A Harmonized Exposition of the Four Gospels, Vol. 2 (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A Harmonized Exposition of the Four Gospels, Vol. 2

In the essentials of the fact the parallelism is clearly maintained, but every Evangelist has certain details proper to himself. One of these details is the designation of time in Luke. According to the aforesaid Evangelist, the event took place on the second-first Sabbath (e'v aafiba'tq) Bee-repovrpdrrgi). Such a designation of time is not found elsewhere in the Holy Scriptures. We can not know its exact import, and must limit ourselves to conjectures. The term is omitted in the codices of the Vatican, Mt. Sinai, in Codex Regius L of Paris, and in numerous minuscule codices; it is not found in the Coptic, Peshitto, Syriac and Ethiopian versions. The critics \vestcott and Hort, though not rejecting the reading, place it in the margin. But by far the greater number of codices and author ities defend the reading. Weighing the critical data, we are led to the judgment that the obscurity of the word caused its omission from a certain number of codices; but its presence in so many others clearly proves that it was in the original of Luke. We believe therefore that the genuineness of the passage cannot be reasonably doubted. The data of tradition are so discrepant that it is profitless to review them. This truth is clear, that the text fixes the event on a certain Sabbath-day that was called second-first, on account of its relation to some starting point of enumeration. We shall be aided in determin ing the day by some notice of the Jewish feasts. It must have been at that time of the year when the harvest was ripening, but not yet gathered. Now the Hebrews began their sacred year with the Pasch. This began on the evening of the four teenth day of the month called Abib. Abib means an ear ofthe first-first Sabbath, and all the subsequent feasts were (1 in reference to it. On the day following the great Sab h of the fifteenth day of Abib, the Jews were hidden to sent a sheaf of the firstfruits of the corn to the priest, who tuld offer it to the Lord by elevating it towards the four nts of the compass. Now from this day, the Hebrews were den enumerate seven full weeks to the feast of the Pentecost, ich was the second great feast in the Jewish calendar. It is led Pentecost, from the Greek Ila/7771106735 the 50th day. In the Hebrew books of the Old Testament it is called by that designation, but it is called the Feast of eks, since it occurred on the first day after a week of weeks r the Passover. - Exod. XXXIV. 22. It is also called the 1st of the Firstfruits of the Harvest, [exod XXIII. Ause it was at the wheat harvest.

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