whatever time of the day or night he should give the signal. - . . After refreshing themselves, they consigned them- selves to rest ” (ix., 37).
Aristophanes says, “When the shadow on the dial is ten feet long, then go to dinner” (“‘Ecclesiazuse,” 648), and Horace, “You will dine with me to day. Come after the ninth hour ” (“ Epistle,” Bk.1., vii., 69). It is objected that the time from four o’clock to the close of the day would not have been described as that day ; but beyond the marking of the specific hour of accompanying Jesus as the first hour of his Christian life, John would not have been unlikely to use a looser and more popular form of speech in indicating the length of the stay with Jesus, meaning simply that they remained with him during the remainder of the day, and, no doubt, prolonged their conversation into the night.*
40. One of the two. The other being John.
Andrew. See on Mark iii. 18. Compare Mark xiii. 3; John vi. 8; xii. 22.
Simon Peter’s brother. The mention of Simon Peter be- fore he has appeared in the narrative indicates the importance which the Evangelist attaches to him. It seems to assume a knowledge of the evangelic narrative on the part of the read- ers. See a similar instance of anticipating what is subsequently explained, in the mention of Mary, xi. 2.
41. He first findeth (edpicxer obros mparos). Rev., findeth Jirst. He is the demonstrative pronoun, this one, which, with Jirst, seems to point to the later finding of Ais brother by the other disciple, ¢.¢., of James by John. Bengel says: “With the
* It is not easy to adjust all the references to the hour of the day in John’s Gospel to either of the two methods. Thus xix, 14 places the crucifixion at the sixth hour, or noon, reckoning by the Jewish mode, while Mark (xy. 25) names the third hour, or between 8 and 9 A.M. The two passages in ch. iy. 6, 52, afford little help, especially the latter. Perhaps, after all, the passage most nearly decisive is xi. 9. There are strong authorities on both sides. For the Roman method, Tholuck, Ebrard, Ewald, Westcott; for the J ewish, Liicke, De Wette, Meyer, Alford, Lange, Godet.