily from
the circumstance that we are made acquainted with actual
Gergesenes through the Old Testament. On Gadara, at present
the village of Omkeis, at that time the capital of Peraea
(Joseph. Bdl. iv. 7. 3), standing to the south-east of the
southern extremity of the Sea of Tiberias, between the latter
and the river Mandhur, consult Patter, Erdk. XV. p. 375 ff. ;
Eiietschi in Herzog's EncyTd. IV. p. 636 f.; Kneucker in
Schenkel's Bibellex. II. p. 313 ff. According to Paulus, who
defends Fepaarjvcov, the district of Gerasa, like the ancient
Gilead, must have extended as far as the lake ; the TroXt?,
however, vv. 33, 34, he takes to have been Gadara, as being
the nearest town. The context makes this impossible. Svo]
According to Mark and Luke, only one. This difference in
the tradition (ix. 27, xx. 30) is not to be disposed of by con-
jectures (Ebrard, Bleek, Holtzmann think that, as might easily
enough have happened, Matthew combines with the healing of
the Gadarenes that of the demoniacs in the synagogue at
Capernaum, Mark i. 23 ff.), but must be allowed to remain as
it is. At the same time, it must also be left an open question
whether Matthew, with his brief and general narrative (Strauss,
de Wette), or Mark and Luke (Weisse), with their lively,
graphic representations, are to be understood as giving the
more original account. However, should the latter prove to
be the case, as is probable at least from the peculiar features
in Mark (comp. Weiss, op. cit., p. 342), it is not necessary,
with Chrysostom, Augustine, Calvin, to hit upon the arbitrary
206 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
method of adjustment implied in supposing that there were
no doubt two demoniacs, but that the one whom Mark (and
Luke) accordingly mentions was far more furious than the
other. According to Strauss and Keim, the change to the
singular has had the effect of giving a higher idea of the
extraordinary character of a case of possession by so many
demons; Weisse and Schenkel hold the reverse; Weiss thinks
the number two owes its origin to the fact of there having
been a great many demons. Mere groundless conjectures.
The demoniacs are lunatics, furious to a high degree ; they
took up their abode amoog the tombs (natural or artificial
grottoes in the rocks or in the earth) that were near by,
driven thither by their own melancholy, which sought gratifi-
cation in gloomy terrors and in the midst of impurity (Light-
foot in loc., and on xvii. 1 5 ; Schoettgen, p. 92; Wetstein
in loc.*), and which broke out into frenzy when any one hap-
pened to pass by. Many old burial vaults are still to be
seen at the place on which Gadara formerly stood.
Ver. 29. Ti r^ilv K. o-ot] See on John ii. 4. The demons.
according to their nature, already recognise in Jesus, the
Messiah, their mighty and most dangerous enemy, and " cum
terror e appellant filiuin Dei," Bengel. irpo icaipov] prema-
turely, i.e. before the Messianic judgment (xxv. 41). /3a<ra-
via-ai 17/4 a 9] to hurl us, as servants of Satan, down to the
torments of Hades (Luke xvi. 23; Eev. xiv. 10, xx. 10).
The lunatics identify themselves with the demons by whom
they are possessed. It is plain, however, from their very
language that they were Jews, and not Gentiles (Casaubon,
Neander).
Ver. 30. Maicpdv] relative idea, therefore not incompatible
with sicel in Mark v. 11 ; Luke viii. 32 (Wilke, Holtzmann).
Seeing the Jews were forbidden (Lightfoot) to keep swine,
as being unclean animals, the herd must either have been
the property of Gentile owners, or been the subject of Jewish
trade. /Socr/co/tei/^] not to be connected with tfv, but with
Ver. 31. Eh . . . %olpa)v\ They mean: into the bodies of
the swine that were feeding. To the unclean spirits in the
CHA.P. VIII. 32-31. 267
possessed Jews, anticipating, as they certainly do, their in-
evitable expulsion, it appears desirable, as well as most easily
attainable, that they should find an abode for themselves
in impure animals. Eisenmenger, entdecktes Judcnth. II.
p. 447 f. The request implies that the demoniacs con-
sidered themselves to be possessed by a multitude of evil
spirits, a circumstance noticed in detail by Mark and Luke,
from which, however, it may be inferred that the form of
the tradition is not the same as the one made use of in our
Gospel. The former is so peculiar, that, had Matthew only
abridged it (Ewald), he would scarcely have omitted so
entirely its characteristic features. On the contrary, he fol-
lowed another version of the story which he happened to
light upon, and which likewise mentioned two demoniacs
instead of one; comp. on ver. 28. Probably this is also the
source to which we are to trace the expression Saipoves, which
does not occur anywhere else in Matthew, and which in Mark
v. 12 is of doubtful critical authority.
Ver. 32. 'EgeXBovres a7rrj\0ov, /e.r.X.] therefore the
demons who, quitting those who were possessed, enter the
bodies of the swine. The idea that the demoniacs ran away
among the swine is opposed to the narrative. /cat ISov,
wppija-e, tf.r.X.] in consequence of the demons taking posses-
sion of the animals, and thereby producing in them a state of
fury corresponding to that which had been excited in the
men.
Vv. 33, 34. Ildvra ical, K.r.\J] They reported everything,
and especially how it had fared from first to last with the two
demoniacs (xxi. 21). tracra 17 770X49] the Gadarenes. See
ver. 28. TrapetcdXecrav, OTTCOS p,era^y, /c.r.X.] The subject
of the request is conceived as the aim in asking (xiv. 36 ;
Mark v. 1 0). The motive for the request was fear lest a
greater disaster should follow.
EEMARK. Seeing that all the attempts that have been made
to evade the force of this narrative such as saying that the
demoniacs themselves had rushed in among the swine, or that
the herd perished through some accidental and unknown cir-
cumstance (Neander), or that in the shsp^sa^ai we have merely
268 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
to think of an operating in some way or other upon the animals
as a whole (Olshausen) run counter to what is clearly re-
corded, nothing remains but either to take the whole account
as real history, and just as it stands (Krabbe, Ebrard, Delitzsch,
l)ibl. Psycliol. p. 296 ff. ; Klostermann, Markusevang. p. 101 ff. ;
Steinmeyer, apolog. Beitr. I. p. 144 ff.), in which case it will be
necessary to dispose of objections in the best way possible, 1 or
else to admit the existence of legendary elements, and then
eliminate them. The latter course is imperative and inevitable
if we are not to look upon the condition of the demoniacs as a
case of possession at all (see on iv. 24, note). According to this
view of the matter, Jesus is supposed to have cured the two
maniacs by means of His wonderful power, transmitting its
influence through a humouring of their capricious fancies, and
that this yielding to their request to be allowed to enter the
swine may have led in a subsequent form of the tradition a
tradition, at the same time, which did not require to be assisted
by the supposed recollection of some disaster to a herd of swine
that happened about the same time on that side of the lake
1 Paulus and Strauss object that the demons would have acted the part of very
silly devils, if they had gone so far as immediately to destroy again their new
abodes. It is observed by Ebrard, on the other hand, that they were unable to
control their wicked desires, or (on Olshausen, p. 306) that the shock to the
nervous system of the animals was so much greater than was expected. Theophy-
lact and Euth. Zigabenus suppose that their intention was to do damage to the
owners, that they might not be disposed to welcome Jesus. Some explain one
way and others another. In reply to the objection founded on the morality of
the thing, Ebrard (comp. Wetstein) pleads the absolute right of the Son of God,
and that the object was to punish the Gadarenes for their avarice. Similarly
Luther. Comp. Bengel : " ret erant Gergeseni amittendi gregis ; jus et poles-
tatem Jesu res ipsa ostendit ; " so Olshatisen, coupling with his own the opinion of
Theophylact. Schegg contents himself with supposing that what happened was
by way of testing the Gadarenes to see whether, to them, the possession of
eternal was of more consequence than the loss of temporal things, therefore a
matter of discipline and to awaken faith ; comp. Arnold! and Ullmann, Sundlo-
siglc. p. 176. Bleek thinks the whole question of the morality is one with
which he is not called upon to deal, inasmuch as the destruction was not the
. doing of Jesus, but of the lunatic. According to Steinmeyer, it was not the
doing of the demons, but of the animals. The only way of deciding this ques-
tion is to reply that, according to the text, it was not the demoniacs but the
demons that caused the destruction of the swine a result which Jesus did not
anticipate. Otherwise it is vain to try further to help matters by the view that
it was the Redeemer offering Himself to deliver from the power of Satan and
calling for the feeling that nothing was too dear to sacrifice for the sake of this
deliverance (Klostermann), in violation of that principle of justice whjch forbids
the use of means so flagrantly unrighteous to attain a holy end.
CHAP. VIII. 33, 34. 269
to the statement being added about the drowning of the whole
herd, which addition might take place all the more readily from
the fact that swine were unclean and forbidden animals, and
considering also how much is often due to the play of popular
wit (Ewald), which, in the death of the swine, would pretend
to see the demons going down at length to the hell they feared
so much. Strangely enough, Lange, L. J. II. p. 661, inserts in
the text that the hideous yell of the demoniac in his last
paroxysm has acted like an electric shock upon the herd.
Ewald likewise supposes that the last fearful convulsions of
the sufferer just before he was quieted may have occasioned
such a terror as might readily communicate itself to a whole
herd. But in this affair of the demons, not one of the three
accounts says anything whatever about last convulsions and
such like. Yet Schenkel, too, boldly asserts that, just before
the cure took place, there were viobnt outbursts of the malady,
which threw a herd of swine into a panic, and sent them rush-
ing into the water. Keim, on the other hand, favours the view
that " the introduction of the four-footed leasts owes its origin to
legend, inasmuch as it sought to expound the healing from the
life, and with bitter mockery of the Jews to explain and avenge
the banishing of Jesus from the district." If this is to ascribe
too much to legend, too much to invention and wit, had not,
indeed, the presence of a herd offered a handle for it, then, to
say the least of it, Weizsacker followed the more cautious
course when he abandoned the idea of finding out the fact on
which the obscure reminiscence may probably have been
founded, although, when we consider the essential uniformity
of the three evangelic narratives in other respects, the obscurity,
if we keep out of view the difference in the naming of the
locality, may not appear sufficiently gieat to warrant such
entire abandonment.
270 THE GOSPEL OF MAT PHEW.
CHAPTER IX.
VER. 2. ap'euvrai] Lachm. Tiscli. 8: apisvrai (also ver. 5), only
according to B K, Or. (once). On the other hand, ffou ai apap-
riai (Lachm. Tisch.) for eoi ai /*. is certainly supported by im-
portant testimony, but suspected, however, of being taken from
ver. 5. Ver. 4. SBuv] Lachm.: ei8u$, according to B M E**
n* Curss. Verss. Chrys. ; a gloss. Comp. xii. 25 ; Luke vi. 8.
Ver. 5. sou] Elz. : coi, against decisive testimony. eynpai]
There is decisive testimony for eysip*. Adopted by Scholz,
Lachm. Tisch. Correctly ; see the exegetical notes. In all the
passages in which i-yaps occurs, there is found, as a diff. reading,
tyiipai. Ver. 6. eyipSsis^ Lachm.; according to B, Vulg. Codd.
of the It. : tysip t. Mechanical repetition from ver. 5. Comp.
Mark ii. 11. Ver. 8. !po/3jj0j<rai/] so also Lachm. and Tisch.,
according to B D N, Curss. Verss. (also Vulg. It.) and Fathers.
sdavpaffav of the Received text is a gloss. Ver. 9. j5xoXo60jj<r*"l
Tisch. 8: faol.oudei, on the too slender authority of D N and
three Curss. Ver. 12. The omission of 'iqffout, favoured by
Lachm. and Tisch. 8, rests on too slender authority; while
that of avnT;, which Lachm. and Tisch. leave out, has a prepon-
derance of evidence in its favour. Ver. 13. IXsov] Lachm. and
Tisch.: sXeog; see the exegetical notes. a^a^rwXouj] Elz.,
Fritzsche, and Scholz insert sis psrdvoiav, which B D V* r*
A N, Curss. Vulg. It. Syr. utr. Perss. Aeth. al. and several
Fathers omit. Supplement from Luke v. 32. Ver. 14. -roXXa]
although deleted by Tisch. 8 (only according to B X* and three
Curss.), has decisive testimony. Ver. 17. dtToXoDura/] Lachm.
Tisch. 8 : d-roXXuira/, after B N, Curss. Verss. The present is
due to the other verbs around it. upipoTfpoi] Elz. : apporfpa,
against decisive testimony. A correction. Ver. 18. eJf lX0oii/]
Elz.: sXduv, only after Curss. ; others: fiasXduv; others: rig elaf\-
6uv ; others : ng &duv ; others : rig (or (Tg) vpoa&6uv ; Lachm. : tf(
vpofftXduv, after B K**. In the original, stood EiSEAenN. 1
Ver. 19. Tisch. 8 (comp. on ver. 9) has jjxoXou^/, after BCD.
1 But whether tit iA0* (Griesb. Scholz, Kuinoel, Fritzsche) or uViX0* (Tiscli.)
should be written, see the exegetical notes.
CHAP. IX. 1-3. 271
Ver. 30. Lachm. Tisch. have the rare Alexand. form
which has B* N iu its favour, and was replaced by the more
usual evsppipriffaiTo. Ver. 35. (tal.axiav] Elz. inserts sv rs> Xaw,
against B C* D S A N**, Curss., and several versions and Fathers.
Supplement from iv. 23. Ver. 36. IffxuX^si/o/] Elz.: IxXsXu-
pevoi. The former, on which the latter is a gloss, rests on
decisive testimony.
Vv. 1 ff. Mark ii. 1 ff., Luke v. 1 7 ff., introduce the account
somewhat earlier. Matthew reports, briefly and simply, only
the essential points, following, it may be, an older form of the
tradition. Trjv IBiav TTO\IV] Kapernaum; r) pev yap ijvey-
xev avrbv rj Brj&Xeep; } Be Wpetyev f) Na^aper' ) Be i%ev
OIKOVVTO, Kcnrepvaovfji, Chrysostom. See iv. 13.
Vv. 2, 3. Avrwv] the paralytic, and those who were carrying
him. TCKVOV] affectionately; Mark ii. 5, x. 24; Luke
xvi. 25, and elsewhere. Comp. Ovyarep, ver. 22. atfrewv-
rai] are forgiven; Doric (Suidas), not an Attic (Etym. M.}
form of the perf. ind. pass. ; Herod, ii 165, avewvrat, 1 with
aveivrai (so Bahr), however, as a different reading ; Winer, p.
77 [E. T. 96]; Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 42 [E. T. 49]. Beza
correctly observes, that in the perf. is " emphasis minime
negligenda." The view that Christ's words imply an accommo-
dation to the belief of the Jews, and also of the paralytic himself,
that diseases are inflicted by way of punishment for sins, is all
the more to be rejected that Jesus elsewhere (John ix. 3 ; Luke
xiii. 1) contradicts this belief. He saw into the moral condi-
tion of the sick man, precisely as afterwards, ver. 4, He read
the thoughts of the scribes (John v. 14, ii. 25), and knew how
it came that this paralysis was really the punishment of hia
special sins (probably of sensuality). Accordingly, he first of
all pronounces forgiveness, as being the moral condition necessary
to the foaling of the body (not in order to help the effect upon
the physical system by the use of healing psychical agency,
Krabbe), and then, having by forgiveness removed the hindrance,
He proceeds to impart that healing itself by an exercise of
His supernatural power. elirov ev eatr.] as in iii. 9.
1 See also Phavorinus, p. 330, 49, and G6ttlinr, Lehre vom Accent, p. 82 ;
Alarens, DM. Dor. p. 344 ; Giese, Dor. Dial. p. 334 fc
272 TIIE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
through the assumption of divine authority (Ex.
xxxiv. 7 ; comp. with xx. 5 f.). He thereby appeared to be
depriving God of the honour that belongs to Him, and to be
transferring it to Himself; for they did not ascribe to Him
any prophetic authority to speak in the name of God.
Ver. 4. The power to discern the thoughts and intentions
of others (comp. on ver. 3) was a characteristic mark of the
expected Messiah (Wetstein), was present In Jesus in virtue
of His nature as the God-man, and analogous to His mira-
culous power. ivaTi] why? that is to say, tva ri yevyrat;
Hermann, ad Vig. p. 849; Klotz, ad Devar. p. 63 If.
77-01/77 pa] inasmuch, that is, as you regard me as a blasphemer,
and that with a malicious intention ; whereas the sick man,
and those who carried him, were full of faith. In contrast to
them is the emphatic u/aet? (you people!}, which, being ignored
by important authorities, is deleted by Tischendorf 8.
Ver. 5. Pdp] gives a reason for the thought expressed in
the preceding question, the thought, namely, that they were
not justified in thinking evil of Him. TI eerrtv evicoTrwTe-
pov] The meaning is unquestionably this ; the latter is quite
as easy to say as the former, and conversely; the one requires
no less power than the other ; the same divine %ovcria enables
both to be done ; but in order that you may know that I was
entitled to say the one, I will now add the other also : Arise,
and so on. The result of the latter was accordingly the
actual justification of the former. For ri in the sense of
Trorepov, comp. Stallbaum, ad Plat Phil. p. 168. eyetpe
(see the critical remarks) is not a mere interjection, like aye,
eireiye (Fritzsche, ad Marc. p. 55 ), seeing that it is followed
by teal, and that the circumstance of the arising has an essential
connection with the incident (see ver. 2, eVt K\IV. ^e^k^fjue-
vov; comp. vv. 6, 7) ; but the transitive is used intransitively
(Kiihner, II. 1, p. 81 ff.), as is frequently the case, especially
in verbs denoting haste (Bernhardy, p. 340). Eur. Iph.
A. 624 : eyeip aSe\(f>r)<> e'</>' v/j,evaiov evru^ft)?.
Vv. 6, 7. 'E%ovcrav e^et] placed near the beginning of
the sentence so as to be emphatic : that the Son of man is
empowered upon earth (not merely to announce, but) to com-
CHAP. IX. 8-10. 273
municate the forgiveness of sins. C'TJ 1 7% 7% does not belong
to d(p. dfi. (Grotius), in which case its position would convey
an awkward emphasis, and the order of the words would
naturally be d(f>. dp. eVi r. 7% (as Marcion read them), but it
is joined to egovcriav %<, in the consciousness of the egova-ia
brought with Him from Jieaven. " Coelestem ortum hie sermo
sapit," Bengel. TOTC \eyi ru> TrapaA-vr.] is neither to be
taken parenthetically, nor is roSe to be understood (Fritzsche),
in order to justify the parenthesis ; but Matthew's style is
such that no formal apodosis comes after dfutpTias, but rather
the call to the paralytic eyepOek, etc. Matthew reports this
change in regard to the parties addressed with scrupulous
fidelity; and so, after concluding what Jesus says to the
scribes with the anacoluthon tva Be elSrjre . . . dfjutprias, he
proceeds to add, in the narrative form, " then He says to the
paralytic." This is a circumstantial simplicity of style which
is not to be met with in polished Greek writers, who would
have omitted the Tore \eyei ra3 7rapa\. altogether as a mere
encumbrance. See passages from Demosthenes in Kypke, I.
p. 48 f. xal eyepOels, /c.r.X.] therefore an immediate and
complete cure, which does not favour the far-fetched notion
that the declaration of Jesus penetrated the nervous system of
the paralytic as with an electric current (Schenkel).
Ver. 8. 'EtyofiTJOija-av] not equivalent to edavfiaaav (not
even in Mark iv. 41 ; Luke viii. 35), but they were afraid.
This was naturally the first impression produced by the extra-
ordinary circumstance ; and then they praised God, and so on.
rot? dv6pa)Trois] Not the plural of category (ii 20), so
that only Jesus is meant (Kuinoel), but men generally,
the human race. In one individual member of the human
family they saw this power actually displayed, and regarded
it as a new gift of God to humanity, for which they gave
God praise.
Vv. 9, 10. Comp. Mark ii. 13ff. (whom Matthew follows)
and Luke v. 27 ff. Kal irapd^wv] not: as He went
farther (as is commonly supposed), but (xx. 30; Mark i. 16,
xv. 21 ; John ix. 1 ; 1 Cor. vii. 31) : as He went away from
where (He had cured the paralytic), and was passing by
MATT. S
274 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(3 Mace. vi. 16; Polyb. v. 18. 4), the place, that is, where
Matthew was. Exactly as in Mark ii. 14, and in ver. 27
below. Mar 6. X 670/4.] Named Matthew (ii. 23, xxvi. 36,
xxvii. 33), anticipation of the apostolic name. TO re\faviov]
the custom-house of the place (Poll ix. 2 8). On Matthew him-
self and his identity with Levi (Mark ii. 14; Luke v. 27),
further confirmed in Constitt. Ap. viii. 22. 1, see introduction,
1. Considering the locality, it may be assumed that Matthew
already knew something of Jesus, the extraordinary Rabbi and
worker of miracles in that district, and that he does not now
for the first time and all of a sudden make up his mind to
join- the company of His disciples (aKo\.ov0elv). What is here
recorded is the moment of the decision (in answer to Strauss,
B. Bauer). This in opposition to Paulus, who interprets thus:
" Go with me into thy house ! " See Strauss, II. p. 570, who,
however, sweeps away everything in the shape of a historical
substratum, save the fact that Jesus really had publicans
among His disciples, and that probably Matthew had likewise
been one of this class ; " that these men had, of course, left
the seat at the custom-house to follow Jesus, yet only in the
figurative sense peculiar to such modes of expression, and not
literally, as the legend depicts it."
Ver. 10. -Eyevero . . . /cat] see note on Luke v. 12. ava-
Keipevov] In classical Greek, to recline at table, is represented
by KaTarcela-Oai, as frequently also in the N. T. (Mark it
15, xiv. 3), though in Polybius, Athenaeus, and later writers
dvaKeiadat, too, is by no means rare. Phrynichus, ed. Lobeck,
p. 217. On the custom itself (with the left arm resting on a
cushion), comp. note on John xiii. 23. ev rfj olicia] With
the exception of Fritzsche, Bleek, Holtzmann, Keim, Hilgen-
feld (yet comp. already the still merely doubtful remark of
Bengel), critics have gratuitously assumed the house to have
been that of Matthew, which accords, no doubt, with Luke
v. 29 (not Mark ii. 15), but neither with the simple ev rfj
oltcia (see ver. 23, xiii. 1, 36, xvii. 25) nor with the con-
nection. Seeing, then, that the publican who rose from his
seat at the custom-house and followed Jesus cannot, of
course, have gone to his own residence, nothing else can
CHAP. IX. 11, 12. 275
have been meant but the house of Jesus (in which He lived).
There lies the variation as compared with Luke, and like
many another, it cannot be disposed of. But de Wette's
objection, reproduced by Lichtenstein, Lange, and Hilgenfeld,
that it is scarcely probable that Jesus would give feasts, has
no force whatever, since Matthew does not say a single word
about a feast ; but surely one may suppose that, when the
disciples were present in his residence at Capernaum, Jesus
may have eaten, i.e. have reclined at table with them. The
publicans and sinners who came thither were at the same time
hospitably received. K<L\ a/j,apTa>\ol] and in general men of
an immoral stamp, with whom were also classed the publicans
as being servants of the Koman government and often guilty
of fraudulent conduct (Luke iii. 1 3) ; comp. Luke xix. 7.
Observe that Jesus Himself by no means denies the Trovrjpbv
elvat in regard to those associated with Him at table, ver. 1 2 f.
They were truly diseased ones, who were now, however, yield-
ing themselves up to the hands of the physician.
Ver. 11. 'ISoi/re?] How they saw it is conceivable in a
variety of ways (in answer to Strauss, B. Bauer), without our
requiring to adopt the precise supposition of Ebrard and de
Wette, that they saw it from the guests that were coming out
of the house. May not the Pharisees have come thither them-
selves either accidentally or on purpose ? Comp. TopevOevres,
ver. 13 ; eyepQek, ver. 19 ; and see note on ver. 18.
Ver. 1 2. The whole and the sick of the proverb are figurative
expressions for the SLKCUOL and the apapraiXoi, ver. 13. In the
application the Pharisees are included among the former, not
on account of their comparatively greater (de Wette), but be-
cause of their fancied, righteousness, as is evident from the
sentiments of Jesus regarding this class of men expressed
elsewhere, and likewise from ver. 13. The thought, then, is
this : " the righteous (among whom you reckon yourselves)
do not need the deliverer, but the sinners." This contains an
" ironica concessio " to the Pharisees, " in qua ideo offendi eos
docet peccatorum intuitu, quia justitiam sibi arrogant," Calvin.
The objection, that in point of fact Jesus is come to call the
self-righteous as well, is only apparent, seeing that He could
27G THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
not direct His call to these, as such (John ix. 39 ff.), so long
as they did not relinquish their pretensions, and were them-
selves without receptivity for healing.
Ver. 13. After having justified His holding intercourse with
publicans and sinners, Jesus with the Be proceeds to tell the
Pharisees what they would have to do in order to their receiv-
ing His invitation to be healed : " but go and learn what is
meant by that saying of the Scripture (Hos. vi. 6, LXX.), I will
have mercy and not sacrifice" You must understand that first
of all, if you are to be of the number of those who are to be
invited to enter the Messiah's kingdom : "for I am not come
to call righteous, but sinners" (1 Tim. i. 15). Through that
quotation from the Scripture (mentioned only by Matthew
here and xii. 7), it is intended to make the Pharisees under-
stand how much they too were sinners. According to others,
Jesus wishes to justify His conduct, inasmuch as the exhibition
of love and mercy constitutes the Messiah's highest duty
(Ewald, Bleek). This, however, is less probable, owing to the
7ropevdevT<i with which He dismisses them from His presence,
the analogy of xii. 7, and the very apt allusion in ov
to the Pharisees with their legal pride. iropevO.
corresponds to the Rabbinical form tefo NX, which is used in
sending one away, with a view to fuller reflection upon some
matter or other, or with a view to being first of all instructed
regarding it ; see Schoettgen. 7p] assigns the reason for the
TTopevdevTes ^dOere, through which pavOdveiv they are first to
be rendered capable of receiving the invitation to participate
in the blessings of the kingdom. This invitation is uniformly
expressed by the absolute KaXelv. The masculine eXeo? is the
classical form ; the neuter, which rarely occurs in Greek
authors (Isocr. 18, p. 378 ; Diod. iii. 18), is the prevailing
form in the LXX., Apocrypha, and the New Testament,
although the manuscripts show considerable fluctuation. In
the present instance, the neuter, though possessing the
authority of B C* D K (like xii. 7), was naturally adopted
from the LXX. ical ov 0va-J] The negative is absolute, in
accordance with the idea aut . . . aut. God does not desire
sacrifice instead of mercy, but mercy instead of sacrifice. The
CHAP. ix. 14, 15. 277
latter is an accessory (Calvin), in which everything depends on
the right disposition, which is what God desires.
Ver. 14. Concerning private fasting. See note on vi. 16.
On the fasting of the Baptist, comp. xi. 18. On the fasting
of the Pharisees (Luke xviii. 12), to whose authority on the
rigid observance of the law the disciples of John adhere, see
Light-foot on this passage. Serar. de Trihaeresio, p. 36.
TToXXa] frequenter, Vulg., Stallbaum, ad Plat. Pliaed. p. 61 C,
ad Parmen. p. 126 B ; Klihner, II. 1, p. 270. A not inappro-
priate addition by Matthew (Weiss, Holtzmann). ov vrjcr-
rev overt?) comparatively, to be understood from the standpoint
of the questioners, who hold the freedom of the disciples of
Jesus, as contrasted with the frequent fasting of themselves and
the Pharisees, to be equivalent to no fasting at all.
Ver. 15. Ol viol (viii. 12) TOV vvp,fyG)vo<$\ (of the bride
chamber, Joelii. 16 ; Tob. vi. 16 ; Heliod. vii. 8) are theirapa-
vv/jifaoi, the friends of the bridegroom, who amid singing and
playing of instruments conducted the bride, accompanied by
her companions, to the house of her parents-in-law and to the
bride-chamber, and remained to take part in the wedding
feast, which usually lasted seven days. Pollux, Onom. iii. 3 ;
Hirt, de paranymph. ap. Hebr. 1748 ; on the Greek Trapa-
vvfj,<j>iot, consult Hermann, Privatalterth. 31, 18. Meaning
of the figure : So long as my disciples have me with them, they
are incapable of mourning (fasting being the expression of
mourning) : when once I am taken from them and that time
will inevitably come then they will fast to express their sorrow.
Christ, the bridegroom of His people until His coming, and
then the marriage; see on John iii. 29. It is to be observed
that this is the first occasion in Matthew on which Jesus
alludes to His death, which from the very first He knew to be
the divinely-appointed and prophetically-announced climax of
His work on earth (John i. 29, ii. 19, iii. 14), and did not
come to know it only by degrees, through the opposition which
he experienced ; while Hase, Wittichen, Weizsacker, Keim,
postpone the certainty of His having to suffer death the
latter, till that day at Caesarea (chap, xvi.) ; Holsten even puts
it off till immediately before the passion ; see, on the other
278 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
hand, Gess, op. tit., p. 253 ff. The Tore, which has the
tragic emphasis of a sorrowful future (Bremi, ad Lys. p. 248,
Goth.), expresses only the particular time specified, and not all
time following as well, and while probably not condemning
fasting in the church, yet indicating it to be a matter in which
one is to be regulated, not by legal prescriptions (ver. 1 6 f.),
but by personal inclination and the spontaneous impulses of
the mind. Comp. vi. 1 6 ff.
Vv. 16, 17. No one puts a patch consisting of cloth that has
not been fulled upon an old robe, for that which is meant to Jill
up the rent (the patch put on to mend the old garment) tears
off from the (old rotten) cloak^ when it gets damp or happens
to be spread out, or stretched, or such like. That avrov does
not refer to the piece of unfulled cloth (Euth. Zigabenus,
Grotius, de Wette, Bleek), but to the old garment, is suggested
by the idea involved in TrX^w/ia (id quo res impletur, Fritzsche,
ad Bom. II. p. 469). Ti is not to be supplied after aipei, but
the idea is: makes a rent. Comp. Eev. xxii. 19, and espe-
cially Winer, p. 552 [E. T. 757]. The point of the com-
parison lies in the fact that such a proceeding is not only
unsuitable, but a positive hindrance to the end in view. " The
old forms of piety amid which John and his disciples still
move* are not suited to the new religious life emanating from
me. To try to embody the latter in the former, is to proceed
in a manner as much calculated to defeat its purpose as when
one tries to patch an old garment with a piece of unfulled
cloth, which, instead of mending it, as it is intended to do,
only makes the rent greater than ever ; or as when one seeks
to fill old bottles with new wine, and ends in losing wine and
bottles together. The new life needs new forms." The
Catholics, following Chrysostom and Theophylact, and by way
of finding something in favour of fastings, have erroneously
explained the old garment and old bottles as referring to the
disciples, from whom, as " adhuc infirmes et veteri adsuetis
homini" (Jansen), it was, as yet, too much to expect the
severer mode of life for which, on the contrary (ver. 1 7), they
would have to be previously prepared by the operation of the
Holy Spirit. This is directly opposed to the meaning of Jesus'
CHAP. IX. 18. 279
words, and not in accordance with the development of the
apostolic church (Col. ii. 20 ff.), by which fasting, as legal
penance, was necessarily included among the a-Toi^la rou
Koa/jiov, however much it may have been valued and observed
as the spontaneous outcome of an inward necessity (Acts xiii.
2 f., xiv. 23 ; 2 Cor. vi. 5, xi. 27). Neander suggests the
utterly irrelevant view, that "it is impossible to renovate
from without " the old nature of man " (the old garment)
through fasting and prayers (which correspond to the new
patch). Leathern bottles, for the most part of goats' skins
(Horn. II iii. 247, Od. vi. 78, ix. 196, v. 265) with the rough
side inward, in which it was and still is the practice (Niebuhr,
I. p. 212) in the East to keep and carry about wine. Comp.
Judith x. 6 ; Eosenmliller, Morgenl. on Josh. ix. 5. cnro-
\ovvrai] Future, the consequence of what has just been de-
scribed by the verbs in the present tense. On el 8e ft^ye,
even after negative clauses, see note on 2 Cor. xi. 16.
EEMAEK. According to Luke v. 33, it was not John's disciples,
but the Pharisees, who put the question to Jesus about fasting.
This difference is interpreted partly in favour of Luke (Schleier-
macher, Neander, Bleek), partly of Matthew (de "Wette, Holtz-
mann, Keim), while Strauss rejects both. For my part, I decide
for Matthew ; first, because his simpler narrative bears no traces
of another hand (which, however, can scarcely be said of that of
Luke) ; and then, because the whole answer of Jesus, so mild
(indeed touching, ver. 1 5) in its character, indicates that those
who put the question can hardly have been the Pharisees, to
whom He had just spoken in a very different tone. Mark
ii. 18 ff., again (which Ewald holds to be the more original),
certainly does not represent the pure version of the matter as
regards the questioners, who, according to his account, are the
disciples of John and the Pharisees, an incongruity, however,
which owes its origin to the question itself.
Ver. 18. *Ap%<i>v\ a president ; Matthew does not further
define the office. According to Mark v. 22, Luke viii. 41, it
was the synagogue-president, named Jairus. The correct read-
ing is eiaeXOwv (comp. the critical remarks), and not el? e\dwv
(Gersdorf, Kinck, de Wette, Tischendorf, Ewald), yet not as
though the et? following were at variance with Matthew's
280 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
usual style (xxii. 35, xxiii. 15, xxvi. 40, 69, xxvii. 14; see,
on the other hand, v. 41, vi. 27, xii. 11, xviii. 5, xxi. 24) ;
but since this, like the former incident, also occurred at that
meal in the residence of Jesus (according to Matthew, not
according to Mark and Luke), and as this fact was misappre-
hended, as most critics misapprehend it still, consequently it
was not seen to what ela-fXOwv might refer, so that it was
changed into eT? e\0a>v. According to Matthew, the order of
the incidents connected with the meal is as follows: (1) Jesus
sends away the Pharisees, vv. 1113. (2) After them, the
disciples of John approach Him with their questions about
fasting, and He instructs- them, vv. 14-17. (3) While he is
still speaking to the latter, a president enters, ver. 18, and
prefers his request. Thereupon Jesus rises, i.e. from the table
(ver. 1 0), and goes away with the aprons, ver. 1 9 ; and it is not
till ver. 28 that we read of His having returned again to His
house. apri ereXevTTjo-ei/] has just now died. The want
of harmony here with Mark v. 23, Luke vii. 49, is to be recog-
nised, but not (Olearius, Kuinoel) to be erroneously explained
as meaning jam moritur, morti est proximo,. Others (Luther,
Wolf, Grotius, Eosenmiiller, Lange) interpret, with Chrysostom,
Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus : ffToxatypevos djrev, w7re\a/3e
jap, on pexpt Tore iravTa><s av aTreOavev. A harmonizing
expedient. Laying on of the hand, 'the symbol and medium
in the communication of a divine benefit, xix. 1 3 ; Luke
iv. 40, xiii. 13. See on Acts vi 6, viii. 17 f., xiii. 3, xix. 5 ;
Gen. xlviii 14; Num. xxvii. 18. The account of Mark
v. 22-42, which is followed by Luke viii. 41 ff., is so unique
and fresh in regard to the detail which characterizes it, that
it is not to be regarded as a later amplification (Strauss, Baur,
Hilgenfeld, Keim, Bleek) ; that of Matthew follows a con-
densed form of the tradition, which, moreover, is responsible
for straightway introducing the eVeAeyr^o-ei/ as if forming part
of what the president addressed to Jesus.
Ver. 20. The particular kind of haemorrhage cannot be
determined. Some : excess of menstruation. Others : haemor-
rhoids. From its having lasted twelve years, it may be inferred
that the ailment was periodical. oTriffOev] out of modesty.
CHAP. IX. 22, 23. 281
LXX. Num. xv. 38, ny^if. Such was the name
given to the tassel which, in accordance with Num. xv. 38 f.,
the Jew wore on each of the four extremities of his cloak, to
remind him of Jehovah's commands. Lund, Jud. Heiligth.
ed. Wolf, p. 896 f. ; Keil, Archaol 102 ; Ewald, Alterth. p.
307. The article points to the particular tassel which she
touched. Comp. xiv. 36.
Ver. 22. Jesus immediately (see on ver. 4) perceives her
object and her faith, and affectionately (dvyarep, as a term of
address, like TCKVOV, ver. 2, occurs nowhere else in the New
Testament) intimates to her that 77 TrtoTt? aov creaco/ce o-e, on
account of thy faith thou art saved (healed) ! The perfect de-
scribes what is going to happen directly and immediately, as
if it were something already taking place. See Kiihner,
II. 1, p. 129. Comp. Mark x. 52, Luke xviii. 42, and the
counterpart of this among tragic poets, as in oXo>\a, redvTjKa,
and such like. The cure, according to Matthew, was effected
by an exercise of Jesus' will, which responds to the woman's
faith in His miraculous power, not through the mere touching
of the garment (in answer to Strauss). The result was in-
stantaneous and complete. To try to account for the miracle
by the influence of fear (Ammon), religious excitement
(Schenkel), a powerful hope quickening the inactive organs
(Keim), is not sufficiently in keeping with the well authenti-
cated result, and is inadequate to the removal of so inveterate
a malady (the twelve years' duration of which must indeed be
ascribed to legend), airo TT}<? &p. etc.] not equivalent to ev
rfj &p. etc. (viii. 14), but the thing begins to take place from
that hour onward. Comp, xv. 28, xvii. 18. 'Airb and ev
therefore express the same result, the instantaneous cure, in
forms differing according to the manner in which the thing is
conceived. According to Eusebius, IT. E. vii. 1 7, the woman's
name was Veronica (Evang. Nicod. in Thilo, I. p. 561), and a
Gentile belonging to Paneas, where she erected a statue to
Jesus. However, see Robinson, neuere Forsch. p. 537.
Ver. 23. The use of the lugubrious strains of flutes (and
horns), such as accompanied the funerals of the Jews (Light-
foot on this passage ; Geier, de luctu Hebr. v. 16 ; Grundt,
282 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
die Trauergebrduche d. Heir. 1868), was known also among
Greeks and Eomans. o%\ov] consisting partly of the women
hired to mourn, partly of the friends and relations of the
president. tfopu/Sou/t.] did not require an article, as being
a mere qualifying attribute. Therefore Qopvfi. is not, with
Fritzsche, Ewald, to be referred to iS<uv.
Vv. 24, 25. The maid is not to be regarded as being per-
manently dead, but only as sleeping and certain to come to life
again, like one who awakens out of sleep. Thus, from the
standpoint of His own purpose, does Jesus clearly and confi-
dently speak of her actual death. " Certus ad miraculum
accedit," Bengel. It is wrong to found upon these words the
supposition of a mere apparent death (Paulus, Schleiermacher,
Olshausen, Ewald, Schenkel ; Weizsacker, without being quite
decided). See, on the other hand, John xi. 4, 11. This
hypothesis is as incompatible with the view of the evangelists
as it is inconsistent with a due regard to the character of
Jesus. See Krabbe, p. 327 ff. Keim, again, hesitates to
accept the idea of an unreal death, yet continues to harboiu
doubts as to the historical character of the narrative. He
thinks that, at least, the firm faith of the president may be
accounted for by the later hopes of Christianity, which may
have prompted the desire to see, in the risen Christ, the future
restorer of the dead already manifesting Himself as such in
His earthly ministry, a matter in connection with which the
statement in xi. 5 and the parallel of Elias and Elisha
(1 Kings xvii. 17 ; 2 Kings iv. 8, 18. Comp. Strauss) also
fall to be .considered. Surely, however, a legendary anticipa-
tion of this sort would have been far more fertile in such
stories ! Then, apart even from the raising of Lazarus
related by John, we have always (xi. 5) to show how
hazardous it must be to relegate to the region of myths those
cases in which Jesus raises the dead, considering what a small
number of them is reported. e'fe/SX^tf??] Comp. xxi. 12.
The request to retire (ava^wpetre, ver. 24) not having
been complied with, a thrusting out follows. Mark i. 43 ;
Acts ix. 40. Notice in elcrekdav (viz. into the chamber of
death) the noble simplicity of the concise narrative. TO
CHAP. IX. 27-33. 283
Kopacriov] See Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 74; on rj <p>i(j,r],
Wyttenbach, ad Julian. Or. I. p. 159, Lps.
Vv. 27, 28. Avo ru<p\oi] fj,a06vre^, irepl wv edav^arovp-
7et, Kal TTHTTeiKravres, aurov elvat rov TrpocrSoKcafjievov Xpiarov,
Euth. Zigabenus. Matthew alone records the two miracles,
w. 27-34, but it is rash to regard them (Holtzmann) as a
literary device in anticipation of xi. 5. The title "son of
David " is surely conceivable enough, considering the works
already done by Jesus, and so cannot serve as a ground for
regarding the healing of the blind man here recorded as a
variation of xx. 2 9 ff. (Wilke, Bleek, Weiss, Keini). Trapay.
as ver. 9. el? T. ol/ciav] in which Jesus resided. Comp.
ver. 10.
Ver. 30 f. 'Aveu>'%6'r)aav . . . o<#aX/i<u] they recovered their
power of seeing. Comp. John ix. 10 ; 2 Kings vi. 17 ; Isa. xxx. 5,
xlii. 7; Ps. cxlvi. 8; Wetstein on this passage. evefipi,-
fjujdij (see the critical remarks) : He was displeased with them,
and said (see on John xi. 33). The angry tone (Mark i. 43) of
the prohibition is due to the feeling that an unsuccessful
result was to be apprehended. To such a feeling correspond
the strict terms of the prohibition : take care to let no one
know it ! Bietp^fjuaav, K.T.\.] " propter memoriam gratiae
non possunt tacere beneficium," Jerome. ^eXOovres : out of
the house. Ver. 28. Paulus, notwithstanding the context,
interprets: out of the town. See also ver. 32, where avr&v
e^epXp/jLevcw can only mean : whilst they were going out from
Jesus, out of His house.
Vv. 32, 33. 1 Avr&v] Placed first for sake of emphasis, in
contrast to the new sufferer who presents himself just as they
are going out. ecpdvr) OI/TW?] tydvv) is impersonal, as in
Thucyd. VL 60. 2 (see Kriiger in loc.\ so that the general " it "
is to be regarded as matter for explanation. See by all means
Kriiger, 61. 5. 6. Nagelsbach, note on Ilias, p. 120, ed. 3.
1 Holtzmann thinks that this story likewi.se owes its origin merely to an
anticipation of xi. 5. According to de Wette, Strauss, Keim, it is identical
with the healing mentioned in xii. 22 ff. According to various sources " marked
as a duplicate" (Keim). The demoniac, ch. xii., is blind and dumb. And see
note on xii. 22.
234 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Wliat the matter in question specially is, comes out in the
context; vv. 33, 34, K/3d\\ei ra Scupovia. Therefore to be
taken thus : never has it, viz. the casting out of demons, been
displayed in such a manner among the Israelites. According
to Fritzsche, JesiLS forms the subject ; never had He, shown Him-
self in so illustrious a fashion (Eettig in d. Stud. u. Krit. 1838,
p. 788 f.). But in that case, how is ev TO> 'Icrpa^X to be
explained ? Formerly it was usual to interpret thus : O{/T<?
stands for rovro or roiovro TL, like the Hebrew |3 (1 Sam.
xxiii. 1 7). A grammatical inaccuracy ; in all the passages
referred to as cases in point (Ps. xlviii. 6 ; Judg. xix. 3 ;
Neh. viii. 17), neither J3 nor ovray; means anything else than
thus, as in 1 Sam., loc. cit., xal 2aov\ 6 irarrjp /u,ou olBev OVTWS :
and Saul my father knows it thus. That false canon is also to
be shunned in Mark ii. 12.
Ver. 34. What a contrast to those plaudits of the people !
ev TO> ap%QVTt TWV $atfj,ovi(ov\ His power to cast out
demons originates in the prince of demons ; everything depends
on the Devil, he is the power through which he works. Comp.
on ev, Ellendt, Lex. Soph. 1. p. 597; Winer, p. 364 [E. T.
486] ; on o ap%e>v r. Saift., Ev. Nicod. 23, where the devil is
called apxiSid(3o\o<i ; see in addition, Thilo, p. 736.
Ver. 35. Here we have the commencement of a new sec-
tion, which opens, vv. 3538, with the introduction to the
mission of the Twelve, which introduction has been led up
to by the previous narratives. Comp. iv. 2325. avr&v]
Masculine. Comp. iv. 23, xi. 1.
Ver. 36. 'ISa>v Se] in the course of this journey. TOUS
o^\oi;9] who were following Him e<r/cv\fj,voi] What is
meant is not a herd torn by wolves (Bretschneider), which
would neither suit the words nor be a fitting illustration of
the crowds that followed Him ; but a dense flock of sheep
which, from having no shepherd, and consequently no protec-
tion, help, pasture, and guidance, are in a distressing, painful
condition (vexati, Vulg.) ; and eppipiievoi, not scattered (Luther,
Beza, Kuinoel, Baumgarten-Crusius, Bleek), which is not the
meaning of piTrreiv, ' nor even neglecti (Soph. Aj. 1250), like
the German weggeworfen (castaway), (Kypke, Fritzsche, de
CI1AP. IX. 37, 38. 285
Wette), which would be too feeble, coming after eV/etA/*. ; but
prostrati, thrown down, stretched upon tlw ground (frequently in
the LXX. and Apocrypha), like sheep exhausted, that are
unable to walk any farther (Vulg. : jacentes}. Comp. Xenoph.
Mem. iii. 1. 7; Herodian, iii. 12. 18, vi. 8. 15; Polyb. v.
48. 2. Jesus was moved with compassion for them, because
they happened to be in such a plight (essent ; notice how He
has expressed His pity in this illustration), and then utters
what follows about the harvest and the labourers. We have
therefore to regard e<7/ev\/*. and epptfi/j,. as illustrations of
spiritual misery, which are naturally suggested by the sight
of the exhausted and prostrate multitudes (that had followed
Him for a long distance). The form pepifjLftevoi (Lachm. with
spir. len.) is found only in D. See Lobeck, Paral. p. 13 ;
Kiihner, I. p. 508; and for the usual spir. asp., Gottling,
Accentl. p. 205. On the form eptfjifievoi, adopted by Tischen-
dorf after B C K, etc., consult Kiihner, I. p. 903.
Vv. 37, 38. The fiaO^rai in the more comprehensive sense.
The Twelve are expressly specified in x. 1 immediately follow-
ing. o fiev Oepicrnos, /c.r.X] The literal (John iv. 35)
meaning of which is this : Great is the multitude of people that
may be won for the Messiahs kingdom, and that is already ripe
for being so, but small the number of teachers qualified for this
spiritual work; pray God therefore, and so on. Luke x. 2
connects those words with the mission of the Seventy. They
are as appropriate in the one case as in the other, and in
both cases (according to Bleek, only in Luke x. 2) were
actually used by Jesus. But to infer from the illustration of
the harvest what season of the year it happened to be at the
time (Hausrath, Keim), is very precarious, considering how
the utterances of Jesus abound with all sorts of natural
imagery, and especially considering that this present simile
was frequently employed. B etjdij re, /c.r.X] so entirely was He
conscious that His work was the same as a work of God, John
iv. 34. e'/e/SaXfl] force them out, a strong expression under
the conviction of the urgent necessity of the case. Comp. note
on Mark i. 12.
286 THE GOSPEL OF MATTIIEW.
CHAPTER X.
VER. 2. Tiscli. 8 has xa/ before 'idxuf3o$, only according to B
Syr. Ver. 3. Ae/3/3. 6 Icr/xX. Qadd.] Fritzsche: &a88. 6 I
A?j8/3., only according to 13, 346. Changed because Qadd. is
really the proper noun. 1 Ver. 4. xavaviryg] the form xamvafts
(Lachm. Tisch.) is decisively attested. Ver. 8. xaeapifyn]
Elz. inserts vtxpovg eysiprrt, which words Griesb. Lachm. and
Tisch. 8 (so B C* D N) place after dipavsvirt, while Fritzsche
puts them after Ix/SaXXsrs. Correctly struck out by Scholz and
Tisch. 7. For besides being suspicious, owing to their omission
inC***EFGKLMSUVXrn and very many
Curss., also several versions and Fathers, a suspicion that is
heightened by their diversity of position in the unquestionably
important authorities which witness in their favour, they have
the appearance of being an interpolation, which, 'in accordance
with the apostolic narrative (Acts ix. 20 ff.) ; seemed necessary
by way of completing the list of miraculous powers that had
been conferred. Had the words been original, their contents
would in any case have contributed much more to preserve
them than to cause their omission. Ver. 10. pafibov] C E F
GKLMPSUVXAn Curss. Copt. Arm. Syr. p. Theoph.
have pdfidovs. Adopted by Scholz and Tisch. Altered because
of the preceding plurals, and because what is spoken applies at
the same time to a plurality of persons. lari] should be deleted,
see on Luke x. 7. Ver. 19. The reading fluctuates between
(Elz. Tisch. 7), ffapaduffouffiv, and xapaduffiv (Tisch. 8,
1 D, 122, Codd. quoted in Augustine, Hesychius, Rnfinus, have merely
As/3/Sara,-. B tf, 17, 124, and several versions have only eSSroj. ' So Lachm.
I regard the simple As/3/3ars (with Tisch. and also Ewald) as the original reading.
The other readings are derived from Mark iii. 18, because of the identity of
Lebbaeus and Thaddaeus. Comp. Bengel, Appar. crit. Had the simple
aSSar<if been the true one, it would have been impossible to see how AE/3/3rs 5
should have been inserted, seeing it does not occur anywhere else in the New
Testament. No doubt D and Codd. of It., also Mark iii. 18, have Ai/3/3a?av, but
against testimony so decisive that it appears to have come there from our present
passage.
CHAP. X. 1. 287
after BE* and Lachm.). The future is adopted from ver. 17-,
while the present, which is best authenticated, and most in
accordance with the sense, would be easily transformed into the
aorist by the omission, on the part of the transcribers, of the
middle syllable. SoSriasrai to XaXj<r?r] is not found in
D L, Curss. Arm. Codd. of It. Or. Cypr. and a few Verss.
Bracketed by Lachm. Ancient omission occasioned by the
homoioteleuton. Ver. 23. psvysrf tie T^V aXXjjn] Griesb. :
pt-j-ysri /j rjjc srepav, xav ex Tavrqt dtuxuaiv iytaj, psuytrs /j rqv
aXXTjv, 1 after D L, Curss. and some Fathers and Verss., however,
with differences in detail. A continuous extension of the sen-
tence. Ver. 25. ensxdXsffav] Elz. : sxdXsaav, against decisive
testimony. Lachm. again (defended by Eettig in Stud. u. Krit.
1838, p. 477 ff. ; Buttmann, ibid. 1860, p. 342 f.) has, instead
of the accusative, the dative 7$ oixodeaxorri and oixiaxoTg, only
after B*, which is to be ascribed to a grammarian who took
iT/xaXg/v as meaning to reproach. Ver. 28. <po@sT<idi] Elz.,
Fritzsche : po/3jj05jre, against decisive testimony. Adopted from
ver. 26. Likewise in ver. 31 we ought, with Lachm. and Tisch.,
to restore pofaTadt in accordance with B D L N, Curss. Or. Cyr.
oiKoxrfvovruv] SO also Scholz. The anoxreivovruv (B, Or.) of
"vlie Received text is condemned by counter testimony as a
grammatical correction. But although the form avoxnvovrtav is
supported by important testimony, yet we ought, with Lachm.
and Tisch., to follow C D U r A n K and Curss. and adopt
the Aeolic- Alexandrine form airoxrsw6vr& v (see Sturz, Dial. Al.
p. 128), because avoxnvovruv as a present is nowhere found,
while an aorist, if the verb had had that form, would have
been in this instance without meaning. Ver. 33. The position
xriyw alrov (Beng. Lachm. Tisch. 8) is a mechanical alteration
on account of ver. 32.
Ver. 1. Not the choosing, but merely the mission of the
Twelve, is here related ; Mark vi. 7 ; Luke ix. 1. The choos-
ing (Mark iii. 14; Luke vi. 13; comp. also John vi 70),
which had taken place some time before, although a still
earlier one, viz. that of the five (iv. 18 ff., ix. 9), is recorded,
is assumed, as far as the complete circle of the Twelve, to
be generally known, which is certainly an omission on the
1 Instead of the *xxi of the Received text, Lachm. and Tisch. 8, following
B N 33, 265, Or. Petr. Ath. have i*ipav, which, however, is undoubtedly
connected with the above interpolation.
283 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
part of the narrator. egovalav] Authority over unclean
spirits. The following eoerre is epexegetical : so that they
would cast them out. But teal Qepa-rreueiv, etc., is not dependent
on wo-T6 also, but on .egova-iav (1 Cor. ix. 5). Power was
given to them both to cure demoniacs and to heal those who
suffered from natural disease as well ; comp. ver. 8. The
manner of imparting this power, whether through a laying on
of hands, or breathing on them (John xx. 22) through a
symbolic act (de Wette), <or by communicating to them certain
sacred words or signs, or by certain movements of the hands
(Ewald), or even by magnetic influences (Weisse), or by the
mere effectual word of the Lord (which is more likely, since
nothing is specified), is not stated. On the genitive, comp.
Mark vi. 7 ; John xviii. 2 ; Sir. x. 4.
Ver. 2. A(aSeied] Theophylact : KarcL TOP apiflftov rwv
ScoSeKa $v\wv; comp. xix. 28. On this occasion, when the
mission is understood to take place, it is precisely the designa-
tion aTTocrroXav (not occurring elsewhere in Matthew, while
in Mark it is found only in vi. 30) that is made clioice of,
though doubtless also used by Jesus Himself (John xiii. 16 ;
Luke vi. 13), and from that circumstance it gradually came to
be employed as the distinguishing official title. Trpwro?
2* ifji a v~\ The first is Simon. The further numbering of them
ceases, for Matthew mentions them in pairs. The placing
of Peter tirst in all the catalogues of the apostles (Mark
iii. 16 ff. ; Luke vi. 14 ff . ; Acts i. 13) is not accidental
(Fritzsche), but is due to the fact that he and his brother
were looked upon as the Tr/jeoro/cX^Tot (see, however, John
i. 41). This accords with the pre-eminence which he had
among the apostles as primus inter pares (xvi. 16 ff., xvii. 1.
xxiv. 19, xxvil 26, 37, 40 ; Luke viii. 45, ix. 32, xxii. 31 f. ;
John xxi. 15 ; Acts i. 15, ii. 14, v. 3 f., viii. 14, x. 5, xv. 7 ;
Gal. i. 18, ii. 7), and which was recognised by Jesus Himself.
For that they were arranged in the order of their rank is per-
fectly obvious, not only from the betrayer being uniformly
put last, but also from the fact that in all the catalogues
James and John, who along with Peter were the Lord's most
intimate friends, are mentioned immediately after that apostle
CHAP. X. 3. 289
(and Andrew). Moreover, a conjoint view of the four cata-
logues of the apostles (Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 395 ff., Bleek,
Keim) will confirm Bengel's observation, that "universi
ordines habent tres quaterniones, quorum nullus cum alio
quicquam permutat ; turn in primo semper primus est Petrus,
in secundo Philippus ... in tertio Jacobus Alphaei; in
singulis ceteri apostoli loca permutant; proditor semper
extremus." o \e<y6fj,. JTerpo?] who is called Peter (Schaeffer,
Melet. p. 14); that was his usual apostolic name. 'Av&peas]
Greek name (found even in Herod, vi. 126), like Philippus
below. Doubtless both originally had Hebrew names which
are not recorded.
Ver. 3. BapdoXo^ato^i] ^n 13, son of Tolmai, LXX.
2 Sam. xiii. 3 7, patronymic. His proper name was Nathanael ;
see note on John i. 46, and Keim, II. p. 311. &a)^a<i\
DNn, diSvpos, twin (John xi. 16, xx. 24, xxi. 2), perhaps so
called from the nature of his birth. In Eusebius and the Acts
of Thomas he is called (see Thilo, p. 94 ff.) 'lovSa? tw/ia? o
KOI AL&V/JLOS. 6 Te\(bvr)s] In reference to ix. 9 without any
special object. 6 TOV *A\<j>aiov\ Matthew's father was like-
wise called Alphaeus (Mark ii. 14), but this is a different
person; see Introduction, sec. 1. Aefifialos] who must be
identical with Judas Jacobi, 1 Luke vi. 16 (comp. John xiv. 22),
Acts i. 1 3 ; who, however, is not the author of the New Testa-
ment epistle bearing that name. Lebbaeus (the courageous one,
from 3^), according to our passsage, had become his regular
apostolic name. According to Mark iii. 18, he had the apos-
tolic name of 0aS8ato9 (which must not be taken as the correct
reading of the present passage ; see the critical notes), and it
1 On the relation of the genitive in Judas Jacobi (not brother, but son), see
note on Luke vi. 16 ; Acts i. 13. Comp. Nonnus, John xiv. 22 : 'loulus uls
'laKtofiato. The view that this Judas is a different person from Lebbaeus, and
that he had succeeded to the place rendered vacant, probably by ihe death of
Lebbaeus (Schleiermacher, Ewald), cannot possibly be entertained, for this reason,
that iu that case the statement in Luke vi. 13 (cxAfgitEa$, etc.) would be
simply incorrect, which is not to be supposed in connection with a matter so
important and generally known (Kufinus, in Praef. ad Origen inep. ad Horn.).
According to Strauss, only the most prominent of the Twelve were known, while
the others had places assigned them in conformity with the various traditions
that prevailed.
MATT. T
290 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
is in vain to inquire how this twofold appellation has arisen.
The name Thaddaeus, however, is not " deflexio nominis
Judae, ut rectius hie distingueretur ab Iscariota " (Lightfoot,
Wetstein), but the independent name i&nn, which is also
currently used in the Talmud (Lightfoot, Schoettgen, Wetstein).
There is the less reason to seek for an etymology of 0aSS.
such as will make the name almost synonymous with AefBfi.,
as if from iri (which, however, signifies mamma}, or even from
V 1K>, one of the names of God, and meaning potens (Ebrard).
For the apocryphal but ancient Acts of Lebbaeus, see Tischen-
dorf, Ada ap. apocr. p. 2 6 1 ff. According to these, he received
the name aSSaZo? when John the Baptist baptized him, and
was previously known by the name of Leblaeus. This is in
accordance with the reading of the Eeceived text in the case
of the present passage, and with the designation in the
Constit. apost., Aefiftaios 6 eVt/cX^^el? GaSBaios, 6. 14. 1, 8.
25, a circumstance which, at the same time, goes to show
that the name of the apostle as given in Mark is to be pre-
ferred to that found in Matthew.
Ver. 4. 'O icavavaio<i\ see the critical remarks. Luke calls
him f^XtoTT??, the (quondam) zealot. Luke vi. 15; Acts i. 1 3 ;
Chald. 'asai?; Hebr. Wj?; Ex. xx. 5, xxxiv. 14; Deut. iv. 24.
Zealots were a class of men who, like Phinehas (Num. xxv. 9),
were fanatical defenders of the theocracy ; and who, while
taking vengeance on those who wronged, it, were themselves
frequently guilty of great excesses ; Ewald, Gescli. Chr. p. 6 7 f.
But the o Kavavalos (or KavaviTrjs, according to the Received
text) is not to be explained in this way, inasmuch as this form
of the epithet is derived from the name of some place or other :
the Canaanite, or Cananaean ; comp. Kavavirrjs in Strabo,
xiv. 5, p. 674 (d-TTo tcwfjUT]*; rtvo?). It cannot be derived from
the town of Cana in Galilee (Luther, Calovius) ; in that case
it would require to have taken the form Kavaios, just as the
inhabitants of Kdvai in Aeolis (Strabo, xiii. 1, p. 581) were
called Kavaloi (Parmenides in Athen. 3, p. 76 A). This
enigmatical name is to be explained from the fact that, in
accordance with his previous character, Simon bore the sur-
name N>??P, 77X0)7779, a name which was correctly interpreted
CHAP. X. 5. 291
by Luke ; but, according to another tradition, was erroneously
derived from the name of a place, and accordingly came to be
rendered 6 Kavavalos. 'Icr/captwr?;?] rrinp B>'K, a native of
Karioth, in the tribe of Judah. Josh. xv. 25 ; Joseph. Antt.
vii. 6. 1 : "/O-TO/SO? (siD SJ*X). There is no evidence that he was
the only one that did not belong to Galilee (which has induced
Ewald to think that the place in question is the town of
n 9"}i? (Josh. xxi. 34) in the tribe of Zebulon. The proposal of
Lightfoot, to derive either from fcODilpDK, leather apron, or from
N"ODK> strangulation, is indeed recommended by de Wette ; but
like the interpretation Dnp{? B"K, man of lies (Paulus, Heng-
stenberg), it is not suited to the Greek form of the word ; nor
are de Wette's or Hengstenberg's objections to the ordinary
explanation of the name to be regarded as unanswerable.
o /cat TrapaSou? avrov] who also delivered him over (not
betrayed, in which case we should have had TrpoSoy?). A
tragic reminiscence, and ever present to the mind ! Kai has
the force of qui idem ; Klotz, ad Devar. p. 636.
Vv. 5 ff. From this on to ver. 42 we have the instructions
to the Twelve; comp. Mark vi. 8 ff., and especially Luke
ix. 3 ff. As in the case of the Sermon on the Mount, so on
this occasion also, Luke's parallels are irregular in their connec-
tion (in ch. ix. connected with the mission of the Twelve, in ch. x.
with the mission of the Seventy). But this is only an addi-
tional reason (in answer to Sieffart, Holtzmann) why the pre-
ference as respects essential originality a preference, however,
which in no way excludes the idea of the proleptical inter-
weaving of a few later pieces should also in this instance be
given to Matthew, inasmuch as the contents of the passage
now before us are undoubtedly taken from his collection of
our Lord's sayings. The mission itself, to which Luke xx. 35
points back, and which for this very reason we should be the
less inclined to regard as having taken place repeatedly (Weisse,
Ewald), was intended as a preliminary experiment in the inde-
pendent exercise of their calling. For how long? does not
appear. Certainly not merely for one day (Wieseler), although
not exactly for several months (Krafft). According to Mark
VL 7, they were sent out by twos, which, judging from Luke
292 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
x. 1, Matt. xxi. 1, is to be regarded as what originally took
place. As to the result, Matthew gives nothing in the shape
of an historical account.
Ver. 5. With the Gentiles (68bv eBvwv, way leading to the
Gentiles, Acts ii. 28, xvi. 17; Kiihner, II. 1, p. 286) Jesus
associates the Samaritans, on account of the hostility which
prevailed between the Jews and the Samaritans. The latter
had become intermixed during the exile with Gentile colonists,
whom Shalmaneser had sent into the country (2 Kings xvii.
24), which caused the Jews who returned from the captivity
to exclude them from any participation in their religious
services. For this reason the Samaritans tried to prevent the
rebuilding of the temple by bringing accusations against them
before Cyrus. Upon this and upon disputed questions of a
doctrinal and liturgical nature, the hatred referred to was
founded. Sir. L 2 off.; Lightfoot, p. 327 f. In accordance
with the divine plan of salvation (xv. 24), Jesus endeavours,
above all, to secure that the gospel shall be preached, in the
first instance, to the Jews (John iv. 22) ; so, with a view to the
energies of the disciples being steadily directed to the foremost
matter which would devolve upon them, He in the meantime
debars them from entering the field of the Gentiles and
Samaritans. This arrangement (if we except hints such as
viii. 11, xxi. 43, xxii. 9, xxiv. 14) He allows to subsist till
after His resurrection ; then, and not till then, does He give
to the ministry of the apostles that lofty character of a
ministry for all men (Matt, xxviii. 1 9 f. ; Acts i. 8), such as,
from the first, He must have regarded His own to have been
(v. 13). The fact that Jesus Himself taught in travelling
through Samaria (John iv.), appears to be at variance with the
injunction in our passage (Strauss) ; but this is one of those
paradoxes in the Master's proceedings about which the disciples
were not to be enlightened till some time afterwards. And
what He could do, the disciples were not yet equal to, so that,
in the first place, they were called upon only to undertake the
lighter task.
Vv. 6, 7. Ta TrpofiaTa . . . 'IvpaijX] the members of
Israel, the family of Israel (Lev. x. 6 ; Ex. xix. 3), the theo-
CHAP. X. 8-10. 293
cratic nation, who were alienated from the divine truth and
the divine life, and so were found wandering in error, like
sheep without a shepherd. Comp. xv. 24. And such sheep
(ix. 36) were they all, seeing that they were without faith in
Him, the heaven-sent Shepherd. For the figure generally,
comp. Isa. liii. 6 ; Jer. 1. 8 ; Ezek. xxxiv. 5. Ver. 7. T/774/eey,
K.T.X.] being precisely the same terms as those in which Jesus
Himself (iv. 17), and the Baptist before .Him, had commenced
their preaching (iii. 2).
Vv. 8, 9. Awpeav . . . Sore] with reference to the miracu-
lous gifts just mentioned, not to the teaching, for which, as a
matter of course, nothing was to be asked in return except
the bare necessaries of life, ver. 10 (1 Cor. ix. 4 ff.).
e\d/3ere] refers back to ver. 1. pr) tcrrja-ya-Oe] you must
not provide for yourselves. The girdle, which holds together
the loose upper robe, served the double purpose of keeping
money as well, the different kinds of which are, in the order
of their value, denoted by %pva6v, apyvpov, ^aX/eoz/. llosen-
miiller, Morgenl. V. p. 53 f. Therefore et? T. v. : in your
girdles, is depending on KTTJO:
Ver. 10. Mrf\ sc. /CTTja-yaOe, with which et? 6Sov is to be
connected. Ilijpa, a bag slung over the shoulder, see Duncan,
Lex. Horn. ed. Eost, s.v. 8vo ^trwya?] two under -garments,
either with a view to wear both at one time (Mark vi. 9), or
only one while carrying the other with them in case of need.
vTroB^ara] namely, for the requirements of the journey,
besides the pair already in use. The question whether, as
Lightfoot and Salmasius think, it is shoes in the strict sense of
the word (vTroB^ara Koi\a, Becker, Charicl. p. 221) that are
here meant, or whether it is ordinary a-avBa\ia (Mark vi. 9),
is, judging from the usual Oriental mode of covering the feet,
to be decided in favour of the sandals, which the Greeks also
called by the same name as that in the text (Pollux, VII.
35 ff.). fjLij&e pdfiSov] nor a staff to carry in the hand for
support and self-defence (Tob. v. 1 7), an unimportant variation
from Mark vi. 8. afto9 7p, /e.r.X.] a general proposition,
the application of which is of course evident enough. Free
and unembarrassed by any v\ncrj<i (frpoini&os, ek JUJVTJV Se j3\e-
294 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
7TOVT69 rrjv y^Lpi<T0elcrav avrois Siaicoviav (Euth. Zigabenus),
such as is represented by the matters just specified, they are
to rely upon God's care of them, who will cause them to
realize in their own experience how true it is that the labourer
is worthy of His support.
Ver. 11. "A % to 9] according to what follows: worthy to
provide you lodging at his house, " ne praedicationis dignitas
suscipientis infamia deturpetur," Jerome. Jesus forbids the
apostles to indulge in a fickle and frequent shifting of their
quarters as a thing unbecoming their office, and as calculated
to interfere with the steady progress of their labours. And
He directs them to go to private houses, not to the synagogues
nor to the market-places, seeing that they were unaccustomed
to making public appearances, but also out of regard to the
importance of domestic efforts.
Ver. 12. J3t9 TTJV OIK lav] This does not mean the house
at which you arrive (de Wette), but that which belongs to him
whom, on inquiry, you find to be worthy of you (ver. 11), and
where, if the owner is worthy, you are to stay until you
remove to another locality. The article is definite as referring
to Kafcet. aairaa-affOe avrrfv] Euth. Zigabenus: eTrej^ecr^e
elpijvrjv avry, the usual form of salutation, 1^ Dv^, Gen. xl. 23;
Judg. xix. 20 ; Luke x. 5.
Ver. 13. 'A %l a] not " bonis votis, queue, salute dicenda con-
tinebuntur" (Fritzsche), but, as in ver. 11, worthy of your
remaining in it. It should be noticed that $ and pr) y are
put first for sake of emphasis ; and should the house be worthy,
then come, and so on ; but if it is not a worthy one, then, and
so on. In this way the reference of ato9 remains unchanged.
e\#eTo>] shall come, that is my will. 77 elp
the blessings brought by you by way of salutation.
vfj,a<} Tri(7Tpa<p^T(o] Euth. Zigabenus : ftrjBev evepyycrdrco,
a\\a TavTtjv //,e#' iawr&v \a/36vTes e^ekOere. An expression
which represents the idea to the senses. Isa. xlv. 23, Ix. 11.
Ver. 14. Kal 09 eav, /c.r.X.] The nominative is a case of
anacoluthon, and placed at the beginning, so as to be emphatic,
as in vii. 24 : Whosoever will not have received you ... as you
qitit that house or that town, shake, and so on. e
CHAP. X. 15, 16. 295
with a simple genitive (Acts xvi. 39) ; Kiiliner, II. 1, p. 346.
The efo>, which Lachmann, Tischendorf 8. insert (B D ), is a
gloss upon what is a rare construction in the New Testament.
.Notice the present participle, thereby meaning " upon the
threshold," and relatively " at the gate." 77] or, should a
whole town refuse to receive you and listen to you. The
sJialdng off the dust is a sign of the merited contempt with
which such people are reduced to the level of Gentiles, whose
very dust is defiling. Lightfoot, p. 3 3 1 f. ; Mischna Surenhusii,
VI. p. 151 ; Wetstein on this passage ; Acts xiii. 51, xviii. 6.
This forcible meaning of the symbolical injunction is not to
be weakened (Grotius, Bleek : " Nil nobis vobiscum ultra
commercii est ; " de Wette : " Have nothing further to do
with them ; " Ewald : " Calmly, as though nothing had hap-
pened"); on the contrary, it is strengthened by ver. 15.
Comp. vii. 6.
Ver. 15. Tf) SoS., /e.r.X.] the land (those who once inhabited
the land) where, Sodom and Gomorrah stood. The truth of this
asseveration is founded on the principle in morals, that the
more fully the will of God is proclaimed (Luke xii. 47 ; Matt,
xi. 2 ff.), the greater the guilt of those who resist it. Notice
how the resurrection of the wicked also is here assumed (John
v. 29) ; observe likewise how Jesus' words bespeak the highest
Messianic self-consciousness.
Ver. 16. MSov] Introduces demonstratively the thought '
for which vv. 1 4, 1 5 have prepared the way. Such forms of
address as l&ov, aye, etc., frequently occur in the singular in
classical writers also, and that, too, where it is a question of
plurality (xviii. 31, xxvi. 65 ; John i. 29 ; Acts xiii. 46) ; see
Bremi, ad Dem. Philipp. I. 10, p. 119, Goth. lya>] here, as
always, is emphatic (in answer to Fritzsche, de Wette, Bleek) :
It is / who send you into the midst of such dangers ; conduct
yourselves, then, in such circumstances in a manner becoming
those who are my messengers ; be wise as serpents, and so on.
o><? Trpoftara ev /te<7o> \VKCOV] tanquam oves, etc., i.e. so
that, as my messengers, you will be in the position of sheep
in the midst of wolves. Usually ev /iecrp \VK. is made to
depend on aTrooreXXo), in which case ev, in accordance with
296 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
its well-known pregnant force (Bernhardy, p. 208 f.), would
not only express the direction of the verb, but also convey the
idea of continuing in the position in question, while &><? would
have the meaning of as. This is harsh, inasmuch as the
aTroo-reXXft), which occurs so often in the New Testament, is
in no other instance (in Luke iv. 19 it is an abstract expres-
sion) used in such a local sense. Moreover, ev fieaw gives
more striking prominence to the danger than the simple ev.
a/ce/aato?] Etyrn. M. : o /j,rj KCKpapzvos /catcols, a\X' aTrXoi)?
KOI a7rot/u\o<?. Comp. Rom. xvi. 19, Phil. ii. 15, common
in classical authors ; see Euhnken, ad Tim. p. 18. In view of
the dangerous circumstances in which they would be placed,
Jesus asks of them to combine (a combination to be realized
under the direction of the Holy Spirit, as in ver. 19) prudence
(in the recognition of danger, in the choice of means for
counteracting it, in regard to their demeanour in the midst of
it, and so on) with uprightness, which shuns every impropriety
into which one might be betrayed in the presence of the
dangers referred to, and therefore refrains from thinking,
choosing, or doing anything of a questionable nature in con-
nection with them. For Rabbinical passages bearing on the
wisdom of the serpent (Gen. iii. 1) and the innocence of the
dove (Hos. vii. 11), see Schoettgen. The loftiest example of
this combination is Jesus Himself ; while among the apostles,
so far as we know them, the one who ranks highest in this
respect is Paul.
Ver. 17. A e] denoting continuation of this same matter :
" But in order to comply with this injunction (usually the
wisdom alone is arbitrarily supposed to be referred to), be on
your guard, and so on." The passage that now follows on to
ver. 2 3 originally formed part (comp. Mark xiii. 9 ff.) of the
eschatological utterances, but the connection in which it now
stands was probably that in which it was already met with in
the collection of our Lord's sayings. Comp. xxiv. 9-1 3 ; Luke
xxi. 1 2 ff. Then again, taken in detail, the different portions
of this address, as given by Matthew, possess the advantage
of originality. Comp. Weizsacker, p. 160 ff. OTTO rv
The article is not meant to indicate men who
CHAP. X. 18. 297
are hostile (ver. 16, Erasmus, Fritzsche), who must have been
indicated in some other way than by the simple article (by TOOJA
TOIOVTWV, or such like), or by the general expression dvBpcaTrwv ;
but it is to be understood generically : men in general, taken
as a whole, are conceived of as hostile, in accordance with the
idea of that /cocy*o9 to which the disciples do not belong
(John xv. 19), and by which they are hated (John xvii. 14).
o-vveBpta] taken generally, tribunals in general. ev rat?
o-vvay.] That scourging also belonged to the synagogal forms
of punishment, as a matter of synagogue discipline, is placed
beyond a doubt by the New Testament. See, besides the
Synoptists, Acts xxii. 19, xxvi. 11 ; 2 Cor. xi. 24. The evi-
dence from Rabbinical literature is doubtful.
Ver. 18. Kal . . . Be] and . . . but (always separated except in
the epic poets), is of the nature of a climax, introducing still
another circumstance, whereupon Be follows this new and
emphasized thought. Hartung, Partikell. I. p. 1 8 1 f. ; Klotz,
ad Devar. p. 645; Baeumlein, Partik. p. 148 f. y ye novas]
comprises the three kinds of provincial chief magistrates, pro-
praetors, proconsuls, and procurators. Fischer, de vit. Lex.
N. T. p. 432 ff. et? /Jiaprvpiov . . . edveaiv] as a testimony
to them and to the Gentiles, i.e. those wrongs and that violent
treatment have this as their object, that (through your con-
fession and demeanour) a testimony regarding me may be given
to the Jeivs and the Gentiles. Cornp. viii. 4, xxiv. 14. Let it
be observed : (1) that it is arbitrary to refer et? paprvpiov, as is
usually done, merely to the last point, /cat eVl ^7e/i6i/a<?, etc.,
seeing that everything, in fact, from TrapaBuxrova-i onwards,
belongs to one category and has one common aim ; (2) that
aurofc, therefore, cannot point to the ^e/iora? and /Sao-tXet?,
to whom it is commonly referred (Baumgarten-Crusius, Bleek),
though not in keeping with the distinction expressed by /cat
rot? Wvea-iv, for the truth is, the procurators and kings were
Gentiles also ; but that, as is at once suggested to the reader
by this adding on of Kal rots Wveviv, it rather refers to the
Jews (Maldonatus, Bengel, Lange, Hilgenfeld, Schegg, follow-
ing Theophylact), who (avrwv, ver. 17) are the active subjects
of Tra/raSoKToucrt, (jLaa-Tiyaxroucriv, and partly also of dp
298 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(3) that, according to the context, rot? eOveaiv, to the Gentiles,
refers to the yyefAovas and /SaenXefr, and their Gentile environ-
ment ; (4) and lastly, that the further reference of ^aprvptov
is to be gathered from eveicev epov : a testimony of me, regard-
ing my person and work. The dative case, however, is that of
reference as regards the paprvpiov ; to define more specifically
would be an unwarrantable liberty. This is applicable to the
view adopted since Chrysostom : et<? e\eyxov avrwv (Theo-
phylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Beza, Maldonatus, Kuinoel),
although this is included in that general reference.
Vv. 19, 20. But now, when the delivering of you up
actually takes place, give yourselves no anxious concern, and
so on. rj Tt] not KCU TI, but the distinctive expression used
renders more fully prominent the two elements, the how and
the what (Dissen, ad Dem. de cor, p. 264), in which " eleganter
notatur cura " (Bengel). The difficulty, first of all, is with
regard to the 7rcw9 ; observe, however, that in the sequel only
Tt is used ("ubi TO quid obtigit, TO quomodo non deest,"
Bengel). Sodtja-eTat,] not docebitur, but suggeretur, by God
through the Holy Spirit, Isa. 1. 4 ; Eph. vi. 19 ; 1 Cor. ii. 10 ff. ;
Luke xxi. 15. Observe the difference between TI \a\r)cn]re
and rt \a\tfcreTe (what you ought to speak, and what you will
speak) ; and for this use of TI, see Bernhardy, p. 443. Kiihner,
II. 2, p. 1016. ov . . . a\\a] In this decided, and not in
any half and half way, does Jesus conceive of that relation, in
virtue of which His disciples were to become irvevpariicois
TrvevfAdTiica a-vyicpivovTes (1 Cor. ii 13). e<7Te] the future
situation is thought of as present.
Ver. 21. Comp. Mic. vii. 6. eVai/ao-T^o-.] not merely
before the judges, but generally. It is the expression in
classical Greek for rebellious rising (eTravda-Taa-is, 2 Kings
iii. 4; Kriiger, ad Dion. p. 55); in Greek authors usually
with the dative, also with eiri rivt. davarcaa-ovariv] take
away life (xxvi. 59), i.e. bring about their execution. A vivid
expression. Comp. also xxvii. 1. The reason of this hostile
treatment is self-evident, but may be further seen from
ver. 22.
Ver. 22. 'IVo TTUVTCOV'] Popular way of expressing the
CHAP. X. 23. 299
universal character of the hatred. Si a TO ovo^d fiov] because
you confess and preach it. Tertullian, Apol. 2 : " Torquemur
confitentes et punimur perseverantes et absolvimur negantes,
quia nominis proelium est." t/Tro/ieiW?] whosoever will have
persevered in the confessing of my name. This is to be inferred
from 8ta ra ovopd fjLov. Comp. note on xxiv. 13. et? reXo?]
usque ad Jinem horum malorum (Theophylact, Beza, Fritzsche).
Others think that the end of life is meant, or (as also Bleek)
mingle together a variety of references. Contrary to ver. 23.
er&>e<r#cu] obtain the blessedness of the Messianic kingdom.
Ver. 23. Tavry and rrjv d\\r)v are to be understood
SetKTi/ccS?. Jesus points with the finger in the direction of
various towns. Your sphere is large enough to admit of your
retreating before persecution in order to save others. yap]
A ground of encouragement for such perseverance. ov p,rj
T6\eo-7/T6, /c.T.X.] You will not have completed your visits to the
towns of the people of Israel ; i.e., you will not have accom-
plished in all of them your mission, associated as it will be
with such flights from town to town. Comp. the analogous
use of avvei.v (Eaphel, Krebs, Loesner, on this passage), explere,
in Tibull. i. 4. 69 (Heyne, Obss. p. 47) ; consummare, in Flor.
i. 18. 1 (see Ducker on the passage). The interpretation: to
bring to Christian perfection (Maldonatus, Zeger, Jansen, fol-
lowing Hilary ; Hofmann, Weissag. u. Erf all. II. p. 2 6 7 f.), is
an erroneous makeshift, by way of removing the second coming
farther into the future. Observe that here, too, as in ver. 5,
the apostolic ministry is still confined to Israel. eo>? av
e\drf\ until the Son of man will have come, i.e. the Messiah,
such as He has been promised in Daniel's vision (viii. 20), who
will then put an end to your troubles, and receive you into
the glory of His kingdom. Jesus means neither more nor less
than His second coming (Matt, xxiv.), which He announces
even at this early stage, and as being so near, that xxiv. 14,
and even xvi. 28, are not to be reconciled with this view.
Different elements of the tradition, which, in the course of
experience, came to view the prospect as more remote, a
tradition, however, that was still the product of the existing
7/ea (xxiv. 34, xiv. 28). The interpretations which explain
300 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
away the final coming, content themselves, some with the idea
of a vague coming after or coming to their help (Chrysostom,
Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Beza, Kuinoel ; even Origen
and Theodoret, Heracleon in Cramer's Cat. p. 78); others with
the coming through the Holy Spirit (Calvin, Grotius, Calovius,
Bleek), or with supposing that the, as yet too remote, destruc-
tion of Jerusalem is referred to (Michaelis, Schott, Glockler,
Ebrard, Gess) ; and others, again, explaining it allegorically of
the victory of Christ's cause (Baumgarten-Crusius). On the
prediction of the second coming itself, see on ch. xxiv.
Ver. 24. Similarly, what follows from here on to the close
consists of anticipations of later utterances. Comp. as far as
ver. 33 ; Luke xii. 1 ff., and from ver. 34 onward ; Luke xii.
49 ff. Do not be surprised at such intimations beforehand
of the sad troubles that await you ; for (as the proverb has it)
you need not expect a better fate than that which befalls your
Lord and Master. Comp. John v. 2 ; Eabbinical passages in
Schoettgen, p. 98.
Ver. 25. ^Apicerov ru> fjtaOrjrf}, "va, /c.r.X] It is enough for
the disciple he should be as his Master, i.e. let him satisfy
himself with being destined to share the same fate ; a better
he cannot claim. For tva, comp. John vi. 29 and the note
upon it. KOI o SoOXo?, /c.r.X.] by attraction for teal rat 8ou\&>,
iva ^kvr]Tai to? o Kvp. avrov. Winer, p. 583 [E. T. 783].
-BeeXe/3ou\, name of the devil, which the majority of
modern critics (Kuinoel, Fritzsche, de Wette, Bleek, Grimm)
agree, with Lightfoot and Buxtorf, in deriving from ?J?3 and
>3 ., dominus stercoris, an expression intended to designate with
loathing the prince of all moral impurity. It is supposed, at
the same time, that the name BeelzeZmfr, the Philistine god of
flies, by being changed into Beelzeiw/ (god of dung), came to be
employed, in a jocular way, as a name for the devil. See below
on the reading .BeeXe/3ouy3. But, as against the meaning god
of dung, there is (1) the form of the name itself, which, if
derived from 73T, should have been spelt Bee\%a/3r)\, orBeeXa-
/6eX, according to the analogy of 'le&fifa (/ 5 ?.^), or 'Iea/3eX
(Eev. ii. 20). (2) The fact that Jesus' own designation of
Himself as ot/coSeo-Tro-n?? is evidently chosen with reference
CHAP. X. 26, 27. 301
to the meaning of BeeXe/3ouX, as indeed is clear from
= f>JD, and that, accordingly, the name Bee\e/3ov\ must con-
tain something corresponding to ol/eo? as well. This being so,
it is preferable to derive the word from ?y? and 7>3T, a dwelling
(Gusset, Michaelis, Paulus, Jahn, Hitzig, Philista&r, p. 314 ;
Hilgenfeld, Volkmar), according to which the devil, as lord of
his domain, in which the evil spirits dwell, was called Domi-
nus domicilii (but neither tartari, as Faulus, nor domicilii
coelestis, as Hilgenfeld, Keim, suppose). Jesus was, in relation
to His disciples (TOU? ot/cta/cou? avrov), the Herus domesticus,
n3n ^3 (Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. p. 333) ; but, in malicious jest,
they applied to Him the corresponding name of the devil :
Herus domicilii. Jerome wrote Bee\e/3ovj3, from 213T, musca,
i.e. Dominus muscarum. Such was the name given to a
fortune-telling divinity of the Ekronites (2 Kings i. 2, 16),
which during an illness was consulted by King Ahaziah, and
to which, in connection with the very ancient heathen worship
of flies, was ascribed the dominion over those insects, and
which therefore was supposed, at the same time, to have the
power of averting this scourge of the East. Plin. N. H. x. 28 ;
Pausan. viii. 26, 27 ; Aelian. H. A. v. 17 ; Solin. Polyh. 1.
But critical testimony most decidedly preponderates in favour
of the reading BeeXe/3ovX, which might easily have been
changed into JBee\^e/3ou/8, on account of what is found in
2 Kings i. ; and the greater the correspondence between the
meaning of the former name and that of ot/coSco-Tror^?, it is
also the more likely to be the correct form. That the Jews
really catted Jesus BeeXfe/SovX, is not elsewhere stated in any
of the Gospels, though from our present passage the fact cannot
be doubted, while it is probably connected with the accusation
in ix. 34, xii. 34, though going rather further.
Vv. 26, 27. Ovv\ inference from vv. 24, 25 : since, from
the relation in which, as my disciples, you stand to me as
your Master, it cannot surprise you, but must only appear as
a necessary participation in the same fate, if they persecute
you. The yap which follows, then, conjoins with the fir) <o/3.
avr. a further awakening consideration that, namely, which
arises out of the victorious publicity which the gospel is destined
302 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
to attain; whereupon is added, in ver. 27, the exhortation
an exhortation in keeping with this divine destiny of the
gospel to labour boldly and fearlessly as preachers of that
which He communicates to them in private intercourse. This
addition is the more emphatic from there being no connecting
particle to introduce it. The thought, " elucescet tandem orbi
vestra sinceritas," which others (Chrysostom, Theophylact,
Theodoret, Heracleon in Cramer's Cat., Erasmus, Grotius,
Beza) have found in ver. 26, as well as the reference to the
judgment (Hilgenfeld), are equally at variance with the con-
text, as seen in ver. 27. For the figurative contrasting of
crKOTia and </>?, in the case of heyeiv and such like, comp.
Soph. Phil. 578, and Wunder in loc.; for et? r. o3<?, also a
common expression among classical writers for what is told in
confidence, see Valckenaer, ad Eurip. Hipp. 932.
Ver. 28. Tov Swdpevov . . . yeevvrj] who is in a position
to consign body and soul, at the day of judgment, to ever-
lasting destruction in Gehenna. Comp. v. 29. It is God that
is meant, and not the devil (Olshausen, Stier). Comp. Jas.
iv. 12 ; Wisd. xvi. 1315. (f>o/3eicr0ai airo, as a rendering
of jp N"V, and expressing the idea of turning away from the
object of fear, occurs often in the LXX. and Apocrypha ; the
only other instance in the New Testament is Luke xii. 4 ; not
found in classical writers at all, though they use ^0^05 UTTO
(Xen. Cyr. iii. 3. 53; Polyb. ii. 35. 9, ii. 59. 8). fia\\ov']
potius. Euth. Zigabenus : <o/3oi> ovv aTruxraaOe (boftw, TOV TWV
av6p(O7TCOV T<0 TOV 060V.
Ver. 26. Farther encouragement by pointing to the provi-
dence of God. cTTpovdia] The diminutive is used advisedly.
Comp. Ps. xi. 1, Ixxxiv. 3 ; Aristot. H. An. v. 2, ix. 7. Two
small sparrows for a single farthing. The latter was one-tenth
of a drachma, and subsequently it was still less. It is also
used by Rabbinical writers to denote the smallest possible
price of anything; Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. p. 175, Lightfoot,
Schoettgen. /cot] is simply and, and placed first in the
ansiver, which is, in fact, a continuation of the thought con-
tained in the question. See Kiihner, ad Xen. Mem. ii. 10. 2.
ev\ a single. Treo-eJIrat eirl T. yfjv] not spoken of the
CHAP. X. 30-34. 303
bird that is caught in the snare or gin (Irenaeus, Chrysostom,
Euth. Zigabenus), but of that which has dropped dead from
the sky or the branches. dvev] independently of , without the
interference; the reading dvev T^? /3ouA% rov Tra-rp. vp,. is an
old and correct gloss. Comp. the classical expressions dvev
6eov, drep dewv, and sine Diis, Isa. xxxvi. 10.
Ver. 30. 'T/xwv 8e] Put first by way of emphasis. Euth.
Zigabenus aptly observes : fytet? Be TOO-OVTOV ecrre Tipiot, were
KOI irdaas vfjiwv Tpfyas r/pidprj/jLevas elvai Trapa 6eov . . . Kal
A.e7TT(tyie/a<w<? oI8e Trdvra TO, icaff v/j,a<s. Poetical expression for
the providentia specialissima. Comp. Luke xxi. 18 ; Acts
xxvii. 34 ; 1 Sam. xiv. 45 ; 2 Sam. xiv. 11 1 Kings i. 52 ;
Plato, Legg. x. p. 900 C.
Ver. 32 f. ITa? ovv, /c.r.X.] Nominative, like ver. 14. ev
e/jioi] is neither a Hebraism nor a Syriac mode of expression ;
nor does it stand for the dative of advantage ; nor does it
mean through me (Chrysostom) ; but the personal object of
confession is conceived of as the one to whom the confession
cleaves. Exactly as in Luke xii. 8. Similar to o/jivveiv ev,
v. 34. In the apodosis, notice the order: confess will I also
him -(as really one of mine, and so on). epTrpoo-Oev . . .
ovpavols\ namely, after my ascension to the glory of heaven
as <rvvdpovo<; of the Father, xxvi. 64; comp. Eev. iii. 5.
Vv. 32 and 33 contain, as an inference from all that has been
said since ver. 16, a final observation in the form of a promise
and a threatening, and expressed in so general a way that the
disciples are left to make the special application for them-
selves. The address, which is drawing to a close in ver. 33,
pursues still further the same lofty tone, and that in vivid
imagery, in ver. 34, so full is Jesus of the thought of the pro-
found excitement which He feels He is destined to create.
Ver. 34. 'HxOov fta\eiv] The telic style of expression is
not only rhetorical, indicating that the result is unavoidable,
but what Jesus expresses is a purpose, not the final design of
His coming, but an intermediate purpose, in seeing clearly
presented to His view the reciprocally hostile excitement as a
necessary transition, which He therefore, in keeping with His
destiny as Messiah, must be sent first of all to bring forth.
30 4 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
/3a\eiv] an instance of zeugma, in which the thought of a
sword is the predominant one, after which the verb also spon-
taneously suggested itself for elprjvrjv, and all the more naturally
the more sudden and powerful was to be the excitement of
men's minds, which He, instead of a comfortable peace, was to
bring about.
Vv. 35, 36. Comp. ver. 21. Involuntary recollection of
Mic. vii. 6. Comp. also Sota xlix. 2, in Schoettgen. ?j\6ov
rydp] solemn repetition. St^da-at] to separate (Plat. Polit.
p. 264 D), i.e. to place a man in that attitude of party hostility
(Bi^offTacria) toward his father which results in their separation,
and so on. vv(ji<}>r): young wife (common in classical writers),
specially in the sense of daughter-in-law (in the LXX.). xal
e^dpol, /C.T.X.] imminent, as if already present: and a man's
enemies (are) the members of his own family ! fyBpol is a
predicate.
Ver. 37. Demeanour in the midst of this excitement: the
love of the family on no account to take precedence of love
to Christ, but quite the reverse ! The inalienable rights of
family affection remain intact, but in subordination to the love
of Christ, which determines how far it is of a truly moral
nature, -r fjuow aftos] worthy to belong to me as his Lord and
Master. Comp. Luke xiv. 26.
Ver. 38. To take up his cross means, willingly to undergo
the severe trials that fall to his lot (2 Cor. i. 5 ; Phil. iii. 1 0).
Figurative expression, borrowed from the practice according to
which condemned criminals were compelled to take up their
own cross and carry it to the place of execution; xxvii. 32 ;
Luke xxiii. 26 ; John xix. 16 ; Artemid. ii. 56, p. 153 ; Plut.
Mor. p. 554 A; Cic. de divin. i. 26 ; Valer. Max. xi. 7. The
form of this expression, founded as it is upon the kind of
death which Christ Himself was to die, is one of the indica-
tions of that later period from which the passage from ver. 24
onward has been transferred to its present connection. Matthew
himself betrays the prolepsis in xvi. 24 f.; comp. Mark viii. 34;
Luke xiv. 27. oirLaa) pov: in conformity with the Hebrew
Comp., however, CLKO\. Karoiriv nvos, Arist. Plut. xiii.
Ver. 39. Wvxtfv and avrrjv have no other meaning than that
CHAP. X. 40, 41. 305
of soul (ii. 20, vi. 25, ix. 28); but the point lies in the
reference of the finding and losing not being the same in the
first as in the second half of the verse. " Whoever will have
found his soul (by a saving of his life in this world through
denying me in those times when life is endangered), will lose
it (namely, through the aTnuXeta, vii. 13, the eternal death at
the second coming ; comp. Luke ix. 24 f.) ; and whoever will
have lost his soul (through the loss of his life in this world
in persecution, through an act of self-sacrifice), will find it "
(at the resurrection to the eternal <u?7) ; o-w^o-erat, ver. 22.
For a?roXX. -^-v^ijv, comp. Eur. Hec. 21 ; Anth. Pal. vii. 272. 2.
The finding in the first half, accordingly, denotes the saving of
the ^^77, when to all appearance hopelessly endangered from
temporal death ; while, in the second, it denotes the saving of
the ^v%*? after it has actually succumbed to death. The former
is a finding that issues in eternal death ; the latter, one that
conducts to eternal life.
Vv. 40-42. Before concluding, the reassuring statement is
added that : In all such troubles you are to have the less hesitation
in claiming to be entertained and supported by believers; the holier
the deeds and the greater (in the Messianic kingdom) the reward
of those will prove to be who so receive and maintain you. Euth.
Zigabenus appropriately observes : ravra direv dvovyow rots
/j,a6r)Tai<; ra? oiKia<? rwv TrtffTevovT&v. Comp. with ver. 40,
John xiii. 20 ; and with ver. 41 f., comp. Mark ix. 37, 41.
Ver. 41. A general expression, the special reference of
which to the disciples is found in ver. 42. eis ovop,d\ from
a regard to that which the name implies, to the prophetic
character ; Sc avro TO 6vo/j,dea-0ai, KOI elvai, Euth. Zigabenus.
In Eabbinical writers we find 0??. Schoettgen, p. 107 ; Bux-
torf, Lex. Talm. p. 2431. Therefore; for the sake of the
cause which stamps them with their distinguishing character-
istics, for sake of the divine truth which the prophet interprets
from the revelation that has been made to him, and for sake
of the integrity which the St/eato? exhibits in his life.
SiKaiov] an upright man, correct parallel to Trpo^rrjv. The
apostles, however, belong to both categories, inasmuch as they
receive and preach the revelation (Trpoffirai) communicated
MATT. U
306 TIIE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
by God through Christ, and seeing that, through their faith in
the Lord, they are characterized by true and holy righteous-
ness of life (SiKaioi). The reward of a prophet and of a
righteous man is the same reward, which they will receive (in
the Messianic kingdom).
Ver. 42. "Eva . . . T.OVTCOV] a single one of these (Sei/criKd)?}
little ones. According to 'the whole context, which has been
depicting the despised and painful circumstances of the dis-
ciples, and is now addressing to them the necessary encourage-
ment, it is to be regarded as intentional and significant that
Jesus employs the term fuicpwv (not fj,a0r)r<uv), an expression
which (in answer to Wetstein) is not usual among Rabbinical
writers to convey the idea of disciples. Otherwise xviii. 6.
/j,6vov~\ only, connected with what precedes. rov \iiaQov
auroO] the, reward awaiting Mm, in the kingdom of the
Messiah; v. 12. Grotius says correctly: "Docemur hie, facta
ex aiiinio, non animum ex factis apud Deum aesthnari"
CHAP. XL 307
CHAPTER XT.
VER. 2. 5/] Elz. Griesb. Matthaei, Scholz: dio, against
B C* D P Z A K, 33, 124, Syr. utr. Arm. Goth. Codd. of It.
From Luke vii. 19. Ver. 8. /^ar/'o/s] wanting in B D Z X,
Vulg. Tert. Hil. al. Bracketed by Lachm., deleted by Tisch.
Interpolation from Luke. Ver. 9. /3s/v; irpo<pr,rrivi] Tiscb. :
vpotpqTw ids?]/ ; (with mark of interrogation after s^XQ.) So
B Z K*. The Received text, notwithstanding its preponder-
ance of testimony, is a mechanical conformation to ver. 8 (comp.
Luke). Ver. 10. Lachm. has bracketed yap and lyw. The
former only has important testimony against it (B D Z N,
Codd. of It. Syr cur Or.), is likewise deleted by Tisch., though it
may easily have been omitted in consequence of a comparison
with Luke vii. 27. On far too inadequate testimony, Lachm.
and Tisch. 7 have xa/ instead of 5$. Ver. 15. &xoveiv] is not
found in B D, 32. Here and in xiii. 9, 43, it is bracketed by
Lachm. and correctly deleted by Tisch. Borrowed from Mark
and Luke, where, in all the passages, axousiv cannot be disputed.
Ver. 16 f. iratdioig Iv ayopafg xadq/j,svoi<; xal vpoffifsuvoiJsi
roTg sTKipoig avruv xai Xt/ovtf/v] Rinck, Lucubr. crit. p.
257 f . ; Lachm. and Tisch. : -a/3/o/$ xadyp'ivoig ev ayopej, (Tisch. 7 :
ayopais, Tisch. 8 : rule, ay<y>.) a -Trpoatpuvovvra rote, traipoig (Tisch. :
sTtpois) hsyovatv. On the strength of preponderating testimony
this whole reading is to be preferred ; it was partially altered
in accordance with Luke vii. 32. But the balance of the testi-
mony is decidedly in favour of substituting eripoi$ for eraipois ;
and the former is to be preferred all the more that, for exegetical
reasons, it was much more natural to adopt the latter. Testi-
mony is also decidedly in favour of Iv ayopaT;, and that without
the article (which is found only in B Z K). Mpyvriff. v^?v]
Lachm. and Tisch. have merely idpqvqa., according to B C D Z X,
Curss. Verss. and Fathers. Correctly ; vpn is inserted from what
precedes. Tisch. 8 has spyuv instead of rexvuv, but only after
B* N, 124, Codd. in Jerome, and Verss. (also Syr.). An inter-
pretation (a. r. epycav ruv vi. a.). Ver. 23. 53 Iws roD ou^avoS
' E F G S U V r n**. Curss. Syr. p. Chrys.: 1 "u;
308 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
rot ovpavot v-^ufy's (approved by Griesb. and Rinck, also Tiscb. 7,
who, however, has correctly deleted roD). But B D** K, 1 ,
22, 42, Copt. Aeth. Pers. Wh. Vulg. Corb. Tor. Ir. (comp. Colb.
Germ.) : py eus ovpavot i-^ud^er. The reading of the Received
text must be given up, then, on account of the external testi-
mony, and either % . . . v-^udqs or w . . . v^udfari is to be read.
The former is to be preferred. The reading w, etc., originated
in the final syllable of Kapapvaovf* having been twice written
by the copyist, which necessarily involved the change of tyudijg
into tr\J/w0jj<T9j. The other variations arose out of a misunder-
standing as to H. It was taken for the article, hence the read-
ing in the Received text : ^ . . . tyudtfea. The interrogative
reading, ^, etc. (Lachm. Tisch. 8), is foreign to the sense (you
will not be raised to heaven, surely ?), a reflection that is here
out of place. xara/3//3a<r0jjff7j] Lachm. and Tisch. 7 : xaraj3jj<nj,
after B D, It. Vulg. Syr. al. Ir. Correctly ; the reading of the
Received text is from Luke x. 15, where the testimony in
favour of xara/3^<r?) is somewhat weaker.
Ver. 1. 'EiceiOev] from where the sending out of the
apostles took place. It is impossible to define the locality
further ; at all events Capernaum is not intended, but some
open space (ix. 36) on the road, along which Jesus was at
that time prosecuting His journey through Galilee (ix. 35).
Whilst .the Twelve were out on their missionary tour, Jesus
continued His labours by Himself; and it was during this
interval also that He was visited by the messengers from the
Baptist. Where these latter happened to find Him, it is im-
possible to say. For the return of the Twelve, see note on
ver. 25. avr&v] in the towns of those to whom He came
(the Galileans'). Comp. iv. 23, ix. 35, xii. 9. Fritzsche
refers avr&v to the apostles : in which the apostles had already
published tJie knowledge of the kingdom. Incorrectly, for the
fj,eT/3i>], /c.T.X., follows at once and immediately upon the con-
clusion of the instructions to the Twelve. On the following
section, see Wieseler in the Gottingen Vierteljahrschr. 1845,
p. 197 ff . ; Gams, Joh. d. T. im Gefdngn. 1853 ; Gademann,
in d. Luth. Zeitschr. 1852, 4 ; Grote, ibid. 1857, 3, p. 518 ff.
Comp. also Erlang. Zeitschr. 1857, p. 167 ff.; Keim, II. p.
355 ff.
Vv. 2 ff. Comp. Luke vii. 18 ff., where the account is in-
CHAP. XL 3-6. 309
troduced somewhat earlier, and where nothing is said about
the prison (but see Luke iii. 20). aKovcras, /e.r.X.] Occasion
of the message. See the note after ver. 5. ev TO> Seo-^wr.]
in the fortress of Machaerus. Joseph. Antt. xviii. 5. 2. See
on xiv. 3. How John could hear anything of Jesus' works in
prison was possible in various ways ; most naturally it was
through his disciples, with whom he was permitted to have
intercourse. Luke vii. 18. ra epya] are the deeds, the first
element in the Trotelv re KOI SiSdo-tceiv (Acts i. 1). These
were for the most part miracles, though there is no reason to
suppose that they were exclusively so. See on John v. 36.
Tre/Ai/ra?] absolutely, Xen. Anab. vii. 1. 2 ; Hell. iii. 2. 9 ;
Thuc. i. 91. 2 ; Bornem. Schol. in Luc. p. Ixv. The following
Sia TWV fMaOrjr. avrov belongs to elirev avra), not to Tre/i^a?
(de Wette), because this latter connection would involve the
supposition of a Hebraism, T3 np: 1 Sam. xvi. 20, 1 Kings
ii. 25, Ex iv. 13, which is in itself unnecessary.
Ver. 3. 5*u] Placed first for sake of emphasis. Comp.
erepov. 6 e'/o%o/ieyos] He who is coming (Heb. x. 37), i.e.
the Messiah, who, because His advent, as being certain and
near, was the object of universal expectation, is called, /car'
^X^ V > ^e coming one (K^n), perhaps in accordance with Ps.
xl. 8. Olshausen, Hilgenfeld, Keim, suggest Ps. cxviii. 26 ;
Hengstenberg suggests MaL iii. 1; Hitzig, Dan. ix. 26.
e rep ov] so that thou too wouldst, in that case, be only a
forerunner. Trpoo-So/ea^ei/] may be conjunctive (as commonly
preferred) or indicative (Vulg. Erasmus, Beza, Calvin, Eritzsche).
The idea of deliberation is, for psychological reasons, more
appropriate. The we in the question is the expression of
the popular expectation.
Vv. 5, 6. In words that seem an echo of Isa. xxxv. 5 f., 8,
Ixi. 1 ff., though, in accordance with existing circumstances,
embracing some additional matters, Jesus draws His answer
clearly and decidedly from the well-known facts of His
ministry, which prove Him to be the ep%6/j,evo<; foretold in
prophecy. Comp. Luke iv. 18. The words of the answer
form & resume of cases such as those in viii 2, ix. 1, 23, 27,
32 ; therefore they cannot have been intended to be taken in
310 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the sense of spiritual redemption, which Jesus might lay claim
to as regards His works (in answer to de Wette, Keim,
Wittichen) ; comp. Schweizer in the Stud. u. Krit. 1836, p.
IOC ff. ; Weiss, bibl. Theol, ed. 2, p. 48 ; Hofmann, Schriftbew.
II. 1, p. 181. TTTW^OI eu77eX.] well-known passive con-
struction, as in Heb. iv. 2, 6 ; Gal. ii. 7 ; Rom. iii. 2 ; Heb.
xi. 2; Bernhardy, p. 341 f. TT reopen] are the poor, the
miserable, the friendless, the oppressed and helpless multitude
(comp. on v. 3), elsewhere compared to sheep without a shep-
herd (ix. 36), and likened a little further on to a bruised reed
and smoking flax (xii. 20). Such people crowded about our
Lord, who proclaimed to them the Messianic deliverance.
And this deliverance they actually obtained when, as n-rw-^ol
TO) 7rvevfj,an, v. 3, they surrendered themselves to His word
under a deep heartfelt consciousness of their need of help.
<TKavSa\. ev fj,of] will have been offended in me, so as to
have come to entertain false views concerning me, so as to
have ceased to believe in me, to have come to distrust me ;
xiii. 57, xxvi 31, 33 ; comp. on v. 29.
EEMARK. Judging from John's question, ver. 2, and Jesus'
reply, ver. 6, it is neither unwarrantable nor, as far as can be
seen, incompatible with the evangelic narrative, to assume that
nothing else is meant than that John was really in doubt as to
the personal Messiahship of Jesus and the nature of that Mes-
siahship altogether, a doubt, however, which, after the honour-
able testimony of Jesus, ver. 7 ff., cannot be regarded as
showing a want of spirituality, nor as inconsistent with the
standpoint and character of one whom God had sent as the
forerunner, and who had been favoured with a divine revela-
tion, but only as a temporary eclipse of his settled conviction,
which, owing to human infirmity, had yielded to the influence
of despondency. This condition is so explicable psychologi-
cally from the popular nature of the form which he expected
the Messianic kingdom to assume on the one hand, as well as
from his imprisonment on the other, coupled with the absence
of any interposition in his favour on the part of Him who, as
Messiah in the Baptist's sense, should have given things a
totally different turn by manifesting Himself in some sudden,
overwhelming, and glorious crisis, and so analogous to un-
doubted examples of the same thing in other holy men (Moses,
CHAP. XI. 5, C. 311
Elias), that there is no foundation for the view that, because of
this question of the Baptist (which Strauss even regards as an
expression of the first beginnings of his faith), the evangelic
accounts of his earlier relation to Jesus are to be regarded as
overdrawn (on the other hand, Wieseler, I.e. p. 203 ff.), a view
which seems to be shared by Weizsacker, p. 320, and Schenkel.
Actual doubt was the cause of the question, and furnished the
occasion for informing him about the works of Jesus, which, as
characteristic marks of the Messiah, formed again a counter-
poise to his doubts, and so awoke an internal conflict in which
the desire to call upon Jesus finally to declare Himself was
extremely natural ; and, accordingly, there is no reason for
Strauss' wonder that, ere this, oux axovcag has not been substi-
tuted in ver. 2 as a likely reading instead of axoUag. From
all this, and without importing any subjective element into the
accounts, it is to be considered as settled that the Baptist's
question proceeded from real doubt as to whether Jesus was
the sp^optvog, yea or nay ; nor is it for a moment to be limited
(Paulus, Olshausen, Neander, Fleck, Kuhn, Ebrard, de Wette,
Wieseler, Dollinger, and several others ; comp. also Hofmann,
Weissag. u. Erf. II. p. 75 ; Lichtenstein, L. J. p. 256; Haus-
rath, Zeitgesch. I. p. 338 ; Gess, Chr. Pers. u. Werk, I. p. 352)
to doubts regarding the true nature of the Messiah's manifesta-
tion and works ; but still less is the whole narrative to be
explained by supposing, in accordance with the time-honoured
exegetical tradition, that John sent the message for the benefit
of his own disciples, to confirm in them a belief in Jesus as the
Messiah (Origen in Cramer's Catena, Chrysostom, Augustine,
Jerome, Hilary, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Minister, Luther,
Calvin, Beza, Melanchthon, Clarius, Zeger, Jansen, Maldonatus,
Grotius, Calovius, Bengel), or by seeing in it an expression of
impatience, and an indirect challenge to the Messiah to establish
His kingdom without delay (Lightfoot, Michaelis, Schuster in
Eichhorn's Bill. XL p. 1001 ff.; Leopold, Joh. d. Tduf. 1825, p.
96 ; Kuinoel, Fritzsche, Hase). The correct view was sub- ,
stantially given by so early a writer as Tertullian, and subse-
quently by Wetstein, Thies, J. E. Ch. Schmidt, Arnrnon,
Loftier, kl. Schriften, II. p. 150 ff. ; Neander, Krabbe, Bleek,
Riggenbach, and several others ; comp. also Ewald, Gesch. Chr.
p. 420, who, however, supposes at the same time that the
disciples of John may have been urging him to tell them
plainly whether they ought to transfer their allegiance to Jesus
or not ; similarly Keim, who thinks that John, though hesitat-
ing between the alternative : He is the Messiah and He is not
312 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEV,'.
so, was nevertheless more disposed in favour of the affirmative
view; so also Schmidt in the Jahrb.f. D. Th. 1869, p. 638 ff.,
who notices the way in which, as he supposes, the Baptist
belies his former testimony regarding Christ.
Ver. 7. The answer to John's question has been given ; the
disciples are withdrawing; but just as they are going away
(iropevo/j,vtav) Jesus turns to the multitude that was present,
and with some emotion proceeds to set forth to them, in the
plainest way possible, the sacred character and the whole
position of the Baptist, and by this means seeks to anticipate
or correct any false opinion that might be formed regarding
him. The mark of interrogation should be placed after ded-
(ratjQai (in answer to Paulus and Fritzsche, who put it even
after eprj^ov) ; according to the correct reading (see the critical
remarks), the animated style of the passage does not change till
ver. 9, so that d\\a ri ef^Xtfere forms a question by itself.
e 77 \0ere] at the time that John appeared in the wilder-
ness. Observe that here stands 0ed<raa-6cu, to behold, and
immediately after the simple ISeiv, to see. The more earnest
expression is in keeping with the first question. aX era A,.]
figuratively, in allusion to the reed growing on the bank of
Jordan, and meaning : a fickle and irresolute man. Others
(Beza, Grotius, Wetstein, Gratz, Fritzsche, de Wette) under-
stand it literally : " non credibile est, vos coivisse, ut arun-
dines vento agitatas videretis." This is not in keeping with
the qualifying expression, VTTO dve/jLov cra\evoiJ,evov. And how
meaningless the question would be alongside the parallels in
vv. 8, 9 ! Comp. 1 Kings xiv. 15 ; Ezek. xxix. 6.
Vv. 8, 9. *A\\d] no, on the contrary ; it is assumed that
what has just been asked was not the intention ; Hartung,
Partikell. II. p. 38. Klotz, ad Devar. p. 13. It seems, from
the fact of his sending those messengers, as if John were (1)
a man of hesitating, unstable character, ver. 7 ; or (2) a volup-
tuary, whose sole concern was how to exchange his condition
of hardship for one of luxurious ease, ver. 8. Jesus removes
any impression of this sort by appealing to His hearers to con-
sult their own hearts as to what they had eoepected, and what
they had found in John. Certainly they had expected neither
CHAP. XL 10, 11. 313
a man of fickle mind, nor a voluptuary ; but what they had
looked for, that they had found in him, namely a prophet
(xxi. 26), indeed more than a prophet! Accordingly, there is
no apparent reason for regarding (Oppenrieder, Zeitschr. f.
luth. Theologie, 1856) the clauses containing a statement of
the intention as the rhetorical expression of the result (as it'
the words were rl e^eX&We? et? rrjv ep. eQedvaa-Qe). But even
to find in the negative questions an ironical allusion to the
character of the Galileans (Keim), is foreign to the connection,
especially as the real motive is given in the third of these
questions. Ver. 9. vaL confirms the TrpocjjrjTijv iSelv which has
just been asked (see the critical remarks), and that in accord-
ance with its result : " Certainly, I tell you (you saw a prophet),
and more" irepia-crorepov is regarded by Erasmus and Fritzsche
as masculine (Symmachus, Gen. xlix. 3 : OVK ea-rj Trepia-aorepos,
excellentior). Nowhere, however, in the New Testament does
the simple Trepia-a-orepos occur as masculine, and in this instance
the interrogative ri tells in favour of its being taken as neuter.
Comp. xii. 41 f. Therefore to be rendered: something more
(Vulgate : plus) than a prophet, inasmuch, that is, as he is
not only the last and greatest of the prophets, but also because
he was sent by God to prepare the way of the Messiah through,
the preaching and baptism of repentance, ver. 10. In a
different sense, viz. as the source, the aim, and the fulfiller of
all prophecy, is Christ more than a prophet. Comp. Klein-
schmidt, d. typolog. Citate d. vier Evang. p. 45.
Ver. 10 is not an interpolation by the evangelist (Weiz-
sacker) ; on the contrary, it forms the connecting link between
vv. 9 and 11. The passage is Mai. iii. 1, and is a free rendering
of the Hebrew and not from the LXX. In Malachi, Jehovah
speaks of His messenger going before Himself ; here, He ad-
dresses the Messiah ; before Him will He send the messenger
(not an angel). A free application without any substantial
change in the contents of the passage, also without any special
design in view ; comp. remark on iii. 3.
Ver. 11. 'Ev yew. <yvv.~\ among those lorn of woman.
Intended to denote the category of men according to that
nature which is peculiar to the whole race in virtue of its
314 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
origin (mortality, weakness, sinfulness, and so on). Sir. x. 18.
Comp. nafcrTO], Job xiv. 1, xv. 14, xxv. 4 ; see also on Gal.
iv. 4. For fyfaeprai (by God), comp. Luke vii. 1 6 ; John
vii. 52 ; Acts xiii. 22 f. ftei^wv] a greater, one more distin-
guished generally, and that just because he is this promised
herald of God who was to precede the Messiah. The words
do not warrant our interpreting them to mean: a greater
prophet, as has been done by Rosenmiiller, Kuiuoel, and the
older critics. 6 Se fjuKporepos, /e.r.X] he, however, who is less
in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. It is to be observed,
(1) that neither here nor elsewhere does the comparative stand
for the superlative; (2) that, according to the context, the
reference of the comparative (see fjid^ov 'Iwdvvov, and after-
wards nL^o3v avrov) need not be looked for elsewhere but in
^Iwdvvov rov ^aima-Tov ; l (3) that, since 6 fMKporepos cannot
refer to Jesus, it is (xviii. 1, 4) necessarily limited and defined
by ev rf) @a<ri\eia r<av ovpavwv, with which it has been con-
nected by Isidore, Cyril, Theodoret, Heracleon (see Cramer,
Cat. p. 85). Hence it is to be explained thus: But he who
stands lower in the kingdom of the Messiah, stands (according
to the divine standard) higher than he. Not as if John would
be excluded (as against this, see x. 41) from the kingdom of
Messiah that was about to be established, but the standpoint
of those who share in the kingdom is compared with the high
position which, as still belonging to the ancient theocracy, the
Baptist occupies in the aliav ovros. There he is the greatest of
all ; yet he who is lower in the approaching kingdom of the
1 Therefore not : less than the others who participate in the kingdom, as it has
been commonly understood of late (Winer, Buttmann, Bleek, Weizsiicker, Keim),
according to which view the superlative sense is developed, as in xviii. 1 ; Luke
xxii. 24. So Bengel also : "minimus in regno coelorum est minimus civiuru
regni. " Keim sarcastically observes that, according to the view I have given
above, John "would still occupy a subordinate place even in heaven," and I
confess that I am at a loss to comprehend how one can understand ver. 11 in
such a way as to exclude (so also Schenkel) the Baptist from the kingdom of
heaven, in which, however, the patriarchs and prophets find a place. Where is
the Baptist's place to be? Outside the kingdom is TO a-xores <ro l%arspav, viii. 12.
And outside the church, if this be understood (though erroneously) as what is
meant by the kingdom, is the xorftos of unbelievers. This also in answer to
Weizsacker, p. 411 f. ; Weissenbach, p. 31 f. ; Weiss.
CHAP. XI. 12. 315
Messiah, and can by no means compare himself with the
eminent personage in question, is, nevertheless, greater than
he. Thus the jScwlXeia rwv ovpava>v, raised above the Old
Testament order of things, simply appears as the state of
perfection towards which the theocracy, ending with John, its
foremost representative, is only the first step. Others (Chry-
sostom, Hilary, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Luther,
Melanchthon, Osiander, Jansen, Corn, a Lapide, Calovius,
Fritzsche, Fleck, de regno div. p. 83) interpret: he who, as
compared ivith him, retires into the shade (Jesus, fJUKporepos
Kara rrjv rjXirctav Kal /caret rrjv TTO\\WI/ So^av, Chrysostom)
will, as Messiah, outshine him in the kingdom of heaven. These
expositors have rightly understood the comparative fjurcporepos
as comparing some one with the Baptist ; but how extremely
improbable that Jesus, conscious as He was of a Messiahship
that had been divinely confirmed at His baptism, and with the
multitudes flocking around Him, would have spoken of Himself
as fj,iKp6repo<; than John the- prisoner ! And is it not utterly
foreign to the context to suppose that He would' here have
compared Himself with the Baptist ? Finally, were the eV rfj
{3ao-t\ia r&v ovpavwv, again (referred to what follows), only an
awkward toning down of the sharp character of the statement,
it would have been far more sensible (since Jesus would mean
Himself as the Messiah,- whose greatness in the Messianic king-
dom is a matter of course) if He had merely said with regard
to Himself: o-e fiiftporepos iieifyov avrov ea-nv.
Ver. 12. After the remark in passing that 6 Se fjUKporepos,
etc., Jesus now continues His testimony regarding John,
and, in order to prove what He had just said of him in
w. 10, 11, He calls attention to the powerful movement in
favour of the Messiah's kingdom which had taken place since the
commencement of the Baptist's ministry. arro rwv ^pep.
'Icodvv.] This is not the language of one belonging to a later
period, but only such as Jesus could have used at this junc-
ture ; for the days when John laboured and flourished were
gone by ! This in answer to Gfrorer, heil. Sage, II. p. 9 2, and
Hilgenfeld. J3tderai] Hesychius : /9ta/&>9 Kpareirai it is
taken possession of by force, is conquered (not magna vi prae-
SIC THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
dicatur, according to the idea imported into the words by
Loesner and Fritzsche) ; Xen. H. G. v. 2. 1 5 : TroXet? . . . ra?
/3e$ia0yieVa<? ; Thuc. iv. 10. 5: /3id%oiTO, it would be forced;
Dem. 84. 24; Zosimus, v. 29; 2 Mace. xiv. 41; Elwert,
Quaestion. ad philol. sacr. N. T., 1860, p. 19, who, however,
would take the present indicative as meaning vult escpug-
nari, which is not required by the context. In this way is
described that eager, irresistible striving and struggling after
the approaching Messianic kingdom (Chrysostom: irdvre^ ol
fjiera a-rrouBf]^ TrpoaiovTe^ which has prevailed since the Baptist
began to preach ; it is as though it were being taken by storm.
Comp. the neuter usage in Luke xvi. 16 : 7ra9 et<?
/3taerat; and further, Xen. Cyr. iii. 3. 69 : (3id<rcuvTo
likewise Thuc. i. 63, vii. 69 ; Ael. V. H. xiii. 32 ; Herodian,
vii. 10. 13 ; Polyb. i. 74/5, ii. 67. 2, iv. 71. 5. If others have
adopted the idea of a hostile violence with which the Messi-
anic kingdom is persecuted (Lightfoot, Schneckenburger, Beitr.
p. 49), or violently (Hilgenfeld) crushed and arrested (by the
Pharisees and scribes), their view is partly an anachronism,
and partly forbidden by the connection with ver. 13 and with
what goes before. Finally, to take the verb in a middle sense,
and as describing the breaking in of the kingdom which makes
its way in spite of all resistance (Melanchthon, Bengel, Baur,
Zyro in the Stud. u. Krit. 1860, p. 401), is certainly not con-
trary to usage (Dem. 779. 2 ; Lucian, Herm. 70), but incon-
sistent with the context in which ftuurnU follows. /cat
ftiaa-ral apird^oveiv avTrjv] and those who use violent efforts
drag it to themselves. The anarthrous ftiaa-rai is not intended to
be emphatic ; such is now the character of the times, that those
of whom tJie ft id^erat holds true achieve a speedy success, in
that, while they press forward to join the ranks of my fol-
lowers, they clutch at the approaching kingdom as though they
were seizing spoils, and make it their own. So eager and
energetic (no longer calm and expectant) is the interest in
regard to the kingdom. The Qiao-rat are, accordingly, believers
struggling hard for its possession. Jesus Himself (this in
answer to Zyro) cannot be included among those who are here
in view. Those who interpret f3iderai in a hostile sense, render
CHAP. xi. 13, H. 317
tJicy snatch it away from men (according to
Schneckenburger, they bar the way to it), in allusion to the
conduct of the scribes and Pharisees. For Piaarr)?, comp.
Find. 01. ix. 114; Pyth. i. 18. 82, iv. 420, vi. 28 ; Nem.
ix. 122 ; Duncan, Lex., ed. Host, p. 209. In Pindar also it is
always used in a good sense. For apTrd., comp. Xen. Anab.
iv. 6. 11, vi. 5. 18 ; Herodian, ii. 6. 10, ii. 3. 23.
Vv. 13, 14 are by way of showing how it happens that,
since the commencement of the Baptist's ministry, the Messiah's
kingdom has been the object toward which such a violent
movement has been directed. All the prophets, and even the
law, have prophesied up till John's time; John was the
terminus ad quern of the period of prophecy which he brought
to a close, and he who forms the termination of this epoch
then steps upon the scene as the immediate forerunner of the
Messiah as the Elias who was to come. Accordingly, that new
violent stirring of life among the people must be connected with
this manifestation of Elias. Others interpret differently, while
Bleek and Holtzmann are even inclined to suppose that
originally ver. 13 was uttered before ver. 12. /cat o v6/j,o<;]
for even with this the era of prophecy began, John v. 46 ;
Acts vii. 37 ; Eom. x. 6, xi. 19 ; although prophecy was not
the principal function of the law, for which reason the prophets
are here mentioned first. Different in v. 17. el fleXere
Se^aa-dat] if you and on this it depends whether by you
also he is taken for what he is will not reject this assurance
(see on 1 Cor. ii. 14), but are disposed to receive it with
a view to fuller consideration. The reason for interposing
this remark is to be found in the fact that the unhappy
circumstances in which John was then placed appeared to be
inconsistent with such a view of his mission. ai/ros] no
other than He. 'HXta?] in accordance with Mai. iii. 23
(iv. 5), on which the Jews founded the expectation that Elias,
who had been taken up into heaven, would appear again in
bodily form and introduce the Messiah (Wetstein on this pas-
sage; Lightfoot on xvii. 10 ; Schoettgen, p. 148), an expecta-
tion which Jesus regarded as veritably fulfilled in the person
and work of the Baptist; in him, according to the ideal
318 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
meaning of the prophecy, he saw the promised Ellas ; comp.
Luke i. 17. o /j,e\\a>v ep^ea-Oai] the usual predicate.
Bengel : " sermo est tanquam e prospectu testamenti veteris
in novum."
Ver. 1 5. A request to give due attention to this important
statement in ver. 14. Comp. xiii. 9 ; Mark iv. 9 ; Luke
viii. 8 ; Ezek. iii. 27 ; Horn. //. xv. 129. .
Vv. 1 6 ff. After this high testimony respecting the Baptist,
we have now a painful charge against the men of his time,
whom, in fact, neither John nor 'Himself is able to satisfy.
In expressive, appropriate, and certainly original terms (in
answer to Hilgenfeld), He compares the existing generation to
children reproaching their playfellows for not being inclined
to chime in either with their merry or their lugubrious strains.
Usually the Jews are supposed to be represented by those
refractory playmates, so that Jesus and John have necessarily
to be understood as corresponding to the children who play
the cheerful music, and who mourn (Fritzsche, Oppenrieder,
Koster in the Stud. u. Krit. 1862, p. 346 f.). But (1) the
words expressly intimate that the children with their music
and lamentation represented the yeved, to which John and
Jesus stand opposed, so that the latter must therefore cor-
respond to the erepois who are reproached by the irai^ia.
(2) If the arrangement of the passage is not to be arbitrarily
disturbed, the thrice repeated Xeyovo-iv must be held to prove
that, since those who speak in vv. 18, 19 are Jews, it is to
these also that the children correspond who are introduced as
speaking in ver. 16. (3) If we were to suppose that Jesus and
John were represented by those children, then, according to
w. 18 and 19, it would be necessary to reverse the order of
the words in ver. 1 7, so as to run thus : edprjvriaa^ev vjuv . . .
ijvXija-afMv, etc. Consequently the ordinary explanation of the
illustration is wrong. The correct interpretation is this : the
TraiSla are the Jews; the ere/304 are John and Jesus; first
came John, who was far too rigid an ascetic to suit the tastes
of the free-living Jews (John v. 35) ; then came Jesus, and
He, again, did not come up to their ascetic and hierarchical
standard, and was too lax, in their opinion. The former did
CHAP. XI. 18, 19. 310
not dance to their music ; the latter did not respond to their
lamentation (similarly de Wette with a slight deviation, Ewald,
Bleek, Keim). >irai$ioi<i, /e.r.X.] The allusion is to children
who in their play (according to Ewald, it was playing at a
riddle} imitate the way in which grown-up people give expres-
sion to their joy and their sorrow; Rosenmiiller, Morgenl. in loco.
The flute was played at weddings and dancings. eico-fyacrde}
beating upon the breast was the ordinary indication of grief ;
Ezek. xx. 43; Nah. ii. 8; Matt. xxiv. 30; Luke xviii. 13;
Horn. II xviii. 31 ; Plat. Phaed. .p. 60 A, al; Herod, vi. 58 ;
Diod. Sic. i. 44; Koster, Erldut. p. 92 f. rot? erepois] the
other children present, who are not among the number of their
playmates.
Vv. 18, 19. Mtjre eo-Olwv ftiJTe TTIVCOV] hyperbolical;
f) fiev 'Iwdvvov Staira SvaTrpoaiTOs KOI rpa^ela, Euth. Ziga-
beuus. Comp. iii. 4; Luke i. 15 ; Dan. x. 3. In contrast
to the liberal principles of Jesus, who ate and drank without
imposing upon Himself Nazarite abstinences (like John) or
regular fastings (ix. 14), or without declining (bike the Phari-
sees) to go to entertainments provided by those in a different
rank of life from His own. Sat,fjt,6vio>v e%e*] which, through
perverting His judgment, leads Him into those ascetic eccen-
tricities; comp. John x. 20. (f>ay6si] glutton, is a word
belonging to a very late period. See Lobeck, ad Phryn.
p. 434; on the accent, Lipsius, gramm. Unters. p. 28. /cat
eSi/caKoOr) rj crofyla, airo r&v reKvajv at>T?}s] not a con-
tinuation of the words of the Jews, in which case eSiicaiwOr)
would have to be taken ironically (in answer to Bornemann),
but the closing observation of Jesus in reference to the perverse
manner in which His own claims and those of John had been
treated by the Jews; and justified (i.e. shown to be the true
wisdom) has been the wisdom (the divine wisdom which has been
displayed in John and me) on the part of her children, i.e. on the
part of those who reverence and obey her (Sir. iv. 11), who,
through their having embraced her and followed her guidance,
have proved how unwarranted are those judgments of ihepro-
fanum vulgus ; comp. Luke vii. 29. The (actual) confirmation
has come to wisdom from those devoted to her (cnro, comp. on Acts
320 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
ii. 22 ; Hermann, ad Soph. El. 65 ; Kiihner, ad Xen. Anab.
vi. 5. 18 ; not UTTO). Those disciples of wisdom are the same
who in ver. 1 2 are said j3idetv rrjv f3acn\eiav ; but the icai
which introduces the passage " cum vi pronuntiandum est, ut
saepe in sententiis oppositionem continentibus, ubi frustra
fuere, qui Katroi requirerent," Stallbaum, ad Plat. Apol. p.
2 9 B. Such a use of ical occurs with special frequency in John.
Wolf, ad Lept. p. 238; Hartung, Partikell I. p. 147. This
view is in the main that of (though in some cases the Tetcva
rfjs o-o<t'a? has been too much limited by being understood as
referring merely to the disciples of Jesus) Jerome ("ego, qui
sum Dei virtus et sapientia Dei, juste fecisse ab apostolis meis
filiis comprobatus sum "), Miinster, Beza, Vatablus, Calovius,
Hammond, Jansen, Fritzsche, Olshausen, de Wette, Ebrard,
Bleek, Lange, Hofmann, Keim, Weiss. Yet many, while also
retaining the meaning given above, take the aorist, though
without any warrant from the text, or any example of it in the
New Testament, in the sense of cherishing (see Kiihner, II. 1,
p. 139 ; Fritzsche, ad Rom. I. p. 305), as Kuinoel ("sapientia
non nisi a sapientiae cultoribus et amicis probatur et laudatur,
reliqui homines earn rident," etc.). Chrysostom, Theophylact,
and Castalio understand the words as expressing the thought
that the wisdom, manifested in Jesus has nothing to answer for
with regard to the Jews (similarly Weizsacker); a view to which
it may be objected first, that Si/caiovaOai airo TWOS cannot
be taken in the sense of to be free from the guilt of any one (Site.
a-n-o TT}? dfjLaprlas TWOS ; comp. Sir. xxvi. 2 9 ; Eom. vi 7) ; and
secondly, that the Jews, unless something in the context should
specially suggest or lead to it, cannot straightway be spoken
of as the children of wisdom. The latter objection is equally
applicable to the explanation of Schneckenburger : and so
wisdom (which is supposed to mean God's care for His people ;
comp. also Euth. Zigabenus and Grotius) has been treated
cavalierly (has been arrogantly condemned) by her own children,
which, moreover, is precluded by the fact that Strcaiova-Ocu is
never used in this sense in the New Testament. Oppenrieder,
p. 441 f., likewise understands the children of wisdom to refer
to the Jews, inasmuch, that is, as they were subjected to the
CHAP, XI. 20-24. 321
discipline of divine wisdom. The doings of crofyia were
demonstrated to be righteous by the conduct of the Jews ; that
is to say, they had desired, instead of John, a divine messenger
of a less ascetic character (and him the divine wisdom sent
them in the person of Christ) ; while, on the other hand,
instead of Christ, with His freer manner of life, they desired
one more rigorously disposed (and this wish the divine wisdom
had gratified by giving them the Baptist). So far Schnecken-
burger. But this conduct of the Jews was capricious and
wilful, and was ill calculated to display the justice of the
divine dealings, which it could have done only if it had been
supposed to proceed from a feeling of real moral need, for
which, however, in vv. 1619, Jesus shows Himself by no
means inclined to give them credit. Besides, one is at a loss
to see, even if this view were adopted, how the Jews with
their foolish and obstinate behaviour should come to be called
reicva rf)s crofyias. According to Ewald (Gesch. Chr. p. 432),
Jesus means to say that it is just her wrong-headed children
(who quarrel with her) that do most to justify the divine
wisdom by their not knowing, with all their wisdom, what
they would really like. But this view, again, which necessi-
tates an antiphrastic interpretation of the rexva rf)? aortas,
finds no support in the text, besides involving accessory
thoughts to which there is no allusion. Similarly Calvin even
understood the words to refer to the Jews who thought them-
selves so wise ; before whom, however, wisdom is supposed to
assert her dignity and authority through the medium of her
genuine children.
Vv. 20 ff. Then He began, and so on (r^faro). Luke intro-
duces this upbraiding of the cities at a later stage that is, on
the occasion when the instructions were addressed to the
Seventy (x. 13-1-5), for which he is assigned the preference
by Schleiermacher, Schneckenburger, Holtzmann ; while de
Wette and Keim are justified in going against Luke, who
generally uses considerable freedom as to the connection in
which he introduces the sayings which in this chapter are all
connected with the same subject. The Gospels make no
further mention of the miracles in Chorazin and Bethsaida
MATT. X
322 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(not far from Capernaum; Robinson, neuere Forsch. p. 457 ff.),
John xx. 30. ev Tvp<a K. 2i&., /c.r.X] Even these wicked
heathen cities would have been brought to amendment long
ago with deep sorrow for their sins. The penitent sorrow is
represented by ev crdfCK. K. o-TroSoS, a form of mourning in
popular use among the Jews (comp. on vi. 16). ev a-darca)]
i.e. in the dark, sack-shaped mourning attire, made of coarse
cloth, and drawn over the naked body ; Gesenius, Thes. III.
p. 1336. Ver. 22. 7r\rjv] however, in the sense of ceterum,
that is, to add nothing more, / tell you. Frequently used in
this way by classical writers, and comp. note on Eph. v. 33.
Ver. 23. And thou, Capernaum, who hast been exalted to
heaven, i.e. raised to the highest distinction through my dwell-
ing and labouring within thee, wilt be brought down to Hades,
namely, on the day of judgment, to undergo punishment in
Gehenna ; see ver. 24. Grotius, Kuinoel, Fritzsche interpret
the exaltation of Capernaum as referring to its prosperity,
derived from trade, the fisheries, and so on. But this is not
in keeping witk the connection as indicated by ev at? eyevovro
ai TrXeto-rat Svvdpeis avrov in ver. 20. Still more humiliating
than the comparison with Tyre and Sidon, is that with Sodom ;
because the responsibility was greatest in the case of Caper-
naum. e/jueivav dv] This av, here and in ver. 21, is simply
according to rule, because the antecedent clauses contain a
sumtio fata (Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 488). Ver. 24. Comp.
on x. 15. vfjLtv . . . oW] Euth. Zigabenus : TO f^ev
7rpo9 TOV9 TroXtVa? r^s TroXetu? e/ceivr)*: efpqrcu' TO Se erot
rrjv 7ro\iv. The vfuv, that is, does not refer to the audience
(see ver. 22). Observe further in vv. 21-24, first, how the
passage assumes the form of a weighty climax; and then,
secondly, the solemn parallelism of the antecedent clauses in
vv. 21, 23, and of the threatened punishments in vv. 22, 24.
Ver. 25. 'AiroKp. means, like njy, to take up speech, and
that in connection with some given occasion, to which what is
said is understood to refer by way of rejoinder. Comp. xxii. 1,
xxviii. 5 ; John ii. 18, v. 17, al. However, the occasion in
this instance is not stated. According to Luke x. 2 1 (Strauss,
Ebrard, Bleek, Holtzmann), it was the return of the Seventy, of
CHAP. XI. 25. 323
whom, however, there is no mention in Matthew. Ewald,
Weissenborn, and older expositors find it in the return of tlie,
apostles. See Mark vi. 12, 30 ; Luke ix. 6, 10. This is the
most probable view. Luke has transferred the historical con-
nection of the prayer to the account of the Seventy, which is
peculiar to that evangelist ; while in xii. 1, Matthew assumes
that the Twelve have already returned. The want of precision
in Matthew's account, which in x. 5 expressly records the
sending out of the Twelve, but says nothing of their return, is,
of course, a defect in his narrative ; but for this reason we
should hesitate all the more to regard it as an evidence that
we have here only an interpolation (Hilgenfeld) of this " pearl
of the sayings of Jesus " (Keim), which is one of the purest
and most genuine, one of Johannean splendour (John viii. 1 9,
x. 15, xiv. 9, xvi. 15). For efo/ioXtxy. with dative, meaning
to praise, comp. on Eom. xiv. 11 ; Sir. li. 1. ravra] what?
the imperfect narrative does not say what things, for it intro-
duces this thanksgiving from the collection of our Lord's say-
ings, without hinting why it does so. But from the contents
of the prayer, as well as from its supposed occasion, viz. the
return of the Twelve with their cheering report, it may be
inferred that Jesus is alluding to matters connected with the
Messianic kingdom which He had communicated to the disciples
(xiii. 11), matters in the proclaiming of which they had been
labouring, and at the same time been exercising the miraculous
powers conferred upon them. The o-o0ot and a-vverol are the
wise and intelligent generally (1 Cor. i. 19, iii. 10), but used
with special reference to the scribes and Pharisees, who,
according to their own opinion and that of the people (John
ix. 40), were pre-eminently so. The novices (n^ris), the dis-
ciples, who are unversed in the scholastic wisdom of the Jews.
Comp. on this subject, 1 Cor. i 26ff. Yet on this occasion
we must not suppose the reference to- be to the simple and
unsophisticated masses (Keim), which is not in keeping with
ver. 27, nor with the idea of aTroKaXirfis (comp. xvi. 17)
generally, as found in this connection ; the contrast applies to
two classes of teachers, the one wise and prudent, indepen-
dently of divine revelation, the others mere novices in point
324 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
of learning, but yet recipients of that revelation. Observe,
further, how the subject of thanksgiving does not lie merely
in aireKokv^r. avra pjfT&f, but in the two, the aTretcpirfy-as
etc., and the aTreKaXvtyas, etc., being inseparably combined.
Both together are the two sides of the one method of proceed-
ing on the part of His all-ruling Father, of the necessity of
which Christ was well aware (John ix. 39).
Ver. 26. Solution of the contradiction regarded as a con-
firmation of the ground for thanksgiving. Understand eo^o-
i' trot before on (not because, but that, as in ver. 25).
dev aov] belongs to evSotcia : that thus (and not
otJierwise) was done (was accomplished, comp. vi. 10) what is
well-pleasing before T/iee, in Thy sight; what is to Thee an object
pleasing to look upon. Comp. xviii. 14; Heb. xiii. 21. For
evSoicia, comp. iii. 1 7 ; Luke ii. 1 4.
Ver. 27. Here the prayer ends, and He turns to address
the multitude (ver. 28), but, according to Luke x. 22, it is
His disciples, still full of the great thought of the prayer,
under a profound feeling of His peculiar fellowship with God.
iravra poi TrapeS.] It is quite as unwarrantable to limit
iravra in any way whatever, as it is to take TrapeSodq as re-
ferring to the revelation of the doctrine (Grotius, Kuinoel, and
others), or to the representation of the highest spiritual trutJis
(Keim), which Christ is supposed to have been appointed to
communicate to mankind. It is not even to be restricted
to all human souls (Gess). What Jesus indicates and has
in view, is the full power with which, in sending Him forth,
the Father is understood to have invested the Son, a power to
dispose of everything so as to promote the object for which He
came ; Bengel : " nihil sibi reservavit pater." Jesus speaks
thus in the consciousness of the universal authority (xxviii. 1 8 ;
Heb. ii. 8) conferred upon Him, from which nothing is excluded
(John xiii. 3, xvi. 15) ; for He means to say, that between Him
and the Father there exists such a relation that no one knows
the Son, and so on. 1 On both thoughts Christ founds the invita-
1 In this first clause, to supply the thought from the first viz., " arid to whom
the Father is willing to reveal it " (de Wette, following the older expositors) is
arbitrary, for Jesus has just said: VO.VTO. pm *ap>.$ti0>>, etc. To whomsoever the
CHAP. XL 28-SO. 325
tion in ver. 28. On the. relation of the words 7rdvra.fj.oi
TrapeS. to xxviii. 18, see note on that passage. 7rt,yiv<o<Ticei]
means more than the simple verb, viz. an adequate and fall
knowledge, which de Wette wrongly denies (see ovS% TOV
Trarepa TIS eWyti/oicr/cei). Comp. on 1 Cor. xiii. 12. Nothing is
to be inferred from this passage as to the supernatural origin
of Jesus (in answer to Beyschlag, Christol. p. 6 0). The eVfyt-
vdxrK6iv TOV viov applies to His whole nature and thinking and
acting, not merely to His moral constitution, a limitation (in
answer to Weiss) which, if necessary, would have been shown
to be so in the context by means of the second correlative
clause of the verse. <5 eav @ov\. 6 m'o? airoicaXJ] bears
the impress of superhuman consciousness. According to the
context, we have simply to regard TOV TcaTepa as the object of
d-Tro/caX. For aTroKak. with a personal object, comp. GaL i. 16.
Ver. 28. Zlai/re?] gratia universalis. " In this all thou
oughtest to include thyself as well, and not suppose that thou
dost not belong to the number ; thou shouldst not seek for
another register of God," Melanchthon. KOTT. fcal 7re</>opT.]
through the legal and Pharisaic ordinances under which the
man is exhausted and weighed down as with a heavy burden,
without getting rid of the painful consciousness of sin, xxiii. 4.
Comp. Acts xv. 10, xiii. 39. Kayo)] emphatic : and I, what
your teachers and guides cannot do. a v air a v cra>] I will
procure you rest, i.e. eXet #e/a&><7a> ical TOV TOIOVTOV KOTTOV KOI TOV
TOIOVTOV fidpovs (Euth. Zigabenus), so as to secure the true
peace of your souls, John xiv. 27, xvi. 33 ; Eom. v. 1. Ver. 29
tells in what way.
Vv. 29, 30. To regard Oyo<? (Olshausen, Calvin) as re-
ferring to the cross, is at variance with the context. Jesus has
Son reveals the knowledge of the Father, to him He thereby reveals the know-
ledge of the Son likewise. Hilgenfeld adopts the Marcionite reading: u3i/s lyn
TO -ra.<riptt li firi a viof, xaii ran uln tl ft,* a <ra,rtip x.itt a o vie; ifaKaXu^ri. This
reading, being that of the Clementines, Justin, Marcion, has earlier testimony
in its favour than that of the Received text, which first appears in Irenaeus in a
duly authenticated form ; Irenaeus, i. 20. 3, ascribes it to the Marcosians,
though he elsewhere adopts it himself. However, an examination of the
authorities leads to the conclusion (see Tischendorf) that it must be excluded
from the text. Comp. also note on Luke x. 21.
326 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
in view His guidance and discipline, to which they are to sub-
ject themselves through faith in Him. - Comp. Sir. li. 26, and
the very common Eabbinical use of hy in Schoettgen, p. 1 1 5 ff.
ort] not that, but because; motive for fidOere air epoo (i.e.
learn in me, learn from me; Buttmann, neut. Gr. p. 279
[E. T. 324]), with which words Jesus presents Himself as their
moral example, in contrast to the character of the teachers of
the law and the Pharisees, who, if they affected to be meek
and humble, were, as a rule, not so at heart (rrj /capB. belongs
to both words), but only in appearance, while in reality they
were tyrannical and proud. Cornp. 2 Cor. x. 1. K. evpij-
<76T6, K.T.\.] Jer. vi. 16. ^p^o-ros] may mean good and
wholesome (comp. 7rai8ev<ri<s XP^^tf' ^ a ^- -^ e P- P- 42 4 A), or
suave (Vulg.), gentle and agreeable. The latter suits the figure
and the parallelism. TO fyoprlov fj,ov\ the burden which I
impose (comp. on GaL vi. 5). e\a^pov\ for it is the disci-
pline and duty of love, through which faith manifests its
practical results, 1 John v. 3. " Omnia levia sunt caritati "
(Augustine), notwithstanding the strait gate and the narrow
way, and the cross that is to be borne.
CHAP. XIL 327
CHAPTER XII.
VER. 3. sKfivuati] Elz. and Fritzsche insert avros, against decisive
testimony. From Mark ii. 25; Luke vi. 3. "Ver. 4. tpaytv]
Tisch. 8 : s<payov, only according to B N. Altered to suit what
follows. ou?] Lach. Tisch.: o, after B D 13, 124, Cant. Ver.
Harl.* Correctly ; the Received text is a correction in accord-
ance with Mark and Luke. Ver. 6. pei^uv] B D E G K M
S U V r n, Curss. and Fathers : ptTtpv. So Fritzsche, Scholz,
Lachra. Tisch. Authority and exegesis favour the neuter, by
way of explaining which the masculine would readily suggest
itself. Ver. 8. Before roD ffa/3/3drou Elz. inserts xai, which has
been deleted in accordance with decisive testimony. From
Mark and Luke. Ver. 10. v\v rjji/] is certainly wanting in
B C N, while Vulg. and Codd. of the It. Copt, leave it doubtful
whether they did not read simple %v. *HV rqv is deleted by
Lachm. and Tisch. Correctly. The brevity of Matthew's
statement was supplemented from Mark iii. 1, and hence sxs?
came to be inserted between %v and rqv (by others at a different
place). Ver. 11. Lachm., following inadequate testimony,
reads iyttpsi instead of lytptf. An error on the part of the tran-
scriber. Ver. 14. The following arrangement, l% > i\66vrss Se o't
<bap. ffu/Aj8. g'x. xar. auroD (B C D A N, Curss. Syr. Copt. It. Vulg.
Eus. Chrys. Fritzsche, Gersd. Lachm. Tisch.), is to be preferred
to that of the Eeceived text (o/ 5. o. a. ?x. K. a. Jg.), as being simpler
and more in keeping with Matthew's style. Ver. 15. o^Xo/J
omitted in B N, Vulg. It. Eus., deleted by Lachm. and Tisch.
Homoeoteleuton. Ver. 17. "With Lachm. and Tisch. we ought
to adopt iva instead of onus, in accordance with B C D N, 1, 33,
Or. Eus. ; onus was introduced for sake of variety. Ver. 1 8.
/s 5v] Lachm. and Tisch. 8 (see note of the latter) : ov, after
B N* and several Curss. On inadequate testimony, for si;
would be readily dropped out, from a mechanical effort to con-
form the construction to ov fipsnaa, ; sv $ in D is a gloss. Ver.
21. r(f> ovo/tari] Elz. Fritzsche: sv r& ovo^.y against decisive
testimony, sv is an interpolation, as is also lic'i in Eus. and
several Curss. Ver. 22. rbv rvpxbv xal xu<p6v\ Lachm. and
328 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Tisch. have merely rlv xu<p6v (B D N, Copt. Syr cnr Cant. Corb. 1 ,
Germ. 1). But XaXgft coming first in what follows gave rise
partly to the omission of rupXdv, partly to the inverted arrange-
ment : xu<pbv xa! rv<pX6v (L X A, Curss. Syr. Arm.). Ver. 28.
The order sv irvtvp. 6toZ syu, as against that of the Eeceived text,
iyh lv xviv/jt,., is supported by decisive testimony (less adequately
the arrangement of Lachrn. and Tisch. : xpira! taovrai vpuv, in
ver. 27). Ver. 29. In accordance with B C* X, Curss., Lachm.
and Tisch. have apvdaai instead of Biapvrdasi. The reading of
the Eeceived text is adopted from Mark. In what follows
Lachm. has upx-daei instead of diapvdssi so also Tisch. 7, but
according to testimony that is far too inadequate. Tisch. 8,
following D G K n K, Curss., reads Stapvdep. But still the
evidence in favour of diapvdasi remains so strong, that there is
but the more reason to look upon diapTrdap as a supposed gram-
matical correction. Ver. 31. Tisch. 8, following Lachm., has
indeed also deleted the second ro?$ avdpuKotg (after B K, Curss.
Verss. and a few Fathers) ; it is, however, to be preserved as a
solemn yet superfluous repetition. Ver. 35. Elz., against
decisive testimony, inserts rjjs xa.p6ia$ after the first Qwavpov. A
gloss. But with Tisch. 8, and on the strength of sufficient
testimony, rd before dyadd is to be maintained, in opposition to
Griesb. Lachm. Tisch. 7. The article came to be omitted from
a desire to conform to the second clause. Ver. 36. The reading
xXjjtfoa<r/v. adopted by Tisch. (B C S), is to be traced to the futures
which follow. Ver. 38. With Lachm. and Tisch. aurw should
be inserted after dirsxpid., in accordance with B C D L M N,
Curss. and most Verss. and Chrys. Perhaps it was omitted
from being considered unnecessary. xa! <J>apr.] is deleted by
Lachm. on too inadequate testimony. Ver. 44. The arrange-
ment : /'; T. OIK. p. eviffrp. (Lachm. Tisch.), as opposed to that of
the Keceived text (iinerp. I. r. o. //,.), finds testimony sufficiently
strong in B D Z K. Comp. Luke. k\66v\ D F G X r, Curss. :
&dw. So Fritzsche and Tisch. Correctly ; the reading of the
Eeceived text is here and in Luke xi. 25 a grammatical correc-
tion. Ver. 46. Se] omitted in B K, Curss. Vulg. It. Deleted
by Lachm. and Tisch. 8. But how easily may it have been
omitted at the beginning of the new section (one reading even
begins with a-iroD) ! Ver. 48. SIKOVTI] Fritzsche, Lachm. Tisch. :
l.'syovri, after B D Z n K, Curss. Correctly. The former has
crept in mechanically, in conformity with ver. 47.
Ver. 1 ff. Comp. Mark ii. 23 ff. ; Luke vi. 1 ff. Any one
was allowed to pluck (r/XXety, Blomfield, ad Aesch. Pers. Gloss.
CHAP. XII. 3. 4. 329
214) ears of corn in another man's field till he was satisfied.
Deut. xxiii. 25. It is customary and allowable even at the
present day. Robinson, II. p. 419. But according to Ex.
xvi. 2 2 ff., it might seem as if it were unlawful on the Sabbath,
and it appears from tradition (Schabb. c. 8 ; Lightfoot and
Schoettgen on this passage) that it was actually so regarded.
That the disciples did not hold themselves bound by this view,
is an evidence of their more liberal spirit. Comp. Weizsacker,
p. 390. tfpgavTo] After this plucking had begun, there came
the remonstrance on the part of the Pharisees, ver. 2. Luke,
in accordance with the historical arrangement which he ob-
serves, places this incident somewhat earlier ; Mark and Luke
introduce it after the question about fasting. Both of them,
however, mention only the first of the two proof-texts quoted
by Jesus. Matthew, following a tradition that is more original
as far as this matter is concerned, supplements the account in
Mark, from whom, however, he essentially differs in regard to
the object in plucking the corn (see on Mark, and Holtzmann,
p. 73).
Vv. 3, 4. 'Aveyvcore] 1 Sam. xxi. The spurious auro?
is unnecessary ; real ol /tier' avrov is connected with ri eTroirjaev
Aaveio. Comp. Thuc. i 47. 2 : e\e7e 8e 6 STIKJXOV /cat, ol
fj,er avrov, and Poppo's note. oto? TOU deov] in this
instance the tabernacle, which was then at Nob. Comp. Ex.
xxiii. 19. For the twelve pieces of skew-bread, on this
occasion called aprot, TT)? TrpoQea-etos, i.e. r i?~!J|E> ! !} Er6, loaves of
the pile (1 Chron. xxiii. 29 ; Ex. xl. 23), elsewhere named
apToi TOV 7rpoo-(07rov, E^BTI 2^6, loaves of the presence (of God),
1 Sam. xxi. 7, which, as a meat-offering, stood in the holy
place, arranged in two rows upon a golden table, and were
renewed every Sabbath, those of the previous week being
given to the priests, see Lev. xxiv. 5 ff. ; Lund, Jud. Heiligth.,
ed. Wolf, p. 134 ff. ; Ewald, Alterth. pp. 37, 153 ; Keil, Arch.
I. p. 91. el prf] only appears to stand for d\\d, and retains
its usual meaning of nisi. The language, however, assumes
the tone of absolute negation : which it was not lawful for
Him to eat, nor for those who were with Him, not lawful except
for the priests alone. The neuter o (see the critical remarks)
330 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
indicates the category : what, i.e. which kind of food. See
Matthiae, p. 987; Kiihner, II. 1, p. 55. Comp. note on
Gal. i. 7, ii. 16 ; Luke iv. 26 f. ; Dindorf in Steph. Thes. III.
p. 190 C ; Fritzsche, ad Rom. III. p. 195.
Ver. 5. 'Aveyvfore] Num. xxviii. 9. (Sefirj^ovcri] that
is, if one were consistently to judge according to your precepts,
which forbid every sort of work on the Sabbath as being a
desecration of that day. For ySe/3^X., profanant, comp. Acts
xxiv. 6, and see Schleusner, Thes. I. p. 558.
Ver. 6. As in ver. 3 f. Jesus had reasoned a majori (from
the fact of David, when hungry, being allowed to eat the shew-
~bread) ad minus (to the fact of the hungry disciples being
allowed to pluck the corn on the Sabbath), so in ver. 5 He
reasons a minori (viz. from the temple, where the Sabbath is
subordinated to the sacrificial arrangements) ad majus, viz. to
His own authority, which transcends the sanctity of the temple,
and from acting under which the disciples might well be the
less disposed to be bound to keep the Sabbath. The key to
this argument is to be found in ver. 6, which contains the
minor proposition of the conclusion : what is allowable in the
case of the servants of the temple, namely, to work on the
Sabbath, must be conceded to the servants of Him who is
greater than the temple ; I am greater than the temple ;
therefore, and so on. In all the elevation and truth of His
self-consciousness Jesus points with TOV iepov yu,eioi> eariv wSe
to His own person and character as surpassing the temple in
sanctity and greatness ; not to the Messianic work (Fritzsche,
de "Wette, Baumgarten-Crusius), with which the plucking of
the corn had nothing to do ; nor, again, to the interests of the
disciples ! (Paulus, Kuinoel) ; nor, finally, to the e\eo9 in ver. 7
(Baur). The neuter pei^ov, a greater thing, is more weighty
than the masculine. Dissen, ad Dem. de cor. p. 396. Comp.
xi. 9. <wSe] demonstrative, as in vv. 41, 42. Notice how
sublimely great is the consciousness that God is dwelling in
Him in a higher sense than in the temple ; comp. note on
John ii 19.
Ver. 7. After this defence of His disciples, He shows the
Pharisees that in judging them as they had done they were
CHAP. XII. 8-10. 331
animated by a perverse disposition. He shows how they were
destitute of the compassionate love which God requires in
Hos. vi. 6, while their thoughts were exclusively directed to
sacrifice and ceremonial religion generally. From want of
eXeo?, which would have disposed them to regard the conduct
of the hungry ones in a totally different light, they, i.e. those
ceremonialists, had condemned the disciples. See, besides,
note on ix. 13.
Ver. 8. Tdp\ TOW? avairlow, I say, for, and so on. " Ma-
jestate Christi nititur discipulorum innocentia et libertas,"
Bengel. The authority of the Messiah (under which His dis-
ciples have acted) is superior to the law of the Sabbath ; the
latter is subject to His disposal, and must yield to His will.
Bertholdt, Christol. p. 1 6 2 f. For the idea, comp. John v. 1 8 ;
Holtzmann, p. 458. Others (Grotius, Kuinoel) interpret thus:
Man may set aside the laws regarding the Sabbath, whenever it
is for his advantage to do so. In opposition to the regular
use of o vibs T. avdp., the argument is different in Mark
i. 27.
Vv. 9 ff. Comp. Markiii. 1 ff. ; Luke vi. 6 ff. Kal /ieTa/9a<5
eiceldev, /c.r.X.] therefore on the same Sabbath day. Different
from Luke, who has ev erepw o-a/3/3ar&>, to which further
division of time Mark likewise fails to make any reference
whatever. aurwi/j the Pharisees, whom He had just sent
away. It is impossible to say where the synagogue was to
which those Pharisees belonged. But to take O.VTWV without
any definite reference, as in xi. 1 (" of the people of the place,"
de Wette, Bleek), is precluded by cTrjipoyrtja-av, etc., of which
the Pharisees mentioned in ver. 14 are to be regarded as the
subject.
Yer. 1 0. The nature of the affection of the withered hand,
in which there was a defective circulation (1 Kings xiii. 4 ;
Zech. xi. 17; John v. 3), cannot be further defined. It is
certain, however, that what was wrong was not merely a
deficiency in the power of moving the hand, in which case the
cure would be sufficiently explained by our Lord's acting upon
the will and the muscular force (Keim). The traditions forbade
healing on the Sabbath, except in cases where life was in
332 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
danger. Wetstein and Schoettgen on this passage. el] in
the New Testament (Winer, p. 474 [E. T. 639]; Buttmann,
n&id. Gr. p. 214 [E. T. 249]) is so applied, in opposition to
classical usage (see Hartung, Partikell. II. p. 202f. ; Klotz,
ad Devar. pp. 508, 511), that it directly introduces the
words containing the question. Comp. xix. 3 ; Luke xiii. 2 2,
xxii. 49 ; Acts i. 6 ; occurring also in the LXX., not in the
Apocrypha. However, in the order of ideas in the mind of the
questioner is to be found the logical connection, which has
occasioned and which will explain the indirectly interrogative
use of ei (I would like to know, or some such expression), just
as we Germans are also in the habit of asking at once :
ob das erlaubt ist ? The character of the questions introduced
by el is that of uncertainty and hesitation (Hartung, 1. 1 ;
Kiihner, II. 2, p. 1032), which in this instance is quite in
keeping with the tempting which the questioners had in view.
Fritzsche's purely indirect interpretation (" interrogarunt eum
hoc modo, an liceret" etc.) is precluded by \eyovres, and the
passages where the question is preceded by some form of
address such as rcvpie in Acts i. 6 ; Luke xxii. 49. tva
Karrjjop. avrov] before the local court (icpicris, v. 21) in the
town, and that on the charge of teaching to violate the law of
the Sabbath.
Ver. 11. The construction, like that of vii. 9, is a case of
anacoluthon. The futures indicate the supposed possible
case ; see Kiihner, II. 1, p. 147 : what man may there he from
among you, and so on. Trpoficn&v ev\ one, which on that
account is all the dearer to him. KOU eav efiTrea-g, K.T.\.]
There must have been no doubt as to whether such a thins
O
was allowable, for Jesus argues ex concesso. The Talmud
(Gemara} contains no such concession, but answers the ques-
tion partly in a negative way, and partly by making casuistical
stipulations. See the passages in Othonis, Lex Rdbb. p. 527;
Wetstein, and Buxtorf, Synag. c. 16. Kparij<rei avro tc.
eye pel] descriptive. He lays hold of the sheep that has
fallen into a ditch ({360wov, Xen. Oec. xix. 3, not exclusively a
well, but any kind of hole, like poOpos}, and, lifting out the
animal lying bruised in the pit, he sets it upon its feet.
CHAP. XII. 12-14. 333
Yer. 12. Ovv] Inference founded on the value which,
according to ver. 11, is no doubt set upon an animal in such
circumstances, notwithstanding the laws of Sabbath observance :
Of how much greater consequence, then, is a man than a sheep ?
The answer is already involved in the question itself (is of far
more consequence, and so on) ; but the final conclusion is :
therefore it is allowable to do what is right on the Sabbath. By
means of the general expression /eaXw<? iroidv, which does not
mean to be beneficent (Kuinoel, de Wette, Bleek), but recte
agere (Acts x. 33 ; 1 Cor. vii. 38 f. ; Phil. iv. 14 ; Jas. ii 8, 19 ;
2 Pet. i. 19 ; 3 John 6), the Qepcnrevetv is ranked under the
category of duty, and the moral absurdity of the question in
ver. 1 is thereby exposed. So, by this adroit handling of the
argument, the inference of Jesus is secured against all contra-
diction ; de Wette's objection, to the effect that it might have
been asked whether the healing did not admit of delay, is
founded on a misunderstanding of the /caX<u<? iroielv. This
latter is the moral rule by which resting or working on the
Sabbath is to be determined.
Vv. 13, 14. '^Tre/careo-T.] just as he was stretching it out,
and at the bidding of Jesus. For the double augment, see Winer,
p. 69 f. [E. T. 84]. v 74 77-?] result of the aireKaretrT. See
Winer, pp. 491,580[E.T. 663,779]; Liibcker, grammat. Stud.
p. 3 3 f. ; Pflugk, ad. Hec. 690. Mark's version of the incident
is more animated, fresher, and more original (Keim's opinion is
different), and likewise free from the amplification contained in
what is said about the animal falling into the well. This
saying is introduced by Luke in another form, and in connec-
tion with a different incident (Luke xiv. 5), which, however,
would not justify us in holding, with Strauss, that the different
narratives are only different settings for the saying in question,
while supposing at the same time that there is even an allusion
here to 1 Kings xiii. 4, 6. According to the Evang. s. Hebr.
(Hilgenfeld, N. T. extra can. IV. 16, 23), the man with the
withered hand was a mason, who begged to be healed, that he
might not be under the necessity of begging. ef eX0oi/re<y]
from the synagogue, ver. 9. or/ttySouX. eXa^S. KO.T. avr.,
0770)9] they devised measures for the purpose of crushing Him
334 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
(see on xxii. 15); the opposition to Him had now assumed
this very decided character.
Ver. 15 ff. Vv. 17'- 21 are peculiar to Matthew. avrovs
Trai/ra?] all the sick who were among the multitudes. Inde-
finite expression. On the condensed style of Matthew, 15 f.,
comp. Mark iii. 7 ff. ; Luke vi. 17 ff. Ver. 16. He gave them
strict injunctions, in order that, and so on (xvi. 20, xx. 31) ; for
He did not wish, by creating too great a sensation, to provoke
His enemies to proceed to extremities before the time.
Comp. on viii. 4, Ver. 17. This eVer//*. avTois was designed,
in accordance with the divine order in history, to fulfil
the prophecy that the Messiah was to act without anything
like ostentatious display in His proceedings. On the silent
majesty of Jesus, comp. Dorner, Jesu siindlose Vollkommenh.
p. 28 ff.
Ver. 18. Isa. xl. 1 ff., a very free rendering of the original
Hebrew text, yet not without some reminiscences of the LXX.
For the njn* lay, which the LXX. ('Ia/ea>/8 o Trafc /MW) and
modern expositors interpret as applying to Israel as a nation,
or the ideal Israel of the prophets, see, besides, the com-
mentaries on Isaiah ; Drechsler and Delitzsch in Eudelbach's
Zeitschr. 1852, 2, p. 258 ff. ; Tholuck, d. Propheten u. ihre
Weissag. p. 158ff; Kleinert in the Stud. u. Krit. 1862,
p. 699ff. ; F. Philippi in the Mecklerib. Zeitschr. 1864, 5,
and 6. Matthew understands it as referring to the Messiah.
Similarly the Chaldee paraphrasts and Kimchi, in which they
are justified by the Messianic idea, as fulfilled in Christ, run-
ning through the whole passage. See Acts iii. 13, 26,
iv. 27, 30 j Hengstenberg, Christ&l. II. p. 216 ff, compared
with Kleinert, I.e. et9 ov\ in regard to whom. Direction
of the approbation. Comp. 2 Pet. i. 1 7. The aorists, as in
iii. 17. Orjao) TO Trvevfjua] i.e. I will make Him the possessor
and the bearer of my Holy Spirit, by whose power He is to
work, Isa. xi. 2, Ixi. 1 ; Matt. iii. 16 ; Acts iv. 27. icpi<riv]
not : quod fieri par est (Fritzsche) ; not : justice and righteous-
ness (Bleek) ; the good cause (Schegg) ; or the cause of God
(Bauingarten-Crusius) ; not : recta cultus divini ratio (Ger-
hard) ; nor : doctrina divina (Kuinoel), which interpretations
CHAP. XII. 19, 20. 335
have been given in view of the D3B>o of the original (where it
denotes the right, i.e. what is right and matter of duty in the
true theocracy. Comp. Ewald on Isaiah, I.e. ; Hengstenberg,
p. 233 ; and see in general, Gesenius, Thes. III. p. 1464). But
in the New Testament Kpia-is has no other meaning but that
of final sentence, judgment (also in xxiii. 23) ; and this, in fact,
is the sense in which the Hebrew was understood by the LXX.
Matthew's Greek expression is doubtless to be understood no
less in the sense of a judicial sentence, i.e. the Messianic judg-
ment, for which the Messiah is preparing the way through
His whole ministry, and which is to be consummated at
the last day. rot? edvecriv] not: the nations, generally,
but the heathen. Similarly also in ver. 21. The point of
fulfilment in the prediction here quoted lies simply in its
serving to describe, as it does in ver. 19 f., the unostentatious,
meek, and gentle nature of Christ's ministry (ver. 16), so that
it is unnecessary to look to what precedes in order to find
something corresponding to rots eOve&t (some finding it in the
multitudes that followed Jesus). Jesus did not preach to the
heathen till He did it through the apostles, Eph. ii. 17, a
matter altogether beyond the scope of the present passage. It
should be observed generally, and especially in the case of
somewhat lengthened quotations from the Old Testament, that
it is not intended that every detail is to find its corresponding
fulfilment, but that such fulfilment is to be looked for only in
connection with that which the connection shows to be the
main subject under consideration.
Vv. 19, 20. Contrast to the conduct of the Jewish teachers.
He will not wrangle nor cry (Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 337), and
so on. The bruised reed and smoking wick represent those who
are spiritually miserable and helpless (xi. 5), whom Christ does
not reduce to utter hoplessness and despair, but (xi. 28) to
whom He rather gives comfort, and whose moral life He
revives and strengthens. And seeing that ver. 17 refers to
ver. 16, they cannot be taken to represent the sick, whom
Jesus heals (Hengstenberg). For those figures, comp. Isa.
xxxvi. 6, Iviii. 6, xliii. 17. ea><? av K@d\r) K.T.\.] until He
shall have led forth to victory the judgment announced by Him,
33 G THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
i.e. until He shall have finally accomplished it at the last day.
For with this holding of the assize is associated the subjection
to it of every hostile power. The final holding of it is the
victory of the judgment. In eicfiaXr), forced out, is implied
the idea of violent effort, overcoming the resistance offered. The
words, however, do not correspond to the BSKTp fcOifV noxi?, Isa.
xlii. 3, but to the B3fp T$* D ^P2, ver. 4, as is evident from
e9, and from the words KOI TO) ovofian, etc., which follow.
But this is a very free quotation made from memory, with
which, however, the expression in ver. 3 (N^V) is at the same
time blended.
Ver. 21. Tc3 ovopari avrov] In Hebrew, \nrtrb LXX.,
tVl TO> 6v6fjL. avrov. Matthew and the LXX. had a different
reading before them (toB^). This is the only passage in the
New Testament in which eX7r/o> is used with the dative (else-
where and in the LXX. with ev, et9, or eVt) ; it is proved,
however, to be good Greek from the fact of its occurring in
Thuc. iiL 97. 2, and it is meant to indicate the object on
which, as its cause, the hope (of salvation) is resting. On tJie
ground of His name, i.e. on account (Kiiiger's note on Thucy-
dides, as above) of that which the name Messiah imports, the
Gentiles will cherish hope.
Ver. 22. In Luke (xi. 14ff.) this incident comes in at a
later stage, while he reports less of what was spoken on the
occasion, and arranges it to some extent in a different, though
not the original, order ; Mark iii. 2 2 ff., who omits the incident
in question, introduces the discourse which follows in a peculiar
connection of his own. The resemblance of the narrative to
that contained in ix. 32 is not due to a mixing together of
different incidents, viz. the healing of the blind man on the
one hand, and of the man who was dumb on the other,
ix. 27, 32 (Schneckenburger, Hilgenfeld), nor to the way in
which incidents often assume a twofold form in the course of
tradition (Strauss, de Wette, Keim), but is founded upon two
different events : the former demoniac was dumb, the present
one is blind as well, a circumstance, however, which is not
recorded by Luke, who follows a less accurate version. The
term Beelzebul, used in this connection as in ix. 34, is one,
CHAP. XII. 23-20. 337
however, which may have been found often enough upon the
lips of the Pharisees. Its recurrence can no more prove that
a later hand has been at work (Baur, Hilgenfeld), than the
circumstance that we find ourselves back again into the heart
of the contest, although from ver. 14 it seemed to have
reached its utmost extremity ; for the measures which in
ver. 14 the Pharisees are said to have taken, have just led to
further and no less bitter hostility, a hostility in keeping with
the spirit of the purpose they have in view. \a\. K. /3\e/3.]
the thing as it actually takes place. Casaubon and Fritzsche,
without sufficient grounds, assume the existence of a Chiasmus
here.
Ver. 23 ff. MrjTt ovro?, K.T.\.] Question of imperfect yet
growing faith, with emphasis upon OVTOS : May this (who, how-
ever, does not possess the qualities looked for in the Messiah)
not possibly be the Messiah? John iv. 29. To this corresponds
the emphatic ouro9 in ver. 24. aKov<ravre<i[ that question
fjirj-n euro?, etc. elirov] to the multitude, not to Jesus; for
see ver. 25. They desire at once to put a stop to such
dangerous language, and that, too, in a very demonstrative
way. ev ra> Bee\e(3ov\, ap^ovrt rwv Saifi.] See on
ix. 34. apxpvTi T. 8. is not to be rendered : the ruler of the
demons (which would have required T&> ap%.), but : as ruler over
the demons. Pragmatic addition. Mark iii. 22, comp. John
vii. 20, x. 20, states the accusation in more specific terms.
et'S&>9] comp. ix. 4. The charge urged by the Pharisees is a
foolish and desperate expedient proceeding from their hostility
to Jesus, the absurdity of which He exposes. pepio-Oeta-a
Ka0' eavTTJfi] i.e. divided into parties, which contend with
each other to its own destruction. In such a state of matters,
a kingdom comes to ruin, and a town or a family must cease
to exist ; a-TaOfjvai means the same as (nrfvai, see Bornemann,
ad Xen. Cyr. II. 1, 11; Ellendt, Lex. Soph. I. p. 851.
Ver. 26. /ecu] the and subjoining the application. el o
craravas rov aaravdv e/c/3aXXet] not: the one Satan, the
other Satan (Fritzsche, de Wette), but : if Satan cast out
Satan, if Satan is at once the subject and the object of the
casting out, being the latter, inasmuch as the expelled demons
MATT. Y
338 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
are the servants and representatives of Satan. This is the
only correct interpretation of an expression so selected as to
be in keeping with the preposterous nature of the charge, for
there is only the one Satan ; there are many demons, but only
one Satan, who is their head. This explanation is an answer
to de Wette, who tabes exception to the .reasoning of Jesus
on the ground that Satan may have helped Christ to cast
out demons, that by this means he might accomplish his own
ends. No, the question is not as to one -or two occasional
instances of such casting out, in which it anight be quite con-
ceivable that " for ,the nonce Satan should be faithless to his
own spirits," but as to exorcism regarded in the light of a
systematic 'practice, which, as such, is directed against Satan, and
which therefore cannot be attributed to Satan himself, for
otherwise he would be destroying his own kingdom.
Ver. 27. A second way of rebutting the charge. Notice
the emphatic antithesis : eyoo and ol viol VJJLWV. The latter
(people of your own school; see, in general, note on viii. 12)
are exorcists who have even pretended actually to cast out
demons (Acts xix. 13 ; Josephus, Antt. viii. 2. 5, Bell.
vii. 6. 3 ; Justin, c. Tryph. p. 311), who have emanated from
the schools of the Pharisees, not the -disciples of Jesus, as the
majority of the Fathers have supposed. " Quod discipuli
\ estri daemonia ejiciunt, vos Beelzebuli non attribuitis ; illi
ergo possunt hac in re judices vestri esse, vos ex virulentia
haec de actionibus meis pronuntiare," Lightfoot. Jesus reasons
ex concessis. avrol (ipsi) V/JL&V are placed together for sake
of emphasis.
Ver. 28. Previously it was -<ya> that was emphatic in the
antecedent clause ; but here it is ev -Trvevf^ari 6eov : hit if it
is ly THE POWER OF GOD'S SPIRIT that I, on the other hand, cast
out the demons, then it follows that the KINGDOM OF GOD has
come to you; in the consequent clause (the apodosis) the em-
phasis is on the words: the kingdom of God has come, etc. The
reasoning is founded on the axiom, that such deeds, wrought
as they are by the power of Gods Spirit, go to prove that He who
performs them is no other than He who toings in the kingdom
the Messiah. Where the Messiah is present and work-
CHAP. XII. 29, 30. 339
ing, there, too, is the kingdom; not yet, of course, as completely
established, but preparing to become so through its preliminary
development in the world. See on Luke xvii. 20 f. For
(f>ddveiv (used by classical writers as meaning to anticipate,
1 Thess. iv. 15), in the simple sense of to reach, arrive at, see
on Phil. iii. 1 6 ; Fritzsche, ad Rom. II. p. 356; Liinemann's
note on 1 Thess. ii. 16. Notice, in the form of the reasoning
in vv. 27, 28, the real dilemma (tertium non datur) : el
Se, etc.
Ver. 29. "H] Transition by way of proceeding to give
further proof of the actual state of the case. TOV la-^vpou]
The article indicates the particular strong man (hero) with
whom the rt? has to do. The thought embodied in this illus-
tration is as follows : Or if you still hesitate to admit the
inference in ver. 28 how is it possible for me to despoil Satan
of his servants and instruments (TO, a-Kevrj avrov corresponding
to the demons in the application) withdraw them from his
control without having first of all conquered him? Does my
casting out of demons not prove that I have subdued Satan,
have deprived him of his power, just as it is necessary to
bind a strong man before plundering his house ? For 77, when
serving to introduce a question by way of rejoinder, see Baum-
lein, Partik. p. 132. The <rtcevr) in the illustration are the
furniture of the house (not the weapons), as is evident from r.
ol/ciav at>Tov below. Mark iii. 27. The figurative language
may have been suggested by a recollection of Isa. xlix.
'24 f.
Ver. 30. Jesus' is speaking neither of the Jewish exorcists
(Bengel, Schleiermacher, Neander), nor of the uncertain, fickle
multitude (Elwert in the Stud. d. Wirtemb. Geistl. IX. 1,
p. Ill ff.; Ullmann in the Deutsch. Zeitschr. 1851, p. 21 fif. ;
Bleek), neither of which would suit the context ; but as little
is He expressing Himself in general terms; so that /tier' e/ioO
must be applied to Satan, while Jesus is understood to be
representing Himself as Satan's enemy (Jerome, Beza, Grotius,
Wetstein, Kuinoel, de Wette, Baumgarten - Crusius) ; for the
truth is, He, previously as well as subsequently, speaks of
Himself in the first person (vv. 28, 31), and He could not be
3 40 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
supposed, He who is the Messiah, to represent Himself as
taking up a neutral attitude toward Satan. On the contrary,
He is speaking of the Pharisees and their bearing toward Him,
which must necessarily be of a hostile character, since they
had refused to make common cause with Him as it behoved
them to have done : He that is not with me is, as is seen in
your case, my enemy, and so on. a-vvdjwv] illustration
borrowed from harvest operations ; iii. 12, vi. 26 ; John iv. 36.
Ver. 31. A i a rov TO] refers back to all that has been said
since ver. 25 : On this account because, in bringing such an
accusation against me, ver. 24, you have as my enemies
(ver. 30) resisted the most undoubted evidence of the con-
trary (ver. 25 if.), on this account I must tell you, and so on.
dfjuapr. K. ySXao-^).] Genus and species: every sin and
(in particular) blaspheming (of sacred things, as of the Messiah
Himself, ver. 32). rj rov rev. /3\aa-<J>.] Blaspheming of the
Spirit (Mark iii. 2 9 ; Luke xii 1 0) is the sin in question, and
of which that allegation on the part of the Pharisees, ver. 24,
is an instance, so that it is probably too much to say, as though
the new birth must be presumed, that it can only occur in the
case of a Christian, a view which was held by Huther,
Quenstedt, and others. As, then, in the present instance the
Pharisees had hardened themselves against an unmistakeable
revelation of the Spirit of God, as seen in the life and works
of Jesus, had in fact taken up an attitude of avowed hostility
to this Spirit ; so much so that they spoke of His agency as
that of the devil : so in general the (3\aa-<frriiiia rov rrvevfiaro^
may be defined to be the sin which a man commits when he
rejects the undoubted revelation of the Holy Spirit, and that
not merely with a contemptuous moral indifference (Gurlitt; see,
on the other hand, Miiller, Lehre v. d. Silnde, II. p. 598, ed. 5),
but with the evil will struggling to shut out the light of that
revelation ; and even goes the length of expressing in hostile
language his deliberate and conscious opposition to this divine
principle, thereby avowing his adherence to his anti-spiritual
confession. This sin is not forgiven, because in the utterly
hardened condition which it presupposes, and in which it
appears as the extreme point of sinful development, the recep-
CHAP. XII. 32. 3-il
tivity for the influences of the Holy Spirit is lost, and nothing
remains but conscious and avowed hatred toward this holy
agency. In the case of the Christian, every conscious sin, and
in particular all immoral speech, is also sin against the
Holy Spirit (Eph. iv. 30) ; but what is meant by blaspheming
the Spirit in the passage before us, is to go to the utmost
extremity in apostasy from Christ and TT/JO? Bdvarov (1 John
v. 16, and Huther's note). See Grashoff in the Stud. u. Krit.
1833, p. 935 ff.; Gurlitt, ibid. 1834, p. 599 ff. ; Tholuck,
ibid. 1836, p. 401 ff. ; Schaf, d. Silnde wider d. heil. G. 1841 ;
Jul. Miiller, I.e. ; Alex, ab Oettingen, de pecc. in Sp. s. 1856,
where the older literature may also be found, and where the
different views are criticised. 1 For the way in which the
blaspheming against the Spirit is supposed to coincide, as far as
the Christian is concerned, with the falling away mentioned
in Heb. vi. 46, see Delitzsch On the Hebrews, p. 2 3 1 ff. ;
Liinemann, p. 205 ff. OVK d<j)e6r)<reTai] should not have
its meaning twisted by supplying " as a rule," or such like ;
nor, with Grotius, is OVK to be taken comparatively (more heinous
than all other sins). The simple impossibility of forgiveness is
just to be sought in the man's own state of heart, which has
become one of extreme hostility to God.
Ver. 32. Kara TOV vlov r. avOp^\ against the Son of man,
such as Daniel promised that the Messiah should be. In this
case also (comp. on ix. 6, viii. 20) this select expression indi-
cates the majesty of the Messiah in His human manifestation,
in contrast to the hostile terms with which it has been assailed.
Grotius and Fritzsche erroneously understand it as in contrast
to man in general. a^eOrfcrerai avTQ)] For if the hostile
expressions are directed only against the person of the Mes-
siah as such, not against the Holy Spirit who may be recog-
nised in that person, even without our ascribing to it a
Messianic character, it is possible that fuller knowledge,
change of disposition, faith, may be created by the Spirit's
1 At p. 87, Oettingen defines the sin thus : " Impoenitentia perpetua atque
incredulitas usque ad fincm, quae ex rebellante et obstinatissima repudiatione
testimonii Sp. s. evangelic sese manifestantis et in hominum cordibus operautis
profecta blasphemando in Sp. s. per verbum et facinus in lucem prodit."
342 TIIE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
own influence, whereupon the man will be forgiven. Comp.
Luke xxiii. 34. o ala>v OUTO? is the period pre\ious to the
coming of the Messiah, n*n n:>iy > as Jesus understood it : the
time before the second coming. 'O ala>v fjieXkwv, the period that
succeeds the coming of the Messiah, Nsn D<>iy, as Jesus under-
stood it : the time that follows the second coming. Bertholdt,
Christol. p. 38 ; Koppe, Exc. 1, ad Ep. ad Eph. p. 289 ff.
ovre ev r&> /ieXXoyrt] where it would be granted in the shape
of acquittal in the judgment, combined with the eternal conse-
quences of such acquittal (everlasting felicity). The threaten-
ing of a very different fate that is to say, the thought of
endless punishment must not be in any way softened down
(Chrysostom, de Wette). Schrnid, bibl. Theol. I. p. 358 (comp.
Olshausen a'nd Stirm in the Jahrb. f. Deutsche Theol. 1861,
p. 300), is quite mistaken in thinking that the period referred
to is that between death and judgment, which, in fact, does
not belong to the alaiv /ieXX&w at all.
Ver. 33. Euth. Zigabenus says correctly (comp. Hilary,
Chrysostom, Theophylact, Erasmus, Beza, Jansen, Raphel,
Kypke, Kuinoel, Schegg, Grimm) : Tronja-ctTe dvrl TOV etVare.
Karatcr^yvei Be iraXiv erepto? avrovs, a>? dvareo\ovda Kal Trapa
KarT]jopovvTa<f. 'Eirel yap TO pev d7re\avvecr6ai TOI)?
OVK e/tdfci^ov . . . TOV Be d7re\avvovTa TOUTOU?
/, TrapaBeiyfJiaTiKW'; avroix; eXey^et, TO pev epyov irakov
, TOV Be ep<yaofj,evov KCIKOV, orep early evavTiorrjTos
/cal dvaMTxyvTias. Either make the tree good (i.e. judge it to
be good), and its fruit good ; or make the tree bad, and its
fruit bad (see on vii. 17), do not proceed in the same
absurd way as you did when you pronounced an unfavourable
judgment upon me, when you made the tree bad (declared me
to be an instrument of the devil), and gave him credit for
good fruit (the casting out of demons), -jroieiv, similarly to
our make, is used to denote the expression of a judgment or
opinion, therefore in a declarative sense. John v. 18, viii. 53,
x. 33 ; 1 John i. 10, v. 10 ; Xen. Hist. vi. 3. 5 : TroieiaOe Be
TToXe/uovs-, you declare them to be enemies. Stephanus,
Thesaurus, ed. Paris, VI. p. 1292, and the passages in Eaphel,
Herod, p. 154 ; Kypke, I. p. 66 ; among Attic writers usually
CHAP. XII. 34. 343
in the middle voice. TO Bev&pov denotes the tree on which
you pronounce a judgment, and nothing is to be supplied after
rov Kap-jTov avrov. Some (Grotius, Fritzsehe), who, however,
attach substantially the same meaning to the figurative terms,
take Troielv in the sense of to suppose, assume, animo fingcre
(Xen. Anal. v. 7. 9 ; Ast, Lex. Plat. III. p. 136 f.), though
the imperative is not so well suited to the second clauses, KCU
rov Kapirov, etc. Others, understanding -jroietv as meaning,
partly to judge, as well as partly to assume, refer it to the evil
disposition of the Pharisees, which can be detected in the kind
of language they indulge in. So Munster, Castalio, 1 Mal-
donatus, and others ; also de Wette, Neander, Bleek (comp.
Olshausen). But in that case the imperative is no longer
appropriate to the second clauses. According to Ewald (comp.
Baumgarten-Crusius, and Holtzmann, p. 187), the connection
and meaning may be thus stated : " Let it not be supposed
that these are but mere words ! It is exactly the words . . .
that spring from the deepest source, and proceed as it were
from the root of a man ; like tree, like fruit." TroirjcraTe is a
bold expression in reference not only to the fruit, as has been
supposed, but also to the tree itself (" cultivate the tree well,
and thus make the tree good "). But iroteiv is not used in this
sense (which would have required <f>vetv instead) ; and, once
more, the imperative expression would scarcely have suited the
second clauses, for an alternative so imperious might, with much
more propriety, be addressed to persons who were undecided,
neutral. Similarly Keim, though without any further gram-
matical elucidation (" man either makes himself good a tree
which bears good fruit or makes himself evil ").
Ver. 34. OVK ea-rtv Oavfiaa-rbv, el roiavra (the preposterous
nature of which Jesus has just exposed, ver. 33) /3\a<r<})Ti/j,eiTe,
TTovrjpol yap 6We? ov ovvaaOe dyaOa \d\elv. Elra /cat <f)v<ru)-
\oryitca)<; cnro&eiKWGt, 7rw9 ov ovvavrai, Euth. Zigabenus. For
yevvijfj,. e%iov. comp. iii. 7. TTW? Bvvaade] moral impossi-
bility founded upon the wickedness of the heart, although not
1 " Hoc pro certo habere necesse esse, quae arbor sit bona, ejus fractum esse
bonum. . . . Atqui ista vestra verba malus fructus est : ex quo consequens est
vos stirpem esse malam. "
344 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
denying that one may still be open to conversion, and that
with conversion the impossibility in question must cease to
exist. etc <y. T. irepiacrev^. r. /capB.] out of that with
which the heart is overflowing, so that with the speaking a
partial emptying, outflow, takes place. Beck, bibl. Seelenl. p. 68.
Ver. 3 5. Qfja-avpo^, here the inward treasure - house (re-
ceptaculum) of the heart's thoughts (Luke vi. 45) which are
revealed in words, through which latter they take outward
shape, are thrown out, as it were, from the heart of the speaker
through the channel of the mouth. Trovrjpov Orjcravpov]
6rja-avp, of wickedness, also in Eur. Ion. 923.
Ver. 36 f. Nominative absolute, as in x. 14, 32. apjov]
meaning, according to the context, morally useless, which
negative expression brings out the idea more pointedly than
TTovypov, the reading of several Curss., would have done.
Comp. \6yoi atcapTroi in Plato, Phaedr. p. 27V A. etc
yap TWV \6<ya)v aov, /c.r.X.] For on thy words will be
founded thine acquittal, on thy words will be founded thy
condemnation in the Messianic judgment. The connection
required that this matter of a man's accountability for his
words should be prominently noticed; and, seeing that the
words are to be regarded as the natural outcome of the dis-
position, such accountability is quite consistent with justice ;
nor does it exclude responsibility for his actions as well,
though this does not come into view in connection with the
subject now under consideration. With reference to the
bearing of this saying on justification by faith, Calovius appro-
priately observes : " Quid enim aliud sermones sancti, quam
fldes sonans ? " and vice versd.
Ver. 38. The narrative is more original than that in Luke
xi. 16. a-yfAeiov] a manifestation of miraculous power that,
by appealing to the senses, will serve to confirm thy divine mission.
In such a light they had not regarded the cure of the
demoniacs, ver. 24. In thus insisting as they did upon yet
further proof, they were actuated by a malicious desire to put
Him to the test and reduce Him to silence. a?ro o-oO] from
Thee Thy sign. In deference to Mark viii. 11, Luke xi. 16,
many erroneously suppose that in this instance it is specially
CHAP. XII. 39, 40. 345
a (7r]fj,Lov e/c Tov ovpavov that is meant. In xvi. 1, however,
the sign is being requested for the second time.
Ver. 39. Motp^aX/9] &>9 a^o-Ta/ievot airo TOV Oeov, Theo-
phylact. The Hebrew (Ps. Ixxiii. 27 ; Isa. Ivii. 3 f. ; Ezek.
xxiii. 2 7, al.) conceived his sacred relation to God as repre-
sented by the figure of marriage, hence idolatry and intercourse
with Gentiles were spoken of as adultery. Gesenius, TJics.
I. p. 422. On this occasion Jesus transfers the figure to
moral unfaithfulness to God, Jas. iv. 4 ; Eev. ii. 20 ff. yeved]
generation; the representatives of which had certainly made
the request, while the multitude, ver. 46, was likewise present.
eTrt^ret] Seeonvi. 32. cr-rj^eiov ov Sodrfa-eTai avrfj]
Seeing that the demand of the Pharisees had manifestly
pointed to a sign of a higher order than any with which Jesus
had hitherto favoured them, that is to say, some wonderful
manifestation, by which He might now prove, as He had never
done before, that He was unquestionably the Messiah for
they would not admit that the miracles they had already seen
were possessed of the evidential force of the actual o-ypelov ;
it is certain that, in this His reply, Jesus must likewise have
used a"r)fieiov as meaning pre-eminently a confirmatory sign of
a very special and convincing nature. Consequently there is
no need to say that we are here precluded from looking upon
the miracles in the light of signs, and that, according to our
passage, they were not performed with any such object in
view (de Wette) ; rather let us maintain, that they were cer-
tainly performed for such a purpose (John xi. 41 f., with
which John iv. 48 is not at variance, comp. the note following
viii. 4), though, in the present instance, it is not these that
are referred to, but a sign /ear' e^o^v, such as the Pharisees
contemplated in their demand. Euth. Zigabeuus (comp.
Chrysostom) inaptly observes : ri ovv ; OVK en-oirja-ev CKTOTC
crrjfAelov ; 7roLi)(rev aXX' ov Si avrovs, TreTrapcofjLevot yap r](Tav'
aXXa Bta Trjv TWV aX\.fov ax/>eXetcw/. TO O-^/A. 'Itwva] which
was given in the person of Jonah, John ii. 1. Jesus 'thus
indicates His resurrection, Bia rrjv ofjLotorrjra, Euth. Zigabenus.
Notice the emphasis in the thrice repeated o-yfielov.
Ver. 40. Tov KIJTOVS] the monster of the deep, Horn. II.
346 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
v. 148 ; Od. iv. 446 ; Buttmann, Lexil. II. p. 95. The allusion
is to the well-known story in Jonah ii. 1. Jesus was dead
only a day and two nights. But, in accordance with the
popular method of computation (1 Sam. xxx. 12 f. ; Matt.
xxvii. 63), the parts of the first and third day are counted as
whole days, as would be further suggested by the parallel that
is drawn between the fate j of the antitype and that of Jonah. 1
The sign of Jonah has nothing to do with the withered rod
that budded 1 , Num. xvii. (in answer to Delitzsch) ; Jonah is
the type.
REMAKK. Luke (xi. 30) gives no explanation of the sign of
Jonah (v. 40), as is also the case with regard to Matt.
xvi. 4 (where, indeed, according to Holtzmann, we have only a
duplicate of the present narrative). Modern critics (Paulus,
Eckermann, Schleiermacher, Dav. Schulz, Strauss, Neander,
Krabbe, de Wette, Baumgarten - Crusius, Ammon, Bleek,
Weizsacker, Schenkel) have maintained that what Jesus meant
by the sign of Jonah was not His resurrection at all, but His
preaching and His whole manifestation, so that ver. 40 is sup-
posed to be an " aivkward interpolation" belonging to a later
period (Keim), an interpolation in which it is alleged that an
erroneous interpretation is put into Jesus' mouth. But (1) if
in ver. 41 it is only the preacliing of Jonah that is mentioned,
it is worthy of notice that what is said regarding the sign is
1 But the question as to what Jesus meant by to-ra/ . . . i c-fi xafiia. -rrn
yvi, whether His lying in the grave (so the greater number of expositors), or His
abode in Hades (Tertullian, Irenaeus, Theophylact, Bellarmin, Maldonatus,
Olshausen, Kb'nig, Lehre von Chrisli Hollenfahrt, Frankf. 1842, p. 54; Kahnis,
Dogmat. I. p. 508), is determined by xapSla TVS yv;, to which expression the
resting in the grave does not sufficiently correspond ; for the Jieart of the earth
can only indicate its lowest depths, just as xttpSia, T?? 6a.'^a.atins means the depths
of the sea in Jonah ii. 4, from which the biblical expression xapSia. in our present
passage seems to have been derived. Again, the parallel in the xoi\'ia. rov
xYiroui is, in any case, better suited to the idea of Hades than it is to that of a
grave cut out of the rock on the surface of the earth. If, on the other hand,
Jesus Himself has very distinctly intimated that His dying was to be regarded
as a descending into Hades (Luke xxiii. 43), then *< . . . Iv *f x/tpS. r. y.
must be referred to His sojourn there. There is nothing to warrant Gilder
(Erschein. Chr. unter d. Todten, p. 18) in disputing this reference by pointing
to such passages as Ex. xv. 8 ; 2 Sam. xviii. 14. "We should mistake the plastic
nature of the style in such passages as those, if we did not take 3^5 as referring
to the inmost depth.
CHAP. XII. 41, 42. 347
entirely brought to a close in ver. 40, whereupon, by way of
threatening the hearers and putting them to shame, ver. 41
proceeds to state, not what the Ninevites did in consequence of
the sign, but what they did in consequence of the preaching of
Jonah ; and therefore (2) it is by no means presupposed in
ver. 41 that the Ninevites had been made aware of the prophet's
fate. (3) Of course, according to the historical sense of the
narrative, this fate consisted in the prophet's being punished,
and then pardoned again ; but according to its typical reference,
it at the same time constituted a ff^iTov, deriving its significance
for after times from its antitype as realized in Christ's resurrec-
tion ; that it had been a sign for the Ninevites, is nowhere said.
(4) If Jesus is ranked above Jonah in respect of His person or
preaching, not in respect of the sign, this-, according to what has
been said under observation 1, in no way affects the interpreta-
tion of the sign. (5) The resurrection of Jesus was a sign not
merely for believers, but also for unbelievers, who either
accepted Him as the Risen One, or became only the more con-
firmed in their hostility toward him. (6) Ver. 40 savours
entirely of the mode and manner in which Jesus elsewhere
alludes to His resurrection. Of course, in any case, he is found
to predict it only in an obscure sort of way (see on xiv. 21), not
plainly and in so many words ; and accordingly we do not find
it more directly intimated in ver. 40, which certainly it would
have been if it had been an interpretation of the sign put into
the Lord's mouth ex eventu. The expression is a remarkable
parallel to John ii. 21, where John's explanation of it as re-
ferring to the resurrection has been erroneously rejected. It
follows from all this that, so far as the subject-matter is con-
cerned, the version of Luke xi. 30 is not to be regarded as
differing from that of Matthew, but only as less- complete,
though evidently proceeding on the understanding that the
interpretation of the Jonah-sign is to be taken for granted
(Matt. xvi. 4).
Ver. 41 f. ' AvacrTr)crovTai\ Men of Nineveh will come for-
ward, that is to say, as witnesses. Similarly Dip, Job xvi. 8 ;
Mark xiv. 57; Plat. Legg. xi. p. 937 A; Plut. Marcell 27.
Precisely similar is the use of eyepB^a-erat below (comp. xi. 11,
xxiv. 1 1). Others (Augustine, Beza, Eisner, Fritzsche) inter-
pret : in vitam redibunt. This is flat and insipid, and incon-
sistent with ev rfj rcpia-ei: p, era] with, not: against. Both
parties are supposed to be standing alongside of each other, or
348 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
opposite each other, in the judgment. /cara/cp.] by their
conduct, ort, fierevorja-av, etc. " Ex ipsorum comparatione
isti merito damnabuntur," Augustine. Comp. Rom. ii. 2 7.
<a8e] like ver. 6, refers to the person of Jesus, which is a
grander phenomenon than Jonah. For irXelov, comp. xii. 6.
/SatrtXKTo-a VOTOV] a queen from tlu South, i.e. from Sheba
in Southern Arabia, 1 Kings x. 1 ff. ; 2 Chron. ix. 1 ff.
Vv. 43-45. Having foretold that the existing generation
would be condemned on the judgment day by the Ninevites
and that queen from the South, Jesus now proceeds according
to the account in Matthew, which is undoubtedly original
(comp. Weiss, 1864, p. 84 f.) to explain in an allegorical
way the condition of things on which this melancholy cer-
tainty is founded. The case of this generation, He says, will
be very much like that of a demoniac, into whom the demon
that has been expelled from him is ever seeking to return.
The demon finds his former abode ready for his reception,
and, reinforced by seven others still more wicked than himself,
he again enters the demoniac, making his latter condition
worse than the former. So will v it be with this generation,
which, though it should happen to undergo a temporary
amendment, will relapse into its old state of confirmed wicked-
ness, and become worse than before. The reason of this is to
be found in the fact that the people in question have never
entered into true fellowship with Christ, so that their amend-
ment has not proved of a radical kind, has not been of the
nature of a new birth. Comp. Luke xi. 23, 24 ff., where the
words are connected with what is said in Matt. xii. 30, and
are equally allegorical, and not intended literally to describe
a case in which demons have actually returned after their
expulsion. Se] the explanatory autem. It is quite gratuitous
to suppose that in our present Matthew something has dropped
out before ver. 43 (Ewald). aTro TOV dvOpairov] in whom
he had had his abode. St' dvuBpwv TOTTWV] because deserts
(r) avv&pos, the desert, in Herod, iii. 4) were reputed to be the
dwelling-place of the demons. Tob. viii. 3 ; Bar. iv. 35 ;
Eev. xviii. 2. e\#ow, ver. 44 (see the critical remarks), is due
to the fact that the irvev^a d/cdOaprov is viewed in the light
CHAP. XII. 46-50. 349
of a Sat/Awv, in accordance with a construction, Kara avvea-iv,
of which classical writers also make a similar use'; see Kiihner,
II. 1, p. 48 f. ; Bornemann in the Sachs. Stud. 1846, p. 40.
a"xo\dovTa, ffeaap<ou. K. /eeKoaa.~\ empty (unpossessed),
swept and garnished, a climax by way of describing the man's
condition as one that is calculated to induce re-possession, not
to indicate (Bengel, de Wette, Bleek) that healthy state of
the soul which forms such an obstacle to the demon in his
efforts to regain admission, that he is led to call in the
assistance of others. This would be to represent the state of
the case in such a way as to make it appear that the demon
had found the house barred against him ; but it would like-
wise be at variance with the whole scope of the allegory, which
is designed to exhibit the hopeless incorrigibility of the yeved,
so that what is pragmatically assumed is not the idea of moral
soundness, but merely that of a readiness to welcome the
return- of evil influence after a temporary amendment. The
reinforcement by seven other spirits is not to be ascribed to
the need of greater strength in order to regain possession, but
rather (hence Trovyporepa, not la-^ypoTepa) to the fiendish
desire now to torment the man. much more than before; and
so, according to our interpretation, it is no more necessary to
impute the calling in of those others to the noble motive of
sympathetic friendship (de Wette's objection) than it would
be in the case of the legion with its association of demons.
ra ea^aTa] the last, i.e. the condition in which he finds him-
self under the latter possession ; ra rrpwra : when there was
only one demon within him. 2 Pet. ii. 20 ; Matt, xxvii. 64.
Vv. 4650. The same incident is given in Luke viii. 19 If.
in a different but extremely loose connection, and, as there
recorded, compares unfavourably with Matthew's version (in
answer to Schleiermacher, Keim). The occasion of the in-
cident as given in Mark iii. 20 ff. is altogether peculiar and
no doubt historical. ol dSe\(j>oi avTov] even if nothing
more were said, these words would naturally be understood to
refer to the brotJiers according to the flesh, sons of Joseph and
Mary, born after Jesus ; but this reference is placed beyond all
doubt by the fact that the mother is mentioned at the same
350 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
time (Mark iii. 31 ; Luke viii. 19 ; John ii. 12 ; Acts i. 14),
just as in xiii. 55 the father and the sisters are likewise men-
tioned along with him. The expressions in i. 25, Luke ii. 7,
find their explanation in the fact of the existence of those
literal brothers of Jesus. Comp. note on i. 25 ; 1 Cor. ix. 5.
The interpretations which make them sons of Mary's sister, or
half brothers, sons of Joseph by a previous marriage, were
wrung from the words even at a very early period (the latter
already to be found as a legend in Origen ; the former,
especially in Jerome, since whose time it has come to be
generally adopted in the West), in consequence of the dogmatic
assumption of Mary's perpetual virginity (nay, even of a corre-
sponding state of things on the part of her husband as well),
and owing f to the extravagant notions which were entertained
regarding the superhuman holiness that attached to her person
as called to be the mother of Jesus. The same line of inter-
pretation is, for similar reasons, still adopted in the present
day by Olshausen, Arnoldi, Friedlieb, L. J. 36 ; Lange,
apost. Zeitalt. p. 189 ff. ; and in Herzog's Encykl. VI. p. 415 ff. ;
Lichtenstein, L. J. p. 100 ff. ; Hengstenberg on John ii. 12 ;
Schegg, and others ; also Dollinger, Christenth. u. Kirche, p.
103 f., who take the brothers and sisters for sons and daughters
of Alphaeus i while Hofmann, on the other hand, has aban-
doned this view, which he had previously maintained (Erlang.
Zeitschr. 1851, Aug., p. 117), in favour of the correct inter-
pretation (Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 405 ). See, besides, Clemen
in Winer's Zeitschr. 1829, 3, p. 329 ff. ; Blom, de rok aSeX<ofr
Kvpiov, 1839 ; Wieseler in the Stud. u. Krit. 1842, p. 71 ff.,
and note on Gal. i. 19 ; Schaf, ueber d. Verh. dcs Jak. Bruders
des Herrn zu Jakob. Alpliai, 1842 ; Neander, Gesch. d.
Pflanzung u. s. w. p. 554 ff. ; Hilgenfeld on Gal. p. 138 ff. ;
Wijbelingh, Diss. quis sit epistolae Jacobi scriptor, 1854, p.
1 ff. ; Eiggenbach, Vorles. ub. d. Leb. d. Herrn, p. 2 8 6 ff. ;
Huther on Jas. Einl. 1 ; Kahnis, Dogm. I. p. 426 f.; Wiesinger,
2. Br. Judd Einl. ; Laurent, neut. Stud. p. 1 5 3 ff. ; Keim, I. p.
422 ff. For the various interpretations of the Fathers, see
Thilo, Cod. Apocr. I. p. 262 ff. e] The former incidenc
(ver. 22 ff.) must therefore have occurred in some house.
CHAP. xii. 4c-;o. 351
Mark iii. 20; Luke viii. 20. eVt rov<f paGr/ras avroii]
not his hearers generally (TOIM? o^Xow), and yet not merely
the Twelve (ver. 50), but those who followed Him in the
character of disciples ; these He indicated by pointing to them
with the finger. ISoii 17 fi^rrjp pov, /e.r.X.] my nearest re-
lations in the true ideal sense of the word. Comp. Horn. //.
vi. 429; Dem. 237. 11 ; Xen. Anab. i. 3. 6, and Klihner's
note ; Eur. Hec, 280 f., and Pflugk's note. True kinship with
Jesus is established not by physical, but by spiritual relation-
ship; John i. 12 f., iii. 3; Eom. viii. 29. In reference to
the seeming harshness of the reply, Bengel appropriately ob-
serves: " Non spernit matrem, sed anteponit Patrem ; ver. 50,
et nunc non agnoscit matrem et fratres sub hoc formali."
Comp. Jesus' own requirement in x. 37. He is not to be
understood as avowing a sharp determination to break off His
connection with them (Weizsacker, p. 400), a view, again,
which the account in Mark is equally inadequate to support.
Besides, it is evident from our passage, compared with Mark
iii. 20 f., John vii. 3, 'that the mother of Jesus, who is placed
by the latter in the same category with the brothers, and
ranked below the naOijrai, cannot as yet be fairly classed
among the number of His believers, strange as this may seem
when viewed in the light of the early gospel narrative
(Olshausen has recourse to the fiction .of a brief struggle to
believe). Again, judging from the whole repelling tendency
of His answer, it would appear to be more probable that He
declined the interview with His relations altogether, than that
He afterwards still afforded them an opportunity of speaking
with Him, as is supposed by Ebrard and Schegg. Be this as
it may, there is nothing to justify Chrysostom and Theophylact
in charging the mother and the brothers with ostentation,
inasmuch as they had requested Jesus to come out to them,
instead of their going in to Him. oo-rt? yap, /e.r.X.] spoken
in the full consciousness of His being the Son of God, who
has duties incumbent upon Him in virtue of His mission.
aw TO 5] He, no other.
352 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTEE XIIL
VER. 1. The omission of d< (Lachm. Tisch. 8) is supported by
B K, three Curss. It. Arm. Aeth. Or. But the apparently super-
fluous 8e might very easily be left out, coming as it does before
rr. avb r. o/'x.] Lachm. Tisch. 8: I-/, r. OIK., after Z X, 33, Or.
Chrys. Weakly attested. Yet B, Or. (once) omit the preposition
altogether. Ver. 2. rb -jrXo/bv] Lachm.: n-Xo/bn (B C L Z N).
But see on viii. 23. Ver. 4. ^X0g] Lachm.: %xdov, after D L Z,
Curss. Since xar'scpaytv below necessarily presupposes the
singular, this reading must be regarded as merely an error on
the part of the transcriber, which was amended in B, Curss. by
substituting s\66vra and omitting the following xai (so Tisch. 7).
Otherwise, Fritzsche, de conform. JN. T. crit. Lachm. p. 52 f.
Ver. 7. Instead of airlmigav, with Tisch. 8, read imgav, after
D N, Curss. The reading of the Received text is from Luke.
Ver. 9. axoveiv] is, with Tisch., to be deleted, in accordance with
B L K* Codd. It. See on xi. 15. Ver. 14. afiroft] Elz. : I*
auro/c, against decisive testimony. An interpretation. Ver. 1 5.
<ruvS<ri] So Elz. 1624, 1633, 1641, Griesb. Matth. Lachm.
Tisch., according to decisive testimony. Scholz : awtuffi.
idffupai] Lachm. Tisch. : ia.aofj.ai, after testimony of so decisive
a character that it cannot have been derived from the LXX.,
while the subjunctive mood may have been adopted for sake of
conformity with the preceding verbs. Comp. on John xii. 40.
Ver. 16. After ura Lachm. deletes the superfluous vpuv, only
according to B, Curss. Codd. It. Hil.; and for axouti, he and Tisch.
read axovovaiv, after B C M X N and Curss. Or. Eus. Cyr. Chrys.
The latter is a mechanical conformation to the previous verb.
Ver. 17. ydp] is deleted by Tisch. 8, only after X K, Curss.
It. Arm. Aeth. Hil. Ver. 18. For evijpovros Lachm. Tisch. 8
read oxeipavrog, after B X S* Curss. Syr. p. Chrys. Correctly;
the ovsipuv of ver. 3 would still be lingering in the minds of the
transcribers. Therefore, in deference to still stronger testimony,
should eirftpavTi be adopted in ver. 24, with Lachm. and Tisch.
8. Ver. 22. roin-ou] omitted after aiuvoc in B D K* Arm.
Cant. Verc. Germ. 1, Corb. 2, Clar. Deleted by Lachm. and
CHAP. xin. S53
Tisch. Explanatory addition. Ver. 23. The form
(Lachm. Tisch., after B D K, 238, Or.) instead of owiw has been
adopted in consequence of ver. 19. Ver. 25. savfips] Lachm.
and Tisch.: evriffwupev, after B K** (* has eveffirapxtv) and Curss.
Arm. It. Vulg. Clem. Or. and several Fathers. Correctly; how
easily might the preposition be dropped through carelessness
in transcribing! More easily than that the sniamiptv, 'which
occurs nowhere else in the New Testament, should have been
inserted as a gloss. Ver. 27. The article, which in Elz. is placed
before /av/, is deleted by Griesb. and the later critics, accord-
ing to decisive testimony. So also with regard to rf before
xuipw in ver. 30, where Fritzsche wrongly maintains rf to be
necessary. Ver. 30. e/'g d'ea^ag] D L X A, Curss. Or. Chrys.
Codd. I. have merely Ssa/tas, some with and others without aOra.
Tisch. 7 has deleted sis (comp. Einck), and that correctly ; an
explanatory addition. Ver. 32. The form xara.ax.wo7v (Lachm.
Tisch.) is only found in B* D ; in the case of Mark iv. 32, only
in B*. Ver. 34. ovx] Lachm. Tisch. : oud, after B C M A **
Curss. Syr. p. Arm. Clem. Or. Chrys., should be adopted on the
strength of this testimony, and because oux is found in Mark,
and is by way of toning down the expression. Ver. 35. did]
N* 1, 13, 33, 124, 253 insert 'Hoaiov, which is supported by
Eus. Porphyr. and Jerom. A false gloss, 1 notwithstanding that
it is adopted by Tisch. 8. Jerom. suggests 'Aadp. xoapo-J]
deleted by Tisch. 8, after B ** 1, 22, several Codd. of the It.
Syi-cur Or. Clem. Eus. The omission was occasioned by the
LXX., which has merely &v y-pyys. Ver. 36. 6 'irjffoDj] and
auroft, ver. 37, as well should be deleted as interpolations,
according to B D N, Curss. Verss. and Or. Chrys. Ver. 40.
xaierai] Elz. Lachm. and Tisch. 8: xaraxaierai, after B D N.
Taken from ver. 30. For aluv. ro-jTov Lachm. and Tisch. have
merely aiuvog, after B D r N, Curss. Verss. Cyr. Ir. Hil. Cor-
rectly ; rourou is quite a common addition, as in ver. 22. Ver.
44. TX/K oAto/'a] B D N, Vulg. It. Syr cur Copt. Arm. Tisch. have
merely o/*o/a ; Lachm. has vahiv only in brackets. It would be
more readily deleted than inserted, for at this point a new
series of parables begins, and it would seem to be in its proper
1 A clear idea of the age of this erroneous addition may be obtained from the
fact that it was even found in a copy of Matthew made use of by the Clementine
Homilies (see Uhlhorn, Homil. u. Recogn. d. Clem. p. 119), and also from the
circumstance of Porphyry's chuckling over the 'Hfaiav as being an error on the
part of the inspired evangelist. But the weight of critical testimony is very
decidedly in favour of rejecting the reading 'Hruitv in Matthew as spurious (in
answer to Credner, Beitr. I. p. 302 ff. ; Schneckenburger, p. 136, and Bleek).
MATT. Z
354 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
place only in the passage that follows (vv. 45, 47). Ver. 46.
For S; slpuv, we should, with Griesb. Fritzsche, Scholz, Lachm.
and Tisch., read tvpuv ds, after B D L N, 1, 33, Cyr. Cypr. and
Verss. To continue the discourse with the relative was in
accordance with what precedes and what comes after, which
accounts for the relative construction superseding the evpuv 81,
which would seem to break the continuity. Ver. 48. Lachm.
has avrqv after ava/3//3. ; so also Tisch. 7. On too inadequate
testimony. With Tisch. 8, and on sufficient testimony, read
instead of ayytTa, the more uncommon term ayyjj. Ver. 51.
X'f/fi alroTs 6 'lr)ffovi\ before auvfa. is wanting in B D K, Copt.
Aeth. Vulg. Sax. It. (not Brix. Clar. Germ. 2) Or. Deleted by
Fritzsche, Lachm. and Tisch. ; would be more readily inserted
than omitted, although the discourse of Jesus is only continued.
With Fritzsche, Lachm. Tisch., and on somewhat similar autho-
rity, we should delete the xupie after vat as being a common
addition. Ver. 52. rr jSaff/Xs/a] Elz. Scholz: ei; rr^v fiasitelav,
Lachm. : Iv rfj /Saff/x. (D M 42, Vulg. It. Chrys. Ir. Hil. Ambr.
Aug.). Both readings appear to be explanations of TTJ ftasi'k.,
which latter is sufficiently confirmed by the testimony of B C
K n S, Curss. Syr. Ar. Aeth. Slav. Or. Ath. Cyr. Procop.
Ver. 55. 'lw<r5js] without adequate testimony, B C N** 1, 33,
Copt. Syr. p. (on the margin) Syr cur It. (exc. Cant.) Vulg. Sax.
Or. (twice) Eus. Jer. have 'L*rtjp.; DEFGMSUVXrN*?
Curss. Cant. Or. (once) have 'IWCCWTJS. Accordingly, with Lachm.
and Tisch., we ought to prefer 'lw<r^ as having the largest
amount of testimony in its favour. See, besides, Wieseler in
the Stud. u. Krit. 1840, p. 677 ff.
Vv. 1-52. 'Ev 8e rfj 17^. e/e.] fuller detail than in Mark iv. 1,
which evangelist, however, describes the situation with more
precision, though he likewise introduces the parable of the
sower immediately after the scene with the mother and brothers
(otherwise in Luke viii.), and indeed as one of the many
(iv. 2, 33) that were spoken at that time, and thereupon
proceeds in ver. 26 ff. to add another having reference to
sowing, which is followed again by the parable of the mustard
seed, which Luke does not introduce till xiii. 18 ff. along with
that of the leaven. But seeing that Matthew lets it be
distinctly understood (ver. 36) that the four first parables (on
to ver. 34) were spoken in presence of the multitude, and the
other three again within the circle of the disciples, there is the
CHAP. XIII. 2-5. 355
less reason for regarding the similarity of character which runs
through the seven, as recorded by Matthew, in the light of an
" overwhelming " with parables (Strauss), and the less need to
ascribe some of them (Keim, comp. Schenkel), and especially
those of the mustard seed and the leaven, to a different period,
from their being supposed to be applicable (Weizsacker) to a
later order of things. Yet, when we consider that Jesus
surveyed the future of his work with a prophetic eye, we
need not be at a loss to see how a parabolic address might
contemplate a later state of things just as fittingly as does the
Sermon on the Mount, to which this series of parables stands
in the same relation as the superstructure to the foundation of
a building. Comp. Ewald, who holds, however, that originally
the parables stood in a somewhat different order. airo T.
ot/cta?] is to be taken in connection with eo>, xii. 46, and
not to be regarded .as referring to no house in particular
(Hilgenfeld).
Ver. 2. To irXoiov] the boat standing by. eVt TOW
alyia\6v] along the shore (comp. xiv. 19), as in xviii. 12.
Winer, p. 380 [E. T. 508]; Nagelsbach, note on Horn. //.
ii. 308. The expression is suited to the idea of a gathering
of people extending over a considerable space.
Ver. 3 f. Tlapapo^r, (Arist. Rhet. ii. 20), ^, the nar-
rating of an incident which, though imaginary, still falls within
the sphere of natural events, with the view of thereby illustrating
some truth or other (Jva KOI e/jLtfraTiKcorepov TOV \6yov Troiija-rj,
teal TrXeiova rrjv (unjftaiv evQf}, KCU VTT' otyiv d<yd<yr] ra Trpdjfjiara,
Chrysostom). See Unger, de parabolar. Jesu natura, interpre-
tation, usu, 1828, who gives the following definition: collatio
per narratiunculam Jictam, sed veri similem, 1 serio illustrans
rem sublimiorem. 2 The correct canon for the interpretation of
1 To be distinguished from the fable, which, for example, may introduce
animals, trees, and such like as speaking and acting. " Fabula est, in qua nee
vera nee verisimiles res continentur, " Cic. invent, i. 19. So far as appears from
the New Testament, Christ newer made use of the fable; as little did the apostles;
in the Old Testament, in Judg. ix. 8 ff.
3 Observe, moreover, that the New Testament ra/>a/3aX and ^Wft &y mean
T T
something more comprehensive and less definite (including every description of
figurative speech, Mark iii. 23. iv. 30, vii. 17 ; Luke iv. 23, v. 36, vi. 39.
356 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the parables is already to be found in Chrysostom on xx. 1 :
ovSe %pr) irdvra ra ev rais Trapapo\ai<; Kara \ej-iv irepiepyd-
%e<r0ai, d\\a rov O-KOTTOV padovres, Si' ov a-vveredrj, TOVTOV
BpeTT6<r6ai Kal fJiySev 7ro\V7rpayfjLOveiv Trepairepw. o ffireiptav\
the sower, whom I have in view. Present participle, used as
a substantive. See on ii. 20. A similar parable is given in
the Jerusalem Talmud Kilaim I. f. 27. Trap a r. 6 Soy]
upon the road (which went xound the edge of the field), so
that it was not ploughed in or harrowed in along with the
rest. ra 7Trp(i)Bij] the rocky parts, i.e. " saxum continuum
sub terrae superficie tenui," BengeL
Ver. 6 f. 'Efcavfiar.] was scorched (Rev. xvi. 8 f. ; Plut.
Mor. p. 100 D, with reference to fever-heat). 8ia TO firj
e%eiv pi%av] Owing to the shallowness of the earth, the seed
sent up shoots before the root was duly formed. eVt ra<?
d/cdv0.] upon the thorns (which were about to spring up
there), and these grew up (avejBr)<rav, Xen. Oec. xix. 18), shot
up. Comp. Jer. iv. 3 ; Theophrastus, c. pi. ii. 1 7. 3 : TO rfj
dtcdvOg 7rHnTeip6fjt,evov (nrepfj.a.
Ver. 8. 'Eicarbv K.T.\.] That grains are meant is self-
evident, without our having to supply Kapirovs. For the
great fertility of the East, and especially of Galilee, consult
Wetstein on this passage. Dougtius, Anal. II. p. 1 5 f. ; Koster,
Erldut. p. 171 ; Keim, II. p. 448. However, such points of
detail (cornp. as to exarov, Gen. xxvi. 12) should not be
pressed, serving as they do merely to enliven and fill out the
picture.
Vv. 9, 10. See on xi. 15. The parabolic discourse is
resumed at ver. 24, after Jesus has finished the private
exposition of those already spoken, into which he was led in
consequence of the question addressed to him by the disciples.
The exposition was given in the boat, where it is sufficiently
possible to conceive such a conversation to have taken place
xiv. 7 ;' Matt. xv. 15, xxiv. 32) than is implied in the above definition of the
parable as a hermeneutical terminus ttchnicus. Comp. the Johannean />/,/
(note on John x. 6). John does not use the word parable ; but then he does
not report any such among the sayings of Jesus, though he has a few allegories ;
as, for example, those of the vine and the good shepherd.
CHAP. xiii. 11, 12. 357
without the necessity of our regarding the whole situation as
imaginary (Hilgenfeld), or without our having to suppose it
" rather more probable " that the exposition took place after
the whole series of parables was brought to a close (Keim).
Ver. 10. The question, which in Matthew is framed to suit
the reply (Neander, Weiss, Holtzmann), appears in a different
and certainly more original form (ia answer to Keiin) in
Mark iv. 10; Luke viii. 9.
Ver. 11. JeSorcu] by God, through the unfolding, that is,
of your inward powers of perception, not merely by means of
the exposition (Weizsacker, p. 413). The opposite condition,
ver. 13. yvuvat] even without the help of parabolic illus-
tration, although previous to the outpouring of the Spirit, nay,
previous to the second coming (1 Cor. xiii. 9 f.), this would
always be the case only to an imperfect degree. TO, ^var.
r. fta<r. r. ovpav.] the secret things of the Messiah's kingdom,
things which refer to the Messiah's kingdom. They are called
fj,v(TTrjpta, because their aTroKaXvfyis was now being brought
about for the first time by means of the gospel. Comp. note
on Bom. xi. 25, xvi. 25. They are the purposes that are hid
in God, which man can only know by the help of divine
teaching, and which the gospel unveils. eicelvois Se ov
SeSorou] is still to be connected with on (because).
Ver. 12. Proverbial saying derived from the experience of
ordinary life (xxv. 29): The wealthy man will become still
richer even to superabundance ; while the poor man, again,
will lose the little that still remains to him ; see Wetstein. In
this instance the saying is used with reference to spiritual
possessions, and is applied thus : With the knowledge you have
already acquired, you are ever penetrating more deeply and fully
into the things of God's kingdom ; the multitude, on the other
hand, would lose altogether the little capacity it has for under-
standing divine truth, unless I were, to assist its weak powers of
apprehension by parabolic illustrations. The contrast between
the two cases in question is not to be regarded as consisting
in uti and non uti (Grotius), being willing and not being willing
(Schegg). For the passive Trepia-<revecr6ai, to be in possession
of a superabundance, see on Luke xv. 17. 00-7*9 e^et is
358 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the nominative absolute, as in vii. 24, x. 14. e%eiv and OVK
%iv, in the sense of rich and poor, is likewise very common
in classical authors, Ast, ad Plat. Legg. V. p. 172 ; Bornemann,
ad Xen. Anal. vi. 6. 38.
Ver. 13. A La TOVTO] refers to what immediately precedes';
because their case is similar to that of the poor, and so they
would lose the little that they had ; but the on (because,
namely) which follows introduces an explanation by way of
justifying Bia TOVTO (comp. John x. 17), and which depicts in
proverbial language (Isa. xxxii. 3, xxxv. 5 f., 9 f. ; Jer. v. 21)
the people's dulness of apprehension. It is unnecessary to make
the reference of Bta TOVTO extend so far back as ver. 11
(Fritzsche, de Wette, Bleek). In defiance of grammar, yet in
deference to the parallels in Mark and Luke, Olshausen says
that OTI, because, expresses the result intended (wo) ; similarly
Schegg; comp. also Weizsacker, p. 413.
Vv. 14, 15. Kal] still depending on ort; but, in a manner
suited to the simplicity of the language, and the conspicuous
reference to the fulfilling of the prophecy, it begins a new
sentence : and indeed so utterly incapable are they of com-
prehending the pure, literal statement of divine truth is being
fulfilled with regard to them, and so on. dva7r\r)p., as being
more forcible than the simple verb (comp. on Gal. vi. 2, and
K7r\r)p., Acts xiii. 33), is expressly chosen (occurring nowhere
else in Matthew, and, as referring to the predictions and such
like, not found again in the whole New Testament), and for sake
of emphasis placed at the beginning of the sentence ; avTols
is the dative of reference : the fulfilment of the prophet's
words is realized in them. The passage in question is Isa.
vi 9, 10, as found in the LXX. Comp. on John xii. 40 ;
Acts xxviii. 25 ff. eira^vvdrf] in a metaphorical sense, like
pinguis. See Wetstein. The expression represents the indolent
and inactive state into which the energies of the spiritual life
have been allowed to sink. /Sapeco? rjKovaav] they have
become dull of hearing (fiapvijKooi). eicdfifjLva-av] have they
dosed, Isa. vi. 10, xxix. 10; Lam. ill 44. The genuine
Greek form is KaTapveiv. See Lobeck, Phryn. p. 339 f . ;
Becker, Anecd. I. p. 103. /j,rJ7roTe] ne ; they are not willing
C1IAP. XIII. 14, 15. 359
to be instructed by me, and morally healed. This shows that,
in regard to the weakness of their capacity, it is their own
will that is to blame. By adopting the reading Idaopai (see
the critical remarks) we do not introduce the meaning, which
is out of place in the present instance : and I will heal them
(Fritzsche), but rather effect a change in the construction of
fArjTrore (Heindorf, ad Plat. Crat. p. 36 ; Hermann, ad Soph.
El. 992 ; Winer, p. 468 [E. T. 630]), that is, in accordance
with the sense (because expressing the result}. Comp. note
on Mark xiv. 2. Notice in idaojjMi the consciousness of being
a personal revelation of God.
REMAEK. According to Matthew, then, the principle on
which Jesus proceeds is this : He speaks to the multitude in
parables, because this mode of instruction is suited to their
intellectual poverty and obtuseness. Plain literal teaching
would fail to attract them, and so lead to their conversion,
which latter their very obtuseness stubbornly resists. But what
is spoken in a parabolic form captivates and lays hold of the
man of limited comprehension, so that it does not repel him
from his instructor, but rather becomes in him, even though
not yet apprehended in its abstract meaning, the starting-point
of a further gradual development of fuller understanding and
ultimate conversion. There is no reason why de Wette should
be stumbled to find that the disciples themselves likewise failed
to understand the parable, and were therefore on the same level
as the multitudes ; therefore, he argues, one is at a loss to see
why Jesus did not favour the latter also with an explanation.
But the difference between the two cases is, that the disciples,
from having been already converted, and from their minds
having been already stimulated and developed by intercourse
with Jesus, were just in a position to understand the interpreta-
tion, which the people, on the other' hand, were incapable of
doing, so that it was necessary to present to them the mere
illustration, the parable without the interpretation, in order to,
first, interest and attract them. They had to be treated like
children, for whose physical condition the only suitable food is
milk, and not strong meat likewise, whereas the disciples had
already shown themselves capable of receiving the strong meat
as well. Consequently de Wette is wrong in conceiving of the
matter differently from the representation of it given by the
evangelists, and which is to this effect : that the object of Jesus
360 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
in awakening a spirit of inquiry by means of the parables was,
that those so awakened should come to Him to obtain instruction ;
that those who did so are to be regarded as the fiadrirai in the
more comprehensive sense of the word ; and that to them the
explanation was given and the congratulation addressed ; while,
on the other hand, Jesus pities the unimpressionable multitude,
and applies to them the words of Isa. vi. 9 f. (cornp. already
Mlinster). Lastly, Hilgenfeld professes to find in this passage
indications of the view, censured by Strauss as " melancholy,"
that the use of parables was mot intended to aid weak powers
of comprehension, but in the truly literal sense of the words to
keep them slumbering. But as regards Matthew, above all, this
is out of the question, seeing that in ver. 13 he has on, and not
7va. Comp. Keim also, II. p. 441. It is otherwise in Mark
iv. 12; Luke viii. 10.
Vv. 16, 17. 'T/j,wv] stands first for sake of emphasis, and in
contrast to the stupid multitude. /jLa/cdpiot ol o<j)0a\fj,oi]
Personification of the faculty of sight. Luke xi. 27 ; Acts
v. 9; Isa. Hi. 7. on /SXeTrouo-4 . . . on, aicovei] The
thought underlying this (and keeping in view w. 13, 15)
may be stated thus : your intellect, as regards the apprehension
of divine truth, is not unreceptive and obtuse, but susceptible
and active. yap] justifies the congratulation on the ground
of the important nature of the matter in question. Sitcatot]
Upright, holy men of old. Comp. x. 41, xxiii. 29, also ayiot,
xxvii. 52. ISeiv a (3\e7T6Te, /c.r.X] the fjbva-Ttjpia -nfc /Sacrt-
Xet'a9, ver. 11; Heb. xi. 13, 39. The vision of Abraham,
John viii. 56, is foreign to the present passage, from the fact
of its not having been seen during his life in the body. The
fi\.e7reiv in ver. 16 was equivalent to, to le capable of seeing,
while here it means simply to see. Comp. note on John ix.
39. But there is no ground for supposing that Matthew has
mixed up two distinct discourses (de Wette).
Yer. 18 f. 'Tfieis] emphatic, as in ver. 16. ovv] for it
is with you precisely as has been said in ver. 16. atcov-
o-are] not : understand (de Wette), but : hear, attend to the
parable, that is, with a view to see the meaning that it is
intended to convey. Travrbs, K.T.X.] an anacoluthon. The
evangelist had perhaps intended to write: Trai/ros a/covoi/ro?
CHAP. XIII. 21. 361
ex Trfi tcapSias ap-rrd^ei o Trovtjpb<; TO e&Trapfjievov,
from the heart of every one that hears without understanding, the
wicked one, and so on ; but, from the circumstance of the
epxerai coming in the way, he was led to break off the con-
struction with which he had set out. Bornemann in the
Stud. u. Krit. 1849, p. 107. T, \6<yov r. /Sao-.] the preach-
ing of the Messianic kingdom, iv. 23, xxiv. 14; Acts i. 3,
xxviii. 31. <TvvievTo<t] understands, not: attends to it, which
is grammatically and contextually (GV TJJ KapSia) wrong (in
answer to Beza, Grotius). Mark and Luke say nothing what-
ever here about the not understanding ; it does not appear to
have been found in the collection of our Lord's sayings (\ojia),
but to have been added to the original narrative by way of
explanation (Ewald), its adoption being now rendered further
necessary owing to the turn given to the sentence by traino?,
which latter would otherwise be- out of place. The explanation
given in this addition happens, however, to be correct ; for the
word that is not understood, that is, not appropriated through
the understanding, lies on the surface of the heart without
being incorporated with the inner life, and therefore, in
presence of the devil's temptations, is the more liable to be
forgotten again, and cast away, so that faith fails to take
possession of the heart (Rom. x. 10). OVTOV ecrriv, K.T.\.] a
cutting short of a similitude before it is fully worked out, that
is not uncommon owing to the liveliness of the Oriental
imagination. Not the man, but the truth taught, is 6 o-Tra/aei?.
What is meant is to this effect : This is he in whose case the
seed was sown upon the road. Others (Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus,
Beza, Erasmus Schmid, Maldonatus, Grotius, Bengel, Rosen-
miiller/Kuinoel) interpret : This is he who was sown upon the
road. Paulus and Vater refer OUTO? to Xo709. Neither of
the explanations harmonizes with vv. 20, 22, 23. That the
loss of the seed is tantamount to the loss of one's own life,
though not stated in so many words (Lange), is implied in the
nature of the case.
Ver. 21. Description of one whose mind is so stirred as
instantly to welcome the word with joy, but who, when sub-
jected to the testing influence of affliction, abandons his faith
362 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
and relapses into his former condition. Such an one is
without root in Ms own inner bsi?ig, i.e. he is destitute of that
faith (Eph. iii. 16 f.) which, as a power in the heart, is fitted
to maintain and foster the life that has been momentarily
awakened by means of the word. Trpoa fcaip 05] temporary,
not lasting, not enduring. See Wetstein. O^ltyetos r?
Siwypov] by means of the "or" the special is added on to
the general. o-/cavBa\^eTai] he encounters a stumbling-
block, i.e. a temptation to unbelief; see notes on v. 29, i. 6.
Affliction in his case proves a Tretpaoyio? to which he succumbs.
Substantially the same as Luke viii. 13 : a^icrravTat.
Ver. 22. 'Atcovcov] is simply to hear, as in all the other
cases in which it is here used ; and neither, with Grotius, are
we to supply teal pera %a/aa? \a/jt,/3dvo3v, nor, with Kuinoel
and Bleek, to take it in the sense of admittere. The care for
this world, which (vv. 39, 49) extends even to the setting up
of the promised kingdom (TOVTOV is a correct gloss), is the care
which men cherish with regard to temporal objects and tem-
poral affairs, as contrasted with the higher concern, the striving
after the Messiah's kingdom (vi. 33). Comp. 2 Tim. iv. 10.
aTrarrj] the deceitfulness of those riches, which (personified)
delude men with their enticements ; not : " Delectatio, qua
divitiae animos hominum afficiunt" (Kuinoel), a classical
meaning of curdr?) (Polyb. ii. 56. 12, iv. 20. 5) which is
foreign to the New Testament, and which in this instance is
as unnecessary as it is flat. 2 Thess. ii 10 ; Heb. iii. 13.
cLKapir. yiv.] not the word (Bengel), but the man; see ver. 23.
Ver. 23. "O?] refers to a/c. K. cvv. For the more correct
accentuation, a-vviwv, see note on Eom. iii. 11. 77] gives
significance and prominence to. the 05: and now this is he
who ; " ut intelligas, ceteros omnes infrugiferos, hunc demum
reddere fructum," Erasmus. See Hartung, PartiJcell. I. p.
2*74 f. ; Klotz, ad Devar. p. 404 ; Baeumlein, Partik. p. 106.
Whether we ought to read 6 fiev . . . o &e . . . 6 e (Beza,
Grotius), or o fjuev , . . o Se . . . o Be (Bengel, Lachmann, Tischen-
dorf, following the Vulgate), is certainly not to be determined
by Mark iv. 20, though I should say the latter is to be pre-
ferred, on account of the solemn emphasis with which, accord-
CHAP. XIII. 24, 25. 303
ing to this reading, the concluding words of the parable itself
are repeated at the close of the exposition, without their
requiring any particular explanation : the one (seed, i.e., accord-
ing to the blending which takes place of the figure and the
person : one of those who hear and understand) brings forth a
hundred, the other sixty, and so on.
Ver. 24. AVTOIS] to the multitude. Comp. vv. 3, 10, 34.
a)fj,o(,(t)dr)] the Messiah's kingdom has become like (see note
on vii. 26). The aorist is to be explained from the fact that
the Messiah has already appeared, and is now carrying on His
work in connection with His kingdom. Comp. xii. 28.
aTreipavrt, (see critical remarks) : the sowing had taken place ;
whereupon followed the act that is about to be mentioned.
It is to be observed, moreover, that the kingdom is not repre-
sented merely by the person of the sower, but by his sowing
good seed, and by all that follows thereupon (as far as ver.
30); but to such an extent is the sower the leading feature
in the parable, that we are thereby enabled to account for such
phraseology as u>p.oi(a6r] rj /Sao-tXeta . . . avdpuTra (rireipavTi.
Comp. ver. 45, xviii. 23, xx. 1.
Ver. 25. Zi%dviov] Darnel, lolium temulentum, a grain
resembling wheat, acting injuriously upon the brain and
stomach, and likewise known by the name of alpa ; . see
Suidas. In Talmudic language it is called pit ; Buxtorf, Lex.
Talm. p. 680. The people who slept are men generally (prag-
matic way of hinting that it was during the night, when no
one else would be present), not merely the agri custodes
(Bengel), or the labourers (Michaelis, Paulus), whom it would
have been necessary to indicate more particularly by means
of SouXot or some similar expression. This little detail forms
part of the drapery of the parable (comp. xxv. 5), and is not
meant to be interpreted (as referring, say to the sleep of sin,
Calovius; or to the negligence of instructors, Chrysostom,
Jerome ; or to the slowness of man's spiritual development,
Lange), as is further evident from the fact that Jesus Himself
has not so explained it. avrov o ex&p.] his enemy ; comp.
note on viii. 3 l-rriaireipeiv : to sow o'oer what was previously
sown, Find. Nem. viii. 67 ; Theophr. c.pl. iii. 1 5. 4 ; Poll. L 223.
364 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Vv. 26 ff. It was only when they were in the ear that it
was possible to distinguish between the wheat and the tares,
which when in the blade resembled it so much. eruXXef &>-
fiev~] deliberative; shall we gather together? e/cpi^wo-rjTe]
ye take out by the root. The roots of tares and wheat are
intertwined with each other. apa avrol*;] along with them.
apa, which is in the first instance to be regarded as an adverb
(hence a/*a crvv, 1 Thess. iv. 1 7, v. 1 0), is also used as a pre-
position by classical writers (which Klotz, ad Devar. p. 97 f.,
denies, though without reason), and that not merely in refer-
ence to time (xx. 1), but on other occasions, such as the pre-
sent for example. Herod, vi. 138; Soph. Phil. 971, 1015;
Polyb. iv. 2. 11, x, 18. 1 ; comp. Wisd. xviii 11 ; 2 Mace.
xi. 7.
Ver. 30. 'Ev xaipm] without the article, Winer, p. 118
[E. T. 147 ff.]. 8 770- are avra Seo-/*.] (see critical remarks) :
bind them into bundles. For this construction of Sijo: with two
accusatives, considering the resemblance between it and the
root of Secr/j,., comp. Klihner, II. 1, p. 274. The explanation
of the parable, which latter is different from that given in
Mark iv. 26 ff. (in answer to Holtzmann, Weiss), is furnished
by Jesus Himself in ver. 37 ff. It is to this effect. The
visible church, up till the day of judgment, is to comprise
within its pale those who are not members of the invisible
church, and who shall have no part in the kingdom that is to
be established. The separation is not a thing with which
man is competent to deal, but must be left in the hands of
the Judge. The matter is to be understood, however, in a
broad and general way, so that it cannot be said at all to
affect the right of individual excommunication and restoration.
In regard to individuals, there remains the possibility (to which,
however, the parable makes no reference whatever) : " ut qui
hodie sunt zizania, eras sint frumentum," Augustine.
Ver. 31. SivaTrt] a herbaceous plant that, in the East,
sometimes attains to the height of a small tree ; Celsii Hierob.
II. p. 250 ff. In Attic Greek it is called VCLTTV, Phrynichus,
ed. Lobeck, p. 228. Inasmuch as the plant belongs (ver. 32)
to the order of the \a^ava } it is unnecessary to suppose, with
CITAP. XIII. 32, S3. 3C5
Ewald (Jahrb. II. p. 32 f.), that it is the mustard- tree (Salvadora
Persica, Linnaeus) that is intended ; comp. in preference the
expression BevSpdXd^ava (Theophrastus, h. pi. i. 3. 4).
\a/3<ov] an instance of the usual circumstantiality (comp.
ver. 33), but not intended to convey the idea of the care with
which so tiny a seed is taken into the hand (Lange).
Ver. 32. f 'O] refers to KOKKO? O-IVUTT., and owes its gender
to the fact of its being attracted by the neuter following ;
Winer, p. 156 [E. T. 217 ff.]. fjUKporepov] not instead
of the superlative; see, however, on note xi. 11. But, inas-
much as this is a proverbial expression of a hyperbolical
character, little need be made of the fact that seeds of a still
more diminutive kind are to be met with; comp. xvii. 20,
and Lightfoot. " Satis est, in genere verum esse, quod dicit
Dominus," Erasmus. T>V \a^dvo>v\ than any other vege-
table. orav 8e avg. #.T.\.] but when it shall have grown,
portrays the extraordinary result that follows tha sowing of
the tiny little seed. The astonishing nature of such a result
is still more forcibly brought out in Luke xiii. 19 by means
of BevBpov fj,eya. Karaa-icJ] dwell. The interpretation of the
word as meaning to build nests (Erasmus) is not general
enough; comp. note on viii. 20.
Ver. 33. %drov\ nxp, one-third of an ephah, a dry measure,
and, according to Josephus, Antt. ix. 4. 5, and Jerome on this
passage, equivalent to one and a half Roman bushels. It befits
the pictorial style of the passage that it should mention a
definite quantity of flour ; without any special object for doing
so, it mentions what appears to be the usual quantity (Gen.
xviii. 6 ; Judg. vi. 19 ; 1 Sam. i. 24). So much the more
arbitrary is Lange's remark, that three is the number of the
spirit. A great deal in the way of allegorizing the three adra
is to be found in the Fathers. According to Theodore of
Mopsuestia, they denote the Greeks, Jews, and Samaritans ;
Augustine, Melanchthon suppose them to signify the heart, the
soul, and the spirit.
The parable of the mustard seed is designed to show that
the great community, consisting of those who are to participate
in the Messianic kingdom, i.e. the true people of God as con-
360 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
stituting the body politic of the future kingdom, is destined to
develope from a small beginning into a vast multitude, and
therefore to grow extensively ; TTOI/JLVIOV 6We<? oXiyov, 619 aTreipov
rjv$q&r)<rav t Euth. Zigabenus ; Acts i. 15, ii. 41, 47, iv. 4,
v. 14, vi. 7, xxi. 20 ; Eom. xv. 19, xi. 25 f. The parable 'of
the leaven, on the other hand, is intended to show how the
specific influences of the Messiah's kingdom (Eph. iv. 4 ff.)
gradually penetrate the whole of its future subjects, till by
this means the entire mass is brought intensively into that
spiritual condition which qualifies it for being admitted into
the kingdom.
Ver. 34. OvSev eXaXet] Kara rbv icaipov erceivov SrjXaBij,
Euth. Zigabenus ; comp. Chrysostom. This is further indi-
cated by the imperfect relative (previously aorists were being
used). The absolute sense in which the words are under-
stood by Baumgarten-Crusius and Hilgenfeld is inconsistent
with historical facts ; nor could Matthew, or Mark iv. 34, have
intended the words to be so taken without being guilty of the
grossest absurdity. This in answer no less to Weiss, Holtz-
mann, Volkmar.
Ver. 35. The circumstance that, on this occasion, Jesus
spoke exclusively in parabolic language, was supposed, accord-
ing to the divine order in history, to be a fulfilling l of, and
so on. Trpo^tfrov] Asaph, who in 2 Chron. xxix. 30 is
called nrhn (LXX. has rot) irpoQiJTov). The passage referred
1 The passage, however, is not a prophecy so far as its historical meaning is
concerned, but only according to the typical reference which the evangelist dis-
cerns in it. In the original Hebrew it is expressly said T'C'Dn, not in parables,
but in a song of proverbs, the contents of which, however, though historical from
beginning to end, "latentes rerum Messiae figuras continebat " (Grotius), and a
similar instance of which we meet with afterwards in the discourse of Stephen.
Accordingly, the prophet, instructing and warning as he does by means of a
typical use of history, is looked upon by the evangelist as the type of Christ
speaking in parabolic narratives, and through this medium unfolding the
mysteries of the completed theocracy. In Christ he finds realized what the
prophet says with reference to himself : vo/|, etc., and iptv&ftai, etc., the anti-
typical fulfilment, though it must be granted that in doing so it is undoubtedly
the expression it <rapap/>*.a7s on which he makes the whole thing to turn, but
that, availing himself of a freedom acknowledged to be legitimate in the use of
types, he has employed that expression in a special sense, and one that is foreigr
to the original Hebrew.
CHAP. XIII. 36-38. 367
to is Ps. Ixxviii. 2, the first half being according to the LXX.,
the second a free rendering of the Hebrew text. epeuyea-Oai]
to give forth from the mouth, V^n, employed by Alexandrian
Jews in the sense of pronuntiare, Ps. xviii. 2 ; Lobeck, ad
Phryn. p. 63 f. Ke/cpvpfj,. ATTO /cara/3. tfo<r/i.] i.e. ra p,va-
Ti'jpia T?)? fiao-iXeias, Rom. xvi. 25.
Ver. 36. Trjv oiKiav] the house mentioned in ver. 1.
<j>pdcrov; comp. xv. 15. Occurs nowhere else in the New
Testament. It denotes speaking in the way of explaining,
unfolding anything. Plat. Gorg. p. 463 E, Theaet. p.
180 B; Soph. Track. 158, Phil 555. The reading Siaad-
(firja-ov (Lachmann, after B N and Origen once) is a correct
gloss.
Vv. 37, 38. In explaining this parable Jesus contents Him-
self, as far as ver. 39, with short positive statements, in order
merely to prepare the way for the principal matter with which
He has to deal (ver. 40), and thereafter to set it forth with
fuller detail. There is consequently no ground for treating
this explanation as if it had not belonged to the collection of
our Lord's sayings (Ewald, Weiss, Holtzmann), for regarding
it as an interpolation on the part of the evangelist, in advo-
cating which view Weiss lays stress upon a want of harmony
between the negative points in the parable and the positive
character of the exposition ; while Hilgenfeld questions the
correctness of this exposition, because he thinks that, as the
progress that takes place between the sowing and the harvest
corresponds with and is applicable to the whole history of the
world, therefore the sower cannot have been Christ, but God
and Him only, an objection which has been already disposed
of by the first parable in the series. The good seed represents
the sons of the kingdom, the (future) subjects, citizens of the
Messianic kingdom (comp. note on viii. 12), who are estab-
lished as such by the Messiah in their spiritual nature, which
is adapted thereto (6 travlpmt TO KO,\OV cnrepua ecrriv 6 v/o? rov
avQptoTTov, ver. 37). It is not "fruges ex bono semine enatae"
(Fritzsche) that are intended by TO Be tca\ov o-7rep/j.a, but see
vv. 24, 25. ol viol TOU Trovrjpov] whose ethical nature is
derived from the devil (see ver. 39). Comp. John viii. 41,
3 08 TIIE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
44 ; 1 John iii. 8, 1 0. Not specially : the heretics (the
Fathers and several of the older expositors).
Ver. 39. SvvreXeia r. ala)vo<f] not found in any of the
other Gospels : the close of the (current) age (ver. 22), i.e. of the
pre-Messianic epoch ; the great catastrophe that is to accompany
the second coming, and which is to introduce the Messianic
judgment, 4 Esdr. vii. 43 ; Bertholdt, Christol. p. 39 ; comp.
vv. 40, 49, xxiv. 3, xxviii. 20 ; Heb. ix. 26, and see note on
xii. 32. The reapers are anyds ; see xxiv. 31; comp. John
xv. 6.
Ver. 40. Kcuercu] not KaraicaieTai, but are set on fire.
No doubt the tares are consumed by tire (ver. 30); still the
point of the comparison does not lie in their being consumed, but
in the fact of their being set on fire, a fact which is intended
to illustrate the everlasting punishment now beginning to
overtake the wicked in Gehenna. John X:V. 6 ; Matt. xxv. 46.
The wicked (the <rKav&a\a, ver. 41 ; the craTrpd, ver. 47)
are connected with the church as a mere outward institution,
but do not belong to the number of its living members (to the
body of Christ). Comp. Apol. Conf. A. p. 147 f. ; Thomasius,
Chr. Pers. u. Werk, III. 2, p. 370.
Ver. 41. Avrov . . . avrov] they are His to serve Him
whenever He chooses to command ; " majestas filii hominis,"
Bengel ; comp. note on viii. 20. a-v\\el;ov<riv e/c] pregnant
expression, equivalent to: colligent et secernent ex. ex rfjs
f3ao-i\. avrov] for the judgment will take place as soon as
the earth has undergone that process of renovation (xxiv. 2 9 f. ;
2 Pet. iii. 13) which is to transform it into the scene of the
Messiah's kingdom. Moreover, the separation about which
Jesus here speaks is a separation of persons of the good on
the one hand, from the bad on the other, which, again, is the
only means of likewise effecting a separation between good
and bad things. Comp. xxiv. 31. Jesus distinguishes only
between <ricdvoa\a and Slicatoi,, without recognising any inter-
mediate classes of men (xxv. 32 f.), a view which subsequently
found its explanation in the doctrine of faith and of justifica-
tion by faith. The question as to whether or not there are
various degrees of felicity for the righteous, as of punishment
CIIAi'. XIII. 42-46. 369
for the wicked, is one upon which the present passage does not
touch. a-Kav8a\a] stumbling -blocks, i.e. men who, through
their unbelief and sin, may put temptation in the way of others.
Comp. xvi. 23. Euth. Zigabenus is correct, so far as the sub-
stantial meaning is concerned, when he observes : cricdvSaXa
KOI iroiovvre? rrjv avopiav TOU<? aurou? ovofid^ei. For this
abstract way of designating individuals by means of the cha-
racteristic feature in their character, see Kiihner, II. 1, p. 10 f.
The avo/j,M is immorality, as in vii. 23, xxiii. 28, xxiv. 12.
Ver. 42. The furnace (Dan. iii. 6) represents Gehenna.
Comp. Eev. xx. 15. 6 K\av0/j,6<}] see note on viii. 12.
Ver. 43. Tore] then, when this purging out of all the
a-KavSa\a has been effected. e/eXa/*,^.] the compound verb,
which is used on purpose (to shine forth, to burst into light,
Xen. Cyr. vii. 1, 2 ; Plat. Gorg. p. 484 A, Rep. iv. p. 435 A),
and so not to be taken merely as descriptive of eternal felicity
in its general aspect, but as conveying the idea of a sublime
display of majestic splendour, of the Sofa of the righteous in
the future kingdom of the Messiah. Comp. Dan. xiii. 3 ;
Enoch xxxviii. 4, xxxix. 7, civ. 4. Contrast to the fate of
the wicked in the furnace of fire. TOV irarpo<; avr&v]
sweet closing words, full of blessed confidence, xxv. 34.
Vv. 44 ff. nd\tv oftoia] introduces a second illustration
of the kingdom of the Messiah, by way of continuing that
instruction of the disciples which began with ver. 36. eV
T3 d<yp<j>] in the field; the article being generic. For cases
of treasure - trove mentioned by Greek and Roman writers,
consult Wetstein. ov evp&v avOpcoTros eicpvifre] which
some man found and hid (again in the field), so as not to be
compelled to give it up to the owner of the field, but in the
hope of buying the latter, and of then being able legitimately
to claim the treasure as having been found on his own property.
It is mentioned by Bava Mezia f. 28, 2, that, in circumstances
precisely similar, R. Emi purchased a hired field in which he
had found treasure: " utplenojure thesaurum possideret omnemgue
litium occasionem praecideret" Paulus, exeg. Handb. IL p. 187,
observes correctly : " That it was not necessary, either for the
purposes of the parable or for the point to be illustrated, that
MATT. 2 A
370 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Jesus should take into consideration the ethical questions
involved in such cases." Fritzsche says : " quern alibi, credo,
repertum nonnemo illuc defoderit." But the most natural way
is to regard evpcav as the correlative to KeKpv^evy ; while,
again, the behaviour here supposed would have been a proceed-
ing as singular in its character as it would have been clearly
dishonest toward the owner of the field. arro rr)$ %apa<?
avrov] drro marks the causal relation (xiv. 26; Luke xxiv.
41 ; Acts xii. 14 ; Kiihner, II. 1, p. 366 f.), and avrov is not
the genitive of the object (over the treasure : Vulgate, Erasmus,
Luther, Beza, Calvin, Maldonatus, Jansen, Bengel, Kuinoel,
Fritzsche), but, as the ordinary usage demands, the genitive of
the subject : on account of Ms joy, without its being necessary
in consequence to read avrov, but avrov, as looking at the
matter from the standpoint of the speaker. The object is to
indicate the peculiar joy with which his lucky find inspires
him. vTrdyei tc.r.\.] Present: the picture becoming more
and more animated. The idea embodied in the parable is to
this effect : the Messianic kingdom, as being the most valu-
able of all possessions, can become ours only on condition that
we are prepared joyfully to surrender for its sake every other
earthly treasure. It is still the same idea that is presented in
vv. 45, 46, with, however, this characteristic difference, that
in this case the finding of the Messiah's kingdom is preceded
by a seeking after blessedness generally ; whereas, in the
former case, it was discovered without being sought for, there-
fore without any previous effort having been put forth.
^rjrovvrt] with the view of purchasing such goodly pearls
from the owners of them (cornp. vii. 6 ; Prov. iii. 1 5, viii. 1 9,
and see Schoettgen). eva\ one, the only one of real worth ;
according to the idea contained in the parable, there exists only
one such. irkrrpaKe\ the perfect alternating with the aorist
(rj<y6pa<Tv) ; the former looking back from the standpoint of
the speaker to the finished act (everything has been sold by the
merchant}, the latter simply continuing the narrative (and he
bought}. Kiihner, II. 1, p. 144f.
Vv. 47 ff. For cu7taXo<?, see note on Acts xxvii. 39.
ra ica\d and traTrpa] the good, i.e. the good fish, such as were
CHAP. xiu. 52. 371
fit for use, and the putrid ones (comp. note on vii. 17), which,
already dead and putrefying, are yet enclosed in the a-ayijvrj
(large drag-net, Luc. Pise. 51, Tim, 22; Plut. de solert. an.
p. 977 F) along with the others. The men took them out of
the net (eo>) and cast them away. The aorists in vv. 47 and
48 are to be understood in a historical sense, not as express-
ing what was the practice, but merely as narrating what took
place on the occasion, just as in w. 44, 45, 46. Observe
further, that the net encloses fish of every 761/09, i.e. of every
species (that is, according to the literal meaning, out of every
nation) ; yet no yevos, as such, is cast away, but only the
putrid fish belonging to each 761/05, and that not before the
end of the world (in answer to the whole Donatist view).
Ver. 50. Closing refrain, as in ver. 42.
Ver. 52. Tavra Trdvra] that which has been addressed to
the disciples since ver. 36. This val /cvpte, this frank acknow-
ledgment, calls forth from Jesus- a gladsome Sta TOVTO, as
much as to say, "it is because of such understanding that
every one, and so on (such as you are), resembles a house-
holder, and so on." But for the understanding in question,
this similitude would not have been made use of. ypa/j,-
fjuarev^ The ordinary conception of a Jewish scribe is here
idealised and applied to the Christian teacher, comp. xxiii. 34.
But in order specifically to distinguish the Christian ypafj,-
/iarevs from the Jewish scribes, who were Moses' disciples
(xxiii. 2 ; John ix. 28), he is significantly described as paOr]-
reuflet? TT} /SacrtX. T. ovp., i.e. made a disciple of the kingdom of
heaven, (ta&ifttuettf nvi, to be a disciple of any one (xxvii. 5 7 ;
Plut. Mor. p. 837 D), is here used transitively (discipulum
facere alicui), comp. xxviii. 19 ; Acts xiv. 21. The kingdom
of heaven is personified ; the disciples of Christ are disciples
of the kingdom of heaven, of which Christ is the representative
(comp. xii. 28). icacva ical ira\aia] is on no account to
be restricted to any one thing in particular, but to be ren-
dered : new and old, i.e. things hitherto unknown, and things
already known, already taught in former ages, and that in
regard both to the matter and the manner. Thus the pre-
dictions of the prophets, for example, belong to the things
372 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
that are old, the evidences of their fulfilment to those that are
new ; the precepts of the law are to be ranked among the old,
the developing and perfecting of them, in the way exemplified
by Christ in Matt, v., among the new ; the form of parables
and similitudes, already in use, is to be referred to the old, the
Messianic teaching embodied in them is to be included under
the new. The view that has been much in vogue since
Irenaeus, Origen, Chrysostom, and Jerome, and which repre-
sents the words as referring to the Old and New Testament, or
to the law and the gospel (Olshausen), is a dogmatic limitation.
In the illustration the Oqaavpos means the chest (ii. ll,xii. 35)
in which the householder keeps his money and jewels (not the
same thing as aTroQ^Kt]} ; in the interpretation it means the
stores of knowledge which the teacher has at his disposal for
the purposes of instruction. e/e/SdXXet] throws out, thus
describing the zeal with which he seeks to communicate
instruction. Comp. Luke x. 35.
Vv. 53-58. The majority of more recent critics (Lichten-
stein, L. J. p. 271 ff., de Wette, Baur, Bleek, Kostlin, Holtz-
mann, Keim) adhere to the view, received with special favour
since Schleiermacher, that this narrative (which, moreover, in
Mark vi. 1 ff., comes after the raising of Jairus' daughter) is
identical with Luke iv. 16-30. But, in that case, it becomes
necessary to set aside the very precise statements in Luke's
narrative on the one hand ; and, on the other, to tamper with
the rigid sequence so distinctly indicated by Matthew in
w. 53, 54, xiv. 1, as has been done in the most awkward way
possible by Olshausen (" he came once more to the town in
which he had been brought up "). It is not without ample
reason that Storr, Paulus, Wieseler, chronol. Synopse, p. 284 f.,
Ewald, have insisted that our passage is not identical with
Luke iv. 16 ff. What Luke records is an incident that took
place during the first visit of Jesus to Nazareth after the
temptation in the wilderness. The only passage to which this
can correspond is Matt. iv. 12, 13, so that in Luke we get an
explanation of what Matthew means by his Kara\nrcbv rrjv
Na&per. How conceivable, likewise, that on two* occasions
Jesus may have been driven from Nazareth in a similar way,
CHAP. XIII. 54-57. 373
so that he would be twice called upon to utter the words about
the prophet being despised in his native place, " Nazarethanis
priore reprehensione nihilo factis inelioribus," Beza.
Ver. 54. IlarpiSa avrov] Nazareth, where His parents
lived, and where He had been brought up, ii. 23. iroOev
TOUTW] rovru is contemptuous (Xen. Anab. iii. 1. 30 ; John
vi. 42, and frequently), and iroOev is due to the circumstance
that the people knew all about the origin and outward train-
ing of Jesus. John vii. 15, vi. 41 f. KOI al Svvd/jLi<i]
so that in Nazareth also He must not only have taught, but
must have performed miracles, although not to the same
extent, ver. 58.
Vv. 55 ff. ToO re/cT 01/09] of the carpenter, which, however,
also embraces other workers in wood (the cabinetmaker, the
cartvvright, and such like). See Philo, Cod. apocr. I. p. 368 f. ;
Justin, c. TrypTi. 88 ; Suicer, Thes. II. p. 1254 f. In Mark
vi. 3, Jesus Himself is spoken of by the people as o retcrtov,
and certainly not without reason ; see note on that passage.
ol ae\<f)ol avrov] See note on xii. 46. According to the
reading Iw<rr)<f>, there was only one of the sons of that Mary,
who was the wife of Alphaeus, who was certainly of the same
name, viz. James (xxvii. 56 ; on the Judas, brother of James,
see note on Luke vi. 16). But if this Mary, as is usually
supposed, had been the sister of the mother of Jesus, we would
have been confronted with the unexampled difficulty of two
sisters bearing the same name. However, the passage quoted
in support of this view, viz. John xix. 25, should, with
Wieseler, be so interpreted as to make it evident that the sister
of Jesus' mother was not Mary, but Salome. Comp. note on
John i. 1. Tracrat] therefore hardly to be understood, as some
of the Fathers did (in Philo, Cod. apocr. p. 363), as meaning
only two. Observe, further, that in the course of what is said
about the relatives, there is not the slightest indication of their
being supposed to be different from the ordinary inhabitants
of .the place. OVK ecrrt Trpo^rr]^ . . . eV rfi vrarpioi, avrov
(not avrov) K. ev r. OIK. avr. is (John iv. 44) a principle
founded on experience, which is found to apply to the present
case only as relatively true, seeing that, under different condi-
374 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
tions, the contrary might prove to be the case. The ev r.
oiKia avrov, in his own family (xii. 25), corresponds with
John vii. 3, comp. Mark iii. 20. See also the note on
xii. 46-50.
Ver. 58. 'ETroiycrev'] In Mark vi. 5, put more definitely
thus : r/Svvaro Troirja-at. This does not include the idea of
unsuccessful attempts, but what is meant is, that the unwill-
ingness of the people to acknowledge the greatness of His
person (ver. 55) compelled Jesus, partly on moral (because of
their unworthiness) and partly also on psychical grounds
(because the condition of faith was wanting), to make but a
limited use of His miraculous power.
CHAP. XIV. 375
CHAPTER XIV.
VER. 3. Kal sSero ev puX.] Lachm., after B N* Curss. : xa/ sv ry
<p uX. axidsTo. So also Tisch. 8, though without rJj, after X*. The
simple sv 77i <p^- is found in D, Or. (once), but it is adopted from
Mark vi. 1 7. Lachm.'s reading is all the more to be regarded
as the original, that dcriforo also occurs once in Origen, and that,
in restoring the verb that had been omitted, in accordance with
Mark, the simple sdsro, without the preposition (comp. Acts v. 25,
xii. 4), would most readily have suggested itself. ^/x/V-roD]
after yuva/xa is omitted in D, Vulg. Codd. of the It. Aug., is
deleted by Tisch. 7, and only bracketed by Tisch. 8. Supple-
ment from Mark, the interpolation: on aun?v Jya>j<rgv, being
derived from the same source. Ver. 6. ytviaiuv 8e dyo/i.]
Lachm. and Tisch. : ytvseiots 8s yivo,u,evot<;, after B D L N, Curss.
Correctly. The genitive was by way of explaining the dative,
hence the reading ysvisiuv 8s yevopsmv, and then came dyo,tt.
(Received text) as a gloss on ysvop., which gloss is partially
found in the case of the dative reading as well (ysveslots 8s ayo-
ivswiz, 1, 22, 59). Ver. 9. IXOT^JJ] Lachm. and Tisch. : AUTJJ-
6sis, omitting the 8s after 8id, according to B D, Curss. and Codd.
of It. The reading of the Received text is a logical analysis of
the participle. Ver. 12. a &)/*] B C D L K, Curss. Copt. Syr cnr
have irrupt*. Recommended by Griesb., adopted by Lachm. and
Tisch. 8. Taken from Mark vi. 29. Ver. 13. With Lachm.
and Tisch. 8 we ought to read dxouffaj 8s, after B D L Z N,
Curss. Verss. Or. ; xai is a mechanical repetition. With Tisch.
read mfyi for Ki^fj, according to adequate testimony (including
N). The reading of the Received text is taken from Mark.
Ver. 14. On the strength of important testimony, 6 'iriaous after
e%e\6uv (Elz. Scholz) is deleted. Beginning of a church lesson.
Similarly, in ver. 22, after ^vayx. Comp. ver. 25, where, in like
manner, 6 'l]<roDg was inserted after avrovg. sv avroTs] Elz.:
fir aurous, against decisive testimony. Ver. 15. Tisch. has o3
after d^roX., and that only according to C Z fit, 1, 238, Copt. Syr.
376 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
p. (on the margin) Or. (twice) ; but correctly, seeing that o3v
might readily drop out in consequence of the ON immediately
preceding it, as well as from its not being found in Mark vi. 36.
Ver. 19. 7ovg ^oprovs] The readings D ^oprov (B C* N,
Curss. Or., so Lachm. and Tisch. 8) and rbv ^oprov (L\ Curss.)
are to be explained from the circumstance that the plural of
/j>pro$ occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Xa/3utQ
Elz. : xai Aa/3wv, against the best and most numerous authorities.
Ver. 21. The arrangement: cr/<5. %. y\iv. (Lachm.) is, as also
in xv. 38, without adequate testimony. Ver. 22. The deleting
of tvd'sag (Tisch. 8), which, no doubt, may have been adopted
from Mark, is, however, not warranted by testimony so inade-
quate as that of C* K Syr cur Chrys. Ver. 25. d^riXOs] Lachm.
and Tisch. 8 : ijxfc, after B C** K, Curss. Verss. Or. Eus. Chrys.
The preposition overlooked in consequence of the attraction not
having been noticed (comp. the simple 'ipy^rat in Mark). IT/
rqs QaXdffaqc] Lachm. and Tisch.: lirl rfc Qd^aaaav, after B P
A s, Curss. Or. The reading of the Keceived text is taken
from the parallel passages. Ver. 26. lr rqv dd'katsca*]
Lachm. and Tisch. 8 : titl rr,g eaXdaa?};, after B C D T e t*, Curss.
Eus. Chrys. Theophyl. Correctly; the accusative crept in
mechanically from ver. 25, through not noticing the difference
of meaning in the tw.o cases. Ver. 28. The arrangement Ix0s/v
<rpos as (Lachm. Tisch.) is supported by decisive testimony.
Ver. 29. ixdfTv] Tisch.: %a! fa6sv, after B C* (?) Syr* Arm.
Chrys. By way of being more definite, since, according to
ver. 31, Peter was beside Jesus.
Ver. 1 f. '.Ei/ Ki,va> ro> /cat/oo5] See xiii. 54-58. The
more original narrative in Mark vi. 14 ff. (comp. Lukeix. 7-9)
introduces this circumstance as well as the account of the
Baptist's death, between the sending out and the return of the
Twelve, which, considering the excitement that had already
been created by the doings of Jesus, would appear to be rather
early. Yet Luke represents the imprisonment of John as
having taken place much earlier still (iii. 1 9 ff.). 'Hpu&ys]
Antipas. Comp. note on ii. 22. Not a word about Jesus,
the Jewish Eabbi and worker of miracles, had till now reached
the ear of this licentious prince in his palace at Tiberias ;
because, without doubt, like those who lived about his court,
he gave himself no particular concern about matters of this
sort : he, upon this occasion, heard of Him for the first time
CHAP. XIV. 2, 3. 377
in consequence of the excitement becoming every day greater
and greater. T. aKorjv'Iijffov, as in iv. 24.
Ver. 2. To 49 vraio-lv avrov] to his slews (comp. note on
viii. 6), who, according to Oriental ideas, are no other than his
courtiers. Comp. 1 Sam. xvi. 1 7 ; 1 Mace. i. 6, 8 ; 3 Esdr.
ii. 17 ; Diod. Sic. xvii. 36. avro?] indicating by its emphasis
the terror-stricken conscience : He, the veritable John. CLTTO
TWV veicpwv} from the dead, among whom he was dwelling in
Hades. The supposition of Wetstein and Bengel, that Herod
was a Sadducee (erroneously founded upon Mark viii. 15,
comp. Matt. xvi. 6), is no less inconsistent with what he here
says about one having risen from the dead, than the other
supposition that he believed this to be a case of metempsychosis
(Grotius, Gratz, von Colin) ; for he assumes that not merely
the soul, but that the entire personality of John, has returned.
Generally speaking, we do not meet with the doctrine of trans-
migration among the Jews till some time after ; see Delitzsch,
Psychol. p. 463 f. [E. T. 545 f.]. Herod's language is merely
the result of terror, which has been awakened by an evil con-
science, and which, with the inconsistency characteristic of
mental bewilderment, believes something to have happened
though contrary to all expectation which, in ordinary cir-
cumstances, was looked upon as theoretically impossible ; while,
again, the opinions that were circulating respecting Jesus
(Luke ix. 7 f.) would suggest, in the case before us, the parti-
cular idea to which Herod here gives expression. The Phari-
saic belief in the resurrection, which was not unknown to
Herod, became, in spite of himself, the psychological starting-
point. Bta TOUTO] on this account, because he is no ordinary
man, but one risen from the dead. at Swdpet,*;] the powers
manifesting themselves in his miracles.
Ver. 3. Herodias was the daughter of Aristobulus, son of
Herod the Great, and of Berenice. She married Herod Antipas,
who had become so enamoured of her that he put away his
wife, the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas. Joseph. Antt.
xviii. 5. 1, 4. The brother of this Herod, Herod Philip (Mark
vi. 17), called by Josephus simply Herod, a son of Herod the
Great and Mariamne, the high priest's daughter, and not to be
378 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
confounded 1 with Philip the tetrarch, who was Cleopatra's son,
had been disinherited by his father, and was living privately at
Jerusalem in circumstances of considerable wealth. Joseph.
Antt. xvii. 1. 2, 8. 2. The aorists are not to be taken in the
sense of the pluperfect, but as purely historical. They relate,
however (Chrysostom : SiqyovfJLevos OVTWS <f>rj(mi), a statement
that has been already made, in a previous passage (iv. 12),
namely, that Herod, in order to give a more minute account of
the last (and now completed, see on ver. 13) destiny of the
Baptist, seized John, 'bound him, and so on. Buttmann, neut.
Gr. p. 173 [E. T. 200]. v rfj <f>v\aKrj] Comp. xi. 2;
for the pregnant use of the ev, see Kiihner, II. 1, p. 385 f . ;
Buttmann, p. 283 [E. T. 329]. What Josephus, Antt.
xviii. 5. 2, says about Machaerus being the place of imprison-
ment, is not to be regarded as incorrect (Glb'ckler and Hug,
Gutachten, p. 32 f.) ; but see Wieseler, p. 244 f., to be com-
pared, however, with Gerlach as above, p. 49 f. On the date
of John's arrest (782 u.c., or 29 Aer. Dion.), see Auger, rat.
temp. p. 195; Wieseler, p. 238 ff. ; and in Herzog's Encycl.
XXL p. 548 f., also in his Beitr. p t 3 ff. Otherwise, Keim,
I. p. 621 ff. (Aer. Dion. 34-35), with whom Hausrath sub-
stantially agrees. For a-Tredero (see critical notes), comp.
2 Chron. xviii. 26 ; Polyb. xxiv. 8. 8 (et? <f)v\aKriv).
Ver. 4 f . OVK e^ecrri] Because Philip was still living, and
had a daughter. Lev. xviii. 16, xx. 21 ; Joseph. Antt. xviii.
5. 1, 2 ; Lightfoot on this passage. For e%eiv ^vvalica, as
expressing matrimonial possession, see note on 1 Cor. v. 1.
It is probable that Herod only made John's bold rebuke a
pretext for putting him in prison ; the real cause, according
to Josephus, xviii. 5. 2 f., was fear lest he should be the
means of creating an insurrection. el%ov] not: aestumabant
1 Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 51, thinks that Mark has fallen into this error, and
that the omission of the name Philip in Matthew and Luke (iii. 19) should be
regarded as intended to -correct it. Comp. also Hase, Bleek, Volkmar, Keim.
No doubt it is strange that the two sons of Herod the Great should have borne
the name Philip. But then this was only a surname, while it is to be remem-
bered that Herod had also two sons, both of whom were called Antipater.
Besides, the two Philips were only half-brothers. See Gerlach also in the
Luther. Zeitschr. 1869, p. 32 f. j Wieseler, Beitr. p. 7.
CHAP. XIV. 6-8. 379
(a common but ungrammatical rendering), but : they fold him
as a prophet, i.e. they stood to him as to a prophet. This is in
conformity with classical usage, according to which e'^ty nva,
with a predicate, expresses the relation in which a person
stands to some other person ; for example, </\ou9 avrov? e%et?
(Xen. Symp. iv. 49): thou standest related to them as to friends ;
Eur. Here. fur. 1405 : iralB' OTTO)? e^a> <r epov, I stand to thee
as to a child; Herodian, i. 13. 16 ; and see likewise the note
on Luke xiv. 1 8 ; Philem. 1 7. The appended o>9 means : not
otherwise than as. Kriiger, 57. 3. 1 and 2 ; Kuhner, II. 2,
p. 995. Similarly also in xxi. 26. Otherwise in Mark xi. 32.
Ver. 6 ff. reve&ia, Birthday celebration. Lobeck, ad Phryn.
p. 103 f. ; Suicer, Thes. I. p. 746; Loesner, Obss. p. 40.
Others (Heinsius, Grotius, Is. Vossius, Paulus) interpret: a
festival by way of commemorating Herod's accession, because the
latter is often compared to a birth, Ps. ii. 7 ; 1 Sam. xiii. 1.
An unwarranted departure from ordinary usage. Wieseler
likewise takes the word as referring to the accession, but
improperly appeals, partly to the fact of its being used to
denote a celebration in memory of the dead (Herod, iv. 26),
comp. Lex. rhet. p. 231, a figurative sense which only tells
in favour of our interpretation, and partly to the Eabbinical
csta *?W JTDl3:i (Avoda Sara i. 3), where, however, the royal
birthdays are likewise meant. No instance is to be found in
the Greek classics (for the Latin natalis, see Plin. Paneg. 82).
For the dative of time, see Winer, p. 205 [E. T. 276].
T] Ovydryp TT}? 'H/xuS.J and of Philip. She was called
Salome, and married her uncle, Philip the tetrarch. See
Josephus, Antt. xviii. 5. 4. Her dancing was, doubtless, of a
mimetic and wanton character. Hor. Od. iii. 6. 21. Wet-
stein on this passage. Moreover, this circumstance of the
girl dancing is in keeping with the view that fixes the date of
this scene as early as the year 29 ; while it is entirely at
variance with Keim's supposition, that it occurred in the year
3435, by which time Salome had been long married, and,
for aught we know, may already have been left a widow ; for
which reason Keim considers himself all the more justified in
ascribing a legendary character to the narrative, though with-
380 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
out interfering in any way with the historical nucleus of the
story, which he believes has not been affected by the plastic
influence of legend ; while Volkmar again declares the whole
to be a fabrication. ev TOJ /leo-w] In the centre of the
banqueting hall. The subject of r/pecre is still 17 dirydr.
odev] as in Acts xxvi. 19, frequently in the Epistle to the
Hebrews, and common in classical writers. 7rpo/3t,/3aa-0ia-a]
urged, induced, prevailed upon, not : instructed (neither is it
to be so rendered in Ex. xxxv. 34). See Plat. Prot. p. 328 B ;
Xen. Mem. i. 5. 1 ; Polyb. iii. 59. 2, xxiv. 3. "7 ; Bremi, ad
Aeschin. Ctesiph. 28 ; Klihner, ad Xen. Mem. \. 2. 17. wSe]
therefore without any delay. e-rrl Trivaxi] upon a plate.
Ver. 9. Avrri]6ei<i\ he was annoyed, BIOTI e/ieXXe pvyav
are\eiv avBpa, Kai Kivrjaai Trpo? [uaos eavrov TOV oyfiov, Euth.
Zigabenus, comp. ver. 5; Mark vii. 20. Altogether, he was
deeply pained at finding matters take this sudden and tragic
turn, which is not inconsistent with ver. 5, but may be
accounted for psychologically as arising out of that disturbed
state of the conscience which this unlooked-for catastrophe
has occasioned ; consequently, we must not, with Schnecken-
burger, suppose (comp. Weiss and Holtzmann) that Matthew
has failed to notice Mark's statement that Herodias was
desirous to see John put to death. This circumstance is
involved in what Matthew says in ver. 8. Bengel appropri-
ately observes: " Latuerat in rege judicii aliquid." Bia TOV?
optc.] The petf 1 opx. in ver. 6 represents a series of oaths that
had been given, one at one time and another at another.
a-vvavafceifjLevovs] to whom he did not wish to appear as
perjured. A case of unlawful adhering to an oath, similar in
its character to what was done by Jephthah.
Vv. 10, 11 f. Considering that it would require rather
more than two days to return from Machaerus (see note on
ver. 3), the fortress on the southern frontier between Peraea
and the dominion of Aretas, to Tiberias (where Antipas was
residing), Fritzsche thinks that it is out of the question to
suppose that the head can have been actually delivered at the
feast ; comp. Lightfoot. But this circumstance, helping as
it does to lend a tragic air to the whole proceeding, is just
CHAP. XIY. 13. 381
one which the reader naturally takes for granted, and one
which is found to be necessary in order to give unity and
completeness to the scene (Strauss, I. p. 397); so that, with
Maldonatus, Grotius, Baumgarten-Crusius, Gerlach, Keim, we
must suppose the festival to have taken place in Machaerus,
and not in Tiberias. Not even Wieseler's view, that the feast
was held in Julias in Peraea, and that the head was brought
thither by messengers travelling post-haste, can be said to be
in sufficient accord with the tragic scenery of the simple
narrative. The account in Mark (vi. 25, e'^aim??; ver. 27,
eve^Orjvai) is unfavourable to such a view, as is also the wSe
in ver. 8 and ver. 11, which plainly implies that the thing
was done there and then. ev rfj ^>v\aKfj] therefore in
private by the hand of an assassin. " Trucidatur vir sanctus
ne judiciorum quidem ordine servato; nam sontes populo
omni inspectanti plecti lex Mosis jubet," Grotius. ical
eSo#77 r. K. teal Y/veyice r. p. a.] the horrible scene in a few
simple words. Ver. 12. The disciples, to be near their master,
had remained somewhere in the neighbourhood of the prison,
probably in the town of Machaerus itself. For vrroi/xa, a
corpse, see Phrynichus, ed. Lobeck, p. 375.
Ver. 13. Since we find it stated immediately before that
K. eA#. a7njyyei\av r<p 'Irjcrov, it is clear that the real cmovcras,
which is not further defined, can only be referred to the
aTrrtyyeiXav of the preceding verse (Jerome, Augustine, Euth.
Zigabenus, Erasmus, Maldonatus, de Wette, Ewald, Keim) ;
while the reference to ver. 2, so frequent since Chrysostom's
time, is arbitrary, inasmuch as Matthew does not so much as
hint at it. There is no anachronism here, occasioned by
Mark vi. 31 (Weiss in the Stud. u. Krit. 1861, p. 40 f.).
Matthew does not show such want of .skill in the use he
makes of Mark ; neither does he go to work in so reckless and
confused a way as Wilke and Holtzmann would have us
believe. But the narrative runs somewhat as follows : (1)
Matthew mentions that, at that time, Herod heard of Jesus,
who was then in Nazareth, and said : This is John, and so on ;
(2) thereupon he gives an account of the death of John, co
which reference has thus been made ; (3) and lastly, he
382 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
informs us in ver. 12 f. how Jesus came to hear of this death,
and how it led to His retiring into some solitude or other, to
shelter Himself for a little from the persecution of Herod,
which was probably being directed against Himself as well.
From this it would appear that it must have been whilst
Herod, who had just beheaded John, was indulging such
dangerous thoughts regarding Jesus (ver. 2), that the latter,
through hearing from John's own disciples of the fate of their
master, so felt the necessity of being upon His guard against
Herod's hostility, that He took the precaution to retire lest His
own death should be precipitated. Comp. iv. 12, xii. 15. It
is clear from the shape in which the narrative is thus pre-
sented, that the beheading of John is to be understood as
having taken place only a short time before the words of ver. 2
had been uttered, so that the terror that was awakened in
Herod's conscience when he heard of Jesus came on the back
of his recent crime ; but there was no reason why vv. 1 and
2 should have been regarded as a literary expedient devised
merely for the purpose of introducing John once more into
the narrative. etcelOev] from the place, where He had been
staying when the intelligence reached Him ; whether this
was still Nazareth (xiii. 54) or some other locality in Galilee,
is determined by ev ir\oia>, according to which it must have
been a place upon the sea-coast. epyfiov TOTTOV] according
to Luke ix. 10, near to Bethsaida in Gaulonitis, lying within
the dominion of Philip the tetrarch. tear IStav] "nemine
assumto nisi discipulis," Bengel. -n-e^oi (see critical notes):
ly land, walking round by the head of the lake. 7r6Xeo>i/]
of Galilee.
Ver. 14. 'E%\6(0v'] that is to say, from the solitude into
which he had retired. In opposition to ver. 13, Maldonatus
and Kuinoel, following Mark vi. 34, interpret : out of the boat.
60-77X017^. evr' aur.] aurot? refers not merely to the sick
(Fritzsche), but, like avrwv below, to the 0^X05, which, how-
ever, became the object of compassion just because of the
sick that the people had brought with them. Not so in
Mark vi. 34.
Ver. 15 ff. Comp. Mark vi. 35 ff. ; Luke ix. 12 ff.; John
CHAP. XIV. 13-18* 383
vi. 5 ff. 'O-^i'a<?] means, in this instance, the first evening,
which lasted from the ninth till the twelfth hour of the day.
It is the second evening, extending from the twelfth hour onwards,
that is meant in ver. 24. Gesenius, Thes. II. p. 1064f.
r) wpa] the time, i.e. the time of the day ; comp. Mark xi. 11.
Some, like Grotius, understand : meal time ; others (Fritzsche,
Kauffer) : tempus opportunism, sc. disserendi et sanandi. But
the " disserendi " is a pure importation ; and how far the suit-
able time for healing might be said to have gone by, it is
impossible to conceive. Our explanation, on the other hand,
is demanded by the context (o^i'a? 8e yevo/j,.), besides being
grammatically certain. See Eaphael, Polyb.; Ast, Lex. Plat. III.
p. 580. eaurots] for we, as far as we are concerned, have
nothing to give them. According to John vi. 5 ff, it was
Jesus who first began to inquire about bread, and that not
in consequence of the evening coming on. An unimportant
deviation, which shows that even the memory of an apostle may
sometimes be at fault. Of greater consequence is the fact
that, according to John, Jesus puts the question whenever he
sees the multitude, a circumstance made to tell against John
by Strauss especially ; comp. also Baur and Hilgenfeld. And
there can be no doubt that this little detail is an uncon-
scious reflection of the Johannine conception of Christ, accord-
ing to which it was but natural to suppose that Jesus had
Himself intended to work a miracle, and that from the very
first, so that in John the recollection of the order of proceed-
ing, which we find recorded by the Synoptists with historical
accuracy, had been thrust into the background by the pre-
ponderating influence of the ideal conception. Comp. note
on John vi. 5 f. John, on the other hand, mentions the
more precise and original detail, that it was a irai^dpiov who
happened to have the bread and fish. Sore aurot? u/iei?
(jiay.] said in view of what the disciples were immediately to
be called upon to do ; therefore, from the standpoint of Jesus,
an anticipation of that request, which the expectation of some-
thing in the way of miracle was just about to evoke on the
part of the disciples. Bengel well observes : fytefr, vos, signifi-
canter. " Eudimenta fidei miraculorum apud discipulos."
38-i THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Ver. 19. 'E-Trt r. xP r -] u P n the grass, xiii. 2. Participle
following upon participle without conjunctions, and in logical
subordination. See Stallbaum, ad Plot. Apol. p. 2 7 A ; Kiihner,
ad Xen. Mem. i. 1. 18; Dissen, ad Dem. de cor. p. 249.
K \da-a 9] The loaves were in the form of cakes, a thumb's
breadth in thickness, and about the size of a plate. Winer,
Eealworterluch, under the word Backen. Eobinson, Pal. III.
pp. 40, 293. In saying grace, Jesus did what was done
by -the father of a family. In John it is expressed by
ey^apto-T^cra?, because the meaning of the grace was the
giving of thanks (comp. notes on xxvi. 26 f. ; 1 Cor. x. 16,
xiv. 16) ; Luke again says : evX&yrja-ev avTovs, where we have
the idea of a consecrating prayer, as in the case of the Lord's
supper.
Ver. 20 f. Twv K\aa-fi. is independent of TO Trepicro-. (the
fragments that were over), with which latter also &o8e/ea KO(J>.
7r\ijpei<i, twelve baskets full, is in apposition. In travelling,
the Jews carried small baskets with them to hold their pro-
visions and other necessaries. For KO&VOS, see Jacobs, ad
Anthol. IX. p. 455. It is more general (in Xen. Anab. iii.
8. 6, it is used in the sense of a cfam^-basket) than vrrvpis
(xv. 37 ; Acts ix. 25). fjpav] they took up, from the ground
on which the people had been eating. The subject of the verb
is the apostles (John vi. 12); each of the Twelve fills his
travelling-basket. But the K\do-fiara are the pieces (comp.
ver. 19, \acra<?) into which the loaves had been divided, and
which had so multiplied in the course of distribution that a
great quantity still remained over. <yvvauc. K. TraiS.] occur-
ring frequently in classical writers, and sometimes with the
order of the words inverted ; Maetzner, ad Lycurg. p. 75. But
observe here the diminutive TraiSiW, little children, whom their
mothers either carried in their arms or led by the hand.
KEMARK. To explain away the miracle, as Paulus has done
(who thinks that the hospitable example of Jesus may have
induced the people to place at His disposal the provisions they
had brought along with them ; comp. Gfrorer, Heiligth. u.
Wahrh. p. 171 ff. ; Ammon, L. J. II. p. 217 f.), is inconsistent
with the accounts of all the evangelists, and especially with that
CHAP. XIV. 20, 21. 385
of the eye-witness John. Notwithstanding this, Schleiermacher,
L. J. p. 234, thought that, even on exegetical principles, the
plural a*i,utTa in John vi. 26 (but see note on this passage) would
justify him in declining to rank the incident among the miracles ;
whilst Schenkel thinks he sees his way to an explanation by
supposing what is scarcely possible, viz. that Jesus fed the
multitude with a rich supply of the bread of life from heaven,
which caused them to forget their ordinary food, though at the
same time He devoutly consecrated for their use the provisions
which they had brought with them, or had managed to procure
for the present emergency. Weizsacker likewise leaves the fact,
which is supposed to underlie the present narrative, too much
in a state of perplexing uncertainty ; this element of fact, he
things, must somehow correspond with the symbolism of the
miracle, which is intended to teach us that there is no sphere in
which the believer may not become a partaker of the fulness
of Jesus' blessing. Keim, adhering above all to the ideal
explanation that the bread which Jesus provided was spiritual
bread, and referring by way of parallel to the story of the
manna and the case of Elisha, follows the Paulus- Schenkel
line of interpretation, in conceding a residuum of historical
fact, though he seems to doubt whether that residuum will be
considered worth retaining. But to eliminate the element of
fact altogether, is no less inconsistent with historical testimony.
This, however, has been done by Strauss, who thereupon pro-
ceeds to account for the narrative, partly by tracing it to some
original parable (Weisse, I. p. 510 ft'.), partly by treating it as a
myth, and deriving it from the types of the Old Testament
(Ex. xvi. ; 1 Kings xvii. 8-16; 2 Kings iv. 42 ff.) and the
popular Messianic ideas (John vi. 30 f.), partly by supposing it
to belong to the lofty sphere of ideal legend (Ewald, see note on
John vi. 12), and partly by understanding it in a symbolic sense
(Hase, de Wette). Such a mode of dealing with this incident
is the result of denying the possibility of bringing a creative
agency to bear upon dead, rather upon artificially prepared
materials, a possibility which is not rendered more conceivable
by having recourse to the somewhat poor expedient of sup-
posing that what was done may have been brought about by an
accelerated natural process (Olshausen). But that such agency
was actually brought to bear, is a historical fact so well estab-
lished by the unanimous testimony of the evangelists, that we
must be contented to accept it with all its incomprehensibility,
and, in this case not less than in that of the changing of water
into wine at Cana, abandon the hope of being able to get a
MATT. 2 B
386 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
clearer conception of the process of the miracle by the help of
natural analogies. The symbolical application, that is, to the
higher spiritual food, was made by our Lord Himself in John
vi. 26 ff. ; but, in doing so, He takes the miraculous feeding
with material bread as His historical basis and warrant. More-
over, the view of Origen, that it was rf Xo'yw xal rfj u>.oy/a that
Jesus caused the bread to multiply, is greatly favoured by the
fact that the circumstance of the thanksgiving is mentioned by
the whole four evangelists, and above all by Luke's expression :
Ver. 22 f. The walking on the sea comes next in order, in
Mark vi. 45 and John vi. 15 as well. 1 Luke omits it alto-
gether. ev 6 eo>9 rjvdyKaa-e] not as though He were already
looking forward to some unusual event as about to happen
(Keim) ; He rather wanted to get away from the excited multi-
tudes (who, according to John, had gone the length of wishing
to make Him a king), and retire into a solitary place for
prayer, ver. 23. The disciples would much rather have
remained beside Him, therefore He compelled them (Euth.
Zigabenus) ; evO. rjva^K. implies the haste and urgency with
which He desires to get them away and to withdraw into
retirement, not an outward compulsion, but the urgere which
takes the form of a command (Kypke, I. p. 2 8 6 f. ; Hermann,
ad Eur. Bacch. 462). Comp. Luke xiv. 23. eo>9 ov . . .
o^Xov?] literally : until He should have sent the multitude away ;
and then He will come after them. The disciples could only
1 Instead of the mere t!f jrifa.i, ver. 22, Mark vi. 45 specifies Bethsaida,
and John vi. 17 Capernaum. A more precise determination without substantial
difference. Not so Wieseler, Chronol. Synapse, p. 274, who thinks that the
town mentioned in Mark vi. 45 was the Bethsaida (Julias) situated on the
eastern shore of the lake ; and that it is intended to be regarded as an inter-
mediate halting-place,vf}ieTe the disciples, whom He sends on before Him, were to
await His arrival. This view is decidedly forbidden by Matt. xiv. 24 (comp.
Mark vi. 47) : TO S *K/>7o* %$* (*.iat* rr, ; fa.\iar. , from which it is clear that
what is meant in <rpott.ym UT> ils T -ripa* is a direct crossing of the lake. It is
likewise in opposition to John vi. 17, comp. with w. 21, 24. Wieseler's view
was that of Lightfoot before him ; it is that which Lange has substantially
adopted, although the constantly prevailing usage in regard to the simple tit
-r'tpni, ver. 22 (viii. 18, 28, xvi. 5 ; Mark iv. 35, v. 1, 21, viii. 13; Luke viiL 22),
should have prevented him from doing so.
CHAP. XIV. 24, 25. 387
suppose that He meant to follow them upon foot. Comp.
note on John vi. 24, 25. TO 0/309] the mountain that was
close by. See on v. 1. /car' iSiav belongs to avefirj', ver. 13,
xvii. 1. oifrtas] second evening, after sunset; ver. 15.
Ver. 24 f. Mecrov] Adjective ; with more precision in
John vi. 19. At first the voyage had proceeded pleasantly
(77877), but they began to encounter a storm in the middle of
the lake. @acravi6jji.] not dependent on TJV: being plagued
by the waves; vivid picture. rerdprr) <f>v\atcp] Trpwt, i.e.
in the early morning, from three till somewhere about six
o'clock. Since the time of Pompey, the Jews conformed to
the Eoman practice of dividing the night into four watches of
three hours each ; formerly, it consisted of three watches of four
hours each. See Wetstein and Krebs, p. 39 f. ; Winer, Real-
wDrterbuch, under the word Nachtwachen; and Wieseler, Synopse,
p. 406 f. a7rri\6e TT/DO? avr.~\ He came aivay down from the
mountain to go to them. Attraction. Hermann, ad Viger.
p. 891 ff. ; Bernhardy, p. 463. According to the reading:
Trepiir. eVt rrjv daXaaa-av (see critical notes) : walking over the
sea ; according to the reading of the Received text : TT. e. T%
6a\.d(T(7r)<{ : walking on the sea. According to both readings
alike, we are to understand a miraculous walking on the water,
but not a walking along the shore (eVl T. 6a\., on the ground that
the shore may be said to be over the sea ; comp. Xen. Andb.
iv. 3. 28 ; Polyb. i. 44. 4 ; 2 Kings ii. 7 ; Dan. viii. 2 ; John
xxi. 1), as Paulus, Stolz, Gfrorer, Schenkel are disposed to
think ; this view is absolutely demanded by the character of
the incident which owes its significance to this miraculous
part of it, by the solemn stress that is laid on the Trepnrar.
eVt T. Oak., by the analogy of the TrepieTraTrja-ev eVt ra vSara
in ver. 29, by the ridiculous nature of the fear of what was
supposed to be an apparition if Jesus had only walked along
the shore, by the aTrrfkBe 777)09 ai/rov? in ver. 25, as well as by
the fact that, if Jesus had been on the shore (Strauss, II. p.
170), then the disciples, who were in the middle of the lake,
forty stadia in breadth, with the roar of the waves sounding
in their ears, could not possibly hear what He was saying
when He addressed them. It remains, then, that we have herd
388 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
a case of miraculous walking on the sea, which least of all
admits of being construed into an act of swimming (Bolten) ;
but neither are we to try to explain it by supposing (Olshausen)
that, by the exercise of His own will, our Lord's bodily nature
became exempted, for the time being, from the conditions of
its earthly existence ; nor should we attempt to render it
intelligible by the help of foreign analogies (the cork-footed
men in Lucian. Ver. hist. ii. 4 ; the seeress of Prevost ; the
water-treaders, and such like), but, as being akin to the miracle
of the stilling of the tempest (iv. 35 ff.), it should rather be
examined in the light of that power over the elements which
dwells in Christ as the incarnate Son of God. At the same
time, it must be confessed that it is utterly impossible to
determine by what means this miraculous walking was accom-
plished. From a teleological point of view, it will be deemed
sufficient that it serves to form a practical demonstration of
the Messiahship of Jesus, a consideration (comp. ver. 33)
which was no less present to the minds of the evangelists in
constructing their narratives. The credibility of those evan-
gelists among whom is John, whose personal experience lends
additional weight to his testimony must prove fatal, not only
to any attempt to resolve our narrative into a mythical sea
story (Strauss, who invokes the help of 2 Kings ii. 14, vi. 6,
Job ix. 8, and the legends of other nations), or even into a
docetic fiction (Hilgenfeld), but also to the half and half view,
that some event or other, which occurred on the night in
question, developed (Hase) into one of those genuine legendary
stories which serve to embody some particular idea (in this
instance, the walking on the water, Job ix. 8). In the same
way Baumgarten-Crusius, on John, I. p. 234, regards a case of
walking on the sea, recorded by John, as the original tradition ;
while Weisse, p. 521 (comp. Schneckenburger, erst. Jean. Ev.
p. 68), avails himself of the allegorical view; Bruno Bauer,
again, here as elsewhere, pushes negative principles to their
extreme limit; and Volkmar sees reflected in the narrative
Paul's mission to the Gentiles. Weizsacker and Keim likewise
assume, though with more caution and judgment, the allegorical
standpoint, the former being disposed to regard the interposing
CHAP. XIV. 26-32. 389
of Jesus with His help, and the power of faith in conquering
danger, as constituting the essence of the whole ; Keira again
being inclined to see in the story an allusion to the distress
and desolation of the church waiting for her Lord, and not
knowing but that He may not come to her help till the very
last watch in the night (xxiv. 43 ; Mark xiii. 35), an idea
which, as he thinks, is indebted in no small degree to Job
ix. 8, where God is represented as treading on the waves of
the sea. But even this mode of interpretation, though in
accordance, it may be, with the letter, cannot but do violence
to the whole narrative as a statement of fact. Comp., besides,
the note on John vi. 1621.
Ver. 26 ff. 'Eirl r?}9 0a A aero- 77 9 (see critical notes) : upon
the sea. Tliere, just at that spot, they saw Him walking as He
was coming toward them over the sea (ver. 25). Observe the
appropriate change of cases. For genitive, comp. Job ix. 8.
TrepnraTwv . . . eVt 6a\da<rr)<f > Lucian, Philops. xiii. e<' vSaro?
f3a8%ovTa, Ver. hist. ii. 4, al. fyavracrpa] They shared (Luke
xxiv. 37) the popular belief in apparitions (Plat. Phaed. p. 81 D :
^rv^cov afcioeiSr] ^awaa^aTa\ Eur. Sec. 54; Lucian, Philops.
29 ; Wisd. xvii. 15). Comp. the nocturnes Lemures in Horace,
Ep. ii. 2. 209. Ver. 27. e'AaX avrJ] cnro T^? (pwvrjs Sfaov
eavrov Trotet, Chrysostom. Vv. 28-31 are not found in any
of the other Gospels, but their contents are entirely in keeping
with Peter's temperament (6 iravra^ov Oeppos K. ael TWV
a\\wv 'rrpo-TT^wv, Chrysostom). /SXeTrcoz/] not: as He per-
ceived, but : as He saw ; for, when on the sea, He was in
immediate contact with the manifestations of the storm.
icaraTrovrl^ea-Oai,] "pro modo fidei ferebatur ab aqua"
(Bengel) ; namely, by the influence of Christ's power, for which
influence, however, he became unreceptive through doubt, and
accordingly began to sink.
Ver. 31 f. JEt<? rt eSterr.] Start TT/DCOTOI/ ftev eOdpprja'as,
varepov Se eSetAiWa? ; Euth. Zigabenus. For eis ri, where-
fore ? comp. xxvi. 8 ; Wisd. iv. 17 ; Sir. xxxix. 17, 21 ; Soph.
Tr. 403, Oed. C. 528, and Hermann's note. e/i^ai/rwi/
avTwv] According to John, Jesus did not go up into the boat,
but the disciples wanted to take Him on board. A difference
390 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
that may be noted, though it is of but trifling importance.
See note on John vi. 21. e/coTrao-ei/] Comp. Herod, vii. 191.
LXX. Gen. viii. 1. It became calm. Anthol. vii. 630: 77
paicpr) KCLT efjLov SvaTrXoiij KOTrdcrei, and see Wetstein.
Ver. 33. Qeov vio<i\ the Messiah. See note on iii. 17.
The impression recorded in the text was founded, so far as the
people were concerned, upon the miraculous walking on the
sea itself, and partly upon the connection which existed, and
which they recognised as existing, between the calming of the
storm and the going on board of Jesus and Peter, ol ev TW
IT\OIM are not the disciples (Hilgenfeld, Schegg, Keim, Scholten),
but those who, besides them, were crossing in the boat, the
crew and others. Comp. ol avd pea-rot,, viii. 27. By means of
an expression of this general nature they are distinguished
from the ^adrjraL (ver. 26), who had hitherto been in question.
Grotiug limits the meaning too much when he says : " ipsi
nautae" Mark omits this concluding part of the incident,
and merely records the great astonishment on the part of the
disciples. As it stands in Matthew, it is to be regarded as
connecting a traditional amplification with the episode of
Peter, which that evangelist has embodied in his narrative,
but yet as containing nothing improbable, in so far as it makes
it appear that the outburst of astonishment was so great that it
expressed itself in the acknowledgment of our Lord's Messiah -
ship, especially as it is to be borne in mind that the miraculous
feeding of the multitudes (John vi. 14, 15) had taken place
but so short a time before. Moreover, this is, according to
Matthew, the first time that Jesus was designated the Son of
God by men (iii. 17, iv. 3, viii. 29). According to John
(i. 50), He had already been so styled by Nathanael; in the
present instance He received the designation from those who,
as yet, were not of the number of His disciples.
Ver. 34. Comp. Markvi. 53 ff. Trf Tewqa-^ that beauti-
ful district of Lower Galilee, stretching along the border of the
lake, and measuring thirty stadia in length by twenty in
breadth, Josephus, Antt. iii. 10. 8, the el Guweir of the pre-
sent day; Ewald, Gesch. Chr. p. 334; Furer in Schenkel's
Bibellex. II. p. 324.
CHAP. XIV. 36. 391
Ver. 36. Summary statement, as in iv. 24. irapetcdX.']
descriptive imperfect. Kpao-ireSov] See note on ix. 20.
They wanted merely to touch Him, as in ix. 21. Biecro)-
6ricrav] were completely saved (Xen. Mem. ii. 10. 2; Luke
vii. 3), so that they quite recovered from their ailments, and
that, according to the analogy of the other miracles of healing,
just at once. Hilgenfeld is wrong in supposing that this took
place " without the medium of faith ;" as a matter of course,
faith was implied in their very 7rapaica\elv.
392 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTEE XV.
VER. 1. o/] is deleted by Lachm. and Tisch. 8, after B D N,
Curss. Or. But how readily might the article have been over-
looked, seeing that, in this passage, it might well appear super-
fluous, as rather in the way, in fact ! Had it been adopted from
Mark vii. 1 (whence, according to well-nigh the same testimony,
is derived the arrangement <&ap. /.. ypap/*., followed by Tisch. 8),
it would have been put before ypupp. Ver. 4. Iverf/Xaro
x'eyuv] Fritzsche, Lachm.: fl-irtv, which Griesb. likewise ap-
proved, after B I) T e , 1, 124, and several Verss. and Fathers.
Taken from Mark vii. 10. Ver. 5. xa! ol ^59 n priori] Lachm.
and Tisch. 8 : ou fir] TI^GII, after BCD T e N (which has r/^jj^),
Curss. Verss. and Fathers. The omission of xa/ is by way of
simplifying the construction. But the future has so much
testimony in its favour, besides that of B C D, etc., that (with
Tisch.) it must be preferred. In what follows Lachm. has
deleted 55 rfiv /j,r,repa auroD (after B D N Syr cur ). Omitted in con-
sequnce of homoeoteleuton. Ver. 6. rr]v vroXr}\i] Lachm.:
7bv Xo'/on, after B D N** Verss. and Fathers ; Tisch. : rlv vopov,
after C T e X* Curss. Ptol. The last is correct ; r. lnroX. is from
ver. 3, r. X6y. from Mark vii. 13. 6 "ha.bg euro $] Elz. Scholz :
h/yifyi pot 6 Xaoc ourog ru> Grdf^an avruv xa/, against B D L T e K,
33, 124, and many Verss. and Fathers. From the LXX.
Ver. 14. ofijjyo/ tiGt 7v<p\oi rv<p\uv\ Numerous variations;
Lachm. : rup>.o/ tlaiv ofyyo} <pXuv. So L Z N**, Curss. and many
Verss. and Fathers, and supported also by B D, 209, Syr cur ,
which latter have merely rupXo/ siaiv oBrr/oi, 1 where rvtphuv has
been displaced by the ru<pX6; immediately following. Never-
theless, we must prefer to retain the reading of the Eeceived
text, which has still strong testimony in its favour, besides
being defended by Tisch. The reading of Lachm. is an unsuc-
cessful attempt to amend the style. Ver. 15. rair?jv] deleted
by Lachm. and Tisch. 8, after B Z K, 1, Copt. Or., but it may
have been omitted all the more readily from the fact that
Mark vii. 1,7 has no demonstrative, and because the parable
CHAP. XV. l. 393
does not immediately precede. Ver. 16. 'lr,ffots] with Lachm.
and Tisch., and on the strength of important testimony,
is to be deleted as being a common supplement. Ver. 17.
OVKU] Fritzsche, Lach. and Tisch.: ou, after B D Z, 33, 238,
Syr. Syr cur Aeth. Arm. It. Vulg. Altered in conformity with
Mark vii. 19. Ver. 22. txpavyaatv al>T^>\ Lachm.: expafyv
(on the margin : expy^tv), after B D N** 1 ; Tisch. 8 : expa^*,
after Z N* 13, 124, Or. Clirys. But of the two words xpafyiv is
far more generally used in the New Testament (xpuvyafyiv occurs
again in Matthew only in xii. 19), and was further suggested
here by ver. 23. AVT&, although having rather stronger testi-
mony against it, is likewise to be maintained ; for, with the
reading Jx^auy., it proved to be somewhat in the way, and hence
it was either omitted, or interpreted by means of ovleu auroD (D,
Cant.), or placed after Xsyovaa (Vulg. and Codd. of It.). Ver. 25.
irpoasxvvnffiv] Elz. : Kpoe'.xvvu, which Fritzsche, Lachm. Scholz,
Tisch. likewise read, after Griesb. had approved of the aorist,
and Matthaei had adopted it. The greatest amount of testimony
generally is in favour of the aorist ; the greatest amount of the
oldest testimony (including Curss. B D N*, though not C), in
favour of the imperfect; the latter is to be preferred, partly
just because it is better authenticated, and partly because the
transcribers were more used to the aorist of vpoaxuv. Ver. 26.
oux sen xaXov] Fritzsche, Lachm. and Tisch.: ovx t&eri, only
after D and a few Verss. and Fathers, also Orig. Correctly ;
the reading of the Eeceived text is from Mark vii. 27. Ver.
30. Instead of ro\J 'I?j<roD we should read aOroD, with Lachm. and
Tisch., according to important testimony. Ver. 31. For XaXoDv-
ras, B, Aeth. and a few Curss. have nxovovrag. Defended by
Buttmann in the Stud. u. Krit. 1860, p. 348. It is taken from
xi. 5. For sdo^acav, Tisch. 8 reads s86%a?ov, only after L N,
Curss. Ver. 32. j^lpa/] Elz.: jj/a^ac, against decisive testi-
mony. Correction. Ver. 35 f. IxiXiuffi . . .-Xaj8w] Lachm.
and Tisch. 8 : -rapaj-ys/Xas rw o'p^Xw avaK. k. r. y. g'Xa/Ssi/ (and xai
before t^ap. below), after B 1) N, Curss. Or. An attempt to
amend the style with the help of expressions taken from Mark.
For Huxi, Tisch. 8 has ftidov, after B D, Curss. Chrys. Taken
from Markviii. 6. Ver. 39. av'sfSri] Elz. Schulz, Scholz, Lachm.
Tisch. 8 : m/3j, only after B N, Curss. Correction, because e^/S.
tig T. irX. happens to be the common form of expression ; viii. 23,
ix. 1, xiv. 32. D has sv!3a!vsi.
Ver. 1. The three sections of ch. xv., having as their
respective subjects the washing of hands (vv. 1-20), the
394 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
woman of Canaan (w. 21-31), and the feeding of the four
thousand (vv. 32-39), occur elsewhere only in Mark (vii. 8),
whom Matthew partly abridges and partly supplements.
Tore] when He was staying in the country of Gennesareth.
oi airo 'Iepo<r. jp. (see critical notes) : the scribes who be-
longed to Jerusalem, and had come from that city (Mark vii. 1).
Well-known attraction of the preposition with the article.
See Klihner, II. 1, p. 473 ff., and ad Zen. Mem. iii. 6. 11.
Comp. Acts XXL 27 ; Col. iv. 16, al.
Ver. 2. IIapdSocri<}] aypafos 8iSaa-tca\ia, Hesychius. The
Jews, founding upon Deut. iv. 14, xvii. 10, for the most part
attached greater importance to this tradition than to the
written law. Hence, Berachoth f. 3. 2 : nmiD DnaiD nn D^an
mm. Comp. Schoettgen. They laid special stress upon the
traditional precept, founded on Lev. xv. 11, which required
that the hands should be washed before every meal (orav
apTov eadioxnv, a rendering of the Hebrew Brp 73S). See
Lightfoot, Schoettgen, and Wetstein. Jesus and His disciples
ignored this TrapdSoais as suck. TWV Trpecr/Syr.] which had
been handed down from the men of olden time (their forefathers).
It is not the scribes that are meant (Fritzsche), nor the elders
of the nation (Bleek, Schegg), but cornp. Heb. XL 2. It is the
wise men of ancient times that are in view. Observe, more-
over, the studied precision and peremptory tone of the ques-
tion, which has something of an official air about it. The
growing hostility begins to show itself in an open and decided
manner.
Ver. 3. Kai] also, implies a comparison between the u^ets
and ol fMtQrjTat crov ; that is to say, the irapa/Baiveiv is acknow-
ledged to be true of both parties, the only difference being in
the matters in which the transgression is exemplified. Klotz,
ad Devar. p. 636. StA T. -rrapdS. v/j,.~\ which you observe.
Notice how the one question is met with another in the same
style, thereby rendering the reductio ad alsurdum only the
more telling. Luther appropriately remarks that " He places
one wedge against the other, and therewith drives the first
back."
Ver. 4. Ex. xx. 12, xxi. 17. rip a] involves the idea of
CHAP. XV. 5, 6. 395
a practical manifestation of reverence in the form of kind
deeds, ver. 5. Oavdrw reXevr.] HOV nio, the meaning of
which (he shall certainly die, be executed) has not been exactly hit
by the LXX. in the phrase Oavarw reX., though it is in con-
formity with Greek idiom: He shall end (ii. 19) by death
(execution, Plat. Eep. p. 492 D, and very frequently in classical
writers). See Lobeck, Paral. p. 523 ; Koster, Erldut. p. 53.
Ver. 5 f. Autpov] sc. eVri, J3"]P, a gift, tear e^o-^ijv, namely,
ta God, i.e. to the temple. See Lightfoot and, in general,
Ewald, Alterth. p. 81 ff. Vulgate, Erasmus, Castalio, Mal-
donatus connect 8copov with oxfrekyBys : a temple -offering,
which will be given by me, will bring a blessing to thee. The
conjunctive, however, is clearly independent of edv. Chry-
sostom observes correctly : Swpov effTt TOVTO ra> 6ew, b 0e\ei<f
e efjiov <afa\r)6rivai, Kal ov Bvvao-ai \a(3elv. There is an
aposiopesis after ax^eX?; #?}<?, whereupon Jesus proceeds in His
discourse with ical ov pr) u/tTjo-. But your teaching is : " Who-
ever will have said to his father: It is given to the temple,
whatever thou wouldest have got from me by way of helping
thee " (the Jews, of course, understood the apodosis to be this :
he is not bound by that commandment, but the obligation is
transferred to his Corbaii). And (in consequence of this vow)
he will certainly not be honouring. Comp. Kauffer, de 0)7)5
alcov. notione, p. 32 f., and Beza, de Wette, Keim. Some, how-
ever, postpone the aposiopesis till the close, and understand
ical ov pr) Tiprja: as forming part of what is supposed to be
spoken by the Pharisees in their teaching : But whosoever says
. . . and does not honour . . . (he is not liable to punishment).
So Fritzsche. But this is not in keeping with usage as regards
ov pij ; nor is it in itself a probable thing that the Pharisees
should have said quite so plainly that the honouring of parents
might be dispensed with. Others, again, reject the aposiopesis,
and regard KOI ov pr) rip. etc. as an apodosis, taking the words,
like the expositors just referred to, as forming part of what is
understood to be spoken by the Pharisees : " wlwever says . . . he
is not called upon, in such cases, to honour his parents as well."
Such, after Grotius, is the interpretation of Bengel, Olshausen,
Bleek; comp. Winer, p. 558 [E. T. 750, note]. According
396 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
to this view, ical would be that of the apodosis (Klotz, ad
Devar. p. 636) in a relative construction (Baeumlein, Partik,
p. 146). But oi/ firj rip. does not mean: he need not honour,
but : he assuredly will not honour ; or, as Ewald and Hofmann,
Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 391, explain it, he shall not honour,
which direct prohibition from the lips of such wily hypocrites
as those Pharisees, is far less conceivable than the prudent
aposiopesis above referred to. For &x/>e\eicr#ai ri e/c TWOS,
comp. Thuc. vi. 12. 2 : w^eX^dfj TI etc rfjs /)%?}?, Lys. xxi. 18,
xxvii. 2 ; Aesch. Prom. 222 ; Soph. Aj. 533. More frequently
with VTTO, Trapd, airo. The opposite of it is : fyfttowrGcU n e/e
TWOS, Dem. lii. 11. For the passive with accusative of the
thing, see Kiihner, II. 1, p. 279 f. teal rjKvpdxraTe] and
you have thereby deprived of its authority, rficvp. is placed first
for sake of emphasis, and is stronger than Trapa/Saivere in ver. 3.
That such vows, leading to a repudiation of the fifth command-
ment, were actually made and held as binding, is evident from
Tr. Nedarim v. 6, ix. 1. Joseph, c. Ap. i. 22. Ver. 6 is a
confirmation, and not a mere echo, of what is said in ver. 3.
Ver. 7 ff. KaXcw?] admirably, appropriately characterizing.
-jrpoe^TjT.] has predicted, which de Wette unwarrantably
denies to be the meaning of the word in the present instance,
understanding irpofy. in the sense of the inspired utterance
generally. Jesus regards Isa. xxix. 13 (not strictly in accord-
ance with the LXX.) as a typical prediction, which has found
its fulfilment in the conduct of the scribes and Pharisees.
/j,dTi)v BJ] Be denotes a continuation of the matter in hand ;
and paTfjv indicates, according to the usual explanation, that
their creftecrdai is attended with no beneficial result (2 Mace.
vii 18, and classical writers), produces no moral effect upon
their heart and life, because they teach as doctrines the
commandments of men. But seeing that the fidrirjv crejSea-dat,
consists of mere lip-service in which the heart plays no part,
thus according with the idea involved in viroKpnal, and
inasmuch as BiBda-Kovres, etc., is evidence that such is the
nature of the service, the interpretation : sine causa, found so
early as in the Vulgate, is better suited to the context. Their
cre/3ecr0at of God is meaningless (temere, comp. Soph. Aj. 634,
CHAP. XV. 10-12. 397
and Lobeck's note, Ast, Lex. Plat. II. p. 285), because they do not
teach divine, but human doctrine, the consequence of which is
that the <re/3ea-dat has no motive principle in the heart, where,
on the contrary, human interest takes the place of the fear of
God. Comp. the /iaraio? Bprjancela of Jas. i. 26. For the
opposite of such worship, consult John iv. 24. See Apol.
Conf. A., pp. 206, 256. There is no Hebrew word correspond-
ing to fjidrvjv in the above quotation from Isaiah ; probably
the text made use of by the LXX. contained a different read-
ing. evra\fi. av0p.] promulgating as doctrines, precepts of
a merely human origin; comp. Col. ii. 22.
Ver. 10. 'Exeivovs fj,ev eVto'TO/zio-a? KOI /carato^vi/a?
60? avidrovs, rpeTret Be TOV \6<yov 7rpo<? TOV o^Xov, a><? a
pov, Euth. Zigabenus. During the discussion the 0^X05 had
been standing in the background ; He invites them to come
near.
Ver. 11. Koivoi] makes common, profanes fflfy, comp.
4 Mace. vii. 6, nowhere found in classical writers ; in the
New Testament, in Acts x. 15, xi. 9, xxi. 28 ; Heb. ix. 13 ;
Eev. xxi. 27. What Jesus has in view at present is not
legal, but moral defilement, and which is not produced
(1 Tim. iv. 4) by what goes into the mouth (food and drink,
as well as the partaking of these with unwashed hands), but
by that which comes out of it (improper language). So far as
can be gathered from the context, he is not saying anything
against the Mosaic regulations relating to meats, though one
cannot help regarding what he does say as so applicable to
these, as to bring into view the prospect of their abrogation
as far as they are merely ceremonial (comp. Keim, and Weiz-
sacker, p. 463), and, as a consequence of this latter, the
triumph of the idea which they embody, i.e. their fulfilment
(v. 17). Observe, further, that it is meat and drink only in
themselves considered, that he describes as matters of indiffer-
ence, saying nothing at present as to the special circumstances
in which partaking of the one or the other might be regarded
as sinful (excess, offences, 1 Cor. viii., and so on). See ver. 1 7.
Ver. 12. IIpoa-e\0.] Matthew does not say where ? Accord-
ing to Mark vii. 17, this took place in the house. TOV \6yov]
398 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Fritzsche and many more take this as referring to vv. 3-9.
It is to understand it, with Euth. Zigabenus, as pointing to
the saying in ver. 11 (Paulus, de Wette, Baumgarten-Crusius,
Bleek). For this, addressed as it was to the multitude, must
have been peculiarly displeasing to the Pharisees ; and CLKOV-
o-ai/re? rov \6yov would, on any other supposition than the
above, be deprived of its significance as stating the ground of
offence.
Ver. 13. The correct interpretation is the ordinary one
(being also that of Ewald and Keim), according to which
</>t/Te/a is taken as a figurative way of expressing the teaching.
The fact of Jesus having attacked their teaching, in ver. 11,
had given offence to the Pharisees. Consequently He now
explains why it is that He does not spare such teaching : every
doctrine, He says, that is not of God, that is merely human in its
origin, will pass away and perish, as the result, that is, of the
Messianic reformation which is in the course of developing
itself. Nothing is said about the Pharisees personally (whom
Chrysostom supposes to be included in what is said about the
teaching) till ver. 1 4. This in answer to Fritzsche, Olshausen,
de Wette, Hilgenfeld, Bleek, who find in the words a predic-
tion of the extirpation of the Pharisees (" characters of this
stamp will soon have played out their game," de Wette).
What is expressed figuratively by means of ira<ra (jjvreia, TJV
OVK efyvrevaev o Trarijp (JLOV, is the same thing that, in ver. 9,
is designated literally as StSaovcaXia? eWaA/ttara dvOpcaTrwv.
On (frvreia, planting (Plat. Theag. p. 121 C ; Xen. Oec. vii. 20,
xix. 1), i.e. in this instance : something planted, comp. Ignatius,
ad Philad. III. ad Trail, xi., where, however, it is not used
with regard to false teaching, but with reference to false
teachers. In classic Greek the form is fyinevfjia, or <f>vrov.
Ver. 14. "A<f)eTe avrov<i] Let them alone, dismiss them.' from
your thoughts! Comp. Soph. Phil. 1043 (1054): afare jap
avrbv, fjifj^e Trpoa-^rava-r)^ e-n. " Indignos esse pronuntiat,
quorum haberi debeat ratio," Calvin. In the application of
the general saying : ru(/>\o9 Se 7v$\ov, etc., the falling into a
ditch (cistern, or any other hole in the earth, as in xii. 17) is
to be understood as a figurative expression for being cast into
CHAP. XV. 15-20. 399
Gehenna. These blind teachers, whose minds are closed
against the entrance of divine truth (comp. xxiii. 16; Rom.
ii. 19), are with their blind followers hopelessly lost ! Observe
what emphasis there is in the fourfold repetition of Tvtj>\oi,
etc. The very acme of Pharisaic blindness was their main-
taining that they were not blind, John ix. 40.
Ver. 15. C O Her/Do 9] differs, though not materially, from
Mark vii. 17. irapa^o\rf\ in this instance r>e>, a saying
embodied in some figurative representation, an apophthegm.
Etym. M. : alviyfiaTwBi)*; \6<yo$, b TroXXot \eyovffi
v n, OVK avrodev Be 7rdvTQ)<> Bfj\ov b OTTO
, a\V e^ov eVro9 Bidvoiav KeKpv^fjLevrjv. Comp. note
on xiii. 3 ; (f>pdcrov, as in xiii. 36. ravTijv] It was the say-
ing of ver. 11 that was present to Peter's mind as having
giving occasion to the words that had just fallen from Jesus.
It is just that same Xtfyo? which, according to ver. 12, had
given offence to the Pharisees. But the explanation of it
which is now furnished by Jesus is of such a nature as to be
by no means self-evident.
Ver. 16. 'AKfjLijv] in the sense of adhuc (frequently met
with in Poly bins), belongs to the Greek of a later age.
Phrynichus, p. 123, and Lobeck's note. - ical u/iel?] even
you, although you are my regular disciples.
Ver. 17 ff. Oi/TTCD vo el-re, K.T.X.] Do you not yet under-
stand that, and so on, notwithstanding all that I have already
done to develope your minds ? Food and drink are simply
things that pass into the stomach to be digested there, and
have nothing in common with man's spiritual nature, with his
reason, his will, and his affections and desires (icapSia, the
centre of the whole inner life, see note on xxii. 37). Notice
the contrast between et9 rr)i> icoi\iav (abdominal cavity, see
note on John vii. 38) and ex 7-779 KapBias. Ver. 19. Proof of
what is said in ver. 18 : for the heart is the place where
immoral thoughts, murders, adulteries, and so on, therefore
where inward and outward sins, are first conceived, and from
which they pass into actual transgressions. Accordingly, it is
that which comes out of the heart, and expresses itself by
means of the mouth (ver. 18), which defiles the man as a
400 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
moral being. The opposite case, in which the heart sends
forth what is good, presupposes conversion. The plurals
denote different instances of murder, adultery, and so on
(Klihner, II. 1, p. 15 f . ; Maetzner, ad Lycurg. p. 144 f.),
and render the language more forcible (Bremi, ad Aescliin.
p. 326). fiXaa-ffrrj/j,.] i.e. against one's neighbour, on account
of the connection with tyevSofj,. Comp. note on Eph. iv. 31.
Ver. 21. 'EiceWev] See xiv. 34. dve-^^ptja-ev] He with-
drew, to avoid being entrapped and molested by the Pharisees.
Comp. xii. 15, xiv. 13. et? ra fiepri] not: towards the
districts, versus (Syr. Grotius, Bengel, Fritzsche, Olshausen),
for the only meaning of et? that naturally and readily suggests
itself is : into the districts (ii. 22), of Tyre and Sidon. This,
however, is not to be understood as implying that Jesus had
crossed the borders of Palestine and entered Gentile territory,
which is precluded by the words of ver. 2 2 : OTTO r. opiwv ere.
e%e\6ov<Ta, but as meaning, that he went : into the (Galilean)
districts which border upon the precincts of Tyre and Sidon.
Comp. note on Mark vii. 24, according to which evangelist
Jesus does not pass through Sidon till afterwards, when pro-
ceeding farther on His way (vii. 31). This in answer -to
Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, de Wette, Arnoldi,
Bleek, Schenkel, whose expedient of supposing that Jesus
betook Himself to this Gentile valley, not for the purpose of
teaching, but to make Himself acquainted with the feelings of
the people who lived there (Schenkel), may be pronounced to
be as arbitrary as the supposition that He only wanted (Calvin)
to give praeludia quaedam of the conversion of the Gentiles.
Ver. 22. Xavavaia] Several tribes of the Canaanites, V^?,
who were the original inhabitants of Palestine, went and
settled in the north, and founded what was subsequently known
as the Phoenician nation, Winer, Realwdrterbueh. Lightfoot on
this passage. e^e\9ova-a] She crossed the frontier into the
contiguous territory of the Jews, where Jesus happened to be.
According to Paulus, the woman came out of her house;
according to de Wette, Bleek : from some place nearer the
centre of the country. Both views are in opposition to the
terms of our passage,, which plainly state where she came out
CHAP. XV. 23, 24. 401
from. vie Jay.] She so addresses Jesus, because, from living
in the neighbourhood of the Jews, she was familiar with their
Messianic expectations, and with the Messiah's title, as well
as with the Messianic reputation of Jesus. Looking to what
is said in ver. 26, she cannot be supposed to have been
a proselyte of the gate. The Gentiles also believed in
demoniacal possession. e'Xe^croy /u,e] " Suam fecerat pia
mater miseriam filiae," Bengel.
Ver. 23. At first a silent indication, and then an express
intimation of His disinclination to favour her. air6\v<rov
avrr/v] send her away, that is, with her request granted.
Bengel says well : " Sic solebat Jesus dimittere." Thus they
begged Jesus ; very frequently in the New Testament (in
Matthew, only on this occasion ; in Mark, only in vii. 2 6 ; in
Luke and John, very often ; in Paul, only in Phil. iv. 3 ;
1 Thess. iv. 1, v. 12 ; 2 Thess. ii. 1), and contrary to classical
usage, though according to the LXX. (=?$w } see Schleusner,
Thes. II. p. 529). epwrdta is used in the sense of to beg, to
request. It is not so with regard to eVe/jcoTao). See note on
xvi. 1. on icpd^et, /C.T.X.] so importunate is she.
Ver. 24. Those words are addressed to the disciples (comp.
note on x. 6) ; the answer to the woman comes afterwards in
ver. 26. It is usually supposed that what Jesus had in view
was merely to put her confidence in Him to the test (Ebrard,
Baur, Schenkel, Weiss) ; whilst Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth.
Zigabenus, Luther, Glockler, assert that His aim was to fur-
nish her with an opportunity for displaying her faith. But
the moral sense protests against this apparent cruelty of
playing the part of a dissembler with the very intention
of tormenting; it rather prefers to recognise in our Lord's
demeanour a sincere disposition to repel, which, however, is
subsequently conquered by the woman's unshaken trust (Chry-
sostom : Ka\r)v avata-^yvrlav). Ewald appropriately observes
how, on this occasion, Jesus shows His greatness in a twofold
way : first, in prudently and resolutely confining Himself to
the sphere of His own country ; and then in no less thought-
fully overstepping this limit whenever a higher reason rendered
it proper to do so, and as if to foreshadow what was going to
MATT. 2 G
402 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
take place a little farther on in the future. It was not
intended that Christ should come to the Gentiles in the days
of His flesh, but that He should do so at a subsequent period
(xxviii. 19), in the person of the Spirit acting through the
medium of apostolic preaching (John x. 16 ; Eph. ii 17).
But the difficulty of reconciling this with viii. 5, xi. 12, on
which Hilgenfeld lays some stress, as being in favour of our
present narrative, is somewhat lessened by the fact that,
according to Luke vii. 2 ff., the centurion was living in the
heart of the people, and might be said to be already pretty
much identified with Judaism ; whereas we have a complete
stranger in the case of the woman, before whom Jesus sees
Himself called upon, in consequence of their request, ver. 23,
strictly to point out to His disciples that His mission, so far
as its fundamental object was concerned, was to be confined
exclusively to Israel. Volkmar, indeed, makes out that the
words were never spoken at all ; that their teaching is of a
questionable nature ; and that the whole thing is an imitation
of the story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings
xvii.) ; while Scholten, p. 213, regards it merely as a symbolical
representation of the relation of the Gentile world to the
kingdom of God, and which had come to be treated as a fact.
Ver. 26. It is not allowable (see critical notes) to taJce
(sumere, circumstantial way of putting it, not : to take away)
the bread belonging to the children and cast it to the dogs, a
general proposition for the purpose of expressing the thought :
I must not allow the Gentiles to participate in my blessings, belong-
ing as they do only to the people of Israel (the children of God,
Eom. ix. 4). Jesus speaks " ex communi gentis loquela potius
quam ex sensu suo " (Lightfoot) ; for it was the practice
among the Jews to designate heathens (and subsequently,
Christians also) as dogs ; see Lightfoot and Wetstein, likewise
Eisenmenger, entdeckt. Judenth. I. p. 713 ff. For the diminu-
tive, see note on ver. 27. In this passage it is intended to
mitigate the harshness of the expression.
Ver. 27. Nai, as in xi. 9, 26, confirms the whole statement
of Jesus in ver. 26 (not merely the appellation of dogs, Theo-
phylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Maldonatus) ; and KCU yap
CHAP. XV. 27. 403
means, as everywhere in the New Testament, and even to a
far greater extent among classical writers (who use it but
rarely in the sense of namque, xai consequently is connective),
for even; see especially, Kiihner, II. 2, p. 855. It gives a
reason for the vai; but it is quite according to rule to regard
TO, Kvvdpia as the expression to which /cat is meant to give
prominence. Consequently the passage would run thus : Yes,
Lord, Thou art right in what Thou sayest, for even the dogs
eat of the crumbs, and so on ; or, to express it negatively (with
ovSe yap) : for even the dogs are not sent away empty, and so
on. That is to say, this /cat, so far as can be seen from the
context, cannot be intended to serve any other purpose than
to suggest a comparison between the Kvvdpia and the reicva,
so that the passage may be paraphrased as follows : Thou art
right, Lord ; for not merely the children are filled with bread
at the family-meal, but so richly is the table spread even
the dogs receive their share, inasmuch as they eat of the frag-
ments, and so on. It would therefore be but the more un-
seemly to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs, so
as possibly to leave the former unfed. But in thus justifying
her vai, icvpte, the woman seeks to suggest the inference to our
Lord that He might yet venture to give her that which is
hinted at in those ^fv^ia with which the Kvvdpia have to be
contented. Of course by this she means a share of His
abundant mercy, after the wants of Israel have been fully
supplied. Following Grotius and Kuinoel, de Wette explains
incorrectly : for it is even usual for the dogs to get nothing but
the fragments. In that case we should have expected to find :
KOI yap aTTo TWV A/rt^tW e<r0it, K.T.\. Fritzsche (cornp. Bleek,
Schegg) is likewise wrong when he explains thus : Yes, Lord,
it is allowable to give the bread to the dogs, for, and so on.
As against this view we have not merely vai, which can only
be taken as a confirming, a justifying of what Jesus had said,
not simply the ignoring of KOI yap, which it would involve,
but also the " repugnandi audacia," which is not to be excused
in consideration of the tcvpte, and the meaning itself, which
would certainly not bear out the idea of a contradiction on the
part of the woman. But if there is one thing more than
404 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
another that must not be associated with the tender language
of this woman, it is the appearance of anything like contra-
diction. Finally, all interpretations are wrong which would
necessitate our having d\\d instead of teal yap (Chrysostom,
Luther, Vatablus, Glockler, Baumgarten-Crusius). The reason
why we find Jesus, ver. 26, and consequently the woman
also, ver. 2 7, making use of the diminutive tcvvdpia (a classical
term, Plat. Euthyd. p. 298 D; Xen. Cyr. viii. 4. 20, although
discarded by Phrynichus, p. 180), is because His idea is that
of a family-meal, in connection with which it was not un-
natural to think of the little house-dogs that ran about under
the table (comp. TpaTre^fjes tcvves, Horn. II. xxiii. 173). The
plural r&v Kvpiwv may be ascribed to the fact that, in what
she says, the woman is understood to be stating what is
matter of general experience.
Ver. 28. 'Airo TT)S upas e/c.] See note on ix. 22. The
miracle is one of healing from a distance, as in viii. 13, John
iv. 46 ff., and is to be regarded neither as an allegory of Jesus'
own composing (Weisse, I. p. 527), which came subsequently
to be looked upon as the record of a miracle, nor as being a
mere case of the miraculous prediction of the future (Ammon.
L. J. II. p. 277).
Vv. 29 ff. Ilapa rrjv OaX. r. PaX.] according to Mark
vii. 31, the eastern shore. TO 0/305] the mountain just at
hand. See notes on v. 1, xiv. 22. KV\\OVS] deformed,
lame, without specifying further; but the word is used not
merely with reference to the hands or arms (comp. as evidence
to the contrary, the well-known nickname of Vulcan : KV\\O-
TroStW, Horn. //. xviii. 371, xxi. 331), but also to the feet.
eppnjrav] The Jlinging down is to be taken, not as indicating
the careless confidence (Fritzsche, de Wette, Bleek), but rather
the haste of the people, in consequence of so many sick being
brought to Jesus. Comp. Er. Schmid, Bengel. The reference
to the helplessness of the sick (Baumgarten-Crusius) would be
suited only to the case of the p^wXot and KV\\OI. Trap a
r. 7ro8a9] for as Trpoff/cvvovvre? it behoved them to prostrate
themselves before Him. Ver. 31. TOV 0ov 'Ic'p.] who
shows His care for His people by communicating to them,
CHAP. XV. 32-38. 405
through Jesus, such extraordinary blessings. 'Joyx is added
in the consciousness of the advantages they possessed over the
neighbouring Gentiles.
Ver. 32. In this second instance of feeding the multitude,
and which is likewise recorded" in Mark viii. 1 ff. (and that in
a more authentic form), Jesus takes the initiative, as in John
vi. 5 ; not so in Matt. xiv. 15. ^pepat rpei<i] because they
have remained with me, it is now three days, and, and so on.
For this elliptical way of inserting the time in the nominative,
see Winer, p. 523 [E. T. 704]; Buttinann, neut. Gr. p. 122
[E. T. 139] ; Fritzsche, ad Marc. p. 310 f. teal OVK e^ova-i.
/C.T.X.] for in the course of the three days they had consumed
the provisions they had brought along with them.
Vv. 33 ff. See note on xiv. 15 ff. f)nlv~\ " Jam intellige-
bant discipuli, suas fore in ea re partes aliquas," BengeL
ware] not a telic particle (de Wette), but what is meant is :
such a quantity of bread as will be sufficient for their wants,
and so on. The use of ware after TOO-OUTO? in a way corre-
sponding to this is of very frequent occurrence (Plat. Gory.
p. 458 C). See Sturz, Lex. Zen. IV. p. 320; Kiihner, II.
2, p. 1003. Notice the emphatic correlation of TOO-OVTOI and
rotrovTov. The perplexity of the disciples, and the fact of
their making no reference to what was formerly done under
similar circumstances, combined with the great resemblance
between the two incidents, have led modern critics to assume
that Matthew and Mark simply give what is only a duplicate
narrative of one and the same occurrence (Schleiermacher,
Scholz, Kern, Credner, Strauss, Neander, de Wette, Hase,
Ewald, Baur, Kostlin, Hilgenfeld, Holtzmann, Weiss, Weiz-
sacker, Volkmar, Keim, Scholten) ; while Wilke and Bruno
Bauer maintain, though quite unwarrantably, that in Mark
the account of the second instance of miraculous feeding is
an interpolation ; and Weiss, on the other hand, is of opinion
that this evangelist has constructed his duplicate out of mate-
rials drawn from two distinct sources (1865, p. 346 f.). As
a consequence of this duplicate-hypothesis, it has been found
necessary to question the authenticity of Matt, xvi 9 f., Mark
viii. 19. The whole difficulty in connection with this matter
406 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
arises chiefly out of the question of the disciples, and the fact
of their seeming to have no recollection of what took place
before, a difficulty which is not to be got rid of by remind-
ing us of their feeble capacities (Olshausen), but which justifies
us in assuming that there were actually two instances of
miraculous feeding of a substantially similar character, but
that (Bleek) in the early traditions the accounts came to assume
pretty much the same shape, all the more that the incidents
themselves so closely resembled each other. Ver. 34. l^Bv-
8 1 a] Observe the use of the diminutive on the part of the
disciples themselves (" extenuant apparatum," Bengel) ; the
use of tydvas, on the other hand, in the narrative, ver. 36.
Ver. 35. Ke\evetv rtvi\ occurs nowhere else in the New
Testament, though frequently in Homer and later writers
(Plat. Rep. p. 396 A). See Bornemann in the Sachs. Stud.
1843, p. 51. Ver. 37. Seven baskets full is in apposition
with TO Trepia-cr. r. K\aarp,., as in xiv. 20. (nrvpis is the term
regularly employed to denote a basket for carrying provisions
when on a journey, sporta. Comp. Arr. Ep. iv. 10. 21;
Athen. viii. p. 365 A; Valckenaer, ScJwl. I. p. 455. The
seven baskets corresponded to the seven loaves, ver. 34 ; the
twelve baskets, xiv. 20, to the twelve apostles. x^P^
yvvaiic. K. vrcuS.] See note on xiv. 21.
Ver. 39. The village of Magdala (Josh. xix. 38 ?) is not to
be regarded as situated on the east (Lightfoot, Wetstein,
Cellarius), but on the west side of the lake, where now stands
the Mohammedan village of Mcjdel. See Gesenius on Burck-
hardt, II. p. 559 ; Buckingham, L p. 404; Robinson, Pal. III.
p. 530. This situation likewise corresponds with Mark vii.
21. Comp. note on ver. 29. It is well, however, to take
note of the reading MayaSdv (B D K Syr cur Syr. in this
instance ; similarly Lachmann, Tischendorf ; comp: Erasmus
and Grotius), or MayeSdv (Vulgate, It., Jerome, Augustine),
which unknown name might readily enough have been sup-
planted by one rendered more familiar on account of its con-
nection with Mary Magdalene. In C M, Curss. the final
syllable is still retained (MaySa\dv). According to Ewald,
Magadan, or Magedan, refers to the well-known town of Megiddo.
CHAP. XV. 89. 407
But this latter was too far inland (Robinson, III. p. 413 f. ;
Purer in Schenkel's JSibellex.), for it would seem, from what is
stated in the text (aveftr) ei<? TO TT\. KOL r)\6ev), that the place
meant must have been somewhere on the shore, and one
admitting of being approached by a boat. Mark viii 10 calls
it Dalmanutha.
408 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTEE XVI
VER. 3. uToxp/ra/'] omitted before rb psv in C* D L A, Curss.
Verss. Aug. Deleted by Lachmann (who has xai instead, only
after C**) and Tisch. Correctly; borrowed from Luke xii. 56.
In accordance with important testimony, Lachm. and Tisch.
have correctly deleted D wpopfaov, ver. 4 (conip. xii. 39), as also
auroD, ver. 5. Ver. 8. IXa/Ssrg] Lachm.: t^n, after B D N,
Curss. Vulg. It, and other Verss. (not Or.). Correctly ; iXajS.
was more likely to be derived mechanically from ver. 7 than
ex. irf to have been adopted from Mark viii. 1 7. Had the latter
been the case, we should likewise have found s^o^tv in ver. 7.
Ver. 11. apTou] Scholz, Lachm. Tisch. : aprw, which Griesb.
likewise approved, in accordance with a preponderance of testi-
mony. The sing, would naturally come more readily to the
transcribers, and that on account of the material rather than
the numerical contrast. For fpoee^eiv, B C* L K, Curss. Verss.
Or. have : vpos^Ti 8s (D, Curss. and Verss., however, omitting
the 3i). Correctly adopted by Fritzsche, Lachm. Tisch. The
infinitive, as well as the omission of df, originated in the
reference of the words not having been understood. Ver. 12.
ro\j aprov] Tisch. 8 : ruv Qaptaaiuv x. 'Saddovx., only after N* 33.,
gyjcur . Lachm. has ruv apruv, which, however, is not so well
supported as in ver. 11 (B Ltf**), besides having the appear-
ance of being simply conformed to this verse. The reading of
Tisch. 8 is somewhat of a gloss. Ver. 13. pi] is omitted after
rtva in B K and several Verss. and Fathers ; in C it is found
after xiy. Deleted by Fritzsche and Tisch., bracketed by
Lachm. Omitted because, from the circumstance of r. vibv r.
av6p. following (otherwise in Mark and Luke), it seemed super-
fluous and out of place. Ver. 20. ditgreiXard] Orig. already
found JTT//i7]i' in Codd. So Lachm. after B* D, Arm. Taken
from Mark viii. 30, Luke ix. 21, for diacriXXu occurs nowhere
else in Matthew. o Xp/<rr6g] Elz., after numerous and im-
portant Codd. (also C N**) : 'irjffoDs 6 xpioros. But 'ir,<so\j$ is
omitted by very important authorities, and, as it is out of place
in the present connection, the transcriber must have inserted it
CHAP. XVL 1. 409
mechanically. Ver. 23. pou 7] B C K, 13, 124: t7 fact (so
Lachm. Tisch. 8), or i7 pou. D, Marcell, in Eus. Vulg. It. al. : 7
ifj.oi (so Fritzsche). With such a want of unanimity among the
authorities, the reading of the Eeceived text cannot be said to
have a preponderance of testimony, while the variations turn the
scales in favour of 7J,aoS. Ver. 26. wpXs/Ya/] Lachm. Tisch.:
J)>Aj0J3<rcra/, after B L N, Curss. Verss. Or. Cyr. Chiys. Altered
to be in conformity with the verbs in the future that precede
and follow. Comp. also Mark viii. 36, 37. Ver. 28. ruv &&e
Elz. : ruv uds terqxoTuv, after K M n. Fritzsche: ruy
g, after Ev. 49. Both are to be rejected, owing to the
testimony being too inadequate. Scholz and Tisch. 7 : uds
s, after EFGHVXrA, Curss. No doubt ruv uds
is supported by the preponderating testimony of B C D
L S U N, Curss. Or. Ephr. Chrys. Epiph. Theodoret, Damasc.,
and adopted by Griesb. Lachm. Tisch. 8; still it is clearly taken
from Mark ix. 1, Luke ix. 27. It therefore remains that uds
is the correct reading.
Ver. 1 ff. Comp. Mark viii. 11 ff. Not a duplicate of the
incident recorded in xii. 38 (Strauss, de Wette, Bruno Bauer,
Schneckenburger, Volkmar, Weizsacker, Bleek, Scholten), but
a second demand for a sign, and that from heaven, in which
respect it is distinguished from the first. With regard to the
alliance between Pharisees and Sadducees, supposed by some
to be utterly improbable (de Wette, Strauss, Weiss, Scholten),
it is sufficient to say, with Theophylact : KUV rot? Soyfiaat
BiicrravTo H?apia-aloi Kal ^aSSovKaloi, a\Xa ye Kara XpicrTov
crv/jLirveovcn' arj^elov Se e TOV ovpavov KflTOvcrw, e&o/covv yap,
on ra 6Trl T?}S 7775 (fq^iela a?ro Sai/iovi/cris Swa/nea)? Kal ev
Bee\%e/3ov\ yivovrai. In the unbelieving hostility with which
they are animated, they demand of Him the very highest sign
which the Messiah would be expected to give (xxiv. 29 f. ;
Joel iii 3 f.), intending thereby to have Him put to the test,
but thinking, all the time, that it would be beyond His power
to comply with their demand. eTryptaTrjaav] Their chal-
lenge was put in the form of inquiry. The compound eVe/3o>-
rav never means : to request, to leg ; see note on xv. 23.
Their questions had reference to such a sign, by way of
Messianic credential, as, coming from heaven, would be visible
410 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
to their outward eye. e7rtSe*fcu] spectandum praelere, John
ii. 18.
Vv. 2, Sf. 1 Lightfoot, p. 373: " Curiosi erant admodum
Judaei in observandis tempestatibus coeli et temperamento
aeris." Babyl. Joma f. 21. 8 ; Hieros. Taanith f. 65. 2. For
Greek and Eoman testimonies relative to the weather signs
in our passage, see Wetstein. evSla] clear weather! An
exclamation in which it is not necessary to supply carat,
except, perhaps, in the way of helping the grammatical
analysis, as also in the case of o-rffjuepov '^eiyMv (stormy weather
to-day /). For the opposite of evSla and ^eif^fiov, comp. Xen.
Hell. ii. 3. 10: ev evSia ^etfj-wva irotovcriv. aTvyvd^tov]
being lowering. See note on Mark x. 22. TO Trpoa-covrov]
" Omnis rei facies externa," Dissen, ad Find. Pyth. vi. 14,
p. 273. TO; Se arj^eia TWV icaipwv] the significant pheno-
mena connected with passing events, the phenomena which
present themselves as characteristic features of the time, and
point to the impending course of events^ just as a red sky at
evening portends fine weather, and so on. The expression is
a general one, hence the plural T&V icaipwv ; so that it was a
mistake to understand the frrjpeia as referring to the miracles
of Christ (Beza, Kuinoel, Fritzsche). Only when the reproach
expressed in this general form is applied, as the Pharisees
and Sadducees were intending to apply it, to the existing
Kaipos, do the miracles of Christ fall to be included among the
signs, because they indicate the near approach of the Messiah's
kingdom. In like manner the fulfilment of Old Testament
prophecy, such as was to be traced in the events that were
then taking place (Grotius), was to be regarded as among the
signs in question, as also the Messianic awakening among the
people, Matt. xi. 12 (de Wette, Baumgarten-Crusius). Accord-
ing to Strauss, the saying in vv. 2, 3 is inconceivable. But
the truth is, it was peculiarly in keeping with the thoughtful
1 The whole passage from Inlets on to Su<r&, ver. 3, is omitted in B V
X r N, Curss. Codd. in Jerom. Syr " Arm. Or. (?), while in E it is marked with
an asterisk. Tisch. 8 encloses it in brackets. The omission is certainly not to
be explained on the physical ground (Bengel) that these signs of the weather
are not applicable to every climate, but from the fact that a similar saying does
uot happen to be found in the corresponding passage in Mark.
CHAP. XVI. 5, 6. 411
manner of Jesus, if, when a sign from heaven was demanded,
He should refer those demanding it to their own practice of
interpreting the appearances of the sky, so as to let them see
how blinded they were to the signs that already existed. A
similar saying is found in Luke xii. 54 f., where, however, it
is addressed to the multitude. There is no reason for thinking
that it appears in its authentic form only in Matthew (de
Wette), or only in Luke (Schleiermacher, Holtzmann), for
there is nothing to prevent us from supposing that Jesus may
have used similar and in itself very natural language on
several occasions. /cat KaTa\nr. avr: airri\0e\ depicting
in a simple way the "justa severitas" (Bengel) shown toward
those incorrigibles. Comp. xxi. 1 7. Gomp., besides, the note
on xii. 39:
Ver. 5. This, according to Fritzsche, is the voyage men-
tioned in xv. 39, so that the disciples are supposed to have
come shortly after " in eum ipsum locum, quern Jesus cum
Pharisaeis disputans : tenebat." Unjustifiable deviation from
the very definite account in Mark viii. 13. After disposing
of the Pharisees and Sadducees, Jesus- crossed over again to
the east side of the lake along with His disciples ; but
Matthew mentions only oi fUidrjTai, because they alone happen
to form the subject of eTreXdQovro, though ver. 6 shows,
beyond all doubt, that Jesus crossed along with them. e-TreXa-
Oovro] is neither to be taken (Erasmus, Calvin, Paulus, Hil-
genfeld) as a pluperfect (see, on the other hand, note on John
xviii. 24), nor as equivalent to " viderunt se oblitos esse" (Beza,
Kuinoel> Fritzsche), but thus : after the disciples had reached
the east side, they forgot to provide themselves with bread (to
serve them for a longer journey). After coming on shore
they should have obtained a supply of provisions in view of
having a further journey before them, but this they forgot.
According to Mark viii. 1 4 if., which in this instance also is
the more authentic version, the following conversation is not
to be understood as having taken place in the boat (Keim,
Weiss), but in the course of the further journey after going
on shore.
Ver. 6. The craft and malice of the Pharisees and Saddu-
412 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
cees were still fresh in His memory, w. 1-4. ^v^tjv rrjv
SiSa^is] tcd\<rev, to? ogtoSrj KOI <ra.7rpdv (Euth. Zigabenus) ;
see ver. 12. The allusion is to their peculiar sectarian views,
in so far as they deviated from the law. The expression is
explained differently in Luke xii. 1. Comp. note on GaL v. 9 ;
1 Cor. v. 6. For the figurative use of "INK> by the Eabbis (as
denoting the infecting influence of any one who is bad), see
Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. p. 2303. Lightfoot on this passage.
Used differently again in xiii. 33.
Ver. 7 f. Owing to the notion of bread being associated in
their minds with that of leaven, the words of Jesus led them
to notice that their supply of the former article was exhausted,
so that they supposed all the time that His object was to warn
them against taking bread from the Pharisees and Sadducees.
8ie\oyiovTo] not disceptabant (Grotius, Kypke, Kuinoel),
but : they consulted among themselves, i.e. they deliberate
(X^/o^re?) over the matter within their own circle without say-
ing anything to Jesus, who, however, from His being able to
penetrate their thoughts, is quite aware of what is going on,
ver. 8. Comp. Xen. Mem. iii. 5. 1. ort] not: recitative, but :
(He says that) because we have not provided ourselves with bread.
In ver. 8 it means : over the fact, that. ri 8ia\oy.~] why,
and so on, how meaningless and absurd it is !
Ver. 9 f. After those two miracles you have so recently
witnessed (xiv. 15, xv. 32), have you still so little penetration
as not to understand that the thing to which I am alluding is
not literal bread, which you ought to have depended (0X470-
TTio-r.) on my being able to supply whenever occasion might
require, but rather to something of a spiritual nature ? Jesus
lays no more stress here than He does elsewhere upon the
physical benefit of His bread-miracle (de Wette), but simply
makes use of it in the way of suggesting deeper reflection.
The difference between KO$. and tnrvp. does not lie in
cnrvpis being larger (Bengel, which does not follow from Acts
ix. 25), but in the fact that /co<>o<? is a general term, whereas
CTTTV/J/? denotes a food-basket in particular. See note on
xiv. 20, xv. 37.
Ver. 11. IIS><i] how is it possible! Astonishment in
CHAP. XVI. 13. 413
which a certain amount of censure is expressed. Trpoo-e^ere
Be] see critical notes. It is not necessary to supply elirov
(Paulus, Fritzsche), but we are rather to understand that after
the question ending with elirov vjuv, Jesus repeats, and with a
view to its being yet more deeply pondered, the warning
given in ver. 6, in which case Be is simply continuative
(autem) : But (let me say again) beware, and so on.
Ver. 13 ff. Comp. Mark viii. 27 ff. ; Luke ix. 18 ff. (which
latter evangelist rejoins, at this point, the synoptic narrative,
having left it immediately after recording the first miraculous
feeding of the multitude, a circumstance which is sometimes
alleged as a reason for doubting the authenticity of the second
miracle of this kind). Caesarea Philippi, a town in Gaulonitis,
at the foot of Mount Lebanon, which was formerly known by
the name of Paneas, Plin. N. H. v. 15. Philip the tetrarch
enlarged and embellished it (Joseph. Antt. xviii. 2, Bell. ii.
9. 1), and called it Caesarea in honour of Caesar (Tiberius).
It received the name of Philippi in order to distinguish it
from Caesarea Palestinae. Robinson, Pal. III. pp. 612, 626 ff.,
and neuere Forsch. p. 531 ff. ; Eitter, Erdk XV. 1, p. 194 ff.
rbv viov rov avdpwirov] See, in general, note on
viii. 20. The words are in characteristic apposition with A*e.
That is to say, Matthew does not represent Jesus as asking in
a general way (as in Mark and Luke) who it was that the
people supposed Him to be, but as putting the question in this
more special and definite form : whom do the people suppose me,
as the Son of man, to be ? He had very frequently used this
title in speaking of Himself ; and what He wanted to know
was, the nature of the construction which the people put upon
the designation in Daniel, which He had ascribed to Himself,
whether or not they admitted it to be applicable to Him in its
Messianic sense. Comp. Holtzmann in Hilgenfeld's Zeitschr.
1865, p. 228. From the answer it appears that, as a rule, He
was not being taken for the Messiah as yet (that consequently
the more general appellation : o uto? rod avOp., was not as yet
being applied to Him in the special sense in which Daniel
uses it), He was only regarded as a forerunner ; but the dis-
ciples themselves had understood Him to be the Son of man
41-i THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
in Daniel's sense of the words, and, as being such, they looked
upon Him as the Messiah, the Son of God. Accordingly it is
not necessary to regard T. vlov r. av&p. as interpolated by
Matthew (Holtzmann, Weizsacker), thereby destroying the
suggestive correlation in which it stands to the expression,
Son of God, in Peter's reply. It is not surprising that Strauss
should have been scandalized at the question, seeing that he
understood it in the anticipatory sense of : " whom do the
people suppose me to be, who am the Messiah ? " Beza inserts
a mark of interrogation after elvai, and then takes the follow-
ing words by themselves thus : an Messiam ? But this would
involve an anticipation on the 'part of the questioner which
would be quite out of place. De Wette (see note on viii. 20)
imports a foreign sense into the passage when he thus explains :
" whom do the people say that I am, I, the obscure, humble
man who have before me the lofty destiny of being the Messiah,
and who am under the necessity of first of all putting forth
such efforts in order to secure the recognition of my claims ? "
Keim's view is correct, though he rejects the fie (see critical
notes). Observe, moreover, how it was, after He had performed
such mighty deeds in His character of Messiah, and had pre-
pared His disciples by His previous training of them, and
when feeling now that the crisis was every day drawing nearer,
that Jesus leads those disciples to avow in the most decided
way possible such a conviction of the truth of the Christian
confession as the experience of their own hearts might by this
time be expected to justify. Com p. note on ver. 17. As for
themselves, they needed a religious confession thus deeply
rooted in their convictions to enable them to confront the
trying future on which they were about to enter. And to
Jesus also it was a source of comfort to find Himself the
object of such sincere devotion; comp. John vi. 67 ff. But
to say that it was not till now that He Himself became con-
vinced of His Messiahship (Strauss, before 1864, Schenkel), is
to contradict the whole previous narrative in every one of the
evangelists. Comp. Weizsacker, Keim, Weissenborn, p. 41 ff.
Ver. 14 f. 'Icoavvijv rbv ySaTrr.] Their opinion is similar
to that of Antipas, xiv. 2. 'H\iav~] These a\\oi cannot,
CHAP. XVI. 1C, 17. 415
therefore, have realized in the person of the Baptist that
coming of Elias which was to precede the advent of the
Messiah. erepot, Be] a distinct class of opinion which,
whatever may have been the subsequent view, was not at that
time understood to be in any way connected with the expected
coming of Elias. For ere/jo?, comp. note on 1 Cor. xii. 9,
xv. 40 ; 2 Cor. xi. 4; Gal. i. 6. As forerunner of the Messiah
they expected Jeremiah, who at that time was held in very
high repute (Ewald, ad Apoc. XI. 3), or some other ancient
prophet (risen from the dead). Bertholdt, Christol. p. 58 f.
rj eva rwv 7rpo<f>.~] where we are not to suppose a\\ov to be
understood (Fritzsche), but should rather regard the persons in
question as intending to say (in a general way) : it is el? row
7rpo<f). ! without mentioning any one in particular. For el?,
see note on viii. 19. vpeis Se] from them He expected a
very different kind of confession, and He was not disappointed.
Ver. 16. As was to be expected from his impetuous
character, his personal superiority, as well as from the future
standing already assigned him in John i. 43, Peter (TO crro/ta
T&V aTrooToAtBi/, Chrysostom) assumes the part of spokesman,
and in a decided and solemn manner (hence : 6 wo? TOV 6eov
TOV &)z/T09, the higher, and not, as in xiv. 33, the merely
theocratic meaning of which the apostle could as yet but dimly
apprehend, it being impossible for him to understand it in all
its clearness till after the resurrection, comp. note on Eom.
i. 4) declares Jesus to be the Messiah (6 Xpia-ro^, the Son of
the living God (TOV aWo9, in contrast to the dead idols of the
heathen). Both elements combined, the work and the person
constituted then, as they do always, the sum of the Christian
confession. Comp. xxvi. 63; John xi. 27, xx. 31 ; Phil. ii.
11 ; 1 John ii. 22 f. Observe the climax at the same time ;
" nam cognitio de Jesu, ut est filius Dei, sublimior est quam
de eodem, ut est Christus," Bengel.
Ver. 17. Simon, son pa) of Jona, a solemnly circumstan-
tial style of address, yet not intended as a contrast to the
designation of him as Peter which is about to follow (de
Wette), in connection with which view many expositors have
allegorized the Bapicard in an arbitrary and nugatory fashion,
416 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
but merely on account of the importance of the subsequent
statement, in which case Bapiwva is to be ascribed to the
practice of adding the patronymic designation, and blending the
/3dp. with the proper name (x. 3 ; Acts xiii. 6 ; Mark x. 46).
OTI] because thou art favoured far above my other fol-
lowers in having had such a revelation as this. <rapt; K.
alpa] 071 "it?3 (among the Kabbis), paraphrastic expression for
man, involving the idea of weakness as peculiar to his bodily
nature, Sir. xiv. 1 8 ; Lightfoot on this passage ; Bleek's
note on Heb. ii. 14. Cornp. the note on Gal. i. 16 ; Eph. vi. 12.
Therefore to be interpreted thus : no weak mortal (mortalium
ullus) has communicated this revelation to thee ; but, and so on.
Inasmuch as aTroKaXinrreiv, generally, is a thing to which no
human being can pretend, the negative half of the statement
only serves to render the positive half all the more emphatic.
Others refer trap!; K. alpa to ordinary knowledge and ideas
furnished by the senses, in contradistinction to irve.v^a (de
Wette, following Beza, Calvin, Calovius, Neander, Olshausen,
Glockler, Baumgarten-Crusius, Keim). Incorrectly, partly
because the lower part of man's nature is denoted simply by
<rap%, not by <rap% K. alpa (in 1 Cor. xv. 50 the expression
flesh and blood is employed in quite a peculiar, a physical
sense), partly because airefcd\v^e (xi. 25) compels us to think
exclusively of a knowledge which is obtained in some other
way than through the exercise of one's human faculties. For
a similar reason, the blending of both views (Bleek) is no less
objectionable. It must not be supposed that, in describing
this confession as the result of a divine revelation, there is
anything inconsistent with the fact that, for a long time before,
Jesus had, in word and deed, pointed to Himself as the Mes-
siah (comp. above all the Sermon on the Mount, and such
passages as xi. 5 f., 27), and had also been so designated by
others (John the Baptist, and such passages as viii. 29, xiv.
33), nay, more, that from the very first the disciples them-
selves had recognised Him as the Messiah, and on the strength
of His being so had been induced to devote themselves to His
person and service (iv. 19 ; John i. 42, 46, 50); nor are we
to regard the point of the revelation as consisting in the 6 wo?
CHAP. XVI. 17. 417
T. Oeov T. &5vTo<?, sometimes supposed (Olshausen) to indicate
advanced, more perfect knowledge, a view which it would be
difficult to reconcile with the parallel passages in Mark and
Luke ; but observe : (1) That Jesus is quite aware that, in
spite of the vacillating opinions of the multitude, His disciples
continue to regard Him as the Messiah, but, in order to
strengthen and elevate both them and Himself before begin-
ning (ver. 21) the painful and trying announcement of His
future sufferings, and as furnishing a basis on which to take
His stand in doing so, He seeks first of all to elicit from them
an express and decided confession of their faith. (2) That
Peter acts as the mouthpiece of all the others, and with the
utmost decision and heartiness makes such a declaration of
his belief as, at this turning-point in His ministry, and at a
juncture of such grave import as regards the gloomy future
opening up before Him, Jesus must have been longing to hear,
and such as He could not fail to be in need of. (3) That
He, the heart- searching one, immediately perceives and knows
that Peter (as o rov 'Xppov rwv aVo<rr6X&>i> icopv^aios, Chry-
sostom) was enabled to make such a declaration from his having
been favoured with a special revelation from God (xi. 27),
that He speaks of the distinction thus conferred, and connects
with it the promise of the high position which the apostle is
destined to hold in the church. Consequently a7re/ca'\injre is
not to be understood as referring to some revelation which
had been communicated to the disciples at the outset of their
career as followers of Jesus, but it is to be restricted to Peter,
and to a special revelation from God with which he had been
favoured. This- confession, founded as it was upon such a
revelation, must naturally have been far more deliberate, far
more deeply rooted in conviction, and for the Lord and His
work of far greater consequence, than that contained in the
exclamation of the people in the boat (xiv. 33) when under
the influence of a momentary feeling of amazement, which
latter incident, however, our present passage does not require
us to treat as unhistorical (Keim and others) ; comp. note on
xiv. 33. Observe, further, how decidedly the joyful answer
of Jesus, with the great promise that accompanies it, forbids
MATT. a D
418 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the supposition that He consented to accept the title and
dignity of a Messiah only from " not being able to avoid a
certain amount of accommodation" to the ideas of the people
(Schenkel; see, on the other hand, Weissenborn, p. 43 ff.).
Ver. 18. But I again say to thee. The point of the com-
parison in Kay& is, that Peter having made a certain declara-
tion in reference to Jesus, Jesus also, in His turn, now does
the same in reference to Peter. Trer/oo?] as an appellative :
thou art a rock, Aram. N^s. The form o Trerpos * is likewise
common among classical writers, and that not merely in the
sense of a stone, as everywhere in Homer in contradistinction
to 7TTpa (see Duncan, p. 937, ed. Eost, and Buttmann, Lexil.
II. p. 179), but also as meaning a rock (Plat. Ax. p. 371 E:
Sto-vfov TreT/30?; Soph. Phil. 272, 0. G. 19, 1591; Pind. Nem.
iv. 46, x. 126). Jesus declares Peter to be a rock on account
of that strong and stedfast faith in himself to which, under
the influence of a special revelation from God, he had just
given expression. According to John i. 43, however, Jesus
conferred the name Cephas upon him at their very first inter-
view (according to Mark iii. 16, somewhat later); but our
passage is not to be understood as simply recording the giving
of the name, or the giving of it for the second time. It is
rather intended to be taken as a record of the declaration
made by Jesus, to the effect that Simon was in reality all that
the name conferred upon him implied. Consequently our
passage is in no way inconsistent with that of John just
referred to, which could only have been the case if the words
used had been <rv K^Orjcr^ HeTpos. /cat CTTI ravry rfj
n-erpa] The emphasis is on ravrp, which points to Peter (not
to Jesus, as Augustine would have us suppose), and to be
understood thus : on no other than on this rock, hence the
feminine form in this instance, because it is not so much a
question of the name as of the thing which it indicates, i.e. of
that rocky element in the apostle's character which furnished
1 Among the later poets *> -r'tTfos is likewise to be met with. See Jacobs, ad
Anthol. XIII. p. 22. The name nirpei is also to be found in Greek writers of a
later age (Leont. SchoL 18) ; more frequently in the form ntrfcun (Lobeck,
Paral. p. 342).
CHAP. xvi. is. 419
so solid a foundation for the superstructure of the church that
was to be built upon it. otKoSo/t^crto ftou rr^v KK\r)criav]
will I build for myself (JAOV, as in viii. 3, and frequently ; see
note on John xi. 32) the church. The e/c\7;cria in the Old
Testament ^\>, Deut. xviii. 16, xxiii. 1, Judg. xxi. 8, the
whole assembly of the Jewish people (Acts vii. 38), the
theocratic national assembly (comp. Sir. xxiv. 1, and Grimm's
note) is used in the New Testament to denote the community
of believers, the Christian church, which, according to a common
figure (1 Cor. iii. 10 f . ; Eph. ii 19 ff.; Gal. ii. 9 ; 1 Pet. ii.
4 f.), is represented as a building, of which Christ here speaks
of Himself as the architect, and of Peter as the foundation on
which a building is to be raised (vii. 24 f.) that will defy
every effort to destroy it. But the term eV/cX. was in such
current use in its theocratic sense, that it is not necessary to
suppose, especially in the case of a saying so prophetic as this,
that it has been borrowed from a later order of things and put
into Jesus' mouth (Weisse, Bleek, Holtzmann). Besides, there
can be no doubt whatever that the primacy among the apostles
is here assigned to Peter, inasmuch as Christ singles him
out as that one in particular whose apostolic labours will, in
virtue of the stedfast faith for which he is peculiarly dis-
tinguished, be the means of securing, so far as human effort
can do so (comp. Eev. xxi. 14 ; Gal. ii. 9), the permanence
and stability of the church which Jesus is about to found, and
to extend more and more in the world. As in accordance
with this, we may also mention the precedence given to this
disciple in the catalogues of the apostles, and likewise the
fact that the New Testament uniformly represents him as
being, in point of fact, superior to all the others (Acts xv. 7,
ii. 14 ; Gal. i. 18, ii. 7, 8). This primacy must, be impartially
conceded, though without involving those inferences which
Eomanists have founded upon it ; for Peter's successors are
not for a moment thought of by Jesus, neither can the popes
claim to be his successors, nor was Peter himself ever bishop
of Eome, nor had he any more to do with the founding the
church at Rome than the Apostle Paul (for the false reasoning
on this subject, see Dbllinger, Christcnth. u. Kirche, p. 315 ff.).
420 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
The explanation frequently had recourse to in anti-popish
controversies, to the effect that the rock does not mean Peter
himself, but his stedfast faith and the confession he made of it l
(Calovius, Ewald, Lange, Wieseler), is incorrect, because the
demonstrative expression : eVi ravry TTJ trk-rpa, coming imme-
diately after the crv el -Trerpo?, can only point to the apostle
himself, as does also the teal Bctxrco, etc., which follows, it being
understood, of course, that it was in consideration of Peter's
faith that the Lord declared him to be a foundation of rock.
It is this circumstance also that underlies the reference to the
apostle's faith on the part of the Fathers (Ambrose : " non de
carne Petri, sed de fide ; " comp. Origen, Cyril, Chrysostom,
Augustine). The expression: irv\ai aSov (which does not
require the article, Winer, p. 118 f. [E. T. 147 ff.J), is to be
explained by the circumstance that because Hades is a place
from which there is no possibility of getting out again (Eusta-
thius, ad Od. xi. 276 ; Blomfield, Gloss, in Aesch. Pers. p. 164),
it is represented under the figure of a palace with strong gates
(Cant. viii. 6 f. ; Job xxxviii. 1 7 ; Isa. xxxviii 10; Ps. ix.
14, evil 18 ; Wisd. xvi. 13 ;,3 Mace. v. 51 ; Ev. Nicod. xxi.,
and Thilo's note, p. 718 ; more frequently also in Homer, as
//. viii. 15; Aesch. Agam. 1291; Eur. Hipp. 56). ov
KaTia^vaovaiv aur?}?] So securely will I build my church
upon this rock, that the gates of Hades will not be able to resist
it, will not prove stronger than it ; indicating, by means of a
comparison, the great strength and stability of the edifice of the
church, even when confronted with so powerful a structure as
that of Hades, the gates of which, strong as they are, will yet
not prove to be stronger than the building of the church ; for
when the latter becomes perfected in the Messianic kingdom
at the second coming, then those gates will be burst open, in
order that the souls of the dead may come forth from the
subterranean world to participate in the resurrection and the
glory of the kingdom (comp. note on 1 Cor. xx. 54 f.), when
1 Comp. Luther's gloss : "All Christians are Peters on account of the con-
fession here made by Peter, which confession is the rock on which he and all
Peters are built." Melauchthon, generalizing the xirpa, understands it in the
sense of the verum ministerium. Comp. Art. Smalc. p. 345.
CHAP. XVI. 18. 421
death (who takes away the souls of men to imprison them in
Hades), the last enemy, has been destroyed (1 Cor. xv. 26).
So far the victory of the church over Hades is, of course,
affirmed, yet not in such a way as to imply that there had
been an attack made by the one upon the other, but so as to
convey the idea that when the church reaches her perfected
condition, then, as a matter of course, the power of the nether
world, which snatches away the dead and retains them in its
grasp, will also be subdued. This victory presupposes faith
on the part of the Kara^Oovioi (Phil. ii. 10), and consequently
the previous descensus Christi ad inferos. Moreover, had He
chosen, Christ might have expressed Himself thus : KOI irvKuv
aSov KaTMrxya-ei ; but, keeping in view the comparative idea
which underlies the statement, He prefers to give prominence
to " the gates of Hades " by making them the subject, which
circumstance, combined with the use of the negative form of
expression (Eev. xii. 8), tends to produce a somewhat solemn
effect. Kana^veiv TWOS '. praevalere adversus aliguem (Jer.
xv. 18 ; Ael. N. A.v. 19 ; comp. avna^yetv rtz/o?, Wisd. vii. 30,
and la"xyeiv Kara 7*1/09, Acts xix. 16). If we adopt the no less
grammatical interpretation of: to overpower, to subdue (Luther
and the majority of commentators), a most incongruous idea
emerges in reference to the gates, and that whether we under-
stand the victory as one over the devil (Erasmus, Luther,
Beza, Calvin, Calovius, Maldonatus, Michaelis, Keim) or over
death (Grotius) ; for the gates of Hades would thus be repre-
sented as the attacking side, which would hardly be appropriate,
and we would have to suppose what, on the other hand, would
be foreign to the sense, that all the monsters of hell would
rush out through the opened gates (Ewald, comp. also Weiz-
sacker, p. 494). The point of the comparison lies simply in
the strength that distinguishes such solid gates as those of
Hades, and not also in the Oriental use of the gates as a place
of meeting for deliberation (Glockler, Arnoldi), as though the
hostile designs of hell were what was meant. Notwithstanding
the progressive nature of the discourse and the immediate
subject, Wetstein and Clericus refer avrrjs to Peter (ravrp T.
jrerpa), and suppose the meaning to be : " eum in discrimen
422 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
vitae venturum, nee tamen eo absterritum iri," etc. Xotice,
besides, the grandeur of the expression : " grandes res etiam
grandia verba postulant," Dissen, ad Find. p. 715.
Ver. 19. And I will give to thee the keys of the Messianic
kingdom, 1 i.e. the power of deciding as to who are to be
admitted into or excluded from the future kingdom of the
Messiah. For the figurative expression, comp. Luke xi. 52 ;
Eev. i. 18, iii. 7, ix. 1, x. 1 ; Isa. xxii. 22 ; Ascens. Isa.
vi. 6. 8 co era)] The future expresses the idea of a promise
(the gift not being, as yet, actually conferred), as in the case
of olKoSofiija-Q), pointing forward to the time when Christ
will no longer administer the affairs of the church in a direct
and personal manner. This future already shows that what
was meant cannot have been the office of preaching the gospel,
which preaching is supposed to lead to admission into the
kingdom of heaven, wherever God has prepared men's hearts
for its reception (Diisterdieck, Julius Muller). The similitude
of the keys corresponds to the figurative olfcoSo/j,., ver. 18, in
so far as the e/cX^o-/a, ver. 18 (which is to be transformed
into the /Sao-tXet'a T. ovp. at the second coming), is conceived
of as a house, the doors of which are opened and locked by
means of keys (generally, not exactly by two of them). In regard
to Peter, however, the figure undergoes some modification, in-
asmuch as it passes from that of the foundation of rock, not
certainly into the lower one of a gate-keeper, but (comp.
Luke xii. 4; 1 Cor. iv. 1, ix. 17; Tit. i. 7) into that of
an oifcovofios (rapias, Isa. xxii. 15 ff.), from the ordinary
relation of a disciple to the church to the place of authority
hereafter to be assigned him in virtue of that relation.
The authority in question is that of a house-steward, who is
empowered to determine who are to belong and who are not
to belong to the household over which his master has com-
missioned him to preside. 2 All this is expressed by means of
1 See Ahrens, d. Amt. Schlussel, 1864; Steitz in the Stud. u. Krit. 1866,
p. 436 ff. ; likewise the reviews of the first-mentioned work in the Erlang.
Zeitschr. 1865, 3, p. 137 ff. ; and that of Diisterdieck m the Stud. u. Krit.
1865, p. 743 ; Julius Muller, dogm. Abh. p. 496 ff.
2 There is no force in the objection that this would be to confound the keys
of the hotise-steward with those of the porter (Ahrens). The keys of the
CHAP. xvi. 19. 423
an old and sacred symbol, according to which the keys of the
house are promised to Peter, " that he may open and no man
shut, that he may shut and no man open" (Isaiah as ahove).
For the forms Xet<? and (as Tischendorf 8, on inadequate
testimony) /cXetSa?, see Kiihner, I. p. 357. ical o eavSijcr)*;
/c.T.X] a necessary adjunct of this power: and whatsoever
thou wilt have forbidden upon earth will be forbidden in
heaven (by God), so that it will, in consequence, prevent
admission into the Messianic kingdom; and whatsoever thou,
wilt have permitted upon earth (as not proving a hindrance
in the way of admission to the future kingdom) will be per-
mitted in heaven. It will depend on thy decision which
God will ratify what things, as being forbidden, are to
disqualify for the kingdom of the Messiah, and what things,
as being allowed, are to be regarded as giving a claim to
admission. Seeiv and \veiv are to be traced to the use, so
current among the Jews, of "IDS and "Win, in the sense of to
forbid and to allow. Lightfoot, p. 378 ff . ; Schoettgen, II.
p. 894 f., and Wetstein on this passage; Lengerke's note on
Dan. vi. 8; Rosenmiiller, Morgenl. V. 67; Steitz, p. 438 f.
Following Lightfoot, Vitringa, Schoettgen, and others, Fritzsche,
Ahrens, Steitz, Weizsacker, Keim, Gess (I. p. 68), Gottschick
in the Stud. u. Krit. 1873, also adopt this interpretation of
those figurative expressions. In the face of this common
house are entrusted to the steward for the purpose of opening and locking it ;
this is all that the figure implies. Whether he opens and locks in his own
person, or has it done through the medium of a porter, is of no consequence
whatever, and makes no difference as far as the thing intended to be symbolized
is concerned. The power of the keys belongs, in any case, to the tl*nii*t t and
not to the fvpupos. The view of Ahrens, that the keys are to be regarded as
those of the rooms, and of the place in which the family provisions are stored,
the <ra.ft.iiov, the contents of which it is supposed to be the duty of the steward
to distribute (so also Dollinger, Christenth. u. Kirche, p. 31), is in opposition
to the fact that the thing which is to be opened and locked must be understood
to be that which is expressed by the genitive immediately after *Xu'j (accord-
ingly, in this instance, the kingdom, not the T^H), comp. note on Luke
xi. 52, likewise Isaiah as above. Moreover, according to the explanation of
Ahrens, those, on whose behalf the Tupi'sts uses his keys, would have to be
regarded as already within the kingdom and participating in its blessings, so
that there would be no further room for the idea of exclusion, which is not in
keeping with the contrast which follows.
424 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
usage, it would be arbitrary and absurd to think of any other
explanation. The same may be said not only of the reference
to the supreme administrative power in general (Aruoldi and
the older Catholics), or to the treasures of grace in the church,
which Peter is supposed to be able to withhold or bestow as
he may deem proper (Schegg), but likewise of the view which
represents the words as intended to indicate the power of
admitting into and excluding from the church (Thaddaeus a
S. Adamo, Commentat. 1789, Rosenmiiller, Lange), and in
support of which an appeal is made, notwithstanding the o,
to the ancient practice of tying or untying doors ; as well as
of that other view which has been so currently adopted, after
Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Luther,
Beza, Calvin, Maldonatus, to the effect that what Jesus means
is the remission and non - remission of sins. 1 So Grotius,
Olshausen, de Wette, Bleek, Neander, Glockler, Baumgarten-
Crusius, Dollinger, Julius Miiller, Diisterdieck. But to quote
in connection with this the different and much later saying
of Jesus, after His resurrection, John xx. 23, is quite un-
warranted ; the idea of sin is a pure importation, and
although \vi,v a^apr. may properly enough be understood as
meaning : to forgive sins (Isa. xl. 2 ; 3 Esdr. ix. 13; Sir.
xxviii. 8 ; and see Kypke on xviii. 18), yet the use of Beeiv
apapr., in the sense of retaining them, is altogether without
example. Exception has been taken to the idea involved in
our interpretation ; but considering that high degree of faith
to which Peter, as their representative, 'here shows them to
have attained, the apostles must be supposed to possess " the
moral power of legislation " (objected to by de Wette) as
well, if they are to determine the right of admission to the
1 In which case the result of apostolic preaching generally, i.e. its efficacy
in judging men by the spiritual power of the word (Julius Miiller, comp.
Neander and Diisterdieck), ceases to have any significance other than that of a
vague abstraction, by no means in keeping with the specific expression of the
text, and leaving no room for assigning to Peter any special prerogative. This
also in answer to Weiss, bibl Theol. p. 99, 2d ed., who holds that, originally,
the words were intended to indicate merely that general commission which
was given to the apostles to publish among men the call to the kingdom of
God.
CHAP. XVI. 20, 21. 425
Messiah's kingdom; see Steitz also, p. 458. This legislative
authority, conferred upon Peter, can only wear an offensive
aspect when it is conceived of as possessing an arbitrary
character, and as being in no way determined by the ethical
influences of the Holy Spirit, and when it is regarded as
being of an absolute nature, as independent of any connec-
tion with the rest of the apostles (but see note on xviii. 18).
Comp. Wieseler, Chronol. d. Ap. p. 587 f. Ahrens, likewise,
correctly interprets the words in the sense of to forbid and to
allow, but supposes the words themselves to be derived from
the practice of fastening with a knot vessels containing any-
thing of a valuable nature (Horn. Od. viii. 447). Artificial
and far-fetched, but resulting from the reference of the keys
to the rafieiov. co-rat SeSe/x,.] Observe how that is spoken
of as already done, which is to take place and be realized
immediately on the back of the b eav Sija-ys. Comp. Butt-
niann, neut. Gr. p. 267 [E. T. 311]; Kiihner, II. 1, p. 35.
To such a degree will the two things really harmonize with
one another.
Yer. 20. Jteo-TetXaro] He appointed, strictly enjoined.
Comp. Plat. Eep. p. 535 B ; Aristot. Polit. ii. 5 ; Judith xi. 12;
2 Mace. xiv. 28 ; Mark v. 43 ; Acts xv. 24 ; Heb. xii. 20.
on auro? ear iv 6 X.] that He Himself is the Messiah. This
auro9 points back to ver. 14, according to which some one else
was looked for as the Messiah, while Jesus was only regarded
as His forerunner. The reason of this prohibition is not that
He wanted to anticipate any offence that might afterwards
arise in consequence of His sufferings (Chrysostom, Euth.
Zigabenus), for Jesus quite foresaw His resurrection and
Sofa, and the effect which these would have upon His fol-
lowers (John xii. 32) ; but (see note on viii. 4) its explanation
is to be found in His uniform desire to avoid awakening and
fostering sanguine Messianic hopes among the people.
Ver. 21. 'ATTO rore rjpf aro] Comp. iv. 17 ; a note of time
marking an important epoch. " Antea non ostenderat," Bengel.
To announce His future sufferings 1 to His disciples, and that
1 Whoever supposes that it was only somewhere about this time that the
thought of His impending sufferings and death first began to dawn upon Jesua
428 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
immediately after their decided confession, ver. 1 6, was highly
opportune, both as regards their capability and their need
their capability to stand so trying an intimation, and their need
of beginning to relinquish their false hopes, and of attaining
to a true and exalted conception of what constitutes the work
of the Messiah. Mark viii. 31 likewise introduces the
beginning of the announcement of the future sufferings some-
what prominently after Peter's confession, whereas Luke
ix. 21 f. omits it altogether. Set] Necessity in accordance
with a divine purpose, xxvi. 54 ; Lukexxiv. 26 ; John iii. 14.
a.7re\0elv el<j 'lepocr.] because connected with KOI TroXXa
iradelv K.T.\, does not forbid the idea of previous visits to
Jerusalem mentioned by John (in answer to Hilgenfeld,
Evang. p. 89); comp. xxiii. 37. airo] at the hands of;
comp. note on xi. 19. rwv frpea-fi. K. />%. K. jpafjLfjiJ]
This circumstantial way of designating the Sanhedrim (comp.
note on ii. 4) has here something of a solemn character.
cnroKravOJ] further detail (though with ver. 24 already in
view) reserved for xx. 19. What Jesus contemplates is
not being stoned to death by the people (Hausrath), but
judicial murder through the decision of a court of justice.
real rfj rpirp 17/4. eyepd^vat] With so clear and distinct a
prediction of the resurrection, it is impossible to reconcile the
fact that, utterly disheartened by the death of their Lord, the
disciples should have had no expectation whatever that He
would come to life again, that they consequently embalmed
the body, and that even on the Sunday morning the women
wanted to anoint it ; that they should have placed a heavy
stone at the mouth of the grave, and afterwards are utterly at
a loss to account for the empty sepulchre, and treat the state-
ment that He has risen and appeared again as simply incred-
(Hase, Weixsacker, Keim, Wittichen), can do so only by ignoring previous state-
ments on the part of the Lord, which already point with sufficient clearness to
His painful end (see especially ix. 15, x. 38, xii. 40) statements the testimony
of which is to be set aside only by explaining away and rejecting them by the
artifice of mixing up together dates of different times, and the like, and thus
depriving them of validity, a course which is decidedly opposed to the Gospel
of John (comp. i. 29, ii. 19, iii. 14, vL 51 ff.) so long as its authenticity is
recognised!
CHAP. XVI. 21. 427
ible, some of them even doubting His identity when they do
see Him ; and further, that the risen Jesus appeals, indeed, to
an Old Testament prediction (Luke xxiv. 25), but not to His
own ; just as John, in like manner, accounts for Peter and
himself not believing in the resurrection till they had actually
seen the empty grave, merely from their having hitherto
failed to understand the scripture (John xx. 9). All this is
not to be disposed of by simply saying that the disciples had
not understood the prediction of Jesus (Mark ix. 22); for
had it been so plainly and directly uttered, they could not
have failed to understand it, especially as, in the course of
His own ministry, cases had occurred of the dead being re-
stored to life, and as the Messianic hopes of the disciples
must have disposed them to give a ready reception to tidings
of a resurrection. Then, again, the fulfilment would neces-
sarily have had the effect of awakening both their memory
and their understanding, and that all the more that precisely
then light was being shed upon the mysterious saying regard-
ing the temple of the body (John ii. 2 1 f.). We must there-
fore suppose that Jesus had made certain dark, indefinite
allusions to His resurrection, which as yet had not been
apprehended in their true meaning, and that it was only ex
eventu that they assumed, in the course of tradition, the clear
and definite form of a prediction such as is now before us.
It is only such faint, obscure hints that are as yet to be met
with in John ii. 19, x. 1*7 f., and see observation on Matt,
xii. 40. Comp. besides, Hasert, iib. d. Vorlwrsag. Jesu von s.
Tode u. s. Auferst. 1839, Neander, de Wette, Ammon. Other
expositors (Paulus, Hase, Scholten, Schenkel, Volkmar), arbi-
trarily ignoring those traces of a dim prophetic hint of the
resurrection, have contended that, originally, nothing more
was meant than a symbolical allusion, an allusion, that is, to
the new impetus that would be given to the cause of Jesus, while
some of them have denied that any announcement of the death
ever took place at all (Strauss ; see, on the other hand, Ebrard).
But the arguments of Siiskind (in Flatt's Magaz. VII. p.
181 ff.), Heydenreich (in Huffel's Zeitschr. II. p. 7 ff.), Kuinoel,
Ebrard, and others in favour of the perfect authenticity of the
428 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
definite and literal predictions of the resurrection, are not con-
clusive, and, to some extent, move in a circle.
Ver. 22. HpocrXa/3o/w,.] after he. had taken Him to himself,
comp. xvii. 1, i.e. had taken Him aside to speak to Him pri-
vately. The very common interpretation: he took Him ly
the hand, imports what does not belong to the passage.
jjp^ard] for Jesus did not allow him to proceed farther with
his remonstrances, which had commenced with the words
immediately following; see ver. 23. i\e&>9 <roi] sc. eirj 6
$eo?, a wish that God might graciously avert what he had
just stated, a rendering of the Hebrew n ???, 2 Sam. xx. 20,
xxiii. 17 ; 1 Chron. xi. 19, LXX. 1 Mace. ii. 21, and see
Wetstein. Comp. our : God forbid ! co-rat] purely future ;
expressive of full confidence. 'O jj,ev aTreKaXv^drj, 6 Herpes
6p9o)$ aiftoXoyrja-ev o Se OVK a7reKa\v(j)d'i] > ecr<f>d\r), Theophylact.
Peter was startled ; nothing, in fact, could have formed a more
decided contrast to the Messianic conception on which his
confession seemed to have been based, than the idea of a
Messiah suffering and dying like a malefactor.
Ver. 23. Srpa(j>el<i] He turned away, by way of indicating
His horror. vTraye OTT/O-&) /-tot;] See note on iv. 10.
a-arava] Satan ! A term of reproach, springing out of the
intense displeasure with which He now saw Peter 1 striving,
like Satan, against that purpose of God of which he was so
profoundly conscious. Not "moral vexation" (Keim), but
moral displeasure. Comp. John vi. 70. Seeing that Peter's
feelings have changed, it was proper that the testimony of
Jesus regarding him should undergo a corresponding change
(Augustine), although without prejudice to the high position
just promised to him by Jesus -, for this distinction neither
excludes the idea of there being still a strong carnal element
in Peter's character, nor does it imply that he was beyond the
need of correction; consequently, the evasive interpretation
of Catholic expositors who, in this instance, take crarava as
an appellative (adversarius ; so Maldonatus, Jansen, Arnoldi),
is utterly groundless. <r/cdv8. fiov et] e/^TroBiov pov vvv
dvTitcelfjiei'os TO> efjL<a 0e\^fj,aTi, Euth. Zigabenus.
tliou hast in thy mind; indicating the direction of
CHAP. XVI. 24-26. 429
his aims, the bent of the practical reason. Corap. note on
Horn. viii. 5. r<fc rov deov] matters of divine interest;
because God is to be understood as having ordained the suffer-
ings of Jesus for the purpose of carrying out the plan of
redemption. rh ra>v avOpwirtov] who are concerned about
having as their Messiah a mere earthly hero and prince.
Ver. 24 f. Comp. Mark viii. 34 ft; Luke ix. 23 ff. As
7 must suffer, so also must all my followers I oTrt'creo pov
e\6elv\ as in iv. 19. eavrov] i.e. His own natural self; TO
eavrov de\r)fj,a TO (f>i\r)Sovov, TO </HXoa>oi>, Euth. Zigabenus.
To that which this fleX^/ia desires, He says : No I dpdra) r.
O-T.] let him not shrink from the pain of a violent death such
as He Himself will be called upon to endure. Comp. note on
x. 38. nal aoX. pot] that is, after he has taken up his
cross. What goes before indicates the precise kind of follow-
ing which Jesus requires. John xxi. 19. According to the
context, it is not a question of moral following generally (KOI
Trdcrav rrjv a\\v)v dperrjv eTriSeucvvadco, Theophylact, conip.
Euth. Zigabenus, Chrysostom). But, by way of illustrating
the idea of self-denial, Theophylact appropriately refers to the
example of Paul, Gal. ii. 20. Ver. 25. See note on x. 30.
Ver. 26. Ver. 25, compared with ver. 24, involved the
thought that the earthly life must be sacrificed for sake of
gaining the eternal. The reason of this thought is now
brought forward. &>0e\etTat] represents as already present
the man's condition at the day of judgment, not an Attic
future (Bleek). rrjv Be tyvft. avrov fypiwdfj] but will
have lost his soul, that is to say, by his having rendered him-
self unfit for eternal life, by having, therefore, lost his soul
as far as the Messianic &>? is concerned, and become liable to
eternal death, fyfuwdy is the opposite of KepB^cry. It must
not on this ground, and because of the avrd\\a^fia which
follows, be explained as meaning, to sustain damage in his
soul (Luther), but : animae detrimentum pati (Vulgate), comp.
Herod, vii. 39 : ToO ei/o? rrjv ^v^v fyiudxreat, thou wilt lose
thine only one through death. rj] It avails a man nothing
if he, and so on, it might be that (at the judgment) he would
have something to give to God with which to purchase back
430 TIIE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
his lost soul (avrd\\a^fjia, Eur. Or. 1157, frequently met
with in the LXX. and Apocrypha). There exists no such
means of exchange (commutationem, Vulgate), nothing which,
in the sight of God and according to His holy standard, would
be of such value as to serve as an avraXXayna for the soul.
" Non sufficit mundus," Bengel. Comp. Eitschl in the Jahrb.
/. D. Th. 1863, p. 234 ff.
Ver. 27. Pdp] justifies and confirms what Jesus has just
stated with respect to the loss of the ^rv^. I say that not
without reason ; for assuredly the time of the second coming
and of a righteous retribution is drawing near (/teXXa being
put first for sake of emphasis). ev rfj Bo^rj rov -Trarp.
auT.] in the same glory as belongs to God. For in this state of
glory (John xvii. 5) the ascended Christ occupies the place of
crvvOpovos of God. rrjv Trpa^iv] the conduct, the sum of
one's doings, including, in particular, that self-denying adher-
ence to their faith and their confession on which, above all,
so much depended, in the case of the apostles, in the midst
of those persecutions which they were called upon to endure.
Ver. 28. Having affirmed the certainty of the second
corning and the divine retribution, He now proceeds to do the
same with regard to their nearness. el<ri rive? /c.r.X.] which
refers to those present generally, and not merely to the dis-
ciples, presupposes that the majority of them will have died
previous to the event in question. yevaiovTai OavaTov]
The experiencing of death regarded as a tasting of it (of its
pains). See note on John viii. 52, and Wetstein. eo>9 tf.r.A,.]
not as though they were to die afterwards, but what is meant
is, that they will still be living when it takes place. Comp.
xxiv. 34; Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 2, p. 629 f. ev rfj
/3ao-i\ia avrov] not for et9 rrjv K.T.\ (Beza, Eaphel, and
others), but as a king in all His regal authority (Plat. Eep. p.
499 B: TWV vvv ev Swacn-eiais rj {3a<ri\eiai<; ovrwv). Luke
xxiii. 42. There is no substantial difference between the
present prediction of Jesus as to His impending advent in
glorious majesty (comp. x. 23, xxiv. 34), and that in Mark
ix. 1 ; Luke ix. 27. The @a<ri\eia cannot be supposed to
come without the /3a<nAeu9. This, at the same time, in
CHAP. XVI. 28. 4f,l
answer to Ebrard (comp. Baumeister in Klaiber's Studicn,ll. 1,
p. 19), who interprets this passage, not of the second coming
to judgment, but, laying stress on the eV (against which the eV
777 Sol??, ver. 27, should have duly warned), understands it as
referring to the founding of the church, and particularly to
what took place at Pentecost, and that notwithstanding the
context and the words elal rives, etc., which, if this view were
adopted, would be entirely out of place (Glass, Calovius). It
is likewise to explain it away in a manner no less arbitrary, to
understand the passage in the sense of a figurative coming in
the destruction of Jerusalem and the diffusion of Christianity
(Jac. Cappellus, Wetstein, Kuinoel, Schott, Glockler, Bleek),
or of the triumphant historical development of the gospel
(Erasmus, Klostermann, Schenkel), or of the powerful influ-
ences of the spirit of the glorified Messiah as extending over
the world (Paulus). Others, such as Beda, Vatablus, Mal-
donatus, Jansen, Clarius, Corn, a Lapide, following Chrysos-
tom, Euth. Zigabenus, Theophylact, have so strangely perverted
Christ's prediction as even to make it refer to the incident of
the transfiguration immediately following. On the impend-
ing advent in general, see the observations at the close of
ch. xxiv.
432 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
CHAPTEE XVIL
VER. 3. Sxpdriaav] Lachm. and Tisch. : Zxpdy, after B D K, Curss.
and Codd. of the It. The plural is a grammatical correction ;
the sing, can scarcely be taken from Mark ix. 4. Ver. 4.
voiqffupev] Lachm. and Tisch. : noir^ta, after B C X, Ver. Corb.
1, Germ. 1. Correctly ; the plural is from Mark and Luke.
The arrangement *HX/cf piav (Lachm. Tisch.) is supported by
decisive testimony. Ver. 5. <po*Teivfi~\ Only on the authority of
a few Curss. and Ephr. Griesb. and Fritzsche have pwro&, which
Olshausen also prefers. An interpretation for the purpose of
defining the wonderful nature of the cloud. The order KXOVITI
aurov (inverted in Elz.) is, with Lachm. and Tisch. 8, after
B D K, 1, 33, to be preferred. The reading of the Received
text is according to the LXX. Ver. 7. Lachm. and Tisch. 8 :
xai irpotri'kSiv 6 *I. xal a-^dfttvos eivruv ifaev, after B (in the first
half of the sentence also D) K, Verss. Seeing how much
the reading fluctuates in the various authorities, the Eeceived
text, from having the balance of testimony in its favour, is not
to be abandoned. Ver. 9. I x] Elz. : &KO. Approved by Scholz,
against decisive testimony. From Mark ix. 9, for the sake of
conformity with the ordinary usage. ai/acrrjj] Lachm. and
Tisch : lytpdy, after B D, Sahid. The reading of the Eeceived
text is from Mark ix. 9. Ver. 11. On important testimony,
'iriffotg and auroTg are, with Lachm. and Tisch., to be deleted.
Common interpolations. wpurov] is omitted after ep%. in B D X,
Curss. Verss. Aug. Hil. ; L inserts it after aToxar. Suspected
by Griesb., deleted by Fritzsche, Lachm., Tisch. Eepetition
from ver. 10, in accordance with Mark ix. 12. Ver. 14. avruv]
which Lachm. and Tisch. have deleted, is omitted in B Z K, 1,
124, 245, Sahid.; it might easily have been overlooked from
coming, as it does, immediately after Jx^o'i/TflN. auro'i/] Elz. :
avry, against decisive testimony. Ver. 15. vdff^si] Lachm. :
s%si, after B L Z N, Or. Either an involuntary alteration occa-
sioned by the current use of the expression xaxug s%siv (iv. 24, viii.
16, ix. 12, xiv. 35), or intentional, on account of the apparent
pleonasm. Ver. 17. The order psO' vpuv seo^ai (Lachm.
CHAP. xvii. i. 433
Tiscli.) is supported by the preponderating testimony of
B C D Z K, Curss. Or., and ought to be adopted. Comp. Mark
and Luke. Ver. 20. amariav] Lachm. Tisch. 8: oXr/ovitiTiav,
after B K, Curss. Syr cur Sahid. Copt. Arm. Aetli. Or. Chrys. An
ancient emendation to soften the expression, anoriav, after ver.
17 especially, may have offended pious sensibilities. The
reading /Lsrdpa ev&sv (Lachm. Tisch.) is neither satisfactory nor
has it uniform testimony in its favour. Ver. 21. Tisch. 8 has
deleted the whole verse, but only after B N* 33, and a few
Verss. The great preponderance of testimony is in favour of
retaining it, although Weiss likewise rejects it. It might have
been regarded as inserted from Mark ix. 29 had the terms of
the two passages coincided more fully. Why it was omitted, it
is really impossible to say ; it may only have happened acci-
dentally, and the omission remains an isolated instance. Ver.
22. avaffrpetp.] Lachm. and Tisch. 8 : ffwrpip., after B N, 1, Vulg.
Codd. of the It. A gloss, in order that avaarpep. might not be
taken in the sense of return. Ver. 23. e-ytpdriffirai] Lachm.:
avaarqesTai, after B, Curss. Or. Chrys. From Mark ix. 31.
Ver. 25. ort g/'ff?jX0v] Lachm. and Tisch. 8 : eis&dovra, which is
found in N*; in B it is : IXdo'vra; in C : STB fadov; in D : iiatMovn.
Others have : ore tiafadov, i!0i\66vruv, iiai\96vro;. Seeing there is
such variety in the readings, we -ought to prefer, not the
simple verb, which B and C concur in adopting, but the com-
pound form, which is supported by D K and the numerous
authorities in favour of the reading of the Eeceived text ; further,
the plural is to be rejected, inasmuch as it is without adequate
testimony and has been inserted from ver. 24 ; and finally, the
reading on is to be regarded as an analysis of the participle.
Consequently the reading eiff&dovra should be adopted. Ver.
26. For \\yti a-jrw o n&rpoc read, with Lachm. and Tisch. 8,
simply g/Vovro? 8s, after B C L K, Verss. Or. Chrys. The reading
of the Eeceived text is somewhat of a gloss.
Ver. 1. Comp. Mark ix. 2 ff. ; Luke viii. 28 ff. ; 2 Pet. i.
16 ff. Me0' rip, e pas e] Luke ix. 28: wael ^/ze'pat o/rnu.
This axret makes it unnecessary to have recourse to any
expedient for reconciling the numbers. Chrysostom, Jerome,
Theophylact, Erasmus, and many others, are of opinion that
Luke has included the dies a quo and ad quern. ei? 0/305
v-^rr)\6v] Since the fourth century there has been a tradition
that the mountain here referred to was mount Tabor, tho
MATT. 2 E
434 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
situation of which, however, was such as altogether to preclude
this view. If we are to understand that Jesus remained
during the six days in the neighbourhood of Caesarea Philippi,
we may, with some probability, suppose that the height in
question was one of the peaks of Herman, a clump of hills
standing to the north-east of that town. Those three dis-
ciples were the most intimate friends of Jesus. Comp. xxvi.
3 7. For dvatyepei, comp. Luke xxiv. 5 1 ; 2 Mace. vi. 1 ;
Polyb. viii. 31. 1. tear' IS lav] so that they alone accom-
panied him to this mountain solitude.
Ver. 2. MeT6fjuop<j).] was transfigured, in the way about to
be described. That is to say, His external aspect was changed
(" non substantial, sed accidentalis fuit transformatio," Calo-
vius) ; His face gleaming like the sun, and His raiment being
so white that it shone like light. He appeared in outward
heavenly Sofa, which /neyaXetoT*^ (2 Pet. i. 16) was the
foreshadowing of His future glorified state (John xii. 16, 23,
xvii. 5, xxii. 24 ; 2 Cor. iii. 18 ; Matt. xiii. 43). The analogy
presented by Ex. xxxiv. 29 comes short in this respect, that,
whereas the brightness on the face of Moses was the result of
God's having appeared before Mm, in the case of Christ it pro-
ceeded from His own divine nature and life, the So^a of which
radiated from within. to 9 TO </>o3s] The aspect of it, there-
fore, was luminous, radiant.
Ver. 3. AVTOIS] the disciples, ver. 2. .They saw conversing
with Jesus, Moses and Elias, who, as forerunners of the
Messiah, represented the law and the prophets (Schoettgen,
Wetstein). Comp. vv. 5, 8. It was not from what Jesus
told them afterwards that they came first to know who those
two were, but they themselves recognised them at once (ver. 4),
though not from their conversation, as has been arbitrarily
supposed (Theophylact). The recognition was immediate
and directly involved in the marvellous manifestation itself.
The subject of conversation, so far as the accounts of Matthew
and Mark are concerned, does not appear to have been once
inquired into. According to Ebrard, Jesus communicated to
the fathers of the old dispensation the blessed intelligence of
his readiness to redeem them by His death. According to
CHAP. XVII. 4-8. 435
Luke ix. 31, Moses and Elias converse with Jesus about His
impending death.
Ver. 4. 'ATTotcpiO.'] see note on xi. 25. Taking occasion
from what he now saw before him, he proceeded to say.
Ka\ov ea-Ttv /r.T.X,.] is usually interpreted thus: " Amoenus
est, in quo commoremur, locus " (Fritzsche, Keim) ; or, what is
much to the same effect, it is referred particularly by
Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus to the
security of the place, protected as it was by the two celestial
visitants, in contrast to Jerusalem, where Jesus was destined
to suffer. But, inasmuch as the terms used by Peter are 57/^9
(not fjfuv) and the simple elvcu (not peveiv) ; further, inasmuch
as what he says is occasioned by the presence of Moses and
Elias, and has reference to them, as is likewise proved by the
following el OeXeis K.T.\., which implies that he wishes to do
something towards enabling Jesus to have a longer interview
with them, it is preferable, with Paulus, Baumgarten-Crusius,
Klostermann, Weiss, Volkmar, to interpret as follows : It is
highly opportune that we (disciples') happen to be here (in which
case, therefore, the rj^a^ is emphatic) ; accordingly, I would
like to erect (TTO^O-W, see critical remarks) tabernacles (out of
the brushwood growing around) for you here, with a view to
a more prolonged stay. The transition to the singular is in
keeping with Peter's temperament ; he would like to make the
tabernacles.
Ver. 5 ff. 'ISou /cal . . . l&ov] lively way of introducing
the various points of importance. ve(f>e\ij <f>a)Tivij] a
luminous, clear, bright cloud, represented in Matthew as,
without doubt, a marvellous phenomenon, not in itself certainly,
but in connection with the incident which it accompanies.
eireaKiaaev] A luminous cloud oversJiadows them, casts a
kind of light and shade over their forms, so that they are
rendered less clear than they were before the cloud intervened.
Olshausen unwarrantably fancies that eweoTc. has been em-
ployed in consequence of the light having leen so strong as to
dazzle the eyes and affect the sight. aurou?] viz. Jesus,
Moses, and Elias (ver. 4). The disciples hear the voice from
out the cloud (vv. 5, 6), are therefore not to be regarded as
436 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
being ivitkin it, as is likewise manifest a priori from the fact
that the cloud, as was so frequently the case in the Old
Testament, is here the sacred symbol of the divine presence
(Wetstein on this passage, cornp. Tea, ad Hor. Od. i 2. 31),
and therefore accompanies those three divine personages as a
ffrjfielov for the disciples, on whose account likewise the voice
sounds from the cloud. This in answer to Olearius, Wolf,
Bengel, Baumgarten-Crusius, who refer avrou? to the disciples ;
and to Clericus, who refers it to all who were present.
<f}0)vr) K.T.\] no less the voice of God than that in in. IV.
a/covere avTov (see critical remarks) is the divine ratification
of the words of Moses in Deut. xviii. 15, according to their
Messianic import. However, the hearing (i.e. faith and
obedience) is the point on which stress is to be laid, as is
evident from its being put first. This command is now in
order (not so, as yet, in iii 17), coming as it does at a time
when Jesus had attained to the full dignity of His prophetic
office, but when, at the same time, the prospect of what
awaited Him was calculated to put the dicoveiv of the disciples
to the severest test. Vv. 6, 7 occur only in Matthew.
Comp. Dan. x. 9 f . ; Eev. i. 17. jj^aro] " Tactus familiaris
et efficax," Bengel.
Ver. 9. "Opapa] the thing seen, spectaculum. Acts vii. 31 ;
Sir. xliii. 1 ; Xen. Cyr. iii. 3.66; de re equestr. ix. 4 ; Dem.
1406. 26 ; Pollux, ii. 54 ; used in the LXX. with reference
to whatever is seen in vision by a prophet. IK veicpwv}
from Sheol, as the abode TWV veicpwv. On the omission of the
article, see Winer, p. 117 [E. T. 153]. The reason of the
prohibition can only be the same as in xvi. 20, where see
note. According to the mythical view (see observations after
ver. 12), it was intended to explain the circumstance of a
narrative composed in a later age, and, nevertheless, one which
proceeded from the three witnesses.
Ver. 10. Ovv] can have no other reference than to the
foregoing prohibition (comp. xix. 7) : " Seeing that we are
forbidden to tell any one about the appearing of Elias which
we have just witnessed, and so on, what reason, then, have
the scribes for saying that Elias must first come (before the
CHAP. xvn. 10. 437
Messiah appears, to establish His kingdom) ? " Does it not
follow from Thy prohibition that this teaching of the scribes
must be erroneous, seeing that, if it were not so, Thou wouldst
not have enjoined us to keep silence regarding this manifesta-
tion of Elias ? This is likewise in harmony with the answer
of Jesus, , which is to this effect : " That teaching is quite
correct ; but the Elias whom it speaks of as being the Messiah's
forerunner is not the prophet who has just been seen upon the
mount, but John the Baptist, whom they did not recognise,
and so on." This view is so entirely in accordance with the
context as to exclude any others, as, for example, that of
Euth. Zigabenus, Erasmus, Kuinoel, who, emphasizing Trpwrov,
interpret thus : Start ot yp. Xey., OTI 'H\tav %pr) e\Beiv TTpo
rod Xptarov ; Trtw? ovv OVK rj\0ev ouro? vrpo eroO ; or that
which ascribes to the disciples the idea, of which there is not
the remotest hint, that Christ is going to be revealed before
the world in His glory, and that therefore there is really no
further room for the manifestation and the services of Elias
(Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 1, p. 518); or that of Grotius,
Michaelis, Fritzsche, Lange, Olshausen, Bleek, Hengstenberg,
who understand the question of the disciples as referring to
the circumstance that Elias had not remained, but had so
quickly disappeared again (it was believed, though of this the
question contains no hint whatever, that Elias would teach
the Jews, settle the disputes among their instructors, restore
the pot of manna and Aaron's rod, and so on ; Lightfoot on
this passage; Winzer, de aTroKaraa-Taaei Trdvrtov, II., 1821,
p. 9) ; or, again, that of Chrysostom, Theophylact, Neander,
Krabbe, Ebrard, who suppose that the object of the question
was to know whether the manifestation of Elias, which the
scribes had in view, was that which had just taken place, or
whether it was some other one yet to come ; or, lastly, the
expedient of Schleiermacher and Strauss, who think that the
whole conversation originated in the disappointment felt in
consequence of the prediction regarding the coming of Elias
not having been fulfilled, and that it has only found its way
into the present connection through an erroneous process of
combination. According to Kostlin, p. 75, ovv does not refer
438 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
back to the transfiguration at all, but seems to say : " Seeing
that the Messiah is already come," which is the idea supposed
to be contained in xvi. 1327. He thinks the connection
has been interrupted by the evangelist interpolating the story
of the transfiguration between xvi. 2 7 and xvii. 1 0.
Ver. 11. In His reply, Jesus admits the correctness of the
teaching of the scribes in regard to this matter, and at the
same time supplements the quotation made from it by the
disciples (by adding K. airotcar. TT.), in which supplement the
use of the future-present ep^erai and the future aTTOKaraarr.
are to be justified on the ground that they are the ipsissima
verba of the teaching in question. " Unquestionably it is pre-
cisely as they say ; Elias is coming and will restore every-
thing again." Inasmuch as what is here meant is the work
of the coming Elias, and not the whole moral work of the
Messiah in regenerating the world (as in Acts iii. 21),
the aironardaTacns irdvrwv, an expression taken from the
rendering of Mai. iv. 6 by the LXX., refers, in the sense
of the scribes, to the restitutio in integrum (for such is the
meaning of the word, see note on Acts iii. 21) of the entire
theocratic order of things by way of preparation for the Messiah,
in which case we are not to think merely of a'moral regenera-
tion of the people, but also of the restoration of outward
objects of a sacred character (such as the urna mannae, and so
on). Jesus, on the other hand, knowing as He does that the
promised coming of Elias has been fulfilled in the Baptist
(xi. 14), refers to the preaching and preparatory labours of
the latter, in which he believes the aTroKarao-T^a-et irdvra to
have been realized in the highest sense, and in the way most
in keeping with the prophet's own words in Mai. iv. 6 (Sir.
xlviii. 10 ; Luke i. 17, iii. 1). The coming of the real Elias,
who is expected to appear before the second advent (Hilary,
Chrysostom, Augustine, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus, the
majority of the older Catholic expositors, likewise Arnoldi,
Schegg), is taught by Jesus neither here nor elsewhere. See,
on the contrary, ver. 1 2 f., xi. 1 4. This also in answer to
Lechler in the Stud. u. Krit. 1854, p. 831.
Ver. 12. OVK eTreyvco&av avrov] that is, as the expected
CHAP. XVII. 12. 439
Elias. The subject is the <ypa/j,(jiaTei<j > ver. 10. ev aura]
towards him, not classical, but comp. LXX. Gen. xl. 14 ;
Dan. xi. 7; Luke xxiii. 31. ocra e'fleXijcraz/] indicating
the purely arbitrary manner in which they treated him, in
contradistinction to the way in which God desired that he
should have been received.
REMAKK. The incident of the transfiguration lias been
regarded as a vision by so early a writer as Tertullian, c. Marc.
iv. 22, by Herder, Gratz, Krabbe, Bleek, Weizsacker, Pressense*,
Steinmeyer ; it would have been nearer the truth if a distinction
had been made between the real and the visionary elements
contained in it. We have no vision, but a reality in the
glorious change which came over the outward appearance of
Jesus, vv. 1, 2, that objective element to which the ecstatic
subjective manifestation owed its origin. On the other hand,
we cannot but regard as visionary the appearing of Moses and
Elias, and that not merely in consequence of Zap dy, ver. 3 (Acts
ii. 3, vii. 26 ; 1 Tim. iii. 16 ; 1 Cor. xv. 5 ff.), but owing to the
vanishing away of the heavenly visitants in the cloud, and the
impossibility of any bodily manifestation, at least of Moses
(whose resurrection would, according to Deut. xxxiv. 5 f., have
to be presupposed). 1 Moreover, Matthew and Mark themselves
represent the manifestation of both in such a way, that it is
impossible to assert that they regarded it in the light of an
actual fact; notice, on the contrary, the different modes of
1 It is thus that Origen, Jerome, and other Fathers consistently argue.
According to Hilgenfeld, the " Ascension of Moses" (N. T. extra canon. I. p.
96 ; Messias Judaeor. p. 459) was already known to the evangelist ; but the
Ascensio Moais belongs, in any case, to a somewhat later period. Grotius saw
himself driven to adopt the expedient of supposing that " haec corpora videri
possunt a deo in hunc usum asservata," very much as Ambrose had maintained
that the body of Moses had been exempted from putrefaction. According to
Calvin, God had raised the bodies ad tempus. Thomas and several other
expositors refer the appearing of Moses to the category indicated by the words :
" sicut angeli videntur." Similarly Delitzsch, Psychol. p. 427 [E. T. 499],
according to whom the form in which Moses appeared, and which bore a
resemblance to His earthly body, was the immaterial product of his spiritualized
psychic nature. Gess, with greater indefiniteness, speaks of the manifestation
as a coming forth on the part of Moses and Elias from their state of invisibility.
But neither Delitzsch nor Gess satisfies the requirements of the words fitr *'vrtu
truXXaX., which in any case presuppose a glorified corporeity, or else it amounts
to nothing else than a mere appearance. Comp. Beza, who adds : nisi malumus
ecstaticam fuisse visionem.
440 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
conception as implied in xa/ fttripopipudr) qwrpoflb* alruv (not :
x. utpdrj avroTg (itraftopfuStJf) and uxpdq avro?s Mwff5jr, etc. Only
in the case of Luke is it manifest that he has followed a
tradition which has divested the incident of its visionary
character (Luke ix. 30, 31). The of course obvious and common
objection, that three persons must be supposed to have wit-
nessed the same phenomena and to have heard the same voice,
is deprived of its force if it is conceded, as must necessarily be
done, that a supernatural agency was here at work with a
view to enable the three leading disciples to have a glimpse
beforehand of the approaching glory of Him who was more to
them than Moses and the prophets. However, it is at-
tempting too much to attempt to show the higher naturalism
of the incident (Lange, L. J. II. p. 904 ff., thinks that the
heavenly nature of Jesus flashed forth from under the earthly ;
that the disciples had actually had a peep into the spirit world,
and had seen Moses and Elias, which was rendered possible
in their case through the peculiar frame of Christ's mind and
the intercourse with those spirits which He enjoyed), in opposi-
tion to which Ewald insists that the event was altogether of an
ideal character ; that the eternal perfection of the kingdom of
God was unquestionably disclosed to view, in such a manner,
however, that everything of a lower nature, and which was at
all calculated to suggest the form which the narrative ultimately
assumed, was lost sight of amid the pure light of a higher sphere
of things (Gesch. Chr. p. 462). To assume as the foundation
of the story (Baumgarten-Crusius) only some inward manifesta-
tion or other in Jesus Himself, such as led to His obtaining a
glimpse of the glory that was to follow His death, is as decidedly
at variance with the statements of the Gospels as it is to trace
the matter to a vision in a dream (Rau, Synibola ad ill. ev. de
metamorph., etc., 1797 ; Gabler in the neuest. tlieol. Journ. 1798,
p. 517ff., Kuinoel, Neander), in connection with which view-
some have likewise had recourse to the idea of a thunderstorm
(Gabler), and the presence of two secret followers (Kuinoel).
This way of looking at the matter is not favoured by Luke
ix. 32. No less inconsistent with the gospel narrative is the
hypothesis of a secret interview with two wiknown personages
(Venturini, Paulus, Hase, Schleiermacher), in connection with
which, again, a good deal has been made of atmospheric illu-
mination, and the effect of the shadows that were projected
(Paulus ; Theile, z. Biogr. J. p. 55 ; Ammon, L. J. p. 302 ff.).
The mythical view (Strauss, Scholten, Keim) which regards
the narrative as a legendary invention, and substantially
CHAP. XVII. 12. 441
ascribes its origin to a desire to see the glory of Moses on
Sinai repeated in a higher form in the case of Jesus, and to
represent the latter as the fulfilment of the law and the prophets
can least of all be justified here, where it is not only at
variance with the studied unanimity of the evangelists in
regard to the date of the occurrence, but also with the fact that
the testimony of the three apostles must have gone far to pre-
vent the myth from finding its way into the circle of their
brethren ; while, as regards the silence of John, it is certainly
not to be explained on anti-docetic grounds (in answer to
Schneckenburger, Beitr. p. 62 ff., see Strauss, IT. p. 250), but it is
explicable, to say the least of it, on the ground of his ideal
conception of Christ's mundane 5&'a, and no more disproves
the reality of the incident in question than his silence regard-
ing so many other important historical facts already recorded
by the Synoptists. Further, .we must regard as purley sup-
jective, and subversive of the intention and meaning of the
evangelists, not merely the rationalistic explanation of the
incident, according to which Jesus is represented as telling the
three disciples in what relation He stood to Moses and Elias, and
as thereby bringing them " into the light of His Messianic calling "
(Schenkel), but likewise the imaginary notion of an admonitory
symbol, after the manner of Eev. i. 1 2 ff., xi. 3 ff., the historical
basis of which is supposed to be contained in the fact that
Peter and the first disciples had seen the risen Lord appear in
heavenly radiance (Volkmar) ; and lastly, also the allegorical
view (Weisse), according to which we are understood to have
before us the symbolical conception, originating with the three
enraptured apostles themselves, of the light which then dawned
upon them in regard to the mission of Jesus, especially in
regard to His relation to the old theocracy. But, according to
Bruno Bauer, the incident is to be regarded as the product of
the conviction on the part of the church, that, in the principle
on which it is founded, the powers of the past have found their
glorified centre of unity. The passage 2 Pet. i. 16-18 can be
of no service in the way of confirming the historical character
of the incident, except for those who see no reason to reject
this Epistle as spurious ; but it is of great importance, partly as
furnishing, all the same, an ancient testimony in favour of the
occurrence itself, and the significance attached to it as a
historical event ; partly in reference to the telic point of view
from which it is to be regarded, namely, as a foreshadowing
of the impending do^a of the Lord, in which He is to come
back again, and into which His most intimate disciples were
442 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
in this wonderful way privileged to gaze previous to His suffer-
ings, in order that they might be strengthened for fulfilling the
difficult task that would devolve upon them after His ascension.
So far as the object of the incident is concerned, it must have
been intended expressly for the disciples, as is evident from
aKouiTt airoS. According to what has been said above, and
judging from what is stated in ix. 31 as to the subject of con-
versation, it may be affirmed that Luke's account bears the
impress of a later stage of development (Fritzsche, Strauss, de
Wette, Weisse, Ewald, Weiss), so that in point of originality
we must give Matthew the preference (in answer to Schulz,
Schleiermacher, Holtzmann, and others), and that even over
Mark (comp. Ewald, Kostlin, p. 90 ; Keim, II. p. 588). See
also note on Mark ix. 2 ff.
Ver. 14. Notwithstanding divergence in other respects, the
healing of the lunatic (o-eX^vm^., see note on iv. 24) comes
next in order in all the three Synoptists (Mark ix. 1.4 ff. ; Luke
ix. 37 ff.), a circumstance which also militates against the
mythical view of the transfiguration. avTov] Comp. Mark
i. 40, x. 17. The accusative is to be understood as conveying
the idea that He was directly touched by the man, as much
as to say: he clasped Him by the knees. Comp. irpoa-Kvveiv
Tiva, TrpoaTTiTveiv riva, Trpoa-TrtTTTeiv <yovv TWO? (Pflugk, ad JEur.
Hec. 339 ; Klihner, II. 1, p. 251).
Ver. 15. The lunatic, whose malady was regarded as the
result of demoniacal possession (ver. 1 8 ; Mark v. 1 6 ; Luke
v. 39), was evidently suffering from epilepsy, and, according
to Mark, deprived of the power of speech as well. /ca/cw?
Trda^eiv] to be ill (opposite of e5 Tracr^.), is likewise very
common among classical writers. Horn. Od. xvi. 275; Plat.
Menex. p. 244 B ; Xen. Anab. iii. 3. 7 ; Herod, iii. 146.
Ver. 17. unbelieving and perverse generation! Comp.
Phil. ii. 15. By this Jesus does not mean the scribes
(Calvin), but is 'aiming at His disciples, who are expected to
apply the exclamation to themselves, in consequence of their
not being able to cure the lad of his disease. In no sparing
fashion, but filled with painful emotion, He ranks them, owing
to their want of an energetic faith, in the category of the un-
believing generation, and hence it is that He addresses it.
CHAP. XVII. 18-20. 443
Bengel fitly observes : " severe elencho discipuli accensentur
turbae." That the disciples are intended (Fritzsche, Baum-
garten-Crusius, Steinmeyer, Volkmar), is likewise evident
from ver. 20. They wanted the requisite amount of confi-
dence in the miraculous powers conferred upon them by
Christ. The strong terms aTrto-ro? K. Steo-rpa/i//,. (Deut. xxxii. 5 ;
Phil. ii. 5, ii. 15), are to be explained from the deep emotion
of Jesus. Nor can the people be meant, who are not con-
cerned at all, any more than the father of the sufferer, who,
in fact, invoked the help of Jesus because he had faith in
Him. The words are consequently to be referred neither to
all who were present (Paulus, Kuinoel, Olshausen, Krabbe,
Bleek, Ewald), nor to the father (Chrysostom, Theophylact,
Euth. Zigabenus, Grotius), nor to him and the people (Keim),
in which latter case many go the length of holding that the
disciples are exculpated, and the blame of the failure im-
puted to the father himself (ov T?)? eiceivtov atrOevet'as TO<TOVTOV
TO Trraia-fjua, oaov TT}? o-/}? aTrtc-r/a?, Theophylact). In opposi-
tion to the context (vv. 16, 20). Neander and de Wette
explain the words in the sense of John iv. 48, as though
Jesus were reflecting upon those who as yet have not known
what it is to come to Him under a sense of their deepest
wants, and so on. eo>9 TTOTS /c.r.X.] a passing touch of im-
patience in the excitement of the moment : How long is the
time going to last during which I must be amongst you and
bear with your weakness of faith, want of receptivity, and so
on? <f>pTe] like what precedes, is addressed to the dis-
ciples; it was to them that the lunatic had been brought,
ver. 16. This in answer to Fritzsche, who thinks that Jesus
" generatim loquens " refers to the father.
Ver. 18. 'JBTreTi/u,. avry] He rebuked him, namely, the
demon (Fritzsche, Ewald), reproached him for having taken
possession of the boy. Comp. viii. 26. For this prolepsis in
the reference of auro? (which Vulgate, Theophylact, de Wette,
Winer, Bleek, refer to the lunatic), see Fritzsche, Conject.
p. 11 f. ; Bornemann, ad Xen. Symp. viii. 34. airo T. eo/aa?
etc.] as in xv. 28, ix. 22.
Ver. 20. The disciples ought to have applied to themselves
444 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
the general exclamation in ver. 17. . This they failed to do,
hence their question. But the asino-Tia with which Jesus
now charges them is to be understood in a relative sense,
while the Trum*?, of which it is the negation, means simply
faith in Jesus Christ, the depositary of supernatural power, so
that, in virtue of their fellowship with His life, the disciples,
as His servants and the organs of His power, were enabled to
operate with greater effect in proportion to the depth and
energy of the faith with which they could confide in Him. -
eav e^Tjre] if you have (not : had}. &>9 KOKKOV triv,~\ found
likewise in Eabbinical writers as a figurative expression for a
very small quantity of anything. Lightfoot on xiii. 32. The
point of the comparison does not lie in the stimulative quality
of the mustard (Augustine ; on the other hand, Maldonatus).
To remove mountains, a figurative expression for : to accomplish
extraordinary results, 1 Cor. xiii. 2. Lightfoot on xxi. 21 ;
Buxtorf, Lex. Talm. p. 1653. For legends in regard to the
actual removing of mountains, see Calovius. ovSev] the
hyperbole of popular speech. For abwar., comp. Job xiii. 2.
Ver. 21. TOVTO TO yevo 5] this species of demons to which
the one just expelled belongs. Otherwise, Euth. Zigabenus : TO
7eVo? TGOV SatfjLovwv TTUVTCW. So Chrysostom, Theophylact,
Eisner, Eritzsche, Bleek. But the TOUTO, used with special
reference to the fact of its being a case of epilepsy, must be
intended to specify a kind of demons which it is peculiarly
difficult to exorcise. ev Trpocrev^f] K. vya-reta] inasmuch
as the TT/o-Tt? is thereby strengthened and elevated, and attains
to that pitch which is necessary in order to the casting out of
such demons. The climax in vv. 20 and 21 may be repre-
sented thus : If you have only a slender amount of faith, you
will, no doubt, be able to accomplish things of an extraordinary
and seemingly impossible nature ; but, in order to expel spirits
of so stubborn a character as this, you require to have such a
degree of faith as can only be reached by means of prayer and
fasting. You have neglected the spiritual preparation that
is necessary to the attainment of so lofty a faith. Comp.
Acts xiv. 23. Prayer and fasting are here represented as
means for promoting faith, not as good works, which are cj
CHAP. XVII. 22, 23. 44 o
themselves effectual in dealing with the demons (Schegg and
the older Catholics). Paulus and Ammon incorrectly suppose
that the prayer and fasting are required of the sick persons
themselves, with a view to some dietetic and psychological effect
or other being produced upon their bodies ; while Chrysostom,
Theophylact, and Euth. Zigabenus are of opinion that they are
demanded not merely from the healer, but also from thepatient,
as necessary weapons to be used against the demon. Inas-
much as eKTTopevercu is, according to the context, the corre-
lative of e/3aXetj/, ver. 19 (coinp. also e^f)\dev, ver. 18), we
must likewise discard the view of Ewald, who thinks that in
Matthew there is an allusion to a class of men whose character
is such that they cannot be induced to set to work but with
fasting and prayer. Comp. on the contrary, eWo/x, Acts
xix. 12 (and Mark ix. 29 : egeXQelv). Those who adopt the
mythical t view of the whole incident (Strauss) pretend to find
the origin of the legend in 2 Kings iv. 2 9 ff., which is no less
unwarrantable than the interpretation, according to which it
is treated as a symbolical narrative, intended to rebuke the
want of faith on the part of the disciples (Scholten), or as a
didactic figure as an admonition of the hidden Christ for an
increase of faith amid the violent demoniacal excesses of the
time (Volkmar). Moreover, the somewhat more circumstantial
account of Mark is of a stamp so peculiar, is so clear and full
of meaning, that it is not to be regarded as a later amplifica-
tion, but the account in Matthew (and Luke) is rather to be
looked upon as an abridgment of the former.
Vv. 22, 23. Comp. Mark ix. 30 ff.; Luke ix, 43 ff.-
While they were still in Galilee (avaarpe^)., Xen. Cyr. viii. 8. 7,
Mem. iv. 3. 8 ; Thuc. viii. 94 ; Josh. v. 5), and before they
entered Capernaum (ver. 24), Jesus once more (comp. xvi. 21)
intimated to His disciples His approaching sufferings, death,
and resurrection. This is not a meaningless repetition of xvi.
21 (Kostlin, Hilgenfeld) ; but this matter was introduced
again because Jesus knew how much they required to be
prepared for the impending crisis. et's ^elpa<f avOp.] into
men's hands, uttered with a painful feeling, sensible as He was
of the contrast between such a fate and what He knew to be
446 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
His divine dignity. It was in keeping with the feelings now-
present to the mind of Jesus, not to indicate that fate with so
much detail as on the former occasion (xvi. 21). eXvirr)-
Orjcrav <r<j)6?)pa] therefore not impressed by the announcement
of the resurrection, although it is said to have been made with
so much clearness and precision. This announcement, however,
is not found in Luke. See note on xvi. 21.
Ver. 24 ff. Peculiar to Matthew. After the return from
the Babylonian captivity, all males among the Jews of twenty
years of age and upwards (on the ground of the command in
Ex. xxx. 13 f. ; comp. 2 Chron. xxiv. 6 : Neh. x. 32 ; 2 Kings
xii. 4 ff.) were required to contribute annually the sum of half
a shekel, or two Attic drachmae, or an Alexandrian drachma
(LXX. Gen. xxiii. 15 ; Josh. vii. 21), about half a thaler (Is. 6d.
English money), by way of defraying the expenses connected
with the temple services. See Saalschiitz, Mos. R. p. 291 f . ;
Ewald, Alterth. p. 40 3 ; Keim, II. p. 5 9 9 f. After the destruc-
tion of the temple the money went to the Capitol, Joseph,
vii. 6. 6. The time for collecting this tax was the fifteenth
of the month Adar. See Tract. Schekalim i. 3, ii. 7 ; Ideler,
Chronol. I. pp. 488, 509. Certain expositors have supposed
the payment here in question to have been a civil one, exacted
by the Roman government in other words, a poll-tax (see
"Wolf and Calovius ; and of modern writers, consult especially,
Wieseler, Chronol. Synopse, p. 265 ff., and Beitr. p. 108 ff.).
This, however, is precluded, not merely by the use of the
customary term TO, BiSpa^a, which was well known to the
reader as the temple-tax, but likewise by the incongruity which
would thereby be introduced into the succeeding argument,
through making it appear as though Jesus had strangely and
improperly classed Himself among the, kings of this world, with
a view to prove with how much reason He could claim to be
free. Even had He regarded Himself as David's son, He would
have been wrong in arguing thus, while, so far as the case
before us is concerned, He was, to all intents and purposes,
one of the a\\orpioi. ol . . . \a/j,/3dvovT<;] used as a sub-
stantive : the collectors. That there were such, though Wieseler
denies it, is not only evident from the nature of the case,
CHAP. XVII. 23. 447
seeing that it was not possible for everybody to go to Jerusalem,
but is also proved by statements in the Tr. Schekalim (" tra-
pezitae in unaquaque civitate," etc.) ; see also Lightfoot. The
plural ra St'Spa^a indicates the large number of didrachmae
that were collected, seeing that every individual contributed
one ; and the article points to the tax as one that was well
known. In the question put by the collectors (which question
shows that this happened to be the time for collecting, but
that Jesus had not paid as yet, though it is impossible to
determine whether or not the question was one of a humane
character, which would depend entirely upon the tone in which
it was put) the plural ra SiSpa^fia indicates that the payment
had to be repeated annually, to which the present reXet likewise
points. That the collectors should not have asked Jesus Him-
self, and that Peter should have happened to be the particular
disciple whom they did ask, are probably to be regarded merely
as accidental circumstances. But why did they ask at all, and
why in a dubious tone ? They may have assumed or supposed
that Jesus would claim to rank with the priests (who did not
consider themselves liable for temple-tax, Tr. Schekal. i. 4),
seeing that His peculiarly holy, even His Messianic, reputation
cannot certainly have remained unknown to them.
Ver. 25. From the vai of Peter it is clear that Jesus had
hitherto been in the habit of paying the tax. Trpoe<j>0a<rev]
Since it is stated in ver. 24 that the collectors came to Peter,
and as one is at a loss to see why, if Jesus had been present
at the same time, they should not have asked Himself, it
follows that the evangelist must have ascribed what Jesus
says to Peter to His immediate knowledge of the thoughts of
others. Comp. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euth. Zigabenus,
Steinmeyer, Ewald, Keirn. Instead of irpoe^daaev \eytov
(Arist. Eccl 884; Thuc. vii. 73. 3) we might also have had
7r/9o</>0ao-a<? eX-eye (Plat. Rep. vi. p. 500 A; Thuc. viii. 51. 1).
See Kiihner, II. 1, p. 626 f. Sipav] " appellatio quasi
domestica et familiaris," Bengel. Comp. Mark xiv. 37.
TeXrj] duty upon goods. Krjv<ro<i] Tax upon individuals and
landed property, xxii. 17, 19, the Greek <f)6po<; in contradis-
tinction to TeXo9 (indirect tax). Comp. note on Luke xx. 22 ;
448 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
Rom. xiii. 7. airo rwv aAAorp.] from those who are not
members of their family, i.e. from their subjects.
Ver. 2Q."Apaye . . . VIOL] Application: Therefore I, as the
Son of God, am exempt from the tax which is payable to
Jehovah, i.e. to His temple. The inference in this argument,
which is of the nature of a dilemma, and which proceeds on
the self-consciousness of Jesus regarding His supernatural
sonship (comp. note on xxii. 45), is an inference a minori ad
majus, as is indicated by ol /Sacr. 7779 7/75. If, indeed, in the
case of earthly kings their sons are exempted from the taxes
they impose, it follows that the Son of the heavenly King, the
Son of God, can be under no obligation to pay the taxes which
He imposes (for the temple). The plural ol viol is justifiable
in the general proposition as a generic (comp. note on ii. 20)
indefinite plural, but the application must be made to Jesus
only, not to Peter as well (Paulus, Olshausen, Ewald, Lange,
Hofmann, Schriftbew. II. 1, p. 131, Gess, Keim), inasmuch as
the predicate, in the sense corresponding to the argument, was
applicable to Jesus alone, while viol, taken in the wider
spiritual sense, would embrace not merely Peter and the
apostles, but those believers in general whose connection with
the Jewish temple was not broken off (John iv. 21) till a some-
what later period. The principle laid down by Jesus, that
He is under no obligation to pay temple-tax on the ground of
His being the Son of God, is, in thesi, to be simply recognised,
and requires no justification (in answer to de Wette) ; but, in
praxi, He waives His claim to exemption, and that from a
regard to the offence which He would otherwise have given,
inasmuch as the fact of His divine sonship, and the /ietbz/
elvai rov lepov (xii 6) which it involved, were not recognised
beyond the circle of believers, and He would therefore have
been looked upon exclusively as an Israelite, as which He
was, of course, subject to the law (Gal. iv. 4). If on some
other occasion we find Him asserting His Messianic right to
subordinate certain legal enactments to His own will (see xii. 8 ;
John vii. 21 ff.), it must be borne in mind that in such cases
He had to do with enemies, in answer to whose accusation He
had to appeal to the authority implied in His being commis-
CHAP. XVII. 27. 449
sioncd to bring about the Messianic fulfilment of the law
(v. 17). This commission did not supersede His personal
obligation, imposed upon Him in His birth and circumcision,
to comply with the law, but only gave to His obedience the
higher ideal and perfect character which distinguished it.
\ev6epoi] put well forward for sake of emphasis. The idea
that the SlSpa^ov is given to God, is found likewise in Joseph.
Antt. xviii. 4. 1.
Ver. 27. But in order that we may not scandalize them (the
collectors), that we may not give them occasion to misjudge
us, as though we despised the temple. Bengel : " illos, qui
non noverant jus Jesu." Jesus thus includes others along
with Himself, not because He regarded Peter as strictly entitled
to claim exemption, nor because He was anticipating the time
when His followers generally would cease to have such obli-
gations in regard to the temple (Dorner, Jesu siindlose Volk.
p. 37), but because Peter, who, in like manner, had his resi-
dence in Capernaum (viii. 14), had not paid, as yet, any more
than Himself. iropev6ei<i\ belongs to els rrjv 6d\aa-<r. (to
the sea), which latter Fritzsche connects with /3aXe, which,
however, would have the effect of rendering it unduly emphatic.
ayxiarpov] It is a fish-hook (Horn. Od. iv. 369; Herod,
ii. 70, al.}, and not a net, which Jesus asks him to throw in, be-
cause in this instance it was a question of one particular fish.
Consequently this is the only occasion in the Gospels in which
mention is made of a fishing with a hook. rov dvafidvra]
out of the depths. TT/XWTOZ/] the adjective : the first fish that
has come up. apov\ lift it with the hook out on the land.
Jesus is therefore aware that this one will be the first to snap
at the hook. evptjaets <narripa\ that is, in the mouth of
the fish. The stater was a coin equivalent to four drachmae,
for which reason it is likewise called a TerpaSpa^o?, and
must not be confounded with the gold stater (20 drachmae).
avrl efjiov K. <rov] not an incorrect expression for /cat avrl
epov (Fritzsche), but avri is used with reference to the original
enactment, Ex. xxx. 12 if., where the half-shekel is repre-
sented as a ransom for the soul. Comp. xx. 28. With conde-
scending accommodation, Jesus includes Himself in this view.
MATT. 2 F
450 THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW.
EEMARK. The naturalistic interpretation of this incident, so
far as its miraculous features are concerned, which, in a teleo-
logical respect, and on account of the magical character of the
occurrence, Schleiermacher, L. J. p. 228, also regarded with
suspicion, has, in conformity with earlier attempts of the kind,
been advocated above all by Paul us and Ammon, and consists
substantially in supposing that svpfoets trar. was accomplished
by the selling of the Jish. But whether avoids rb erfaa, avro\J
be referred to the act of taking the fish from the hook (Paulus,
Komment), or even to Peter as offering it for sale, in which
case auroD is said to signify on the spot, we always have, as
the result, an incongruous representation and unwarrant-
able perversion of what, for the narrative of a miracle, is
extremely simple and appropriate, to say nothing of so enor-
mous a price for a single fish, and that especially in Capernaum,
though Paulus, in spite of the vpurov, understands the lyjvv in a
collective sense. The mythical mode of explaining away this inci-
dent (Strauss, II. p. 184, according to whom it is " a legendary
offshoot of tales of the sea") the occasion of which is to be
found partly in a take of fish by Peter, partly in the stories
current about jewels (for example, the ring of Poly crates,
Herod, iii. 42) having been found in the inside of fish breaks
down in consequence of its own arbitrariness, and the absence
of any thought or Old Testament event in which the myth
might be supposed to originate. Again, it would be to make it
simply a curiosity (in answer to Strauss in Hilgenfeld's Zeitschr.
1863, p. 293 ff.) to treat it as an invention for the purpose of
exhibiting the superiority of Jesus over the circumstances to
which He was accommodating Himself. But Hase's hypothesis,
that what was a figurative way of expressing the blessing
that attended the labour by means of which the little sum was
handily raised, has been transformed, in the popular legend,
into an apocryphal miracle, is inconsistent with the fact that
the actual miraculous capture of the fish is not once men-
tioned, an omission which is scarcely in keeping with the usual
character of apocryphal narratives. Lastly, the view is no less
unfounded which derives the narrative from a parable, in which
our Lord is supposed to be representing the contrast between
the righteousness of faith that distinguishes the children of
God, and the legal righteousness of those who are only slaves
(Weisse, Evangelienfr. p. 263 ff.). Besides, this would be to
import into the passage the Pauline contrast of a similar kind.
In short, the incident must continue to be regarded as in every
way as historical as the evangelist meant it to be. As for the
CHAP. XVIT. 27. 451
difficulties involved in so doing, such as that of the fish snatch-
ing he hook with the stater in its mouth (not in the stomach),
or that implied in the circumstance that, of all places, Caper-
naum was the one where Jesus had no need whatever to have
recourse to miraculous means for raising the little sum required,
they must likewise continue unsolved, belonging as they do to
those mysteries that are connected with miracles generally ;
and while not justifying us in discarding the narrative without
other reasons for so doing, they will at least warrant us in letting
it stand as it is (de Wette), no matter whether the miraculous
character of the affair, so far as Jesus is concerned, is supposed
to lie in what He there and then performed (" piscis eo ipso
momento staterem ex fundo maris afferre jussus est," Bengel),
or in what He knew, which latter is all that the terms of the
passage permit us to suppose (Grotius). Finally, the fact that
the execution of the order given by Jesus, ver. 27, is not expressly
recorded, is no reason why the reality of the thing itself should
be questioned ; for, considering the character of the Gospel, as
well as the attraction which the thing must have had for Peter,
the execution in question is to be assumed as a matter of
course. But even apart from this, the result promised by Jesus
would be sure to follow in the event of His order being com-
plied with. For this reason Ewald's view also is unsatisfactory,
which is to the effect that Jesus merely wanted to indicate with
what readiness the money for the tax could be procured, the
phraseology which He.employed being supposed to proceed upon
well-known, although extremely rare, instances of such things
being found in fish.
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