_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:2. THE FEAST OF THE PASSOVER commemorated the deliverance of Israel from the Egyptian bondage. The ordinances of the first Passover are narrated Exodus 12:1, but some of those were modified in later times. The regular celebration of the Passover was part of the religious... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:15. COVENANTED WITH HIM.—_Weighed unto him_ (R.V.). After the old custom. There had been in the land a coined shekel since the time of Simeon, 143 B.C.; but weighing seems to have still been customary in the temple treasury (_Meyer_). Or “weighed” may be simply equivalent... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:28. NEW.—Omitted in R.V., on the authority of the best MSS. TESTAMENT.—_Covenant_ (R.V.). The term διαθήκη is here of peculiar importance. It does not mean either a covenant in the sense of contract or agreement, or a testament in the sense of a will, but it has a meaning... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:32. I WILL GO BEFORE YOU.—As a shepherd. A pastoral expression (_Bengel_). See preceding verse. Matthew 26:34. BEFORE THE COOK CROW.—The crowing of cocks during the stillness of the night is quite a feature in Oriental life, and nowhere more so than in and around Jerusa... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:36. GETHSEMANE = “the oil press.”—On the slope of the Mount of Olives. Probably there was, or had been, in it a press for the manufacture of olive oil. The identity of this garden with the traditional spot is disputed. Matthew 26:45. SLEEP ON NOW.… RISE, LET US BE GOING... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:47. A GREAT MULTITUDE.—See John 18:3 (R.V.); Luke 22:52. The body, guided by Judas, consisted of (1) a company of Roman soldiers; (2) a detachment of the Levitical temple-guard; (3) certain members of the Sanhedrin and Pharisees (_ibid_.). STAVES.—_I.e_. clubs. Not the... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:57. TO CAIAPHAS.—Apparently after a preliminary examination before Annas (John 18:13; John 18:19). WHERE THE SCRIBES AND THE ELDERS WERE ASSEMBLED.—It was against the rules of Jewish law to hold a session of the Sanhedrin or Council for the trial of capital offences by n... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_ Matthew 26:71. PORCH.—The dim, over-arched passage, leading outward from the area of the court to the entrance gate (_Morison_). Matthew 26:73. THY SPEECH BEWRAYETH THEE.—Peter was discovered by his use of the Galilæan dialect. The Galilæans were unable to pronounce the gutturals... [ Continue Reading ]