29. Besought (apexader). The imperfect has the force of earnestly besought.
30. Went (a7edSov). Lit. went away: dragging the other with him to judgment.
31. Told (Suecdbnoav). More than merely narrated. The verb is from 84, throughout, and capéw, to explain. ‘They ex- plained the circumstances throughout.
Their Lord (76 Kupip éavtdv). Lit., “ their own Lord ;” as befitted their position, and as a mark of their confidence in him.
34. To the tormentors (Sacavctais). Livy pictures an old centurion complaining that he was taken by his creditor, not into servitude, but to a workhouse and torture, and show- ing his back scarred with fresh wounds (ii., 23).
1. Coasts (Spia). Better Rev., borders ; though it is easy to see how the translation coasts arose, coast being derived from the Latin costa, a side, and hence a border generally, though now applied to the sea-side only.
3. Tempting. See on Matt. vi. 13.
108 WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. (Cu. XIX.
For every cause. The temptation turned upon the dispute dividing the two great Rabbinical schools, the one of which (that of Hillel) held that a man might divorce his wife for any reason which rendered her distasteful to him; and the other (that of Shammai) that divorce was allowable only in case of un- chastity. The querists would be anxious to know which side Jesus espoused.
5. Shall cleave (cor Ijcerar). Lit., shall be glued.
Shall be one flesh (écovras eis cdpxa pilav). Lit., “into one flesh;” Wyc., two im one flesh.
6. What (5). Not those. Christ is contemplating, not the indwiduals, but the wnity which God cemented; and so Wyc., that thing that God enjoined ; i.¢., knit together. The aorist tense (denoting the occurrence of an event at some past time, considered as a momentary act) seems to refer to the original ordinance of God at the creation (ver. 4).
7. Writing (8iBd ov). Rev., d227. The word is a diminutive of BiBros, which originally means the inner bark of the papy- rus, used for writing, then a book or roll of this bark; hence a paper, bill.
8. Because of (pds). Rev., for: having regard to.
It was not so (ov yéyovev ottws). The A. V. is commonly understood to mean, i was not so in the beginning. But that is not Christ’s meaning. The verb is in the perfect tense (denot- ing the continuance of past action or its results down to the present). He means: Notwithstanding Moses’ permission, the case has not been so from the beginning until now. The origi- nal ordinance has never been abrogated nor superseded, but con- tinues in force.
9. Except for fornication (u1 émi mopvela). Lit., not on account of fornication.
Cu. XIX.] MATTHEW. 109
10. The case (airia). Not the relation of the man to his wife, nor the circumstances, the state of the case. Airtia refers to cause (ver. 3), and the meaning is, if the matter stands thus with reference to the cause which the man must have for put- ting away his wife.
14. Suffer (ddere). Lit., leave alone. Compare Mark xiv. 6; xv. 36; Luke xii. 8. Sir J. Cheke: Let these children alone.
17. Why callest thou me good ? (ri pe Révyers aryastor). But the true reading is, 7/ we épwrds mepl Tov ayadod; Why askest thow me concerning the good ?
There is none good but one, that is God (ovdels ayados et yn els 6 Oeds). But the reading is, els €otlv 6 ayatos, One there is who is good. The saying of Christ appears especially appro- priate in the light of the Rabbinic apothegm, “ There is noth- ing else that is good but the Jaw.”
24. Camel — through a needle’s eye (xdpnrov Sud tptrnpatos papisos). See on Mark x. 25; Luke xviii. 25. Compare the Jewish proverb, that a man did not even in his dreams see an elephant pass through the eye of a needle. The reason why the camel was substituted for the elephant was because the proverb was from the Babylonian Talmud, and in Babylon the elephant was common, while in Palestine it was unknown, The Koran has the same figure: “The im- pious shall find the gates of heaven shut; nor shall he enter there till a camel shall pass through the eye of a needle.” Bo- chart, in his history of the animals of scripture, cites a Talmu- dic passage: “ A needle’s eye is not too narrow for two friends, nor is the world wide enough for two enemies.” The allusion is not to be explained by reference to a narrow gate called a