26—29. βούληται °6 υἱὸς ἀποκαλύψαι.
xxiv. 36; αχν]]. 1ο. Mk. xiii. 32.
Philem. 20 (Sir. li. 27, the noun).
here asserts His importance as the re- vealer of God, saying in effect: ‘‘ The wise despise me, but they cannot do without me. Through me alone can they attain that knowledge of God which they profess to desire above all things.” This was there and then the simple historic fact. Jesus was the one person in Israel who truly conceived God. Theuse of βούληται is noticeable: not to whomsoever He reveals Him, but {ο whomsoever He is pleased to reveal Him. The emphasis seems to lie on the inclination, whereas in Mt. i. 1ο θέλων appears to express the wish, and ἐβονλήθη rather the deliberate purpose. Jesus meets the haughty contempt of the ‘‘ wise” with a dignified assertion ‘hat it depends on his inclination whether chey are to know God or not. On the distinction between βούλομαι and θέλω, vide Cremer, Wé6rterbuch, s. v. βού- λομαι. According to him the former re- presents the direction of the will, the latter the will active (Affect, Trieb). Hence βουλ. can always stand for θελ., but not vice versa.
Vv. 28-30. The gracious invitation. Full of O. T. reminiscences, remarks Holtz., H.C., citing Isaiah xiv. 3 ; xxviii. solv, 1-95, Her-9 Vil 16); xxx) 20265, and especially Sirach vi. 24, 25, 28, 29; li. 23-27. De Wette had long before referred to the last-mentioned passage, and Pfleiderer has recently (Urch., 513) made it the basis of the assertion that this beautiful logion is a composition out of Sirach by the evangelist. The passage in Sirach is as follows: ἐγγίσατε πρὸς μὲ ἀπαίδευτοι, καὶ αὐλίσθητε ἐν οἴκῳ παιδείας. διότι ὑστερεῖτε ἐν τούτοις, καὶ αἱ ψυχαὶ ὑμῶν διψῶσι σφόδρα; ἤνοιξα τὸ. στόµα μον, καὶ ἐλάλησα, κτήσασθε ἑαυτοῖς ἄνευ ἀργυρίου. τὸν τράχηλον ὑμῶν ὑπόθετε ὑπὸ Cvyov, καὶ ἐπιδεζάσθω ἡ ψυχη ὑμῶν παιθείαν" ἐγγύς ἐστιν εὑρεῖν αὐτήν' ἴδετε ἐν ὀφθαλμοῖς ὑμῶν ὅτι ὀλίγον ἐκοπίασα, καὶ εὗρον ἐμαυτῷ πολλὴν ἀνάπανσιν."
* Of the above the R.V. gives the follow- ing translation: ‘‘ Draw near unto me, ye unlearned, and lodge in the house of in- struction. Say wherefore are ye lacking in these things, and your soulsare very thirsty ? I opened my mouth and spake. Get her