There are very few references to madness in the Gospels ; in Lk 6^^ tlie word iivoia is used (tiie RVm renders it 'foolishness'), its meaning is certainly nearer to ' foolishness ' than to the modern notion of madness ; perhaps its meaning is best expressed by the German ausser sich, lit. ' outside of oneself,' resulting in a temporary loss of mental balance ; in 2 Ti 3^* the same Avord is translated ' folly,' wliicli, taken with the words ' corrupted in mind ' in tlie preceding verse, brings out the sense more fully. Another expression, used in Mt 4'^^ 17'^, is o-eX??-
* See, however, Ac 16i6ff..
t This is still the case in the East.
vid^effdai 'to be lunatic,' or 'moonstruck,'* but from the context in the second passage there can be no doubt that this was epilepsy. Neither of these expressions answers to modern ideas of mad- ness. There is, however, one other word (fialveffdai, Jn 10"") which seems to correspond with what would be understood by madness nowadays, viz. to be bereft of reason ; in the passage in question it is certainly used in this sense ; at the same time it must be remembered that fiaiveffdaL is connected with fj.avTev€(T6ai, which implies possession by some supernatural being, t The same word, as well as fxavia, is used in Ac 26^^- ^^, where aX-qdeia and <7u^po- ffuvT) are placed in opposition to it, which confirms the meaning implied in Jn 10'^". J [See, further, Demon, Lunatic].
On two occasions in the Gospels we find madness or insanity definitely attributed to our Lord Him- self. Once by His own friends, among whom, apparently, His mother and brethren were included (Mk 3'-\ cf. V.31). We read that ' they went out to lay hold on him : for they said. He is beside him- self ' (e^earr)). Commentators are for the most part agreed that in this passage i^earrj denotes insanity, or at least a mental excitement bordering ujwn it (cf. a similar use of the word by St. Paul, 2 Co 5'^). The other occasion is that already referred to, when, according to St. John, certain of ' the Jews ' said of Jesus, 'He hath a devil, and is mad' (8ai./j.6viov ^x«' '^'i' fxaherai, Jn lO""). In this case the madness is evidently ascribed to Satanic possession, and is not regai'ded merely as a de- rangement due to overwork and excitement. It is worth noting, however, that fialvo/jLai is applied to St. Paul in a less offensive way (/xatyj/, Ac 26-'*) by Festus. AV renders, 'Thou art beside thyself,' which RV consistently changes into, ' Thou ai't mad,' to correspond with ' I am not mad (01; fiaivo/iiai.), most excellent Festus,' in the next verse. The charge of madness brought against Jesus is characteristic and significant, and has many parallels in the histoiy of Christ's followers in the early (cf. Ac 2^^ as Avell as 26--'- ^s, 2 Co 5^^) and in the later Ciiurch. It is an illustration of the inability of the natural man to receive the
* Macalister (in Hastings' DB iii. 328'') quotes Vicary, who says of the brain that ' it mouetli and followeth the mouing of the Moone : for in the waxing of the Moone, the Brayne fol- loweth upwardes : and in the wane of the Moone the Brayne discendeth downwardes, and vanishes in substance of vertue . . .'; according to the Jewish conception, which connects epilepsy with demoniacal possession (Mt 1718), the light of the moon drove demons away. [See Demon].
t See Trench, Synnni/ms of the jYTH, pp. 21, 22, cf. Ac 1616-18.
} A somewhat similar meaning belongs to Ta,pK(fpoiiiv in 2 Co 1123 and Ta/3a$>/3on« in 2 P 21''.
MAGDALA
MAGI
97
things of the Spirit of God (2 Co 2'^ ; cf. Jn 15^3 W. O. E. Oesterlev and J. C. Lambert.
MAGDALA. — The word ' MaydaUi ' occurs once only in the TR of the NT (Mt 13^^'j. In B and N the reading is ' Magadan.' This reading is fol- lowed by Tisch., Alford, WH, and is adopted in the RV. In tiie parallel narrative in St. Marks Gospel (8^**) the place to which Christ came is designated as ' the parts of Dabnaniithn ' (wh. see). These names evidently refer to the same district, but not necessarily to the same place. They seem to have been in sucli proximity, however, that the adjacent district might be named from either. With respect to their location, various sites on the south and south-east border of the Lake of Galilee have been suggested, but none of tliem can be regarded as satisfactorj-. There is no site in this locality whose name l>cars any resemblance to Magadan ; and the only place which suggests a resemblance to Dahnanutiux is a village known as cil-DcIhcmiych, near the mouth of the Jarmuk river. Apart from tlie name there is nothing else in or about tiie place to justify its identihcation with the town to Aviiicli St. Mark refers in the passage above cited. Caspari and Edersheim would place Magadan Mithin the limits of the Decapolis, bixt do not assign it to any definite location. The suggestion of Ewald that its site is identical with Megiddo, on the southern border of the Esdraelon plain, does not harmonize with the facts of the narrative, and apparently rests upon a very slender foundation.