A paraphrase and annotations upon all the books of the New Testament briefly explaining all the difficult places thereof / by H. Hammond.

Annotations on Chap. XXIII.

[ a] * 1.1 V. 11. Men of warre] The Hebrew 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifies three things 1. Militare, to warre, 2. concurrere and congregari, to assemble, 3. ministrare, to minister. The first notion is very frequent, the second, Exod. 38. 8. (where yet the Septuagint read 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 it seems reading 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 jejunavit) and 1 Sam. 2. 21. and the third is ordinary also (and from thence Timothy called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 a good souldier, that is, minister of Jesus Christ) Hence it is that among those Greek writers, which follow the Hebrew idiome, the word 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 and 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, is used for every one of these three; For the first ordinarily and primarily; For the second, when wee meet with 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, which we render exercitus, and host of heaven, but sig∣nifies universus coeli comitatus, the whole company of heaven, whether the many stars or many Angels there; And in the third sense we have here 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 for of∣ficers, and servants or attendants, and so the Syriack translation renders it, and gives us authority to doe the like, though otherwise it might be rendred more vulgarly, either his company, or his souldiers about him.

[ b] * 1.2 V. 16. Chastise] 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 signifies ordinarily to scourge, or chastise, as 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 children or servants are wont to be used, when they have offended; so Heb. 12. 6. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 chastening is expounded by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 scourging.* 1.3 And in stead of it here, the other Evangelists Mat. 27. 26. Mar. 15. 15. have 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, from from the Latine flagellum, a whip, and S. John c. 19. 1. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 scourging. Now to what the infliction of this sort of punishment on Christ belonged, is matter of question, that which is ordinarily said is, that Flagella∣tion was among the Romans a solemn preparative to Crucifixion; So Livy of the servants, l. 34. Multi oc∣cisi, multi capti, alii verberati crucibus affixi, they were scourged and crucified. And in Valerius Max. l. 1. c. 7. Servum verberibus multatum sub furca ad sup∣plicium egit, having scourged his servant under the crosse he had him to punishment, that is, crucified him. So Antigonus the King of the Jews was first whip'd, then beheaded with an axe, saith Dio l. 49. and so 'tis said of Alexander in Qu. Curtius l. 8. verberibus af∣fectos sub ipsis radicibus petrae crucibus jussit affigi, he appointed them to be scourged and crucified; and Jose∣phus of the Jews 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. l. 5. c. 32. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, they were scourged, and reproachfully handled, and then cru∣cified; and Philo speaking of the Jews of Alexandria crucified by Flaccus, addes, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that this was done after they had been reproach∣fully handled, that is, scourged, in the theatre; and so this was part of the horrendum carmen, the solemn form of sentence, verbera intra aut extra pomoerium, Ar∣bori infelici suspendito, scourge him, and then hang him on the tree. But this is not the notion that here we must have of the scourging of Christ. For then it must be part of his sentence of death, which by Job. 19. it appears it was not, for there 'tis-said that Pilate took him and scourged him, v. 1. whereas he was not as yet con∣demned to death; nav v. 6. Pilate refuses to condemn him to death, professing that he finds not any capital crime brought against him; then examines him farther, v. 9. then seeks to release him, v. 12. and coming again to the judgment seat, v. 13. at length he delivered him to be crucified, v. 16. This is so evident by that Evangelist, that the learned H. Grotius applies this scourging to that other ordinary use of it for examination,* 1.4 such as Act. 22. 24. is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 being examined with stripes, and in Cicero, virgam in tormento esse magis quàm suppli∣cio, that the rod is for a torture rather then a punish∣ment. But there is no ground for this conjecture from

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any circumstance in any of the Gospels, nor reason to adhere to it, without some testimony, upon a bare possi∣bility of it, especially when the mention of it in this fourth Gospell suggests another notion of it, which will recon∣cile all the difficulty, and it self be subject to none, viz. that Pilate willing to deliver Jesus from capital sen∣tence, appointed this of scourging to be inflicted on him. For that Pilate did not believe Christ guilty of any capital crime it is evident, and consequently not fit to be crucified; so likewise that besides his own conscience, his wifes dream did make him very unwilling to pronounce that sentence of death on him, but very industrious to find some pretence of releasing him, and that finally 'twas onely the importunity of the Jews, to which he sacrificed him; And here it is plain that he proposes to the Jews the scourging of him, as a lighter punishment proportionable to his crimes, and then that he may re∣lease him. So we finde in the Epit. of Livy Dec. 5. l. 6. of Matienus a servant, sub furca diu virgis caesus erat, & sestertio voeniit, he was scourged, and then sold: and so 'twas ordinary to bind to a pillar, or post, and scourge men, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in Artemidorus 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. being bound to a pillar he recei∣ved many stripes. From hence therefore 'tis evident, that the notion of his scourging was that of a lighter pu∣nishment, to release him from a greater, (and that, as John sets it, inflicted on him before the sentence of death was pronounced against him) though when that was done, he was fain to gratifie them by delivering him up to their fury to be crucified also. And so the place both in Matthew and Mark may well be ren∣dred Mat. 27. 26. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, having scourged Jesus, that is, formerly having done so, he proceeded farther, and delivered him to be crucified; and so in Mark c. 15. 15. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, He delivered Jesus having scourged him, (having done so before he thus delivered him) to be crucified. And this sort of scourging was a punishment usual among the Jews for offences not capital; see Note on 2 Cor. 11. b. A fourth sort of scourging there was for capital crimes, whipping to death, with the head fastned to the furca, which Sue∣tonius in Nerone calls supplicium more majorum, the old Roman punishment. But this cannot belong to this place.

[ c] * 1.5 V. 29. Blessed are the barren] This expression of the dayes approaching, that they shall say 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, blessed are the barren, &c. had certainly its com∣pletion in what befell Jerusalem in the time of the siege. But more particularly it may refer to one passage: After that Titus had incompass'd the city with a wall so that none could come out to forage, they were forced to feed on dung, saith Josephus, on shooes and girdles, &c. and for want of such provision as this, one Marie, a noble and rich woman, daughter of Eleazar, berea∣ved of all by the Seditious, killed her sucking child, and drest'd it, and eat part of it, and the Souldiers breaking in upon her, and finding a part left, went away in de∣testation, and presently the news of it went over the whole city,* 1.6 and every one saith * Josephus, look'd upon it with horror, and with the same compassion, as if they had done it themselves. Then was this speech fit for them to take up, on hearing this horrible newes, Blessed are the barren, and the womb that never bare, and the paps that never gave suck, in comparison to those that are forced to feed on the fruits of their wombs, and devour their own sucking infants. And then that which follows, If they doe these things on a green tree, what shall be done on a dry? may perhaps be best in∣terpreted in relation to this particular fact also, of that noble and rich woman, Marie. If such horrible things befall the wealthiest among you, what a dismal state shall all others be involved in? This may possibly be the meaning of the phrase. But if not, then in that other notion of the righteous and the wicked, it may have had its completion also.

[ d] * 1.7 V. 32. Malefactors] These Malefactors crucified with Jesus were thieves and murtherers, and authors of an uproar in the city, which is an evidence among others formerly mentioned, (see Note on Mat. 27. d. and on Mar. 15. a.) of Christs death being after the Roman not Jewish manner. For the Jewish custome was never to put to death two malefactors on the same day, unlesse it were for the same crime; so saith Mai∣monides Sanhed. c. 14. They never condemn more then one in a day; but one to day, another to morrow, unlesse they they be both guilty of the same transgression, and deserve one death. And that Christ was not pretended to be put to death for that crime of the other two, is clear by his Inscription, which saith it was for pretending to be King.

[ e] * 1.8 V. 45. Veile of the Temple] That which is here said of the veile of the Temple, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, must be so rendred, that 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 may be taken Adverbially for in the middle, so as to be answerable to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 into two parts in Matthew and Mark.* 1.9 Now what veile of the Temple this was is the only thing that will need to be here determined; for of this it is certain that there were two veiles or high walls (intimated by the mention of the second veile, v. 3.) the one that covered or enclo∣sed the Sanctuary from the eyes and approach of the people, who were permitted to goe no farther then the court of the Jews, and only the Priests admitted into the Sanctuary; For thus the manner was, the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, or altar of incense was within the Sanctuary, and thither the Priests went daily and offered incense, the people mean while staying without, and praying every one privately by himself, (the thing noted by the silence in heaven for halfe an hour, Rev. 8. 1.) And those pray∣ers of the people for supply of their severall wants were thus offered up by the Priest with that incense of his that went up to Heaven (see c. 1. 10. d.) But the peo∣ple themselves staid without, and might not enter or look in there, that Veile, or wall, or screen made a full separation of one from the other. And as the Sanctuary was enclosed or separated from the court, so was the Holy of Holies enclosed from the Sanctuary, and thi∣ther none entred but the High priest once a year, and so there was a second Veile. That this is here meant, is no way specified, or deducible from any circumstances of the story in any of the Gospels, yet may be thought most probable from one intimation of the author of the Hebrews, c. 10. 20. where our way to heaven is said to be consecrated by Christ by the veile, that is, his flesh. There as the veile is made a type of Christs flesh, and being so, the rending of the veile will be a fit so∣lemnity of the piercing and crucifying Christs flesh; so that veile is clearly the second veile, entring into the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 the holies, v. 19. that is, the Holy of Holies, as ap∣pears by c. 9. 8, and 12. And if that were here meant, then the significancy is not only the approaching de∣struction of all the Jewish rites, but also that that unap∣proachable place, a type of heaven, was now laid open to all true Christians, and that in the mean time there is liberty to approach unto God in prayer allowed to them; and again that Christ not now once a year, as the High priest, but once for ever, there to continue, en∣tred into the Holy of holies, that is, beyond the Sanctu∣ary, the common place of all the Priests (and so the type of Heaven, where all the Angels and Saints are) even into the inmost adytum at the right hand of God, farre above all Angels, &c. a place of preeminence pe∣culiar to him.