in question to it implies the same thing: secondly, the multitudes by which he was attended, and at the close of the circuit, as they are represented by St. Mark, consisting of such numbers, and from such distant regions, could not have been assembled about him, all at once: thirdly, the injunction that a small vessel (λάpiov) should constantly be in waiting upon him, προσκαρτερῇ αὐτῷ, specified by the same Evangelist also, appears a decisive intimation that he was all the while in the vicinity of the lake of Galilee. The vessel itself was one of that description, which Josephus shews to have been abundantly numerous on the lake of Tiberias, so much so that, on one occasion, he himself speedily collected together as many as two hundred and thirty y— each of which required at least four persons to man it, and was capable of carrying sixteen, or more, with ease-so that our Saviour, and his usual train, when that became his Twelve Apostles, might be about their ordinary complement. The purpose for which this vessel was retained proves that it was not wanted at all times, but only occasionally; that is, when the importunity of the people, bringing their sick friends, or infirm persons of any kind, to press upon him became too great—or when he might be desirous, as we find him at other times desirous, to address them from the sea, and not from the land. This circuit, then, would extend along the land of Genesaret 2, described above, towards the southern extremity of the lake. The lake itself, Josephus has described as follows a. The lake is called Gennesar after the neighbouring region; and though it is forty stades in breadth, and one hundred and forty in length, still it is both sweet, and very fit for drinking. . . . . It is clear also, terminating on every side upon a sandy beach ... and there are species of fish in it, which both in taste and in appearance excel such as are to be found elsewhere. The Jordan divides it in sunder.... Beginning its course.... this river passes through y B. ii. xxi. 8. Vide also Mark iv. 36. John vi. 23. * Mark vi. 53. the marshes and quagmires of the lake Semechonitis; after which, having travelled through another hundred and twenty stades, it cuts the lake of Gennesar right through, just after passing by the city Julias; and then, traversing a considerable tract of country which is desert, it discharges itself into the lake Asphaltites. Ergo ubi prima convallium fuit occasio, in lacum se fundit, (Jordanes,) quem plures Genesaram vocant, xvi. mille passuum longitudinis, vi. mille latitudinis b. The lake Asphaltites was three hundred stades distant from Jerusalem, or from the frontiers of Judæa ; and the Aulon, which is the name of the desert region, through which the Jordan flowed, between this lake and the lake of Tiberias, was two hundred and thirty stades in length. In the course of the circuit, Magdala, which certainly lay on the western, or on the south-western, side of the lake, might be visited; and, among those, out of whom demons are said to have been cast, Mary of Magdala, mentioned for the first time not long after d, might be one. There is no proof, however, nor any reason to suppose, it ever crossed the lake, or passed, as yet, either into Decapolis, or into Peræa. The last event which took place upon it, just before our Lord returned to Capernaum, and, probably, when the feast of Pentecost was at hand, was the ordination of the Twelve Apostles e, where St. Luke rejoins St. Mark, though St. Matthew for reasons assigned elsewhere f, omits this fact altogether. The circumstances of the ordination, the sermon which followed upon it 5, its distinctness from the former in St. Matthew h, will be considered by themselves hereafter. The gоσεʊxǹ тоυ Оɛоυ, alluded to i, may be understood either of earnest and fervent prayer, or of some place of prayer or Proseucha, itself. Josephus calls the Proseucha of Tiberias μέγιστον οἴκημα k, and Epiphanius de b Plin. H. N. v. 15. Ant. Jud. ix. i. 2. xv. vi. 2. d Luke viii. I. 2. * Mark iii. 13-19. aúróv. Luke vi. 12—16. vii. 17. to the end. h v. i-viii. i. i k Vit. 54. scribes one, in his own time, near Sychar, as follows1. There is also at Sicima in what is now called Neapolis, about two miles distant, without the city in the plain ground, a house of prayer, or an oratory; in shape resembling a theatre-so much in the open air and in a free space does it stand-built by the Samaritans, in their imitation of all the customs of the Jews. The ordination took place as soon as it was day; the sermon, consecutively delivered, must have been over soon after; and then Jesus returned to Capernaumm; where, either when he was still on the way to his usual place of abode in that city, or soon after his arrival there, and, certainly, in the course of the same day, he was met by the petition of the centurion". On the following day, probably early in the morning, he set out to Nain; concerning which place Jerome observes o, Naim hodie in secundo milliario Thabor montis ostenditur, contra meridiem, juxta Ændor. ... usque The time of the year when Jesus set out on this journey was about the period of the feast of Pentecost, May 19. The distance of Nain from Capernaum was not more, at the utmost, than might be accomplished in an ordinary day's journey, of twenty-five or twenty-six Roman miles P; and, as he is said to have gone thither expressly, it is most probable he went thither in one day. On this principle he would arrive in the evening-and the evening being the usual time of burial among the Jews, it would be the less surprizing that, as he approached to the gates of the city, he should have fallen in with the funeral procession of the widow's son 9. In towns surrounded by walls, observes Maimonides, Nullus humatur homo mortuus, nisi septem optimates jubeant, vel civitas omnis. Now, according to Josephus, the following was one of the humane laws of Moses: Πᾶσι τοῖς παριοῦσι, θαπτομένου τινὸς, καὶ συνελθεῖν καὶ συναποδύρασθαι ἐποίησε νόμιμον. Independent, then, of the natural impulse of pity, which is so beautifully and so movingly illustrated by our Lord's conduct on this occasion, we should need no other explanation of it than the existence of such an acknowledged rule; nor could we assign a better reason for the performance of the miracle which ensued. To restore the only child of this distressed and widowed mother to life was the fittest consolation, which such an one as our Lord could bestow upon her. The rumour of the miracle, which was obviously the first of its kind, being disseminated through the surrounding regions, produced, among its other effects, the celebrated message of Johnt. Concerning the place where this message would be received by our Saviour, there seems to be little doubt it would still be Nain; but, with regard to the quarter, whence John might have sent it, there can never be the same presumptive certainty. It was sent by him, it is true, from prison; and Josephus, as we have seen elsewhere", makes him to have been both originally imprisoned, and ultimately put to death, in Herod's castle of Machærus; the distance of which from Nain was, probably, a three days' journey. The news of the miracle, however, was carried to John by some of his own disciples, who, being, as we may conjecture, Galileans, and having access to him in prison, might make him acquainted with it, even at that distance, in a few days after its performance. Nor if the report of the miracle could be diffused throughout all Judæa, could it fail to pass into Perea also. We have only to suppose that Jesus remained long enough in Nain, even after the miracle, both for the news of that event to have reached John, and for the arrival of his own message in consequence of it. But this, it is obvious, might not have been more than a week. The answer of our Lord to the messengers of the Baptist was returned on the same day when they arrived; and either directly after it, or the next day, he was invited by Luke vii. 18-35. Matt. xi. 2―30. u Vol. i. Diss. viii. Appendix. ▾ Luke vii. 17. a certain Pharisee, named Simon, to eat bread in his house". The nature of this meal is not specified; but, if it was the noonday's, and the day itself not a sabbath, its time would be about the fifth hour of the day. During the entertainment, a woman in the city, (so she is described,) who had been, and-in allusion to her former mode of life-who was still, a sinner, came and anointed the feet of Jesus as he lay at meat. This allusion to the city, of which, it is implied, she was either a native, or an inhabitant, can be understood of no city but that which had been twice mentioned before, viz. Nainy. It proves, consequently, that our Lord was still in Nain; it proves, also, that this penitent sinner could not have been Mary Magdalene, who was either a native, or an inhabitant, of a very different place, Magdala. Nor can the reference, which follows next, ev τῷ καθεξῆς 2, with the ellipsis of χρόνῳ, be understood of any thing but the whole course of proceedings since the first day of the arrival at Naina; not merely since the day of this one among the subsequent incidents, the unction in the house of the Pharisee. . It seems to be implied, therefore, that our Lord made some stay at Nain; and, to judge from the sequel, his object in going thither was to commence a circuit of Galilee; for which purpose, it was conveniently situated-lying almost in the centre of the country. That such a circuit is represented as beginning from the city, where the last event had taken place, and as continued thenceforward by travelling up and down-such is the meaning of the term eve -through cities and towns in order, accompanied by the Twelve, and by certain women, whose names are mentioned, not only because they attended our Lord, but also because they ministered, of their substance, to his wants; and that the business of this circuit was the same as before, to preach, or publish, the tidings of the kingdom, is placed beyond a question by Luke viii. 1-3. It is clear, also, that it did not cease until it was terminated at Capernaum; for the Luke vii. 36. to the end. * Ib. 37. y Ib. 11. 12. z viii. I. |
