[5268] Gen. xii. 5.
[5269] Ber. R. 39, ed. Warsh. p. 72 a, and Vayy. R. 1.
[5270] Anyone who would see how Jewish ingenutiy can, for the purpose of misrepresenting the words of Christ, put a meaning even on Jewish documents which they can never bear, is advised to read the remarks of the learned Jellinek on St. Matt. xxiii, 15, in the Beth ha-Midr. vol. v. pp. xlvi. xlvii., and his rendering of the quotation from Ber. R. 28.
[5271] 2 Sam. xxi. 1 &c.; Yebam, 79 a.
[5272] Ab. Zar. 24 a.
[5273] The learned Danzius has collected all that can be said on that subject in Meuschan, Nov. Test. exTalm. illustr., pp. 649-666. But in my opinion he exaggerates his case.
[5274] Midr. on Eccl. v. 11.
[5275] Shebh. iv. 13 and 35 b, 36 a.
[5276] Maaser, i. 1.
[5277] Maaser. iv. 5.
[5278] Jer. Dem. 21d.
[5279] Keim, with keen insight, characterises the Woes which contrasts their proselytising with their resistance to the progress of the Kingdom; then, the third and fourth which denounce their false teaching, the fifth, and sixth their false attempts at purity, while the last sets forth their relations to those forerunners of Christ, whose graves they built.
[5280] vv. 34-36.
[5281] We need scarcely remind the reader that this Zechariah was the son of Jehoiada. The difference in the text of St. Matthew may either be due to family circumstances, unknown to us, which might admit of his designation as the son of Barachias' (the reading is undoubtedly correct), or an error may have crept into the text - how, we know not, and it is of little moment. There can be no question that the reference is to this Zecharias. It seems scarcely necessary to refer to the strange notion that the notice in St. matt. xxiii, 35 has been derived from the account of the murder of Zacharias, the son of Baruch, in the Temple during the last seige (Jos. War. iv. 5. 4). To this there are the following foru objections: (1) Baruch (as in Jos.) and Barachias (as in St. Matt.) are quite different names, in Greek as in Hebrew - {hebrew}, blessed,' Baroch, and {hebrew} Jehovah will bless,' Barachas. Comp. for ex. LXX., Neh. iii. 20 with iii. 30. (2) Because the place of their slaughter was different, that of the one between the porch and the altar,' that of the other in the midst (n mp) of the Temple' - either the court of the women, or that of the Israelites. (3) Because the murder of the Zacharias referred to by St. Matt. stood out as the crowning national crime, and as such is repeatedly referred to in Jewish legend (see references in margin), and dwelt upon with many miraculous embellishments (4) Because the clumsiest forger would scarcely have put into the mouth of Jesus an event connected with the last siege of Jerusalem and derived from Josephus. In general, we take this opportunity strongly to assert that only unacquaintance with the whole subject could lead anyone to look to Josephus for the source of any part of the evangelic narrative. To these remarks we have to add that precisely the same error (if such it be) as in our text of St. Matthew occurs in the Targum on Lament. ii. 20, where this Zechariah is designated the son (= grandson) of Iddo,' comp. Ezr. v. 1, and Zech. i. 1, 7. For the correct reading (son of Jehoiada') in the Gospel of the Hebrews,' comp. Nicholson, p. 59.
[5282] 2 Chron. xxiv. 20-22.
[5283] Sanh. 96 b; Gitt, 57 b; also in the Midr. on Eccl. iii. 16 and x. 4. and on Lament. ii. 2, and iv. 14.
[5284] vv. 37-39.
[5285] Vayyik. R. 25. __________________________________________________________________
CHAPTER V. THE THIRD DAY IN PASION-WEEK - THE LAST SERIES OF PARABLES: TO THE PHARISEES AND TO THE PEOPLE - ON THE WAY TO JERUSALEM: THE PARABLE OF THE LABOURERS IN THE VINEYARD - IN THE TEMPLE: THE PARABLE OF THE NO' AND YES' OF THE TWO SONS - THE PARABLE OF THE EVIL HUSBANDMEN EVILLY DESTROYED - THE PARABLE OF THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING'S SON AND OF THE WEDDING GARMENT