within the wall was destroyed by the other that lay before the gates'-before the Roman Eagle flapped her wing over the doomed city, or the infamies of lust and murder had driven every worshipper in horror from the Temple Courts-the Christians had taken timely warning, and in the little Perean. town of Pella, were beyond the reach of all the robbery, and murder, and famine, and cannibalism and extermination, which made the siege of Jerusalem a scene of greater tribulation than any that has been since the beginning of the world." (Farrar.)

Part III

FIRST SPECIAL KEY; NAMELY, THAT OUR LORD WAS ACCUSTOMED TO SPEAK IN BOTH THE LANGUAGES THAT WERE CURRENT IN PALESTINE IN HIS TIME; AND THAT HIS UTTERANCES IN ARAMAIC ARE MOSTLY CONTAINED IN MATTHEW, MARK AND LUKE; WHILE HIS DISCOURSES IN GREEK ARE FOUND ONLY IN JOHN.

Chapter I

LINGUISTIC CHANGES IN PALESTINE BEFORE CHRIST

T is beyond dispute that, in the time of Christ, a large part of the population of Palestine was bi-lingual. The language most in use was Aramaic. In the New Testament, Josephus and other writings of the period this is called Hebrew, but though similar to, it was really a different language from, the Hebrew of the Old Testament. It was a form of Aramaic that had its own distinctive peculiarities, having undergone in Palestine a development of several centuries, and received during that time the addition of many Hebrew words and some Hebrew inflexions. The other language in use was Greek; not, however, Greek in its pure Attic or classical form, but enriched by the admixture of Hebrew and Aramaic words

and idioms. In modern times the Greek spoken by the Jews has been called "Hellenistic."

Aramaic

In the later Old Testament times Aramaic was the international and diplomatic language of Western Asia. Accordingly the officers of Hezekiah requested Rabshakeh to address them in Aramaic when he stood before the walls of Jerusalem demanding the surrender of the city to his master, the Assyrian King, "for," they said, "we understand it," and they did not wish the townsmen sitting on the wall to comprehend his threatening words.

The policy of the great monarchs of those times, which was to transfer the inhabitants of conquered countries from their own lands to other parts of the empire, tended to squeeze out local dialects and promote uniformity of speech. Aramaic accordingly, which, like French, was easy to learn, flexible and graceful, gained, under the Assyrian and Babylonian ascendancy, general acceptance amongst the peoples that fell beneath the yoke of the conqueror.

In the time of Hezekiah, Aramaic was already superseding Hebrew in Samaria, many of the inhabitants of which had been deported and replaced by men from other conquered provinces. This occurred about 721 B.C. Forty-five years later the national existence of the ten tribes was finally destroyed by the invasion of Ephraim under Esarhaddon, and the carrying into captivity of another detachment of Israelites.

In the year 605 the seventy years' captivity of Judah began. It is impossible to say to what extent the ancient language of the nation survived during that long term of banishment; but that it gradually ceased to be generally spoken may be inferred from Nehemiah viii. 8, where we are told that, after the Return, the Levites, reading the law to the assembled multitude, "gave the sense, so that they understood the meaning." Hebrew, however, was by no means extinct when that occurred. It was at any rate still cultivated by the priestly and prophetic

orders, and, with the exception of parts of Ezra, the later books of the Old Testament were written in that tongue. But after the close of the Canon, say about 400 B.C., no book so far as is known was written in Hebrew, which from that time may be regarded as a dead language. At any rate, by the time of the Maccabees, Aramaic, mixed with many Hebrew words and modes of expression, had become the prevailing language of the Jews and neighbouring nations.

Greek

But before the time of the Maccabees a new influence had appeared. Formerly the waves of conquest that overwhelmed Asia had flowed from East to West. Except by means of Phoenician commerce, there had been little communication with Europe; the languages of Asia therefore appear to have remained free from the influence of those of Greece and other Western countries. Greece and Italy had themselves learned much from Asia; but the gain had been on their side alone. When, however, Alexander crossed the Hellespont (B.c. 334), and extended his dominion over the greater part of Western Asia, the Greek language, literature and civilization obtained a permanent and thenceforth a growing footing in the Eastern Continent.

It was the dream of Alexander to Hellenise the world, and his successors, less able than himself, tried without ruth or scruple to carry out his policy. They were aided in their attempt to do this in Palestine by a section of the Jews, who, partly from inclination and partly to curry favour with their rulers, did all they could to promote Greek customs and the Greek language. The accession of Antiochus Epiphanes to the throne of the Syrian empire (175 B.C.) greatly strengthened the party, and, encouraged by them, he and his successors made strenuous efforts to stamp out the Jewish religion and institutions. Cruel persecutions were suffered by those of the Jews who remained faithful to the God of their fathers, until at length, under the Maccabees, they succeeded after many

years of conflict in gaining a measure of repose. The nation had by this time become divided broadly into two great parties; a Hellenising party, who read the Greek literature and affected Greek ways of living; and a Hebraising party, who opposed all innovations and did their utmost to conserve the Mosaic laws and institutions. It was from these two parties respectively that the sects of the Sadducees and Pharisees eventually sprang.

Growth of Greek Culture

After a while the remembrance of the wrongs endured under their Greek oppressors died out, and the aversion even of Hebraists to everything Greek became less pronounced. Under the Roman domination, and especially under the rule of Herod the Great, Greek culture made rapid progress. Herod was as cruel and unscrupulous as Antiochus, but far more politic, and, all his sympathies being in the direction of Greek civilization, the leading Jews soon found it expedient, in the competition for power and place, to modify somewhat their national prejudices. Hence, notwithstanding all his crimes and cruelties, the Pharisees did not display so much hostility to Herod as might have been expected, and did not refuse altogether to conform to his views. No less a person than Gamaliel made a study of Greek literature, and his immense influence must have done much to overcome the repugnance of his countrymen.

The Dispersion

There was another circumstance which helped to strengthen the influence of the Greek civilization. Alexander the Great and Ptolemy Soter had forcibly conveyed a great number of Jews to Egypt, where they continued in a state of slavery until, in the former part of the third century B.C., they were set free by Ptolemy Philadelphus. According to Josephus the number released from servitude was 120,000, to which must be added the number of those who had settled there of their own free will. Thereafter these were steadily augmented, both