and conclusions, the other writings everywhere. — See Notes on Rom. iii. 24 and Gal. ii. 16. Comp. ver. 16 below. — u/'oD Aau/3,1 viou 'Afipadfj,, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham) Our Lord is called the Son of David and the Son of Abraham, because He was promised to both. Abraham was the first, David the last of men to whom that promise was made ; whence He is called the Son of David, as though David had been His immediate progenitor. — (See Rhenferd2 Opera Philologica, p. 715.) Both of these patriarchs received the announcement with faith and joy (See John viii. 56 ; and Matt. xxii. 43). Each of those mentioned in the following list was acquainted with the names of those who preceded, but not of those who came after him. Oh, with what delight would they have read this genealogy, in which we take so little interest ! An allusion is here made by anticipation to the three Fourteens (afterwards mentioned in the 17th verse), of which the first is distinguished by the name of Abraham, the second by that of David, whilst the third, com mencing, not like the others with a proper name, but with the Babylonian Captivity, is crowned with the name of Jesus Christ Himself : for the first and the second Fourteen contain the pro mise, the third its fulfilment. The narration, however, in the first verse goes backward from Christ to David, from David to Abraham. And so much the more conveniently is Abraham put here in the second place, because he comes on the scene immediately again in the following verse. St Mark, however, in the opening of his Gospel, calls Jesus the Son, not of David, but of G OD, because he begins his narration with the baptism of John, by whom our Lord was pointed out as the Son of God. Thus each of these evangelists declares the scope of his work in the title. The former part of this verse contains the sum of the New Testament — the latter part, the recapitulation of the Old.
1 E. M. A«/3<B. — This variation occurs all through, and will not there fore be noticed again. Bengel alway writes A«t><3. — The Exemplar Millia- num always has A«/3<5. — Tregelles and Tischendorf prefer A«n <3. — Lach- mann, A«t»«8. — Wordsworth also writes the word A«t/<3. — (I. B.)
2 James Rhenferd, a celebrated Oriental scholar, born at Mulheira, in Westphalia, 1654. Educated at the College of Meurs, in the Duchy of Cleves. Rector of the Latin College in Francker, 1658 ; removed to Amsterdam 1680. Professor of Oriental languages at Francker, 1683. Died 1712.— (I. B.)