1. Mt IQi' II Lk 10^2. In St. Matthew the Avords occur in the course of our Lord's charge to the Twelve. If they came to any place in which their words were not received, they were to shake off the dust of tlieir feet ; ' Verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.' In St. Luke, on the other hand, the words form part of the charge to the Seventy ; he has 'Sodom' for 'the land of Sodom,' 'Gomorrah 'is omitted, and instead of St. Matthew's favourite expression iv rj/nepa Kpiatws ('in the day of judg- ment'), is used £v T7J rtfiepq. iKeivrj ('in that day') [D iv rrj /Sao-tXeta tov deoD/so Syrr.]. In Mk 6" the whole phrase from St. Matthew (exc. Xo86fxois rj TofxSppois for yrj 'Eodop.wv Kal ro/uLoppwv) is inserted in A and some Latin MSS. Hence it found its way, through the TR, into the AV.
Our Lord lieie implies the great fact, which in the passage dealt Avitli in the following section He states more clearl_y, that since privileges bring responsibilities, their neglect brings punishment. And tlierewith He further implies the mysterious truth that at ' the day of judgment ' the punish- ments awarded to men will \ary. ' It shall be more tolerable — more bearable ' cannot be a mere
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figure of speech. The same tnitli is tauglit in Lk 12^"-, and its converse in Lk ig'^-^".
2. Mt IP^---*. Our Lord uttered Woes against three Galihean cities which refused to accept His mighty works and repent (v.-"). These denuncia- tions were a practical carrying out of tlie figurative injunctions which He gave to His disciples in 10". Tlie three cities named are Chorazin, Betlisaida, and Capernaum. The two former He compai'es witli Tyre and Sidon ; and to the latter He uses somewhat similar language in referring to Sodom : ' for if in Sodom had been done the mighty works {dvvdfxeis) which are being done in thee [the citj*], it would be remaining until to-day. However, 1 say unto you [the people] that for the land of Sodom it shall be more tolerable in the day of judgment than for thee [the city].' St. Luke has not pre- served this reference to Sodom, thougii he gives the denunciation against Capernaum (10^^). With regard to ]\It 11-^ Wright {Synopsis-, p. 216) says that the author ' appends a sentence which reminds us of [Mt] 10'^ These refrains are very effective for Church reading, but they often seem to be editorial.'
The typical use of ' Sodom ' as an example of sin reaches its height in Rev 11^, where Jerusalem is described as ' the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt.'
3. Lk 17"**. This passage, like the two preceding, is absent from the Markan tradition. Sodom is here not so much a type of sin as of sudden and fearful destruction. Our Lord uttered many login concerning the coming of the Son of Man. In one of these (Mt 24"7-^a^ l^ IT^"-) He likened the 'parousia' (Mt.) — the 'days' (Lk.) — of the Son of Man to the Deluge in the days of Noah. St. Luke alone adds, ' In like manner as it came to pass in the days of Lot ; they were eating, drinking, buy- ing, selling, planting, building ; but in the day that Lot went out from Sodom, he rained [Gn 19'-^ Kvpios ^ppe^ev] fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed (them) all. Likewise shall it be in the day that the Son of Man is revealed.' The destruc- tion of Sodom and Gomorrah is also coupled with the Deluge in 2 P 2^"' as an example of punishment. See also Jude'', Ro 9^9 = Is P.
A. H.M'Neile. SOLDIERS.— Throughout the Roman Empire, and es]^ecially in a pnetorian province like Syria, of which the various divisions of Palestine prac- tically formed ])art, soldiers were a common sight, and took a prominent share in the administration of affairs. The references to them, however, in the Gospels, except, as is natural, in connexion with our Lord's trial and crucifixion, are not numerous.
1. In Lk 3" we read of soldiers who came to John the Baptist and asked him what they were to do. The Avord here is aTparevofxevoi (not arparL- wrai) and implies thiit they were on active service at the time. They can hardly have been Roman legionaries, but may have been members of Herod Antipas' army engaged in some local expedition, of which we know nothing, or even, as Ewald sup- poses, only a kind of ])olice or gendarmes employed in custom-house duties. The Baptist's answer to their inquiry shows what the temptations of such folk were in those days. They must be careful, he says, henceforth not to do violence or extort money by false accusations, and to be content with their pay.
2. In Alt 8^ and Lk 7® the centurion (no doubt a jiroselyte, thougii a Roman offi(;er ; cf. Ac lOM who desired to have his servant healed, speaks of the soldiers who were under his command, and, in contrast to (1) above, his remarks bring out forcibly the idea of discipline and organization, which was to be found in a Roman legion.