Luke 7

Notes on the verses

Chap. VII. Ver. 5. Us a synagogue.—Campbell, ‘‘Our synagogue;”’ implying that there was but one in the town, Campbell.. Ver. 8. Go, and he goeth.—Intimating that diseases are Christ’s servants, so completely under his control, that they come and go at his bidding, as the soldiers of a general. f 3 Ver. 11. Nain—{Called Naim by the Jewish writers, was a town of Galilee, in the neighbourhood of Endor and Scythopolis, and two miles south of mount Tabor according to Eusebius. Borchara says, ‘‘Two leagues from Naza er life was bound up in his. But what closes future years; the melancholy tale of this woman is, that she was a widow! A widow is always an affecting character, for she is liable to injustice and oppression, as she is deprived of the companion of her journey, and compelled to travel alone. In this state a child may seem an incumbrance; but if he excites care, he diverts grief;…. in his face the father’s image is admired. He will render himself serviceable by dutiful attentions. He will plead her cause, and become her protector, and her refuge.— But such is no longer the condition of this poor widow. None is left to support her tottering age: and she is now, probably, going to bury her only son in the same grave with ‘his father. The opening of a husband’s tomb would make her wounds bleed afresh. ‘There,’ might she say, as she turned round to the sepulchre, ‘There have I buried all my earthly happiness and aed O for the day when I too shall be gathered to my kindred dust?

“She was not alone: much people of the city was with her. This showed the esteem in which the family was held. But though numbers of her friends and neighbours attended on this mournful occasion, little relief could they afford: they cannot restore her son. But here comes, advancing towards them, another company, the leader of which can save to the uttermost. The parties join in the suburbs of the city. And what does our Lord and Saviour? “First, he knew all the particulars of the case. Those with him could only see a funeral, but he knew the corpse. 2. He did not want to be implored: the relief was spontaneous and self-moved. 3. He had compassion on her: his eye affected his heart; he made all the miseries he beheld, his own.

reth, and not above one south of mount Tabor, is the lesser mount Hermon, on the north side of which is the city Nain. }—Bagster. - Ver. 4. Touched the bier.—Among the Jews, as well as Romans, in those times, the corpse was carried to the grave on a kind of litter, or bier, without any other covering than a cloth. Rosenmuller. Orient, Lit. No. 1290. Ver. 17. All the region round about—Viz. Galilee of the Gentiles. See (Isaiah 9:19). Or look we for another ?—Doddridge, ‘‘Are we to expect ano- Ver. 11 we wait for another?—[When ther?’ That is, Art thou the Christ? or must Christ, the sign from heaven. we remember the Baptist’s solemn testimony to we shall be constrained to think that he sent to Christ, not for his own satisfaction, but for that of his disciples.

]}— Bagster. Ver. 29. And all the people that heard him—Namely, John. Grotius, Doddridge, and Campbell, all consider these as the words of Jesus, (not of the Evangelist, in reference to John the Baptist. Ver. 30. Rejected the counsel of God against themselves—That is, against their own interests. Doddridge renders it, ‘‘Rejected the counsel of God to them;” Campbell, “With regard to them.” Ver. 31. And the Lord said.—These words are wanting in almost all the Greek MSS. and many of the Latin; in all the ancient versions and commentators; and are rejected by Grotius, Mill, Wetstein, and even Doddridge. Campbell supposes them to be inserted preceding verses for the words of the Evangelist. Ver.

36. And sat down to meat.—The word means strictly, to recline; Campbell (probably to avoid the apparent strangeness of the word reclining) renders it “Placed himself at table.” That the reclining posture is intended, is perfectly clear as ver. 38. seriously so.—An alabaster box.—See (Matthew 26:7). Ver. 38. And stood at his feet behind.—The ancients placed themselves along a couch on their sides, supporting their heads with one arm, bent at the elbow, and resting on the couch: with the other they took their food, and were supported at the back by cushions. Their feet, of course, were accessible to any one who came behind the couch. Wakefield—To wash his feet with tears.—Doddridge, ‘‘To water his feet with a shower of tears;”

Campbell, ‘‘Bathed them with tears, and wiped,” &c., which we prefer. It should be remarked, that the sandals were always taken off at meals.—And did wipe them with the hairs of her head.—Doddridge, “Tresses of her hair.” Polybius tells us, that when Hannibal drew near to Rome, the Roman ladies by some transcriber, who took the two went to the temples to supplicate the gods, washing the floors of them with their hair; which (he adds) was their custom on such occasions.—And kissed his feet.—This was no unusual practice with the Jews. Ver. 41. Five hundred pence—That is, Roman denarii, equal to seventy-two dollars. Ver. 44. Thou gavest me no water.—Washing the feet before meals is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament, (Genesis 43:24, 1) Sam. xxv. 41; so (1 Timothy 5:10). This was done by the master ef a 1 Harmer, Shaw. Ver. 45. I came in.—Some MSS. with the Vulgate, both the Syriac and the Coptic versions read, ‘She came in.”’ Campbell. So Doddridge, Boothroyd, &c. Compare ver. 37.—{Many have supposed, that this person was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the sister of Lazarus. But there is no indication in the gospel history, that Mary Magdalene was the sister of Lazarus; but on the contrary, it would appear that they are perfectly distinct persons, the sister of Lazarus residing at Bethany, while Mary Magdalene appears to have resided at Magdala, east of Jordan, a distance of nearly 90 miles. Add to this, that our Saviour seems to have been now either in or near Nain, not at Bethany; and the woman appears from the recital to have been previously unknown to him.]—Bagster.

gn re Vill. Ver. 2. Mary called Magdalene—From Magdala, a town of Galilee, where she lived, Doddridge,—Out of whom went seven devils—Or demons; that is, who had been dispossessed. Some suppose this was the same woman that is mentioned in the preceding chapter as a sinner, (ver. 87.) but this is very doubtful. If her having seven demons implied her being a great sinner, what must the Gadarene have been, who was possessed by a legion—below, ver. 30? But to us it is not evident that possession had any connexion with moral evil. sal Ver. 15, An honest and good heart—Is a heart prepared by divine grace, in allusion to the labour of the husbandman in preparing his ground for seed; this is, the ground that is ploughed and harrowed by the means of grace, in distinction from that which is rocky, or in the public path, or full of thorns and briers.—And bring forth fruit with patience.—Campbell says, the Greek word usually signifies “perseverance,”

or ‘‘a patient continuance in well doing.” See (Romans 2:7), i Ver. 18. Take heed, therefore, How ye hear.—But the parallel passage in (Mark 4:24), reads, ‘‘Take care WHAT ye hear.” Both precepts were probably connected in our Lord’s discourse, as they are in the paraphrases of Dr. Doddridge. The one seems to refer to the spirit with which we hear, the other to the care with which we should retain it. The promise is, that in proportions as we receive and retain divine instruction, more will be communicated: for whosoever hath, &c. se. Ver. 22—25. Now it came to pass, &c.—Compare (Matthew 8:23-27). (As the agitation of the sea was merely the effect of the wind, it was necessary to remove the cause of the commotion before the effect—cease.

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