W. EwiNG.
PITCHER (Kepdfxiov). — An earthenware jar with one or two handles, used chiefly by women for carrying water ^Gn 24^^, Jg 7'*, "i; ; RV and AV ' pitcher '). The only occurrence of the word in the Gospels is in Mk 14'^ Lk 22"^', iu the directions given by our Lord for securing a room for the Paschal meal. It has been alleged (Speak. Com. Lk 22'^' note) that the sign of the pitcher was not so accidental as it appears. • According to Jewish usage, on the evening of the 13tli [of the month Nisan], before the stars appeared in heaven, everj- father of a family was to go to the well to draw pure water, Avith which the unleavened bread Avas kneaded. It Avas a real rite Avhich they per- formed. . . .' But apart altogether from the chronological inaccuracy, — the disciples must have entered Jerusalem early m the day (Mk 14'", Mt 26*), — this statement is not confirmed by Mk 14''* and Lk 22", from Avhich it may be inferred that the head of the house, avIio has been ideutitied in turn Avith John Mark, Joseph of Arimatluea, and Nicodemus, is not the bearer of the pitcher.
There is, hoAvever, presumptive CA-idence that the pitcher Avas being used in the preparation of the unleavened bread, the making of Avhich, to- gether Avith the putting aAvay of leaven from the houses, Avas part of the Avork in Avhich many hundreds in Jerusalem (Jos. BJ vi. ix. 3) must have been employed on that day ; but the demand for Avater for ordinary purposes alone Avill suggest the inference that in a city Avhose popvdation Avas so enormously increased, the pitcher bome by this slave could not be distinctive.
Whatever the j^robability of recognizing or of not recognizing the sign, the most important feature of the Avhole incident remains unaflected. For all time the pitcher Avill be a sign not of the need for secrecy and sealed orders, nor even of the prescience of Christ, though that is abundantly proved, but rather of the faith of the tAvo disciples. Here also is presented a beautiful illustration of the co-operation of the human Avill Avith the Divine, the overruling of common events for Divine ends, a demonstration of the poAver that is laid under service to faith. Blessing in the ordinaiy afl'airs of life, as in the greatest crises of the soul, is attainable only by implicit and unquestioning con- fidence in the Master mind.
LrrBRAirRK. — Art. 'Pitcher' in Hastings' DB; S. Cox, Ex- positions, iv. 321 ; the Commentaries on the Gospels, ad locc. ; the various X,i' res o/CAri-yt. ALEX. A. DUXCAX,
PITY. — This AAord occurs once in the Gospels (Mt IS'^ AV) as tr. of Aee'cj ; apparently in ac- cordance AAith the practice of the translators ' that Ave have not tied ourselves to an uniformity of phrasing or to an identity of AA-ords,' since the same Avord eXffu is rendered by ' haAe compassion ' in the verse immediatelj" before, as elscAvhere.
1. In the Synoptic Gospels four different words occur ■which carry with them the notion of ' pity ' or ' compassion ' : aTrXayxvi-^oiJ.ai (aTr\dyx^°-)y iXeiu (Aeos and iXi-qjxwv), crvXXvTreofiai, and oiktIp/j.wv.
Of these, the first three are used with reference to Jesus : (1) <rTAay;{;Kj«u.«/, 'moved with compassion,' found in Jit 9*J I41-' 153-> i8:;7, Mk 141 (ji.j ^J, Lk 7« ; (2) eXecc;, used in Mk 519 by our Lord Himself to describe His own work in the cure of the demoniac, ' and hath had compassion on thee,' xai r,\-:.%<ni <n ; (3) i!v\Kvcioit.'j.i, Jlk 35, tr. 'being grieved (for the hardness of their hearts).' The word occurs nowhere else in NT, but is used by Herodotus and elsewhere with the significance of havin^j; pity or compassion (see 1 iddell and Scott).
By their usage in these passages the Synoptics plainly declare that in His manifestation of human nature our Saviour was drawn towards suffering humanity by that Divine gift of pity which has ever been regarded as one of the higher feelings : sickness, sorrow, being like tired sheep, even bodily hunger, filled Him with comjjassion for the suffering ones, — while in the solitary use of (TuWuTreo/xat alluded to above to describe His feel- ing at the unwillingness of men to receive truth, we can hardly hesitate to give to the word its classical meaning of 'pity,' when we remember the outburst of weeping which accompanied His wail over Jerusalem (Lk 19^^). And while Him- self manifesting forth pity towards men and in- culcating the same feeling on His disciples, He also most clearly taught them to think of His Father in heaven as One moved with compassion for His earthly family. The ' tender mercy of our God' in the Benedictus (Lk 1"^) is the thought illustrated in the parable of the Good Samaritan, who was 'moved with compassion' (iairXayxvlo'dr]) at the sight of the Avounded man (Lk 10^^) ; as in that of the king who forgave the debtor, being ' moved with compassion ' (aTr\ayx''i-<^deis, Mt 18'-'^) ; and even more strikingly so in the description of the father of the Prodigal, who, when he saw his son returning, eairXayxficrdr] kclI dpa/xiov iireweaev ^ttI Tov TpdxrjXov avTov (Lk 15'-"). So also the solitary use of o'lKTipfjLiiiv in the Gospels (used again only in Ja 5^1) is found in our Saviour's exhortation, ' Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merci- ful ' ; ylveade oiKTipfioves Kadw 6 warrip v/xuiv oiKTip/xuif icrri (Lk 6^).