The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 45

'O Jew, loose thy oxen, nnd loose tb.y alone expected thie king, and that accord ploughs, for, behohl, the temple is l!Lid ing to the more literal interpretation of the wnete I' The ox bclloworl tho second time; Jewish propheciee the homage of the world the Arabiim eo.ith to him, • 0 Jew, Jew, would be rendered to him ne tho Hearl of yoke thy oxen, and IH thy ploughs: for, the Jewish nation. (3) The title ie not behold, l{ing l\foseinh is born I' Dut so.ith need of our Lord again until tlie Passion, the Jew, • What is bis nllme?' 'Meno.hem,' where it ie only used by heathen (Pilate so.ith he. • And whe.t is the ne.mo of his e.nd the soldiers, eh. xxvii. 11, 2!), 37, and father ? ' • Hezekiah,' saith the Arabian. parallel passages, l\Iark, Luke, John, and To whom the Jew, 'But whence is he?' especially John xix. 21). The Magi o.nd the 'l'he other answered, 'Frnm the palace of the Roman, learning ond administration, East King of Bethlehem-Judah.' Away he went, and West, acknowledge, at least in form, the e.nd sold hie oxen, o.nd hie ploughs, and King of the Jews. (4) The Je1vs themselves became a seller of infants' swaddling-clothes, preferred the term, "King of Israel" (eh. going a.bout from town to town. When he xxvii. 42: Mnrk xv. 82, to which passages came to thnt city (Bethlehem) o.ll the Luke xxiii. 87, placing the gibe in the women bought of him, but the mother of soldiers' mouth, forms a significant contrast). Meno.hem bought nothing. He heard the The term "Jewe " made them only one of voice of the women saying, • 0 thou mother the nations of the earth: "Israel" reminded of Meno.hem, thou mother of Meno.hem, them of their theocratic pri vilegee. For, carry thy eon the things the.t are here sold.' They sto.to the reason of their certainty. Bnt ehe replied, • May the enemies of Israel We have seen (we saw, Reviseil Version); at be strangled, because on the day that he home. His star. In the way of their was born the temple was le.id waste.' To ordinary pursuits they learned of Christ. whom he said, • But we hoped, that o.s it The observation of natn.re led them to we.e laid waste e.t his feet, eo at hie feet it nature's Bond (Col. i. 17). What this star woulil be built a.gain.' She eaith, 'I ho.'l"e really was has been the subject of much no money.' To whom he replied, 'But why consideration without any very satisfactory should this bo prejudicial to him? Carry result. The principal theories are: (I) It him what you buy here, and if you hnve no we.s the conjunction of So.tum and Jnpiter, money to-do.y, after some claye I will come which took pince in May to July and again back e.nd receive it.' After some do.ye he in September, B.o. 7. (2) It was the rising returns to the.t city, and se.ith to her, • How of Sirius on the same day in the fifth, does the little infant?' And she said, 'From fourth, thircl, and second years B.o. (8) It the time you saw me last, spirits [winds] was some strange evanescent star such ns and tempeste came, and snatched him away Krpler so.win 1603-4. (4) Astronomy can out of my hands.' Rabbi Bon SBith, • Whe.t suggest nothing which satisfies Rll the con- need have we to learn from an Arnbie.n? Is ditions, and the appearance must ho.ve been it not plainly written, "And Lebanon shall strictly miraculous. Since Professor Prit- fall beforo the Powerful One?" (Esa. x. 84). oho.rd's article in the 'Dictionury of the And what follows after? "A Dmnch shall Dible,' this last has been generally accepted come out ofthoroot of Jesse" (Ese. .. xi. l)'" in England. A further que.tion is-How (' Hor. llebr.,' in loc.). To Jerusalem. came they to identify the star as "his"? i.11. The capitnl, where this King would reign, Whnt made the Magi connect the coming of nnd where information about hill birth the King of the Jews with a star? and what would most naturally he obtnined. made them consider tho.t this po.rticulo.r Ver. 2.-Snying. The inquiry we.s on appearance was the ono they expected? their lips nt the moment of their nppe11r- 'l'he latter part of the question can hardly m1co. Where is 1 Not "whether tl,erc ie." be answered, except on the supposition that 'l'ho Magi show no signe of doubt. He that the star that they so.w wns in itself so is born Xing of the J ewe ; i.e. he that is extraordinary ns to convince them that no born to be King of tho Jews. Whether he greater .tar could be looked for. To the is king from the very moment of his birth is fo1mcr pnrt various o.nswcrs ho.vo been not etnted. The rondoring of tho Revised given. (1) Balo.um'e prophecy (Numb. Version margin, "Where is the King of the xxiv. 17) wns uuderstoocl literally, nnd the Jews that is born?" would imply this. With knowledge of it, with its misinterpretation, either form the bystanders could hardly help had spread to the Magi. For this literal contrasting him with their then ruler, who interpretation, cf. the • Pesil;.tn Zuta.rta' hnd ncquired the kingsllip after ycnrs of (' Le¼-o.1) Tob ') on Numb. xxiv. 17 (p. 58, conflict, and who was of foreign extrac- Venice edit.), where it enys thnt in the fifth tion. King of the Jews Notico: (1) This year of the hoptad before Messiah "the was, perhnpa, lleroil's exact titlo (ver. 1, star" shnll shine forth from the eust, and note). (2) 'l'hey do not sny king of the this i~ the slar of the Messiah (cf. ulso Eder- world. 'fliey ncccpt the focts tl.rnt the J ewe shciw, 'Life,' etc., i. 212). Similarly we find  32 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. M.\.TTHEW. [oa. u. 1-23.