690
GRAPES
GREATNESS
it was, therefore, in His very nature (Lk 23**). In His thought the gracious method of His treatment of men was to become a general standard of con- duct (Jn 13">), and would even constitute the basis of final judgment (Mt 25«). It should not be overlooked that, while St. Luke is the Evangelist who most frequently and clearly reveals this cliar- acteristic of Jesus, and dwells most distinctly upon it, each of the others supplies sufficient evidence to prove that St. Luke's picture is no imaginary one, nor even his emphasis exaggerated. See Gbace.
:itt<d,
ed.)
ii-13 ; Tlu- /
Eoss, The 7',,r,'
Brooks, The Iiiflur.m-c nf J. iiuj of Jesiis (fin{^.
ifs on the passaj^es , I'., and J. Weiss (8tli mdnction in Centnry Thayer and Crenier,
]:?£:..
Wendt, The Teach- , „ ,. .. ; Bruce, Galilean
artt. ' Grace ' and ' Gracious ' in Hastin}^' DB,
G. CuRRiE Martin. GRAPES.-See AVine.
GRASS.— In the OT tliere are several Heb. words which are translated 'grass,' but tliey are all very general terms ; in the NT the only word so trans- lated is x^p'''"^- Strictly speaking, no plant should be called a grass unless it belongs to the botanical order Gramincie, but tliis is a comparatively modern distinction. The Biblical writers do not, of course, employ the term with scientific precision. The modern Arab includes, under the common desig- nation hashish (grass), field-flowers such as ane- mones, poppies, and tulips. If, as is probable, it was in tliis wider sense that Christ and His con- temporaries used the word, it lends new point and cliarm to His appeal, ' If God so clothe the grass of the field ' (Mt 6*), and invests with fresh beauty the familiar words, ' All flesh is grass, and all tlie glory thereof as the flower of grass' (1 P 1=^ RV ; cf. Jal"-").
The true grasses of Palestine are very numerous ; Dr. Post gives the figures for Palestine and Syria as 90 genera and 243 species (Hastings' DB ii. 258). Pasture grasses vary greatly in quality and pro- fusion according to climate, soil, and elevation. Turf is rare. Grass is much used as fuel (Mt 6*), especially in districts where wood is scarce (see OvEx). Hugh Duncan.
GRAYE.-See Tomb.
GRAVE-CLOTHES.-Tl,.. ar.cunt in the Gospels of the (■irrmii-.taiH'es atli-jMlinu the burial of our Lcml illustivitrs fully llip -riHT.il practice of the tiiiir with rc-aril to -rave-ch.tlies. The body of Jesus, doubtless after being bathed, after the manner of the Jews as well as of the Greeks (Ac !)", cf, Gospel of Peter, 6), was 'wrapped' (^xfriiXt^ei/, Mt27™, Lk23«') or 'swathed' (ivd\r,<r€v, Mk 15«) in the sliroud of linen cloth [(^tvdin/i.) which Joseph of Arimatlu-ea had procured on his way back to Golgotha, and whicli is described as ' fresli ' or ' unused ' {KaOap^, Mt 27''), in accordance with the sacred use to which it was put (cf. Mk ll'-'). Spices were next crumbled between tlie folds of the linen {fifTo. ruv apwixiruv, Jn 19"), and the whole was then bound together with strips of cloth (iBovloi^, Jn 19* ; cf. Kuplai.i, Jn 11"). "riie face was covered with a separate face-cloth or ' napkin ' (t6 aovSaptov, Jn20').
In later Judaism it was held that the resem- blance of the future to the present body was so close that men would rise in the same clothes in which they were Ijuried, on tlie analogy of the grain of corn which comes up from the earth not naked, but clothed (cf. 1 Co 15^'). An<l accord- ingly the Rabbis were in tlie habit of giving care- ful directions as to their grave-clothes (\Veber, Jiid. ThroL- p. 3711). This frequently led, however.
to such unnecessary expense in the way of luxuiions wrappings, that by way of protest Rabbi Gamaliel left directions that he was to be buried in simple linen garments, while his grandson limited the immber of grave-clothes to one dress (see Eders- Iieim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life, p. 168 f . ). At the present day, among Jews as well as Moham- medans, the corpse is attired in the ordinary holiday attire of life.
Literature. — See under art. Burial, also art. ' Begriibnis bei den Hebraern ' in Herzo^, PRE 3, with the literature there cited.
George Milligan.
GREATNESS. —1. The greatness of Christ.— Greatness is an attribute which more than once in the Scriptures is applied to Jesus Christ. It is used both relatively, in passages which suggest a comparison between His powers and those of such OT heroes as Jacob (Jn 4'-), Jonah and Solomon (Mt l?"-''^), and Abraham or the prophets (Jn 8*^) ; and in an absolute sense, with reference to the esteem in which He was to be held in tlie eyes of Jehovah (Lk P-). In the teaching of Jesus Him- self, however, greatness is less a status than a quality. In the few words in which He alludes to His own human greatness, He makes it to consist in capacity for service and for sacrifice (Mk 10" II), and it is significant that in the Epistles also the attribute is ascribed to Him onlj' where the idea of service and sacrifice is prominent in tlie con- text (He 4» 10=' 13=»).
In one passage the greatness of the Son is com- pared with that of the Father (Jn 14'-«). This is admittedly a difficult saying. The imiiortant point to be borne in mind is that tlie statement must not be interpreted apart from the rest of Christ's teaching concerning His relationship to the First Person in the Trinity. A careful study of His whole attitude seems to show that, whether He is here referring to such inferiority as is in\olved in His possessing the Divine essence by communica- tion or to that which belonged to His subordina- tion as being incarnate upon the earth, the words 'are perfectly consistent with the belief in the unity of the Divine nature, and therefore witli the belief in the equality of the Godhead of the Son with the Godhead of the Father' (Westcott, ad loc. ; cf. Godet, ad lot: ).