Ee
ε again ver, g, and in Lk.i.78 (in the sense
᾽Ακούσας δὲ
ς. οἱ δὲ εἶπον 2
In the T. R. the order of the words is conformed
B. All such forms have been corrected in the text which the T. R.
represents and need not be further noticed.
of astrology was a delusion, yet it might be used by Providence to guide seekers after God. The expectation of an epoch- making birth was current in the east, spread by Babylonian Jews. That it might interest Magians there is no wise incredible; that their astrological lore might lead them to connect some un- known celestial phenomenon with the prevalent expectation is likewise credible. On the other hand, that legendary ele- ments might get mixed up in the Chris- tian tradition of the star-guided visit must be admitted to be possible. It remains to add that the use of the word ἀστήρ, not ἀστρόν, has been supposed to have an important bearing on the question as to the nature of the phe- nomenon. ἀστήρ means an individual star, ἀστρόν a constellation. But in the N. T. this distinction is not observed. (Vide Luke xxi. 25 ; Acts xxvii. 20; Heb. xi. 12; and Grimm’s Lexicon on the two words.)
Ver. 3. 6 βασιλεὺς ᾿Ηρώδης ἐταράχθη: βασιλεὺς bebore the masoit ihe nsec in ver. 1, the emphatic position suggest- ing that it was as king and because king that Herod was troubled. The foreigner and usurper feared a rival, and the tyrant feared the rival would be wel- come. It takes little to put evil- doers in fear. He had reigned long, men were weary, and the Pharisees, according to Joseph (A. J. xvii. 2-4), had predicted that his family would ere long loseits place of power. His fear therefore, though the occasion may seem insignificant, is every way cred- ἴρ]ε.---καὶ πᾶσα L, doubtless an exag- geration, yet substantially true. The spirit of the city was servile and selfish. They bowed to godless power, and cared for their own interest rather than for Herod’s. Few in that so-called holy city had healthy sympathies with truth and right. Whether the king’s fears were groundless or not they knew not nor cated. It was enough that the fears
existed. The world is ruled not by truth but by ορἰπίοη.- -πᾶσα: is ᾿ἱεροσόλυμα feminine here, or is ἡ πάλιφ understood ? or is it a construction, ad sensum, of the inhabitants ? (Schanz).
Ver. 4. Herod’s συναγαγὼν . . . τοῦ λαοῦ. Was this a meeting of the Sanhedrim? Not likely, as the elders are not ~nentioned, who are elsewhere named as the repre- sentatives of the people, vide xxvi. 3, ‘the chief priests, scribes and elders of the people”. Here we read only of the chief priests and scribes of the people. The article is not repeated before γραμματεῖς, the two classes being joined together as the theological ex- perts of the people. Herod called together the leading men among the priests and scribes to consult them as to the birth-place of Messiah. Holtzmann (Π. C.), 885. πρ that a meeting of the Sanhedrim is meant, uses the fact as an argument against the historicity of the narrative. The Herod of history slew the Sanhedrists wholesale, and did his best to lull to sleep Messianic hopes. It is only the Herod of Christian legend that convenes the Sanhedrim, and makes anxious inquiries about Messiah’s birth- place. But the past policy of the king and his present action, as reported by the evangelist, hang together. He dis- couraged Messianic hopes, and, now that they have revived in spite of him, he must deal with them, and his first step is to consult the experts in as quiet a way as possible, to ascertain the whereabouts of the new-born child—éavv@avero, etc. : it is not a historical question he submits to the experts as to where the Christ has been born, or shall be, but a theo- logical one: where, according to the ac- cepted tradition, is His birth-place 7 Hence yevvarar, present tense.