Chapter LXXXIV: Part III: Three Apostles (1)

MACMILLAN AND CO. LONDON.

Footnotes.

1 ‒ The Edition of the _Synopsis Evangelica_ of Tischendorf
referred to is the First Edition, 1854; that of Wieseler’s
_Synopsis of the Four Gospels_ is the English Translation
by Venables, 1864; that of Conybeare and Howson’s _Life
and Travels of St Paul_ is the People’s Edition, 2 Vols.,
1864; that of Dean Stanley’s _Sinai and Palestine_, the
3rd, 1856.

2 ‒ Milman’s _History of the Jews_, I. 443.

3 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XI. 8. 2. Comp. Article _Jerusalem_ in Smith’s
_Bibl. Dict._ I. 998, and note.

4 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XI. 8. 7.

5 ‒ Probably Dan. vii. 6; viii. 3–8, 20, 21, 22; xi. 3.

6 ‒ Curtius, IV. 5. 13; IV. 8. 10.

7 ‒ See Thirlwall’s _Greece_, VI. 265; Raphall’s _History of
the Jews_, I. 42–50.

8 ‒ “The _Great Assembly_ or _Synagogue_, whose existence
has been called in question on insufficient grounds,
was the great council of the nation during the Persian
period, in which the last substantive changes were made
in the constitution of Judaism. It was organized by Ezra,
and, as commonly happens, the work of the whole body was
transferred to its representative member. Ezra probably
formed a collection of the prophetic writings; and the
Assembly gathered together afterwards (as the Christian
Church at a later period in corresponding circumstances)
such books as were still left without the Canon, though
proved to bear the stamp of the Spirit of God.” Westcott’s
_Bible in the Church_, Appendix A.

9 ‒ Prideaux’s _Connection_, I. 545.

10 ‒ “By its harbour of Seleucia it was in communication
with all the trade of the Mediterranean; and through
the open country behind the Lebanon it was conveniently
approached by the caravans from Mesopotamia and Arabia. It
united the inland advantages of Aleppo with the maritime
opportunities of Smyrna.” Conybeare and Howson, _Life and
Epistles of St Paul_, I. 118; Smith’s _Dict. Geog._ Art.
_Antiochia_.

11 ‒ “Few princes have ever lived with so great a passion for
the building of cities as Seleucus. He is said to have
built in all 9 Seleucias, 16 Antiochs, and 6 Laodiceas.
This love of commemorating the members of his family was
conspicuous in his works by the Orontes. Besides Seleucia
and Antioch, he built, in the immediate neighbourhood, a
Laodicea in honour of his mother, and an Apamea in honour
of his wife.” Conybeare and Howson, I. 119; Merivale,
III. 368.

12 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XII. 3. 1; _Contr. Apion._ II. 4.

13 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XII. 2. 10.

14 ‒ The Beth-shan of the Old Testament; see _Class-Book of Old
Testament History_, p. 316, and 445 note, 2nd ed.

15 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XII. 3. 3.

16 ‒ One of the branches of the Lebanon, containing a cave
sacred to Pan, whence it derived its name. See below,
p. 218, n.

17 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XII. 3. 3.

18 ‒ See Mommsen’s _History of Rome_, II. 264.

19 ‒ In the valley of the Hermus, not far from Smyrna. See Livy,
XXXVII. 37, foll.; Tac. _Ann._ II. 47.

20 ‒ Strabo, XVI. 744; Justin, XXXII. 2. 1.

21 ‒ Livy, XLI. 19, 20.

22 ‒ See above, p. 17.

23 ‒ See above, p. 19.

24 ‒ Livy, XLV. 12.

25 ‒ Polyb. XXVI. 10; Livy, XLI. 19, 20.

26 ‒ Milman’s _History of the Jews_, I. 457.

27 ‒ Identified with the half-ruined village of Latrôn, the
_Castellum boni Latronis_ of the Mediæval writers, from
the tradition that it was the residence of the penitent
thief Dysma. Porter’s _Handbook_, I. 285.

28 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XII. 6. 4.

29 ‒ Hepworth Dixon’s _Holy Land_, I. 64.

30 ‒ _Class-Book of Old Testament History_, p. 212 and note.

31 ‒ See _Class-Book of Old Testament History_, p. 275.

32 ‒ An important stronghold (comp. 1 Macc. ix. 52; xiii. 53;
xvi. 1) in all probability the same as the ancient
Gezer or Gazer (Josh. x. 33; xii. 12), between the lower
Beth-horon and the sea. Thither we find David pursued the
Philistines (2 Sam. v. 25; 1 Chr. xiv. 16), and the place
was fortified by Solomon as commanding the communication
between Egypt and Jerusalem. See _Class-Book of Old Test.
Hist._ p. 361.

33 ‒ During the Captivity the Idumæans advancing westward had
occupied the whole territory of the ancient Amalekites
(Jos. _Ant._ II. 1. 2), and even took possession of many
towns in Southern Palestine, including Hebron (Jos. _Ant._
XII. 8. 6; _B. J._ IV. 9. 7). The name Edom, or rather
its Greek form Idumæa, was now given to the country
lying between the valley of Arabah and the shores of the
Mediterranean; and Roman authors sometimes give the name
Idumæa to all Palestine, and even call the Jews Idumæans.
Virgil, _Georg._ III. 12; Juvenal, VIII. 160.

34 ‒ The ancient Ashdod. See _Class-Book of Old Testament
History_, pp. 259, 263, 272.

35 ‒ The Greek form of the ancient Jabneel (Josh. xv. 11), the
modern _Yebna_, 11 miles S. of Jaffa, 4 from Ekron. In
the time of the Maccabees it was a strong place. After
the fall of Jerusalem it became one of the most populous
places in Judæa, was the seat of a famous school, and
according to an early Jewish tradition, the burial-place
of the great Gamaliel.

36 ‒ Beth-sura, or Beth-zur, _house of rock_, is named between
Halhul and Gedor in Josh. xv. 58, and was fortified by
Rehoboam for the defence of his new kingdom (2 Chr. xi. 7).
It occupied a strong position, and commanded a great road,
the road from Beer-sheba and Hebron, which has always been
the main approach to Jerusalem from the south.

37 ‒ The ancient Accho (Judg. i. 31). During the period that
Ptolemy Soter was in possession of Cœlesyria, it received
the name of _Ptolemais_ from him, by which it was long
distinguished.

38 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 2. 1.

39 ‒ According to some, he was a natural son of Antiochus
Epiphanes (Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 2. 1), but he was more
generally looked upon as an impostor who falsely laid
claim to the connection. Justin, XXXV. 1; Polyb. XXXIII.
16.

40 ‒ Comp. Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 4. 3.

41 ‒ Comp. 1 Macc. xi. 33; Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 5. 3.

42 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 5. 6.

43 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 5. 8.

44 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 5. 11; Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._, Art.
_Jerusalem_.

45 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 6. 1.

46 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 6. 7; Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._, Art.
_Jerusalem_.

47 ‒ “Nehemiah mentions a palace, or rather fortress, which
appertained to the Temple (Neh. ii. 8); and in the Hebrew
Birah we have probably the origin of the Greek Baris,
which Josephus tells us was the name of the fortress
subsequently called _Antonia_. It was the fortress of the
Temple, as the Temple was of the city.” Porter’s _Handbk._
I. 128, 129.

48 ‒ Milman’s _History of the Jews_, II. 21.

49 ‒ Comp. Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 7. 2.

50 ‒ By this king the privilege of a national coinage was
granted to Simon, 1 Macc. xv. 6. “Numerous examples of
them are extant, bearing the dates of the first, second,
third and fourth years of the ‘liberation of Jerusalem;’
and it is a remarkable fact confirming their genuineness,
that in the first year the name Zion does not occur, as
the citadel was not recovered till the second year of
Simon’s supremacy, while after the second year Zion alone
is found. The emblem which the coins bear have generally
a connexion with Jewish history――a vine-leaf, a cluster
of grapes, a vase (of manna?), a trifid flowering rod, a
palm-branch, surrounded by a wreath of laurel, a lyre, a
bunch of branches symbolical of the feast of Tabernacles.”
Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._, Art. _Maccabees_.

51 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 8. 1.

52 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 8. 2.

53 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 8. 3.

54 ‒ Samaria itself was now razed to the ground, the hill on
which it had stood being full of springs, was pierced with
trenches, and the site of the city flooded and converted
into a pool of water. Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 10. 3.

55 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 10. 6.

56 ‒ Raphall’s _History of the Jews_, II. 103.

57 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 16. 3.

58 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 1. 2.

59 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 2. 1.

60 ‒ Milman, _History of the Jews_, II. 42.

61 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 2. 3; _B. J._ I. 6. 3.

62 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 3. 1.

63 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 6. 6.

64 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 7. 3.

65 ‒ Liv. _Epit._ 102.

66 ‒ Comp. Cic. _pro Flacco_, c. xxviii.; Tac. _Hist._ V. 5.

67 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 8. 5; _Ant._ XIV. 5. 2–4.

68 ‒ Merivale’s _Romans under the Empire_, I. 381, 382.

69 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 7. 2; _B. J._ I. 8. 8, 9; Milman, II. 51.

70 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 7. 4.

71 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 8. 1; _B. J._ I. 9. 5.

72 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 8. 3; _B. J._ I. 9. 5.

73 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 10. 2, 3; _Ant._ XIV. 8. 5.

74 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 9. 2.

75 ‒ Merivale, III. 377.

76 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 9. 2; _B. J._ I. 10. 5.

77 ‒ See Merivale, III. 375.

78 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 9. 4.

79 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 11. 1.

80 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 11. 2.

81 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 11. 3; _Ant._ XIV. 11. 2.

82 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 12. 4; _Ant._ XIV. 12. 2.

83 ‒ See above, p. 71.

84 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 12. 6; _Ant._ XIV. 13. 1, 2.

85 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 13. 4–6.

86 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 13. 6; _Ant._ XIV. 13. 7–9.

87 ‒ Masada, now called _Sebbeh_, was situated at the S.W. end
of the Dead Sea, on a rock from 1200 to 1500 ft. in height,
separated from the adjoining range of mountains by deep
ravines on the N. and S., and only attached to them on the
W. by a narrow neck about two-thirds of its height. The
fortress was first built by Jonathan Maccabæus, but Herod
the Great added to it and made it an impregnable place of
refuge for himself in case of danger. The rock on which it
was built overhung the Dead Sea, and was only accessible
by two rock-hewn paths, one on the W., the other on the
E. side, carried up from the shore by a zigzag cut in
the precipice, and called “the Serpent.” The summit of
the rock was not pointed, but a plain of 7 stadia in
circumference, surrounded by a wall of white stone, 12
cubits high and 8 thick, fortified with 37 towers of 50
cubits in height, and adorned with a palace and baths.
The interior being left free for cultivation, so that the
garrison might partially raise their own food. Traill’s
_Josephus_, II. 109–115; Porter’s _Handbk. of Syria and
Palestine_, p. 239.

88 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 13. 8.

89 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 14. 2; _Ant._ XIV. 14. 2, 3.

90 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 13. 9; _Ant._ XIV. 13. 10.

91 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 14. 4. See above, p. 73.

92 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 14. 4; _Ant._ XIV. 14. 5.

93 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 18. 3. “Antonius was the first of the
Romans who consented to smite a king with the axe.”
Merivale, III. 382.

94 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIV. 16. 4.

95 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 2. 2.

96 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 3. 4.

97 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 3. 5.

98 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 6. 6; _B. J._ I. 20. 1.

99 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 20; Merivale, III. 356.

100 ‒ He at the same time bestowed upon him the 400 Gauls, who
had formed the bodyguard of Cleopatra. Jos. _Ant._ XV.
7. 3; _B. J._ I. 20. 3.

101 ‒ Milman’s _Hist. of the Jews_, II. 70; Jos. _Ant._ XV. 7. 7;
Merivale, III. 386.

102 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 7. 9. 10.

103 ‒ Jan. 13, A.U.C. 727, B.C. 27. Dion LIII. 16; Liv. _Epit._
134; Merivale’s _Romans under the Empire_, III. 417.

104 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 8. 5; _B. J._ I. 21. 2.

105 ‒ In B.C. 22 he contracted another marriage, and united
himself with a second Mariamne, the daughter of one Simon,
an obscure priest of Jerusalem, whom he raised to the
dignity of high-priest, after deposing Joshua, the son of
Phaneus, thus again throwing discredit on an office which
he persisted in depriving of all political weight and
influence.

106 ‒ The full name was Cæsarea Sebaste, Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 5. 1,
but it was sometimes called Cæsarea Stratonis, or Cæsarea
Palestinæ, or the “City by the Sea,” Jos. _B. J._ III. 9;
VII. 1. 3. Its modern name is _Kaisariyeh_. It became
the official residence of the Herodian kings, as also of
Festus, Felix, and other Roman procurators. Tacitus calls
it “the head of Judæa,” _Hist._ II. 79. In the centre of
the city rose a vast temple, conspicuous from the sea,
dedicated to Octavius, and adorned with two colossal
statues, one of the Emperor, the other of the Imperial
city. The foundations were laid in B.C. 21, and the work
was completed in B.C. 10. Jos. _Ant._ XV. 9. 6; Lewin’s
_Fasti Sacri_, p. 89.

107 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 20. 4.

108 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 10. 1.

109 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 10. 3; _B. J._ I. 20. 4.

110 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 21. 3.

111 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 10. 4.

112 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 11. 2.

113 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 11. 2.

114 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 11. 6.

115 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XX. 9. 7.

116 ‒ For the maintenance of the service the half-shekel claimed
by the Law (Ex. xxx. 13) from every male Israelite above
twenty years old was religiously executed. This is the
tribute-money mentioned Matt. xvii. 24, under the name
δίδραχμα, and according to Josephus, was collected from
all Jews even in foreign countries, their foreign coins
being exchanged by the κολλυβισταί for the half-shekels of
the temple-money (Matt. xxi. 12; Mk. xi. 15; Jn. ii. 15).

117 ‒ Dixon’s _Holy Land_, II. 47, 48; Raphall’s _History of the
Jews_, II. 335–337; Milman, II. 77.

118 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XV. 11. 6.

119 ‒ On the way he gave proof of his ardent zeal for Grecian
customs, stopping at Elis to witness the Olympic games,
and settling an annual revenue on the inhabitants. Jos.
_B. J._ I. 21. 12.

120 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 2. 1.

121 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 1. 2.

122 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 3. 3; _B. J._ I. 23. 1.

123 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 4. 6; Comp. _Ant._ XV. 9. 6.

124 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ I. 24. 1.

125 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 5. 1.

126 ‒ Built on the site of the more ancient town of _Caphar
Saba_, sixteen Roman miles from Joppa, and twenty-six
from Cæsarea. The old name lingers under the modern form
_Kefr-Saba_.

127 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 11. 1–6. Berytus was a town of Phœnicia,
identified by some with the Berotha, or Berothai of
Scripture (2 Sam. viii. 8; Ezek. xlvii. 16). After its
destruction by Tryphon B.C. 140, it was reduced by Agrippa,
and colonised by the veterans of the V. Macedonica Legio,
and VIII. Augusta, and became a Roman colony under the
name of _Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Berytus_. See Smith’s
_Dict. Geog._, Art. _Berytus_.

128 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 11. 7.

129 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 2. 4.

130 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 4. 2.

131 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 5. 1; _B. J._ I. 31. 4.

132 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 6. 2. 3.

133 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 6. 5; _B. J._ I. 33. 5.

134 ‒ On the eastern side of the Jordan, and not far from the
Dead Sea. Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 6. 5.

135 ‒ Probably some day between the 13th March and 4th April
A.U.C. 750 = B.C. 4. See Wieseler’s _Synopsis_, p. 51.

136 ‒ Westcott’s _Introduction to the Gospel History_, pp. 47, 48.

137 ‒ Conybeare and Howson, _Life and Travels of St Paul_, I. 16;
Merivale, III. 358.

138 ‒ See above, p. 7.

139 ‒ See above, pp. 8, 9.

140 ‒ See above, p. 10.

141 ‒ See above, p. 15.

142 ‒ See above, p. 54. This was probably Lucius Calpurnius Piso,
consul in B.C. 139.

143 ‒ The _Sanhedrin_, or supreme court of judicature amongst
the Jews, in things spiritual and temporal, consisted
of seventy, seventy-one, or seventy-two members, chosen
from the chief priests, scribes, elders, and some of the
inferior members of the priestly order. Its President,
generally but not always the high-priest, was called
_Nasi_; the vice-president, _Ab Beth Din_, its place of
meeting (βουλή, βουλευτήριον) was the chamber _Gazith_ in
the temple, where the members sat in a half-moon.

The Jews traced back its origin to the time of Moses
(Deut. xvii. 8), but it is only after the return from the
Captivity, and especially during the Asmonean era, that we
find it first mentioned.

Its decrees were of binding force not only in Palestine,
but amongst the extensive colonies of Jews in Egypt,
Babylonia, and Asia Minor, and related to the worship
of the temple, offences against the state, the levying
of war, claims to the prophetical office, and questions
appertaining to the high-priest’s functions. Ordinary
cases came before the _Lesser Sanhedrin_, of which
courts there were two at Jerusalem, and one in every town
containing more than 120 inhabitants.

The jurisdiction and authority of the Sanhedrin were
much curtailed, first by Herod, see above, p. 82, and
afterwards by the Romans (Comp. Jn. xviii. 31; xix. 6;
Jos. _Ant._ XX. 9. 1).

144 ‒ Comp. Hor. _Sat._ I. ix. 69 sq.; Juvenal, III. 296;
XIV. 96; Cic. _pro Flacco_, ch. XXVIII.

145 ‒ Merivale’s _Romans under the Empire_, III. 369. “We
find that at Tyre, at Sidon, and at Ascalon, the Romans
published their decrees in the Latin and the Greek idioms;
in the Latin, in token of their own supremacy; in the
Greek, as the language most generally understood by the
conquered people. Ascalon became famous for its Greek
writers in philosophy, history, and grammar. Gadara, a
city of Greek foundation, is celebrated by Strabo for its
contributions to Hellenic science.”

146 ‒ The three words for the elect nation used in the New
Testament are

i. Ἰουδαῖος = a Jew as regards his nation, in
opposition to Ἕλλην, a Gentile;

ii. Ἑβραῖος = a Jew in respect to his language and
education, in opposition to Ἑλληνιστής, a Jew of the
Grecian speech;

iii. Ἰσραηλίτης = a Jew in respect to his religious
privileges, the sacred name. Trench, _N. T.
Synonyms_.

147 ‒ Compare with this the assemblies for prayer and worship
held by the prophets or their scholars in the kingdom of
the Ten Tribes, 2 K. iv. 33.

148 ‒ Generally they were erected and maintained by the
congregation, but sometimes were built by private
individuals: Comp. Lk. vii. 5.

149 ‒ Godwyn’s _Moses and Aaron_, p. 71.

150 ‒ The officers of the synagogue exercised a judicial power.
And in the building itself could (i) bring an offender
to trial (Lk. xii. 11; xxi. 12); and (ii) scourge (Matt.
x. 17; Mark xiii. 9; Acts ix. 2).

151 ‒ Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._, Art. _Synagogue_.

152 ‒ The service was held on Sabbaths and feast-days, later on
the Mondays and Thursdays also.

153 ‒ This would be the case at least in the Palestine
synagogues.

154 ‒ Godwyn’s _Moses and Aaron_, pp. 69–73; Conybeare and
Howson, I. 59.

155 ‒ Comp. Juv. III. 296, _in quâ te quæro proseuchâ?_

156 ‒ See above, p. 20. Comp. Merivale, III. 370.

157 ‒ See above, p. 9.

158 ‒ See Raphall’s _History of the Jews_, Vol. I. pp. 160, 162.

159 ‒ Others, however, derive their name from Tsadikim, ‘the
righteous,’ but its origin appears uncertain.

160 ‒ See above, p. 60.

161 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 1. 4.

162 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 10. 6; XVIII. 1. 4.

163 ‒ The later sect of the Karaites, or _Karæans_,
‘Scripturists,’ succeeded to the Sadducees, but chiefly
in respect of the rejection of tradition, and their strict
adherence to the letter of the law.

164 ‒ See above, p. 30.

165 ‒ The _Scribes_ (γραμματεῖς) are often mentioned in
the Gospels in connection with the Pharisees and
elders. Originally they appear to have been employed
in transcribing the Jewish Scriptures, but subsequently
became interpreters of the Law and teachers of the people.
The majority of them probably belonged to the sect of the
Pharisees, but not all, see Acts xxiii. 9.

166 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 5. 9, and see above, p. 60.

167 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 1. 3.

168 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 10. 5; _B. J._ I. 5. 2, 3.

169 ‒ Comp. above, p. 63, and Luke xi. 43.

170 ‒ See above, pp. 60, 62.

171 ‒ The Jews of later times were very zealous in making
_proselytes_ (Comp. Horace, _Sat._ I. iv. 143), and
succeeded to a great extent, especially among the women.
They are said, though it does not appear absolutely
certain, to have been divided into two classes; (i)
_Proselytes of righteousness_, who were admitted to all
the privileges of Judaism after submitting to circumcision,
and baptism, and offering sacrifice: (ii) _Proselytes
of the gate_, who were not circumcised, but simply
bound themselves to observe what were called ‘the seven
precepts of Noah,’ i.e. (1) to renounce idolatry, (2) to
worship the one true God, (3) to abstain from bloodshed,
(4) incest, (5) robbery, (6) to be obedient to the
magistrates, (7) to abstain from eating flesh with the
blood. Josephus calls such Proselytes οἱ σεβόμενοι, _the
worshippers_, and they are supposed to be meant by the
same word, rendered in our Version _devout men_ in such
passages as Acts xiii. 50; xvi. 14; xvii. 4, 17; xviii. 7.

172 ‒ Analogous to the Essenes were the _Therapeutæ_, who lived
in Egypt, were bound by even stricter rules, and spent
their time in still greater seclusion, Godwyn’s _Moses and
Aaron_, I. 12.

173 ‒ Conybeare and Howson, I. 33; Godwyn, Lib. I. 13.

174 ‒ _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 427.

175 ‒ Compare for a notice of such a process, Herod. III. 149;
VI. 21, quoted in Trench, _Miracles_, p. 311, note.

176 ‒ Comp. Jos. _Ant._ X. 9. 7; IX. 14. 3.

177 ‒ See above, p. 5.

178 ‒ ‘The Samaritans have a firm belief in the coming of
Messiah. They found this upon the words of Moses (Deut.
xviii. 15). They differ, however, with regard to the
character of the Messiah, as well from Jews as from
Christians. They ridicule the Jewish idea of his being
a king and a great conqueror. His mission, they say, is
not to shed blood, but to heal the nations; not to make
war, but to bring peace. He is to be, according to Moses’
promise, a great Teacher, a Restorer of the Law, one that
will bring all the nations, by the illumination of his
teaching, to unite in one service to one God. Therefore
his common name with them is _Taebah_ (תהבה), though the
better known name is _Hatah_ or _Hashah_, the Restorer,
or the Arabic equivalent, Al Mudy, because it is he whose
mission it is to turn the ungodly and unbelieving unto the
Lord.’ Mill’s _Modern Samaritans_, 215, 216.

179 ‒ Westcott’s _Introduction to the Study of the Gospels_,
148, 9.

180 ‒ Godwyn’s _Moses and Aaron_, Lib. I. p. 48; Trench,
_Miracles_, p. 311.

181 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XX. 6. 1; _B. J._ II. 12. 3.

182 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 2. 2.

183 ‒ See _Class-Book of Old Testament History_, p. 483.

184 ‒ Ebrard’s _Gospel History_, p. 487; Westcott’s
_Introduction to the New Testament_, pp. 92, 95.

185 ‒ So Grotius, Lightfoot and others. Reland and Robinson
identify it with Juttah in the mountain-region of Judah,
near Maon and Carmel (Josh. xv. 55), allotted to the
priests (Josh. xxi. 16), now _Yŭtta_. The traditions of
the Greek and Latin Churches point on the other hand to
_Ain Karim_, a village near Jerusalem. Thomson’s _L. and
B._ 664.

186 ‒ See _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 123. For the
composition of the Incense, _Ibid._ p. 135.

187 ‒ See Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._, Art. _Incense_.

188 ‒ Hebrew Jochanan = _God is gracious_.

189 ‒ The number present appears to indicate that it was the
Sabbath-day.

190 ‒ It is one peculiarity of the Galilæan hills, as distinct
from those of Ephraim or Judah, that they contain or
sustain green basins of table-land just below their
topmost ridges; forming marked features in any view
from the summit of Tabor, or further north from the
slopes of Hermon.... Such above all is Nazareth. Fifteen
gently rounded hills “seem as if they had met to form an
enclosure” for this peaceful basin――“they rise round it
like the edge of a shell to guard it from intrusion. It
is a rich and beautiful field in the midst of these green
hills――abounding in gay flowers, in fig-trees, small
gardens, hedges of the prickly pear; and the dense rich
grass affords an abundant pasture. The expression of
the old topographer, Quaresmius, was as happy as it is
poetical: ‘Nazareth is a rose, and, like a rose, has the
same rounded form, enclosed by mountains as the flower by
its leaves.’” Stanley’s _Sinai and Palestine_, p. 365.

191 ‒ As the first leader of the hosts of Israel was called
first Hoshea, a _Saviour_, and afterwards Jehoshua or
Joshua, _God the Saviour_ or _God’s Salvation_, in Greek,
ΙΗΣΟΥΣ, JESUS, and saved the Israelites from their enemies
the Canaanites, so the second Joshua was to save His
people from enemies no less real――even _their sins_ (Matt.
i. 21). Compare the title of Conqueror so often applied to
our blessed Lord in the Book of Revelation, as ii. 7, 11;
iii. 5, 12, 21; v. 5; vi. 2, &c., as also in St John’s
Gospel, xvi. 33, and in 1 Jn. ii. 13, 14; iv. 4. See
Pearson _On the Creed_, Art. II.; _Class-Book of O. T.
History_, pp. 173, 223.

192 ‒ The distance from Nazareth to Jerusalem is about 80
miles, and if Zacharias lived at Hebron 17 miles south
of Jerusalem, the whole journey would occupy four or five
days. (i) The most direct route was by Nain and Endor,
and through Samaria and southward by Bethel. (ii) If for
any cause Samaria was to be avoided, the Jordan would be
crossed near Scythopolis, and the way followed through
Peræa along its eastern bank. This was the common route
with the Jews in their journeyings to the feasts, if they
wished specially to avoid Samaria. (iii) Still a third way
was by Dor on the sea-coast, passing through Lydda, and
thence over the mountains of Ephraim. Andrews, p. 64.

193 ‒ See _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 158.

194 ‒ Locusts were frequently used as an article of food (comp.
Levit. xi. 21, 22), being sometimes ground and pounded
and then mixed with flour and water and made into cakes,
sometimes salted and then eaten, or prepared in many other
ways. See Kitto’s _Bible Illustrations_, VII. 191, 2;
Kirby and Spence’s _Entomology_; Thomson’s _Land and the
Book_, pp. 419, 20.

195 ‒ Merivale’s _Romans under the Empire_, III. 401, smaller
edition.

196 ‒ From Suetonius (_Aug._ Chap. XXVII.) we learn that
Augustus three times held a census for Italy, A.U.C. 726,
746, and 767; and Strabo speaks of one in Gaul and another
in Spain. Tacitus (_Ann._ I. 11) tells us that he had
a little book written out in his own hand treating of
the numbers of his soldiers, the taxes, imposts, &c.,
of his empire, which is also alluded to by Suetonius and
Dion Cassius, and must have been based on surveys of all
parts of the empire. It is also well established that he
commenced, if he did not carry out, a complete geometrical
survey of the empire (see Merivale’s _Romans_, III. 404).
Though these facts do not absolutely _prove_ the holding
of a general census, they go far to _confirm_ the
Evangelist’s statement.

197 ‒ St Luke relates that _this taxing or enrolment took place
as a first one, when Cyrenius was governor of Syria_ (Lk.
ii. 1). But Josephus states that Cyrenius was sent as
governor of Syria after the deposition of Archelaus and
the annexation of Judæa as a Roman province to Syria,
and that he then instituted a census. This could not be
earlier than A.U.C. 758 or 760; but the Saviour was born
before Herod’s death in A.U.C. 750. Various explanations
have been offered of the Evangelist’s words:

i. Some would throw the emphasis on the ἐγένετο, and
translate, “This enrolment first _took effect_ when
Cyrenius was governor of Syria,” i.e. the enrolment,
enumeration of persons, _descriptio capitum_, was made
at the time of our Lord’s birth, but its actual execution
was deferred some nine or ten years, till Judæa was made a
Roman province, when (Acts v. 37) the rebellion took place
against the actual levying of the taxes.

ii. Others would render πρώτη _before_, as in the somewhat
parallel passages in Jn. i. 15, 30, where it is used as
= πρότερος, and translate, “This enrolment took place
_before Cyrenius was governor of Syria_.”

iii. It appears, however, almost certain, Merivale says
_demonstrated_, that Publius Sulpicius Quirinus (Cyrenius)
was _twice_ governor of Syria, _first_ from A.U.C. 750–753,
or B.C. 4–1, and _secondly_ from A.U.C. 760–765, or A.D.
6–11. It is true that Cyrenius does not appear to have
been governor till the autumn of A.U.C. 750, but the
enumeration may have begun or been appointed under Varus
the preceding governor, and being suspended in consequence
of Herod’s death and the disturbances that followed it,
was reserved for execution to Cyrenius, with whose name
it was connected. Merivale, IV. 457; Ellicott, p. 58 n.;
Andrews, 5–8; and see the results of Zumpt’s dissertation
_De Syriâ Romanorum provinciâ_ in Wieseler’s Synopsis,
129–135.

198 ‒ On Herod’s completely tributary relation to Rome, see
Wieseler, _Chronol. Synop._ pp. 84, 85.

199 ‒ “In the kingdoms of their allies the Romans adopted at
first a milder, and even when circumstances dictated it,
an exceedingly lenient form of census. This we may be sure
would have been the case in the census of Palestine under
Herod, who reigned over the entire nation of the Jews, a
people so much inclined to revolt. It is probable that the
forms for holding the census, issued by Rome, were adapted
as closely as possible to the conditions of the country,
while the execution of it was, as far as practicable,
entrusted to the sole management of Herod and his officers.”
Wieseler, p. 82.

200 ‒ Under purely Roman law “Joseph might _perhaps_ have been
enrolled at Nazareth,” but the fact that he is described
by the Evangelist as journeying to Bethlehem to be
enrolled at the town of his forefathers, is in remarkable
accordance with “the perplexed political relations of the
intensely national yet all but subject Judæa.” Ellicott’s
_Lectures_, p. 60.

201 ‒ On the reasons why this journey was often taken by the
Jews, see above, pp. 122, 123.

202 ‒ It is not impossible that these Magi were acquainted with
Balaam’s prophecy respecting a star to rise out of Jacob
(Num. xxiv. 17; _Class-Book of O. T. History_, 191, 192),
and very probable that they were not ignorant of the
Prophecies of Daniel. The general expectation in the East
at this time that a king should arise in Judæa to rule
the world, is mentioned in Suetonius, _Vesp._ c. IV.,
Tac. _Hist._ V. 13.

203 ‒ The Magi were a tribe of the Medes, like that of Levi
among the Jews, to whom were entrusted all the priestly
functions connected with the practice of their religion,
the chief feature of which was a worship of the elements,
as also the study of astrology, and the interpretation of
dreams.

204 ‒ Though the terrible disorder which carried him off was
already afflicting him, and it wanted probably but a few
days of the period when he sought relief in the baths
of Callirhoe; see above, p. 104, Ellicott’s _Lectures_,
p. 75, n.

205 ‒ The customary gifts of subject nations, see Gen. xliii. 11;
Ps. lxxii. 15; 1 Kings x. 2, 10; 2 Chron. ix. 24; Cant.
iii. 6; iv. 14.

206 ‒ Under any circumstances the number of children thus
ruthlessly murdered could not have been large. “In
peaceful times such an act as this, even if executed,
as this probably was, in secresy, would have excited
general indignation when it became known; but now the
Jewish people had so long ‘supped with horrors,’ and were
so engrossed in the many perils that threatened their
national existence, that this passed by comparatively
unnoticed. Such a deed, from a man of whom Josephus says
that ‘he was brutish and a stranger to all humanity,’ ...
could have awakened no surprise. It was wholly in keeping
with his reckless and savage character, but one, and by no
means the greatest of his crimes. It is therefore possible
that it may never have come to the knowledge of the Jewish
historian, writing so many years after the event.” Andrews,
p. 89, Rawlinson’s _Bampton Lectures_, pp. 352, 3 and note.

207 ‒ Compare the execution of the zealots for pulling down the
Golden Eagle, above, p. 104.

208 ‒ See above, p. 82.

209 ‒ See above, p. 105.

210 ‒ See above, p. 105.

211 ‒ He was the son of Herod by his Samaritan wife Malthace
(Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 8. 1; _B. J._ I. 28. 4). He was guilty
of great cruelty and oppression. Not long after his
accession he put to death in the Temple 3000 of the Jews,
letting loose upon them his entire army during the Paschal
Festival (Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 9. 3; _B. J._ II. 1. 3). The
Samaritans also suffered terribly from his cruelties
(_B. J._ II. 7. 3).

212 ‒ Andrews’ _Life of our Lord on Earth_, p. 91; Ellicott,
p. 81.

213 ‒ The attendance of women at the great feasts was not
_required_ by the Law. Ellicott, p. 89.

214 ‒ “As is well known, the first day’s journey of a company
of eastern travellers is always short. On that day it
is not customary to go more than six or eight miles, and
the tents are pitched, for the first night’s encampment,
almost within sight of the place from which the journey
commences.” Hackett, _Script. Ill._ 12, quoted in Andrews,
p. 96.

215 ‒ This we may compute in two ways; either (i) the _first_,
that of their departure from Jerusalem; _second_, the day
of their return; _third_, the day when He was found; or
(ii) excluding the day of departure; _first_, the day of
their return; _second_, the day of search in Jerusalem;
_third_, the day when He was found. _Ibid._

216 ‒ See above, p. 96; comp. Lightfoot _Hor. Heb._ on Lk. ii. 46.

217 ‒ This was the general opinion of the early Fathers; is in
accordance with the settled custom of the Jews to bring up
their sons to some trade; and is implied in the question
of the inhabitants of Nazareth, “_Is not this the
carpenter?_” (Mtt. xiii. 55, Mk. vi. 3).

218 ‒ The _Roman province of Judæa_ extended from the plain of
Esdraelon southwards to the desert, and in our Lord’s time
_included Samaria_, which had now no separate political
existence. On Idumæa, see above, p. 32 and note.

219 ‒ Galilee, from the Hebrew form _Galil_ or _Galilah_
(comp. Jos. xx. 7; 1 Kings ix. 11; Is. ix. 1), denoting
“a circle” or “region,” and “implying the separation of
the district from the more regularly organized tribes
or kingdoms of Samaria and Judæa,” extended from the
region of Lebanon to the southern border of the plain
of Esdraelon. It thus comprised the district formerly
occupied by the tribes of Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun,
Issachar, and part of Manasseh, and was divided into two
sections: (i) _Lower Galilee_, which included the rich
plain of Esdraelon and the whole region from the plain
of Akka to the shores of the Lake of Gennesaret. (For
the fertility of this region, see _Class-Book of O. T.
History_, pp. 219, 220.) (ii) _Upper Galilee_, which
“embraced the whole mountain-range lying between the Upper
Jordan and Phœnicia,” and was also called _Galilee of the
Gentiles_ (Matt. iv. 15; 1 Macc. v. 15), for twenty of its
towns were given by Solomon to Hiram king of Tyre (1 K.
ix. 11), and were then or afterwards colonised by strangers
(Is. ix. 1), who increased in number during the Captivity
and the times of the Maccabees (1 Macc. v. 20–23), and
chiefly consisted of Syrians, Phœnicians, Arabs, and
Greeks. It was probably from contact with this large body
of foreigners that the pronunciation of the Jews residing
in Galilee became peculiar (Mtt. xxvi. 73; Mk. xiv. 70).

220 ‒ A region extending from the Arnon to the Hieromax.

221 ‒ _Auranitis_ was the Greek form of the old name Hauran
(Ezek. xlvii. 16), and was the name of the district in the
upper valley of the Hieromax.

222 ‒ _Gaulanitis_ derived its name from the ancient Levitical
city of refuge (Jos. xx. 8; xxi. 27), Golan, in the
territory of Manasseh (Deut. iv. 43), and included the
district immediately east of the lake of Gennesaret, and
the Upper Jordan. Its principal cities were Golan, Hippos,
Gamala, Bethsaida-Julias (Mark viii. 22) and Seleucia.

223 ‒ _Trachonitis_ was the Greek form of the Hebrew Argob =
_stony_. See _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 185.

224 ‒ _Batanæa_, the Græcized form of the Hebrew Bashan,
included, probably, the mountain-district east of
Auranitis.

225 ‒ _Ituræa_ was a little province lying between Gaulanitis
on the south, Trachonitis on the east, Hermon on the
west, and the plain of Damascus on the north. It derived
its name from _Jetur_, a son of Ishmael, who colonised
it (Gen. xxv. 15, 16). His descendants were conquered
by the half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chr. v. 19–23) but
not annihilated, for, as we have seen, above, p. 61,
♦Aristobulus re-conquered their colony, then called
Ituræa, and gave them their choice between Judaism or
banishment (Jos. _Ant._ XIII. 11. 3). Remnants, however,
still survived, and retiring to the neighbouring rocky
fastnesses “became known as skilful archers and daring
plunderers” (Virgil, _Georg._ II. 448; Cic. _Phil._ II. 24;
VIII. 19; XLIV. 112; V. 18). When Pompeius came into Syria
it was ceded to the Romans, and was heavily taxed by M.
Antonius; it then fell into the hands of a chief called
Zenodorus, but about B.C. 20 was bestowed by Augustus on
Herod the Great (see above, p. 93), who bequeathed it to
his son Philip. Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 8. 1; Smith’s _Bibl.
Dict._ and _Dict. Geog._

226 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ II. 6. 3.

227 ‒ According to Dion Cassius he was banished by Augustus
to Vienne in Gaul, in the consulship of Marcus Æmilius
Lepidus and L. Arruntius, after reigning from A.U.C. 750
to A.U.C. 759, Wieseler, _Chronol. Synop._ p. 50.

228 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ II. 7. 3; Lewin’s _Fasti Sacri_, p. 146.

229 ‒ From the time of Augustus (B.C. 27) the provinces
subject to the Roman sway were divided into two classes,
(i) _Senatorial_, and (ii) _Imperial_.

(i) _Senatorial_ provinces were governed by a _Proconsul_,
called in Greek Ἀνθύπατος (Acts xiii. 7; xviii. 12;
xix. 38), who was appointed by lot, held his authority
for a year, carried with him the lictors and fasces,
the insignia of a consul, but had no military power.

(ii) _Imperial_ provinces were governed by a _Proprætor_,
in Greek Ἀντιστράτηγος, or as he was sometimes termed
“Legatus,” or Πρεσβευτής, the representative or
“Commissioner” of the emperor. He was appointed by
the emperor himself, held his authority as long as
the latter wished, and went from Italy with all the
pomp of a military commander.

Syria was an _imperial_ province, and therefore was
governed by a Legatus, or “Commissioner” of the emperor,
and Judæa, partly on account of its remoteness from
Antioch, partly from the peculiar character of its
inhabitants, was ruled by a special procurator, subject to
the governor of Syria, but vested within his own province
with the power of a Legatus. Hence we never find the title
Proconsul applied to Quirinus, Pilate, Festus, or Felix,
but Ἡγεμών, a general term = the Latin _præses_ (Comp. Lk.
ii. 2; iii. 1; Acts xxiii. 24). The procurator of Judæa
(a) had his head-quarters at Cæsarea (Acts xxiii. 23);
(b) was assisted by a council consisting of assessors
(Acts xxv. 12); (c) was attended by six lictors, wore the
military dress, and had a cohort as a body-guard (Matt.
xxvii. 27); (d) came up to Jerusalem at the time of the
great festivals, when, according to Josephus, he resided
in the palace of Herod (_B. J._ II. 14. 3); (e) had an
audience-chamber (Acts xxv. 23), and a judgment-seat
(Acts xxv. 6); (f) had the power of life and death (Matt.
xxvii. 26), and sent appeals to the emperor (Acts xxv. 12).

230 ‒ During his procuratorship occurred the pollution of the
temple by the Samaritans, related above, p. 123. Up to
this time they had been admitted to the temple, but were
now excluded.

231 ‒ “Sebaste and Jerusalem being far from Antioch, the
mountains difficult and the people turbulent, Quirinus was
allowed to treat these new districts of the empire as a
sub-province, placing them under a procurator of their own,
with a provincial capital at Cæsarea on the sea-coast.”
H. Dixon’s _Holy Land_, I. 236.

232 ‒ Jos. _B. J._ II. 8. 1.

233 ‒ See above, p. 135, note.

234 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVI. 13. 5.

235 ‒ _Ib._ XVII. 1. 1.

236 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 1. 1; _B. J._ II. 8. 1.

237 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 2. 1.

238 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 2. 2; Lewin’s _Fasti Sacri_, p. 160, 1.

239 ‒ Seeing that a rapid succession of governors only increased
the oppressions and exactions of the provinces; the
governor, who anticipated but a short harvest, making the
most of his time, and extorting as much as he was able
in the shortest possible period. Jos. _Ant._ XVII. 7. 5;
Merivale, V. 281.

240 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 2. 2. Some think that Annas was now
_Nasi_ or President of the Sanhedrin, an office not always
held by the high-priest. Ellicott, 333, n.

241 ‒ The _gens_ of the Pontii, with whom he may have been
connected either by descent or adoption, is first
conspicuous in Roman history in the person of C. Pontius
Telesinus, the great Samnite general. Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

242 ‒ By some (i) deemed to denote “armed with the _pilum_, or
javelin;” by others (ii) considered an abbreviation of
pileatus, from _pileus_, “the cap or badge of manumitted
slaves,” indicating that he was either a _libertus_, i.e.
“freedman,” or descended from one. Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

243 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 3. 1.

244 ‒ Comp. Mark vii. 11.

245 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 3. 2.

246 ‒ “With the Roman legions came the Roman fiscal system;
harbour-dues, post-dues, town-dues, customs, excise;
in the streets a house-tax, in the markets a fruit-tax,
everywhere a poll-tax. The Jews began to groan under the
weight, and sicken under the names of these Roman imposts
... their nationality was gone, they were denied the grain
of comfort which an Oriental finds in seeing and kissing
the foot that grinds him into dust. For many years after
Archelaus left Jerusalem, the Jews rarely saw the faces of
their lords. Augustus dwelt at Rome, Quirinus at Antioch,
Coponius at Cæsarea. Jerusalem was garrisoned by a
subaltern, governed by a priest.” H. Dixon’s _Holy Land_,
I. 238.

247 ‒ The 15th year of Tiberius mentioned by St Luke iii. 1.
either (i) includes the two years during which Tiberius
appears to have been associated with Augustus, or (ii)
coincides not with the first appearance, but the captivity
of John the Baptist, “the epoch, from which, in accordance
with ancient tradition, the narrative of the first three
Gospels appears to date.” Ellicott’s _Lectures_, 104, n.;
Wieseler’s _Chronol. Synop._

248 ‒ Situated either thirty miles north of Jericho, near
Succoth, the northern ford, or nearly east of that city,
the ordinary point of passage across the river. Ellicott’s
_Lectures_, 106, n.

249 ‒ See above, p. 118, note.

250 ‒ “Lightfoot shews that it was the token of a slave having
become his master’s property, to _loose_ his shoe, to
_tie_ the same, or to carry the necessary articles for
him to the bath.” Alford on Matt. iii. 11.

251 ‒ Probably about six months after his ministry had begun.
Ellicott’s _Lectures_, 102, n.

252 ‒ Διεκώλυεν, Mtt. iii. 14, a much stronger word than the
simple ἐκώλυεν, and denoting earnestness and an active
endeavour to prevent him.

253 ‒ Ellicott, p. 109. The traditional site is the mountain
Quarantania, “a high and precipitous wall of rock 12
or 1500 feet above the plain west of the Jordan near
Jericho.” The side facing the plain is as perpendicular
and apparently as high as the rock of Gibraltar, and
upon the summit are still visible the ruins of an
ancient convent. Midway below are caverns hewn in the
perpendicular rock, where hermits formerly retired to fast
and pray in imitation of the “Forty Days.” Robinson’s
_Palestine_, I. 567; Thomson’s _L. and B._ 617; Tristram,
pp. 208, 209.

254 ‒ The identity of Nathanael and Bartholomew appears highly
probable.

a. St John twice (i. 45; xxi. 2) mentions Nathanael, never
Bartholomew.

b. The other Evangelists (Mtt. x. 3; Mk. iii. 18; Lk.
vi. 14) all speak of Bartholomew, never of Nathanael.

c. Philip first brought Nathanael to Jesus, and
Bartholomew is mentioned by each of the first three
Evangelists immediately after Philip.

d. St Luke couples Philip with Bartholomew precisely in
the same way as Simon with his brother Andrew, and Joses
with his brother John.

255 ‒ Perhaps for the purpose of prayer and meditation. “The
foliage of the fig-tree produces a thick shade, and the
Jewish Rabbis were accustomed to rise early and study
beneath it.” Wordsworth’s _Notes_.

256 ‒ Identified either with (i) _Kefr Kenna_, a small village
about 4½ miles N.E. of Nazareth, which “now contains only
the ruins of a church, said to stand over the house in
which the miracle was performed;” or (ii) _Kana el Jelil_,
about 5 miles north of Sepphoris, and 9 from Nazareth,
near Jotapata, the name of which is considered by some
completely to represent the Hebrew original. Robinson,
II. 346–349; Thomson, _Land and Book_, p. 425; Stanley,
_S. and P._ 367.

257 ‒ It is a striking confirmation of our Lord’s words (Mtt.
xi. 23) that the very site of Capernaum, then a flourishing
and populous place, is now one of the most hotly-contested
points connected with the geography of Palestine: (i) some
would place it at _Khân Minyeh_, at the N.E. end of the
Plain of Gennesaret: (ii) others place the Fountain of
Capernaum, mentioned by Josephus (_B. J._ III. 10. 8) at
_Et-Tabiga_, a little to the north of _Khân Minyeh_, and
the town itself at _Tell Hum_, where there are the remains
of a place of considerable extent, “consisting chiefly of
the fallen walls of dwellings and other buildings, all of
unhewn stone.” Robinson, I. 540; Thomson, _L. and B._

258 ‒ Lange’s _Life of Christ_, II. 298.

259 ‒ Josephus (_B. J._ VI. 9. 3) estimates the number of lambs
sacrificed at the Passover in the time of Nero at 256,500.

260 ‒ This cleansing of the Temple recorded by St John is
clearly distinct from the later one mentioned by Mtt.
xxi. 12, &c.; Mk. xi. 15, &c.; Lk. xix. 15, &c.

261 ‒ “Any Jew might come forward as a zealot against illegal
abuses in the national life (Num. xxv. 7), but the
greatest zealots generally justified their proceedings
as prophets and workers of miracles (1 K. xviii. 23, 24).
By His act the Lord had rebuked the whole nation, and
the Sanhedrin itself; they demanded, therefore, a sign
to legitimate His proceeding.” Lange, II. 300; Milman, I.
159 n.

262 ‒ How widely this mysterious saying, though misunderstood,
was circulated, and how deep was the impression it made,
is clear from several subsequent incidents. See Mtt.
xxvi. 61; Mk. xiv. 58; Mtt. xxvii. 39, 40; Mk. xv. 29.

263 ‒ Comp. Jn. iii. 1; vii. 26, 50; Lk. xxiv. 20.

264 ‒ For the circumstances here alluded to see _Class-Book of
O. T. History_, pp. 182, 183.

265 ‒ Ænon means _place of fountains_, a Greek form of the
Chaldee word denoting the same.

266 ‒ According to Eusebius and Jerome, Salim existed in
their day near the Jordan, eight Roman miles south of
Scythopolis. In exact accordance with this position the
name _Salûm_ has been lately discovered six English miles
south of Beisan, and two miles west of the Jordan. Beside
it there gushes out a splendid fountain, and rivulets
wind about in all directions, so that of few places in
Palestine could it be said so truly _there was much water
there_. Van de Velde, II. 356.

267 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 5. 1.

268 ‒ Jos. _Ant._ XVIII. 5. 2.

269 ‒ See the Calendar in _Class-Book of O. T. History_, p. 155.

270 ‒ At this time called Sychar by the Jews of the south, in
studied contempt, as denoting either _falsehood_, i.e.
_idol-worship_ (Hab. ii. 18), or _drunkard_.

271 ‒ Jacob’s well is a spot the identity of which has never
been seriously questioned; Jews and Samaritans, Christians
and Mahommedans, unite in attesting it. It is situated
“on the end of a low spur or swell, running out from the
north-eastern base of Gerizim,” the mouth being encumbered
by the ruins of a Christian church once built over it. “The
width of the bore is about nine feet, the upper portion
built in with neatly dressed and squared stones like the
masonry of the wells of Beersheba, the lower portion hewn,
to all appearance, out of the solid rock.” The well is
still deep, about seventy-five or eighty feet, though
evidently choked with many feet of rubbish, and oftentimes
filled with much water. Robinson, III. 132; Tristram, 146;
Stanley’s _S. and P._ pp. 240, 241.

272 ‒ On the feeling of the Samaritans towards the Jews, see
above, p. 122.

273 ‒ For the building and destruction of the temple there, see
above, pp. 3, and 57.

274 ‒ On the Samaritan expectation of the Messiah, see above,
pp. 121, 122.

275 ‒ Τις βασιλικός (Jn. iv. 46). Some have supposed him to have
been Chuza, Herod’s steward, whose wife was among the holy
women that _ministered unto the Lord of their substance_
(Lk. viii. 3). “This is not wholly improbable,” writes
Archbishop Trench, “for it would seem as if only some
mighty and marvellous work of this kind would have drawn
a steward of Herod’s with his family into the net of the
Gospel,” _On the Miracles_, p. 119.

276 ‒ One hour after noon.

277 ‒ The true reading in Jn. v. 1 appears to be ἑορτή without
the article, and the feast spoken of is identified by
Wieseler, Tischendorf, Ellicott and others, with that of
Purim; for the institution of which see _Class-Book of
O. T. History_, p. 475.

278 ‒ By some identified with a large reservoir called the
_Birket Israil_ within the walls of the city and close to
St Stephen’s Gate, under the N.E. wall of the haram area.
Robinson, however, identifies it with the “Fountain of the
Virgin,” in the Kedron valley, a little above the pool of
Siloam. Smith’s _Bibl. Dict._

279 ‒ Ellicott’s _Lectures_, pp. 141, 142.

280 ‒ For the service of the Synagogue see above, pp. 111–113.

281 ‒ “They arose,” it is said of the infuriated inhabitants,
“and cast Him out of the city, and brought Him to _a
brow of the mountain_ (ἕως ὀφρύος τοῦ ὄρους) on which the
city was built, so as to _cast Him down the cliff_ (ὥστε
κατακρημνίσαι αὐτόν). Most readers probably from these
words imagine a town built on the summit of a mountain,
from which summit the intended precipitation was to take
place. This is not the situation of Nazareth. Yet its
position is still in accordance with the narrative. It
is built ‘upon,’ that is, on the side of ‘a mountain,’
but the ‘brow’ is not beneath but over the town, and such
a cliff (κρημνός), as is here implied, is to be found,
as all modern travellers describe, in the abrupt face
of the limestone rock, about thirty or forty feet high,
overhanging the Maronite convent at the south-western
corner of the town.” Stanley’s _S. and P._, p. 367;
Robinson, II. 335; Tristram’s _Land of Israel_, p. 121.