Bible Commentaries

Matthew 14:1-12 — of the evangelist to draw largely on his other source, the Logia, and introduce teaching materials bearing on all the topics suggested in his introductory sketch of Christ’s early Galilean ministry: Didache , chaps. 5 7; apostolic mission (4:18. 22), chap. 10; Baptist (chap. 3), chap. 11; Pharisees (cha p. 3:7-9), c hap. 12; popular preaching (Matthew 4:23 ), chap. 3 Chaps. 8, 9 disturb the order by grouping incidents illustrating the healing ministry.

Matthew 25:9 — girls at such a time. Could the oil really be got at such a time of night? and, supposing it could, would going not throw them out of the festivities? Augustine says: “non consulentium sed irridentium est ista responsio” (Serm. xc., iii., 8). More humanely, in the modern spirit, Koetsveld suggests that the marriage procession to music and song was very slow, and that there was a fair chance of overtaking it after the purchase ( De Gelijk. , p. 220). Let us hope so; but I fear we must

Matthew 3:9-10 — ) were spoken at a different time, and to a different audience, not merely to Pharisees and Sadducees, but to the people generally. Matthew 3:7-12 are a very condensed summary of a preaching ministry in which many weighty words were spoken (Luke 3:18 ), these being selected as most representative and most relevant to the purpose of the evangelist. Matthew 3:7-8 contain a word for the leaders of the people; Matthew 3:9-10 for the people at large; Matthew 3:11-12 a word to inquirers about the Baptist’s

Matthew 8:28 — Matthew 8:28 . δύο , two , in Mark and Luke one. According to some, e.g. , Holtzmann (H. C.), the two includes the case reported in Mark 1:23-27 , Luke 4:31-37 , omitted by Matthew. Weiss’ hypothesis is that the two is an inference from the plurality

Matthew 8:32 — Matthew 8:32 . ὑπάγετε : Christ’s laconic reply, usually taken to mean: go into the swine, but not necessarily meaning more than “begone”. So Weiss, who holds that Jesus had no intention of expressing acquiescence in the demoniac’s request.

Mark 8:27 — Mark 8:27 . καὶ ἐξῆλθεν : the καὶ connects very loosely with what goes before, but presumably ἐξῆλθεν refers to Bethsaida. They leave it and go northwards towards Caesarea Philippi, up the Jordan valley, a distance of some twenty-five or thirty miles. ὁ Ἰησοῦς

Luke 5:1-11 — That interest had been felt before Lk. wrote, hence the tradition about his call grew ever richer in contents, till it became a lengthy, edifying story. Lk. gives it as he found it. Some think he mixes up the call with the later story told in John 21:1-8 , and not a few critics find in his account a symbolic representation of Peter’s apostolic experience as narrated in the book of Acts. Such mixture and symbolism, if present, had probably found their way into the history before it came into Lk.’s

John 17:17 — Christ, they must possess also a positive equipment, ἁγίασον αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ ἀληθείᾳ σου . “Consecrate them by thy truth.” ἁγιάζω is to render sacred, to set apart from profane uses; as in Exodus 13:1 , ἁγίασόν μοι πᾶν πρωτότοκον ; Exodus 20:8 , ἁγ . ἡμέραν ; Exodus 28:37 , ἁγιάσεις αὐτοῦς ἵνα ἱερατεύωσί μοι ; Matthew 23:17 ; Hebrews 9:13 . In John 10:36 it is used of the Father’s setting apart of Christ to His mission. Here it is similarly used of the setting apart or consecration

John 19:38 — John 19:38 . Μετὰ δὲ ταῦτα , “But after these things”. In John 19:31 the Jews asked that the bodies might be removed. Had this request been fulfilled by the soldiers, they would have cast the three bodies together into some pit of refuse, cf. Joshua

John 4:47 — and begs Him not simply to heal his son, but pointedly ἵνα καταβῇ , to go to Capernaum for the purpose. He considered the presence of Jesus to be necessary [“non putat verbo curare posse,” Melanchthon] (contrast the centurion of Matthew 8:0 ); and, being a person of standing, did not scruple to trouble Jesus. Jesus neither refuses nor grants the request at once, but utters the reflection: John 4:48 . ἐὰν μὴ σημεῖα … πιστεύσητε . Not as a prophet uttering truth, but as a miracle worker

John 8:54 — John 8:54 . To their question Jesus, as usual, gives no categorical answer, but replies first by repelling the insinuation contained in their question and then by showing that He was greater than Abraham (see Plummer). Ἐὰν ἐγὼ δοξάζω . “If I shall have

Acts 12:11 — compound only found in Luke and Paul; four times in Luke’s Gospel, six or seven times in Acts, and Galatians 4:4 ; Galatians 4:6 ; very frequent in LXX, and used also in active voice by Polybius. ἐξείλετο ἐκ χ .: close parallels in LXX, cf. Exodus 3:8 , 2 Samuel 22:1 , Isaiah 43:13 , Bar 4:18 ; Bar 4:21 , etc. ἐκ χειρὸς : Hebraism, cf. Luke 1:74 . The expression is also classical, Blass, Gram. , p. 127, for close parallel. προσδοκία : only in Luke here and in Luke 21:26 , cf. Genesis 49:10 , but

Acts 12:3 — have kept him from rejoicing in the persecution of the Christians, cf. the description of his delight in the bloody gladiatorial games, Jos., Ant. , xix., 9, 5. προσέθετο συλλ .: a Hebraism, cf. Luke 19:11 ; Luke 20:11 : LXX, Genesis 4:2 ; Genesis 8:12 ; Genesis 25:1 , Exodus 14:13 , etc., peculiar to St. Luke in N.T., Viteau, Le Grec du N. T. , p. 209 (1893). αἱ ἡ . τῶν ἀζύμων , and therefore a large number of Jews would be in Jerusalem, and Herod would thus have a good opportunity of gaining

Acts 12:8 — Acts 12:8 . περίζωσαι , but simple verb in R.V., W.H [250] , Weiss, Wendt; bind thy tunic with a girdle: during the night the long flowing undergarment was loosened, but fastened up by day, so as not to impede the movements. Wetstein, Weiss, Page, and others

Acts 13:36 — the counsel or purpose of God for one, or during one generation, whilst in Christ the eternal purpose of God was realised. προσετέθη πρὸς τοὺς π . αὐτοῦ : Hebraistic expression, lit [263] , “was added,” i.e. , in Sheol, cf. Genesis 26:8 , Judges 2:10 , 1Ma 2:69 . [262] dative case. [263] literal, literally.

Acts 16:8 — Acts 16:8 . παρελθόντες : “passing by Mysia”. Ramsay renders “neglecting Mysia,” cf. St. Paul , pp. 194, 196, 197, i.e. , passing through it without preaching. McGiffert, p. 235, so Wendt (1899), following Ramsay. Rendall, p. 278, explains

Acts 20:8 — Acts 20:8 . λαμπάδες ἱκαναὶ , see critical note and reading in D. The words have been taken to indicate clearly that the accident was not due to darkness coming on through Paul’s lengthy discourse (so Weiss and Wendt), whilst Meyer regards them as introduced

Acts 4:14 — , their opponents) said that the fact was not so, there was he to refute them,” St. Chrysostom, Hom. , x. On St. Luke’s fondness for the shorter form, ἑστώς not ἑστηκώς , both in Gospel and Acts, see Friedrich, Das Lucasevangelium , p. 8. οὐδὲν εἶχον ἀντ .: this meaning of ἔχω with the infinitive is quite classical; cf. the Latin habeo dicere ; on St. Luke’s fondness for phrases with εὑρίσκειν and ἔχειν see Friedrich, u. s. , pp. 11, 12. ἀντειπεῖν : only used by St. Luke in

Acts 7:26 — Acts 7:26 . ὥφθη : Wendt commends Bengel, who sees in the word the thought that he appeared ultro, ex improviso, cf. Acts 2:3 , Acts 7:2 , Hebrews 9:28 . συνήλασεν : but if we read συνήλλασσεν , see critical note = imperfect, de conatu, cf. Matthew 3:14 , Luke 1:59 ; Luke 15:14 , Acts 26:11 , see Burton, N. T. Moods and Tenses , p. 12, from συναλλάσσω , only found here in N.T., not in LXX or Apocrypha,

Revelation 19:15 — Revelation 19:15 . αὐτός The victory of the messiah is single-handed (“I have trodden the wine-press alone”); cf. on Revelation 19:13 , an d Sap. 18:22, P s. Sol. 17:24 27, where the word of messiah’s mouth is the sole weapon of his victory (an Iranian touch as in S. B. E. iv. p. lxxvii. f., the distinguishing excellence of Zoroaster is that his chief weapon is spiritual, i.e. , the word