The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 295

oral pr-pta were afterwards embodied in it. This, however, was only a custom, and the 'l'ulmud. not a thing of legal obligation until it was· Ver. 4.-And wl1en they come from the exitlted into a law by the Pllarisees. Now market ( lur~ &.;opas); literally, and from ("8 this punctilious observance of tradition~ market-puroe ; there is no verb in the prin- by the Pharisees and other Jews yielded cipal manuscripts, although the Cambridge little or no religious profit; for it oooupied Codex has S-rav l>..60,a-.v, and the old Latin their time witll external purifications, and gives redeuntea. In the market-place there so drew away their attention from the duty would be every kind of men and things, of far greater moment-the oleausing of ~lean and unclean, by contact with which the soul from sin. They made clean " the they feared that they might be polluted; outside of the cup and platter," but neg- and eo they considered that they bad need lected the inward cleansing of the lleart ·to cleanse themselves from this impurity by Therefore our blessed Lord, who came to a more careful and complete ablution. An- put an end to the old ceremonial law, and to other Greek word is used here, namely, these vain and frivolous traditions which f3a:,rcl,;o,.,,.,.a,,. In the former verse the word now overlaid it, and who wished to direct is vl,i,,.,.,,.,...., a more partial and supe.rficial all the care of his disciples to the me.king kind of washing than that implied in /3a• of the heart clean, cared not to enforce =l(o,. It should, however, be added that these external washings upon his disciples, two of the great uncials, Vatican and although he did not say this in so many Sinaitic, have pav-ria01l"Ta.i, "sprinkle them- words to the Pharisees, lest he should pro- selves," instead of /3a.,r-r/a01l"Ta.i-an autho- voke their envy and their malice. He rity sufficient to justify the Revisers of therefore meets their question in another 1881 in putting it into the margin. The way. washing of oups, and pots, and brasen ves- Vere. 6, 7.-0ur Lord quotes against them sels, and of tables. The words (1eal ,c>,.,,,;;,v) a prophecy of Isaiah (xxix. 13), This people wrongly rendered, " and of tables "-because honoureth me with their lips, but their heart they could only mean "couches ''-have not is far from me. But in vain do they wor- sufficient authority to be retained in the text. ship me, teaching as their doctrines the pre- " Cups " ( ,ro-r,,pli.w) mean " drinking ves- cepts of men. The prophet here gives the sels." The "pot" a•a-r¾]s) is a Roman cause of tile blindness of the Jews, because word, 1eztariua, a small liquid measure, the they honoured God with their lips, while sixth part of a congius, corresponding nearly their heart was far from him; and their to the English gallon, so that ~•a-r¾]s would worship of him (for that is the meaning of be mther more than a pint measure. Brasen "their fear") was the commandment of fleBBeu. These would probably be copper men, which they had been taught; that vessels, such as are still used in Syria for is, they worshipped God, not according cooking purposes. These are particularly to that spiritual worship which he had mentioned. Earthenware vessels would be commanded, but after the traditions of broken. Whiah they have reoeived to hold men and of their own scribes, partly futile, (& .,,-apbu,/3ov ,cpa.,..w); literally, which they partly perverse, and contrary to God's Law. recei'l!ed to hold: observe the aorist. So he says, Well did Isaiah prophesy of you. Ver. 5.-The Law of Moses prohibited The word is ,ca.>..ws, "excellently-beauti- contact with many things deemed to be fully-<lid he prophesy concerning you(.,.;;,,, unclean: and if any one had touched them vn:o,cp,.,.;;,v), the hypocrites." Not that the he was counted =lean, eo that he might prophet had the hypocrites of our Saviour's not approach the temple until he had time in his mind when he uttered these cleansed himself by tile washing prescribed words, but that the Spirit of God which wo.s in the Law; the design being that by within him enabled him to describe accu- means of these ceremonial and bodily rately the character of those who seven washings the Jews might be awakened to centuries afterwards would be doing the the necessity of spiritual cleansing. Hence same things as their forefathers. And the Jews, and especially the Pharisees, who observe how they were punished. For as wished to be esteemed more righteous than they gave a lip-service only to God, praising others, placing their whole religion in these him with their mouth indeed, but giving external ceremonies, frequently washed t!Jeir heurt to vanit.y and the world: so God themselves before their meals, and even at on his part would give them tho words only their meals. At the marriage feast in Cana -the shell, so to speak, the letter which of Galilee we read that there were placed killeth ; but take away from them the ker.• "six waterpots of stone (>..lllwa, u3pia,)" for nel-the spirit and the life, so that they these pnrifying purposes; so that if any might not lay hold of it nor taste it. Jew had by accident come into contact with Ver. 9.-Here the word ,ca.>..ii',s is re- any unclean thing, and so had contracted peated. Full well (,c11>..;;,s) do ye rejeot the. &11y ceremonial impurity, he might remove commandment of God, that ye may keep yoUJ· llll, vu. 1-37.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. 293