of seeds) The world contains various seeds of wisdom, power, and virtue ; the Christian faith has surpassed them all, having been propagated through the whole world. The king dom of heaven is like a grain ; and so is the whole of Christianity, faith, etc. These things may be variously expressed. The faith here intended is that of all those believers, who embrace it before others : the others are those who believe afterwards — nations, kings, etc. — /AzTfyv — Xa^avuv — divopov, greater herbs — tree) two classes of vegetables. Tremellius,1 on this passage in the Syriac Version, adduces examples of such immense trees. — It became a tree, one may say, in the time of Constantino.2 — TO, vtreiva, the birds) see Ezek. xvii. 23. — KXddoig, branches) sc. widely spreading.
33. 'Ewtfu-vJ/iw, concealed) The LXX. in Ezek. iv. 12, render the Hebrew Jiy3 (to bake) by syxpvvru (to conceal*), whence is derived eyxpvpias, a cake. — edra5 rpia, three measures) As much as was generally carried by a man, or taken for baking, at once ; see Gen. xviii. 6. — I^U/AW^, ivas leavened) I would rather refer this to the propagation, than the corruption of the Church. The leaven is the kingdom of heaven itself, in cluding both the gospel and the apostles.6 — oXov, the ivhole) sc.
1 EMMANUEL TREMELLIUS was born in the sixteenth century at Ferrara, of Jewish parents. He rendered himself master of the Hebrew language, and secretly embraced Protestantism. He became Professor of Hebrew at Heidel berg, from whence he went to Metz, and thence to Sedan. He made him self known by his Latin Version of the Syriac New Testament. He died in 1580.— (I. B.)
2 The kingdom of Christ is being extended now throughout the whole world. — V. g.
3 "s^y, (1.) prop, to go in a circle. . . . Hence ns» and JV3"3 a round cake. . . .
(2.) denom. from w to bake bread or cake, Ezra iv. 12." "7Tj» and nay (1 Kings xix. 6 ; Ezek. iv. 12), fern, a cake baked under hot cinders," etc., GESENIUS. — (I. B.)
4 i.e., in the passage from Ezekiel, to cover with, sc. hot embers ; E. V., bate.— (I. B.)
8 s-yitpvtpi'as, w, o, oipro; f/x,.,a loaf baked in the ashes, Hipp. Luc. Dial.
Mort. 20, 4, etc. LIDDELL and SCOTT. — (I. B.)
6 " Cujus rationes et evangelium et apostolos complectuntur." — (I. B.) No necessity, in fact, compels us to take the leaven in a bad sense: hence,
as the word does not necessarily imply censure, bad leaven is termed the
old leaven in 1 Cor. v. 7. — V. g