Vv.11-15. The guards and the priests. —Ver. 11. πορενομένων δὲ a., while the women go on their errand, the guards, crestfallen, play their poor part. Some of them (τινὲς) go into the city and report in their own way to the priests all that has happened.—Ver. 12. ἀργύρια:
22
438
I1. Πορευοµένων δὲ αὐτῶν, ἰδού, τινὲς τῆς κουστωδίας ἐλθόντες
εἰς τὴν πόλιν ἀπήγγειλαν τοῖς ἀρχιερεῦσιν ἅπαντα τὰ γενόμενα.
12. καὶ συναχθέντες μετὰ τῶν πρεσβυτέρων, συμβούλιόν τε λαβόντες
ἀργύρια ἱκανὰ ἔδωκαν τοῖς στρατιώταις, 13. λέγοντες, “Ore of μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ νυκτὸς ἐλθόντες ἔκλεψαν µένων, 14. καὶ ἐὰν ἀκουσθῇ τοῦτο ἐπὶ .. > 2 κ a 8 / / 3»
c 1 Cor. vii. αὐτόν, καὶ ὑμᾶς ἀμερίμνους ποιήσοµεν. ἀργύρια ἐποίησαν ὁ ἐδιδάχθησαν. παρὰ Ἰουδαίοις pj. τῆς σήμερον."
32 (Wis- dom vi. 16; vii. 23).
-* “ "lrare,
“τὸν ἡμῶν κοιµω- 1 τοῦ ἡγεμόνος, ἡμεῖς πείσοµεν 15. Οἱ δὲ λαβόντες τὰ
καὶ διεφημίσθη ὃ ὁ λόγος οὗτος
τ6. Οἱ δὲ ἕνδεκα μαθηταὶ ἐπορεύθησαν εἰς τὴν Γαλιλαίαν, εἲς τὸ
1 BD have υπο instead of επι (W.H. in margin), probably because ὐὔκουσθη was
understood in the usual sense. 2 SOB omit αυτον.
Vide below. 3 So in ABCDL (W.H. brackets) ; εφηµ. in HA 33 (Tisch.).
4 BDL vulg. add npepas (W.H. in brackets), which just because it is unusual is probably genuine (Tisch. omits after RATA, etc.).
the holy men thoroughly understand the power of money; silver pieces, shekels are meant.—ixava probably means here a considerable number, not a number sufficient to bribe the soldiers (Meyer and Weiss). They gave with a free hand. This sense of ixavés is frequent in the Ν. Τ. Vide, e.g., Mk. x. 46, of the crowd following Jesus at Jericho, and Acts xxvii. g (of time).—Ver. 13. εἴπατε, introducing the lie they put into the mouths of the soldiers. The report to be set abroad assumes that there is a fact to be explained, the disappearance of the body. And it is implied that the statement to be given out as to that was known by the soldiers to be false: {.ε., they were perfectly aware that they had not fallen asleep at their post and that no theft had taken place. The lie for which the priests paid so much money is suicidal; one half destroys the other. Sleeping sentinels could not know what happened.—Ver. 14. ἐὰν ἀκουσθῇ, either: if this come to the ears of, etc., as in A. V., or: if this come toa hearing, a trial, before, etc., as in R. V. margin. The latter is preferred by many modern commentators. The reading ἐπὶ τ. ἡ. suits the second sense best. Cf. 1 Cor. vi. 1, 1 Tim. v. το.--ἡμεῖς, emphatic, implying a great idea of their influence, on their part.—wetoopev, will persuade him; how not said, money concéivably in their minds. Kypke renders: will appease; so also Loesner (‘‘aliquem pacare vel precibus vel donis”), citing examples from Philo. The ordinary punishment for falling asleep on the watch was death. Could soldiers be
persuaded by any amount of money to run such arisk? Of course they might take the money and go away laughing at the donors, meaning to tell their general the truth. Could the priests expect anything else? If not, could they propose the project seriously? The story has its difficulties.—dapepip- vous, free from grounds of anxiety; guaranteed against all possible un- pleasant consequences. Bengel’s com- ment on this verse is: ‘‘ Quam laboriosum bellum mendacii contra veritatem !”— Ver. 15. This verse states that the soldiers did as instructed, so originating a theft theory, which, according to our evangelist, was current in his day-in Jewish circles at the time he wrote. Vv. 16-20. The meeting in Galtlee, peculiar to Mt.—Ver. 16. of δὲ évdexa µ. the eleven, not merely to discount Judas, but to indicate that what follows concerns the well-known Twelve (minus one), the future Apostles of the faith.— elg τὸ ὄρος, to the mountain, a more specific indication of the locality than any previously reported. Conjectures have been made as to the mountain meant, é.g., that on which the hill teaching was communicated. An interesting suggestion but unverifiable-—ot, an adverb = ubi, used pregnantly so as to include quo: whither Jesus had bid them go, and where He wished them to remain.— ἑτάξατο : if this points to an instruction given expressly by Jesus, it is strange that the evangelist has not recorded it. It rather seems to presuppose an under- standing based on experiences of the Galilean ministry as to the rendezvous.