disease, Revised Version; 11011011, laying stress -" epilepsy being suppoeed to retnru a.nd on the pain and disorder. Disease; siclmeu, increase with the increase or the moon " Revised Version; µ.a>..a1<lo.11, laying stress (Thayer, s.,,. 11'<,\71v,tf.(,11'80.,, which occurs in on the we11kneSB. (}'or the two words in the New Testament only here and in eh. combination, of. Dent. vii. 15.) Among the xvii. 15). people (lv np >..at;). These words are want- Vf!r. 25.-The mention of the mnltitndes ing in the true text of eh. ix. 35. The people; here Bf!rves as a transition to the sermon on i.e. the Jews,as contrasted with those included the mount. The description of the con in ver. 24. Not that St. Ml\tthew means t.o stituent parts of the multitudes is very exclude any sick Gentile who happened to similar to that found in Mark iii. 7, 8, and be living among the J ewe; but in this verae is probably derived from the same source, he is thinking only of those who lived near, Mark preserving in most respects the fuller and he naturally uses tlie word which con- form. Great multitudes; tx,\o, 1ro,\,\o[ (not notes the Jewish people. If others came, "many multitucles," but as plural of tx,\os it was only because they lived l11 T<p >..a~. 1ro,\6s, eh. xx. 29); e.lmost (Luke v.15) pecu- Ver. 24.-And his fa.me; Revised Version, liar to this Gospel (cb. viii. I, where see note and the report of him U1 a.1<0/i a6TOii). Olll' [18, Received Text; xii. 15, Received Text]; use of the word "fa.me" implies reputation xiii. 2; xv. 30; xix. 2). Decapolis. A kind andhonour,whicharenotincludedun<lera.1<071. of confederacy, originally of ten towns, the Went throughout all ( ver. 23) Syria; Revised organization being apparently the work of Version, went forth into; a.,r,j,\8<11 ds. The Pompey. All were east of Jordan except expression not merely means that the report Bethshan (Scythopolis). The names, e.s spread far and wide, but that it went beyond given in Pliny,Bre-Damascus, Pliilaclelphia, the expected limits of the Holy Land into Raphana., Scythopolis, Gadera, Hippus, the whole of Syria, i.e., probably, the Roman Dium, Pella, Ga.lasa (read Gerasa), Kanatha. province with which Palestine was in some Schiirer adds, Abila (not Abila of Lysan ias) degree (Schiir1:1r, I. ii. 46) iucorporatecl. All ancl Kanata. (distinct from Kanatha). These sick people that were taken with divers towns, like the great maritime cities, e.g. diseases; Revised Version, grammatically, all J oppa, and Cmsarea Straton is, were indepen- that were sick, holden 1Dith, etc. Possibly," all dent political communities," which-at least, that were sick" is the genus of which the after the time of Pompey-were never inter- following expreBBions represent species; but nally blended into an organic unity with the eh. viii 16 and Mark i. 32-34 suggest thet Jewish region, bnt were at most externally the words all to diseases refer to bodily united with it under the se.me ruler" diseases only. The arrangement would then (Schurer, II. i. p. 121). The population in be (1) bodily diseases, (a) ordinary (1ro11<{,\au them was chiefly heathen. Across J' orda.n; 11fro,s), (b) violent and painfnl cases ({Jal1'd- equivalent to Perma, as in ver. 15 e.ncl ob. :x.ix:. ,,o,s); (2) mental diseases, (a) HupernCLtural, 1, i.e. from Mount Hermon to the river Arnon (b) natu rill ; (3) inclll'Bble, effecting the (Weiss-Meyer); hut according t.o Josephus body nleo. And those which were possessed (' Bell. Jnd.,' iii. 3. 3), between the rivers with devils. WeiBB, 'Life,' ii pp. 76-88 Jabbok and Amon (Aliord), "The country (especially against Meyer), points out that east of Jordan wwi known as Pertea (the olll' Lord aha.red the belief in the reality of conntrybeyond)in the widersense, but Perae. possession by evil spirits, and that there- proper we.a the small district extending from fo1·e, though some of the current ideas may the river Amon (M6jib) to the Zerlp,, end hCLve been superstitious, there must ho.ve been now called Be~ii." (Socin's • Bmdeker,' p. o. basis of truth in the belief. See by all 54). To the places mentionecl hero as means Trench on the healing of the G adarene those whence people came, l\fork adds demoniacs (ob. vilL 28). And those whioh ldumme.; MILrk and Luke add 'fyre and werelUI1atiok; Revised Version,andepileptic Sidon.
HOMILE'l'ICS. Vars. 1-11.-The temptation of Christ. I. 'fHE PREPARATION. 1. TM Spirit. He was "full of the Holy Ghost" (Luke iv. 1). The Spirit be.d descended from heaven like a dove, a.nd a.bode upon him. He was now in the full consciousness of his Divine mission. His sacred human nature was filled through and through with the abiding presence of the H0ly Ghost: "Gou gave not the Spirit by mea.snro unto him" (John iii. 34). His holy soul must have glowed with ~ deep, heavenly joy in ineffable co=union with the Father, in the ea.Im contemplation of the blessed work which lay before him. He had hitherto led a quiet life; he had wrought no mighty works· he had not taught, save by the silent influence of the beauty of holiness. We know ~ot what deep, unutterable thoughts bad' stirred his heart; we cannot penetrate 112 THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. [cH. rv. 1-25.