Page. Note.

CHAPTER V.

38. 1. "Jesus himself testified."-There seems to be little connexion between the 43d and 44th verses as they now read. The meaning may be, "Jesus went to Galilee, but not to Nazareth, for he testified, &c." or "Jesus went into Galilee, although he testified, &c."

39. 2. "A feast," probably the Pentecost.

40.

3. "It is the Sabbath day." The Jews were, in some respects, superstitious in their notions in regard to the Sabbath. See Jahn's Archæology. These words are

40. 4. "And sought to slay him."

omitted by G.

CHAPTER VI.

43. 1. "David did."-1 Sam. xxi. 1-7.

43. 2. "Shew-bread."-Lev. xxiv. 5—9.
44. 3. "Where it is written."-Is. lxi. 1, 2.
44. 4. "Days of Elias."-1 Kings xvii. 8-24.

45. 5. "Naaman, &c." 2 Kings v.

CHAPTER VII.

50. 1. "That great day "On this day the Priest filled a golden vessel at the pool of Siloam, and it was borne, with great solemnity, through a gate of the temple, and, being mixed with wine, poured on the altar, &c. The performance of this ceremony might have suggested the figurative language of Jesus. See Helon's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem.

51. 2. "But this people," &c. "But this people who knoweth not the law, believeth; they are cursed."-G.

52.

3. "Written in your law." Deut. xvii. 6. xix. 15.

Page. Note.

53. 4. "I know that ye are Abraham's SEED;"-I know ye are the natural descendants of Abraham; but you do not resemble him in character. You are not his children.

55.

56.

57.

5. "Going through the midst of them, and so passed by." These words are omitted by G.

CHAPTER VIII.

1. "Who did sin." The Jews regarded all calamities as the effects of sin.

2. "He is of age "-He is of sufficient age to give testimony. Among the Jews this age was fixed at thirteen years.

60. 3. "As the Father knoweth ""As the Father knoweth me and I know the Father, &c."-G.

61.

CHAPTER IX.

1. "The land of Zabulon."-Is. ix. 1, 2.

64.

1.

CHAPTER X.

"Inherit the earth," i. e. possess the land; the land of promise. was to the Israelites when they left Egypt, the seat of every blessing; hence to inherit the land,' became a proverbial expression for the enjoyment of peace and felicity.

65. 2. "Ye are the salt "-Maundrell, in describing the the valley of salt, a few miles from Aleppo, says; "I broke a piece (of the salt) of which that part exposed to the rain, sun and air, though it had the sparks and particles of salt, yet it had perfectly lost its savor."— It is said that a kind of insipid salt, brought from the Dead Sea, was sprinkled, in wet weather, over the slippery ascent to the temple; to this practice there may be an allusion in the text.

Page. Note.

66. 3. "The Scribes and Pharisees," The Scribes, Doc-
tors or Teachers of the Law, studied the
Scriptures, and expounded them in the syna-
gogues; and as most of them were of the sect
of Pharisees, they are spoken of as Scribes
and Pharisees."

66

66. 4. "Them of old time." To show the defects in the
righteousness of the Scribes, & c., Jesus quotes
and comments upon the commandments of
Moses and the traditions, and glosses given in
explanation of them by the teachers of the law.
"Raca "-A Syriac word, expressive of great
contempt.

66. 5.

66. 6. "The Council"-i. e. the Sanhedrim, the highest
tribunal of the Jews, established in the time
of the Maccabees about one hundred and fifty
years before Christ. It consisted of seventy-
two members, made up of those who had been
high priests, the elders, i. e. heads of fami-
lies and tribes, and the scribes. The ses-
sions of the Sanhedrim were held at Jerusa-
lem and the high priest presided. By this
tribunal Christ was condemned.

-

66. 7. "In danger of hell-fire."-The original of "hell-
fire" is, "the Gehenna of fire." The word
Gehenna commonly translated, "hell," sig-
nifies, the Valley of Hinnom- a place near to
Jerusalem on the east, where the Israelites
formerly worshipped Moloch. See 1 Kings
xi. 7.
2 Kings xvi. 3, 4. After the Jews had
returned to the worship of the true God, they
regarded the Valley of Hinnom with abhor-
ence, and made it not only the receptacle of
filth and rubbish, but also threw into it the
carcasses of animals, &c. -to consume which,
lest the air should become pestilential, fires
were kept constantly burning."

67.

67.

8. "Thou shalt not forswear thyself."-Exod. xx. 7.
Levit. xix. 12. Deut. xxiii. 21-23.

9. "An eye for an eye," Exod. xxi. 24, 25. Levit.
xxiv. 19, 20. Deut. xix. 21.

Page, Note.

67. 10. "Take away thy coat." The Jews wore two principal garments. The "coat," or tunic, encircled the whole body and extended to the knees; over this was worn an upper garment, or cloak," ," made nearly square.

Compel thee to go a mile."-The figure is borrowed from a Persian custom which allowed messengers on public business to demand assistance from those they met.

CHAPTER XI.

68. 1. "Do not your alms."-" Do not your acts of righteousness."-G.

68. 2. "Let not thy left hand."-A proverbial expression. 69. 3. "Anoint thy head" — Observe your usual habits in regard to dress, &c.

71. 4. "Cast into the oven"-Dried grass, the stalks of plants, &c., owing to the scarcity of wood, were used for fuel in the east.

71. 5.

71.

Into your

bosom" The front part of the garments were, among the Jews, made large, so as to be used for pockets.

6. "Beholdest thou the mote, &c. "— -Proverbial ex

pressions.

"How

72. 7." Because straight is the gate, &c." straight is the gate and narrow the way, which leadeth unto life! and few there be that find it."-G.

74. 1. "There came a leper." The leprosy of the East is a dreadful disease, which reduces the sufferer to a most offensive condition. The first indication of it is a small red spot, but as the disease proceeds it covers the body wth white scales. (Numb. xii. 10. 2 Kings v. 27.) It

15

Page. Note.

is infectious, and the leper was obliged to live apart from his friends. (Numb. v. 2. 2 Kings xv. 5.) The cure of the leprosy, in its advanced stages, was beyond human skill. (2 Kings v. 7.) For an account of the manner of treating lepers, see Levit. xiii and xiv.

77. 2. "There met him out of the tombs a man"-Compare Matt. viii. 28-34, and Luke viii. 26There is some difference in the accounts given. of this transaction by the different Evangelists. 1. Matthew says, "the territory of the Gergesenes," but Mark and Luke, "of the Gadarenes." Gadara was a city of some importance, which lay to the East or South East of the Sea of Tiberias: Gergesa was a place of less note in the same part of the country; the region in the neighborhood of each, may have been indiscriminately called after the name of either city. 2. Matthew speaks of two demoniacs, while Mark and Luke mention only one. Probably one was more furious or better known than the other.

74.

80.

81.

81.

CHAPTER XIII.

1. "They uncovered the roof, where he was"-Jesus was probably in the area or court, where visitors were frequently received, and business transacted. Over this area was drawn a curtain or screen, as a defence from the sun. Eastern houses were, in general, in the form of a hollow square, of one story and with a flat roof, used as a walk.

2. "Levi the son of Alpheus"— The same as Matthew.

3. "No man putteth a piece of new garment, &c." i. e. a piece of undressed, not fulled cloth which, when wet, would shrink.

4. "New wine into old bottles"-Bottles in the east were and are still, made of the skins of beasts. See Joshua ix. 4.