ἐᾶτε ἕως τούτου. The meaning is uncertain. If addressed to the disciples it meant, Let them even bind and lead me away. Possibly however it was addressed to the captors, and meant, Excuse thus much resistance; or ‘Allow me liberty thus far’—free my arms a moment that I may heal this wounded man. These snatches of dialogue—often of uncertain interpretation from their fragmentary character (e.g. Mark 9:23; Matthew 26:50; John 8:25), are inimitable marks of genuineness. It was probably during this pause that ‘all His disciples’—even Peter, even John—‘forsook Him and fled.’

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Old Testament