The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 2 — Section 369

(uaih-l!hammi, pl'8811 for oil). The traditione.l Ver. 3. -1uda1 therefore, becauee he eite of the garden de.t.es be.ok t.o the time of knew the ple.ce, we.e a.ble tree.oherouely to Constantine, e.nd me.y be the true aoene of the use bis knowledge, Ha.vinir reoelved the ngony described by the synoptiets. There cohort. 'H .,.,..,,pa is used for the legion or por• nre •till remo.ining "the eight e.~ed olive tion of the legion of soldiers, who, under the tr<'Cs." which oe.rry be.ck the e.seocie.tions to direction of the Roma.n prooumtor,garrisoned the hour of the gree.t travail. It ie oerte.in the Tower of Antonia., which dominated the the.t the genere.l fentures of the eeene still north-ee.et temple oourts. The e.rtiole ( T~~) ok1sely rorrespond with wh&t WA.S visible on is probnbly used bece.use the x,11.lapxos, the e.wful night (' Pictorial Pe.leetine,' i. 86, militR.ry tribune, chief captain, or oomma.nder 98). P11.tristic e.nd medieval writers, with of the thousand men, he.cl (ver. 12) e.ooom- Hengt!ten berg e.nd Wordsworth, see pe.mllela panied the detachment. "The word =•ipa, between the garden of Eden lost by ma.n'a is ueed by Polybius for the Le.tin manipulua, sin, 11.nd the garden of Gethseme.ne where not oohor, (Polyb., xi. 23), oonsisting of about the second Ade.m met the prince of this two hundred men, the third pa.rt of e. cohort" world, e.nd bore the weight of hume.n tre.us- (Westoott). It should, however, be observed grcssion e.nd she.me, e.nd rege.ined for ma.n the tha.t the word is used of the Rome.n garrison pe.re.dise whioh Ade.m lost. It is still more of the tower (Acts x. 1; xxi. 31; xxvii. I ; interesting to notioe e. further touoh reoordcd Josephus,• Ant.,' :n. 4. 3; • Dell. Jud.,' v. 5. by John: Into whioh-into the quiet retreat 8). x,11.(apxos wa.e the proper na.me for the e.nd pe.rtie.looncea.lmentof whioh-he (Jesus) commander of a cohors, equivalent to one- entered himself, and hill diaoiplu. We know sixth of a. legion, i.e. n thousand men from the other Gospels the.t they were sepa.- a.nd e. hundred and twenty horsemen. 'l'ho re.t.ed-eight remained on watch nee.r the strength of the cohort differed aocording to entre.noc, and Peter e.nd Je.mee and John circumste.nces a.nd need. Josephus(' Dell. went further into the receases of the ge.rden, Jud.,' iii. 4. 2) says tha.t some =•lpa., con- and age.in, "e.bout a stone's oe.st," in the sisted of a. thouse.nd, some of six hundred, depth of the olive-she.de, our blessed Lord men. It is not rational to suppose that the retired to "pre.y." whole cohort were visibly pre,ent, but they Ver. 2.-1'ow Judu a.ho, who was betray- were pruent in close proximity. Though ing him (notice present tense in oontmst John a.lone mentions the Roma.n soldier,, yet with I, ..-apcillous of Matt. -s.. 4), knew the cf. Matt. xxvi. 53, 54, where our Lord B11.ys, plaDe: beoa'IIIIB often1imes Jes11.1 resorted "Thinkest thou not thnt I could pray (1r12p,- (litere.lly, u,aa a.88embled there) thither with 1eaJ,./o-a1) my Father, and he would henceforth hill diaaiplsa. Luke tdls us that during this furnish me with more than twel11e legiQ1111 of very week (Luke :ni. 3i) they he.d pe.sijed angels , "-a legion of angels for each one of their nights (11i,11.£(,To) on the "Mollllt of the little group. The presence of this band Olives," and it is most likely tha.t Judas of lloma.n soldiers with the Jewish police oonjectured that they had gone thither again gives very great force and impressiveness to to pass the night. The fe.ct here mentioned this scene of Israel's degradation e.nd of the by John, that Judas knew the plo.ce, dis- world's a.esnnlt upon theDivineSaviour. The poses of the ignore.Dt and vulgar taunt of other hints given by the synoptists of the pre- Celsue, that our Lord sought to escape from sence of weapons in tho "band," is Peter's his enemies after having cha.llenged them use of the sword. Judas brought with him, not (see Orig., •Contra CeL,' ii. 9. 10). Keim, with only the drilled nnd armed Rome.n soldiers, perversity, declares tbe.t John only repre- but the officers from the chief priests e.nd sented the place as known to J udae, in order of the I Pharisees; i.e. a detachment of the to enli.a.uoe the voluntary nature of the se.cri- Jewish gua.rd of the temple, under direction fice. Some ei:pl.e.D&tion may thus be given of the Sanhedrin. The chief priests would of the fact. that the eleven disciples, having have small difficulty in securing the aid of reached an o.ccuetomed ple.ce of repose, all a. detachment of the Roma.n garrison to 1ln1nbered and slept, and were not i.blc to prevent popule.r outbreak a.t the time of the watch one hour. The choice of this parti- fee.et. These lnr-t,pfra,, under the direction cnle.r ga.roou for the purpose cannot be un- of the chief priests and Pharisees, have been ravelled. Deo.n Plwnptre suggests that it mentioned in eh. vii. 32 and 45, a.nd the ea.me we.s the property of Lazarus, who we.s no name is given to the lnr11plTa.l in Acts v. 22, other tho.n the rich young man, who sold 26, where the high priests a.nd So.dducees his all e.nd gave to the poor, a.ll but one a.re spoken of as their me.sters. In Luke solitary garment, and that he himself was nil. 4, 52 the oomma.nda.nts of the temple keeping this one possession for the use• 1 Twv is omitted by T.B., with t(•••, A, 0 • of l.t.iB Lord on tho.t very night, a.nd tho.t when in do.nger of arrest he it we.e that but Tieohendorf (8Lh edit.) e.nd Westcott ond fled e.wo.y naketl. Thi.II is p1 tre conjec- Hort read Kal (,c -rwv, with t(•, D, L; L'JCT ture. mann and R..T., ""l Tow, with ll, on. XVIII. 1-10.J Tlrn OORPEL ACCORDING TO ST. ,JOHN. 3Rl