The Pulpit Commentary — Mark — Volume 1 — Section 328

faith, hut his object was to improve and strengthen it; he meant to exhibit its sterling qualities as a pattern to his disciples. Many II one, tried as this woman was, would have sunk down into sullen silence, or hurried off in a fit of passion, and given up her suit. It might he.ve been so with some of ourselves; hut he will humble us before he exalts us; he will have us trust in him, though he slay us. Some token will be vouch- safed for our encouragement, even in the sorest testing-time. It was probably so with this wome.n. She may have discerned a tenderness in the tone of the Saviour's voice, or a gentleness in his look, that encouraged her to persevere. But, even in the absence of such, we must impress on ourselves the conviction that there "may be love in Christ's heart while there are frowns on his face," as it is quaintly expressed by an old divine. Further, we may be kept long waiting, but we shall not wait in vain, any more than this poor woman. Our prayers may not be favoured with an immediate answer; but, though not answered at once, they will be accepted at once, and answered at the time most expedient for us, as well as most conducive to the Divine glory. " For though he prove om patience, And to the utmost prove, Yet all his d ispensation11 Are fa.ithfulneSB and love." J.J.G. Vers. 31-37.-.A miracle of restoration. I. Tm: DEAF MUTE HEALED. I. A difference of reading. Acc1Jrding to the common text we learn that our Lord, "departing from the coasts [borders] of Tyre and Sidon, came unto the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts [borders] of Decapolis;" but according to the best critical authorities "through Sidon" must be substituted for "and Sidon;" and then the sentence reads as it stands in the Revised Version: "Again he went out from the borders of Tyre, and came through Sidon unto the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the borders of Dccapolis." This reading is unquestionably the more difficult, but exceedingly interesting, as it shows the extent of our Lord's tour through those Gentile lands. Proceeding twenty miles northward from Tyre, he came to Sidon, the great seat of Phcenician worship and of the idols Baal and Astarte; and then passing along the foot of Lebanon, and crossing the Leontes or Litany, the largest river of Syria, he came to the sources of the Jordan, whence he descended along the eastern bank into the region of Decapolis. 'l'he probable object of this detour was to gain privacy, instruct more thoroughly his disciples, escafe his enemies, and visit the many towns and villages dotting this route. 2. An interesting though practically unimportant question. Was the subject of this miracle deaf, with an impediment in his s~ech, or both deaf and dumb; in other words, a deaf mute? If he was deaf and had (1) only an impediment in his speech, he had not been born deaf, for in that case he would have been destitute of speech altogether. He may have become deaf in early childhood, before the organs of speech attained their full development; or be may have been deaf for such a length of time that, through long disuse, his tongue had lost its power; or disease may have supervened, and inflammation or ulceration tied the lingual nerve. ·whatever the cause of this impediment was-whether it was occasioned by 1igidity of the membrane arising from long desuetude, or whether it was produced by the diseased state of the muscles, or whether it was the result of early deafness-the impediment was so great that it differed little from the entire absence of the power of articule.tion. '!'his poor man was thus little, if at all, better than a deaf mute. But (2) several reasons induce the belief that this man was actually dumb as well as deaf. Among these we may mention the statement at ver. 37, where the Jews, who witnessed t.his miracle, said," He maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb (ol.>.<l.\ous) to speak;" and the word l'O')'•Ac£l,.or is used in the LXX. Version of Isa. xxxv. 6 in the signification of dumb; also, in a reference by St. Matthew to this same journey of our Lord, and to the miracles performed at that time, the evangelist mentions the dumb speaking, (1<1A>fOOS Aa.\oiivrar). It may be observed that, while ""'for, meaning" dull" or" blunt," may be applied to either hearing or speech, the meaning of the word in St. Mark is always" deaf," though the usual meaning of it is "dumb," being synonymous with 'f"'vos in the clussics. 3, Nature of this privation. '!'his affliction was twofold, Two  32G THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MARK. [ou. vu. 1-37.