The Pulpit Commentary — Matthew — Volume 1 — Section 498

Jonllh he refers to his being in the whe.le's So shall tb.e Son of man be three doya and belly three cle.ys e.nd three nights as e. three nigh~ in the bee.rt of the earth. Siuoe, symbol of what should he.ppen to himself- so far as the balanoe of evidence goes (of., however, Bishop Westcott, • Introduction,' and "the queen of the south" took immense p. 3H, edit. 1872), the Crucifixion wllS on trouble to satisfy her craving o.fter wisdom Friday_and the Resurrection on Sunday, the (vers. 39--42). Therefore let them beware ; actual tiwe between them was only oue their present state was one of extreme clear day ond two part~ of de.ye (which de.nger; the improvement tho.t they showed might fairly \Jo co.lled three de.ye) and two we.s only nege.ti ve, and if they did not take whole nights. The reckoning, therefore, here is, strictly speaking, inaoourate. The care worse would happen to them in the words are perhaps a mere adaptation of the futlll'8 the.n in the pe.st (vers. 43--45). phrase in Jonah, and a.re here used only to Ver. 38.-Then oe:rtain. The deme.nd is roughly mark the time of our Lord's sto.;r only me.de by e. portion of those present in the grave. Observe, however, that tqe, who, e.ccording to Luke xi. 16, were not th~ addition of" uights" tends to emphasize the se.me as those who spoke onr ver. 24. Of reality of our Lord's stay there. It was a the scribes e.nd of the (Revised Version matter of days nod nights; he spent both omits the) Phe.risees. They a.re represented kinds of eo.rthly time "in the bee.rt of the as forming but one po.rty (eh. v. 20, note). ee.rth " (ef. eh. iv. 2, note). It will be Answered (him, Revised Version, with the noticed that the inaccuracy of the wording manuscripts). It is worth noticing that the would, if modern Western habits were alone insertion of the pronoun makes the passage to be consi~ered, make it most unlikely the.t more like eh. xvi. 1 and parallels. Saying, the phrase lB a later addition ; but in view Kaster (6,6d.cr1<CIA.£); eh. viii. 19, note. Only of the early Christian and Jewish method of in this place ie their request given verbally. ill~tre.ting eventa by passages of Scripture We would see (eb,o,,.ev ... 16ew). Observe which do not e.pply m all respects, the im- that their language ie rather brnsque; they probability ie not so great e.s would at first express their own wish regardless of him. sight appear. However, npon our present But they may have intended it only as e. information, we must say that the phrase plain statement of the difficulty they felt in was spoken by our Lord himself, and that believing him. They wished to see a sign although the exact time of hie stay in the first. A sign. More than a mire.cle of heal- grave was well known to the ee.rly believers, ing, however wonderful; they desired, as they continued to repeat the saying in the expressly said in eh. xvi 1; Mark viii. 11 ; form in which the Lord left it. In the hean Luke xi.16, a.sign from heaven, presumably of the earth. The form of the expression is some portent in the sky, which should be e. derived from Jonah ii. 3 ( 4), " in the heart sign of his mission (cf. I Cor. i. 22; John of the seas" (cf. Exod. xv. 8), and would iv. 48). From thee; i.e. happening, not acci- therefore appear to mean some deeper place dentally, but at thy oomme.nd. tbe.n the rock-hewn sepulchre. Hence Ver. 39.-Of the passages mentioned in many commentators, beginning with Irenoous the introductory note on vers. 38-42, eh. xvi (' Adv. Hmr.,' V. xxxi.) and Tertullio.n (' De 4 ie verbally identical with the answer of Anime.,' Iv.), understand it as directly denot- our present verse, except the omiesion of the ing the place of departed spirit.a. Eph. iv. 9 words, "the prophet," which occur nowhere (" the lower parts of the earth "), on the else but in tbie pe.saa.ge. But; he answered contrary, probably refers to the earth as such and 118,i,d to them, An evil (-ro,,.,pd., eh. vi. 13, in contrast to heaven, note) and adulter01lll generation. However Ver. 41.-Verbally identical with Luke frequent the sin of adultery may then have xi. 32, The men of Nineveh (1£116pu been, the common metaphorical sense of N,veu,-ra,), No article, because the evan- 1piritue.l unfaithfulness to God and the gelist desired to call e.ttention to the che.rac- practical worship of some other than Jehovah ter of the Ninevites. The men of Nineveh, seems the more probable here (cf. Jas. iv. 4; bee.then though they were, shall do this, Rev. ii. 20-23). Seeketh after (im(.,,-r,i); ~AvSpu (not 1£118p=o1); hardly because of the eh. vi. 32. A sign ; but there shall no sign approaching mention of a wome.n (cf. Luke be given to it. In Mark viii. 12 our Lord's xi, 31), but because the men in the city reply ends here. But the sign of the Prophet would naturo.lly take the lead, and not the lonaa; J=k tkelropket (Revised Version). women. Bo also in the LXX. of Jonah iii. 5 In eh. xvi. 4 and uke xi. 29 " the prophet" (contrast ver. 7, of the population generally). has been added in the Received Text. Shall rise in judgment; shall ,tand up in th~ Ver. 40.-Matthew only. :For as J'ona1 judgment (Revieed Version); i.e. shall stand (Jo1111.h, Revised Version) wu three days up as witnesses (Job xvi. 8; Mark xiv. 57) and three night■ in the whale'■ belly. Ver- in the fine.I judgment (Luke :a:, 14). With bally from the LXX. or Jonah i. 17 (ii. I). thil generation ; ,.e. present before the CB. xn. 1-50.] THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ST. MATTHEW. 495