THE GOSPEL

ACCORDING TO

S. MATTHEW.

CHAPTER I.

The genealogy of Christ from Abraham to Joseph. 18 He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the Virgin Mary when she was espoused to Joseph. 19 The angel satisfieth the misdeeming thoughts of Joseph, and interpreteth the names of Christ.

das and his brethren;

HE book

9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;

10 And "Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias ;

11 And "Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:

12 And after they were brought to Baof the 'ge-bylon, "Jechonias begat Salathiel; and neration of Salathiel begat Zorobabel;

Jesus

Christ, the
Son of Da-
vid, the son
of Abra-

3

ham.

2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat JuJu

3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;

4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;

5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;

6 And 'Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;

7 And 'Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa; 8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;

'Luke 3. 23.

82 Sam. 12. 24.

Gen. 21. 3. 3 Gen. 25. 26. 4 Gen. 29. 35.
91 Chron. 3. 10.

13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;

14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;

15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;

16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.

18 Now the +1sbirth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.

19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.

20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee

5 Gen. 38. 27. Ruth 4. 18. 1 Chron. 2. 5. 71 Sam. 16. 1, and 17. 12. 10 2 Kings 20. 21. 1 Chron. 3. 13. 11 Some read, Josias begat Jakim, and Jakim begat Jechonias. 11 Chron. 3, 16, 17. 13 Luke 1. 27.

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Mary thy wife for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.

21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,

23 "Behold, a virgin shall be with child,

14 Luke 1. 31. 15 Isa 7. 14.

and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:

25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

16 Or, his name shall be culled.

MATTHEW.-The only certain information which we possess concerning Matthew is contained in the Gospels, as his name occurs but once in the Acts of the Apostles, and never in the Epistles. He is distinguished as being one of the only five apostles whose call to follow Christ is particularly mentioned: the others were Andrew, Peter, and the two sons of Zebedee. Although a Jew, he was in the employment of the Romans as a publican, or tax-gatherer: and persons thus employed were odious to their countrymen, even to a proverb. The office was, however, one of some trust, and the means of worldly comfort which it offered were in proportion to its responsibilities; and this the more enhances the devoted self-denial of Matthew, in so readily leaving all to follow ONE who had "nowhere to lay his head." That on this occasion he made an entertainment to which he invited his acquaintance-probably to enable them to hear the instruct ons of Christ-is the only other fact concerning Matthew which the Scripture records, except that, in the Gospel history, we are apprized of his presence and conduct on various occasions, as involved in that of "the twelve," when they are collectively mentioned. When a list of the apostles is given, the name of Matthew occurs either as the seventh or the eighth.

Traditions are not wanting to supply the information, which the Scriptures do not contain, as to the proceedings of Matthew after the death of his Lord. This applies also to the other apostles and em nent disciples. And concerning such traditions (which we shall sometimes notice) we may observe generally, that although many of them are contradictory, and none are entitled to implicit belief, they deserve more attention than those which concern the prophets, inasmuch as some of them can be traced up to times very near those in which the persons to whom they refer lived. Concerning Matthew in particular, all reports concur in stating that he went abroad preaching the Gospel of Christ; but they do not agree as to the countries in which he laboured. In early times, the more general opinion, as testified by Ambrose, Paulinus, Jerome, and others, was that he preached and died in Persia and among the Parthians; but the ecclesiastical historians Rufinus and Socrates, fix the scene of his labours in Ethiopia. But, as Calmet observes, (Préface sur St. Matthieu,') the name of Ethiopia was so extensively and vaguely applied by ancient writers, that under it a province of the Parthian empire may possibly be intended in the present instance, in which case the two accounts may be easily reconciled. The common opinion has been, that the Evangelist suffered martyrdom by fire; and Socrates is even so definite as to say that the event took place at a town called Naddabar, or Naddaver, in Ethiopia. But Clement of Alexandria quotes Heracleon as naming Matthew among the apostles who did not die by martyrdom: and as Heracleon, living in the second century, is the earliest authority on the subject-three centuries earlier than Socrates-his statement is perhaps entitled to the most credit: but the whole matter seems very uncertain.

It has always been the general opinion that the Gospel of St. Matthew was written earlier than those of the other Evangelists. The weight of evidence that establishes its priority is, indeed, unquestionable; but the precise date has been much disputed by different writers. It is not our province to discuss this question; but we may observe that the various alternatives which have been suggested range over twenty-seven years; the earliest date advocated being the year 37 A.D. and the latest being 64.

The New Testament, as a whole, was written in Greek: but a peculiar question has been raised as to the original language of St. Matthew's Gospel. Many writers of great name are of opinion that it was originally Hebrew—that is, in that Western Aramæan, or Syro-Chaldaic dialect which was then spoken by the Jews, and which may be called Syriac; and which was, in fact, the Hebrew corrupted by a very large admixture of foreign words. But other writers, at least equal in number and authority, contend that the Greek which has descended to us, is the original which St. Matthew wrote. The advocates of the former opinion rely chiefly upon the authority of ancient writers, and upon the internal testimony which the book offers, of its having been at first written for the especial use of the Jewish nation; while the latter insist upon the evident marks of originality which the Greek copies exhibit. The question is one of originality, not of antiquity; for it is allowed even by those who insist that this book was originally written in Hebrew, or the vernacular Syro-Chaldaic dialect, that the Greek translation must still be considered of earlier date than the composition of the other Gospels. In this conflict of opinion, several writers have advocated a third alternative, which now seems to be gaining ground. Feeling, on the one hand, that the existence of a Hebrew original could not be denied without running counter to all ancient testimony; and, on the other, that the existing Greek Gospel has too evident marks of original composition to allow of its being regarded as a translation from the Hebrew-they suggest that there were two originals, one in Hebrew and the other in Greek, both written by St. Matthew, but the latter somewhat posterior to the former. The circumstances which required two editions admit of easy and probable explanation, and may be supported and illustrated by the fact that Josephus set forth his history of the Jewish war both in the Hebrew and Greek tongues. It is certainly this last opinion which we should be disposed to advocate, as we see no other way of clearing all the difficulties in which the question has been involved.

We have considered it proper to allude thus slightly to a question of so much importance, and which has been so warmly agitated: although, being a matter of pure criticism, distinct from the plan of this work, we have abstained from the discussion which it is calculated to provoke. In proceeding to execute the duty which now lies before us, it may be desirable to remind the reader that the three first Gospels run to a considerable extent parallel to each other, containing narratives of the same circumstances. While, therefore, we shall be careful to give due attention to that which is peculiar to each Gospel, we shall endeavour to prevent our notes from being unduly crowded in the earlier portions, by sometimes using the discretion of postponing the illustration of particular parts to the parallel passages in the later narratives.

Verse 16. "Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary!"-From this we observe that St. Matthew deduces the genealogy of Christ in the line of his mother's husband; whereas St. Luke traces the genealogy in the line of Mary his mot..er.

though Jesus was not the natural son, he was the adopted son of Joseph; and an adopted son was entitled to all the aily privileges, and to have his name inserted in the genealogical rolls. Hence the genealogy is thus given by tthew; but it is not without reason that the maternal line is given by Luke, since, as both lines pass through David, are thus supplied with evidence that Jesus was, by a two-fold claim, naturally and adoptively, the son of David." is was a most essential point of evidence to the Jews, and not less so to Christians, since it was foretold by the phets that the expected Messiah should proceed from the house of David. As the Jews were particularly careful ut their genealogical registers, of which it appears, that besides those which were kept by private families, there re copies or originals preserved in public offices or repositories; there is much reason to conclude that the registers of tthew and Luke were extracted from these sources of information, the authority of which was unquestionable, and ich were open to public inspection. Hence the Jews could easily satisfy themselves of the claim of Jesus to be son of David; and of this it does appear that they were satisfied, for we find him frequently addressed as “the of David ;" and the public knowledge of this fact affords one reason for the circumstance that the people would e taken him by force and made him their king. To which may be added, that the Talmud assigns his having been gh to the kingdom," as a reason for his having been put to death. (See further under Luke iii.)

7. “Fourteen generations."—The reader will not fail to notice this singular mode of computation. The total number generations from Abraham to Christ are stated in three parts of fourteen each, making in all forty-two. The actual nber of generations was greater, as we know from the Old Testament genealogies and histories. The process of struction is however clear. The generations from David to Jechoniah, who was carried into captivity, were seven1; but to equalize the number of generations between distinctly marked periods-in order to assist the memory, or some other reason--the Evangelist omits three, to reduce them to the same number as the first division of fourteen. $ possible that the last division, from the Capt.vity to Christ, may also have included more than fourteen generas, reduced in the same manner; but the want of other genealogies for this period renders this uncertain. The ssion of three names in the second division occurs in verse 8. where it is said that Jerome begat Ozias; whereas, in there were three generations between them The process is in accordance with the practice among the Jewish ters, of which there are many remarkable instances, of equalizing similar things. And the manner in which the ealogy is here abbreviated for this purpose, is exactly in conformity with the existing usages of those Orientals, Arabians for instance, who are careful to preserve the knowledge of their line of descent. They abbreviate their ealogy without rendering it doubtful; and a few names suffice to convey the history of their descent. From their r ancestors they select some one eminent person, their descent from whom is undisputed; and who is himself again wn to have descended from another great man of a former age; and in this compendious manner they go back to founder of the family. Under this system, the genealogy of the present chapter might even have been stated in e such way as this:-Joseph, the son of Zorobabel, the son of David, the son of Judah, the son of Abraham.

3. "Mary was espoused to Joseph.”—That is, she was betrothed to him. We have had former occasions to mention betrothals in the East often take place a good while before the actual marriage. This was the case also among Hebrews, although among them the interval does not appear to have been generally so long as it is now in some ntal countries. A year generally intervened between the betrothal and actual marriage. But during this time the han was, legally, as much the man's wife as if she had been taken home and actually inarried.

1. "Not willing to make her a publick example.”—The infidelity of a betrothed woman was regarded as that of a wife, treated as adultery, which was punishable with death, by stoning. But the law of divorce (Deut. xxiv. 1. &c.) ified this law, by allowing an alternative, which probably caused the other to be seldom carried into execution. adulterous woman might be put away by a bill of divorce; and if this divorce were a public transaction, before the er authorities, the cause being declared, the act would of course consign her to ignominy and shame. This seems ave been the public example from which Joseph desired to spare the suspected Mary.

To put her away privily."-It was not necessary that a divorce should be a public transaction. The man had it in option to give the woman the bill of divorce in private, delivering it into her hand or her bosom. Two witnesses were necessary; and they witnessed the act of divorce only, as it was not-nor is it now in the East-needful that cause should be assigned. This seems to have been the course which Joseph meditated.

CHAPTER II.

he wise men out of the east are directed to Christ 1a star. They worship him, and offer their resents. 14 Joseph fleeth into Egypt, with Jesus id his mother. 16 Herod slayeth the children: › himself dieth. 23 Christ is brought back rain into Galilee to Nazareth.

Now when 'Jesus was born in Bethlehem of læa in the days of Herod the king, be1, there came wise men from the east to usalem,

Saying, Where is he that is born King he Jews? for we have seen his star in east, and are come to worship him. When Herod the king had heard these gs, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem i him.

And when he had gathered all the

Chief Priests and Scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.

5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for thus it is written by the prophet,

6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.

8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.

1 Luke 2. 6,7.
Mic. 5. 2. Johu 7. 42. 3 Or, feed.
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