DuGALD Clark.
BILL.— 1. Bill of divorcement : Mk 10*, Mt 19' (RV): Gr. ^i/3\(oi' (a scroll or letter) diroffracrlov; shorter equivalent, diroo-Tdo-ioc Mt 5-". In all three
Passages the expression is used of the nn'l? nsP emanded in Dt 24'-* of the husband who divorces his wife. In contrast with the older usage— still prevalent in the East— of divorce by a merely verbal process, the need of preparing a written
202
bijS^dixg and LOOSIXG
BIRTH OF CHRIST
document was calculated to be a bar against hasty or frivolous action, while the bill itself served tlie divorced wife as a certificate of her right to marry again. The Rabbis, who dwelt with special gusto ('non sine complacentia quadam' — Lightfoot) on the subject of divorce, had drawn up regulations as to the proper wording of the bill of divorcement, its sealing and witnessing, and the number of lines — neither less nor more than twelve — the writing must occupy. In the eyes of Jesus, no document, however formal, could prevent divorce from being a violation of God's purpose in instituting marriage. See Lightfoot, Hor. Heb. in Mt 5^K
2. A bond (so RV) or written acknowledgment of debt, Lk IB"- ' : Gr. (Ti., Tr., WH) to ypd^L^Lara, (TR) tA ypa/xfia. The word itself is indefinite (literally = ' the letters'), and throws no light upon a question much discussed by commentators on the parable of the Unjust Steward, viz. AVas the bond merely an acknowledgment of a debt, or was it an undertaking tc pay a fixed annual rental from the produce of a farm? Edersheim decides, though •\rithout giving his reasons, for the former alter- native : Lightfoot inclines to the latter. Against the theory of a simple debt is the fact that the amount of the obligation is stated in kind— wheat and oil — and not in money ; and the probability of the story is heightened if we are to understand that the remissions authorized by the steward- amounting in money value, according to Edersheim, to the not very considerable sums of £5 and £25 respectively — affected not a single but an annual payment. But, on the other hand, as van Koets- feld, who argues strongly for the view that the document was of the nature of a lease, admits, there is no precedent for the word (xpco0iXe- rat) rendered ' debtors ' being used for tenants. Jiilicher dismisses the whole controversy as ir- relevant. Another point in dispute is whether the old bond was altered, or a new one substituted for it. Lightfoot and Edersheim again take dif- ferent sides. The alteration of the old bond is suggested, though not absolutely demanded, by thelan^age of the passage, and would be, accord- ing to Edersheim, in accordance with the probabil- ities of the case. Acknowledgments of debt were usually written on wax-covered tablets, and could easily be altered, the stylus in use being provided, not only with a sharp-pointed kothebh or writer, but mth a flat thick inoh.ek or eraser. In any case it is clear that the ' bill ' was written by the person imdertaking the obligation ; that it was the only formal evidence of the obligation ; and that its supervision belonged to the functions of the steward. Hence, should the steward conspire with the debtors against his master's interests, the latter had no check upon the fraud.
Ln-ERATi-RE.— Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, ii. S68-273; Lijrhtfoot, Bor. Heb., in Inc.; see also the various commentators on the Parables. K 0E5I-\X ERASER.
BINDING AND LOOSING.-See Cjjsabea Phi- LiPPi, Keys.
BIRD.— See Animals, p. 65*.
BIRTH OF CHRIST.-
i. St Luke's account.
1. Jewish element and colouring.
2. Objfctions takf-n to the contents of Lk 1. 2.
5. ProlnTV- -nurrr^ nf ST. Luke's information. 4. Pr-ilii. 1.. ,1, -- .n. I ,.pl^ birthplace.
6. Th.' . . : - ■(!,.. ■-, u. St. Mattli.
2. Keluliuii (o .Ifwi^ii If^'ul requirements.
3. Sobriety and delicacy of the narrative
4. Objections taken to the contents of Mt 1. ~. Apocr>i)hal i
i. St. Luke's account. — 1, Jcu-ish clement and colouring. — The two accounts of our Lord's birth in the Gospels carrj' us at once into the very heart of Jewish home life. In the fuller account of the two, that of St. Luke, the evidence of this Jewish element has been materially strengthened by recent literature and discussion. No one, c.j/., can read the early Canticles in St. Luke's Gospel without noticing their intensely Jewi.sh character. This was amply shown by Ryle and James in their edition of the Psalms of Solomon (see esp. pp. xci, xcii), a work which may fairly be placed some half century or so before our Lord's Advent. In the same manner Chase has illustrated many points of contact between these Canticles and the lan- guage of the Eighteen Prayers of the synagogue.* More recently Sanday has emphasized the same argument, more especially in relation to the Bene- (lictits, in which he finds quite a pUing up of ex- pressions characteristic of the old popular Messianic expectation ; the first five or six verses are quite sufficient to mark this essentially pre-Christian character (Critical Questions, p. 133 ; see also Nebe, Die Kindheitsgeschichtc iinseres Herrn Jesu Christi nach Matthiiits und Lukas ansgelegt, 1893, p. 166 ff.; s.nAeyexiGxnik&\, Zttmreligion^geschicht- lichen Verstdndniss des ^'T, 1903, p. 67).t