Matthew 14:1-12. Herod the Tetrarch puts to death John the Baptist Mark 6:14-29, where the further conjectures as to the personality of Jesus are given, "Elias, a [or THE] prophet, or as one of the prophets," and the whole account is narrated in the vivid dramatic manner of St Mark. St Luke relates... [ Continue Reading ]
_At that time_ During the missionary journey of the Twelve. See Mark loc. cit. _Herod_ Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee and Peræa. He was a son of Herod the Great, and Malthakè, a Samaritan, who was also the mother of Archelaus and Olympias. He was thus of Gentile origin, and his early association... [ Continue Reading ]
_he_ The Greek is emphatic, "he himself," "in his own person." _risen from the dead_ A proof that Herod did not hold the Sadducean doctrine, that there is no resurrection. _and therefore_ In consequence of having risen from the dead he is thought to be possessed of larger powers. Alford remarks th... [ Continue Reading ]
_in prison_ At Machærus, in Peræa, on the eastern side of the Dead Sea, near the southern frontier of the tetrarchy. Here Antipas had a palace and a prison under one roof, as was common in the East. Cp. Nehemiah 3:25, "The tower which lieth out from the king's high house that was by the court of the... [ Continue Reading ]
_It is not lawful for thee to have her_ St Luke adds, Mark 3:19, that Herod was also reproved "for all the evil which he had done." "Boldly to rebuke vice" is fixed upon as the leading characteristic of the Baptist in the collect for St John the Baptist's day. _to have her_ i. e. "to MARRY her," a... [ Continue Reading ]
_when he would_ In modern language "although he was willing." From St Mark we learn that Herodias was eager to kill John, while Herod, partly from fear of his prisoner, partly from interest in him, refused to take away his life. St Mark's narrative gives a picture of the inner court intrigues, and b... [ Continue Reading ]
_the daughter of Herodias_ Salome; she was afterwards married to her uncle Herod-Philip, the tetrarch, and on his death to Aristobulus, grandson of Herod the Great. _danced before them_ Some sort of pantomimic dance is meant. Horace notes as one of the signs of national decay that even highborn mai... [ Continue Reading ]
_instructed_ Rather, IMPELLED, INSTIGATED. _a charger_ The original word = "a flat wooden trencher" on which meat was served. This appears to have been the meaning of the old English word "charger," which is connected with _cargo_and with French _charger_, and signified originally that on which a l... [ Continue Reading ]
_for the oaths" sake_ "Because of the _oaths;_" he had sworn repeatedly.... [ Continue Reading ]
_brought it to her mother_ The revenge of Herodias recalls the story of Fulvia, who treated with great indignity the head of her murdered enemy Cicero, piercing the tongue once so eloquent against her. Both are instances of "furens quid femina possit.... [ Continue Reading ]
_his disciples came, and took up the body, and buried it_ There is in this some proof of forbearance, if not of kindness, on Herod's part. He did not persecute John's disciples, or prevent them paying the last offices to their master.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus retires to a Desert Place, where He feeds Five Thousand Mark 6:31-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:5-14 This is the only miracle narrated by all the Evangelists. In St John it prepares the way for the memorable discourse on the "Bread of Life." St John also mentions, as a result of this miracle, the... [ Continue Reading ]
_And when it was evening_ In the Jewish division of the day there were two evenings. According to the most probable view the space of time called "between the evenings" (Exodus 12:6) was from the ninth to the eleventh hour. Hence the first evening ended at 3 o'clock, the second began at 5 o'clock. I... [ Continue Reading ]
_to sit down on the grass_ Rather, GRASSY PLACES. St Mark and St Luke mention that they sat in companies "by hundreds and by fifties" (Mark), "by fifties" (Luke). St John notes the time of year; "the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.... [ Continue Reading ]
_they took up of the fragments_ The Greek word for fragments is connected with the verb "to break" in the preceding verse. The true meaning of the word is therefore "the portions broken off for distribution." _twelve baskets_ The same word _kophinoi_is used for baskets in the four accounts of this m... [ Continue Reading ]
_a ship_ THE ship or THEIR ship.... [ Continue Reading ]
The Disciples cross from the Scene of the Miracle to Bethsaida Mark 6:45-52; John 6:15-21 St Matthew alone narrates St Peter's endeavour to walk on the sea.... [ Continue Reading ]
_when the evening was come_ See Matthew 14:15. _he was there alone_ This is a simple but sublime thought: the solitary watch on the lonely mountain, the communion in prayer with the Father throughout the beautiful Eastern night.... [ Continue Reading ]
_tossed with waves_ The expression in the original is forcible, "tortured by the waves," writhing in throes of agony, as it were. These sudden storms are very characteristic of the Lake of Gennesaret.... [ Continue Reading ]
_in the fourth watch_ i. e. early in the morning. Cp. "Et jam quarta canit venturam buccina lucem," Propert. iv. 4. 63. At this time the Jews had adopted the Greek and Roman custom of four night watches. Formerly they divided the night into three watches, or rather according to Lightfoot (_Hor. Heb.... [ Continue Reading ]
_And he said, Come_ The boat was so near that the voice of Jesus could be heard even through the storm, though the wind was strong and the oarsmen labouring and perhaps calling out to one another. The hand of the Saviour was quite close to the sinking disciple.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the Son of God_ See note, ch. Matthew 4:6.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the land of Gennesaret_ By this is meant the plain of Gennesaret, two miles and a half in length and about one mile in breadth. Modern travellers speak of "its charming bays and its fertile soil rich with the scourings of the basaltic hills." Josephus describes the district in glowing terms (_B. J.... [ Continue Reading ]
Jesus cures sick folk in the Land of Gennesaret Mark 6:53-56, where the stir of the neighbourhood and eagerness of the people are vividly portrayed.... [ Continue Reading ]
_the hem of his garment_ The hem of the garment had a certain sanctity attached to it. It was the distinguishing mark of the Jew: cp. Numbers 15:38-39, "that they add to the fringes of the borders (or corners) a thread of blue." At each corner of the robe there was a tassel; each tassel had a conspi... [ Continue Reading ]