2. IMt 12« !! Lk IV-. The words in the two Gos- pels are identical. [D omits tlie whole passage in St. Luke]. St Matthew places side by side the two logia relating to Jonah, and then introduces the one that relates to Solomon and ' tiie queen of the south.' St. Luke transposes the latter two, ' either for chronologj^ or eflect, or both ' (Plummer). Our Lord again addresses the 'evil generation.' ' Ninevites (avSpes 'Niuevelrai, no article ; EV ' the men of Nineveh') shall stand up (as witnesses) in the judgment with this generation and shall con- demn it, because they repented in accordance with the message preached by Jonah (ei's to K-fipvy/xa 'luvd),' whereas this generation has not repented though a far greater than Jonah is preaching to it ; 'something greater (TrXelov, cf.v.^\ Mt 12^) than Jonah is here.' A. H. M'Neile.
NOAH. — The hero of the Hebrew version of the Semitic tradition of the Flood ; mentioned twice in the Gospels. In the genealogy of Jesus (Lk 3^) he appears in the ninth generation after Adam, as in the OT narrative. The second mention is in I>k 1726. 27 II ]\j^ 24^- ^, where Jesus uses the Flood in the days of Noah to illustrate the sudden and unexpected coming of the Son of Man ; the in- difterence of the people in the time of Noah is paralleled by the indifference of men to this approaching event.
The use of the illustration shows the familiarity of the Jews with the story of Noah. In the OT there is but the slightest mention of liim outside of the immediate Flood-story in Genesis. The writer of Is 5-19 describes the present distresses of Israel ' as the waters of Noah,' to be followed by peace, accord- ing to the unchangeable covenant of jjeace, as surely as the promise and the co\ enant followed the Flood. Ezekiel (li'-"- '^') knows of three men, Xoah, Daniel, and Job, efficient mediators to deliver the people by their righteousness ; but in the present case, even the three shall be able to deliver onlv themselves (see also He 11"). O. H. G.A.TES.
NOBLEMAN.— This word is derived from the
Lat. nobilis (—gno-hilis), 'well-known,' 'notable.' In usage the ennobling which makes a man notable may come (a) from rank inherited or conferred, (6) from office, or (c) from character. With the mean- ing (c) ' nobleman ' does not occur in the NT, nor has it often this significance in English authors. ' A noble man ' should be used, when it is desired to convey the thought expressed in Dryden's lines :
' A nobleman is he whose noble mind Is filled with inborn worth.'
In the EV ' a certain nobleman ' is the transla- tion of two difl'erent Gr. phrases, viz. (1) avdpunrds Tis evyevris, Lk 19^2 . (2) ris ^aaiXiKos, Jn 4«- ^».
1. In the parable of the Pounds (Lk lO"*-) the literal rendering of the Gr. phrase is ' a certain well-born man,' or, more idiomatically expressed, 'a man of noble family' (Wej-mouth). The no- bility comes from inherited lank. Inadequate translations are those of Wyclif 'a worthi man,' and of most early English versions ' a noble man.' The ' nobleman ' of this parable is probably Arche- laus, who, on the death of his father, Herod the Great, went to Rome in order to urge his claims to the kingdom. An ' ambassage ' of fiftj' Jews followed Archelaus from Jerusalem to the 'far country ' in order to protest against his being made king ; in other words, they went to Rome to say, ' We will not that this man reign over us " (Lk IQ'"*).
2. The Gr. woi'd used in Jn 4*®- ^^ means ' belong- ing to a king' (cf. Ja 2* ' roj-al'). Wyclif ' a litil kyng,' like the Vulg. i-egidus, follows the false reading ^acnXiaKos. Slore adequate renderings are AVm ' courtier,' or 'ruler'; RVm 'king's officer.' The nobility comes from office. Weymouth ex- presses the meaning well : ' a certain officer of the king's court.' Josephus {BJ VII. v. 2, Atit. XV. viii. 4) uses the word to distinguish the courtiers and other officers of the king from those of Rome. The ' king ' in whose court this officer served was Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. The title ' king ' was not his by right, but was given to him in courtesy (Mt 14^). It is not known who this king's officer was, nor whether his duties were civil or military. He has wronglj- been identified with the 'centurion' {eKaTouTapxos) referred to in Mt 8^ and Lk 7", — a Gentile officer in the army of Anti- pas. To identify the healing of the nobleman's son with the healing of the centurion's servant is not onlj' to manufacture discrepancies, but also to lose the light which the earlier miracle casts upon the later one. This is Avell brought out by Chad- wick (Exjiositor, 4th series, v. 443 tt'. ) ; the strong faith of the centurion (Mt 8^") ' becomes intelligible, without ceasing to be admirable, when we reflect that he was evidently aware of the miracle formerly wrought for another inhabitant of the same city, an eminent person, one of the court which his own sword protected.' J. G. Tasker.