A Commentary Critical Practical and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments Vol. 1: Matthew-Corinthians (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from A Commentary Critical Practical and Explanatory on the Old and New Testaments Vol. 1: Matthew-Corinthians<br><br>One argument has been adduced on the other side on which not a little reli ance has been placed; but the determination of the main question does not in our opinion depend upon the point which it raises. It has been very confidently affirmed that the Gree language was not sufficiently understood by the Jews of Palestine when Matthew ublished his Gospel to make it at all probable that he would write a Gospel or their benefit in the first instance in that language. Now as this merely alleges the improbability Of a Greek original it is enough to place against it the evidence already adduced which is positive in favor of the sole originality of our Greek Matthew. It is indeed a question how far the Greek language was understood in Palestine at the time referred to. But we advise the reader not to be drawn into that question as essential to the settle ment of the other one. It is an element in it no doubt but not an essential ele ment. There are extremes on both sides of it. The Old idea that our Lord hardly ever spoke anything but syro-chaldaic is now pretty nearly exploded. Many however will not go the length on the other side of Hug (in his Intro duction pp. 326 &c.) and Roberts Discussions'' 25 &c.) For our selves though we believe that our Lord in all the more public scenes of His ministry spoke in Greek all we think it necessary here to say is that there is no'' ground to believe that Greek was so. Little understood in Palestine as to make it improbable that Matthew would write his Gospel exclusively in that langua so improbable as to outweigh the evidence that he did so. And when we t ink of the number of Digests or short Narratives of the principal facts of our Lord''s history which we know from Luke (i. 1-4) were ?oating about for some time before he wrote his Gospel of which he speaks by no means disrespectfully and nearly all of which would be in the mother tongue we can have no doubt that the Jewish Christians and the Jews of Palestine generally would have from the first reliable written matter sufficient to supply every necessary requirement until the publican apostle should leisurely draw up the First of the Four Gospels in a language to them not a strange tongue while to the rest of the world it was t/ze language in which the entire Quadriform Gospel was to be for all time em shrined. The following among others hold to this view of the sole originality of the Greek Matthew - Erasnzns C alvin Beza Light/bot Wetstein Lardner Hug Fritzsclze C rea''ner de W ette Stuart da Costa fairéairn''roéerts.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases an imperfection in the original such as a blemish or missing page may be replicated in our edition. We do however repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.