hand, and more particularly of the hands, was employed for conferring on, and propagating to, human beings, especially children and ministers of the Gospel, bodily blessings and spiritual gifts ; see Acts ix. 12 ; Heb. vi. 2 ; 1 Tim. v. 22 ; 2 Tim. i. (>. Our Lord is not said to have prayed, as He had been asked to do in ver. 13, by those forsooth who were not fully aware of His oneness with the Father.
16. 'I8ov, behold) sc. whilst Jesus is opening the kingdom of heaven, even to infants. — iTs, one) From the rank to which he belonged, at length comes one. — A/5«<rxaXg aya#e, good Teacher) He that is good teaches well concerning that which is good ; see John vii. 12. — TO/^CO, shall I do ?) the young man asks about doing ; but belief goes before. — £«^i/ GC/WI//OV, eternal life) Eternal life was known under the old dispensation, as we are assured in Heb. xi. 16 ; and it is explicitly called so in Dan. xii. 2.
17. T/, JC.T.X., why? etc.) He who [alone] is Good,1 should be asked concerning that which is good.2 For the rest, see Gnomon on Mark x. 18. — si dz §s\eis, but if thou wishest) as thou declarest. The expression ti S&Xe/£ (if thou wishest) occurs again at ver. 21.
rag JvroAaj, keep the commandments) Jesus refers those
1 In the original, " Qui Bonus est, de bono interrogandus est," where " Bonus" is used as a substantive (corresponding to the German " der Gute" employed by Bengel in rendering this verse), which has no equivalent in English: for though we speak of " the Evil One," we cannot say "the Good One." The passage might be paraphrased thus — " He who is personally and absolutely good, should be asked concerning that which is abstractly and re latively good." — (I. B.)
2 The reading is here meant, which the margin of both Editions prefers to the reading hfyei; — &tog, viz. tpuToi; irtpi TOU dyaQov; tig faTin o dy*d6g. Comp. the margin of the Vers. Germ, and Michaelis' Einleitung, etc., T. i., p. m. 224.— E. B.
BDLaftc, Vulg. Memph. Orig. 3,6646c, read TI pt epurai; nipi TQV dyu6w (D and Origen 3,664c omit roiJ). T/ pi hey ft; dyetdov is the reading of Rec. Text with Iren. 92, Hil. 703, 994ac (' vocas' for Asye/s). Origen 3,604ce?, writes, ' O ptv Mecrlato;, u; Tripl dyotdou epyov kfiUTridtvro; TOV *2caTfipos iv -ry TI dyttdc/v voiqau ; ctviypcffyiv' 6 Si ^Idpx,o$ x.ot.1 AOVX.XS Qoiai rou ^urijpci flpYix.fi/oti, TI ftf hfyti; dyctdov ; ovftfi; etyotdos fi ftq t7; 6 &*&(. BDaic Vulg. Orig. Iren. 92 read tl; iaTtv 6 dyctfas (D omits o. be Vulg. Memph. add o 0toj ; evidently, as I think, a gloss of the Harmonies from Mark x. 18 and Luke xviii. 19. Iren. adds "pater in ccelis"). Rec. Text, with Ilil. 994, reads ovfais a,y*6o; i! p'/i ft- 6 Qso;. This is still more palpably a reading copied from the parallels in Mark and Luke. — ED.