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No. 1229.-xxvii. 25. His blood be on us and on our children.] This imprecation appears to have been remarkably fulfilled in the circumstances connected with the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus. A strong correspondence may be traced between their sin and their punishment. "They put Jesus to death, when the nation was assembled to celebrate the passover: and when the nation too was assembled to celebrate the passover, Titus shut them up within the walls of Jerusalem. The rejection of the true Messiah was their crime and the following of false Messiahs to their destruction was their punishment. They sold and bought Jesus as a slave and they themselves were afterwards sold and bought as slaves at the lowest prices. They preferred a robber and murderer to Jesus, whom they crucified between two thieves: and they themselves were afterwards infested with bands of thieves and robbers. They put Jesus to death, lest the Romans should come and take away their place and nation: and the Romans did come and take away their place and nation. They crucified Jesus before the walls of Jerusalem: and before the walls of Jerusalem they themselves were crucified in such numbers, that it is said room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses for the bodies."

NEWTON on the Prophecies, vol. ii. p. 354.

No. 1230.-xxvii. 31. And led him away to crucify him.] Capital punishments both among the Jews and Romans were inflicted without their cities. This was particularly observed in the crucifixion of malefactors.

Credo ego isthuc, extemplo tibi

Esse eundum actutum extra urbem dispessis manibus,
Patibulum cum habebis.

PLAUTUS.

Cum Mamertini more atque instituto suo crucem fixissent post urbem in via Pompeia. Tull.

No. 1231.-xxvii. 35. And parted his garments.] They stripped Christ of his clothes before they fixed him to the cross, and crucified him naked, as was the custom of the Romans. (Lipsius de Cruce, lib. ii. c. 7.)

No. 1232.-xxvii. 36. And sitting down they watched him there.] It was usual with the Romans to set a soldier, or soldiers, to watch those who were crucified, not only before they expired, but after they were dead, lest they should be taken down and buried. (Lipsius de Cruce, 1. ii. c. 16.)

No. 1233.-xxvii. 53. And went into the holy city.] "The Orientals never called Jerusalem by any other name than El-kods, the holy; sometimes adding the epithet El-sherif, the noble. This word El-kods seems to me the etymological origin of all the Cassiuses of antiquity, which, like Jerusalem, were high-places; and had temples and holy places erected on them." Volney, vol. ii. p. 304.

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No. 1234.-xxvii. 60. And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre.] The Jews distinguish between a new grave and an old one. “A new grave may be measured, and sold, and divided: an old one may not be measured, nor sold, nor divided." The sepulchres were not only made in rocks, but had doors to go in and out at: these doors were fastened with a large and broad stone rolled against them. It was at the shutting up of the sepulchre with this stone that mourning began: and after it was shut with this sepul chral stone, it was not lawful to open it.

No. 1235.-ST. MARK v. 38.

And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.

THE assembling together of multitudes to the place where persons have lately expired, and bewailing of them in a noisy manner, is a custom still retained in the East, and seems to be considered as an honour done to the deceased. Chardin, MS. informs us that the con course in places where persons lie dead is incredible. Every body runs thither, the poor and the rich; and the first more especially make a strange noise.

HARMER, vol. ii. p. 135.

No. 1236.-vi. 56. They laid the sick in the streets.] Maximus Tyrius tells us, (in his fortieth Dissertation, p. 477.) that the medical art, as reported, had its rise from the custom of placing sick persons on the side of frequented ways, that so those who passed along, inquiring into the nature of their complaint, might communicate the knowledge of what had been to themselves useful in the like case.

No. 1237.—vii. 3. Except they wash their hands oft.] Ear un muyun tarra, except they washed with their fist. Theophylact translates it unless they washed up to their elbow, affirming that yun denotes the whole of the arm from the bending to the ends of the fingers. But this sense of the word is altogether unusual; for muyun properly is the hand, with the fingers contracted into the palm and made round. Theophylact's translation, however, exhibits the evangelist's meaning. For the

Jews when they washed held up their hands, and contracting their fingers, received the water that was poured on them by their servants, (who had it for a part of their office, 2 Kings iii. 11.) till it ran down their arms, which they washed up to their elbows.

MACKNIGHT'S Harmony, vol. ii. p. 352.

No. 1238.-vii. 5. But eat bread with unwashen hands.] Amongst the ridiculous superstitions of the Jews, it is curious to mark the rule which they estab lished concerning eating with their hands washed or not washed. Bread might not be eaten unless they had first washed their hands, but they were allowed to eat dry fruits with unwashen hands. This circumstance should be particularly noticed, as bread is emphatically mentioned by the Evangelist. See Wootton's Miscell. vol. i. p. 166.

No. 1239.-ix. 43. Into the fire that never shall be quenched.] This is a periphrasis of hell, and is an allusion to the valley of Hinnom, from whence hell has its name here and elsewhere. Kimchi (on Psalm xxvii. 13.) says that it was a place in the land near to Jerusalem, and was a place contemptible; where they cast things defiled and carcasses; and there was there a continual fire to burn polluted things and bones; and therefore the condemnation of the wicked in a parabolical way is called Gehinnom."

No. 1240.-x. 12. If a woman shall put away her husband.] This practice of divorcing the husband, unwarranted by the law, had been (as Josephus informs us) introduced by Salome, sister of Herod the Great, who sent a bill of divorce to her husband Costobarus; which bad example was afterwards followed by Herodias and others. By law it was the husband's prero

gative to dissolve the marriage. The wife could do nothing by herself. When he thought fit to dissolve it, her consent was not necessary. The bill of divorce

which she received was to serve as evidence for her that she had not deserted her husband, but was dismissed by him, and consequently free.

CAMPBELL'S Translation of the Gospels, note.

No. 1241.-xiii. 35. Or at the cock-crowing.] The ancients divided the night into different watches; the last of which was called cock-crow; wherefore they kept a cock in their tirit, or towers, to give notice of the dawn. Hence this bird was sacred to the sun, and named Axexlog, which seems to be a compound out of the titles of that deity, and of the tower set apart for his service; for these towers were temples.

HOLWELL'S Mythological Dict. p. 16.

No. 1242.-xiv. 15. A large upper room furnished and prepared.] The English word which comes nearest the import of sewμevou is carpeted: but when the term is used, as here, of a dining room, it is not meant only of the floor, but of the couches on which the guests reclined at meals. On these they used, for the sake both of neatness and of convenience, to spread a coverlet or carpet. As this was commonly the last thing they did in dressing the room, it may not improperly be employed to denote the whole.

CAMPBELL'S Translation of the Gospels, note.

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No. 1243.-xiv. 61. The high-priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the son of the blessed?] It is observable that the peculiar attribute of deity is here used to express the divine nature. Supreme happiness is properly considered as belonging to God: and as all comfort flows from him, suitable

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