To

related to Jesus. His birth, when that alone is meant, is here expressed by another word, yévois, in ver. 18. The version of the LXX frequently uses yéves in the sense of quicquid evenit, quicquid ad illum pertinuit, as in Gen. ii. 4, v. 1, vi. ́9, xxxvii. 2, Num. iii. 1, Judith xii. 18. which may be added James iii. 6, where reоXÒS YEVÉσews seems to signify the course of events. And, agreeably to what I have here noted, the words the book of the generations are thus explained in the margin of Archbishop Parker's Bible in 1568, the rehearsal of Christ's lineage and life. Bp. PEARCE, Commentary, vol. I. p. 1.

Ibid. The book of the generation.] Perhaps it would be better to translate, "The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ," because it is not called by the name of the person with whom it begins, but by the name of the person in whom it ends. The generations of Adam and Noah begin with Adam and Noah, Gen. v. 1, vi. 9. But that this title may represent both the lineage of Christ, and his birth, age, and manner of life, we may understand that the book of the generation in St. Matthew means what the book of Toledhoth does in Hebrew, both in the nativity and the events in the life of the person to whom it is applied. See Munster and Michaelis's Hebrew Bible, 1720, Gen. v. 1. WESTON.

Ibid. St. Luke carries up his genealogy to Adam, in order to shew the Gentiles that Christ belonged to the whole race of mankind: but St. Matthew, who wrote particularly for the Jews, probably in their language, certainly in their idiom, says Christ was the son of David, the son of Abraham; that is, descended from both. This was well calculated for the Jews, who held Abraham and David in the highest veneration, and hardly looked for any ancestors beyond them. WESTON.

2. 'Abgadu] Erasmus 1, 2, and Stephanus 1, 2, write, after the LXX, 'Abgaàu, with an aspirate; which is deservedly rejected, as it should be in 'Eraias, 'Exías, 'Ieporóλuua. Drus. Quæst. Hebr. l. ii. q. 11.

10. 'Egexías] Rather with an aspirate, it being in the Hebrew m Drusius.

11. Ἰωσίας δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Ἰεχονίαν καὶ τὸς ἀδελφὸς αὐτο] Here Robert Stephens, Beza, &c. insert another generation: 'Iwoías dè èyévvnoe [TÓV Ἰακείμ· Ἰακεὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησε τὸν Ἰεχονίαν καὶ τὰς ἀδελφὸς αὐτῷ. Thus making up the number xiv in each period uniformly; which otherwise, according to the present reading, is supplied by making David to end the

first period, and begin the second likewise. According to the former correction, the genealogy will stand thus:

But Wetstein supposes that the Evangelist reckons the three periods of this genealogical series in the same manner as the antient physicians reckoned the hebdomadal critical days; where the first week is taken disjunctively, and the second and third conjunctively: the former is, when the week ends with one day and begins with another; and the latter when the same day is reckoned to both weeks. Thus they reckoned the fourteenth the last day of the second week, and the first of the third; so that three weeks, according to them, contained but twenty days. See Galen in Hippocr. de Prænot. 3, and in Aphor. 2. The Rabbis likewise reckoned in the same manner; for a double Nazeritism contained only 59 days instead of 60, because the thirtieth day was counted the last of the first, and the first of the last period. Nasir. III. 2. W. B.-But, as three kings of Judah are omitted in this genealogy, between Joram and Oziah, ver. 8, which omission can hardly be attributed to the Evangelist, it is probable that St. Matthew's original contained seventeen generations between David and the carrying-away to Babylon. If this be admitted, then the seventeenth verse must have been written by some other hand than that of St. Matthew. Bp. PEARCE.

The

The brethren of Jechoniah, as here called, were his uncles, as in Gen. xiii. 8, particularly Zedekiah, the brother of Josias, who reigned instead of Jechoniah's children, 2 Chron. xxxvi. 10, 2 Kings xxiv. 17. Bengel. in Gnom. But how can Jechoniah be said to beget his uncles, his father's brothers? This cannot be warranted by any language. The difficulty would at once be reconciled if some copy read καὶ τὲς ἀδελφὸς αὐτῷ ΤΟΥΣ πì Ts, &c. and the brethren of Jechoniah that were at the time of the captivity; in contradistinction to those born after the captivity. Tès has τὰς been lost by the aur immediately preceding. MARKLAND.

Another difficulty arises from 1 Chron. iii. 17, 18: And the sons of Jechoniah; Assir, Salathiel his son, Malchiram also, and Pedaiah-And the sons of Pedaiah were Zerubbabel, &c. If Salathiel and Pedaiah were brothers, as they must be if they were the sons of Assir, how can Salathiel be the father of Zorobabel, as Matthew, ver. 12, says he was? The answer is easy, if we only make Assir, D, an appellative in Chronicles above cited, and read thus: And the son of Jechoniah, the CAPTIVE, Salathiel. His sons, Malchiram and Pedaiah-and the sons of Pedaiah, Zorobabel, &c. By this means Salathiel was the grandfather of Zorobabel; and so in the language of Matthew begat him, though by the intervention of Pedaiah.

Another question is, how Jechoniah, ver. 11, can be reckoned among the progenitors of Joseph, when Jeremiah, xxii. 30, says he died childless. We answer, the translation in Jeremiah is faulty, which should be, Write ye this man is DEPRIVED, i. e. of the kingdom-for no man of his seed shall pròsper, sitting on the throne of David; which we find is verified 2 Chron. xxxvi. 2, where he is called Jehoiakim. By this translation Jeremiah and Matthew are perfectly reconciled. Dr. R. PARRY, MS.

Ibid. Erasmus Schmid has also, in his edition, inserted one generation: Ἰωσίας δὲ ἐγέννησε [τὸν Ἰακείμ· Ἰακεὶμ δὲ ἐγέννησε] τὸν Ἰεχονίαν καὶ τὲς åd≤λpès aurẽ. If we suppose that St. Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew, Jakim might easily be lost. This may probably be the reason why no traces of it are to be found in our Greek MSS. Professor SCHULZ.

11, 12, 17. Professor Michaelis acutely observed, long ago (see Comm. Goettingen. xv. sect. 5, Bremæ 1769), that Philo Judæus (tom. I. p. 259, ed. Mangey) counts exactly in the same manner as St. Matthew does.

For,

For, reckoning twenty-seven generations, or, in his allegorical way, two decads and a hebdomad, from Adam to Moses, he makes Abraham the last of the second decad, and also the first of the hebdomad. Dr.Owen.

ἄνδρα]

16. avoga] It was common to call persons who were espoused by the name of man and wife. See Gen. xxix. 21. It answers to the Hebrew ws. GOSSET.

17. "So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen:" but from David to the carrying-away into Babylon, it has been observed that there are more. St. Matthew has nevertheless called them fourteen, in order to make the three states of the Jewish empire exactly equal. In the first fourteen the kingdom was, as it were, at its full in David; in the second, at its wane during the captivity; and in the third, again at the full in Jesus Christ. It is hardly necessary to alledge, in favour of this explanation, that the triad of fourteen was familiar to the Jews in the number forty-two, of the branches of the golden candlestick, or the pillars of the three porticos round the basilica of the Temple. The first number of fourteen probably determined the second and the third. WESTON.

18. Τῶ δὲ Ἰησᾶ Χριστᾶ ἡ γέννησις ὕτως ἦν] Erasmus connects this verse - with the preceding, thus: From the carrying-away into Babylon unto Christ are xiv generations: AND the birth of Christ was in this manner; leaving out 'Inoỡ, with the Vulgate, Mill, and Bengelius. Remigius, cited by Maldonat, joins it likewise with the preceding verse, but in another sense: So much for the generation of Jesus Christ.

Ibid. Moleusions yap, &c.] The Vulgate omits yap, and in the Greek it should be omitted. MALDONAT. Nothing is more common with the best Greek Writers than to begin a narration with yap, as we do with the word Now. Isoc. Panath. p. 210, ed. Lond. 1748. Tà тoív βάρες ὡς ἑκάτεροι προσηνέχθημεν δηλέον. Ἐπὶ μὲν ΓΑΡ, &c. net. p. 521. Ελεῦθεν, ἄρξομαι διηγεῖσθαι. Θρασύλοχος ΓΑΡ ὁ πατὴρ, &c. See more in Schmidius, Raphelius, Annot. Phil. ex Xenoph. Wetstein, &e. So Rom. i. 19, vi. 19, 1 Cor. xv. 3.

□pòs BapAnd Ægi

Ibid. The particle yàp in the beginning of a narration gives it force and elegance; but is particularly used, as in this place, when the writer goes on to explain farther what he had before intimated. See Krebsii Observ. in h. loc. Dr. OWEN.

Ibid. Ευρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχεσα ἐκ πνεύματος ἁγίο] If Mary was found to be with child of the Holy Ghost, it may be asked, why should Joseph afterwards, ver. 19, think of putting her away? or what need was there of the subsequent revelation, ver. 20, to him of this very thing, if she had already been found with child of the Holy Ghost?—It ought not to appear yet by whom she was with child, till the revelation was made. Hence one might suspect that the words ex IIveúμalos 'Ayís were originally the marginal note of some well-meaning injudicious person, who was not willing to leave the Virgin's character in suspense for a moment, and had not patience to let the Reader wait till the course of the narration, ver. 20, should clear up the matter. εὑρέθη ἐν γαστρὶ ἔχεσα, it appeared she was pregnant: then will follow naturally, But Joseph her husband, &c. Beza and MARKLAND.-The Evangelist, knowing the truth of the case, inserted the words in question by way of anticipation; of which there are many other instances to be found in this Gospel. Dr. OWEN.

Ibid. "She was found with child of the Holy Ghost." The words "of the Holy Ghost" have not been introduced from the margin, but are the words of the Historian, who mentions, the fact they contain per prolepsin, of which Joseph, as it appears by the next verse, had no knowledge. WESTON.

19. díxalos av] Though a just man, yet not willing. See Matt. vii. 11. Εἰ οὖν ὑμεῖς, πονηροί ΟΝΤΕΣ. Gal. ii. 3. Ἀλλ ̓ ἐδὲ Τίτος—Ἕλλην ΩΝ. GOSSET.

Ανὴρ δίκαιος.

Ibid. "A just man." 'Arp díxalos. I believe we must turn the Greek into Hebrew, in order to find out its true signification; just as we translate Spenser into Latin to know what he means. 'Avg dínaios in the LXX is the rendering of 77 in Isaiah Ivii. 1; that is, in English, a kind and compassionate man.

WESTON.

Ibid. "A public example." Facere exemplum in illam. Vid. not. Gronov. in Ter. Adelphi. The LXX express the sense of Nahum iii. 6, by "eis wapάdeua," which we translate "for a gazing stock." WESTON.

20. ide,] As this word is of frequent use in the Evangelists, I shall speak of it here, once for all. It is followed by something remarkable. Here it is manifestly from the Evangelist in his own person; and I believe that it was put in the same manner in many places, where it is now read as belonging