39—49.
Bg
45. Awé δὲ ἕκτης ὥρας σκότος ἐγένετο ἐπὶ πᾶσαν τὴν γῆν ἕως ὥρας ἐννάτης' 46. περὶ δὲ τὴν ἐννάτην ὥραν ἀνεβόησεν 1 ὁ ᾿Ιησοῦς Φωνῇ µεγάλη, λέγων, “HAL, HAL? λαμὰ ὃ σαβαχθανί; τοῦτ ἔστι,
«Θεέ µου, Θεέ µου, ἵνατί µε " ἐγκατέλιπες ;” ἑστώτων * ἀκούσαντες ἔλεγον, “OT. Ἡλίαν Φφωνεῖ οὗτος.” εὐθέως δραμὼν ets ἐξ αὐτῶν, καὶ λαβὼν "σπόγγον, πλήσας τε ὄξους, καὶ περιθεὶς καλάμῳ, ἐπότιζεν αὐτόν: 49. ot δὲ λοιποὶ Edeyov,° 2 “"Ades, ἴδωμεν εἰ ἔρχεται Ἠλίας σώσων αὐτόν. 6
47+ Τινὲς δὲ τῶν ἐκεῖ z Mk. xv. 34. . 2 Cor. iv. 48. Καὶ ο. 2 Tim. iv. 1ο, 16. Heb. x. 25; Xili. 5. ΜΚ. xv.
1 εβοησεν in BL 33, 69 (Trg., W.H.) from Mk.?
ΣΕλωι, EXwt in B (W.H. in text).
ἅλεμα in S$BL; there are other variants.
4 εστηκοτων in SBCL 33. 5 BD have ειπαν (W.H. in brackets).
6 S8BCL add αλλος δε λαβων λογχην ενυξεν αυτου την πλευραν και εξηλθεν νδωρ και αιμα (W.H. in double brackets). It is an early addition from John xix. 34.
πιά the robbers, for they too reproached Him (‘‘ idem vero etiam latrones fecerunt, nempe ei conviciati sunt”). It seems simpler to take αὐτὸ as one of two ac- cusatives, depending on ὠνείδιζον, αὐτόν following (the true reading) being the other. Vide Winer, § 32, 4.
Vv. 45-49. Darkness without and within (Mk. xv. 33-36, Lk. xxiii. 44-46). —Ver. 45. ἀπὸ δὲ ἕκτης Spas: three hours, according to Mark (νετ. 25, cf. 33), after the crucifixion the darkness came on. This is the first reference in Matthew toatime of day. The definite- ness of the statement in this respect seems to vouch for the historicity of the fact stated. Those who find in it legend or myth point to the Egyptian darkness, and prophetic texts such as Amos viii. 9, Joel ii. 31, etc. (none of which, however, are cited by the evangelist), as explaining the rise of the story. The cause of this darkness is unknown (vide notes on Mark). It could not, of course, be an eclipse of the sun at full moon. Origen saw this and explained the phenomenon by the hypothesis of dense masses of cloud hiding the sun. Others (Paulus, De Wette, etc.) have suggested a darken- ing such as is wont to precede an earth- quake. To the evangelist the event probably appeared supernatural.—éai π. τ. γῆν, Origen and many after him restrict the reference to Palestine. The fragment of the Gospel of Peter limits it to Judaea (πᾶσαν +. ᾿Ιουδαίαν). In the thought of the evangelist the expression had probably a wider though indefinite range of meaning, the whole earth (Weiss) or the whole Roman world
(Grotius).—€ws &. ἐννάτης: the end as exactly indicated as the beginning, another sign of historicity. The fact stated probably interested the evangelist as an emblem of the spiritual eclipse next to be related.—Ver. 46. At, ἠλί, etc.: the opening words of Ps. xxii., but partly at least in Aramaic not in Hebrew, wholly so as they stand in Codex B (W.H.), ἐλωί, ἐλωί, etc., corresponding exactly to the version in Mark.— ἡλί, At, if the true reading in Matthew, seems to be an alteration made to suit what follows, whereby the utterance of Jesus becomes a mixture of Hebrew and Aramaic. It is not likely that Jesus would so express Himself. He would speak wholly either in Hebrew or in Aramaic, saying in the one case: “eli eli lamah asavtani’’; in the other: ‘ eloi eloi lema savachtani”. The form the utterance assumed in the earliest evan- gelic report might be an important clue. This Resch finds in the reading of Codex D, which gives the words in Hebrew. Resch holds that D often pre- serves the readings of the Urevangelium, which, contrary to Weiss, he believes to have contained a Passion history in brief outline (Agvapha, p. 53). Brandt expresses a similar view (EZ. G., pp. 228-232). The probability is that Jesus spoke in Hebrew. It is no argument against this that the spectators might not understand what He said, for the utterance was not meant for the ears of men. The historicity of the occurrence has been called in question on the ground that one in a state of dire distress would not express his feelings in borrowed