15. rHr« axoveiv, ears to hear) Thus the LXX. in Deut. xxix.
1 Just as happens in the case of wares exposed for sale in public. -V.g.
2 See Append. Antonomasia here applies the name Elias to John, not literally, but analogously ; as Elias was in the O. Test., so John in prepar ing for the coming N. Test, kingdom. — ED.
s i.e. John I have likened to Elijah ; but to whom shall I liken this gene ration ? — ED.
4 Moreover John is not called absolutely o piKhav tpxtatieit, but "Hx/a? 6 v fp%c<r<)cti. — V. g.
4 ; of. Rom xi. 8. " He that hath ears to hear, let him hear" was a form of commanding attention peculiar to our Lord, and indicates, that the other things which might be said more ex pressly, are contained in those which have just been uttered.
1(5. Trtv yevfuv raurqv, this generation) the evil men of this best1 time. — vaidaplois,2 children} Jesus compared not only the Jews, but also Himself and John, in different ways, to children, with a condescension, in His own case, most wonderful. — ayopa?$, marketplaces) A large city has often many market places. The preaching of John and Jesus was public.
17. HuX»j<ra/Agv, we have piped) i.e., played on the pipe. See ver. 19. — »fynvr)gctjHV) we have mourned) See ver. 18. An instance of Chiasmus.3
18.rHXd?, came) A striking instance of Anaphora ;4 cf. ver. 19. — Mrs sadluv, neither eating) John did not eat with others, nor even in the presence of others. His mode of life agreed with the character of his teaching, and so did that of Christ [with the character of His teaching.] Therefore the one is, as it were, implied by the other.— ^n T/VWI/, nor drinking) See Luke i. 15. — Xs/ouff/, they say) The world disparages virtue, repre senting it as the extreme ; it advocates the cause of vice, representing it as the mean. — daiftoviov, a devil) in common par lance, a familiar spirit. — 'iy^i, He has) A reproach common to the Jews, by which they denoted one who was mad, or silly, or proud. They who abstain from the society of men, easily incur this suspicion.
19. " AvdptoKog tpdyocy x.r.X., a gluttonous man, etc.) They dis tinguish Him, as one out of many, by a distinction opposed to that mentioned in the preceding verse, ruv T'IKVUV, children) We have shown, in the Apparatus,5 that TUV 'ipyuv — works —
1 " Hujus optimi temporis" — so called because it was that of our Lord's Ministry.— (I. B.)
2 The margin of both Editions, as also the Germ. Vers., seem to prefer von^ioi;. — E. B. So BCDZ. The r«u&«p/<Mc of llec. Text is not supported by the primary authorities. — ED.
3 See Explanation of Technical Terms in Appendix.— (I. B.)
* See Append. The same word repeated in the beginnings of sentences or sections, in order to mark them. — ED. 5 In the Apparatus, p. 1 17, he says —
" 19) TIX.VUV) operibus notut Hieronymus in Evangelns quilnsdam legi, VOL. I. R