on Mark v. 4, and bruesing, Luke ix. 39. The ovy together gives the picture of the fragments collapsing into a heap.
28. The morningsstar (Tov dorépa rév mpaivev). The star, that of the morning. One of John’s characteristic construct- ions. See on 1 John iv. 9. The reference is, most probably, to Christ himself. See ch. xxii. 16. He will give Himself. This interpretation falls in with the promise of power over the natjons in ver. 26. The star was the ancient emblem of sover- eignty. See Num. xxiv. 17; Matt. ii. 2. “It was the symbol of sovereignty on its brighter and benignant side, and was therefore the fitting and necessary complement of the dread attributes that had gone before. The king came not only to judge and punish, but also to illumine and cheer ” (Plumptre). Compare 2 Pet. i. 19.
1. Sardis. The capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia. It was situated in a plain watered by the river Pactolus. The city was of very ancient origin. Herodotus (i., 84) gives the account of its siege and capture by Cyrus, and of its previous fortification by an old king, Meles. It was ruled by a series of able princes, the last of whom was Creesus, celebrated for his wealth and his misfortunes. In the earlier part of his reign he extended his dominion over the whole of Asia Minor, with the exception of Lycia and Cilicia. The Lydian rule was termin- ated by the conquest of Cyrus. From the Persians it passed into the hands of Alexander the Great, after which, for the next three hundred years, its fortunes are obscure. In Bo. 214 it was taken and sacked by Antiochus the Great after a siege of two years. The kings of Pergamus next succeeded to the dominion, and from them it passed into the hands of the Ro- mans.
In the time of Tiberius it was desolated by an earthquake, together with eleven or twelve other important cities of Asia, and the calamity was increased by a pestilence.