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Woes de nounced.

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But, woe unto you that are rich! for ye have Luke vi. 24.

u Amos vi. 1. received your consolation.

x Isa. lxv. 13. * Woe unto you that are full! for ye shall hun- Luke vi. 25. ger. Woe unto you that laugh now! for ye shall

Privileges and duties of

mourn and weep.

Woe unto you, when men shall speak well of Luke vi. 26. you! for so did their fathers to the false prophets.

Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt Matt. v. 13. Christ's disci- have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be salted? Mark ix. 50. it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast Luke xiv. 31. out, and to be trodden under foot of men.

ples.

Ye are the light of the world. 45 A city that is Matt. v. 14. set on an hill cannot be hid.

44 Schoetgen has favoured the world with a laborious and learned treatise on this difficult passage. It was the peculiar characteristic of our Lord's teaching, that he drew his illustrations from common objects, which were either in all probability in the presence of his hearers when he addressed them, or were well known from their familiarity and frequency. This passage contains an allusion to salt which has lost its savour, and is afterwards trodden under foot as useless. Now salt, generally speaking, may be said never to lose its savour; neither can it be said to be trodden under foot. It is true, that Mr. Maundrell has informed us that, when he passed through the valley of salt, he broke off a part that had long been exposed to the rain and the sun, and it had perfectly lost its savor, though the inner part retained it; and we may suppose that this useless salt was trodden under foot. This, however, seems to be a much more recondite and abstruse meaning than we commonly meet with in our Lord's addresses to the people: neither would the poor and ignorant, whom he was addressing, immediately perceive the aptness of the allusion. The interpretation of Schoetgenius, therefore, appears much more probable. The people would be familiarly acquainted with every custom connected with the temple service, and any allusion to any part of it would be readily understood and remembered. There was a kind of salt used in Judea, which was principally composed of the bitumen obtained from the Asphaltite Lake. This salt, or bitumen, which had a fragrant odour, was strewn in great quantities over the sacrifices, both to prevent inconvenience to the priests and to the worshippers from the smell of the burning flesh, and to quicken the action of the fire, that the sacrifice might be more quickly consumed. Great quantities of this bituminous preparation lay in its appointed place in the temple, and was easily damaged. The virtue of the salt was soon lost by exposure to the effect of the sun and air, and it was then sprinkled over the pavement in the temple, to prevent the feet of the priests from slipping, during the performance of the service. Schoetgen. Hora Hebraicæ, vol. i. p. 18-24.

45 Our Lord here confers on his apostles the same epithet as the Jews bestowed on their most distinguished teachers. That is, he had decreed that his apostles should take the place of the corrupt teachers of the Jewish law. The Messiah gave to his apostles, rude, ignorant, and despised fishermen and publicans, the

Matt. v. 15.

Matt. v. 16.

Matt. v. 17.

Matt. v. 18.

Matt. v. 19.

Matt. v. 20.

Matt. v. 21.

Matt. v. 22.

* Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a * bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house.

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*The word in the original signifieth a

measure con

Let your light so shine before men, a that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father a pint less which is heaven.

taining about
than a peck.
a 1 Pet. ii. 12.

law,

The design of

Christ's com

Think not that I am come to destroy the
or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but ing.
to fulfil.

17.

For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth b Luke xvi. pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled.

Whosoever therefore shall break one of these c James ii. 10. least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of hea

ven.

For I say unto you, That except your righteous-
ness shall exceed the righteousness of the Scribes
and Pharisees, ye
shall in no case enter into the
kingdom of heaven.

d

of the sixth

Ye have heard that it was said + by them of old Explanation time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall commandkill shall be in danger of the judgment:

ment.

+ Or, to them. d Exod. xx.

17.

But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry 13. Deut. v. with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire 46.

rank and title of their proud countrymen-" Light of the world." by, said the disciples of Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, Why do you weep, &c. &c. Schoetgen. Hor. Hebr. vol. i. p. 24.

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46 Here are three gradations of crimes mentioned by our Lord, and three degrees of punishment respectively annexed to each. The first is causeless anger, unaccompanied with any abusive expressions to aggravate it; the second may be supposed to arise from the same source, increased by an exclamation, which denotes the triumph of vanity, mixed with insult and contempt; the third seems naturally to rise one degree higher, and occasions the opprobrious epithet, Thou fool.' The two former, we may observe, are threatened with the temporal punishment or animadversion of the Jewish tribunals, the council and the judgment, which were now deprived of the power of life and death, and could therefore take cognizance only of minor offences.

Now, it is highly analogous to our Saviour's reasoning to suppose, that the punishment annexed to the last crime would be of a temporal nature also, particularly as it can only be considered as an abuse of speech, like that of the pre

Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, Matt. v. 23. and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought

against thee;

Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy Matt. v. 24. way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come, and offer thy gift 47.

ceding, though in a more aggravated form. On the contrary, to imagine that, for the distinction between Raca,' and thou fool, our blessed Lord should instantly pass from such a sentence as the Jewish Sanhedrim could pronounce, to the awful doom of eternal punishment in hell-fire, is what cannot be reconciled to any rational rule of faith, or known measure of justice. But a critical examination of the original text will remove this difficulty.

What we render "in danger of hell-fire," is in the Greek voxos sai lig Týv yiɛvvav tê πvρós, “shall be liable to the Gehenna, of fire;" or, the fire of Gehenna." It is well known that Gehenna is not a pure Greek word, but a compound formed of yñ, land, and a proper name to correspond with the Hebrew expression the valley of Hinnom, or rather from the two Hebrew words, ', a valley, and л, Hinnom, the name of its possessor. (See Schleusner in Téɛvva, and Lightfoot's Chorogr. Cent. ch. xxxix.) In this desecrated spot the Jews burnt bones, the dead carcases of animals, the refuse and offal of the numerous victims, &c. and from the loathsome scene which this place exhibited, as well as from the fires which were kept constantly burning there, it was frequently used as the emblem or symbol of hell, and of hell torments in a state of eternity. But our blessed Lord may well be supposed to use it here in its literal sense, without any reference to its metaphorical meaning; and this will serve to clear the text of its supposed difficulty. For, when we consider what immense quantities of half putrid and offensive animal substances must have been consumed in that valley, to prevent contagion in so hot a climate, and in such a city as Jerusalem; we may with certainty infer that a great number of persons must be constantly employed in carrying all kinds of filth and offal to the spot, in supplying fuel, in attending on the fires, &c.

Now this must have been the lowest, most degrading, and offensive employment, in the estimation of a Jew, to which any human being could be devoted; and to this wretched state Christ declares, that he who indulges himself in the habit of treating his fellow-creatures with insolence and contempt, is in danger of coming. It is a common saying, that a man would rather be thought a knave than a fool: the appellation of thou fool, therefore, is attended with a degree of insult that is not easily forgiven; and he who practises such abuses of the tongue must every where expect to find an enemy, instead of a friend; till at length he sinks to the most loathsome offices that can be allotted to him, in order to gain a wretched subsistence.

This exposition derives further countenance from the use of the Greek adjective voxoc in the original, which, connected with the future, isaɩ, may mean, shall be held, or bound, as a slave is to his master. See Hewlett's Commentary in loc. Matt. v. 22.

47 It has excited surprise among some writers, that the Gospels should be written in Greek, instead of the Syriac, or Aramaic, or Syro-Chaldee dialect. The observation will only apply to St. Matthew's Gospel: the three other Evangelists

Matt. v. 25.

Matt. v. 26.

Matt. v. 27.

Matt. v. 28.

Matt. v. 29.

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Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles e Luke xii. 58. thou art in the way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and thou be cast into prison.

Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing.

Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not commit adultery:

But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman, to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

Explanation

of the seventh commandment.

f Exod. xx. 14

g Matt. xviii. Mark ix. 47

affend

And if thy right eye * offend thee, pluck it out,
and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for theer,do causa
that one of thy members should perish, and not
that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

addressed their Gospels to Grecian or Roman converts. But the necessity of
adopting the Greek language, as the dialect of all others most universally spoken,
will appear from the remarkable fact, that the Jewish writers who were contem-
porary with our Lord, or the immediate successors of the apostles, have used
many Greek words in their Hebrew, apparently without knowing that the Greek
was foreign to their language. Many instances have occurred of this kind
among the extracts I have met in Dr. Gill, Lightfoot, and Schoetgen, though it
did not seem necessary to observe them. I have, however, collected some few.
1. Προσφέρεις τὸ δῶρόν σs, Matt. v. 23. na pas 1999 το 1
Tanchuma, fol. 54. 2.

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2. "Iσ0ɩ ivvowv tý ávriðíky σov, Matt. v. 25. p Debarin rab. § 5. fol. 257. 1.

3. 'Enì ra býμaros, Judæi retinent vocem græcam, Schoetgen. vol. i. p. 235.

4. Kúpiɛ μ8, 'îxp Schemoth rabba, § 46. fol. 140. 2. ap Schoetgen. vol. i. p. 232.

5. Húλŋ, •Ð yan by and pɔɔ Schoetgen. vol. i. p. 252.

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and 125 73w3 1791918 Targum Jerusalem on Exod. xxiv. 10.

7. Venit quidem servum emere cupiens, et dixit ad dominum ejus: Servus iste quem vendis app num κακηγόρος, an καλοκάγαθος

est? Schemoth rabba, § 43. fol. 138. 3; Schoetgen. vol. i. p. 214.

8. 'Aπávτnois, tha bw b x

i. p. 216.

Tanchuma, fol. 56. 1. Schoetgen. vol.

pecunias sudario ligavit.

9. Evdapiov, Luke xix. 20. Ketuvoth, fol. 67. 2, &c. 771 177 Rasche et Bava Mezia, fol. 42. 1. Many others might be selected from the writers who have endeavoured to illustrate Scripture from the Talmudical writings; but these are sufficient to justify us in asserting that the Greek language was in general use in Judæa, as well as in other parts of the Roman empire; and was the language therefore most suitable to the designs of the Evangelists.

h Deut. xxiv. 1.

i Lukexvi. 18. 1 Cor. vii. 10.

Swearing prohibited.

k Exod. xx. 7. Lev. xix. 12.

Deut. v. 11.

1 James v. 12.

Of revenge. m Exod. xxi.

And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and Matt. v. 30. cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell.

It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away Matt. v. 31. his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement:

But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put Matt. v. 32. away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by Matt. v. 33. them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:

But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither Matt. v. 34. by heaven; for it is God's throne:

Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither Matt. v. 35. by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King.

Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because Matt. v. 36. thou canst not make one hair white or black.

But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Matt. v. 37. Nay, nay for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.

m

Ye have heard that it hath been said, " An eye Matt. v. 38.

24. Lev. xxiv. for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

20. Deut. xix.

21.

But I

say unto you, That ye resist not evil: Matt. v. 39. n Luke vi. 29. but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Rom. xii. 17. 1 Cor. vi. 7.

o Deut. xv. 8.

Christians are to love their enemies.

p Lev. xix. 18.

And if any one will sue thee at the law, and take Matt. v. 40. away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also.

And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, Matt. iv. 41. go with him twain.

Give to him that asketh thee, and from Matt. iv. 42. him that would borrow of thee turn not thou

away:

and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them Luke vi. 30. not again.

do

And as ye would that men should do unto you, Luke vi. 31. also to them likewise.

ye

Ye have heard that it has been said, "Thou Matt. v. 43, shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy.

But I

say unto

you,

Matt. v. 44.

which hear, Love your enemies; do good to them Luke vi. 27. that hate you; bless them that curse you; and Matt. v. 44.

9 Luke xxiii. pray for them which despitefully use you:

34. Acts vii.

60,

That ye may be the children of your Father Matt. v. 45. which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise

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