'Ef lj\j/ovs, 'from on high,' presents some ilifhcnlty. as dawn does not come from on hiuli : pnliaps the
ref. to a bright shining star is m in krrjiin-
(Meyer); ' He is the Daystar from on hiu'li, lirim.'- ing a new morning to those who sit in the darkness and death-shadows of the world' (Liddon, Jininjt. Led.' p. 248). Godet would connect these words with iTtiTKiferai. (' it is from tile bosom of Divine mercy that this star comes down, and it does not rise upon humanity tintil after il lias descended and has been made man), Imf tlii- >r,.ms hardly necessary; i^ litpovi represents 'from (Jod,' and dxoToXT) ^1 ii^ou! is simply ' God's Messiah ' (Dalman, The Words of Jesus, pp. 223, 224).
A different translation is based on tlio fact tliat ivi^-roxi in
LXX stands several times for n-'i, :i ' -I i ' n, ■Ihmii-Ii,' i
the prophetic names of the .M( i .ii i i i
.ler 40 [33)15 Theod.). fia VA.y~ •ji', , ,i
modern authorities arc av,'aiii-i ■ , I i : . h
that the expression rnul^viil -I it i, r li;,
equivalent of the Hrl'. rti l;r i .. > lim ii
seems a fatal objcrli.:, i|. ! ■ - : n- in
the passage corri'spnua c;,, .; . ;, ' . , , !,(,.■
xatTtuBuvxi): and il ^v . ,, . , I,
111). Bleekwishes to. .iiiilii,,, II, , ,,
aplay of words on the spr.iuliii lii, i i, ■ i ,
no Hebrew word will bear thi- 1 1 , n
near identifying this Messiaiii ;, ,, , i
light when it renders Is 42c ill I i ■! !■ ' 1 • i 1 ■- .i 1 theLordbebeautifulini.l 1,1 ,1
fiirU heiy,;. Ifthesniii ill !• ,, . ,, i,,,,]
lor some other won i ; 1 ; , - , 1 , . ,
andinoneMS, QiiiE, f,,r r,Ti ■ nsm ; ' il- i" 1, sr, 11,, r,.„n,> ,,i Godet and Plummer. i«, /or w; 11 ii,-v......
DEAD, THE (oi veKpoi).—!. The reverence and regard due from the living to the dead, according to the ideas which the Jews shared with other nations, are clearly illustrated in the Gospels. All honour is paid to the corpse in preparation for burial: it is anointed with spices and unguents (Mk 10', Lk 23* Jn ig^"; cf. what Jesus says In Mk H"*), and wrapped in fitting cerements (Mk 15*' etc.). Reverent burial is given, the funeral train following the body borne uncoffined upon a bier (Lk 7"''^). The omission of any mention of burial in tlie case of Lazarus in the parable (Lk 16"), as contrasted with the case of the rich man, who ' had a funeral,' bespeaks a poor abject. The dead are bewailed by kinsfolk (Jn IP'- 33), by sympathetic neighbours, and by liired mourners (Mk 53', Mt 9=3). Jesus in the noteworthy saying in Lk 9™ (=Mt 8==), 'Let the dead bury their dead,' overrides a chief charge on filial attection, the burial of a father, as He emphasizes the para- mount claims of discipleshii^. Such observances are not only the expression of natural grief ; they involve belief in the continued existence of the dead, as is also the case with other forms of duty to the dead such as are insisted on in the Talmud. E.g. their wishes are to be respected and fulfilled (Git. 14b), they are free from all obligation (Shab. 30a), it is unlawful to speak evil of them (Beralch. 19a) — cf. the familiar proverb, De mortuis nil nisi bonum.
2. The teaching of Jesus concerning the dead. — Whatever may be gathered from the words of Jesus touching the state of the dead is to be regarded in the light of the current Jewish beliefs of His daj', to see how far He sanctions .such beliefs, and in what respects He corrects and modifies them. The tenets of the Sadducees, denying the resurrection, future retribution, and indeed any continuance of personal being after death, constituted a sectarian opinion from the standpoint of later Judaism. The Sadducees, it is true, seemed to adhere to the older teaching of the OT, wherein for the most part nothing is allowed concerning the dead (rcphctim) but a thin, shadowy existence in Sheol. They were, however, influenced in this respect by Hellenism and their affectation of culture rather than by zeal for the earlier Jewish faith (S.liiirer, HJP II. ii. 38f.). The common 1 M'l i. 'f , il I list rated in the later literature of Judaism, was virtually that of the Pharisees, who held that
Lat.
the soul isimprrisliaMe, that rew.ar.I-
nienls follow this life nndrr Mic ra
infcfi), that f..r tlie wicknl ihnr i~ an .•ti-nial ini-
prisonment, but for the ri-liteous a ivsunvetion to
eternal life (Jo.s. 7;/ ii. 8; Ant. xviii. 1). This
resurrection is connected with the glory of the
Messianic kingdom.
Jesus definitely repudiates the Sadducean view (Mk 12=^- ='), and endorses, as to its substance, that of the Pharisi'es. (For a .lillerent view, cf. E. Wliite, Life il, Christ, rli. 16). In His dealing with the Sadducees ami their catch-question on this sulijert (Mk 12»'-=' and parallels), He teaches iliiit I he dead are really alive and in a state of eeiiseiiiii~Me-s. So also lu the parable of the Rich Man ami Lazarus (Lk 16"»f-), ^vith a sharp distinc- tion between experiences of misery and bliss as entered upon by souls after death. This parable also favours the belief in the soul's direct and immediate entrance upon this new conscious state, a- .1.. unr Lords words in Lk 23-'3 'To-day shalt :li'iii lie \\itli lue in paradise.' We are not, li.i\\e\er. I,, allow a, literal interpretation of His