King James 39 S Bible PDF

King James’s King James’s
King James’s
Bible second edition
a selection
Edited by W. H. Stevenson
Bible second edition
Bible
Throughout the ages, writers from John Milton to Jeanette Winterson have drawn
inspiration from biblical stories. Without an understanding of the bible, twenty-first- a selection
century readers are at risk of missing the richness and import of some of the greatest
texts in the literary canon.
In this annotated selection of key passages from the King James’s Bible, Professor
W.H. Stevenson gives secular readers an accessible introduction to the bible that
will enrich their reading in literature. He introduces biblical characters, stories and
themes that will illuminate the study of English and European literatures, offering
timelines and accessible introductions to place the text in its historical, intellectual, second edition
and literary contexts.
a selection
Demonstrating that the King James Version of the bible is as impressive and readable
as it ever was, this book helps the reader to understand and appreciate the text, and
something of the sixteenth-century practices and concerns that shaped this particular
translation, with headnotes and annotations to elucidate the background and draw
attention to matters of literary and stylistic interest. Some of the passages are famous,
others less so, but together, they enable the reader to investigate the rest of the
bible at leisure. This book will prove essential reading to students and teachers of
W. H. Stevenson
Edited by
literature, and of social history.
Cover image: The Mennonite Preacher Anslo and his Wife,

1641 by Rembrandt (1606-1669). Photo: Joerg P. Anders.
By kind permission of Scala, Florence/BPK, Bildagentur
fuer Kunst, Kultur und Geschichte, Berlin. www.pearson-books.com Edited by W. H. Stevenson
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King James’s Bible

A Selection
Edited by
W. H. Stevenson
Second Edition
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PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED

Edinburgh Gate
Harlow CM20 2JE
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)1279 623623
Fax: +44 (0)1279 431059
Website: www.pearsoned.co.uk
Extracts from the Authorized Version of the Bible (the King James Bible),
the rights in which are vested in the Crown are reproduced by permission of
the Crown’s patentee, Cambridge University Press.
First published 1994

Second edition published in Great Britain in 2010
Editorial matter © William H. Stevenson 1994, 2010
All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without either the prior
written permission of the Publishers or a licence permitting restricted copying
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be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any
form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published, without
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Pearson Education is not responsible for the content of third party internet sites.
ISBN: 978-1-4082-3047-3
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A CIP catalogue record for this book can be obtained from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Bible. English. Authorized. Selections. 2010.
King James’s Bible : a selection / edited by W. H. Stevenson. – 2nd ed.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-1-4082-3047-3 (pbk.)
I. Stevenson, W. H. II. Title.
BS391.3.B37 2010
220.5′2036—dc22
2010005341
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
14 13 12 11 10
Set in 9.5/11.5pt Galliard by 35

Printed and bound in Malaysia (CTP-VP)
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A typical page from the 1611 edition of the Bible, showing the
black-letter font, reduced Roman type for added words, style for
chapter headings and initials, marginal alternatives, etc.
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Contents
Foreword xv
List of Abbreviations xviii
Acknowledgements xix
Introduction 1
Shape and purpose 2
God as protagonist 3
The Covenant quest 4
The Law and sin 6
Deliverance 8
Unifying force 8
Further reading 10
Originals and translations 13

The Hebrew scriptures 13
The Law 14
The Histories and the prophets 14
The Writings 15
The Apocrypha 16
The New Testament 16
Early translations 17
The Vulgate 17
‘Wycliffe’ 17
Sixteenth-century source texts 17
The English Bible 18

Tyndale and the Bible 19
Coverdale: the ‘Great Bible’ 24
The Geneva Bible 28
The Bishops’ Bible 29
The Rheims–Douai Bible 30
The emergence of AV 32
Further reading 35
The language of AV 39
Further reading 48
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vi CONTENTS
THE OLD TESTAMENT

The Pentateuch 53
Kings, prophets and writers 54
Genesis 57
Creation 58
The garden 61
Cain and Abel 66
Abraham and Sarah 68

The lineage of Abraham 68
The Covenant 69
Sarah’s child 70
Hagar’s child 72
The sacrifice of Isaac 73
The deaths of Sarah and Abraham 75
About Jacob 76
Jacob and Esau 77
The blessing 78
Jacob at Beth-el 81
Rachel at the well 82
Jacob’s wives 83
The twelve sons 84
Jacob’s sheep 85
The ford of Jabbok 87
The death of Rachel 88
Exodus 88
Moses: the burning bush 90
Moses and Pharaoh 92
The plagues of Egypt 94
The Passover 102
Crossing the Red Sea 104
The songs of Moses and Miriam 106
The wilderness 108
Manna 109
In Sinai 110
The Ten Commandments 112
The Tabernacle and the Ark 113
The veil 116
The altar of incense 117
The workmen 117
Completion 118
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CONTENTS vii
Leviticus 119
The Day of Atonement 120
A part of the Law 122
Numbers 125
The fiery serpent 126
Deuteronomy 126
The Law 127
Moses’ death 129
THE HISTORIES
Joshua 133
Jericho 133
Judges 136
Jael and Sisera 137
Deborah’s Song 139
Ruth 142
Naomi’s bereavement 143
Ruth gleans 145
Ruth and Boaz 147
The marriage 149
David and Absalom 151

Bath-sheba and Uriah 152
Nathan speaks 155
The rape of Tamar 157
The murder of Amnon 159
Absalom’s revolt 160
Civil war 162
The battle in the wood 165
Aftermath 168
Kings: Solomon’s kingdom 169

King-making 170
David’s bequests 173
Of Adonijah and Joab 174
Solomon’s wisdom 175
Solomon’s temple 176
Queen and wives 179
Kings: Decadence 181

Elijah and Ahab 182
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viii CONTENTS
Elijah in hiding 184

Elijah’s departure 186
The Kingdoms’ Fall 186

The fall of Samaria 187
The fall of Judah 189
THE PROPHETS
Prophets of the two kingdoms: Amos 199
The State of Israel 199
‘The Day of the Lord’ 201
Judgment 202
Hosea 205
The lovers 206
A new day 210
Micah 210
The Lord’s demands 210
Isaiah (1) 213

Corruptions at Court 214
‘The Day of the Lord’ 216
The song of the vineyard 216
Isaiah’s call 217
Immanuel 219
Assyria 221
Jesse’s offspring 223
The Lord’s vengeance 224
Prophets of the Exile: Jeremiah 227

Oracles and judgments 227
Hinnom 235
The unjust rich man 238
The new David 239
Oracles of comfort 240
A new Covenant 242
Ezekiel 243
Visions of God 243
Images of siege 246
The valley of dry bones 248
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CONTENTS ix
Prophets of the return: ‘Second’ Isaiah 250

The end of exile 251
My servant Israel 254
The Lord’s mercy 256
The messenger and the servant 258
Zechariah 261
The red horse 262
The measuring line 263
The new priesthood 264
Question and answer 265
Malachi 265
The refiner’s fire 266
Daniel 268
Belshazzar’s feast 269
The four beasts 272
THE WRITINGS
Job 279
Prologue 280
Job’s calamity 281
Job’s lament 283
From the first cycle 285
Job responds 287
Interpolation: of wisdom 292
God’s challenge 294
God’s second challenge 298
Job’s submission 302
Epilogue 302
The Psalms 303

Psalm 2 304
Psalm 8 305
Psalm 10 306
Psalm 23 307
Psalm 24 308
Psalm 46 309
Psalm 51 310
Psalm 65 312
Psalm 82 313
Psalm 84 314
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x CONTENTS
Psalm 90 315
Psalm 91 316
Psalm 95 318
Psalm 100 319
Psalm 121 319
Psalm 127 320
Psalm 130 320
Psalm 137 321
Psalm 139 322
Proverbs 323
Wisdom 324
The strange woman 324
Advice 326
Ecclesiastes 327
Acceptance 327
Time and death 328
The Song of Solomon 329

The song of Songs, which is Solomon’s 331
Epilogue to the Old Testament 343

Satan, the angels and Paradise 344
THE NEW TESTAMENT
THE GOSPELS
St Mark’s Gospel 353
John the Baptist 353
Jesus in Galilee 355
The parable of the sower 360
Other sayings 360
Calming the storm 361
The Gadarene swine 361
Jairus’ daughter 363
The disciples sent out 364
The death of John the Baptist 365
Other incidents 367
Jesus revealed as Messiah 368
The children 370
On riches 371
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CONTENTS xi
On the road 372

Blind Bartimæus 373
The triumphal entry 373
Jesus in the temple 374
The parable of the vineyard 375
Challenge and debate 376
The widow’s mite 378
Signs of Doomsday 378
The Last Supper 380
The Mount of Olives: betrayal 382
Trial 384
Crucifixion 386
Resurrection 388
St Matthew’s Gospel 388

The birth of Jesus 389
The Sermon on the Mount 391
The Beatitudes 391
The perfect Law 393
Of prayer and service 395
Of judgment 397
Other sayings 399
The parable of the labourers 400
The parable of the wise and foolish virgins 401
The parable of the talents 401
The parable of the sheep and the goats 402
Matthew’s ending 404
St Luke’s Gospel 404

The Magnificat 404
The birth of Jesus 405
Nunc Dimittis 407
Encounters 407
The good Samaritan 409
Other encounters 410
The prodigal son 411
The justified sinner 413
The road to Emmaus 413
Luke’s ending 415
St John’s Gospel 416

The Word 418
Water into wine 419
The woman at Jacob’s well 420
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xii CONTENTS
Feeding five thousand 422

Walking on water 423
The bread of life 423
The adulteress 425
The man born blind 426
The shepherd and his sheep 428
Lazarus 429
Jesus reflects on his death 432
The last evening: Jesus washes the disciples’ feet 433
‘My father’s mansions’ 434
The true vine 434
Betrayal and arrest 435
Judgment 436
Crucifixion 438
Resurrection 440
The last meeting 442
The Acts of the Apostles 444

Pentecost 445
The first church 446
The gentiles admitted 447
Paul in prison 448
Paul in Athens 450
THE EPISTLES
The Epistles of Paul 455
To the Romans 457

The beginning and end of the Law 458
To the Corinthians (1–2) 462
The First Epistle 462

Paul’s greeting 462
Of sects and schisms 463
Of spiritual values 464
The Second Epistle 467

Light and liberty 467
The Second Epistle to Timothy 470

Thoughts for a young friend 471
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CONTENTS xiii
The Epistle to the Hebrews 474

The Son 475
The last High Priest 477
On faith 481
An Epistle from James 487

The Law of Liberty 488
The First Epistle of John 491

Life and light 491
The spirit of love 492
The Revelation of St John the Divine 493

John as God’s servant 495
John’s vision 495
The vision of the throne 496
The sealed book: and the vision of the lamb 498
The four horsemen 499
The woman, the dragon and the beast 500
Judgment 505
The New Jerusalem 505
The Books of the Bible: a summary 510

The Old Testament 510
Apocrypha 512
The New Testament 512
APPENDICES
1 Bishop Bancroft’s Rules for the Revisers 517
2 Comparative texts: 2 Samuel (18:19 –33); Song of
Solomon (2:10 – 17); Hebrews (1:1–4); Matthew (6:34b) 519
3 Chronology 532
Bibliography 535
Maps 544
Index 546
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Foreword
Looking up from one of Anthony Marvell’s poems, a student asked,

‘What’s manna’? At this moment, the scales fell from my eyes,1 and
it became clear as crystal2 that I must at last do something about a
problem which was not new to me. Many students, knowing that
the Bible is a constant presence in all writing from the sixteenth
century to the present, that it contained material supposed to raise
an echo which they could not hear, and having looked up endless
allusions, would start reading at page one of Genesis, only to be
blocked at the genealogies of Chapter 11. At this point, an essay due
tomorrow would supervene, and somehow the obstacle would never
be cleared. The second reason is simply that there is a great deal of
fine writing here, that these pages encapsulate and express a vast range
of human experience, of wisdom and folly; and that it is a shame
that so many are excluded from such a variety of very good reading.
For centuries after its publication in 1611 by order of the King,
the ‘Authorised Version’3 was the most important work of popular
writing in the language, known to everyone, of whatever class. It
may not challenge the Graeco-Roman classics as ‘literature’, but it
left its mark everywhere, and reached a far wider audience than they
did. Everyday idiom is scattered with phrases that AV left behind:
‘see eye to eye’, ‘at the last gasp’, ‘a man after his own heart’, ‘a law
unto himself’, and so on and on. The twentieth century saw more
English translations than ever; none match this, but all borrow
from it.
This selection is aimed at those who have heard of its reputation,
and wish to look at it for themselves, but who find stumbling blocks4
of obscurity or language. Not the would-be biblical scholar, or the
historian or ethnographer, but the reader. For such people, here is
a sample of the sequence of the book itself, not doctrine, but informa-
tion to address their queries, without swamping them with a vast
array of irrelevant scholarship. Whether or not the Exodus actually
happened is less important than its significance in the whole story.
The question whether The Song of Solomon is a wedding song or a
liturgy, pagan or Hebrew, is interesting to scholars, but its traditional
interpretation as allegory is more revealing to most readers.
1
Acts 9:18.
2
Revelation 21:11.
3
Referred to throughout as ‘AV’, a convenient abbreviation for the popular name,
‘the Authorised Version’.
4
Leviticus 19:14, p. 124 below.
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xvi FOREWORD
The problem for new readers is to find a foothold. Normally, for

anyone opening a new work, as Northrop Frye says,5 ‘the critical
operation begins with reading a work straight through, as many times
as may be necessary to possess it in totality. . . . But the Bible is a
very long and miscellaneous book’ – not easily ‘possessed’. In the
past, people simply absorbed it. Today, new readers, unfamiliar with
the idiom of AV, and bewildered by its literary patterns, are forced
to look for help, which this book aims to give.
This selection pretends in no way to present ‘the best’ of the Bible.
The 1611 Bible is very long – almost 800,000 words and, admittedly,
contains some dead wood, as well as areas lacking in interest for the
secular reader, alongside the great deal of very fine and varied writing
for which it is deservedly famous. Given the limits of space, the aim
of the selection overall is to present a coherent sequence, which will
attract the reader further in.
The introductory paragraphs are planned to lead the reader through
the book, while the footnotes answer problems of understanding and
add details of interest. The bibliography, necessary for students, may
alarm the general reader, but contains many interesting works worth
enquiring into.
EXPLANATIONS
The arrangement of the books here varies slightly from the standard
order of AV. First, the Prophetic books precede the ‘Writings’ ( Job
to Song of Solomon), since the Prophets comment on the material of
the ‘Histories’, and the prophets Amos, Hosea and Micah are placed
out of their traditional order, so that they lie alongside the narra-
tive. Second, Isaiah is divided into two parts, for reasons given on
pp. 208 and 243; it is a division inherent in the book’s style and the
content. Third, Mark is placed before the Matthew selections only
because it is here the principal representative of the Gospels, which
the Matthew and Luke selections support. The standard AV order
of the books is given on pp. 510–513, together with a note on the
contents of those books not sampled here.
PARAGRAPHS
The division of the books of the Bible into chapters is ancient. The
division into separate numbered ‘verses’ began in the sixteenth century,
and soon became normal; they undoubtedly hinder fluent reading,
5
Frye (1982), xii.
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FOREWORD xvii
and here the text is set out in paragraphs (as it was in translations
before 1557). The verse numbers, however, are useful for reference,
and are noted at the beginning of each section; each fifth verse is
marked thereafter in the margin. The practice of paragraphing is
not new. The Cambridge Paragraph Bible of 1878 exemplified it in
modern times; some recent editions of AV follow it, as do virtually
all new translations. In other respects, the standard modern text is
used, as required by the copyright patentees, although a few minor
changes in spelling and punctuation have been made (with their per-
mission) to bring it into line with standard modern practice.
Italicised words and phrases in the Bible are often thought to be
for emphasis, but they are not. In the ‘black-letter’ text of 1611 (soon
abandoned in following editions: but see Frontispiece) these words
were in reduced ‘Roman’ type, and plainly subordinate. They are
additions made by the revisers, of words not found in the Hebrew
or Greek, which they felt necessary for grammatical reasons or for
intelligibility. The marginal alternatives for doubtful and difficult trans-
lations, signalled by superscript numerals, are also reproduced as in
1611: later editions greatly increased their number. Either or both of
these features are commonly omitted from modern versions of AV,
but they were significant parts of its original concept, and are not
to be forgotten (see Introduction, pp. 32, 517:6). AV’s chapter
summaries, unfortunately, have to be omitted for lack of space;
in most cases they are simply short aids to finding the place; any
special interest is noted.
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List of Abbreviations
OT Old Testament JB The Jerusalem Bible

NT New Testament LXX The Septuagint
Vg The Vulgate NAS New American Standard
Tn Tyndale’s translation(s) Bible
Cv Coverdale’s Bible NEB New English Bible
MtB ‘Matthew’s’ Bible REB Revised English Bible
Gt Great Bible NIV New International Version
Gv Geneva Bible GNB Good News Bible
BB Bishops’ Bible RSV Revised Standard Version
Rh Rheims NT NRSV New Revised Standard
D Douai OT Bible
AV Authorised Version
IDB The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible; Buttrick and Crim
(1969–76)
DNB Dictionary of National Biography
OED Oxford English Dictionary
BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

Chron Chronicles Num Numbers
Coloss Colossians Philip Philippians
Cor Corinthians Prov Proverbs
Dan Daniel Ps Psalms
Deut Deuteronomy Jer Jeremiah
Eccles Ecclesiastes Jos Joshua
Exod Exodus Jdg Judges
Ezek Ezekiel Rev Revelation
Gen Genesis Rom Romans
Heb Hebrews Sam Samuel
Hos Hosea Song Song of Solomon
Isa Isaiah Tim Timothy
Kgs Kings Zech Zechariah
Lev Leviticus
Mal Malachi
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Acknowledgements
We are indebted to the following for permission to reproduce copy-

right material: Cambridge University Press, the Crown’s patentee,
for extracts from the Authorised Version of the Bible (the King James
Bible), the rights in which are vested in the Crown; Germain
Marc’Hadour, The Bible in the works of Thomas More, pp. 25 –26.
ISBN 978 90 6004 107 9. HES & DE GRAAF Publishers BV
(www.hesdegraaf.com); Gerald Hammond for quotations from The
Making of the English Bible (Carcanet Press Limited, 1982); Centre
for Research Collections, Edinburgh University Library for the
Frontispiece image from King James’ Bible, 1611, first edition.
Such an edition as this cannot be prepared without assistance
from many quarters, especially from scholars of disciplines other than
my own. In particular, I wish to thank Dr Gerald Hammond of the
University of Manchester for his invaluable guidance and assistance
in helping me to shape the project into a satisfactory form. I must
recall in particular the encouragement and special expertise given to
me by the late David Daiches during the early development of the book.
Many members of the University of Edinburgh have given me help,
particularly Dr Graeme Auld and Dr David Mealand of the Faculty
of Divinity, and Dr Derek Britton of the Department of English
Language, all of whom helped to keep my foot from falling;1 if I
have slipped it is through my own persistence. I have also to thank
the Reverend Fiona Bennett for her practical and theological assis-
tance, and the staff of New College Library, Edinburgh, for their
constant help in making available to me their extensive collection
of early printed texts and modern scholarship.
1
Psalm 56:14.
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Introduction
The holy bible . . . /Newly Translated out of the originall/
tongues: & with the former Translations/diligently compared and
reuised: by his/Maiesties speciall Commandment./Appointed to
be read in Churches . . . /anno dom 1611.
(Authorised Version title page, 1611)
This work, King James’s Bible of 1611, has been the most widely
known, and most widely owned, book in the English-speaking
world from the seventeenth to the twentieth century. Its stories, its
sayings and its language became part of the modern idiom, and remain
so to this day. It provided imaginative food for many people who
were poorly supplied from other sources.
Yet though it was literally an ‘open book’ to many generations, the
Bible presents many problems to modern readers. The double columns
of stern black print may be gone, and the rhythm-destroying division
into numbered ‘verses’ replaced by readable paragraphs, but this does
not make it an easy book to read. The root cause of the difficulties
lies beyond typography and a few unfamiliar tricks of old-fashioned
language, because it is an unfamiliar kind of book.
The Bible includes every kind of narrative and storytelling: legend,
family history, heroic saga, short story, annals of political intrigue and
revenge, fantasy and vision; poetic, didactic, regulatory, contemplative;
the rhetoric of the nation’s leaders, and the agitator speaking for the
poor: besides poetry of lament, reflection and love, exciting, startling,
much of it sublime – apparently, literature for everyone: but still not
easy to penetrate. The problem lies in the nature of the book itself.
Many books, and many university courses, attempt to solve the
problem by treating ‘the Bible as literature’. This is a well-meaning
but mistaken approach that prolongs readers’ misapprehensions
because, in Northrop Frye’s words, these studies are ‘based mainly
on materials in the Bible that resembled the student’s other literary
experiences’.1 But this is not Western literature.
The wide range of genres within the Bible are not the genres we
know, although they may sometimes resemble them. Ruth is not a
short story, Job is not drama, the Gospels are not biography in the
modern sense. The biblical genres must be seen in their own light,
not as we expect to see them. We must approach the book, its
narratives, its legends, its attitudes, with a fresh eye, prepared to set
aside the familiar categories of realistic fiction or post-Romantic poetry.
1
Frye 1982: xii.
2 SHAPE AND PURPOSE
When we can approach the Bible on its own terms, we have cleared
the main obstacle.
SHAPE AND PURPOSE

At first sight, it seems rather a random collection; after all, it is not
one book, but many. It is a diverse gathering of separate ‘Books’,
long and short, and of many kinds. Exodus begins as narrative, and
digresses into genealogy, legislation or building construction. Many
Old Testament books grew for centuries from beginning to com-
pletion, and the whole Bible ranges from about the mid-second
millennium bc to the second century ad. The individual Books
often began orally, and reached their final form through complex
development and many hands. The result is a Bible that has been
described as ‘one book frequently at odds with itself ’;2 but it always
has a purpose.
The Bible was written, collected, compiled for a community, and
its ultimate purpose is to provide a story that would hold the com-
munity together. This is true both for the community of the whole
Hebrew nation, exiled to Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylon, and for the
scattered but expanding community of Christians, fearful of perse-
cution, a few generations after Christ. In each case, it was essential
that the whole community should recognise the one story that told
of their origin and their reason for being; and so the agreed collec-
tion of books became sacred: on its title-page, The Holy Bible. The
Old Testament as a whole was compiled by the Jewish religious estab-
lishment for its own priestly purposes, and the New by its Christian
successors for their evangelical purposes. Whether or not we accept
these purposes, we must recognise and understand them in order
to appreciate them, for the fact that the Bible is a sacred book has
a fundamental effect on its structure.
There are duplications, discontinuities, contradictions – all of
these are part of the nature of the sacred book. It is no use look-
ing for a consistent message throughout; it is made up of the his-
tory of a proud nation and its heroic aspirations over centuries, and
sometimes the message of the moment, or the criminal folly of the
leaders of the day, may contradict the sense of the whole. Unknown
editors in the course of time were often ready to gloss their material,
or add to it, however ill-fitting the join, if the alteration were seen
to be marked by the divine hand. However, when the process is pro-
nounced finished, the book is complete, perfect and final. Nothing
2
McConnell 1986: 6.
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GOD AS PROTAGONIST 3
may be added, nothing taken away; it is not permitted to cut anything

that has the hand of God on it.
Form and structure, in this light, are plainly not available for
criticism or adjustment. The Bible is as it is, because God wished it
so. In spite of this, the Bible has its shape, as we shall see; but because
of this, we must not expect any kind of classical overall pattern,
designed for the satisfaction of the author or reader. The Bible over-
all is shaped by accumulation rather than by craftsmanship; we do
not follow a plan as through an orderly garden, but trace our way
as through a forest, and find its grandeurs as we come upon them.
So we must make sense of the Bible as it is, since: ‘All Scripture
is “given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine” ’.3
‘Whatsoever is to be believed or practised, or hoped for, is contained
in [the Scriptures]’, says the prefatory essay of 1611, ‘The Translators
to the Reader’, in the midst of a 900-word panegyric on the ‘riches
and perfection’ of Scripture. And, whether Jewish or Christian, there
are two or three themes in common, essential to the nature of the
Bible.
GOD AS PROTAGONIST
First, God’s part in the Bible is not optional. Even the non-religious
reader of the Bible must come to terms with God’s place in the book.
This is fundamental. Unlike Theseus in A Midsummer Night’s Dream,
he is not an observer who occasionally intervenes. ‘The supreme
influence of God here [Gen 22] reaches so deeply into the everyday
that the two realms of the sublime and the everyday are not only
actually unseparated but basically inseparable’.4 The Bible presents
God in different ways: as a friendly if decisive master to Adam and
Abraham (pp. 63, 70–1, below); in the image of a fearsome Eastern
despot to Moses (p. 111); as a mysterious supernatural figure in the
winds of Job (p. 294); as a father in John (p. 429). But he remains
always both the prime mover and – most important for the shape
of the narrative – the central actor. In Greek literature also, the gods
are essential, directing the action of epic and drama; but they have
an aristocratic aloofness from humanity, whom they move around
like pieces on a chessboard. Jehovah (more accurately, ‘Jahweh’: see
p. 94n) steers from within the action, not above it; the chessboard
and the pieces are his, though the destinies of his human agents are
in their own hands. The toils of Odysseus are the result of a quarrel
between the gods, and the manner of his safe arrival home is decided
3
2 Timothy 3:16.
4
Auerbach 1957: 19.
4 THE COVENANT QUEST
by Zeus, so as to keep the peace, not on Ithaca, which does not

matter, but on Olympus, between Poseidon and Athene. Jahweh lives,
not on Mount Olympus, or even Sinai, but in the Temple in the
middle of Jerusalem, the busy city. The toils of the Israelites in the
desert are due to their not keeping their compact with Jahweh.
Odysseus can have no compact with Poseidon, or even with his pro-
tector, Athene, except to promise her a sacrifice afterwards. She appears
to him and gives instructions, nothing more. ‘It would not naturally
occur to readers of Homer to describe the capricious and often
immoral behaviour of the Olympian gods as a rule of law.’5 The Bible,
on the other hand, is a continual conversation between God and
his heroes.
THE COVENANT QUEST

Given these special qualities, the Western reader need not be
entirely at a loss. The Bible has one central theme to the narrative
core of the Old Testament: a historical chronicle covering the
national events of many centuries, themselves given meaning by this
controlling theme, the Covenant, a mutually binding agreement
between God and his chosen people.
This directs the history from God’s first appearance to Abraham,
childless and old, with the promise, in return for service, to ensure
for him a numberless lineage (pp. 69–71; see also pp. 75, 482). The
Covenant is renewed many times; with Jacob, Abraham’s grandson
(p. 81), especially when he is ‘reborn’ as Israel (p. 87); when God
accosts Moses (p. 94); again in the Passover as the Israelites escape
from Egypt (p. 103); and above all on Sinai, where God confirms
his Covenant with the nation as a whole by giving them the Law,
acceptance of which marks them out as his especial servants (pp. 110–13,
128–30). It is repeated again and again: under Joshua after the con-
quest of Canaan ( Joshua 24), and again at the highest point of all,
when Solomon consecrates the great Temple in Jerusalem (p. 176).
In spite of the centuries of decline, and most of all in the creation of
the Pentateuch after the catastrophe of exile in 586 bc, the Covenant
is recalled through the belief that God cannot renege upon his promise
(pp. 207, 256). Psalmists repeatedly echo the theme (pp. 309, 316),
and it provides the drive for the nation’s leaders to return and rebuild
temple and city (pp. 251–2, 261). A historic narrative is thus the centre
of the Bible’s structure, and the Covenant is its dynamic, shaping
the narrative and directing its movement.
5
Caird 1980: 242.
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THE COVENANT QUEST 5
The New Testament in its turn represents Jesus as fulfilling the

Covenant with Abraham’s spiritual heirs. The agenda is no longer
political, but the Gospels take up the Covenant theme at once. It is
there in the ‘Magnificat’ and the ‘Nunc Dimittis’, and in the pre-
sentation of John the Baptist (pp. 404–7, 353–4). The Gospels and
Acts constantly recall it in words attributed to Jesus (whose name
signifies the new ‘Joshua’), in the symbolism surrounding the
events of his life (e.g. pp. 337, 424), and in their interpretation of
his coming (pp. 369, 389). In Acts, Peter declares the fulfilment of
the Covenant (2:14–36), and the ‘chosen people’ are redefined as
God’s true servants, whoever they may be (p. 447). Finally, the authors
of Hebrews and Revelation, in their different ways, declare its
fulfilment at last in the everlasting city of justice and peace, far greater
than that which Abraham left behind him (pp. 477, 505). The last
page of the whole book arrives at the threshold of the hope that
was offered to Abraham at the beginning of the story. It is a sub-
lime hope resounding through the centuries, expressed in William
Blake’s famous song, ‘And did those feet in ancient time’; and echoed,
if faintly, in the exuberant, if temporarily forlorn, expectation in the
cries of ‘Revolution!’ sounding through the last two centuries.
Although this narrative of the quest for the City of God is not
‘history’, based on a search for factual accuracy and valid analysis,
nor was it meant to be, many of the events it relates very probably
happened in some form or another. Scholars’ discussions on the mat-
ter are endless: ‘Of course the narrative is historiographic, inevitably
so,’ says Sternberg.6 On the other hand, Robert Alter argues that
biblical narrative may be construed as ‘a kind of discourse on God’s
purposes in history’, whose authors felt they had a sacred duty to
display these purposes. Yet they were true writers, not simply God’s
historians, their works demonstrating a conscious exercise of skill in
prose narrative, a medium ‘over which they had technical mastery,
and in the manipulation of which they found continual delight’.7
Thus the very fascinating pursuit of historical fact can too easily
become a trap. Neither the Old Testament nor the New deals in
‘history’ as we know it. They more nearly resemble the mediaeval
chronicles, or historians such as Hall and Holinshed, contemporaries
of the translators of the Authorised Version (AV), who record
events with little concern for their own bias. The search for ‘the truth’
about Homer or the Arthurian legend may be fascinating, but for
most is an unhelpful distraction. The translators of 1604–11 labelled
the narrative central portion of the Old Testament as ‘the Story’,
6
Sternberg 1985: 30.
7
Alter 1981: 155, 158.
6 THE LAW AND SIN
and this gives us a truer notion of their understanding of ‘truth’ in

this context: not necessarily a truth to fact, but a true depiction of
the meaning of a nation’s history, seen as the working-out of God’s
intentions for the world. In this lies the difference between the trans-
lators and the modern fundamentalist, who is thralled to a notion
of literal and verbatim ‘truth’ in translation, while the scholars of
1611 were concerned with moral truth. In a not dissimilar manner,
what matters to us is not the factual accuracy of the tale – although
it is surprisingly accurate in many respects – but its consistency to
a purpose. This purpose is to present the story of the Covenant, of
the people on whom it was laid, and the Law which governed their
response to it.
THE LAW AND SIN

The Law itself forms a second major element in the Bible’s scheme.
Like any collection of statutes, it does not make as good reading as
do the narratives surrounding it. A Bible consisting primarily of the
Law would be poor reading for the laity; nevertheless the Law has
a significant effect on the whole. Acts of deity in the narrative that
might have been seen as capricious are given an ethical foundation.
The Law itself may be indigestible, but it profoundly affects the way
people act and the story they take part in, and in so doing helps to
give consistency to the book as a whole.
Where there is law, there are breaches of it; and where the law is
God’s they take on the special quality of sin. This is offence, not
merely against one’s fellows and the rules convenient to the com-
munity, but against God himself; and by a common and orthodox
interpretation, sin is a central, even the chief, theme of the Bible.
The Sin of Adam, it is said, brought about his Fall and contamin-
ated all his children, who could not escape from its consequences.
However, it was restrained by the Law, expiated by sacrifice, and,
in the New Testament, abolished by Christ’s final sacrifice.
So the widespread doctrine: but when we look at the Bible as a
whole, sin, the essential Sin of Adam and therefore of the whole
race – a very different matter from our everyday law-breaking – is
not one of the essential core themes of the Bible, however impor-
tant to the theologian. Adam’s fall is not recalled in the Old
Testament, nor even in the New, apart from two or three allusions
by Paul who, by way of illustration, makes Adam a symbol of per-
manently flawed humanity as against the flawless Christ (Rom 5;
1 Cor 15; 1 Tim 2). By contrast, two very different phrases ring through
the Old Testament, and echo many times in the New Testament: ‘the
God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob’, who in the Exodus ‘brought thee
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THE LAW AND SIN 7
out of Egypt, the land of bondage’. Both phrases recall Israel’s status
as the ‘chosen people’, children of the Covenant, and it is this which
gives the Bible its onward movement from Abraham to Revelation.
Sin has two functions in the Bible. In ritual terms, it is defined
as transgression, not of a general moral standard, but of some
provision of the Law, which it was the people’s duty under the
Covenant to uphold. Its demands on them, as individuals or as a
nation, could be heavy, but procedures for expiating sin are built
into the Law itself, by way of the rituals it lays down – the personal
rituals of reconciliation, and national rituals such as the annual
Atonement (p. 120). In the New Testament the Pharisees, for whom
the concept of personal responsibility was important, are depicted
as being obsessed with sin (creating, as we would say, ‘guilt’), envis-
aging it chiefly in terms of observance of detailed personal and
ritual observances. Against this Jesus is recorded as offering a new
interpretation of the Law (pp. 367, 393), while the Epistles offer a
symbolic interpretation of his life as a sacrifice to end all sacrificial
rituals (pp. 467–9, 480, 486).
In historic terms, sin is the national apostasy, neglect of the
Covenant, which leads to national catastrophe; the Exile is seen as
a punishment for the guilt of Israel (p. 251). The history was com-
piled under this shadow, and sought to explain it. The warnings and
denunciations of the Old Testament do not come from mere para-
noia or narrow-mindedness. It was unthinkable that Jahweh might
break the Covenant on which the nation’s identity depended, care-
lessly permitting their enemies to harm them; for it is fundamental
that the catastrophe should be blamed, not on the Eastern super-
powers, but on Israel’s betrayal of trust. The leaders who brought
the new generation back to a ruined Jerusalem aimed both to
restore hope and give warning by the newly collected scriptures, lest
the whole fearful round of punishment and catastrophe begin again.
Once again, we see that the Covenant is the key element in the
story. The Law is a function of the Covenant, and in turn sin, human-
ity’s unfortunate failure to keep the Covenant, is itself a function of
the Law. A contract cannot be broken until it is made, and it is the
Covenant, not the breaking of it, which is the theme of the Bible.
The Covenant resembles a feudal bond; the lord gives his protec-
tion in return for service. Even before the Law itself was given,
Abraham was called upon to leave one home in search of another
– a search not ended until Revelation. When the Israelite nation was
delivered from slavery in Egypt, God laid on them the duty of ser-
vice in return, in the form of the Law. It is an extensive code, from
its beginnings in the Ten Commandments on Sinai (p. 112) through
a further four chapters in Exodus, the whole of Leviticus (pp. 123–5)
8 DELIVERANCE
and parts of Numbers, to its restatement in the later Deuteronomy

(p. 127). It covers every area of life: religious, national, social, per-
sonal, from the duties of worship to the duties of the marketplace,
and the respects of marriage. In many places it is notoriously severe,
even barbarous, to modern Western minds, and one would not wish
to justify many of its commands. It is central to the New Testament
that Christ does not abolish the Law, but replaces it (pp. 393–5).
DELIVERANCE
The communities the Bible was compiled for were always vulner-
able, and in need of deliverance from the threats surrounding them.
The Israelites led by Moses saw themselves as the Chosen People,
but to peoples outside they were one other small nation, open to
imperial annexation from north or south. The early Christians were
small in number and always liable to persecution. Both commun-
ities found hope in the histories of deliverance – not lucky escape –
that lay behind them.
This third biblical theme arises from the Promise to Abraham, that
Jahweh will always ransom his people, unreliable though they may
be. The paradigm for deliverance is the rescue from slavery in Egypt
(pp. 102–6). So also David delivered Judæa from the Philistines, and
the exiled people in Babylon were enjoined by the Pentateuch to
see such another deliverance in their hoped-for return to rebuild
Jerusalem. In the New Testament, the coming of Christ is the ulti-
mate example of deliverance, identified, as he repeatedly is, in the
heroic mould of Moses, David and Elijah (pp. 369, 424), delivering
all people from mental and spiritual slavery once and for all.
Handel’s Messiah opens with the words from Isaiah that proclaimed
that return, and uses them as a summons to celebrate Christ’s arrival.
Thus the theme of deliverance, though simple to state, provides the
climax of the New Testament and of the whole Bible.
UNIFYING FORCE
Nevertheless, these basic themes, submerged in the noise of many
voices, seem often to have no structure to hold them together. The
Bible’s varied and changing doctrines are devoid of unity, and any
sense of artistic control is only sporadic. In a book as miscellaneous
as the Bible, the core of it all is not philosophical, nor even theolo-
gical; it is imaginative. As Northrop Frye points out in his seminal
The Great Code,8 this collection called ‘the Bible’ has become a unity,
8
Frye 1982: xiii.
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UNIFYING FORCE 9
largely because it has been treated as a unity. Objective analysis, by

historical or structural means, is secondary. What matters is that the
Bible has indeed entered the common view as a single work; and
its unifying force is the imagination.
This unity is created by a complex of imagery, whose roots are
set in the material of Genesis and Exodus. It develops in the Prophets
and the Psalms, and ramifies throughout the New Testament, elab-
orating and constantly expanding to cover the entire life of Israel –
in images of shepherd, mountain city, temple, river, wilderness, bride
and so on. At its heart are the figures of Abraham, Moses and David.
The escape from Egypt, the giving of the Law at Sinai, the desert
wanderings, the establishment of the Tabernacle and Temple, all
signs of God’s special interest in Abraham’s children, and of his con-
trol even in desperate situations, have an imaginative force which
never tires.
The people recall their pastoral history in images of shepherd-
ing and nomad travel. Saul and David, the first kings of Israel, were
shepherds. Earlier still, the Tabernacle, carried along by the people
in their wilderness wanderings, shares a powerful group of images
with its later, more splendid successor, the Temple. This is ‘the house
of God’; God’s residence is literally at its heart, the ‘Holy of
Holies’, which he enters when he chooses, a king in his palace. The
Temple stands on Mount Zion, in Jerusalem, a symbol of the end
of the nomads’ quest: the Holy City at last, surrounded by its walls,
its life-giving stream welling up within it to refresh the people through-
out the longest siege. The fittings (pp. 113–17, 176–8), the sacrifices
(pp. 102 –4, 120 –3, the priests’ vestments, everything about the
Temple, all add to the symbolism.
It is impossible to read any substantial part of the Bible without
reference to the rest (see pp. 223, 420nn). All later authors, from
the prophets onwards, allude to these images. In the New Testament
the same images are taken up, not as objective historical material,
but as metaphors of the Covenant fulfilled in the drama of Christ’s
challenge to the powers-that-be, culminating in crucifixion and revival
(note especially Hebrews, pp. 477–81, and Revelation, pp. 496–500.9
If the major themes form a framework for the Bible, these images
are the material from which it is built. Together it is these themes
and images which bind the Old Testament and the New Testament
into a single structure.
9
See also Caird 1980; Frye 1982.
10 FURTHER READING
FURTHER READING
There is an increasing quantity of critical comment on the Bible’s
literary qualities, although not all of it refers specifically to AV or
even to both Testaments. Among the major works on the Bible’s
artistry, Alter (1981, 1985) and Frye (1982) are seminal works with
quite different standpoints. Frye, always invigorating, anatomises
the patterns of imagery he observes, while Alter, limiting himself to
the Old Testament (OT), emphasises the process of writing, and the
skill with which the different biblical genres are handled. Bar-Efrat
(1989) pursues similar themes. Savran (1988) studies the larger nar-
rative process; Culley (1992) follows through several examples of
‘the phenomenon of repeated yet variable patterns’ in narrative. Ryken
(1984a) is an excellent short introduction; in comparison, Bewer (1962)
and MacGregor (1968) are now old-fashioned, but contain some still
useful material, as does Henn (1970) with distinction.
Caird (1980), in a thorough and essential study, approaches his
subject, language and imagery, as linguist and authoritative New
Testament (NT) scholar, discussing general principles in the use of
language before applying them to the biblical texts. Both he and
Frye include full discussions of myth. Sternberg (1985), although writ-
ing abstractly and with a difficult style, presents a detailed poetics;
his essay in Schwartz (1990) pursues the question of chronology and
historicity. Warner (1990) contains essays with a variety of interest-
ing approaches. Jobling (1978, 1986) and Patte and Patte (1978) each
give a commendably brief set of examples of useful structural analysis
of selected passages.
An increasing number of critical works are directed from specific
angles. Radday and Brenner (1990), for example, present a series
of essays examining the largely unexplored possibility of humour
in the Bible. The feminist approach has produced some significant
works. An early example recently reprinted is Stanton (1895/1985);
more recently, Trible (1984) has been seminal; Carmichael (1979);
L. M. Russell (1985); Wainwright (1991) and Clines (1990a) are all
valuable. S. J. Brown (1955) is something of a special case; not a book
for basic study, but a precise, even pedantic, but interestingly Jesuit
consideration of biblical literature.
Gabel and Wheeler (1986) provide concise but detailed information
on the historical and literary contexts of the various parts of the Bible.
B. W. Anderson (1988) is a sound but readable historical account
of OT, both providing information and summarising the different
traditional approaches. Fuller (1966) is a useful, concise and deci-
sive introduction to the NT for beginners. Aune (1987) is invaluable
in its detail of the literary genres with which NT authors and their
audience were familiar.
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FURTHER READING 11
Several books may be named as useful in illustrating different

contemporary critical approaches. Barton (1984) is a short but valu-
able review. Gros Louis and Ackerman (1984) and Schwartz (1990)
are symposia on related if not identical themes. Preminger and
Greenstein (1986) is not a critical work, but an extensive anthology
surveying critical writing on the Bible, ancient and modern, organised
partly by ‘literary features’ and partly by the different books. Ryken
(1984b) performs a similar task, specifically for the NT; Longman
(1987) is a useful beginner’s guide. Jeffrey (1992) supplies a long-felt
need in summarising the use made in English literary tradition of
biblical figures, events, places and concepts.
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A03_STEV0473_02_SE_ORI.QXD 4/9/10 13:33 Page 13
Originals and Translations

The Authorised Version is a translation, made in 1604–11 from the
best originals then known of the 39 books of the Hebrew Scriptures,
or Old Testament, the 14 of the Greek Apocrypha, and the 27 of the
Greek New Testament.
THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES

The standard Hebrew text, known as the Masoretic text, was compiled
with meticulous care, but not before the sixth century ad, long after
the destruction of Judaea by the Romans in ad 70. Its accuracy is
such, however, that it remains the standard text; the AV translators
normally followed a version of it.
When the Bible was distributed among King James’s translators
(see pp. 17, 32), the Old Testament was divided thus:
1. ‘Penteteuchon: [and] the Story from Joshua to [2 Kings];
2. . . . the rest of the Story [Chronicles to Esther], and the
Hagiographi, viz. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Canticles [i.e. Song of
Solomon], Ecclesiastes.
3. The four, or greater Prophets, with the Lamentations, and the twelve
lesser Prophets.’
These divisions identify the four traditional Christian groupings of
the Old Testament books:
1. The Pentateuch, or the ‘Five Books of Moses’, are the books from
Genesis to Deuteronomy. These form a special group of their own,
comprising:
(a) the legends of early times (Genesis 1–11)
(b) the history of the Hebrews from Abraham to Moses, who
led the people to the borders of Canaan (Gen 11–47; much
of Exodus and Numbers);
(c) the giving of the Law on Sinai, and the Law itself (Exodus,
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy).
2. The ‘Story’ (now usually the ‘Histories’) continues the national
narrative of Israel from the conquest of Canaan in Joshua, to its
great period under David (Samuel) and Solomon (7 Kings), and
through the catastrophic destruction of the kingdom (2 Kings,
Chronicles) to the return from exile in Babylon (Ezra, Nehemiah).
Ruth and Esther, now recognised as fiction, (among the ‘Writings’),
were in the sixteenth century regarded as part of the ‘Story’.
3. The Hagiographa (‘Sacred Writings’), placed between Histories
and Prophets, are chiefly poetry or reflective prose, included in
14 THE LAW
the Hebrew scriptures but unlike the Prophets not directly linked
to the historical narrative. They are either anonymous or attributed
to a famous historical figure, such as David or Solomon.
4. The Prophets, commentators on the later part of the history, are
divided into ‘greater’ and ‘lesser’ by size, to equalise the quantity
of translation that each group faced (though the ‘greater’ are also
often called ‘major’); the ‘greater’ prophets are Isaiah, Jeremiah,
Ezekiel and Daniel, with Lamentations attributed, and appended,
to Jeremiah.
THE LAW
This list is identical in content with the Hebrew scriptures; but there,
however, they are understood, and divided, very differently. In the
Hebrew tradition a division into three groups is fundamental. The
Pentateuch is known simply as the Law, the core of Hebrew scripture
and life, which the narrative supports. A vast quantity of comment
on the Law has accumulated, as circumstances have changed, but
this material is not part of the canon. The earliest parts of the Law
may go back to the middle of the second millennium bc, and the
Samaritan community follow a different version of the Pentateuch,
indicating a common origin before 722 bc; but it is generally
accepted that in its present and final form the Pentateuch was com-
piled in the fifth century bc, after the return c.515 bc from the exile
to Babylon since 586.
THE HISTORIES AND THE PROPHETS

The Prophets, in two parts, comprise not only the fifteen books from
Isaiah to Malachi (excluding Lamentations and Daniel), known as
the ‘Latter Prophets’, but also those from Joshua to Kings, known
as the ‘Former Prophets’. The term ‘prophet’ thus extends to cover
all those to whom God spoke in person, whether kings, priests or
commoners, and none of these books is regarded as ‘history’ for its
own sake. It will be seen that the AV’s ‘greater’ and ‘lesser’ prophets
together make up only the Jewish Latter Prophets. The Jewish Former
Prophets are, for AV, ‘the Story’, or ‘the Histories’.
These books again have much earlier origins. The events of Joshua
and Judges are continuous, but the narrative structure is episodic,
gathered from various sources: 1 & 2 Samuel, on the other hand,
originate largely from contemporary court annals of the tenth-century
bc events that they narrate, edited much later.
The zenith under Solomon, and decline and destruction of the
divided Kingdom is narrated in 2 Kings Chapters 14–25 (see pp. 186–93
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THE WRITINGS 15
below); the books Amos, Hosea, Micah and the first part of Isaiah
(Chapters 1–39) record prophetic warnings in advance, while the later
Isaiah, with Jeremiah and Ezekiel, made comments before and during
these catastrophes. In most of these books attributed to the prophets
there is much material added by others, but at the core are speeches
from the prophets themselves, recorded or remembered by their fol-
lowers. The record of the return from exile, and the rebuilding of
Jerusalem, many years later, is recorded in later works, Ezra and
Nehemiah, but the prophets Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi are con-
temporary. The dates of these events therefore provide an earliest date
for these works; the latest is set by the completion of the collection by
200 bc. There were many other prophets whose works were lost, for-
gotten or discarded because they were considered worthless or ‘false’.
The Writings
In Jewish tradition, the Writings include, besides the more ‘literary’
books, two non-historical narratives, Esther and Ruth, and also the
acrostic poem Lamentations, (attributed to Jeremiah), and Daniel,
who is not a prophet. In addition, the last ‘historical’ books, the
sequence from Chronicles to Nehemiah (by a single author, probably
written c.250–150 bc), are recognised as belonging to a later tradi-
tion, and are also included among the Writings. Of all these works,
much material in Psalms and Proverbs is very early, but the books
as they stand were compiled in stages after the exile, between the
sixth and second centuries bc. The rest on the whole belong within
the same late period, and are regarded as less sacred, though still
with their place in the liturgy.
The Jewish canon is traditionally said to have been established about
ad 85 at the Synod of Jamnia; it is a convenient date, and approx-
imately correct, although the process was not as clear-cut as this
suggests. The evidence that the canon was in principle accepted much
earlier than this is the Greek translation known as the Septuagint,
which contains all the AV Old Testament and some of the Apocrypha.
The name (abbreviated to LXX ) means ‘70’: 72 scholars were said to
have been employed. LXX was probably begun in Alexandria in the
mid-third century bc, when the Pentateuch was translated; the rest
followed by about 150 bc. LXX varies from the Hebrew text in many
places, but became the standard text outside Judaea; the writers of the
New Testament use it, so that their quotations from the Old Testa-
ment may vary from the text that we know (e.g. Heb l: 6n, p. 460).
The two faiths thus categorise the books of the Old Testament very
differently. Whereas the Hebrew divisions derive from the history
16 THE APOCRYPHA
of the texts and of the Jewish people, the Christian tradition tends
to arrange the books according to their form. These differences
are less significant than the fact that for the Jews the categories are
of profound significance, while for the Christian churches, the
classification of interior divisions is largely a matter of convenience;
otherwise the one question that matters is the status of the
‘Apocrypha’.
THE APOCRYPHA
The books of the Old Testament Apocrypha (‘Hidden Writings’)
were until recently known only in Greek. (Partial Hebrew texts have
now been discovered.) In Jewish tradition they have been placed
outside the canon, regarded with respect but not reverence. Many
Protestant churches have the same attitude. The Orthodox and
Catholic churches, on the other hand, who have in the past regarded
LXX as the prime text, include the Apocrypha in the canon, as,
officially, does the Church of England. The Bible’s layout reflects
these different attitudes. The Vulgate incorporates them into appro-
priate places within the Old Testament, but Coverdale, in his ver-
sion of 1535, followed Luther in making them a separate group between
the Old Testament and the New, and this practice has been normal
in English Bibles ever since. Today many new Bibles omit these books,
as they make a long volume even longer, although editors of AV
continue to regard them as integral to the Bible.
THE NEW TESTAMENT

Written between the mid-first and the early second century ad, the
New Testament is entirely in Greek. Although on a much smaller
scale than the Old Testament, it too falls into three parts. The
‘Synoptic Gospels’ (Matthew, Mark, Luke) have much material in com-
mon, often verbatim; the words of Jesus and perhaps much besides
were originally in Aramaic (the vernacular of the Levant, a Semitic
language related to Hebrew). Mark is traditionally said to be based
on material supplied by Peter, Jesus’ leading disciple, and is usually
dated c.ad 65–70. Matthew and Luke are usually dated between 5
and 25 years later; this range of dates reminds us that, within wide
limits, they are no more than informed and intelligent conjecture,
continually disputed. John is quite distinct from the other three
Gospels. It is traditionally attributed to the disciple, but has a much
more Hellenised approach, and is usually dated c.ad 90 or later. Acts
is a continuation of Luke’s narrative, by the same author, dealing
with the history of the new church after Jesus’ departure.
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SIXTEENTH-CENTURY SOURCE TEXTS 17
The second group is the Epistles, commentaries on the meaning

of Jesus’ life and work. Some, the earliest texts in the New Testament
(c.ad 50–60) are accepted as Paul’s work (see p. 455), although some
are much edited; Hebrews was long attributed to him, but is so no
longer. Some of the minor Epistles belong to the early years of the
second century ad. The third division comprises one work, Revelation,
an ‘apocalyptic’ work which forms an imaginative conclusion to the
whole Bible. It dates from around the end of the first century ad.
Early Translations
THE VULGATE
The great Latin version, prepared by Jerome (c.ad 340 –420) from
the Hebrew and Greek. It became the standard Latin text of the
Western Church throughout the Middle Ages, though inevitably by
the sixteenth century the texts in use had become seriously corrupted.
Modern texts are much revised and corrected.
‘WYCLIFFE’
Fragmentary and part-translations exist from before the fourteenth
century, but the only complete early versions are the two late
fourteenth-century ‘Lollard’ translations of the Vulgate, inspired
by and traditionally (but mistakenly) attributed to William Wycliffe
(c.1320–84). The first was a near-literal translation; the second, the
work of Wycliffe’s secretary, John Purvey, in the 1390s, was much
less so. English versions of the Bible were banned by the Provincial
Council of Oxford in 1408 at the instigation of Archbishop Arundel,
so that Purvey’s text could not take advantage of the arrival of print-
ing. (The New Testament was printed in 1731 and 1848, but the first
and only complete printed edition was by Forshall and Madden, 1851.)
Nevertheless, copies of the MS continued to be made and read. In
the religious unrest of the early sixteenth century, ‘Wycliffe’ continued
to circulate, in spite of renewed persecution. Since its language was
by then relatively much more archaic than AV is to us now, the time
was ripe for a modern translation.
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY SOURCE TEXTS

Hebrew texts became available soon after the advent of printing.
The Hebrew Pentateuch was printed at Bologna in 1482, and the
complete Hebrew scriptures at Brescia in 1494. The University of
18 THE ENGLISH BIBLE
Complutum or Alcala outside Madrid was established in 1500 pri-

marily to study the ancient languages: a complete polyglot text of
the Bible, collating all the various original languages, and using some
previously neglected ancient MSS, was completed there by 1517 and
published in 1522.
Greek texts of NT were slower to appear in print. The Church
disapproved, and humanists neglected them. The first was Erasmus’
epoch-making edition, printed at Basle in 1516. Many revised editions
followed; Tyndale used the fourth edition of 1522. It was a hastily
prepared text, but provided the impulse, and the basis, for verna-
cular translations from Greek rather than from the Vulgate.
This brings us to the verge of revolution: the production of Bibles
in the vernacular, made from the original texts, not from previous
translations.
The English Bible

At first sight, AV was the result of a well-planned exercise, but the
process that produced it had begun 90 years earlier, in the face of
opposition from both royal and ecclesiastical authority.
King Henry VIII (r. 1509–47), a religious conservative, abhorred
the theology of the Lutheran Reformation. He exploited it politi-
cally, by taking the English Church away from the Pope’s control,
and financially, by expropriating as much Church property as he could.
Otherwise, he wanted to exclude the new thought from England.
Translating the Bible into English – which had been banned since
1408 – was far from a priority, but he could not exclude the rever-
berations of the Reformation. Although two of his Chancellors,
Cardinal Wolsey and Sir Thomas More, were strong Catholics, he
came to be surrounded by supporters of reform; not only the educated
Anne Boleyn, but also his next Chancellor, Thomas Cromwell, and
Archbishop Thomas Cranmer. Their parts are symbolised on the title
page of the Great Bible of 1539: King Henry is shown handing copies
of the Bible to Cromwell and Cranmer, who in turn distribute it to
a grateful people, seen crowding at the bottom of the page and shout-
ing ‘Vivat Rex!’
The truth is that this most autocratic of kings, and Cromwell and
Cranmer, the two great men who manipulated him into licensing
the translation, had little or no power in the matter. Two commoners,
who do not even appear on that title page, made sure that the Bible
would reach the people, whatever the great men might say. These
were the immediate translator, Miles Coverdale, and William Tyndale,
whose work underlies the Great Bible (even though he had been
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TYNDALE AND THE BIBLE 19
executed for heresy in 1536) and all modern biblical translation into
English.
TYNDALE AND THE BIBLE

Tyndale (1494–1536) the younger son of a Gloucestershire farmer,
became the first and greatest of the sixteenth-century Bible translators.
He learnt his Greek at Oxford and Cambridge, then in the grip
of the new Renaissance learning. After taking orders, he began to
earn his living as a tutor; but he was too good a scholar, and too
impatient a man, to keep his place. He quarrelled with more senior
priests, whom he thought
a full ignorant sorte which haue sene no more latyn then that they
read in their portesses and missales which yet many of them can
scarcely read, (excepte it be Albertus de secretis mulierum [‘On
the secrets of women’] in which yet, though they be neer so soryly
lerned, they pore day and night and make notes therin and all to
teach the mydwyves as they say. . . .
(Preface to Genesis, Tyndale 1530: 4)
They thought him impertinent, and he was repeatedly in trouble with
the church authorities. Unrepentant, and angry at the menace to church
and people posed by an ignorant priesthood, he determined to put
the Gospels directly into the hands of the laity. Tyndale’s aim is sum-
marised in an anonymous 1529 translation of Erasmus’ Exhortation:
I wold desire that all women shuld reade the gospell and Paules
epistles, and I wold to god they were translated in to the tonges
of all men, so that they might not only be read, and knowne, of
the scotes and yryshmen, but also of the Turkes and sarracenes . . .
I wold to god the plowman wolde singe a texte of the scripture
at his plowbeame, And that the wever at his lowme, with this wold
driue away the tediousnes of tyme. I wold the wayfaringe man
with this pastyme, wold expelle the werynes of his jorney.
(Erasmus 1529)
The groundwork had already been done. In 1516 Erasmus had produced
an edition of the Greek New Testament, itself an epoch-making work.
However, to translate the Bible Tyndale needed a patron; he must
have episcopal permission, access to texts and time to work. The
Bishop of London seemed a natural choice, but Bishop Cuthbert
Tunstall was a conservative who was more than suspicious of the
project. Later, he was to assist in the suppression of the new English
Bible; now, as Tyndale recalled in the Preface to his Pentateuch (1530),
the bishop fobbed him off with excuses.
20 TYNDALE AND THE BIBLE
It is not easy now to appreciate how disruptive Tyndale’s plan

was. That Wycliffite version, made by John Purvey in Chaucer’s time
(see p. 17), and banned since then, was now undergoing a revival,
passed around in furtive manuscripts, in spite of being written in an
English so archaic as to be worse than quaint. But translating the
Bible from Greek was more revolutionary than bringing up to date
the old Lollard Bible, which had after all been made from the official,
approved Latin Vulgate, and the crime was only to use a version
which authority had reserved to itself. Tyndale proposed to follow
new, Renaissance principles of scholarship, and translate anew, not
from the accepted Vulgate, but from the original languages, Hebrew
and Greek. This was to discard the official Bible as inadequate, under-
mining not only the validity of the text, but also the authority of
the age-old Church that upheld it, replacing them with the authority
of the new classical learning, free and open to anyone able to
acquire it. In addition, his Bible would be printed in hundreds of
copies at once, not, as ‘Wycliffe’ always was, always made in single,
laborious manuscripts. (‘Wycliffe’ was never from its inception
printed in full until Forshall and Madden’s edition of 1851.) Inevitably,
the powers of the Church and state were hostile.
The bourgeoisie, with a long tradition of Lollard activity, were
more receptive. A cloth-merchant, Humphrey Monmouth, helped
Tyndale in 1524 to go to Germany, where vernacular translations of
the Bible were not forbidden, and already existed in several languages.
Luther, in particular, had produced his German New Testament in
1522. Amid the complexity of laws and jurisdictions Tyndale pressed
on rapidly with his translation. The printing of his New Testament
was started in Cologne in 1525, frustrated by the authorities, and
finished at Antwerp10 a few months later. The English authorities
burnt as many as they could, but two or three copies still survive,
one an attractive, well-printed little volume, with coloured and
gilded ornamentation, showing no sign of haste in its production –
perhaps for a gentleman. There is an entertaining story11 that an
intermediary from the Bishop of London, arranged with Tyndale to
buy up all the unsold copies for burning – thereby financing further
printings.
This book was a small if dramatic beginning to one of the most
important projects in English literature. It reads, as it was meant to,
like a translation for the people. For example, Tyndale liked to vary
his chosen words, to avoid rigidity of expression and thought, as
when he uses fellow as a contemptuous alternative to man, translating
10
Tyndale (1525a, 1526).
11
Hall (1548/1965: 762–3).
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anthropos (Mark 2:7). Academic controversy on this matter went

far back into the previous century, and was taken up by Erasmus
(Bentley 1983: 52, 166ff.). It was Tyndale’s practice, however, that
led to contention in England, contention which began at once (see
p. 27) and still concerned the editors of AV, where it is discussed
in the Preface.
More revolutionary was the general principle of exact, near-literal
translation. Mediaeval tradition had long insisted that the truths
of the Bible lay not in its surface meanings, but in its layers of
inner meaning (hence the copious annotations to the first, reluctant
Catholic translations: see p. 30, and Bentley 1983 for earlier challenges
to this position in Valla and Erasmus). By declaring, as he does in
his annotations and prefaces, that these truths are to be found by
an intelligent and sympathetic reading of the immediate sense of the
text, Tyndale both challenges fundamental ecclesiastical tradition and
establishes the new tradition of exact fidelity to a carefully prepared
original that was to rule sixteenth-century English biblical translation.
On this principle Tyndale rejects technical, ecclesiastical words, such
as azymes, pasche, chalice, charity, grace in favour of direct translation
into words anyone could understand: sweet bread, passover, cup, love,
favour. The choice of such words as congregation and repentance
instead of church and penance demonstrated Tyndale’s deliberate inten-
tion to distance himself from the Church’s traditions, and led him
at once into collision with Sir Thomas More. Nor was this the last
of it. Many churchmen objected to these ‘new’ words, and the AV
guidelines themselves (p. 517) specify as an example that church must
be used, not congregation. But by 1604 many of Tyndale’s words
had been absorbed, and no one thought, for example, to turn passover
back to pasche. Yet even Tyndale passed a few ‘special’ words. If ark
was a familiar word for a box, apostle (Gk apostolos) was always in
ecclesiastical mode.
All in all, however, his language is vigorous, contemporary and
unstylised (yet not, like so many modern versions, cosy or apologetic).
He had produced a work of literature, easy and pleasant to read:
‘the forms, the sense, and the feeling of the originals are transmuted
into an English that Tyndale had to invent for himself ’ (Hammond
1982: 10). It is hard today to imagine the impact made by this attrac-
tive, ornamental and very readable volume in a London where good
reading matter was still not abundant, and the only available Bibles
were manuscripts of Wycliffe’s antiquated version. The demand was
too great for Tyndale’s printers to satisfy, and pirate publishers were
not slow to exploit it.
Too much of Tyndale’s time over the next years was spent in con-
troversy. However, he had also to learn Hebrew. It is not known
22 TYNDALE AND THE BIBLE
who taught him, but Jewish teachers could be found in Europe

(Daiches 1941: 126ff.). By 1530 he was able to publish his translation
of the Pentateuch (Tyndale 1530), which remains the foundation for
all later versions. He was assisted by George Joye, but they quarrelled
and separated, and Joye went on to do some translating on his own
(e.g. Joye 1530). Tyndale was now settled in Antwerp, protected by
the privileges of the English merchant’s house, but scarcely daring
to leave it. Overtures came from Cromwell in 1531 to return to England
and submit to the king’s authority in exchange for patronage, but,
with reason, he distrusted them. In the same year he published a
translation of Jonah (Tyndale 1531a, 1531b) ‘as an urgent parable of
his own times and career’ (Clebsch 1964: 165), and in 1534 and 1535
came revised editions of NT (Tyndale 1534b/1989). An interesting
feature of this is the appendix of 41 short passages from the OT and
Apocrypha, used in church services; most are from the Prophets and
Writings, which Tyndale did not otherwise translate.
Tyndale’s freedom came to a sudden end. In 1535 he was betrayed
and imprisoned under the laws of the Holy Roman Empire. He was
able to pursue his studies in prison, interviewed by anxious scholars
who tried sincerely to argue him out of his heresies. Europe had
turned him into a Lutheran; it is ironic that, if Tunstall had not
rejected him, he would probably have been no more than a mod-
erate Anglican reformer like Coverdale. Now, although the first flush
of Lutheranism had faded, and he was not keen to be a martyr, he
could see no way out of the logic of his position, and he was exec-
uted in October 1536. In another year, he would probably have been
able to join Coverdale in producing the first complete modern English
Bible. As it was, he left nine more books of OT behind him, from
Joshua to the end of Chronicles; they came into the hands of a friend,
as we shall see.
Of Tyndale’s Greek and Hebrew scholarship there is no doubt at
all. His work would have been superseded but for its quality. AV
has his stamp all over it. At least as important is that he was blessed
with a sense of style which enabled him to create a modern, collo-
quial English. This called for more than a feeling for rhythm and
his ear for telling phrases, which survive in common speech to the
present day – ‘a law unto himself ’; ‘a multitude of sins’; ‘kill the fatted
calf’. When he began to write, it was by no means accepted that
the English language was adequate for anything more serious than
light romance, or at most pieces like Lord Berners’ new translation
of Froissart (1523–5). More’s Utopia (1516) was in Latin and not
translated until 1551. The limited vocabulary of contemporary English
was a major problem, and so was the lack of an adequate tradition
of complex sentence structure. The effects of this can be seen in
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all English prose of the period, which so often escaped from the
Ciceronian disciplines into long, inconsequential, shapeless sen-
tences whose meaning has to be absorbed rather than read. We are
fortunate that biblical translation did not begin at the end of the
century, when florid prose, such as the Dedicatory Epistle to AV itself,
was in fashion. Tyndale took a language which had just emerged
from its fifteenth-century transformation of the grammar, inflexional
system and pronunciation into modern English, and produced a very
fine piece of writing without guidance other than his own sense
of style.
Much of Tyndale survives in AV.12 Minor changes are everywhere,
yet most of the substance remains. Improvements came in later ver-
sions, as he hoped they would. Source texts became more reliable,
and scholars steadily identified truer readings. Later translators ironed
out Tyndale’s awkwardnesses, although not all changes were improve-
ments. Often he ‘can register more of the rough urgency of [a]
passage’ (Hammond 1982: 195) than others, who might produce
an adequate but colourless translation. Moving from Tyndale to AV
is to exchange the abrupt vigour of the radical scholar for the
distinguished elegance of the establishment; but in AV Tyndale’s
framework still stands. Even modern versions (such as the Revised
Standard Version) retain an impressive number of his readings,
sometimes rejecting AV to return to his phrases. As Hammond says:
Working in extraordinarily adverse conditions, at his day’s fron-
tiers of knowledge of biblical languages, he produced translations
which set the pattern for all English translators who followed.
Simple, flexible, but often surprisingly literal, and with a fine capa-
city to tap the emotional resources of his original – these are his
chief qualities.
(Hammond 1982: 42 –3)
It is a very great pity that Tyndale’s work has been so neglected.
Reprints of his Pentateuch, Jonah and NT have been made (see p. 536),
but little or none of his OT work from Joshua to Chronicles was
reprinted after 1551. Only now, with David Daniell’s recent versions
in modern spelling (Tyndale 1534b, 1530–6), has some of the most
vigorous narrative writing in early modern English prose become
widely available. Not too soon: Tyndale must surely count as one
of the finest prose writers of any century.
The style of the Bible might have been quite different from that
of the AV with which we are familiar, if Tyndale had not been its
original. Sir Thomas More translated many occasional verses from
12
see App. 2; and, e.g. Butterworth (1941: 245ff.); Daiches (1941: 213–14).
24 COVERDALE: THE ‘GREAT BIBLE’
the Vulgate Latin; they are found scattered through his works –
and have been painstakingly gathered by Germain P. Marc’hadour
(More 1969 –72) – but they show how a stylish Catholic translator
might have written:
There approached near the feastful day of the unleavened loaves,
which feast is called Pascha . . . But there entered Sathanas into
Judas . . . and he had communication with the princes of the priests
and with the rulers, in what manner he should betray him to them.
Who, when they heard him, were well apaid, and promised and
covenanted with him to give him money. And he made them
promise, and fro that time forth, he sought opportunity how that
he might at most commodity betray him out of presence of the
people.
(Luke 22:1–6, More, 1969–72: II 124–5)
The sentence structure is that of the Vulgate Latin, not the Greek
(‘Who, when they heard . . .’). Pascha indicates a conservative eccle-
siastical preference. A contemporary trick of style creeps in with the
doublet phrase ‘promise and covenant’. Nevertheless, a translation
by More would have been elegant as well as Catholic, unlike Rheims/
Douai (RhD) (see p. 30), but recognisably different from Tyndale
(whose anachronistic ‘Easter’ is typical of him, though borrowed from
Luther):
The feaste off swete breed drue nye whych is called ester . . . Then
entred Satan into Judas . . . and he went his waye, and commened
with the hye prestes and officers, how he wolde betraye him vnto
them. And they were glad: and promysed to geue him money,
And he consented, and sought opportunite to betraye hym vnto
them, when the people were awaye.
(Luke 22:1–6; Tyndale 1526)
The Reformation, in some form, was inevitable. The manner of its
coming was catastrophic, for both church and society. One symptom
of its destructiveness is that these two fine scholars, by falling on
opposing sides of the fence, became futilely vitriolic enemies. They
might have collaborated; instead they spent years in now-forgotten
religious politics, flouting one another.
COVERDALE: THE ‘GREAT BIBLE’

By August 1537, less than a year after Tyndale’s death, the king was
being persuaded to license the distribution of not one, but two Bibles
in English. Cromwell, now Chancellor, managed this through his
agent Thomas Cranmer, but the actual work was done by Miles
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COVERDALE: THE ‘GREAT BIBLE’ 25
Coverdale. These three could not between them provide a text as

good as Tyndale’s, but they could ensure that their Bible would
be licensed by the King, and so available in churches for all to read
or hear.
For Henry, as a religious conservative, biblical translation was a
doubtful new departure. His Renaissance instincts favoured it, but
he would in no way acquiesce in the new heresies; he detested
Tyndale’s drift into Lutheranism. Cromwell favoured translation,
supporting whatever helped him to subvert the old order. In 1530
and 1534 official proposals were made to the bishops, but they dragged
their feet, and nothing happened. When in 1531 Cromwell’s over-
tures to Tyndale came to nothing, he turned to Coverdale.
Coverdale was more amenable than Tyndale, quieter, less quar-
relsome, less inclined to make trouble for great statesmen. He was
no time-server – in Mary’s reign he lost his position and went into
exile for his opinions – but his personality was not abrasive, and he
found it possible to work for a professional politician like Cromwell.
Tyndale was much the better scholar. Coverdale had no Hebrew and
uncertain Greek; his source texts were primarily recent German and
Latin versions. But Coverdale did what Tyndale could not. He pro-
duced a complete English Bible, published in Cologne (Coverdale
1535: Cv), which was dedicated to the king; when it appeared in
England it was not banned or burnt. Coverdale had achieved his
first aim. He was well aware of his limitations as a scholar, and did
not suppose that he had provided the definitive English version, but
he had provided a version for the moment. That it was inadequate
was unimportant. It was soon replaced, but it had opened the door.
With the ruthless Cromwell behind it, even if the king and the
bishops did not openly accept it, it was unlikely that anyone would
try to suppress it.
By the end of 1537, approval was more than tacit; in fact, two
editions, not one, were circulating, actively protected by royal
licence. One was a third edition of Coverdale’s 1535 Bible. The
second, according to the title page, was The Byble translated in to
Englysh by Thomas Matthew . . . Set forth with the kinges most gracious
lycence (Tyndale and Coverdale 1537). Cranmer had asked Cromwell
to procure the licence ‘until such time that we the bishops shall set
forth a better translation, which I think will not be till a day after
doomsday’.
The king might not have been so quick to license ‘Matthew’s’
Bible (MtB) if he had known that ‘Thomas Matthew’ was a
pseudonym for John Rogers, chaplain to the English merchants’
house at Antwerp, where Tyndale had lived, and that much of the
new Bible was Tyndale’s own work, complete with comments and
26 COVERDALE: THE ‘GREAT BIBLE’
annotations. This was Rogers’ memorial for Tyndale, whose MSS

he must have obtained, for MtB includes not only the Pentateuch
of 1530, the Jonah of 1531, and the revised New Testament of 1534,
but also the unpublished books from Joshua to Chronicles. Rogers
had managed to publish Tyndale’s work, in London and with the
king’s licence, at a time when – whatever the spirit of reform –
Tyndale, his Lutheranism and his pugnacious annotations were still
detested. It was a remarkable feat and a fittingly ironic memorial.
Moreover, it was a major and influential contribution to the devel-
opment of the English Bible, remaining in print until 1551.
Nevertheless, it was soon plain that the annotations and other
elements of the translation of MtB were too radical to be accept-
able. On the other hand, its scholarship was certainly superior to
Coverdale’s. When in 1538 the king, again prompted by Cromwell,
ordered that a large Bible should be set up in public in every church,
it was realised that neither Cv nor MtB would do. Cranmer despaired
of getting the bishops themselves to do the actual work, and so again
they had to have recourse to the amenable Coverdale.
His new version was the Great Bible (Gt), one of the most
important monuments in English biblical translation. It was pub-
lished in 1539, not without difficulty. The printing was begun in
Paris, interrupted by the Inquisition and finished in London. This
was the first ‘authorised’ version; an English Bible not banned, but
set up in churches for all to read. It appeared just in time: in 1540
Cromwell fell, and reaction set in. Coverdale had to leave England
again, and there would have been no further opportunity to pub-
lish an English Bible in England during Henry’s reign if Gt had not
appeared when it did.
To his credit, Coverdale based Gt on MtB, knowing that Tyndale’s
scholarship was much superior to his own. The mainstream of English
Bible translation was thus assured, for all subsequent versions up to
1611 (continued in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries by RV,
ASV, RSV, etc.) look back, directly or indirectly, to Gt. Coverdale,
it is true, began the process of toning down Tyndale’s rather
chunky style, but he was himself a fine stylist, and in that respect at
least he was almost Tyndale’s equal. In particular he gave us the Psalms
(which Tyndale had not attempted); in their Great Bible form they
were incorporated in the Anglican Book of Common Prayer, where
they remained until the twentieth century.
It is ironic that Tyndale’s work should be licensed, even if un-
intentionally, within a year of his execution. On the other hand, it
is doubtful if the outcome for translation would have been much
different had he lived, even if he had been persuaded to return to
England to work under Cromwell and Cranmer. Gt would probably
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COVERDALE: THE ‘GREAT BIBLE’ 27
still have been the result of a collaboration between him and

Coverdale, in the same political circumstances. More to the point,
Hebrew and Greek scholarship was developing so rapidly that any
version of 1539 would have been out of date by 1560.
Another edition of the Bible appeared in 1539, edited by Richard
Taverner, a protege of Cromwell’s. This was a revision of MtB;
Taverner was an excellent Greek scholar, and many of his render-
ings were improvements. Some of them found their way into later
versions, but the edition did not have the impact of Tn or Gt on
subsequent history. The time was still not ripe for free translation.
Early in 1541, a proclamation ordered that a copy of Gt be set up
for anyone to read in every church, but even in the same year, there
were moves among the bishops to have Gt withdrawn, pending a
more conservative version which would retain such words as pascha
and confession. Once again, through the usual episcopal inertia, this
came to nothing.
Consider what the English Bible might have been if the transla-
tion had come from Cranmer’s reluctant bishops. Bishop Fisher made
a translation of the 100th Psalm (see p. 319) from Vg:
Rejoice and sing in the honour of the lord,
all ye that live on earth,
worship and serve the lord with gladness,
come into his sight and presence with joy and mirth.
Acknowledge you, and confess, that the lord is that god,
which hath created and made us,
for truly we made not ourself,
but we be his people and his flock,
which he nourisheth and feedeth continually . . .
he is most constant in keeping of his promises,
not to one generation only, but even to all.
(Levi 1974: 78)
Compare Coverdale:
Serve the Lord with gladness,
and come before his presence with a song.
Fisher confuses elegance with mannerism, especially by his use
of doublets. His version is half as long again as Gt or AV, with no
improvement in style or clarity.
A quite original translation, which lay unpublished until 1843, was
Sir John Cheke’s version of Matthew. James Godwin, the editor, argued
on the basis of associated documents for a date c.1550. Cheke believed
in the native vigour of the English language, and championed its
ability to provide its own vocabulary without having recourse to
28 THE GENEVA BIBLE
borrowings from Latin or Greek. He also developed a phonetic spelling

– the first of many since English pronunciation left English spelling
behind in Caxton’s age. An example of his experimenting is his trans-
lation of ‘the captivity of Babylon’ (Matt 1:11) as ‘the outpeopling
of the contree to Babylon’. Not all his prose is so idiosyncratic:
The eie is the candel of the bodi, if theerfor thin eie be cleen al
the hool bodi wil be lightsom, But if thin eie be not wel, this
hool boodi wil be darksom. Jf theerfoor the light within the be
darknes, how much schal the derknes itself be.
(Matt 6:22)
[Cheke’s MS contraction ‘y’ has here been expanded to ‘th’.]
Although the pendulum swung back to reform in Edward’s reign
(1547–53), which produced Cranmer’s Book of Common Prayer
(1549), there were no new biblical initiatives. Adversity seems to have
been a greater spur than approval. The Catholic reaction of Mary’s
reign (1553–8) found many Protestant scholars in exile on the con-
tinent, in particular in Geneva, where much of the best European
scholarship was centred. Coverdale was in exile, but not with this
group; it was the more radical William Whittingham (1524–79) who
published a New Testament in 1557, and led the team who published
a new edition of the whole Bible in 1560. Under Elizabeth he became
Dean of Durham, where he pursued the less praiseworthy task of
‘cleaning up’ the cathedral.
THE GENEVA BIBLE

The Geneva Bible (Gv) was a major work. It also was based on the
earlier versions of Tyndale and Coverdale, but it was the first complete
version to be prepared as a single, thoroughly scholarly project from
the beginning, and translated entirely from the source languages,
with the help of all the latest Greek and Hebrew scholarship. It was
the most accurate text possible at the time, made by scholars free
from interference and with the best sources at hand. It is a much
sounder translation than anyone could have made in the conditions
of the 1530s. It was not entirely static; after 1575 it normally appeared
with notes revised by Laurence Tomson, and from 1592 with an
extended commentary on Revelation by Francis Junius. Gv dominated
the field for 50 years. It was Shakespeare’s Bible (Noble 1935),
favoured by many well into the next century; publication continued
until 1644. It was the first English Bible published in Scotland, by
King James’s printers (Whittingham 1579), financed by a vote of the
Scottish Church. Every householder of substance was required to
have one; perhaps this was the prime cause of the decline of Scots
as a semi-official language.
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THE BISHOPS’ BIBLE 29
As might be expected, scholarship was the distinguishing mark of

the Calvinist Geneva Bible. The intention was to provide the best
possible Bible for thorough study, whether in public explication or
private devotion. The most doubtful ‘improvement’ is Whittingham’s
introduction in the 1557 NT of the now familiar separation and
numbering of verses, taken from recent Hebrew texts. This makes
cross-reference easier, but breaks up the flow of the prose. It is one
of Gv’s few flaws. The book is printed in Roman type, not the heavy
black letter of previous editions (and of the 1611 AV). It is also portable,
at least in comparison with the pulpit-sized Great Bible. Any words
added to the original to clarify the English sense are carefully itali-
cised, and textual difficulties annotated in the margins. One result
of the desire to combine accuracy with intelligibility is that text and
notes form a collaboration: one may be literal, while the other is
discursive, together clarifying uncertainties13). Everything is done to
help the reader. Maps, figures and drawings elucidate many details,
such as the layout of the Tabernacle. In short, this is a Bible intended
both to satisfy the expert, and to accommodate the individual who
had recourse to no other reference work.
The margins, however, caused controversy. It had long been usual
throughout Europe to add marginal comments not only on textual
and explanatory material, but also on doctrinal and moral points.
It was not new for such comments to be fiercely sectarian, but the
Calvinism of the marginalia in Gv was particularly provocative
(although, as H. S. Stout shows,14 these notes are fewer than is often
alleged). In the later editions of Tomson and Junius, these comments
were extended to cover more and more controversial matters, such
as the biblical foundations of church organisation – a most delicate
subject under Elizabeth. Nevertheless, Gv was incontrovertibly the
best edition that had yet appeared; it quickly ousted Gt, and more
than held its own against the first version that was set up to rival it,
the Bishops’ Bible.
THE BISHOPS’ BIBLE

Queen Elizabeth, like her father, intended to keep the Church firmly
under her control, without allowing any rein to would-be reformers.
It was to be an English Church, reformed but conservative, untainted
by Luther or Calvin or any other new sect. In 1559 her archbishop,
Matthew Parker, issued injunctions calling for the provision of a large
English Bible in every parish. Gv was not acceptable, but its existence
had made Gt plainly inadequate. There had been several proposals
13
Hammond (1982: 104 –11).
14
See Hatch and Noll (1982: 19 –34).
30 THE RHEIMS–DOUAI BIBLE
since 1530 for an official version prepared under the direction of the
bishops, but this was the first time anything came of such a move.
Organised by Parker, the work began in 1566, and the first edition
was printed in 1568.
Unlike Gv, the Bishops’ Bible (BB) was not a fundamental revision
undertaken by keen scholars, but an ecclesiastical work by more-or-
less scholarly bishops. It was good enough for its purpose; it was in
general an improvement on Gt, the basic text used for revision. The
style varies widely according to the bishop responsible, but in general
it aimed at a dignity considered appropriate for public worship, though
it has a tendency to florid solemnity. Also, while it was certainly a
Protestant version (retaining such words as Tyndale’s repentance, elders,
knowledge rather than penance, priests, confession), and continued the
old tradition of adding marginal comments, it studiously avoided
theological controversy. With hindsight, BB lacks any of the epoch-
making qualities of the other versions. It plainly reads like the work
of many hands. Tn, Cv and MtB were all ‘firsts’; Gv was a major work
of scholarship which also attained long and widespread popularity.
Finally, AV eclipsed it. BB lies between these two, an improvement
in some respects on the first, outmoded by the second. As a result
it has tended to suffer neglect, although it served its purpose for a
generation as a pulpit Bible for ritual use. Its last great function was
as the required basis for the scholars who worked on AV (Appendix 1,
p. 517). However, its reputation never recovered from the curiosi-
ties of some of its translators, who had neither the talent of Tyndale
and Coverdale, nor the advantage of mutual criticism enjoyed by
Gv and AV:
He will cause me to repose myself in pasture full of grass . . .
Truly, felicity and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of god for a long time.
(Psalm 23:2, 6)
It has to be said that this text of Psalms survived only a few years.
In 1572 the Gt version, as used in Common Prayer, was printed along-
side the BB version; from 1573 the BB version disappeared entirely
(Herbert 1968: nos 132–5).
THE RHEIMS–DOUAI BIBLE

One other version remains, the Roman Catholic Rheims–Douai
version (RhD). Here again, exile acted as a spur. Like Gv, it was
produced in exile, this time by English Catholics in France hiding
from Elizabeth. In 1568 William Allen founded the Catholic English
College at Douai. It moved to Rheims in 1578, where under the
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THE RHEIMS–DOUAI BIBLE 31
editorship of Gregory Martin the translation of the Vulgate began.

The work was finished, and NT published, in 1582. Lack of funds
prevented the publication of OT, as the NT Preface sadly remarks,
perhaps hoping (unsuccessfully) for a sponsor. The College had moved
back to Douai by the time OT appeared in 1609 –10, too late to
influence AV.
Rheims–Douai is an entirely new translation, espousing differ-
ent principles. Scholarship is still to the fore, but not Renaissance
scholarship that valued the best sources and good style. This is the
old scholarship of the Vulgate. The principle of the work is not, says
the 1582 Preface to NT,
[the] erroneous opinion of necessitie, that the holy Scriptures
should alwaies be in our mother tonge, or that they ought, or
were ordained by God, to be read indifferently of all, or could be
easily understood of every one that readeth or heareth them.
(Pollard c.1911: 301)
In good times translation would not be necessary, but with heretical
translations about, it must be done.
Since doctrinal purity takes precedence over readability, there is a
grave danger that the result will sound pedantic, and indeed this is
a common accusation against RhD, not without foundation. More
had argued with Tyndale that chalice, church, penance – all familiar
words – were more correct than cup, congregation and repentance,
but the Rh Preface sets out, for example, to justify Pasche, feast of
Azymes and bread of Proposition, as against Passover, feast of sweet
bread and shewbread, labelling these ‘false’ or ‘strange and ridicu-
lous’. It even justifies such remarkable expressions as ‘He exinanited
himself ’ and ‘You have reflorished’ (Philip 2:7; 4:10), taken directly
from Vg exinanivit and refloruistis, ‘because we can not possibly attaine
to expresse these words fully in English’ (Pollard c.1911: 308). Richard
Challoner (1691 – 1781), whose revised version of Rheims–Douai
(1749 – 72) became the standard Catholic version until Knox (1949)
and The Jerusalem Bible (1966), thought otherwise, and amended these
phrases to ‘emptied himself ’, and ‘that . . . your thoughts for me have
flourished again’. (For the first of these phrases, Tn-AV have ‘made
himself of no reputation’: for the second, Tn has ‘ye are revived again’,
and AV has ‘your care of me hath flourished again’.)
We must be wary of generalising from such details. All the trans-
lations have their awkwardnesses. True, Challoner (1749) brought
it much closer to AV in many places, but Rheims–Douai would
not have survived as the accepted Catholic version if it had been
throughout like the examples above. Appendix 2 (pp. 519ff.) shows
that RhD had its own style – more latinate and mannered than AV,
32 THE EMERGENCE OF AV
but not inelegant. If we are inclined to take the Tyndale-Coverdale

tradition of biblical style for granted, this is a useful reminder that
others were possible. And it has two visible virtues: it retains the old
fashion of printing the text in paragraphs, with verse numbers kept
out in the margin; and it is in roman type, not black-letter.
Although the prime model for King James’s translators was the
Gt-BB sequence, the attention paid in Rh to grammatical detail was
useful to them. They also were more conservative than their English
predecessors had been, at times borrowing Latinate words from Rh,
and recovered some ecclesiastical terms which the reformers had
buried. The most notable of these is the substitution in 1 Cor 13
(p. 466) of charity for love, which had held its place since Tn (and
returned in RV in 1881), and is commonly retained elsewhere in AV.
THE EMERGENCE OF AV
‘Newly translated out of the originall tongues,
& with the former Translations diligently compared and revised.’
In January 1604, the new King James I and VI called a conference

of churchmen at Hampton Court Palace. There, Dr John Rainolds
(or Reynolds), of Corpus Christi College, Oxford, proposed that an
entirely new version of the Bible should be prepared. In his prefatory
essay to AV, Miles Smith alleges that the Puritan party did not really
mean to initiate a new translation, and that Rainolds, quite happy
with the popular, if unofficial, Geneva Bible (which Smith ignores),
was trying only to embarass the conservatives, by implying that the
77-year-old Great Bible version found in the Book of Common Prayer
was unfit for use. Perhaps Rainold’s motion was only the familiar
committee trick of making an outrageous proposal so as to achieve
a lesser object. If so, Bishop Bancroft riposted with an amendment
to the motion, to ensure that the proposed version would exclude
the kind of contentious marginal commentary that Gv is full of,
so objectionable both to conservative clerics and to the king. In any
case, the king took the basic idea seriously, and 47 scholars were set
to work. Bishop Bancroft gave them a set of instructions (p. 517 below);
they reported in 1607, their work was revised, seen through the press
by Thomas Bilson and Miles Smith; and the AV we know appeared
in 1611.
Neither Rainolds nor Bancroft can have had any idea of the
significance of the project they were setting in motion. James, a new
king glad to escape the constraints of the insubordinate Scots, was
ready to make his mark on the Church of England. He pushed the
project forward with vigour and good planning. Whereas Parker had
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THE EMERGENCE OF AV 33
in 1559 merely distributed BB among the most able bishops he could

find, James gathered 47 of the best scholars of the day, and by
centring the work in the universities rather than the bishops made
sure that scholarship, not doctrine, dominated the work. After a cen-
tury of work on ancient languages and literature, it was no longer
possible for one student to master the best Hebrew and Greek
scholarship, as Tyndale had done. Forty-seven scholars were needed
to make the best and most thorough use of all this work; and their
co-operation. The century that had begun with a single man, Tyndale,
in a dangerous combination of rebelliousness and scholarship,
ended in conformity, but still in rigorous scholarship.
As a book, the 1611 AV lies between Tyndale’s small but elegant
NT of 1526 and the heavy pulpit volume of Gt. The book stands
about 17 × 11 inches (428 × 279mm); the page is 14 × 9 inches (357
× 225mm). Like most of the sixteenth-century Bibles (but unlike Gv
and Rheims–Douai) it is printed in black-letter type (see frontispiece:
for full details see Herbert 1968, no. 309). Those words which the
revisers had to add to the sacred text were printed in roman type,
slightly smaller than the black-letter. This has the effect of dimin-
ishing them, as intended, whereas the italics of modern editions (as
in this selection) seem to give them stress. The spelling, to our eyes,
is very archaic; later editions, notably that of 1638, brought it much
nearer to our own. The margins look remarkably uncluttered, in con-
trast with those of Geneva and Rheims–Douai, with their extensive
commentaries that sometimes overflow round the text. The chapter-
headings remain, however, as a full summary of what follows; later
Bibles have abbreviated them considerably, and now usually omit
them altogether. The earliest editions were prefaced not only by the
essay The Translators to the Reader, and the fulsome Dedicatory Epistle,
but also an almanac of the church year and other ecclesiastical mater-
ial; of these only the Dedicatory Epistle commonly remains.
AV was not a new translation, but a new revision; the instructions
specified the Bishops’ Bible as the basis. The work was divided among
six ‘companies’ of scholars, for whom Bishop Bancroft prepared
detailed instructions (see pp. 517–18 below), specifying that earlier
versions, from Tyndale on, could be consulted, and their readings
used if appropriate. Gustavus Paine and Olga Opfell15 have detailed
who they all were, and, with Ward Allen, how they worked in prac-
tice. In the event, the new version was somewhat more conservative
than the earlier versions, though inevitably it drew on all the others
and followed the patterns which were by now firmly established: ‘the
15
Paine, Gustavus (1959), The Learned Men, Olga S. Opfell (1982), The King James
Bible Translators, and Ward S. Allen (1970), Translating for King James.
34 THE EMERGENCE OF AV
ground rules which made Tyndale, Coverdale and the Geneva Bible
translations, long after their deaths, the most influential voices on
the translation panels’;16 but Hammond points out too that the
Bishops’ Bible was more influential than has often been stated. Tyndale
had been a rebel attracted by Lutheranism; the Great Bible was made
during the first flush of the Reformation. The Geneva Bible was the
work of confessed Calvinists, and the Bishops leant on all these. AV,
like RhD, makes increased use of latinate expressions, but in keep-
ing with the Church of England’s stance in the middle of the road,
avoids the extremes of RhD, and retains such words as passover, repen-
tance and loving-kindness. As specified in the instructions, Church
returns in places where even Gt and BB had followed Tyndale with
congregation, as for example in Matt 16: 18: ‘thou art Peter: and upon
this rock I will build my congregation’. (Gv, the Calvinist version,
is the first to use church here, having redefined the concept more
democratically.) Less comprehensible words – pasche, azymes, paraclete
– were ignored in favour of the now-familiar passover, unleavened
bread, comforter. Common sense was followed where a Greek or
Hebrew word had several English synonyms; the Prefatory Essay gives
the ‘reasons inducing us not to stand curiously upon an identity of
phrasing. . . . For is the kingdom of God become words or syllables?’
Whichever suited the context was used, although Tyndale’s some-
times wayward variations were rationalised.
AV’s conservatism extends beyond vocabulary. Seventy years
earlier, the prime purpose of an English Bible (as the title page of
Gt implies) was to place the sacred Scriptures into the hands of
ordinary people. That battle had been fought and won long before
1611. Although Latin was still the basis of education, English was
now very firmly the language of the English Church, and the stylistic
emphasis required from a translator had changed. The need now was
less to give vivid and homely reading to the husbandman than to
provide a dignified and solemn public lectionary for the parson in his
pulpit. Yet AV avoided the worst errors that have sometimes befallen
twentieth-century translation. In the first place (as Hammond’s
comment quoted above indicates), the revisers of AV followed the
tradition of Tyndale in making their work as literal as possible con-
sonant with a good English style. The result, especially with Hebrew
texts, is that the reader is always aware of the distinctiveness of the
original; the familiar biblical idiom derives from the constraints of
translation. But AV was saved from clumsiness because, with copy-
ing machines centuries away, each translator read his passage aloud
to his group. Thus AV took shape as spoken language, not as a silent
16
Hammond (1982: 193).
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FURTHER READING 35
text on a page. In an age when excellence in rhetoric was highly prized,

the text had to satisfy the company in style as well as accuracy,
as Allen shows. This well-trained feeling for style, disciplined (as
original prose of the period often was not) by the grammatical
structure of the originals, was placed at the service of dignified
ritual, and produced the special qualities of AV that we recognise.
That the solemnity did not often descend into dullness or turgidity
is due partly to the ear of the revisers, and partly to the underlying
strength of the original work of Tyndale and Coverdale. All the same,
we must not lose sight of the fact that they were translators, not
mere stylists, as John Bois’s notes17 show. At 1 Peter 2:24, AV has a
marginal alternative of to for the text’s on. Nothing could seem so
entirely trivial, but Bois’s note gives both the proposed translation
and the Greek original, and switches easily into Latin for his own
detailed comments. He treats Galatians 2:6 likewise, besides discussing
the obscure rhetorical trope anantapodoton.
With such care, the AV revisers produced a Bible which could be
authoritative for everyone (except the Catholics, who could accept only
a Bible based on the Vulgate). In an age of schism, this was one point
of unity; Geneva was printed for the last time in 1644. Even the
Puritans had no reason to reject a Bible as good as the late King James’s.
FURTHER READING
For those who wish to follow these matters more seriously, the
standard reference work is The Cambridge History of the English Bible
(Greenslade 1963); the classic history is Westcott (1868/1905), which
laid the foundation for all later works. The books listed below are
also relevant; Pollard (c.1911) is invaluable. Jones (1953) and, more
concisely, Barber (1976: 65–140) detail the sixteenth-century process
of acceptance of English as a valid vehicle for serious writing, a pro-
cess in which the English Bible was an important element.
Butterworth (1941), unfortunately no longer in print, remains the
fullest introduction to the history from the fourteenth to the seven-
teenth centuries, along with a substantial number of useful comparative
passages. Bruce (1961/1978) covers the whole history from Old English
to the 1970s, much more briefly. Robinson (1940) is no longer new,
but provides some interesting insights. Robinson (1940) although
no longer new, provides some interesting insights; his work stands
as an elderly but still useful symposium. Deanesly (1966) remains the
standard history of the Wycliffite Bible; Butterworth (1941) and Bruce
(1978) provide useful summaries. Daiches (1941) is an invaluable and
17
See Ward S. Allen (1970: pp. 90 – 91, 54 – 55).
36 FURTHER READING
scholarly study of European, especially Jewish, sources and scholars

since the early sixteenth century. For the history of the Greek text
of the New Testament, see Metzger (1968, esp. pp. 95–106); and for
Erasmus and Complutum, Bentley (1983). Mozley’s works (1937,
1953) are still the standard biographies of Tyndale and Coverdale.
Greenslade (1936) includes useful material from Tyndale’s work
outside his Bibles, which Clebsch (1964) deals with much more fully,
and without hero worship. Hammond (1982) is especially valuable
in providing substantial critical and objective comparisons between
the various versions of the sixteenth and twentieth centuries, informed
by an understanding of both Hebrew and English style; see also his
essay in Alter and Kermode (1987: 647–65). There is little in further
detail on the Great Bible, though Willoughby (1942) gives some
sidelights. The Geneva Bible has been the subject of exhaustive but
always fascinating study by Lupton (1966–89); Lloyd E. Berry’s
Introduction to his facsimile text of Gv (Whittingham 1560) is concise
but thoroughly scholarly. Noble (1935) shows how Shakespeare’s
biblical knowledge is linked to Gv. The Bishops’ Bible and Rheims–
Douai Bible have received little attention; Carleton (1902) is a rare
and elderly exception.
The Authorised Version has been covered from many angles. The
three-hundredth anniversary in 1911 produced facsimiles and verbatim
reprints in the original spelling (Bibliography, pp. 535–36). Allen (1970)
reprints in facsimile, and comments on, the working notes of John
Bois, one of the senior scholars who worked on AV, showing the
translators working directly with the Greek. Opfell (1982) in a slim
book provides a praiseworthy quantity of information about the terms
of reference for AV, as well as the composition of the six companies
of King James’s revisers, with interesting biographical material, and
much besides, including comment on the different approaches of the
six groups. Paine (1959) is, unfortunately, not now easily available.
Copies of original texts are available, but chiefly in the major
libraries. Weigle (1961) provides a transcript of eight versions of
NT (six from the sixteenth century), with notes identifying variants
in two more. This is essential for any comparative study. Printed
facsimiles have been made only of Tyndale (1525a, b, 1526, Coverdale
(1535) and Geneva (Whittingham et al. 1560). Daniell has produced
(1989, 1992) modernised texts of Tyndale’s Old and New Testa-
ments (Tyndale 1534b, 1530–6); his historical and critical introduction
is valuable. University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Michigan, publish a
complete set of microfilms and photocopies. Inevitably these are
expensive. Occasional works such as Levi (1974), Bruce (1978) and
Hammond (1982) provide small portions of different translations for
comparative study of parts of the Old Testament.
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FURTHER READING 37
The development of the English Bible did not end in 1611.

Attempts at new or modernised versions began in the eighteenth
century; Blayney (1769) made a revision of the spelling, punctuation,
etc. of AV that became the ‘Oxford Standard’ text. Challoner had
already made a revision of Douai (Challoner 1749) which remained
the Catholic English Bible (and was commonly, if confusingly,
referred to as ‘Douai’) until Knox (1949) and The Jerusalem Bible
(1966). RV (1881–5) was an attempt to replace AV with a more accur-
ate and modern version; it succeeded in the first aim better than
in the second and did not achieve lasting popularity. The American
Standard Version (1901), derived from RV, was more successful; its
derivatives RSV (1952, etc.) and the New American Standard (1971)
even more so. Other recent AV derivatives are the New King James
Version (1982) and the New Revised Standard/Version (1989); the
latter aims especially to eliminate the ‘sexism’ of AV. Of the many
twentieth-century translations made, most deriving from AV, one
might select the New English Bible (1970) and its successor, the Revised
English Bible (1989), as the most scholarly and satisfactory, although
opinions differ on this. Few readers are entirely satisfied with any
new translation; the attempt to rival Tyndale in blending modern
conversational English into the biblical material is rarely successful.
For all these, and others, see the Bibliography (p. 537).
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The Language of AV
‘Appointed to be read in churches . . . Anno Dom 1611.’
It is true that the language of AV is old-fashioned; but the same is

true of Shakespeare, and audiences manage to follow him. Over the
centuries, the language of AV has become familiar as the prototype
of a kind of religious dialect whose very archaism is one of its dis-
tinguishing features. AV was the standard religious text for so long
that certain phrases, of themselves, may be used to impart a religious
tone to almost any subject matter: ‘We are gathered together’, ‘it
came to pass’, ‘my brethren’, and so on. It is almost as if AV had
invented a religious language for permanent use.
It is too simple to suggest that this ‘religious language’ is nothing
more than Elizabethan English perpetuated by AV. Both AV and
Elizabethan English as a whole are more complex than that. We should
speak, certainly, of ‘Elizabethan’ rather than ‘Jacobean’ English, since
most of the revisers were aged over 50 when the work began, and
their speech habits had been set years before. In any case, English
in the era of 1600 was in a state of flux. This is true of any language
at any time, but particularly true of English at the time of AV. In
addition, at any given time, there is more than one ‘English’ in use.
The language of the corner shop is not the language of the most
‘popular’ journalist, and the language of the pulpit, even with the
most modern of preachers installed, is different from either.
These sublanguages are known as registers, and the distinction is
important in recognising the nature of the English of AV. King James
was a virtual contemporary of Shakespeare, but the language of the
Bible is not of the same register as that of the plays. Shakespeare
wrote mainly in literary English, with occasional passages in other
registers, the speech of fashionable gentlemen or of comic peasants,
for example. AV, whether narrative, poetry or rhetoric, was composed
for formal church use. The two cannot be expected to use identical
registers, although both belong to the same English of the same
period. The register of Bacon’s measured prose is nearer to AV than
drama is, but there is often a surprising similarity between the man-
nered language of contemporary romances, usually written in a stylised,
old-fashioned style, and the careful formality of AV.
The formality of ‘Forasmuch as . . . ’ (e.g. 2 Sam 19:30), was never
‘ordinary’ English; such phraseology belongs to the language of
proclamations. On the other hand, the exclamation ‘Tush!’ used by
Tyndale in Gen 3:4 was too slangy for most later revisers, and is
replaced by more comfortable words such as ‘Surely’. In the story
40 THE LANGUAGE OF AV
of the reviving of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:22ff.), the two Greek

words paidion (child) and korasion (little girl) are translated by AV
throughout as damsel. Tn (1525), by contrast, has the more ordinary
maiden, and Rh (1582) has wench. AV English in this way tends
to adopt the register of formal, cultivated speech, avoiding the delib-
erately casual expressions found in Tn. RhD on the other hand adopts
difficult, latinate phrases where they have ecclesiastical significance,
but otherwise often tends to use more casual language than AV. For
example, where AV tends to choose the normal but conservative unto,
Rh tends toward the equally common but more modern to.
This said, it remains true that several of the features that we might
regard as ‘biblical English’ are simply the basic and unavoidable speech
of the period. The language of AV is clearly a form of Modern English
in a way that, say, Chaucer or his contemporary Wycliffe are not.
There are, admittedly, a few obsolete or obsolescent forms, such as
holpen (Psalm 83:8, 86:17; Luke 1:54, p. 392), and all to brake (Judges
9:54), but they are rare (and usually go back to Tn and Cv in the
early sixteenth century). AV does not try, as Spenser did, to pro-
duce a deliberately archaic style. Much of the difference between AV
and our own English can be put down to small details of idiom and
usage. We say ‘straight away’, not ‘straightway’; ‘several’, not ‘divers’;
‘like this’, or (American) ‘this way’, not ‘on this fashion’; ‘be quiet’;
not ‘hold your peace’. Words have changed; we say ‘clothes’, not
‘garments’ or ‘raiment’; ‘crowd’, not ‘press’, and so on. We recognise
either as a dual form, indicating a choice of two, but no longer use
whether in the same manner, as AV often does18 (e.g. pp. 327, 357).
Every page of AV has a dozen or more such minutiae which mark
it off as early rather than late Modern English.
There are also the wider ‘rules’ of language. The distinction
between you and singular thou was still firm, you being used in the
singular only when respect was to be indicated; thou to express infor-
mality or the superior status of the speaker. Here too AV took a
conservative position, carefully distinguishing between ye (as subject)
and you (as object): ‘No doubt ye are the people, and wisdom shall
die with you’ (Job 12:2). Douai is not so strict: ‘Are you the men
alone, & shall wisdom die with you?’ Verb endings in -eth were still
standard (‘the wind bloweth’, John 3:8), though there is evidence
that they were often spoken -es. The auxiliary verb to be was normally
used with verbs of movement (‘he is come’) until well into the nine-
teenth century.
By and large, wherever there is a choice between an old, established
form and a new one coming into use, AV takes the former. Unto
18
See Barber (1976: 222).
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THE LANGUAGE OF AV 41
is a common example, small in itself but a repeated reminder of AV’s

conservatism. In some cases, archaism was inevitable. An interesting
example, in hindsight one of the most curious features of early Modern
English, is the lack of the word its. This was a major problem for
sixteenth-century writers, just as the lack of a word for ‘he-or-she’
troubles us. A summary of the development of its may be found in
OED. The key is that, whereas throughout Old and Middle English
the normal possessive form of it as well as of he had been his, in the
sixteenth century the word came to feel wrong in reference to
inanimate objects; but there was no other word to use. Various
circumlocutions were found, though his still appears in many places:
in Gen 3:15, Tn has ‘Thou shalt tread hit on the heel’, but Cv, BB
and AV have ‘thou shalt bruise his heel’. Refuge often had to be
taken in periphrasis, involving such words as thereof, which therefore
becomes very common, or the same, which imparts to our ears a kind
of formality that was probably not intended. Coverdale, in Gt (and
the Anglican Prayer Book) uses both in Psalm 46:3:
Though the waters thereof rage and swell and though the moun-
tains shake at the tempest of the same.
Clearly, the acceptance of its would have simplified a great deal
of writing in all spheres of life, but records of its use are slight before
1600. The middle-aged revisers of AV never use it. Its appears only
in Shakespeare’s latest plays, although he does use the colloquial alter-
native, simple it, a number of times, as in Lear I. iv. 225: ‘it had it
head bit off by it young’. This usage occurred in one place in AV,
taken from Gv: Lev 25:5, ‘of it own accord’ (Tn ‘of it self ’), but not
in modern texts; the 1660 edition changed the phrase to ‘of its own
accord’, which becomes the only occurrence of its in AV.
These standard features are easily recognised, and AV has them
in common with all other writers. The grammar of English had not
yet been codified and pedagogically regulated by the prescription
of certain forms and the proscription of others. No harm was seen
in a number of syntactical forms which came to be considered ‘wrong’,
such as ‘hanging’ participles or sentences with no ‘main verb’. The
sentence structure of Renaissance prose is often rambling and incon-
sequential; the efficient structure of biblical sentences is largely due
to the originals. Interestingly, AV rarely uses Latin constructions,
although they were very familiar to the revisers, and commonly appear
in contemporary prose: for example ‘These things done, he went to
his house’. Compare Douai’s translation of 2 Sam 18:31, ‘Chusai
appeared, and coming he said . . .’ (Vg ‘apparuit Chusi, et veniens
ait’) with Tn, Gt: ‘And behold, Chusi came, and said’; Gv-AV have
‘. . . and Cushi said’: see pp. 519ff. AV is of its time, however, in
the practice of linking clauses by colons and semicolons into long

concatenated sentences; Colossians 1:9–17 is a sentence of 195 words.
In these ways, the English of AV is part of the standard English
of its generation. Other features derive from the Hebrew and Greek,
adding elements that are quite alien and, of course, not found in
other writers of the period, so that they give AV its distinctive flavour.
There are two modes of translation. One can translate as literally
as possible, within the grammatical constraints of the transfer, or one
can aim to translate the sense as idiomatically as possible in the new
language. This is the mode often preferred by modern translators.
For example, Psalm 3:7 in AV is ‘Thou hast broken the teeth of the
ungodly’; most modern versions are similar, but GNB has ‘and leave
them powerless to harm me’, a paraphrase modernising the sense
but destroying the flavour. All the sixteenth-century translators,
from Tn to AV, preferred the first method. For them the task was
to render the sacred scriptures accurately into English; they had no
need to paraphrase the original in an attempt to woo a failing read-
ership. Thus some of the most familiar biblical phrases are simply
literal translation:
En archéi én ho logos kai ho logos én

In the beginning was the word and the word was
pros ton theon kai theos én ho logos

with God and God was the word.
(John 1:1, see also p. 418)
Hebrew has certain recognisable characteristics which leave their

mark on the English translation. Its concreteness, as in the phrase
‘there is tidings in his mouth’ (2 Sam 18:25, p. 167) is commonly
stressed; it may be that some of these phrases were dead metaphors
to the Hebrews, but they are striking when turned literally into
English. Abstract ideas are treated by metaphor, which adds an extra
force to such phrases as ‘the rod of his anger’ (Prov 22:8). The word
rock is often used for the abstract notion strength, as in the famous
marginal phrase at Isa 26:4, ‘rock of ages’, translated in the text
as ‘everlasting strength’. The concreteness of Hebrew is sometimes
obliterated by the translators, as in Jer 26:14: ‘as seemeth good and
meet unto you’, more literally (again as margin) ‘it is good and right
in your eyes’; or ‘the dawning of the day’ (Job 3:9) rather than ‘the
eyelids of the morning’. But in general this quality increases the figura-
tive use of language, and adds much to the vividness of OT.
The translation of alien features may have odd effects. The word
belial means, roughly, worthless; the phrase ‘son’ (or ‘man’, ‘child’,
‘daughter’) of Belial’ is used a number of times in the Bible; it might
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be translated literally as ‘thou wicked (or ‘ungodly) man’, but it

was left untranslated, and people came to see an allusion to some
traditional demon. Paul speaks of Belial as a demon in 2 Corinthians
6:15; as does Milton (p. 333; Paradise Lost i. 490ff ). At times the under-
lying Hebrew shows through into the Greek of NT, particularly in
Revelation. And because Jesus and his compatriots spoke Aramaic,
a Semitic language indirectly related to Hebrew, this too, and a famil-
iarity with the Hebrew scriptures, has its effect on NT Greek, as in
Luke 10:6: ‘And if the son of peace be there . . . ’.
Other characteristic Hebrew formations are literally translated, such
as the superlative by reduplication: ‘holy of holies’, ‘God of gods’,
etc. Another common form of reduplication is illustrated in the
margin at Gen 2:16, 17: ‘thou mayst freely eat . . . thou shalt surely
die’, from ‘eating thou shalt eat’ and ‘dying thou shalt die’. In such
cases (and they are not rare) the Hebrew forms are so alien to English
that literal translation was impossible and alternatives had to be
found.19 Various effective translations are used: ‘with a double heart
do they speak’ in Psalm 12:2 would be, verbatim, ‘with an heart and
an heart’ (as margin). Just occasionally, the translators leave the
original as it is: ‘in blessing I will bless thee’ (Gen 22:17).
Much of the unique colouring of the Old Testament comes from
these details. The translators were content that the idiom of AV should
retain a foreign accent; sometimes it emerges as dignity, sometimes
as stiffness, as in the causative verb-form, with the necessity of trans-
lating a single Hebrew word as several (e.g. Ps 23:2: ‘He maketh me
to lie down’). In general, the sense of a strange idiom being worked
into English enhances the result. A feature that is very characteristic
of AV narrative is the constant repetition (going back to Tyndale)
of And (translating the Hebrew waw). Modern translators prefer
greater euphony of variation: but, now, when, etc., but the repeated
And not only is more exact but also helps to create the flavour of
the original in English.20 We have grown so used to this quality of
style that we forget how foreign the Old Testament must have seemed
when it first appeared, before these alien patterns became naturalised
as ‘Bible English’.
There is another general effect. We are used to a classically based
language of philosophy and religion with an abstract vocabulary and
a complex, periodic syntax taken from its foundations in Greek and
Latin. The writers of OT, on the other hand, present their beliefs
and argue their causes in figurative language, and in symbolic not
theoretical constructs. Concreteness and metaphor convey their
19
Hammond (1982: 220–22) discusses this construction fully.
20
See Hammond (1982: 210 –15); Bar-Efrat (1989: 132, 166).
thought, rather than analysis and theory. The nature of God is

represented in the symbols of the Tabernacle, not in hypotheses as
to the nature of his essential being. The prophets state their argument
by symbolic enactments (e.g. pp. 205, 236, 246). The whole of OT
is more concrete, more visual, than a Western religious treatise, and
its simple, direct syntax and vivid metaphorical vocabulary are essential
parts of it.
Hebrew versification has its own influence on the rhythm of trans-
lation. This may seem unlikely. It is hard to believe that the verse
metres of one language can affect the prose of another, when the
translators not only are ignorant of the system of the original, but
also are working in a language that is phonetically quite different
from it. It was not until 1753, when Robert Lowth21 gave his lectures
on Hebrew poetry that the structure of versification began to be
understood, and even now there are many uncertainties about it.
Strangely enough, there is a certain resemblance between the
patterns of Hebrew and Old English poetry. The Hebrew does not
expect alliteration, but both systems are based on a unit of rhythm
made up of linked half-lines which join to make a complete, balanced
line, the shortest metrical unit. This rhythmic antiphony inevitably
produces a balancing of ideas as well, as in this typical OE line from
the Exeter Book compared with Judges 5:3:
I war against waves, / with wind I fight.
Hear, O ye kings; / give ear, O ye princes!
In Hebrew, as in OE verse, stanzas are rare; lines are usually grouped
in irregular strophes. Some poems (e.g. Lamentations) use complex
acrostic patterns, recalling the elaborations of such medieval poems
as Pearl, but this is never recognisable in translation.
The balanced but rarely monotonous parallelism of the total effect
is always noticeable, so that the balance and flow of the original
can still be felt in the translation. A system of scansion based on the
counting of syllables is lost when the syllable pattern is broken by
translation, or even by the passage of time. Chaucer’s metre was long
believed to be defective, because pronunciation had changed and
many syllables, unstressed but spoken, had disappeared from the
language. A looser system based, like Hebrew or Old English, upon
the main beat of short phrases, linked together in tight groups, is
much less easily lost, and its rhythm is more likely to be recreated
in translation. The English of Coverdale’s Psalms does not have the
same pattern as the original Hebrew, but it almost inevitably has a
similar rhythm.
21
Lowth (1793).
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The effects of the Greek originals on the New Testament are less
obvious, except to the specialist, and this itself is significant. Both Greek
and English, for all their differences, are Indo-European languages,
with basically similar patterns of sentence structure, and literal
translation sounds less alien from the Greek than from the Hebrew.
Complex sentences are much commoner in the New Testament than
in the Old. Paul’s Epistles read like someone thinking on his feet,
and dictating without much pause for correction. There is a series
of extremely long sentences at the beginning of Ephesians, in the
Greek about 200 words each, which even the translators of 1611
cannot always encompass without breaking them up. In Rom 2:12–16,
Paul seems to be trying to say two things at once:
For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without
law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the
law; (for not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the
doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which
have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law,
these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: which shew
the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also
bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or
else excusing one another;) in the day when God shall judge the
secrets of men by Jesus Christ according to my gospel.
There is more than one Greek in NT. The language of the Gospels
is not the same as the educated if erratic Greek of Paul’s Epistles.
The more polished style of Hebrews, generally considered the ‘best’
Greek in NT, is very different from the idiosyncratic language of
Revelation which, probably deliberately, contains a strong accent
of Hebrew. Translation smoothes the differences, but does not
altogether obliterate them:
Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my
God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the
name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, [which is]
new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God:
and [I will write upon him] my new name.
(Rev 3:12)
The Greek leaves other marks on the English of the Bible. It takes
a literal translation to produce such phrases as ‘Then Peter opened
his mouth, and said’; no native writer would put that. The common
phrase, ‘answered and said’, is a rendering of the Greek apokritheis
eipen, ‘answering he said’. On the other hand, the much-used
‘Verily’ was common in the mid-sixteenth century, and its double
use, ‘Verily, verily’, which sounds odd and superfluous in our ears,
only renders the Greek Amen, amen (itself borrowed from the
Hebrew). ‘Verily’ was going out of fashion by 1611, so that it remains
as another mark of AV’s conservatism. One other problem that
troubled the translators, determined to be as precise as possible, was
the Greek neuter plural, ‘things’. The common phrase ‘When he had
said these things’ would be more idiomatic as ‘When he had said
this’. The little plural word hosa in Philip 4:8 is a case in point. Its
sixfold rhetorical repetition is neat and quick: hosa estin aléthé, hosa
semna, hosa dikaia, hosa agna. . . . As translated literally by Tyndale
and all who followed, the plural ‘things’ requires the addition of
a verb, and the result is outstandingly clumsy: ‘whatsoever things
are true, whatsoever things [are] honest, whatsoever things [are] just
. . .’. Accuracy would not permit the much more English singular
idiom: ‘Everything true, everything honest, . . .’
‘Whatsoever’ and similar forms would have passed unnoticed,
however, at any time between 1525 and 1611, as would phrases
such as ‘gave up the ghost’ or ‘Hold thy peace’ (in Twelfth Night
II.iii.60 the title of a popular song). ‘Come to pass’ is an odd case.
It is almost unknown outside biblical English (although OED gives
an example from Caxton). Perhaps it was a contemporary idiom for
Tyndale, surviving in the Bible after it had faded from common use.
It is not a literal translation, more a parallel formula; Hammond
(1982: 194) suggests that AV used it extensively so ‘that the English
formula will become as natural as the Hebrew one was to the Bible’s
original readers’.
AV, then, was written in the standard English of 1600, in the
register appropriate to formal use, with considerable influence from
the Hebrew and Greek. But it is not quite as simple as that. Tudor
and Stuart English was not a fixed entity: no language ever is. In
the twentieth century we have seen changes come over the language;
Edwardian English, whether formal or slang, is noticeably dated now,
but in comparison with the developments of the sixteenth century,
recent changes are superficial. The language then was in constant
development; the revisers, on the other hand, were inclined both
by their age and their subject matter to be conservative in their use
of it. Tyndale and Coverdale, aiming to be accessible and contem-
porary, wrote in a forward-looking idiom. The elderly revisers of
1604–11 were by contrast inclined to write in a language that was
already old-fashioned, favouring older forms over new ones, even at
the risk of sounding out of date. The result is that the difference
between Tn in 1525 and AV in 1611 is less than might be expected.
A register of ‘biblical English’ was established, with its norms fixed
roughly in the standard English of the mid-sixteenth century.
Two important features of development at the time were the
appearance of progressive tenses and the changes in the usage of do.
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In the early sixteenth century progressive tenses were established but

little used; the century saw their usage slowly increase, but only very
slowly, and this is reflected in the changing translations of the Bible.
Lord Berners’ 1523–5 translation of Froissart, exactly contemporary
with Tyndale’s first NT, has ‘they of the garrison of Lourdes were
abroad and were coming homeward’ (ii.24) – a fairly uncommon
example of a past progressive. AV in 1611 still has a few of them;
Mark 10:32 (p. 359) ‘And they were in the way going up to
Jerusalem’ is one that goes back to Tn. AV itself rarely introduces
these forms. Its Mark has only two other cases (where the mod-
ernised RSV has 27): ‘they were talking with Jesus’ (9:4) goes back
to Gv, and the only one introduced by AV is ‘as he was walking
in the temple’ (11:27). At John 4:23 and 5:25 there is an interesting
pair. The simple Greek present tense (which may have a future
inference according to context) is repeated exactly, and in the first
instance all versions from Tn to AV have ‘the hour cometh’. At John
5:25 Tyndale, as so often varying his phrases, has ‘the hour shall come’,
and he is followed by all the others except BB, which repeats ‘the
hour cometh’. Perhaps this made the AV revisers think again, for
they introduced the progressive construction, ‘the hour is coming’.
And yet, while these few tentative examples were all the Bible could
show, progressive constructions were already established in common
speech, and well on the way to acceptance in literary English.
Turning to auxiliary do, did (e.g. ‘he did ride’ as an alternative to
‘he rode’), we find that the deviations from modern usage in AV
are markedly archaic to modern ears
Why reason ye, because ye have no bread? perceive ye not yet,
neither understand? have ye your heart yet hardened? Having eyes,
see ye not? and having ears, hear ye not? and do ye not remember?
(Mark 8:17–18)
In the sixteenth century the tendency was to move towards the
usages with which we are now familiar.22 The usage of do in nega-
tives and questions increased steadily, while its use in ‘affirmative
declaratives’ (simple statements) remained very low, although it rose
slightly, and more in literary than in colloquial usage (which thus
remained closer to modern practice).
This development is in general matched in the different versions
of the Bible as the sixteenth century goes on. We find that Tyndale
and Coverdale, aiming for a popular style, indeed employ do only
occasionally. Mid-century versions on the whole add examples rather
than delete them, but AV rarely introduces new ones. By 1611 the
general use of do in negatives and questions was increasing quickly,
22
Summarised in Barber 1976: 263 –7.
48 FURTHER READING
but in simple statements declining. AV, by not following suit, thus

created for itself a somewhat old-fashioned and literary air even at
the time.
A proviso must be made. In Mark 8, for example, there are 78
‘affirmative declarative’ verbs; it is the three with did that make the
Bible sound old-fashioned. There is another point: the quotation
above contains a series of questions in simple form, concluding with
just one with do. The parable of the Sower (Mark 4:1–9, p. 360)
contains a long series of simple affirmative verbs; only one uses did.
In neither case does the do indicate strong emphasis; it is placed for
rhetorical effectiveness. The translators are using the construction
to mark a point: an example, not simply of random usage (whether
we designate it ‘literary’ or ‘colloquial’), but of skill in handling avail-
able variations of form.
By the mid-seventeenth century, other changes, which were
scarcely visible in 1611, were making the standards of AV look very
noticeably out of date. The construction ‘after that’, ‘because that’,
etc., as in ‘After that John was put in prison’ (Mark 1:14), which
had been normal up to 1500, was lost by 1660. AV’s occasional reten-
tion of it became yet another archaism. More centrally, the -eth,
-est endings were fading fast in common speech, if not literary usage.
It is dangerous to generalise. AV’s language did not ring loud with
obsolescence, especially in a religious register, in 1611; but it was on
the verge of obsolescence. What was up-to-date and colloquial in
1530 was nothing worse than old-fashioned in 1611. In another gen-
eration or two, however, the language of AV, so close still to the
norms of Tyndale and Coverdale, had been replaced by the language
of Dryden. Bunyan’s was already the mannered style of a past age.
We might conjecture that a Tyndale writing in 1611 would have used
fewer outdated forms, and favoured more of the new ones, producing
a Bible less archaic to our ears. Still it could only be a matter of
degree. It was not possible for anyone in 1611 to produce a Bible
that would not sound antiquated after a hundred years. The lan-
guage changed too much, too soon. If, when the new patterns had
been assimilated, a new translator had appeared with the skill of a
Swift, that would have been a very different matter.
FURTHER READING
The standard textbook on early Modern English is Barber (1976).
On the language of sixteenth-century Bibles, Partridge (1969, 1973)
may be used with care. Caird (1980) discusses questions of language
in a thorough and scholarly manner, but from a more theological
viewpoint. Hammond (1982) is essential for the study of the language
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FURTHER READING 49
of the Bible in the process of translation. The question of Hebrew

verse structure remains a thorny one, even for Hebraists; O’Connor
(1980), although a book for Hebraists, may provide some insights;
Gray (1915/1972) is a classic, but far from recent. More up to date
is Kugel (1981), who writes for Hebrew readers, but provides
translations of his examples. However, his thesis is challenged by
Alter (1985), who bases his literary criticism on his understanding
of Hebrew verse structure: see also his essay on Hebrew poetry (Alter
1987a: 611–23). Of the specialist studies, Watson (1984) is perhaps
the most available for the general reader. Meschonnic (1984) con-
siders some practical aspects of this question.
Kohlenberger (1987) prints an interlinear English gloss beneath the
Hebrew text of OT, with the NIV translation in the margin. It is
an unashamed crib for students of Hebrew, but the word-for-word
translation shows what problems faced the translators of OT, so that
we may see how they solved them; Berry (1978) performs the same
task for NT.
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M01_STEV0473_02_SE_C01.QXD 4/9/10 13:30 Page 51
T H E O L D T E S TA M E N T
The rulers of the great nations of the East represented their national
image in the stone majesty of statues and inscriptions of power. The
leaders of Israel, between 2600 and 2100 years ago, expressed theirs
in a book, itself a collection of books. The monuments of the empires,
and their victims, were lost for millennia; this memorial alone was
never hidden.
History dominates; half of the Old Testament is made up of
historical narrative, derived from material of widely differing kinds
and ages: legend, folk-memories of distant times, official records,
gathered with the purpose of establishing the history and traditions,
past and future, of the nation, seen as the chosen people of God.
It is by no means a straightforward record, but it covers an immense
range, through the triumphs and catastrophes of a millennium or
more, and presents an endlessly fascinating view of its subject, and
of humanity at large.
After the histories, the Prophets make up another quarter of the
collection with their commentaries on these events. The words of
early prophets were gathered, expanded and compiled, and the
greatest came to be seen as the masterworks they are.
The remainder, ‘the Writings’, form a miscellany of other texts,
consisting of poetry and reflective writing of various kinds, chiefly of
later, more settled dates: the poetic Psalms and the lyrical Solomon’s
Song, the admonitory Proverbs and Ecclesiastes, the philosophical Job,
besides the fictional Ruth and Esther. The range of the Old Testament
is wide, and not easily categorised; but none of it would have survived
as it does, were it not for the Pentateuch.
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THE PENTATEUCH
By the rivers of Babylon we sat down,
Yea, we wept,
When we remembered Zion . . .
How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
Psalm 137 (p. 321)
The little land of Judah, a fertile patch caught between the great empires
of Egypt and Babylon, fell at last, in 597 bc, to Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon. After another futile rebellion, in 586, Jerusalem was looted
and destroyed; the occupying commander transported en masse to
Babylon all who could be useful in captivity, and ‘left of the poor
of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen’ (p. 191). But there
they did, in effect, sing their song; the Pentateuch is the Lord’s song
of the exiles, in prose.
Among the exiled generations, unknown editors at some time set
about reviving the spirit of their nation by piecing together its story,
weaving it into a historical picture that would restore the people’s
national pride in the aftermath of disaster. Over many years, and even
generations, they collected the people’s memories, oral and written,
legends, records and laws of the people from time immemorial, every-
thing in the national tradition that they could use to make their
song. These books contain every variety of narrative, from short
family anecdotes (some duplicated) to the long and complex saga
of Exodus. Full details of the ancient law are included, even when
they seem ill-matched to the contemporary situation. In course of
time they created ‘the five books’, the Pentateuch, at its centre the
Exodus, paradigm for their state: then, too, they were enslaved; now,
too, the Lord would save them.
The five books are not a single work, but a compilation by
unknown writers. The scholarship of the Pentateuch, ‘a vast and almost
impenetrable field’,1 nearly as complex and dense as the collection
itself, has concentrated largely on questions regarding its sources.
Scholars agree that much of the material originated in great antiquity,
that its three principal elements – legend, chronicle and law – came
together by different paths and traditions, and that it passed through
many hands until its final compilation about 450. Little else is agreed,
and the details do not concern us here. The nature of the story does.
They did not write a history of Israel. ‘The Israel of the literary
tradition is not the Israel of history’.2 Its writers left to others the story
1
Gooder (2000: p. 23) provides a concise summary of these matters.
2
Kratz (2000: p. 309).
54 THE OLD TESTAMENT
of the building up of the nation to greatness, its division, decadence

and destruction; specifically, they did not write the story of the
catastrophe of their own time. Deuteronomy, last of the books of
the Pentateuch, breaks off the ancient history on the day, perhaps
some time in the thirteenth century bc, when Moses looked out on
the yet-unconquered Canaan, the ‘Promised Land’ he was destined
not to enter. The Pentateuch is a story created out of the history, writ-
ten in, and for, the sixth century bc, and written of a distant past, so
that Israel might have a future again.
The story begins with the rule of Chaos before the birth of Time;
it ends at a critical, chaotic moment in the story of the Israelites.
The editors of the Pentateuch worked not for their conquerors, but
for their own people, to renew the spirit of the shattered nation,
and prevent its sinking into non-entity. The message was that Judah
was no insignificant hill tribe, but a nation already with a great history,
and destined from the beginning to greatness under the Covenant
and the guiding Law of God.
This Law is as essential as the history, if not more so. The Pentateuch
was commonly known simply as ‘The Law’, because without the Law
the history was meaningless. Throughout the wandering sequences
of the Pentateuch, and the Histories too, whatever its apparent dis-
order and irrelevances, the editors are at work, infiltrating these beliefs.
It is the combination of miscellaneity and purpose that gives the Five
Books their unique savour. The strictness of insistence on the Law,
and on Israel’s uniqueness, is hardened by the harsh realities of exile
in an alien land, and their recent memory of brutal destruction. There
is little untrammelled joy in the story after the end of Genesis, more
a determination to get even, but ‘That must pass; so will this.’ Quieter
times came, to produce the Writings.
KINGS, PROPHETS AND WRITERS

After the fall of Babylon to Persia in 539, a return of the exiles to
Judah was permitted, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem followed, piece
by piece. Memories and annals of the kingdom from David to the
Exile, already well organised, became the books of Samuel and Kings.
The books from Joshua through Samuel and Kings carry the burden
of narrative down to the exile, while Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah
fill out the story of fall and restoration. As Judah was renewed as a
state (not always independent), other works appeared and were found
acceptable by the priesthood. Among them were such fictions as Ruth
and Esther, at first taken to be historic narratives: the 1611 editors
listed them as parts of the Histories.
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THE OLD TESTAMENT 55
The prophets were a category in themselves. Some became accept-

able and their oracles were expanded, often much so. Their vision
does not forget the past and present battlefields of Israel, but
expands beyond them; all the state affairs of Israel are their meat.
Amos does not discuss Samaria’s politics, but he denounces the
establishment over the state of society, on which ‘First’ Isaiah also
has much to say. The later chapters of Jeremiah and Ezekiel contain
not only much political comment and advice for the people, but also
retail a number of contemporary incidents of that time of exile.
The chronicles also find space for poetry (e.g. the Songs of Moses,
Miriam and Deborah, pp. 106, 139, and the ritual verses on pp. 60,
80). With the Writings, however, political life is largely left behind.
Much of the remainder of the Old Testament is poetry: devotional
in the Psalms : oracular in the Prophets; philosophical in Job; lyrical
in Song of Solomon. Job reflects a normally stable rural world. Finally,
there are the non-narrative, moral or reflective prose works such as
Ecclesiastes. The range is wide and, because of the long and varied
origins of the Old Testament, not easily categorised. If we add the
Apocrypha to the bookshelf, the range is wide indeed.
Further reading. These works are generally useful for background:
Anderson (1988); Gabel and Wheeler (1986); Kaiser (1970). Gooder
(2000) is an excellent concise exposition of Pentateuch studies up
to date. For criticism see Alter (1981, 1985); Alter and Kermode (1987);
Armerding (1983); Bar-Efrat (1989); Barton (1984); Caird (1980); Frye
(1982); Good (1965); Hammond (1982); Preminger and Greenstein
(1986); Robertson (1977) and Warner (1990). Gunkel (1987) is a new
translation of an old but seminal work on the folk-tale aspect; Culley
(1976) is a somewhat more recent venture, using comparison with
other cultures. The Anchor series, published in New York with a
different editor for each book of the Bible, also provides a new
translation by each editor, and is textually thorough and informative
for the advanced reader. Of course, biblical studies are always highly
contentious; one scholar’s certainty may be dismissed by another.
IDB’s extended discussion of the Pentateuch is a standard reference
work on the subject; Kohlenberger’s text (1987) is very illuminating
on detail.
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Genesis
The authors of the Pentateuch set their scene with a dark backdrop
rippling and opening slowly to reveal a splendid ceremonial panorama
against which the story of the people can unfold. They are writing
for a people shattered by exile, who have no cause to believe in their
own greatness, and so, to create a setting and origin for the growth
of the nation of Israel, they go on to present, first, legends of the
heroes and patriarchs of old, such as Cain and Noah (Chapters 4–11),
and then tales of the people’s ancestry, the ordinary nomad family
of Abraham and Sarah (pp. 69, 75). In that everyday setting, the
writers establish the core biblical theme of God’s Covenant with his
people, which, in a few colourful generations, will bring them to
their greatness, as their children and grandchildren, Isaac, Jacob, the
reformed trickster, renamed Israel, and his twelve children, grow
to a substantial tribe (pp. 77 – 88). In a time of drought and famine
the famous story of Joseph takes them down to enter the great
civilisation of Egypt (Gen 37 –48), and Genesis leaves them there. In
Exodus, the story changes from folk-memories of a tribe of herds-
men to an epic poem of a people of destiny, and their great leader,
Moses.
The majestic, almost ritual progression of the opening chapter did
not escape Milton or Haydn, although its framework has been used
by the unimaginative children of Gradgrind to stir controversy in
matters irrelevant to the story. The Pentateuch is not concerned with
palaeontology, but with the Elohim’s hegemony over the universe,
and Israel’s place in it.3 In 1600, standard histories still taught that
Britain was founded by Brut, son of Aeneas of Troy, and there was
no reason why the Genesis accounts of creation should not be
accepted as fact, since no better was available. On this theme no
more need be said.
Chapters 2–3 next make a plausible and entertaining drama of what
went wrong. The story of Adam and Eve is apparently in simple mode
(perhaps originating with their Babylonian captors), yet it is more
difficult to fathom, chiefly because of the heavy theological weight
it has had to carry, in the massive doctrine of Fall, Punishment and
Redemption, of Satan, the Evil One, and the weak and sinful Adam
and Eve. It is a burden not justified by the tale’s insignificance in
the Bible. In Genesis, the serpent is a serpent, not the Evil One in
disguise. Adam and Eve, having digested the knowledge of Good
and Evil, inevitably cannot thereafter live in oblivious Paradise.
3
See esp. Caird (1980: 219 –42).
58 GENESIS: CREATION
Genesis turns to legends of heroes and ordinary humans – again, as

with Noah and in Babel, probably using Babylonian sources. Folk-
tale the stories of Genesis may be, but they echo with rich human
experience. For some nowadays they may seem not unique, indeed
little more perhaps than a primitive fiction, at best one of the more
imaginative amongst many similar human constructs,4 reflecting
folk-memories of actual events. This too is to miss the value of these
pieces. Its suggestion – that humanity’s inability to leave well alone
is the source of many, if not all, our troubles – stands as a paradigm
of the humorous fable’s ability to express such truths. As Frye says,
‘ “Mythical” . . . means the opposite of “not really true”: it means
being charged with a special seriousness and importance . . . they
are stories that tell a society what is important for it to know’.5 By
contrast, the astringent legend of Cain leads us out of myth into
the colder world that Adam must now inhabit.
CREATION
1: 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.
And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness
was upon the face of the deep. And the spirit of God moved
upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be
light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was
5 good: and God divided 6the light from the darkness. And
God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night.
7
And the evening and the morning were the first day.
And God said, Let there be a 8firmament in the midst of
the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And
1:2 without form, and void: The basis of the notion of Chaos; like many other
images based on the Creation legends, it is quite undeveloped here; see Epilogue,
pp. 343– 5.
Spirit: The word (like its Greek equivalent, pneuma) means ‘spirit, breath, wind’
without the Hellenic distinction between ideal and real. Thus the Spirit here is
a divine breath, a wind ruffling the surface of the dark, lifeless waters.
moved: Or hovered or trembled.
7 firmament: An expanse, like a plate or inverted shield, hammered out of beaten
metal.
4
Pritchard (1970) is the standard work providing such texts.
5
Frye (1982: 32 – 3).
6
Heb. between the light and between the darkness.
7
Heb. And the evening was, and the morning was, &c.
8
Heb. expansion.
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GENESIS: CREATION 59
God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were
under the firmament from the waters which were above the
firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament
Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the sec-
ond day.
And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be
gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land
10 appear: and it was so. And God called the dry land Earth;
and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas:
and God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth 9grass, the herb
yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind,
whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. And
the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after
his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself,
after his kind: and God saw that it was good. And the evening
and the morning were the third day.
And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of
the heaven to divide 10the day from the night; and let them
be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: and
15 let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to
give light upon the earth: and it was so.
And God made two great lights; the greater light 11to rule
the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the
stars also. And God set them in the firmament of the heaven
to give light upon the earth, and to rule over the day and
over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness:
and God saw that it was good. And the evening and the
morning were the fourth day.
20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the
12
moving creature that hath 13life, and fowl that may fly above
the earth in the 14open firmament of heaven. And God
20 life: Hebrew nephesh, translated as life or soul according to context; but some-
times person. A variety of other translations is used in the OT, e.g. self, mind, heart,
body; rarely, desire, pleasure, lust.
9
Heb. tender grass.
10
Heb. between the day and between the night.
11
Heb. for the rule of the day, &c.
12
Or, creeping.
13
Heb. soul.
14
Heb. face of the firmament of heaven.
60 GENESIS: CREATION
created great whales, and every living creature that moveth,

which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their
kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw
that it was good. And God blessed them, saying, Be fruit-
ful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl
multiply in the earth. And the evening and the morning
were the fifth day.
And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature
after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the
25 earth after his kind: and it was so. And God made the beast
of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and
every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and
God saw that it was good.
And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our
likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the
sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over
all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth
upon the earth. So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God created he him; male and female created
he them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them,
Be fruitful, and multiply,
and replenish the earth, and subdue it:
and have dominion over the fish of the sea,
and over the fowl of the air,
and over every living thing
that 15moveth upon the earth.
21 whales: Sea-monsters; neither the Israelite editors, for whom the Mediterranean
was a bounding limit rather than a highway, nor the sixteenth-century translators,
precisely identified a species.
24 cattle: Beasts, usually domesticated animals of all kinds (NIV livestock). The noun
animal is used by Hamlet (II ii 20), but was too much a neologism for AV.
26 man: The Hebrew word is not specifically masculine and more accurately, though
clumsily, translated by the more general NRSV humankind.
image: So Gv, BB; Tn, Gt, similitude; Cv, in a similitude after a likeness (Vg,
ad imaginem et similitudinem); but D, to our image.
27 male and female: In this first account, humanity is the climax of creation; note
the differences from the almost certainly older account that follows.
28 blessed: Such formal blessings (and curses, which partake of the same nature:
see p. 280n) are words of effective power, not mere expressions of a wish. Here
God himself dispenses the blessing, but a mortal, e.g. a priest or parent (as Isaac,
p. 79) may have access to the power, and the ability to call it down. As here,
the ritual nature is often marked out by poetic form.
15
Heb. creepeth.
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GENESIS: THE GARDEN 61
And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb 16bear-
ing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every
tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you
30 it shall be for meat. And to every beast of the earth, and
to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth
upon the earth, wherein there is 17life, I have given every
green herb for meat: and it was so.
And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold,
it was very good. And the evening and the morning were
the sixth day.
2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the
host of them. And on the seventh day God ended his work
which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from
all his work which he had made. And God blessed the
seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested
from all his work which God 18created and made.
THE GARDEN
2: 4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth
when they were created, in the day that the Lord God made
the earth and the heavens, and every plant of the field before
5 it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew:
for the Lord God had not caused it to rain upon the earth,
and there was not a man to till the ground.
But 19there went up a mist from the earth, and watered
the whole face of the ground. And the Lord God formed
29 meat: i.e. food in general (sixteenth-century usage).

2:4 These are . . . created: AV has a paragraph mark here; however, Gen 2 has begun,
since early times, at ‘Thus the heavens . . .’, though plainly the narrative con-
tinues at least to 2:3. Modern scholars differ as to whether ‘These are . . .’ begins
the second narrative or ends the first, in which case the second narrative begins,
‘In the day . . .’.
4 Lord God: Lord translates Jahweh (see Jehovah, Exod 6:3n, p. 94). The second
element in the name, translated God, in the first account, and elsewhere, is Elohim
or its singular Eloha. These differences distinguish two sources for the earlier nar-
ratives which underlie the present text: see Anderson (1988: 152); IDB iii.712–17.
5 plant: From Gt: Tn, shrubs; Cv, twig.
16
Heb. seeding seed.
17
Heb. a living soul.
18
Heb. created to make.
19
Or, A mist which went up front, &c.
62 GENESIS: THE GARDEN
man 20of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden;
and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out
of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that
is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life
also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge
of good and evil.
10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and
from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. The
name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the
whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; and the gold of
that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. And
the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that
compasseth the whole land of 21Ethiopia. And the name of
the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth 22toward
the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates.
15 And the Lord God took 23the man, and put him into the
garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. And the Lord God
commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden
24
thou mayest freely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge
of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that
thou eatest thereof 25thou shalt surely die.
8 a garden . . . in Eden: D, Paradise of pleasure (Vg, paradisum voluptatis). As

with Chaos (1:1–2), but more so, this is only the germ of an image that has been
vastly enlarged since the Old Testament was compiled: see p. 344.
11–14 Pison, Gihon, Hiddekel: Hiddekel is the Tigris, with the Euphrates suggesting
a Mesopotamian source for the tale. The other names are unidentified.
12 bdellium: Either a waxy gum, or a valuable mineral; we are not sure.
15 the man (margin Adam): The noun translated man throughout this and the
first account (except for the naming verse below and the first man after it) is
adam, the normal word for humanity in general, without distinction of sex. Adam
shares its root with the Hebrew for ‘red’, suggesting that man comes from the
red earth (the word for ‘dust’ is aphar). See Jeffrey (1992: 15 –21), for the English
literary tradition.
16 thou mayest freely . . . Thou shalt surely die: These phrases translate a common
Hebrew intensifying structure, indicated in the margin. For a full discussion of
the translators’ problems and solutions, see Hammond (1982: 221–5).
20
Heb. dust of the ground.
21
Heb. Gush.
22
Or, eastward to Assyria.
23
Or, Adam.
24
Heb. eating thou shalt eat.
25
Heb. dying thou shalt die.
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And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should
be alone; I will make him an help 26meet for him. And out
of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field,
and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto 27Adam
to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called
every living creature, that was the name thereof.
20 And Adam 28gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of
the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there
was not found an help meet for him. And the Lord God
caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and
he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead
thereof; and the rib, which the Lord God had taken from
man, 29made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
And Adam said,
This is now bone of my bones,
and flesh of my flesh:
she shall be called 30Woman,
31
because she was taken out of Man.
Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.
25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were
not ashamed.
3: 1 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the
field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the
woman, 32Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree
of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We
18 an help meet: Two words: ‘a suitable help’; Gv, an help to bear him company.
The word helpmate grew from misunderstanding this phrase. Dryden used help-
meet (1673: Marriage à la Mode IV i); OED records helpmate in 1715. See Clines
(1990a: 25– 48), ‘What does Eve do to help?’
3: 1 serpent: The normal contemporary usage for ‘snake’. Note that there is no
identification with Satan here: see Epilogue, p. 344; Mark 8: 33n, p. 360.
1 subtle: In the sense of ‘crafty’; Hebrew arum is also translated prudent in Prov
12, 14, etc. Early Wyc has the [n]edder was feller: i.e. ‘the adder was more fell,
more baneful’. But OED records Lydgate (1446): the sotell serpent.
26
Heb. as before him.
27
Or, the man.
28
Heb. called.
29
Heb. budded.
30
Heb. Isha.
31
Heb. Ish.
32
Heb. Yea, because, &c.
64 GENESIS: THE GARDEN
may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: but of the
fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God
hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it,
lest ye die.
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
5 die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then
your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing
good and evil.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food,
and that it was 33pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired
to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat,
and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew
that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together,
and made themselves 34aprons.
And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking
in the garden in the 35cool of the day: and Adam and his
wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God
10 amongst the trees of the garden. And the Lord God called
unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? And he
said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because
I was naked; and I hid myself.
And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast
thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou
shouldest not eat? And the man said, The woman whom
thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I
did eat. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What is
this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent
beguiled me, and I did eat.
And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou
hast done this,
4 Ye . . . surely die: Tn, Tush ye shall not die. Others, Ye [Cv, Tush ye: D, No, you]
shall not die the death [Gv, die at all].
5 as gods: So Gv, D (Vg, dii); Gt, BB and AV 1611 capitalise, as Gods. Better, as God
(so Tn, Cv; also RV, and most modern versions, including REB, but not NEB, JB).
The word elohim (see Lord God, 2:4n above), is plural, leaving the choice open.
7 aprons: The Hebrew means ‘something girded on’: a word the translators found
difficult. Wyc, Gv, breeches: hence Gv’s nickname ‘The Breeches Bible’. RSV, NEB,
JB loin-cloths (a word not coined in 1611).
33
Heb. a desire.
34
Or, things to gird about.
35
Heb. wind.
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Thou art cursed above all cattle,

and above every beast of the field;
upon thy belly shalt thou go,
and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life:
15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed;
it shall bruise thy head,
and thou shalt bruise his heel.
Unto the woman he said,
I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception;
in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children;
and thy desire shall be 36to thy husband,
and he shall rule over thee.
And unto Adam he said, because thou hast hearkened
unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of
which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:
Cursed is the ground for thy sake;
in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
thorns also and thistles shall it 37bring forth to thee;
and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
in the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread,
till thou return unto the ground;
for out of it wast thou taken:
for dust thou art,
and unto dust shalt thou return.
20 And Adam called his wife’s name 38Eve; because she was
the mother of all living. Unto Adam also and to his wife
did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.
14 cursed: See blessed, 1:28n above.
19 eat bread . . . : Tn, eat bread, until thou return unto the earth whence thou wast
taken; Cv, eat thy bread, till thou be turned unto earth, whence . . . More eat thy
bread, until thou return again into the earth out of which thou wast taken. Gt,
BB, eat bread, till thou be turned again into the ground: for out of it wast thou
taken. Gv . . . to the earth: for out of it wast thou taken. D . . . to earth, out of which
thou wast taken. These variants illustrate the small changes which each reviser
introduced into the text at every turn.
20 Eve: i.e. life: cognate with the Hebrew word used in the phrases breath of life,
tree of life. Adam = earth, Eve = life. Tn to BB all have Heva[h]; AV’s guide-
lines (p. 517) required a return to familiar forms, e.g. Isaac for Gv, Izhak; BB,
Isahac. See Jeffrey (1992: 251– 4).
36
Or, subject to thy husband.
37
Heb. cause to bud.
38
Heb. Chavah.
66 GENESIS: CAIN AND ABEL
And the Lord God said, Behold, the man is become as

one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put
forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat,
and live for ever: therefore the Lord God sent him forth
from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence
he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at
the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming
sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree
of life.
CAIN AND ABEL

4: 1 And Adam knew Eve his wife; and she conceived, and bare
39
Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. And
she again bare his brother 40Abel. And Abel was a 41keeper
of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
And 42in process of time it came to pass, that Cain brought
of the fruit of the ground an offering unto the Lord. And
Abel, he also brought of the 43firstlings of his flock and of
5 the fat thereof. And the Lord had respect unto Abel and
to his offering: but unto Cain and to his offering he had
not respect. And Cain was very wroth, and his countenance
fell.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Why art thou wroth? and
why is thy countenance fallen? If thou doest well, shalt thou
22 lest . . . Eden: The broken syntax derives from a difficult, though not obscure,
Hebrew construction, which ends the sentence at ever. Tn to Gv and D follow
this; BB leads AV in linking it on.
4: 1 knew: A literal translation of Hebrew yada. Biblical Hebrew, lacking (like
standard English) a specific verb for sexual activity, normally uses know or go in
unto (see 29:21n, p. 83), or occasionally lie with (e.g. 30:16). Each word is more
often used in its basic sense (e.g. 3:5 above; Job 28:13; Jer 31:24). Here RSV retains
knew, but other modern translators seek different, often awkward expressions:
NIV, REB lay with; JB, GNB had intercourse with; NAS had relations with. See
Clebsch (1964: 159) for Tn’s usage.
Cain: ‘Acquisition’ (it is not in fact cognate with get, gotten, though the Hebrew
words look similar: gyn, gnh). See Jeffrey (1992: 120 –2.)
4 fat: i.e. the best part.
39
That is, Gotten, or, Acquired.
40
Heb. Hebel.
41
Heb. a feeder.
42
Heb. at the end of days.
43
Heb. sheep, or, goats.
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GENESIS: CAIN AND ABEL 67
not 44be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at
the door. And 45unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt
rule over him.
And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to
pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against
Abel his brother, and slew him.
And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is Abel thy brother?
And he said, I know not: Am I my brother’s keeper? And
10 he said, What hast thou done? the voice of thy brother’s
46
blood crieth unto me from the ground. And now art thou
cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to
receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; when thou tillest
the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her
strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the
earth.
And Cain said unto the Lord, 47My punishment is greater
than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day
from the face of the earth; and from thy face shall I be hid;
and I shall be a fugitive and a vagabond in the earth; and
it shall come to pass, that every one that findeth me shall
slay me.
20 And the Lord said unto him, Therefore whosoever slayeth
Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him sevenfold. And the
Lord set a mark upon Cain, lest any finding him should
kill him.
And Cain went out from the presence of the Lord, and
dwelt in the land of Nod, on the east of Eden.
There are some notable legends: the ‘daughters of men’ who gave
birth to giants (or, in Tn and Cv, ‘tyrants’) by the ‘sons of God’
(6:4); the Tower of Babel (11:1–9); and, most famous of all, Noah
and his ark, Chapters 6–9. Other names from these intervening chap-
ters are memorable: Tubal-cain the metal-worker (4:22), Methusaleh
(5:25), and Nimrod, ‘the mighty hunter’ (10:9).
7 sin lieth . . . : Obscure: cf. NRSV sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you,
but you must master it. NIV, JB, Speiser (1964) are similar, but REB . . . and you
will be mastered by it.
unto thee . . . desire: ‘He will govern you’: cp. 3:16 thy desire . . . thy husband, p. 65.
44
Or, have the excellency?
45
Or, subject unto thee.
46
Heb. bloods.
47
Or, Mine iniquity is greater than that it may be forgiven.
68 ABRAHAM AND SARAH: THE LINEAGE OF ABRAHAM
Abraham and Sarah

Medieval tradition, seen in the Douai Bible’s chronological table
(1609–10), divided the history of the world into seven Ages, start-
ing with Adam, followed by Noah. The Third Age began with
Abraham’s departure from Ur. The other Ages open with Moses (the
Exodus); Solomon (the Temple); Ezra (the rebuilt Temple); Christ.
Thus Abraham’s life was seen as one of the critical points in history.
The compilers of this history, children of exile, used what appear to
be ancient folk-histories, told with the blend of naivety and skilful
economy characteristic of such material. We should not underrate
the skill. The narrative is advanced by spare but telling statement,
character is revealed by small actions, and comment is always tacit.
Nor must the folk-tale quality obscure the purpose which drew
the episodes together, and which controls both direction and detail.
The narratives of Abraham’s life open the central theme of the
Pentateuch, pursued to Nehemiah: that the Israelites are a nation of
destiny, the chosen people of God, through the unbreakable Covenant
(pp. 4, 69, 75), which binds Abraham, their founding ancestor, to
himself.
(See Alter 1981 and Jeffrey 1992: 9–11, for the literary tradition.)
THE LINEAGE OF ABRAHAM

11:27 Now these are the generations of Terah: Terah begat
Abram, Nahor, and Haran; and Haran begat Lot. And Haran
died before his father Terah in the land of his nativity, in
Ur of the Chaldees. And Abram and Nahor took them wives:
the name of Abram’s wife was Sarai; and the name of
11: 27 generations: This genealogy is more important than it may seem. It is abso-
lutely necessary to be able to trace a lineage exactly, where inheritance and rights
are based on it. The claim must be established, not through mere rhetoric, but
formally, through the evidence of lineage and the history of time immemorial.
Such genealogies therefore punctuate OT histories at every important juncture.
27, 29 Abram, Sarai: Later Abraham, Sarah. The change is associated with the
introduction of circumcision, and explained (17: 5) as a mark of God’s approval.
28, 31 Ur, Canaan, Haran: Ur was a great city in ancient Mesopotamia, though
there are difficulties about the identification here (but it hardly matters).
Canaan is, roughly, modern Israel; Haran was in northern Syria. The similar-
ity of the place-name to Abraham’s brother is a coincidence.
29 took them wives: The customs of the extended family required them to take
on their dead brother’s responsibilities: each took care of one of his wives, and
Abraham also looked after Haran’s son Lot, until he had flocks enough to fend
for himself.
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ABRAHAM AND SARAH: THE COVENANT 69
Nahor’s wife, Milcah, the daughter of Haran, the father of

30 Milcah, and the father of Iscah. But Sarai was barren; she
had no child.
And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran
his son’s son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son
Abram’s wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of
the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came
unto Haran, and dwelt there. And the days of Terah were
two hundred and five years: and Terah died in Haran.
THE COVENANT
12: 1 Now the Lord had said unto Abram,
Get thee out of thy country,
and from thy kindred,
and from thy father’s house,
unto a land that I will shew thee:
and I will make of thee a great nation,
and I will bless thee, and make thy name great;
and thou shalt be a blessing:
and I will bless them that bless thee,
and curse him that curseth thee:
and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.
So Abram departed, as the Lord had spoken unto him;
and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five
5 years old when he departed out of Haran. And Abram took
Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their sub-
stance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had
gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land
of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Iscah: generally taken to be Sarah; if not, we do not know who she is.
32 the days of Terah: it was long thought that the patriarchs lived to such great
ages because of their greater innocence. Now there are various conjectures, none
generally accepted: e.g. that months, not years, are meant; or dynasties, not indi-
viduals. However, these ages seem to be worked out according to a scheme, and
may have some symbolic or numerological significance. By the time Genesis was
compiled, the ‘patriarchal’ era was already legendary, and fact or probability about
the patriarchs’ longevity was irrelevant.
12:1–3: In OT this promise, restated in 13:14–17 and 15:1–6 is taken to foretell glory
to the nation of Israel; in NT it is read as covering all the followers of Christ,
who is seen as the spiritual descendant of Abraham. This Promise is one of the
two central reference points for the entire biblical narrative (the other is the Exodus,
pp. 102ff., when this Covenant is confirmed).
70 ABRAHAM AND SARAH: SARAH’S CHILD
SARAH’S CHILD
18: 1 And the Lord appeared unto him in the plains of Mamre:
and he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day; and he
lift up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by
him: and when he saw them, he ran to meet them from the
tent door, and bowed himself toward the ground, and said,
My Lord, if now I have found favour in thy sight, pass not
away, I pray thee, from thy servant: let a little water, I pray
you, be fetched, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under
5 the tree: and I will fetch a morsel of bread, and 48comfort ye
your hearts; after that ye shall pass on: for therefore 49are ye
come to your servant. And they said, So do, as thou hast said.
And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said,
50
Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it,
and make cakes upon the hearth. And Abraham ran unto
the herd, and fetched a calf tender and good, and gave it
unto a young man; and he hasted to dress it. And he took
butter, and milk, and the calf which he had dressed, and
set it before them; and he stood by them under the tree,
and they did eat.
And they said unto him, Where is Sarah thy wife? And
10 he said, Behold, in the tent. And he said, I will certainly
18: 1 him: Abraham.

plains: A mistranslation; more correctly, ‘terebinth trees’ (cp. Tn oak groves).
Mamre is near Hebron (see map). The trees may imply a shrine; in 13:18 Abraham
makes an altar to Jahweh there, thus superseding other gods.
2 lift: A rare survivor in the modern text of the old normal form of the past
tense, usually amended to lifted.
three men: Three visitors come, are fed, and leave, but only one speaks; we may
assume one important visitor with two attendants. The 1611 chapter heading,
Abraham entertaineth three Angels, expresses the common tradition (cp. also Heb
13:2, p. 486), though it is plain from the text (18:1,13) that the central figure is
God himself.
6 three measures: A great amount; Abraham modestly promises ‘a morsel’ and
produces a feast. A widespread legend-type: the hero is rewarded for his hospi-
tality to strangers, who turn out to be angels in disguise, while his malicious
neighbours meet their doom (the destruction of Sodom follows this incident).
48
Heb. stay.
49
Heb. you have passed.
50
Heb. Hasten.
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ABRAHAM AND SARAH: SARAH’S CHILD 71
return unto thee according to the time of life; and, lo, Sarah
thy wife shall have a son. And Sarah heard it in the tent
door, which was behind him.
Now Abraham and Sarah were old and well stricken
in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of
women. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, After
I am waxed old shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?
And the Lord said unto Abraham, Wherefore did Sarah
laugh, saying, Shall I of a surety bear a child, which am old?
Is any thing too hard for the Lord? At the time appointed
I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and
Sarah shall have a son.
15 Then Sarah denied, saying, I laughed not; for she was
afraid. And he said, Nay; but thou didst laugh. And the
men rose up from thence, and looked toward Sodom: and
Abraham went with them to bring them on the way . . .
21: 1 And the Lord visited Sarah as he had said, and the Lord
did unto Sarah as he had spoken. For Sarah conceived, and
bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which
God had spoken to him.
And Abraham called the name of his son that was born
unto him, whom Sarah bare to him, Isaac. And Abraham
circumcised his son Isaac being eight days old, as God had
5 commanded him. And Abraham was an hundred years old,
when his son Isaac was born unto him.
And Sarah said, God hath made me to laugh, so that all
that hear will laugh with me. And she said, Who would have
said unto Abraham, that Sarah should have given children
suck? for I have born him a son in his old age.
And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham
made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.
14 according . . . life: an obscure phrase. Tn, as soon as the fruit can live; Cv, about
this time (if I live); Gt as AV except thy time; Gv, BB as AV; D, at this time, life
accompanying. Nor are modern scholars certain: NEB, NAS, NIV about this time
next year; Speiser (1964) when life would be due (i.e. the length of a pregnancy).
15 afraid: The wife is supposed to keep her place, and not to intrude by laughing.
16 went . . . way: the normal courtesy.
21:3 Isaac: i.e. ‘he laughs’, or ‘he will laugh’.
4 circumcised: Gen 17 is devoted to the institution of circumcision as an essential
sign that Abraham’s descendants are marked out as the chosen people: 17: 13 ‘my
covenant shall be in your flesh, for an everlasting covenant’.
8 a great feast: the feast itself was a usual custom; the author wishes to stress
again Abraham’s largesse.
72 ABRAHAM AND SARAH: HAGAR’S CHILD
HAGAR’S CHILD
21: 9 And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she
had born unto Abraham, mocking. Wherefore she said
unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for
10 the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son,
even with Isaac.
And the thing was very grievous in Abraham’s sight
because of his son. And God said unto Abraham, Let it not
be grievous in thy sight because of the lad, and because
of thy bondwoman; in all that Sarah hath said unto thee,
hearken unto her voice; for in Isaac shall thy seed be
called. And also of the son of the bondwoman will I make
a nation, because he is thy seed.
15 And Abraham rose up early in the morning, and took
bread, and a bottle of water, and gave it unto Hagar, putting
it on her shoulder, and the child, and sent her away: and
she departed, and wandered in the wilderness of Beer-sheba.
And the water was spent in the bottle, and she cast the
child under one of the shrubs. And she went, and sat her
down over against him a good way off, as it were a bowshot:
for she said, Let me not see the death of the child. And
she sat over against him, and lift up her voice, and wept.
And God heard the voice of the lad; and the angel of
God called to Hagar out of heaven, and said unto her, What
aileth thee, Hagar? fear not; for God hath heard the voice
of the lad where he is. Arise, lift up the lad, and hold him
in thine hand; for I will make him a great nation. And God
21:9 son of Hagar: Hagar means ‘wandering’. This is the second of two similar
episodes concerning Hagar and her son. In the first (Gen 16) which precedes the
angels’ visit to Abraham and Sarah, the child is unborn. Sarah, having no child,
‘gives’ her maid to Abraham according to polygamous custom, so as to provide
a son – an absolute necessity in a nomad society where the old depend on their
able-bodied children. When Hagar conceives, Sarah maltreats her, and she runs
away, but an angel persuades her to return. Abraham then accepts his son. In
this episode, God is involved from the beginning; note, too, that in this version,
the child is not once named – an implied but studied rejection (Bar-Efrat 1989:
36 –7).
14 Beer-sheba: a good way south of Hebron: see map. Beer, ‘well’, is a common
element in place-names. Sheba, ‘seven’, refers to seven lambs sacrificed there
(Gen 21:25 – 31), though margin at 26:33 proposes the translation well of the oath.
18 I will make . . . : in the first version of this story (16: 14–15), the unborn child
is to be called Ishmael, ancestor of a great tribe often in conflict with Israel: he
will be a wild man: his hand will be against every man, and every man’s hand
against him (16:12).
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ABRAHAM AND SARAH: THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC 73
opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went,
and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink.
20 And God was with the lad; and he grew, and dwelt in
the wilderness, and became an archer. And he dwelt in the
wilderness of Paran: and his mother took him a wife out
of the land of Egypt.
THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC

This episode may be a legend of the abolition of child sacrifice, when
Jahweh said, ‘No more’; the prophets later condemned child sacrifice
(p. 235). Abraham’s acquiescence has often been taken as the sign of
his total obedience and faith (Heb 11:17–19, p. 483), believing that
God, having promised him a great lineage, will save his heir. Then
‘I and the lad will . . . come again’ is a statement of belief, not a
deception. Note how the action moves by the sparest of narrative
statement, with speech marking the key movements, as in Abraham’s
rare speeches, and especially his silence at the outset.
See Auerbach’s seminal analysis (1957: Chapter 1), now superseded
by Alter (1981: 179–82); and Wilfred Owen’s poem, ‘So Abram rose’.
22: 1 And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt
Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham: and he said,
51
Behold, here I am.
And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom
thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer
him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains
which I will tell thee of. And Abraham rose up early in the
morning, and saddled his ass, and took two of his young
men with him, and Isaac his son, and clave the wood for
21 Paran: far into the Sinai desert, outside modern Eilat.

21 His mother took . . . : normally a father’s duty – but Ishmael had lost his father.
22: 1 tempt: So Cv, BB, D (Vg, temptavit); the word often offends modern sen-
sibilities: Tn, Gt, Gv, prove (i.e. as JB, REB, ‘put to a test’).
2 Moriah: (‘Jahweh provides’); Solomon built his great temple at this hill (2 Chron
3:1) after God appeared to David there (2 Sam 24:18). This incident, therefore,
when Abraham accepts absolutely God’s overlordship, becomes the first in a chain,
since the Temple marked the kingship of God over all Israel.
burnt offering: A sacrifice to God. Traditionally, a sacrifice must be unblemished,
of the best the suppliant has to give; see Lev 22:19–25; cp. also Jephthah’s sacrifice
of his (unnamed) virgin daughter, Jdg 11:30 – 40, and such Greek legends as
Iphigenia; and Heb 9:14, p. 480.
51
Heb. Behold me.
74 ABRAHAM AND SARAH: THE SACRIFICE OF ISAAC
the burnt offering, and rose up, and went unto the place
of which God had told him.
Then on the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and
saw the place afar off. And Abraham said unto his young
men, Abide ye here with the ass; and I and the lad will go
5 yonder and worship, and come again to you. And Abraham
took the wood of the burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac
his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and
they went both of them together.
And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My
father: and he said, 52Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold
the fire and the wood: but where is the 53lamb for a burnt
offering?
And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a
lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them
together. And they came to the place which God had told
10 him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood
in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar
upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and
took the knife to slay his son.
And the angel of the Lord called unto him out of heaven,
and said, Abraham, Abraham: and he said, Here am I. And
he said, Lay not thine hand upon the lad, neither do thou
any thing unto him: for now I know that thou fearest God,
seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from
me. And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and
behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns:
and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up
for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. And Abraham
called the name of that place 54Jehovah-jireh: as it is said
to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen.
15 And the angel of the Lord called unto Abraham out of
heaven the second time, and said, By myself have I sworn,
saith the Lord, for because thou hast done this thing, and
hast not withheld thy son, thine only son:
14 Jehovah-jireh: An elaborate and not fully decipherable play on words. The Hebrew
text is perhaps deliberately unclear, but the name is an ironic echo of Abraham’s
earlier words ‘God will provide . . .’. Thus a popular saying linked with the place is
produced as support for the story. For the name Jehovah, see Exod 6:3n, p. 94.
52
Heb. Behold me.
53
Heb. kid.
54
That is, The Lord will see, or, provide.
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THE DEATHS OF SARAH AND ABRAHAM 75
that in blessing I will bless thee,

and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed
as the stars of the heaven,
and as the sand which is upon the sea 55shore;
and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies;
and in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be
blessed;
because thou hast obeyed my voice.
So Abraham returned unto his young men, and they rose
up and went together to Beer-sheba; and Abraham dwelt
at Beer-sheba.
THE DEATHS OF SARAH AND

ABRAHAM
23: 1 And Sarah was an hundred and seven and twenty years old:
these were the years of the life of Sarah. And Sarah died in
Kirjath-arba; the same is Hebron in the land of Canaan: and
Abraham came to mourn for Sarah, and to weep for her.
And Abraham stood up from before his dead, and spake
unto the sons of Heth, saying, I am a stranger and a
sojourner with you: give me a possession of a burying place
with you, that I may bury my dead out of my sight. . . .
23: 8 And he communed with them, saying, If it be your mind that
I should bury my dead out of my sight; hear me, and intreat
for me to Ephron the son of Zohar, that he may give me
the cave of Machpelah, which he hath, which is in the end
of his field; for 56as much money as it is worth he shall give
it me for a possession of a burying place amongst you.
10 And Ephron dwelt among the children of Heth: and
Ephron the Hittite answered Abraham in the 57audience of
17 in blessing: Literal translation of a Hebrew form of duplication for emphasis:
see Hammond (1982: 221–5), and 1:28n.
possess the gate: The courtyard at the main gate of a town was the administrative
centre, where the ruler held court, gave decisions, and delivered judgment. To
‘possess the gate’ was therefore to hold control.
23:1 an hundred and seven . . . : See 11:32n, p. 69.
2 Kirjath-arba: Literally ‘City of Four’; the significance of this is uncertain, and
less relevant than that it is a Hittite place.
10 children of Heth: The Hittites.
55
Heb. lip.
56
Heb. full money.
57
Heb. ears.
76 ABOUT JACOB
the children of Heth, even of all that went in at the gate of

his city, saying, Nay, my lord, hear me: the field give I thee,
and the cave that is therein, I give it thee; in the presence
of the sons of my people give I it thee: bury thy dead. . . .
25: 5 And Abraham gave all that he had unto Isaac. But unto
the sons of the concubines, which Abraham had, Abraham
gave gifts, and sent them away from Isaac his son, while he
yet lived, eastward, unto the east country.
And these are the days of the years of Abraham’s life which
he lived, an hundred threescore and fifteen years. Then
Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age,
an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.
10 And his sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave of
Machpelah, in the field of Ephron the son of Zohar the
Hittite, which is before Mamre; the field which Abraham
purchased of the sons of Heth: there was Abraham buried,
and Sarah his wife.
About Jacob
Abraham’s son, Isaac, a lesser figure than his father, is overshadowed
by his twin sons, Esau and Jacob, but both were destined to be the
fathers of nations. Yet only one could inherit the supreme destiny
of Abraham, and therein lies the family tension. Esau is the honest
farmer, Jacob the trickster, who outwits his innocent twin brother
as later he outwits the more wily Laban. The sixth-century bc com-
pilers of the narrative have done their best to justify the manner in
which he attained the destiny which they inherited. Esau is said to
‘despise his birthright’; perhaps worse, he marries out of the tribe.
Little is said overtly to excuse Jacob, who lives on to enjoy the fruits
of his deviousness. However, in the tacit fashion of Old Testament
narrative, after he has wrestled with God (p. 87) – and, significantly,
is renamed Israel – he makes peace with Esau. Thereafter he can
live as befits the inheritor of the Promise, and father of the 12 tribes
who take his name. Unfortunately, the story of his son Joseph is
too long for inclusion here, but it should not be missed.
The later editing of these narratives as part of the history of the
‘chosen people’ (see p. 53) does not disguise their folk-tale origins.
Whereas, in the Old Testament as a whole, the interest is dynastic
or military, these episodes concentrate their interest on the personal
aspect of the family situations they deal with. In spite of this, there
is as yet little critical writing on these chapters; but see Jeffrey (1992:
385– 90).
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JACOB: JACOB AND ESAU 77
JACOB AND ESAU

25: 21 And Isaac intreated the Lord for his wife, because she was
barren: and the Lord was intreated of him, and Rebekah
his wife conceived. And the children struggled together
within her; and she said, If it be so, why am I thus? and
she went to enquire of the Lord.
And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb,
and two manner of people shall be separated from thy
bowels; and the one people shall be stronger than the other
people; and the elder shall serve the younger.
And when her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold,
there were twins in her womb. And the first came out red,
25 all over like an hairy garment; and they called his name Esau.
And after that came his brother out, and his hand took hold
on Esau’s heel; and his name was called Jacob: and Isaac
was threescore years old when she bare them.
And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a
man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents.
And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison:
but Rebekah loved Jacob.
And Jacob sod pottage: and Esau came from the field,
30 and he was faint: and Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray
thee, 58with that same red pottage; for I am faint: therefore
was his name called 59Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this
25:22 went to enquire: Tn, went and axed; Gt, Gv, went to ask: D, went to consult
the Lord.
24 And . . . : For a detailed discussion of AV’s ‘remorseless’ translation of
Hebrew waw by And, and its effect on style, see p. 43 and Hammond (1982:
210 –15).
25 red: Admoni: the root as in Edom, and Adam (2:15n: the man). The Hebrew
word for ‘red pottage’ is different, though cognate.
26 heel: A pun on Hebrew ageb, ‘heel’ and Jacob – which may mean simply ‘May
God protect’. Gen 27:36 (p. 80) proposes another punning meaning, ‘supplant’.
27 plain: So Gv, D (Vg, simplex); Tn, Cv, simple; Gt, BB, perfect. The Hebrew
implies a quiet, perhaps retiring nature.
29 sod: boiled (past tense of seethe).
pottage: The phrase ‘Esau selleth his birthright for a mess of pottage’ is found
in the chapter-heading of Gt.
30 Edom: The name subsequently adopted by his tribe (Greek Idumea). In the
Old Testament there is often conflict between Israel, Jacob’s descendants, and
Edom. Herod’s family (p. 389) was Edomite.
58
Heb. with that red, with that red pottage.
59
That is, red.
78 JACOB: THE BLESSING
day thy birthright. And Esau said, Behold, I am 60at the point
to die: and what profit shall this birthright do to me? And
Jacob said, Swear to me this day; and he sware unto him:
and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau
bread and pottage of lentils; and he did eat and drink, and
rose up, and went his way: thus Esau despised his birthright.
THE BLESSING
27: 1 And it came to pass, that when Isaac was old, and his eyes
were dim, so that he could not see, he called Esau his eldest
son, and said unto him, My son: and he said unto him,
Behold, here am I. And he said, Behold now, I am old, I
know not the day of my death: now therefore take, I pray
thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out
to the field, and 61take me some venison; and make me
savoury meat, such as I love, and bring it to me, that I may
5 eat; that my soul may bless thee before I die. And Rebekah
heard when Isaac spake to Esau his son. And Esau went to
the field to hunt for venison, and to bring it. And Rebekah
spake unto Jacob her son, saying, Behold, I heard thy father
speak unto Esau thy brother, saying, Bring me venison, and
make me savoury meat, that I may eat, and bless thee before
the Lord before my death. Now therefore, my son, obey
my voice according to that which I command thee. Go now
to the flock, and fetch me from thence two good kids of
10 the goats; and I will make them savoury meat for thy father,
such as he loveth: and thou shalt bring it to thy father, that
he may eat, and that he may bless thee before his death.
And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold, Esau
my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man: my
father peradventure will feel me, and I shall seem to him
as a deceiver; and I shall bring a curse upon me, and not
a blessing.
And his mother said unto him, Upon me be thy curse,
my son: only obey my voice, and go fetch me them. And
31 birthright: As with a will among us, this, and the blessing in the next episode,
were unique properties which, once given, could not be recalled (see blessed, 1:28n,
p. 60). Hence the depths of Jacob’s deceit (and Rebekah’s), and of Esau’s
wretchedness.
60
Heb. going to die.
61
Heb. hunt.
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JACOB: THE BLESSING 79
he went, and fetched, and brought them to his mother: and

his mother made savoury meat, such as his father loved. And
15 Rebekah took 62goodly raiment of her eldest son Esau, which
were with her in the house, and put them upon Jacob her
younger son: and she put the skins of the kids of the goats
upon his hands, and upon the smooth of his neck: and
she gave the savoury meat and the bread, which she had
prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob.
And he came unto his father, and said, My father: and he
said, Here am I; who art thou, my son? And Jacob said unto
his father, I am Esau thy firstborn; I have done according
as thou badest me: arise, I pray thee, sit and eat of my veni-
20 son, that thy soul may bless me. And Isaac said unto his
son, How is it that thou hast found it so quickly, my son?
And he said, Because the Lord thy God brought it 63to me.
And Isaac said unto Jacob, Come near, I pray thee, that
I may feel thee, my son, whether thou be my very son Esau
or not. And Jacob went near unto Isaac his father; and he
felt him, and said, The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands
are the hands of Esau. And he discerned him not, because
his hands were hairy, as his brother Esau’s hands: so he
blessed him. And he said, Art thou my very son Esau? And
25 he said, I am. And he said, Bring it near to me, and I will
eat of my son’s venison, that my soul may bless thee. And
he brought it near to him, and he did eat: and he brought
him wine, and he drank.
And his father Isaac said unto him, Come near now, and
kiss me, my son. And he came near, and kissed him: and he
smelled the smell of his raiment, and blessed him, and said,
See, the smell of my son
is as the smell of a field which the Lord hath blessed:
therefore God give thee of the dew of heaven,
and the fatness of the earth,
and plenty of corn and wine:
let people serve thee,
and nations bow down to thee:
be lord over thy brethren,
and let thy mother’s sons bow down to thee:
cursed be every one that curseth thee,
and blessed be he that blesseth thee.
62
Heb. desirable.
63
Heb. before me.
80 JACOB: THE BLESSING
30 And it came to pass, as soon as Isaac had made an end

of blessing Jacob, and Jacob was yet scarce gone out from
the presence of Isaac his father, that Esau his brother came
in from his hunting. And he also had made savoury meat,
and brought it unto his father, and said unto his father,
Let my father arise, and eat of his son’s venison, that thy
soul may bless me.
And Isaac his father said unto him, Who art thou? And
he said, I am thy son, thy firstborn Esau. And Isaac 64trem-
bled very exceedingly, and said, Who? where is he that hath
65
taken venison, and brought it me, and I have eaten of all
before thou camest, and have blessed him? yea, and he shall
be blessed.
And when Esau heard the words of his father, he cried
with a great and exceeding bitter cry, and said unto his father,
Bless me, even me also, O my father.
35 And he said, Thy brother came with subtlety, and hath
taken away thy blessing. And he said, Is not he rightly
named 66Jacob? for he hath supplanted me these two times:
he took away my birthright; and, behold, now he hath taken
away my blessing. And he said, Hast thou not reserved a
blessing for me?
And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have
made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him
for servants; and with corn and wine have I 67sustained him:
and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? And Esau said
unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless
me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice,
and wept.
And Isaac his father answered and said unto him,
Behold, thy dwelling shall be the fatness of the earth,
and of the dew of heaven from above;
40 and by thy sword shalt thou live,
and shalt serve thy brother;
27:34 Bless me, even me: For the translation of this Hebrew structure, using a
reduplicated pronoun for strong emphasis, see Hammond (1982: 229–30).
36 reserved: Tn, Gt, BB, Hast thou kept never a blessing for me? [Gv as AV.]
D, Hast thou not reserved me also a blessing?
64
Heb. trembled with a great trembling greatly.
65
Heb. hunted.
66
That is, a supplanter.
67
Or, supported.
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JACOB: JACOB AT BETH-EL 81
and it shall come to pass when thou shalt have the

dominion,
that thou shalt break his yoke from off thy neck.
And Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith
his father blessed him: and Esau said in his heart, The days
of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my
brother Jacob.
JACOB AT BETH-EL
28: 10 And Jacob went out from Beer-sheba, and went toward
Haran. And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there
all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones
of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in
that place to sleep.
And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth,
and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels
of God ascending and descending on it.
And, behold, the Lord stood above it, and said, I am the
Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac:
the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to
thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and
thou shalt 68spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and
to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed
15 shall all the families of the earth be blessed. And, behold,
I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou
goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will
not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken
to thee of.
And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely
the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not. And he was
afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other
but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. And
Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that
he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and
poured oil upon the top of it. And he called the name of
28:10 went out: His father has sent him to his mother’s family, away from Esau
(who has married into Ishmael’s family).
12 ascending . . . : Tn–BB, went up and down upon [Gv by] it.
18 set . . . pillar: Tn, Gt, BB, and pitched it up on end; Cv, set it up; Gv, set it up
as a pillar; D, created it for a title (Vg, erexit in titulum).
68
Heb. break forth.
82 JACOB: RACHEL AT THE WELL
that place 69Beth-el: but the name of that city was called Luz
at the first.
20 And Jacob vowed a vow, saying, If God will be with me,
and will keep me in this way that I go, and will give me
bread to eat, and raiment to put on, so that I come again
to my father’s house in peace; then shall the Lord be my
God: and this stone, which I have set for a pillar, shall be
God’s house: and of all that thou shalt give me I will surely
give the tenth unto thee.
RACHEL AT THE WELL

29: 1 Then Jacob 70went on his journey, and came into the land
of the 71people of the east. And he looked, and behold a
well in the field, and, lo, there were three flocks of sheep
lying by it; for out of that well they watered the flocks: and
a great stone was upon the well’s mouth. And thither were
all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the
well’s mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again
upon the well’s mouth in his place.
And Jacob said unto them, My brethren, whence be ye?
5 And they said, Of Haran are we. And he said unto them,
Know ye Laban the son of Nahor? And they said, We know
him. And he said unto them, 72Is he well? And they said,
He is well: and, behold, Rachel his daughter cometh with
the sheep.
And he said, Lo, 73it is yet high day, neither is it time that
the cattle should be gathered together: water ye the sheep,
and go and feed them. And they said, We cannot, until all
the flocks be gathered together, and till they roll the stone
from the well’s mouth; then we water the sheep. And while
19 Beth-el: Literally ‘the house of [the] god’: an ancient shrine. Worship of various
gods continued long after the Israelite invasion under Joshua (see Amos 2:7 –12,
p. 200). It may be that this episode is an attempt to ‘take over’ Beth-el for Jahweh.
29:1 went on his journey: Literally, as Tn, Gt, lift up his feet.
5 Nahor: Laban was Nahor’s grandson and Abraham’s great-nephew (see p. 69).
6 Rachel: ‘lamb’ or ‘ewe’: see Jeffrey (1992: 651 – 2).
cattle: Sheep are ‘cattle’ (see 1:24n, p. 60).
69
That is, the house of God.
70
Heb. lift up his feet.
71
Heb. children.
72
Heb. Is there peace to him?
73
Heb. yet the day is great.
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JACOB: JACOB’S WIVES 83
he yet spake with them, Rachel came with her father’s sheep:
for she kept them.
10 And it came to pass, when Jacob saw Rachel the daughter
of Laban his mother’s brother, and the sheep of Laban his
mother’s brother, that Jacob went near, and rolled the stone
from the well’s mouth, and watered the flock of Laban his
mother’s brother. And Jacob kissed Rachel, and lifted up
his voice, and wept.
And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s brother,
and that he was Rebekah’s son: and she ran and told her
father. And it came to pass, when Laban heard the 74tidings
of Jacob his sister’s son, that he ran to meet him, and
embraced him, and kissed him, and brought him to his
house. And he told Laban all these things. And Laban said
to him, Surely thou art my bone and my flesh. And he abode
with him 75the space of a month.
JACOB’S WIVES
29: 15 And Laban said unto Jacob, Because thou art my brother,
shouldest thou therefore serve me for nought? tell me, what
shall thy wages be?
And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder was
Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. Leah was
tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.
And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven
years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
And Laban said, It is better that I give her to thee, than
20 that I should give her to another man: abide with me. And
Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto
him but a few days, for the love he had to her.
And Jacob said unto Laban, Give me my wife, for my
days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her. And Laban
gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
12 brother: Not precisely: they were distant but recognised cousins.

29: 17 tender: Or ‘soft’; perhaps, as NIV, NAS, ‘weak’.
21 go in unto: A literal translation: see knew, 4:1n. There are plain sexual inferences,
and imagery, in a man entering a woman’s tent, and this usage is common. The
word go, however, is normally used in its basic sense: e.g. Exod 7:10, p. 96, and Lev
16:17, p. 121, when the priest goeth in [to the holy place] to make an atonement.
74
Heb. hearing.
75
Heb. a month of days.
84 JACOB: THE TWELVE SONS
And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah

his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto
her. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid
25 for an handmaid. And it came to pass, that in the morn-
ing, behold, it was Leah: and he said to Laban, What is
this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for
Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
And Laban said, It must not be so done in our 76coun-
try, to give the younger before the firstborn. Fulfil her week,
and we will give thee this also for the service which thou
shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him
Rachel his daughter to wife also. And Laban gave to Rachel
his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid. And he
30 went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more
than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
THE TWELVE SONS

Four sons are born to Leah: Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah. But
Rachel is barren, and on her instigation, her maidservant Bilhah (as
was custom), bore two children on her behalf, by Jacob: Dan and
Naphtali. When Leah has no more children, she likewise arranges
for her servant, Zilpah, to bear children: Gad and Asher.
30: 14 And Reuben went in the days of wheat harvest, and found
mandrakes in the field, and brought them unto his mother
Leah. Then Rachel said to Leah, Give me, I pray thee, of
thy son’s mandrakes.
15 And she said unto her, Is it a small matter that thou hast
taken my husband? and wouldest thou take away my son’s
mandrakes also? And Rachel said, Therefore he shall lie with
thee to night for thy son’s mandrakes.
27 fulfil her week: By completing the traditional week of bridal celebration, Jacob
accepted Leah as his wife. Later, under Mosaic law, marriage to two sisters at
once was forbidden (Lev 18:18).
this: ‘The other one’, i.e. Rachel.
30: 14 mandrakes: A well-known aphrodisiac vegetable root (Tn, mandragores):
commonly forked, and so in folklore supposed to be human-formed, and to shriek
when uprooted. They have been sold as quack medicine well into the twentieth
century. Such magic did not help Rachel: ‘God heeded Leah’.
76
Heb. place.
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JACOB: JACOB’S SHEEP 85
And Jacob came out of the field in the evening, and Leah
went out to meet him, and said, Thou must come in unto
me; for surely I have hired thee with my son’s mandrakes.
And he lay with her that night. And God hearkened unto
Leah, and she conceived, and bare Jacob the fifth son. . . .
This was Issachar; Zebulun followed. One daughter only is named,
presumably because she appears later (Chapter 33): Dinah.
30:22 And God remembered Rachel, and God hearkened to her,
and opened her womb. And she conceived, and bare a son;
and said, God hath taken away my reproach: and she called
his name 77Joseph; and said, The Lord shall add to me
another son.
JACOB’S SHEEP
30: 25 And it came to pass, when Rachel had born Joseph, that
Jacob said unto Laban, Send me away, that I may go unto
mine own place, and to my country. Give me my wives and
my children, for whom I have served thee, and let me go:
for thou knowest my service which I have done thee.
And Laban said unto him, I pray thee, if I have found
favour in thine eyes, tarry: for I have learned by experience
that the Lord hath blessed me for thy sake. And he said,
Appoint me thy wages, and I will give it.
And he said unto him, Thou knowest how I have served
30 thee, and how thy cattle was with me. For it was little which
thou hadst before I came, and it is now 78increased unto a
multitude; and the Lord hath blessed thee 79since my com-
ing: and now when shall I provide for mine own house also?
And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou
shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for
me, I will again feed and keep thy flock: I will pass through
all thy flock to day, removing from thence all the speckled
and spotted cattle, and all the brown cattle among the sheep,
27 by experience: Rather, ‘by divination’.

32 speckled and spotted: This sympathetic magic is not ascribed to God; it is made
to seem Jacob’s own.
all the brown . . . sheep: More accurately, ‘every black lamb’ (NEB): Tn, black among
the lambs.
77
That is, Adding.
78
Heb. broken forth.
79
Heb. at my foot.
86 JACOB: JACOB’S SHEEP
and the spotted and speckled among the goats: and of such
shall be my hire. So shall my righteousness answer for me
80
in time to come, when it shall come for my hire before thy
face: every one that is not speckled and spotted among the
goats, and brown among the sheep, that shall be counted
stolen with me.
And Laban said, Behold, I would it might be according
to thy word. And he removed that day the he goats that
35 were ringstraked and spotted, and all the she goats that were
speckled and spotted, and every one that had some white in
it, and all the brown among the sheep, and gave them into
the hand of his sons. And he set three days’ journey betwixt
himself and Jacob: and Jacob fed the rest of Laban’s flocks.
And Jacob took him rods of green poplar, and of the hazel
and chestnut tree; and pilled white strakes in them, and made
the white appear which was in the rods. And he set the
rods which he had pilled before the flocks in the gutters in
the watering troughs when the flocks came to drink, that
40 they should conceive when they came to drink. And the
flocks conceived before the rods, and brought forth cattle
ringstraked, speckled, and spotted. And Jacob did separate
the lambs, and set the faces of the flocks toward the
ringstraked, and all the brown in the flock of Laban; and
he put his own flocks by themselves, and put them not unto
Laban’s cattle.
And it came to pass, whensoever the stronger cattle did
conceive, that Jacob laid the rods before the eyes of the
cattle in the gutters, that they might conceive among the
rods. But when the cattle were feeble, he put them not in:
so the feebler were Laban’s, and the stronger Jacob’s. And
the man increased exceedingly, and had much cattle, and
maidservants, and menservants, and camels, and asses.
31: 1 And he heard the words of Laban’s sons, saying, Jacob hath
taken away all that was our father’s; and of that which was
our father’s hath he gotten all this glory.
33 it shall . . . face: A literal translation. Tn is clearer: when the time cometh that
I shall receive my reward of thee; REB, when we come to settling my wages.
35 he removed . . . his sons: i.e. Laban removed.
ringstraked: Streaked in rings or bands round the body. OED lists this as the
first use of the word.
37 pilled white strakes: In modern spelling, ‘peeled white streaks’.
80
Heb. tomorrow.
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JACOB: THE FORD OF JABBOK 87
And Jacob beheld the countenance of Laban, and,

behold, it was not toward him 81as before. And the Lord
said unto Jacob, Return unto the land of thy fathers, and
to thy kindred; and I will be with thee.
THE FORD OF JABBOK

With all his family and flocks, Jacob escapes and makes his way to
the edge of Canaan.
32: 22 And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his
two womenservants, and his eleven sons, and passed over
the ford Jabbok. And he took them, and 82sent them over
the brook, and sent over that he had.
And Jacob was left alone; and there wrestled a man with
25 him until the 83breaking of the day. And when he saw that
he prevailed not against him, he touched the hollow of his
thigh; and the hollow of Jacob’s thigh was out of joint, as
he wrestled with him. And he said, Let me go, for the day
breaketh. And he said, I will not let thee go, except thou
bless me. And he said unto him, What is thy name? And
he said, Jacob.
And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob,
but 84Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and
with men, and hast prevailed.
And Jacob asked him, and said, Tell me, I pray thee, thy
name. And he said, Wherefore is it that thou dost ask after
30 my name? And he blessed him there. And Jacob called the
name of the place 85Peniel: for I have seen God face to face,
and my life is preserved.
And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him,
and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel
eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow
of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow
of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
32:30 Peniel: The difference between Peniel and Penuel is insignificant.
81
Heb. as yesterday and the day before.
82
Heb. caused to pass.
83
Heb. ascending of the morning.
84
That is, a prince of God.
85
That is, the face of God.
88 JACOB: THE DEATH OF RACHEL
The Death of Rachel

35: 16 And they journeyed from Beth-el; and there was but 86a
little way to come to Ephrath: and Rachel travailed, and
she had hard labour. And it came to pass, when she was in
hard labour, that the midwife said unto her, Fear not; thou
shalt have this son also. And it came to pass, as her soul
was in departing (for she died), that she called his name
87
Ben-oni: but his father called him 88Benjamin.
And Rachel died, and was buried in the way to Ephrath,
20 which is Beth-lehem. And Jacob set a pillar upon her
grave: that is the pillar of Rachel’s grave unto this day.
Jacob makes his peace with Esau (Chapter 33) and settles in
Canaan, but his tribe is not yet established there. The famous
story of Joseph (Gen 37 –47) (interrupted by two episodes, the rape
of Dinah, Chapter 34, and Tamar’s ingenuity, Chapter 38) moves
them to Egypt. The narrative then moves on, in Exodus, to the sec-
ond great theme of the Pentateuch, the deliverance of the Israelites
from slavery.
EXODUS
Exodus marks a major change of direction in the course of the
Pentateuch. For all the later polishing, Genesis is a collection of folk-
tales co-ordinated to introduce God’s chosen children of Abraham.
In Exodus (‘The Departure’), the folk-tale atmosphere is left behind;
we move from the memories of a family to epic, the memorials of
a nation, that shape the Bible from now on.
In comparison, Exodus is an organised work. Its first half is
narrative, establishing Israel as God’s chosen people through a saga
of the liberation of the Hebrews from bondage in Egypt, which would
echo strongly with a people exiled and enslaved, centuries later, wel-
coming the imagery of deliverance, which thereby became perhaps
the Bible’s central theme.
16 Ephrath: ‘Fruitful land’.

19 Beth-lehem: ‘House of food’, store.
86
Heb. a little piece of ground.
87
That is, the son of my sorrow.
88
That is, the son of the right hand.
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EXODUS 89
All leads to the presentation at Sinai of the Law which is to be

the nation’s guiding light, and the establishment of the Tabernacle,
a colourful and elaborate desert shrine – a symbol of the national-
ity now made out of 12 families. The book as a whole is designed
to demonstrate the centrality of the Law and the priesthood
which supported it, in the history of the nation. The Law may
not appeal to our age, but it is the climax of the narrative, and a
rich and powerful symbolism, the core of all biblical symbolism,
enlivens it.
The date of these events is impossible to discover. Egyptian records
lead to estimated times for Moses’ people from 1400 to 1280 bc.
Douai estimates 1550; Ussher 1491 bc. Some think it is all fiction,
but such folk-memories rarely have no foundation in fact.
Exodus moves in a straight line and a circle: the straight line goes
from the call to Moses on Horeb (pp. 90–92), through the story of
the Plagues, a free-standing (though not independent) sequence, with
its own organised structure (see 6:28n, p. 94), to the Exodus escape
of the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt. There is an epic inevit-
ability in the Exodus, the act of God’s ‘strong and out-stretched
arm’, which will be recalled throughout the Bible thereafter. The
symbolic circle begins and ends on Mount Horeb or Sinai, where
Moses first meets God, and from there is sent back to Egypt to bring
the people, Abraham’s children, to the mountain where God com-
pletes his Covenant with them.
Epic or not, Exodus is led by Moses, a human, unwilling hero,
leading an unruly crowd of very ordinary people who are made to
choose, reluctantly, between slavery and the unknown desert. Even
the Law, alien though it now is to most of us, helps to humanise
Exodus, by giving the theocratic centre of the narrative an ethical
and therefore a social significance, not a merely magical colouring.
It would be a mistake to pass over the double function of the
Tabernacle and its rituals. Their imagery encapsulates, in memorable
detail, all that has gone before: and they form a powerfully evoca-
tive core for the imagery and symbolism which grow until the last
page of Revelation. This, more than anything else, gives colour and
shape to the Law, and unifies, not the Pentateuch only, but the whole
Bible.
Further reading. Alter (1981) and Bar-Efrat (1989) are essential for
any study of biblical narrative. For a discussion of Exodus as saga,
see Neff, ‘Saga’, and George W. Coats, ‘The Moses narrative as heroic
saga’ in Coats (1985: 17–44). Culley (1992: 146–56) also includes Exodus
as a major item in a larger discussion of OT narrative techniques.
Jeffrey (1992: 517 –21) discusses the English literary tradition.
90 EXODUS: MOSES: THE BURNING BUSH
MOSES: THE BURNING BUSH

3: 1 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the
priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of
the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.
And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame
of fire out of the midst of a bush: and he looked, and, behold,
the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.
And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great
sight, why the bush is not burnt.
And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God
called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said,
Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And he said, Draw
5 not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the
place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover he
said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the
God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his
face; for he was afraid to look upon God.
And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of
my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by
reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows; and
I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the
Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a
good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and
honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites,
and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and
the Jebusites.
Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel
is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression where-
10 with the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and
I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth
my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
And Moses said unto God, Who am I, that I should go
unto Pharaoh, and that I should bring forth the children
of Israel out of Egypt?
3: 2 angel of thy Lord: Apparently, God himself, in visible form (as in Gen 18,
p. 70).
5 put off thy shoes: Because he was entering a shrine.
10 Pharaoh: Milton, following an old tradition, names him ‘Busiris’ (Paradise Lost
I 307), but modern scholarly opinion, though far from unanimous, tends to iden-
tify him as Rameses II (reigned c.1300 bc), an enthusiastic builder. The Exodus
was far more important to the Hebrews than to the Egyptians, whose records
do not certainly mention either the enslaved Hebrews or their escape.
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EXODUS: MOSES: THE BURNING BUSH 91
And he said, Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall

be a token unto thee, that I have sent thee: When thou hast
brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God
upon this mountain.
And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto
the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God
of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say
to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them?
And God said unto Moses, i am that i am: and he said,
Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, i am hath
sent me unto you.
15 And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say
unto the children of Israel, The Lord God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of
Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever,
and this is my memorial unto all generations . . .
4: 1 And Moses answered and said, But, behold, they will not
believe me, nor hearken unto my voice: for they will say,
The Lord hath not appeared unto thee.
And the Lord said unto him, What is that in thine hand?
And he said, A rod. And he said, Cast it on the ground.
And he cast it on the ground, and it became a serpent; and
Moses fled from before it. And the Lord said unto Moses,
Put forth thine hand, and take it by the tail. And he put
forth his hand, and caught it, and it became a rod in his
5 hand: that they may believe that the Lord God of their
fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the
God of Jacob, hath appeared unto thee.
And the Lord said furthermore unto him, Put now thine
hand into thy bosom. And he put his hand into his bosom:
and when he took it out, behold, his hand was leprous as
snow. And he said, Put thine hand into thy bosom again.
And he put his hand into his bosom again; and plucked it
out of his bosom, and, behold, it was turned again as his
other flesh.
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee,
neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will
14 I AM THAT I AM: Or, ‘I Will Be What I will Be’: a famous, if cryptic, title.
The sense is, roughly, that God is the one and only being who quite simply is,
without qualification, and whose will is fulfilled in being expressed.
4:2–3 A rod . . . serpent: This trick is not unknown; the snake appears to be worked
on by a kind of hypnotism. Moses’ rod becomes a constant feature in these episodes,
but it is never allowed to assume an inherent magical power independent of God.
92 EXODUS: MOSES AND PHARAOH
believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass,
if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken
unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river,
and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou
takest out of the river 89shall become blood upon the dry land.
10 And Moses said unto the Lord, O my Lord, I am not
90
eloquent, neither 91heretofore, nor since thou hast spoken
unto thy servant: but I am slow of speech, and of a slow
tongue.
And the Lord said unto him, Who hath made man’s
mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing,
or the blind? have not I the Lord? Now therefore go, and
I will be with thy mouth, and teach thee what thou shalt say.
MOSES AND PHARAOH

5: 1 And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh,
Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Let my people go, that
they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.
And Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey
his voice to let Israel go? I know not the Lord, neither will
I let Israel go.
And they said, The God of the Hebrews hath met with
us: let us go, we pray thee, three days’ journey into the
desert, and sacrifice unto the Lord our God; lest he fall upon
us with pestilence, or with the sword. And the king of Egypt
said unto them, Wherefore do ye, Moses and Aaron, let the
people from their works? get you unto your burdens. And
5 Pharaoh said, Behold, the people of the land now are many,
and ye make them rest from their burdens.
And Pharaoh commanded the same day the taskmasters
of the people, and their officers, saying, Ye shall no more
give the people straw to make brick, as heretofore: let them
go and gather straw for themselves. And the tale of the bricks,
which they did make heretofore, ye shall lay upon them;
ye shall not diminish aught thereof: for they be idle; there-
fore they cry, saying, Let us go and sacrifice to our God.
5:7 straw was a binding agent, much as rods are used to reinforce concrete.
8 tale: Count or tally.
89
Heb. shall be and shall be.
90
Heb. a man of words.
91
Heb. since yesterday nor since the third day.
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EXODUS: MOSES AND PHARAOH 93

92
Let there more work be laid upon the men, that they may
labour therein; and let them not regard vain words. And
10 the taskmasters of the people went out, and their officers,
and they spake to the people, saying, Thus saith Pharaoh,
I will not give you straw. Go ye, get you straw where ye
can find it: yet not aught of your work shall be diminished.
So the people were scattered abroad throughout all the land
of Egypt to gather stubble instead of straw.
And the taskmasters hasted them, saying, Fulfil your
works, your 93daily tasks, as when there was straw. And the
officers of the children of Israel, which Pharaoh’s task-
masters had set over them, were beaten, and demanded,
Wherefore have ye not fulfilled your task in making brick
both yesterday and to day, as heretofore?
15 Then the officers of the children of Israel came and cried
unto Pharaoh, saying, Wherefore dealest thou thus with thy
servants? There is no straw given unto thy servants, and they
say to us, Make brick: and, behold, thy servants are beaten;
but the fault is in thine own people.
But he said, Ye are idle, ye are idle: therefore ye say, Let
us go and do sacrifice to the Lord. Go therefore now, and
work; for there shall no straw be given you, yet shall ye
deliver the tale of bricks.
And the officers of the children of Israel did see that they
were in evil case, after it was said, Ye shall not minish aught
from your bricks of your daily task.
20 And they met Moses and Aaron, who stood in the way, as
they came forth from Pharaoh: and they said unto them, The
Lord look upon you, and judge; because ye have made our
savour 94to be abhorred in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the
eyes of his servants, to put a sword in their hand to slay us.
And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, Lord, where-
fore hast thou so evil entreated this people? why is it that
thou hast sent me? For since I came to Pharaoh to speak
in thy name, he hath done evil to this people; 95neither hast
thou delivered thy people at all.
6:1 Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what
I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them
go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land.
92
Heb. Let the work be heavy upon the men.
93
Heb. a matter of a day in his day.
94
Heb. to stink.
95
Heb. delivering thou hast not delivered.
94 EXODUS: THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT
And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am

96
the Lord: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and
unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name
5 jehovah was I not known to them. And I have also estab-
lished my covenant with them, to give them the land of
Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were
strangers. And I have also heard the groaning of the chil-
dren of Israel, whom the Egyptians keep in bondage; and
I have remembered my covenant.
Wherefore say unto the children of Israel, I am the Lord,
and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the
Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I
will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great
judgments: and I will take you to me for a people, and I will
be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the Lord
your God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens
of the Egyptians. And I will bring you in unto the land,
concerning the which I did 97swear to give it to Abraham,
to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage:
I am the Lord.
THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT

6: 28 And it came to pass on the day when the Lord spake unto
Moses in the land of Egypt, that the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, I am the Lord: speak thou unto Pharaoh king of
Egypt all that I say unto thee.
6:3 God Almighty: ‘El Shaddai’, a title used occasionally in Genesis (e.g. 17:1. 28:3).
In many traditions, a name may be invested with mystical power.
JEHOVAH : God’s name, Jahweh, was too sacred to be spoken or written in full,
and where it was met in reading the word Adonai (‘Lord’) or Elohim (‘God’)
was substituted. (For similar reasons – so as not to invoke false gods – the names
of alien divinities are distorted, as when ‘Ashtoreth’ [1 Kgs 11:5n, p. 181] disguises
the name of the high Canaanite goddess Athtarat.) The name Jehovah arose from
a medieval misunderstanding: the vowels from Adonai were inserted into the con-
sonantal root JHWH of the real name.
6:28 plagues: Bar-Efrat (1989: 105 – 7) points out that the plagues fall into groups
of three. The first of each group begins with the ritual call to Moses to confront
Pharaoh ‘in the morning’ to declare God’s power. The second follows a similar
pattern, more briefly; in the third, Moses does not speak to Pharaoh, but simply
commands the plague. Before the whole sequence comes the simple miracle of
the serpent-rod; at the end, the final plague upon the firstborn.
96
Or, Jehovah.
97
Heb. lift up my hand.
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EXODUS: THE PLAGUES OF EGYPT 95
30 And Moses said before the Lord, Behold, I am of uncir-

cumcised lips, and how shall Pharaoh hearken unto me?
7:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, See, I have made thee a
god to Pharaoh: and Aaron thy brother shall be thy prophet.
Thou shalt speak all that I command thee: and Aaron thy
brother shall speak unto Pharaoh, that he send the children
of Israel out of his land. And I will harden Pharaoh’s heart,
and multiply my signs and my wonders in the land of Egypt.
But Pharaoh shall not hearken unto you, that I may lay
my hand upon Egypt, and bring forth mine armies, and my
people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by
5 great judgments. And the Egyptians shall know that I am
the Lord, when I stretch forth mine hand upon Egypt, and
bring out the children of Israel from among them.
And Moses and Aaron did as the Lord commanded
them, so did they. And Moses was fourscore years old, and
Aaron fourscore and three years old, when they spake unto
Pharaoh.
And the Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying,
When Pharaoh shall speak unto you, saying, Shew a miracle
for you: then thou shalt say unto Aaron, Take thy rod, and
cast it before Pharaoh, and it shall become a serpent.
10 And Moses and Aaron went in unto Pharaoh, and they
did so as the Lord had commanded: and Aaron cast down
his rod before Pharaoh, and before his servants, and it became
a serpent.
Then Pharaoh also called the wise men and the sorcerers:
now the magicians of Egypt, they also did in like manner
with their enchantments. For they cast down every man his
rod, and they became serpents: but Aaron’s rod swallowed
up their rods. And he hardened Pharaoh’s heart, that he
hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh’s heart is
15 hardened, he refuseth to let the people go. Get thee unto
Pharaoh in the morning; lo, he goeth out unto the water;
and thou shalt stand by the river’s brink against he come;
and the rod which was turned to a serpent shalt thou take
in thine hand.
And thou shalt say unto him, The Lord God of the
Hebrews hath sent me unto thee, saying, Let my people
go, that they may serve me in the wilderness: and, behold,
hitherto thou wouldest not hear. Thus saith the Lord, In
this thou shalt know that I am the Lord: behold, I will smite
with the rod that is in mine hand upon the waters which
are in the river, and they shall be turned to blood. And the
fish that is in the river shall die, and the river shall stink;
and the Egyptians shall loathe to drink of the water of the
river.
And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Take
thy rod, and stretch out thine hand upon the waters of Egypt,
upon their streams, upon their rivers, and upon their
ponds, and upon all their 98pools of water, that they may
become blood; and that there may be blood throughout
all the land of Egypt, both in vessels of wood, and in vessels
of stone.
20 And Moses and Aaron did so, as the Lord commanded;
and he lifted up the rod, and smote the waters that were
in the river, in the sight of Pharaoh, and in the sight of his
servants; and all the waters that were in the river were turned
to blood. And the fish that was in the river died; and the
river stank, and the Egyptians could not drink of the water
of the river; and there was blood throughout all the land
of Egypt. And the magicians of Egypt did so with their
enchantments: and Pharaoh’s heart was hardened, neither
did he hearken unto them; as the Lord had said.
And Pharaoh turned and went into his house, neither did
he set his heart to this also. And all the Egyptians digged
round about the river for water to drink; for they could
25 not drink of the water of the river. And seven days were
fulfilled, after that the Lord had smitten the river.
8:1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Go unto Pharaoh, and
say unto him, Thus saith the Lord, Let my people go, that
they may serve me. And if thou refuse to let them go, behold,
I will smite all thy borders with frogs: and the river shall
bring forth frogs abundantly, which shall go up and come
into thine house, and into thy bedchamber, and upon thy
bed, and into the house of thy servants, and upon thy
people, and into thine ovens, and into thy 99kneading
troughs: and the frogs shall come up both on thee, and upon
thy people, and upon all thy servants.
5 And the Lord spake unto Moses, Say unto Aaron, Stretch
forth thine hand with thy rod over the streams, over the
7:17 blood: The Nile in flood is often reddened by matter carried down from Ethiopia.
98
Heb. gathering of their waters.
99
Or, dough.
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rivers, and over the ponds, and cause frogs to come up upon
the land of Egypt. And Aaron stretched out his hand over
the waters of Egypt; and the frogs came up, and covered the
land of Egypt.
And the magicians did so with their enchantments, and
brought up frogs upon the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh called for Moses and Aaron, and said,
Entreat the Lord, that he may take away the frogs from
me, and from my people; and I will let the people go, that
they may do sacrifice unto the Lord.
And Moses said unto Pharaoh, 100Glory over me: 101when
shall I entreat for thee, and for thy servants, and for thy
people, 102to destroy the frogs from thee and thy houses,
that they may remain in the river only? And he said, 103To
10 morrow. And he said, Be it according to thy word: that thou
mayest know that there is none like unto the Lord our God.
And the frogs shall depart from thee, and from thy houses,
and from thy servants, and from thy people; they shall remain
in the river only.
And Moses and Aaron went out from Pharaoh: and Moses
cried unto the Lord because of the frogs which he had
brought against Pharaoh. And the Lord did according to
the word of Moses; and the frogs died out of the houses,
out of the villages, and out of the fields. And they gathered
15 them together upon heaps: and the land stank. But when
Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart,
and hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said.
Four further plagues follow, of increasing severity; lice and flies;
a disease among the herds; and boils. In addition, Pharaoh’s magi-
cians now recognise that they are faced with a power (‘the finger of
God’) which is beyond their sorcery to control.
9:13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the
morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus
saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that
they may serve me. For I will at this time send all my plagues
upon thine heart, and upon thy servants, and upon thy
people; that thou mayest know that there is none like me
in all the earth.
100
Or, Have this honour over me, &c.
101
Or, against when.
102
Heb. to cut off.
103
Or, against tomorrow.
15 For now I will stretch out my hand, that I may smite

thee and thy people with pestilence; and thou shalt be cut
off from the earth. And in very deed for this cause have 104I
raised thee up, for to shew in thee my power; and that my
name may be declared throughout all the earth.
As yet exaltest thou thyself against my people, that thou
wilt not let them go? Behold, to morrow about this time
I will cause it to rain a very grievous hail, such as hath not
been in Egypt since the foundation thereof even until now.
Send therefore now, and gather thy cattle, and all that
thou hast in the field; for upon every man and beast which
shall be found in the field, and shall not be brought home,
the hail shall come down upon them, and they shall die.
20 He that feared the word of the Lord among the servants
of Pharaoh made his servants and his cattle flee into the
houses: and he that 105regarded not the word of the Lord
left his servants and his cattle in the field.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch forth thine hand
toward heaven, that there may be hail in all the land of Egypt,
upon man, and upon beast, and upon every herb of the
field, throughout the land of Egypt.
And Moses stretched forth his rod toward heaven: and
the Lord sent thunder and hail, and the fire ran along upon
the ground; and the Lord rained hail upon the land of
Egypt. So there was hail, and fire mingled with the hail,
very grievous, such as there was none like it in all the land
25 of Egypt since it became a nation. And the hail smote
throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field,
both man and beast; and the hail smote every herb of the
field, and brake every tree of the field. Only in the land of
Goshen, where the children of Israel were, was there no hail.
And Pharaoh sent, and called for Moses and Aaron,
and said unto them, I have sinned this time: the Lord is
righteous, and I and my people are wicked. Entreat the
Lord (for it is enough) that there be no more 106mighty thun-
derings and hail; and I will let you go, and ye shall stay no
longer.
9:18 hail may seem trivial compared with disease, but a sudden storm in an arid
region can be frightening and catastrophic.
104
Heb. made thee stand.
105
Heb. set not his heart unto.
106
Heb. voices of God.
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And Moses said unto him, As soon as I am gone out of

the city, I will spread abroad my hands unto the Lord; and
the thunder shall cease, neither shall there be any more
hail; that thou mayest know how that the earth is the Lord’s.
30 But as for thee and thy servants, I know that ye will not
yet fear the Lord God.
And the flax and the barley was smitten: for the barley
was in the ear, and the flax was bolled. But the wheat and
the rye were not smitten: for they were 107not grown up.
And Moses went out of the city from Pharaoh, and spread
abroad his hands unto the Lord: and the thunders and hail
ceased, and the rain was not poured upon the earth.
And when Pharaoh saw that the rain and the hail and
the thunders were ceased, he sinned yet more, and hardened
35 his heart, he and his servants. And the heart of Pharaoh
was hardened, neither would he let the children of Israel
go; as the Lord had spoken 108by Moses.
10:1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go in unto Pharaoh: for
I have hardened his heart, and the heart of his servants,
that I might shew these my signs before him: and that
thou mayest tell in the ears of thy son, and of thy son’s son,
what things I have wrought in Egypt, and my signs which
I have done among them; that ye may know how that I am
the Lord.
And Moses and Aaron came in unto Pharaoh, and said
unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, How
long wilt thou refuse to humble thyself before me? let my
people go, that they may serve me.
Else, if thou refuse to let my people go, behold, to
morrow will I bring the locusts into thy coast: and they
shall cover the 109face of the earth, that one cannot be able
to see the earth: and they shall eat the residue of that which
is escaped, which remaineth unto you from the hail, and
shall eat every tree which groweth for you out of the field:
and they shall fill thy houses, and the houses of all thy
5
servants, and the houses of all the Egyptians; which neither
thy fathers, nor thy father’s fathers have seen, since the day
31 bolled: In seed. Egypt was famous for its fine linen. This sentence and the next
(‘And the flax . . . grown up’) form a slightly awkward interpolation.
107
Or, hidden, or, dark.
108
Heb. by the hand of Moses.
109
Heb. eye.
that they were upon the earth unto this day. And he
turned himself, and went out from Pharaoh.
And Pharaoh’s servants said unto him, How long shall
this man be a snare unto us? let the men go, that they may
serve the Lord their God: knowest thou not yet that Egypt
is destroyed?
And Moses and Aaron were brought again unto
Pharaoh: and he said unto them, Go, serve the Lord your
God: 110but who are they that shall go? And Moses said,
We will go with our young and with our old, with our sons
and with our daughters, with our flocks and with our herds
will we go; for we must hold a feast unto the Lord.
10 And he said unto them, Let the Lord be so with you, as
I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is
before you. Not so: go now ye that are men, and serve the
Lord; for that ye did desire. And they were driven out from
Pharaoh’s presence.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Stretch out thine hand
over the land of Egypt for the locusts, that they may come
up upon the land of Egypt, and eat every herb of the land,
even all that the hail hath left.
And Moses stretched forth his rod over the land of
Egypt, and the Lord brought an east wind upon the land
all that day, and all that night; and when it was morning,
the east wind brought the locusts. And the locusts went up
over all the land of Egypt, and rested in all the coasts of
Egypt: very grievous were they; before them there were no
such locusts as they, neither after them shall be such. For
15 they covered the face of the whole earth, so that the land
was darkened; and they did eat every herb of the land, and
all the fruit of the trees which the hail had left: and there
remained not any green thing in the trees, or in the herbs
of the field, through all the land of Egypt.
Then Pharaoh 111called for Moses and Aaron in haste; and
he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and against
you. Now therefore forgive, I pray thee, my sin only this
once, and entreat the Lord your God, that he may take away
from me this death only.
10:9 We will go: not now asking, but stating.
110
Heb. who, and who, &c.
111
Heb. hastened to call.
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And he went out from Pharaoh, and entreated the Lord.

And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, which took
away the locusts, and 112cast them into the Red sea; there
remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt.
20 But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that he
would not let the children of Israel go.
toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land
of Egypt, 113even darkness which may be felt. And Moses
stretched forth his hand toward heaven; and there was a
thick darkness in all the land of Egypt three days: they saw
not one another, neither rose any from his place for three
days: but all the children of Israel had light in their dwellings.
And Pharaoh called unto Moses, and said, Go ye, serve
the Lord; only let your flocks and your herds be stayed: let
25 your little ones also go with you. And Moses said, Thou
must give 114us also sacrifices and burnt offerings, that we
may sacrifice unto the Lord our God. Our cattle also shall
go with us; there shall not an hoof be left behind; for thereof
must we take to serve the Lord our God; and we know not
with what we must serve the Lord, until we come thither.
But the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, and he would
not let them go. And Pharaoh said unto him, Get thee from
me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that
day thou seest my face thou shalt die.
And Moses said, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy
face again no more.
11: 1 And the Lord said unto Moses, Yet will I bring one plague
more upon Pharaoh, and upon Egypt; afterwards he will let
you go hence: when he shall let you go, he shall surely thrust
you out hence altogether. Speak now in the ears of the
people, and let every man borrow of his neighbour, and
19 the Red sea: A puzzle. What this sea might be has long been, and still is, much
argued. The phrase comes from LXX; translated by Vg, in mare Rubrum. The
Hebrew means ‘sea of reeds’, but this does not explain the word red. There are
certainly places where a high spring tide rises rapidly over low sands and over-
whelms the unwary, but no such place has been identified in the region.
29 I will see . . . : This bare statement ends the triple sequence of plagues, and
leads into the final, single stroke against the firstborn. As in 10:9, the word will
carries its original sense of intention.
112
Heb. fastened.
113
Heb. that one may feel darkness.
114
Heb. into our hands.
102 EXODUS: THE PASSOVER
every woman of her neighbour, jewels of silver, and jewels

of gold.
And the Lord gave the people favour in the sight of the
Egyptians. Moreover the man Moses was very great in the
land of Egypt, in the sight of Pharaoh’s servants, and in
the sight of the people.
And Moses said, Thus saith the Lord, About midnight
will I go out into the midst of Egypt: and all the firstborn in
5 the land of Egypt shall die, from the firstborn of Pharaoh
that sitteth upon his throne, even unto the firstborn of the
maidservant that is behind the mill; and all the firstborn
of beasts. And there shall be a great cry throughout all the
land of Egypt, such as there was none like it, nor shall be
like it any more.
But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog
move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know
how that the Lord doth put a difference between the
Egyptians and Israel. And all these thy servants shall come
down unto me, and bow down themselves unto me, saying,
Get thee out, and all the people 115that follow thee: and
after that I will go out. And he went out from Pharaoh in
116
a great anger.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh shall not hearken
unto you; that my wonders may be multiplied in the land
of Egypt. And Moses and Aaron did all these wonders before
Pharaoh: and the Lord hardened Pharaoh’s heart, so that
he would not let the children of Israel go out of his land.
THE PASSOVER
12: 21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel, and said unto
them, Draw out and take you a 117lamb according to your
families, and kill the passover. And ye shall take a bunch of
12:21 passover: Tyndale’s invention. In Hebrew the word is pesach (Greek pascha);
another form of the root is used later (‘The Lord will pass over’). Luther kept
the traditional Greek form in his translation, passah-opfer, ‘pasch-offering’.
Tyndale was looking for an alternative to the ecclesiastical sacrifice the Phase (used
by Douai); in his earlier NT he used the anachronism, Easter lamb. Passover is
brilliant and ingenious; he has found an English word whose sounds and mean-
ing parallel those of the Hebrew.
115
Heb. that is at thy feet.
116
Heb. heat of anger.
117
Or, kid.
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EXODUS: THE PASSOVER 103
hyssop, and dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and

strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood that
is in the basin; and none of you shall go out at the door
of his house until the morning.
For the Lord will pass through to smite the Egyptians;
and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the
two side posts, the Lord will pass over the door, and will
not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to
smite you.
And ye shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee
and to thy sons for ever. And it shall come to pass, when
ye be come to the land which the Lord will give you, accord-
ing as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service. And
it shall come to pass, when your children shall say unto
25 you, What mean ye by this service? that ye shall say, It is
the sacrifice of the Lord’s passover, who passed over the
houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote
the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people
bowed the head and worshipped. And the children of
Israel went away, and did as the Lord had commanded Moses
and Aaron, so did they.
And it came to pass, that at midnight the Lord smote all
the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of
30 Pharaoh that sat on his throne unto the firstborn of the
captive that was in the 118dungeon; and all the firstborn of
cattle. And Pharaoh rose up in the night, he, and all his
servants, and all the Egyptians: and there was a great cry
in Egypt; for there was not a house where there was not
one dead.
And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said,
Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both
ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye
have said. Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have
said, and be gone; and bless me also.
And the Egyptians were urgent upon the people, that they
might send them out of the land in haste; for they said,
We be all dead men. And the people took their dough before
it was leavened, their 119kneading-troughs being bound up
in their clothes upon their shoulders.
12:35 And the children . . . Egyptians: These lines are an insertion from another
biblical tradition.
118
Heb. house of the pit.
119
Or, dough.
104 EXODUS: CROSSING THE RED SEA
35 And the children of Israel did according to the word of

Moses; and they borrowed of the Egyptians jewels of silver,
and jewels of gold, and raiment: and the Lord gave the
people favour in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they lent
unto them such things as they required. And they spoiled
the Egyptians.
And the children of Israel journeyed from Rameses to
Succoth, about six hundred thousand on foot that were men,
beside children. And a 120mixed multitude went up also with
them; and flocks, and herds, even very much cattle. And they
baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they brought
forth out of Egypt, for it was not leavened; because they
were thrust out of Egypt, and could not tarry, neither had
they prepared for themselves any victual.
CROSSING THE RED SEA

14: 5 And it was told the king of Egypt that the people fled: and
the heart of Pharaoh and of his servants was turned against
the people, and they said, Why have we done this, that we
have let Israel go from serving us? And he made ready
his chariot, and took his people with him: and he took six
hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and
captains over every one of them.
And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of
Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the
children of Israel went out with an high hand.
But the Egyptians pursued after them, all the horses and
chariots of Pharaoh, and his horsemen, and his army, and
overtook them encamping by the sea, beside Pi-hahiroth,
before Baal-zephon. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the
children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the
Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid:
and the children of Israel cried out unto the Lord. And they
10 said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast
36 spoiled: i.e. ‘despoiled’, as always in AV – never simply ‘damaged’.

37 six hundred thousand: An epic exaggeration.
39 unleavened cakes: Nomads’ food, later included in the Passover ritual, as described
elsewhere (Exod 12:1 –20).
14: 9 Pi-hahiroth: Few of the place-names in this narrative can be identified with
confidence.
120
Heb. a great mixture.
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EXODUS: CROSSING THE RED SEA 105
thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast

thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is
not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying,
Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had
been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should
die in the wilderness.
And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still,
and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will shew to
you today: 121for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today,
ye shall see them again no more for ever. The Lord shall
fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
15 And the Lord said unto Moses, Wherefore criest thou unto
me? speak unto the children of Israel, that they go forward:
but lift thou up thy rod, and stretch out thine hand over
the sea, and divide it: and the children of Israel shall go on
dry ground through the midst of the sea, And I, behold, I
will harden the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow
them: and I will get me honour upon Pharaoh, and upon
all his host, upon his chariots, and upon his horsemen. And
the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have
gotten me honour upon Pharaoh, upon his chariots, and
upon his horsemen.
And the angel of God, which went before the camp of
Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the
cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 and it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp
of Israel; and it was a cloud and darkness to them, but it
gave light by night to these: so that the one came not near
the other all the night.
And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the
Lord caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all
that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were
divided. And the children of Israel went into the midst of
the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall
unto them on their right hand, and on their left.
And the Egyptians pursued, and went in after them to the
midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and
his horsemen. And it came to pass, that in the morning watch
the Lord looked unto the host of the Egyptians through the
25 pillar of fire and of the cloud, and troubled the host of the
Egyptians, and took off their chariot wheels, 122that they
121
Or, for whereas ye have seen the Egyptians today, &c.
122
Or, and made them to go heavily.
106 EXODUS: THE SONGS OF MOSES AND MIRIAM
drave them heavily: so that the Egyptians said, Let us flee

from the face of Israel; for the Lord fighteth for them against
the Egyptians.
over the sea, that the waters may come again upon the
Egyptians, upon their chariots, and upon their horsemen.
And Moses stretched forth his hand over the sea, and the
sea returned to his strength when the morning appeared;
and the Egyptians fled against it; and the Lord 123overthrew
the Egyptians in the midst of the sea. And the waters
returned, and covered the chariots, and the horsemen, and
all the host of Pharaoh that came into the sea after them;
there remained not so much as one of them.
But the children of Israel walked upon dry land in the
midst of the sea; and the waters were a wall unto them on
their right hand, and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel
that day out of the hand of the Egyptians; and Israel saw
the Egyptians dead upon the sea shore. And Israel saw that
30 great 124work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and
the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his
servant Moses.
THE SONGS OF MOSES AND MIRIAM

15: 1 Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto
the Lord, and spake, saying,
I will sing unto the Lord,
for he hath triumphed gloriously:
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
The Lord is my strength and song,
and he is become my salvation:
he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation;
my father’s God, and I will exalt him.
The Lord is a man of war:
the Lord is his name.
Pharaoh’s chariots and his host hath he cast into the sea:
his chosen captains also are drowned in the Red sea.
15:1–21 Songs of Moses and Miriam: See Alter (1985: 50–4) and Follis (1987: 265–302)
for discussions of these songs, and comparison with Deborah’s song, Jdg 5
(p. 913); also Jeffrey 1992: 521–2.
4 chosen captains : So Gt, Gv, BB; Tn, jolly captains ; D, chosen Princes.
123
Heb. shook off.
124
Heb. hand.
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EXODUS: THE SONGS OF MOSES AND MIRIAM 107
5 The depths have covered them:

they sank into the bottom as a stone.
Thy right hand, O Lord, is become glorious in power:
thy right hand, O Lord, hath dashed in pieces the
enemy.
And in the greatness of thine excellency thou hast
overthrown them that rose up against thee:
thou sentest forth thy wrath,
which consumed them as stubble.
And with the blast of thy nostrils the waters were
gathered together,
the floods stood upright as an heap,
and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea.
The enemy said, I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil;
my lust shall be satisfied upon them;
I will draw my sword, my hand shall 125destroy them.
10 Thou didst blow with thy wind, the sea covered them:
they sank as lead in the mighty waters.
Who is like unto thee, O Lord, among the 126gods?
who is like thee, glorious in holiness,
fearful in praises, doing wonders?
Thou stretchedst out thy right hand,
the earth swallowed them.
Thou in thy mercy hast led forth the people which
thou hast redeemed:
thou hast guided them in thy strength unto thy holy
habitation.
The people shall hear, and be afraid:
sorrow shall take hold on the inhabitants of Palestina.
15 Then the dukes of Edom shall be amazed;
the mighty men of Moab, trembling shall take hold
upon them;
all the inhabitants of Canaan shall melt away.
Fear and dread shall fall upon them;
by the greatness of thine arm
they shall be as still as a stone;
till thy people pass over, O Lord,
till the people pass over, which thou hast purchased.
Thou shalt bring them in,
and plant them in the mountain of thine inheritance,
125
Or, repossess.
126
Or, mighty ones.
108 EXODUS: THE WILDERNESS
in the place, O Lord, which thou hast made for thee to

dwell in,
in the sanctuary, O Lord, which thy hands have
established.
The Lord shall reign for ever and ever.
For the horse of Pharaoh went in with his chariots and
with his horsemen into the sea, and the Lord brought again
the waters of the sea upon them; but the children of Israel
went on dry land in the midst of the sea.
20 And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a
timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her
with timbrels and with dances. And Miriam answered them,
Sing ye to the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously;
the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea.
THE WILDERNESS
15: 22 So Moses brought Israel from the Red sea, and they went
out into the wilderness of Shur; and they went three days
in the wilderness, and found no water. And when they came
to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for
they were bitter: therefore the name of it was called 127Marah.
And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What
25 shall we drink? And he cried unto the Lord; and the Lord
shewed him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters,
the waters were made sweet: there he made for them a statute
and an ordinance, and there he proved them, and said,
If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord
thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and
wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his
statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which
I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that
healeth thee.
17 sanctuary : either an anachronism, inserted by a later narrator to remind the

audience where the tale would end; or a mark of the [later] date of the poem.
20 Miriam: Moses’ sister, here named for the first time. Her song is a miniature
compared with Moses’, but it is much older, and may have had some liturgical
usage. Prophetic powers are not mere foretelling, but signify direct divine inspiration.
15:23 Marah: Perhaps a case of popular etymology. If the well contained sweet
water but was known as the ‘Bitter Well’, a story might have been invented around
it. See also Ruth 1:20, p. 144.
127
That is, Bitterness.
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EXODUS: MANNA 109
And they came to Elim, where were twelve wells of water,

and threescore and ten palm trees: and they encamped there
by the waters.
16:1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the con-
gregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness
of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth
day of the second month after their departing out of the
land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children
of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilder-
ness: and the children of Israel said unto them, Would to
God we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of
Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat
bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilder-
ness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
MANNA
16: 9 And Moses spake unto Aaron, Say unto all the congregation
of the children of Israel, Come near before the Lord: for
he hath heard your murmurings.
10 And it came to pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole con-
gregation of the children of Israel, that they looked toward
the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the Lord appeared
in the cloud. And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, I
have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak
unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the
morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know
that I am the Lord your God.
And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and
covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round
about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up,
15 behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small
round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And
when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another,
128
It is manna: for they wist not what it was.
And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the
Lord hath given you to eat. This is the thing which the Lord
16: 1 congregation: So Gv, D; Tn, Gt, whole company.

16:15 manna is still known, and still called mann; it exudes from a certain species
of tamarisk. It would certainly seem miraculous to desert travellers unfamiliar with
it. Tn has ‘What is this?’
128
Or, What is this? or, It is a portion.
110 EXODUS: IN SINAI
hath commanded, Gather of it every man according to his

eating, an omer 129for every man, according to the number
of your 130persons; take ye every man for them which are
in his tents.
And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some
more, some less. And when they did mete it with an
omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and he
that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man
according to his eating.
And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.
Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but
some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred
20 worms, and stank: and Moses was wroth with them. And
they gathered it every morning, every man according to
his eating: and when the sun waxed hot, it melted . . .
16: 27 And it came to pass, that there went out some of the
people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
And the Lord said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep
my commandments and my laws? See, for that the Lord
hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the
sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his
place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.
30 So the people rested on the seventh day. And the house
of Israel called the name thereof Manna: and it was like
coriander seed, white; and the taste of it was like wafers made
with honey.
IN SINAI
19: 1 In the third month, when the children of Israel were gone
forth out of the land of Egypt, the same day came they
into the wilderness of Sinai. For they were departed from
Rephidim, and were come to the desert of Sinai, and had
pitched in the wilderness; and there Israel camped before
the mount.
And Moses went up unto God, and the Lord called unto
him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to
the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel; ye have
18 omer : A measure of quantity, rather more than five imperial pints, or three
litres.
129
Heb. by the poll, or, head.
130
Heb. souls.
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EXODUS: IN SINAI 111
seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on
eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.
5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep
my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me
above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto
me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the
words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people,
and laid before their faces all these words which the Lord
commanded him. And all the people answered together, and
said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. And Moses
returned the words of the people unto the Lord.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in
a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with
thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words
of the people unto the Lord.
10 And the Lord said unto Moses, Go unto the people, and
sanctify them to day and to morrow, and let them wash
their clothes, and be ready against the third day: for the
third day the Lord will come down in the sight of all the
people upon mount Sinai.
And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about,
saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the
mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the
mount shall be surely put to death: there shall not an hand
touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through;
whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the 131trum-
pet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.
And Moses went down from the mount unto the people,
15 and sanctified the people; and they washed their clothes. And
he said unto the people, Be ready against the third day: come
not at your wives.
And it came to pass on the third day in the morning,
that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud
upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding
loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled.
And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to
meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the
mount. And mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke,
because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke
19:5 peculiar: Of especial value.
131
Or, cornet.
112 EXODUS: THE TEN COMMANDMENTS
thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole

mount quaked greatly.
And when the voice of the trumpet sounded long, and
waxed louder and louder, Moses spake, and God answered
20 him by a voice. And the Lord came down upon mount Sinai,
on the top of the mount: and the Lord called Moses up to
the top of the mount; and Moses went up.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go down, 132charge the
people, lest they break through unto the Lord to gaze, and
many of them perish. And let the priests also, which come
near to the Lord, sanctify themselves, lest the Lord break
forth upon them.
And Moses said unto the Lord, The people cannot come
up to mount Sinai: for thou chargedst us, saying, Set bounds
about the mount, and sanctify it. And the Lord said unto
him, Away, get thee down, and thou shalt come up, thou,
and Aaron with thee: but let not the priests and the people
break through to come up unto the Lord, lest he break forth
25 upon them. So Moses went down unto the people, and spake
unto them.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

20: 1 And God spake all these words, saying, I am the Lord thy
God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt,
out of the house of 133bondage.
Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any
likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in
the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:
5 thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them:
for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the
iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third
and fourth generation of them that hate me; and shewing
mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my
commandments.
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in
vain; for the Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh
his name in vain.
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt
10 thou labour, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is
the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any
132
Heb. contest.
133
Heb. servants.
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EXODUS: THE TABERNACLE AND THE ARK 113
work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant,
nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that
is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven
and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the
seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day,
and hallowed it.
Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be
long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill.
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
15 Thou shalt not steal.
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not
covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maid-
servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy
neighbour’s.
And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings,
and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking:
and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar
off. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and
we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die.
20 And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is
come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your
faces, that ye sin not. And the people stood afar off, and
Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where God was.
THE TABERNACLE AND THE ARK

Returning to Sinai, shrouded in thick smoke, Moses receives fur-
ther laws from God, and especially instructions for the establishment
of the house of God, the Tabernacle, in all its details. Aaron and
his sons are to take up the role of priests (ironically, during this time
Aaron is being persuaded by the people to act as priest of the god
of the golden calf).
The details of the Tabernacle are exhaustively set out, since each
one has ritual and symbolic significance. Moreover, as the Bible pro-
gresses, this symbolism develops and takes on increasing importance.
25: 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the
children of Israel, that they 134bring me an 135offering: of
every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take
my offering.
134
Heb. take for me.
135
Or, heave offering.
114 EXODUS: THE TABERNACLE AND THE ARK
And this is the offering which ye shall take of them; gold,

and silver, and brass, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and
5 136
fine linen, and goats’ hair, and rams’ skins dyed red, and
badgers’ skins, and shittim wood, oil for the light, spices
for anointing oil, and for sweet incense, onyx stones, and
stones to be set in the ephod, and in the breastplate.
And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell
among them. According to all that I show thee, after the
pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instru-
ments thereof, even so shall ye make it.
10 And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits
and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a
half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height
thereof. And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold, within
and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it
a crown of gold round about.
And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them
in the four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the
one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it.
And thou shalt make staves of shittim wood, and overlay
them with gold. And thou shalt put the staves into the rings
by the sides of the ark, that the ark may be borne with them.
15 The staves shall be in the rings of the ark: they shall not
be taken from it.
25:5 shittim wood: A common kind of acacia found in the Jordan valley; hard,
close-grained and very useful in carpentry where strength and durability are required.
Only the best materials are acceptable for sacred purposes.
7 ephod . . . breastplate: parts of the high priest’s vestments, fully described in
Chapter 28. An ephod is a kind of tunic.
9 tabernacle: Vg, tabernaculum, ‘a little shed’. The Hebrew signifies ‘a dwelling-
place’ (Tn, habitation); this is essential (‘that I may dwell among them’).
The Tabernacle (and later the Temple modelled on it) is not simply a place for
meeting and worship, but literally God’s house, his residence when he visits his
subjects. Tyndale uses tabernacle in NT: this is one of the few ecclesiastical words
that slipped through his modernising net (see p. 21).
10 ark: A chest. This and the mercy seat belong in the inmost chamber, the
others in the antechamber, as later defined in the text. This word, like tabernacle,
has taken on a special, religious significance, but in Middle English was in com-
mon use for a large box or chest. Ark, from Vg arca, which was used in the
biblical context in parallel with the native word, has now superseded it completely,
in this usage.
cubit: About 18 – 20 ins: a measure from fingertips to elbow, or two spans of the
outstretched hand (which is almost the same).
136
Or, silk.
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EXODUS: THE TABERNACLE AND THE ARK 115
And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I
shall give thee.
And thou shalt make a mercy seat of pure gold: two cubits
and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half
the breadth thereof.
And thou shalt make two cherubims of gold, of beaten work
shalt thou make them, in the two ends of the mercy seat.
And make one cherub on the one end, and the other cherub
on the other end: even 137of the mercy seat shall ye make
20 the cherubims on the two ends thereof. And the cherubims
shall stretch forth their wings on high, covering the mercy seat
with their wings, and their faces shall look one to another;
toward the mercy seat shall the faces of the cherubims be.
And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark;
and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give
thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune
with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two
cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony . . .
25: 31 And thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold: of beaten
work shall the candlestick be made: his shaft, and his
branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of
the same. And six branches shall come out of the sides of
it; three branches of the candlestick out of the one side,
and three branches of the candlestick out of the other side:
three bowls made like unto almonds, with a knop and a
flower in one branch; and three bowls made like almonds
in the other branch, with a knop and a flower: so in the
six branches that come out of the candlestick.
And in the candlestick shall be four bowls made like unto
almonds, with their knops and their flowers. And there shall
35 be a knop under two branches of the same, and a knop under
two branches of the same, and a knop under two branches
of the same, according to the six branches that proceed out
of the candlestick. Their knops and their branches shall be of
the same: all it shall be one beaten work of pure gold.
17 mercy seat: Tyndale’s word, generally adopted (D, propitiatory) for God’s throne,
which stands over the ark (Lev 16:2, p. 120).
25:31 his : A relic of ME grammar. Before the word its came into use, his was the
possessive adjective in the neuter as well as the masculine. See p. 41.
candlestick: A stand for oil lamps with floating wicks.
knop: A bud: hence, a boss or bulge.
137
Or, of the matter of the mercy seat.
116 EXODUS: THE VEIL
And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they
shall 138light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over
against 139it.
And the tongs thereof, and the snuffdishes thereof, shall
be of pure gold. Of a talent of pure gold shall he make it,
with all these vessels. And look that thou make them after
their pattern, 140which was showed thee in the mount.
The hangings and fittings are detailed.
THE VEIL
26: 31 And thou shalt make a veil of blue, and purple, and scarlet,
and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cherubims
shall it be made: and thou shalt hang it upon four pillars
of shittim wood overlaid with gold: their hooks shall be of
gold, upon the four sockets of silver.
And thou shalt hang up the veil under the taches, that
thou mayest bring in thither within the veil the ark of the
testimony: and the veil shall divide unto you between the
holy place and the most holy. And thou shalt put the mercy
seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
And thou shalt set the table without the veil, and the
35 candlestick over against the table on the side of the taber-
nacle toward the south: and thou shalt put the table on the
north side.
And thou shalt make an hanging for the door of the
tent, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine twined linen,
wrought with needlework. And thou shalt make for the
hanging five pillars of shittim wood, and overlay them with
gold, and their hooks shall be of gold: and thou shalt cast
five sockets of brass for them.
The great altar is made, and Aaron’s priesthood is established.
38 snuffdishes: Dishes to take the burnt wicks.

39 talent : A weight of about 75 lbs.
26:31 veil: for its importance see Lev 16:2; Mark 15:38; Heb 9:3 – 11; 10:19 – 21; and
Jeffrey (1992: 808 – 9).
33 taches : Clasps; Tn, Gt, D, rings; Gv, hooks.
holy . . . most holy : The priests’ sanctuary is only an antechamber to God’s own
room, the holiest place of all.
138
Or, cause to ascend.
139
Heb. the face of it.
140
Heb. which thou wast caused to see.
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EXODUS: THE WORKMEN 117
THE ALTAR OF INCENSE

30: 1 And thou shalt make an altar to burn incense upon: of
shittim wood shalt thou make it. A cubit shall be the length
thereof, and a cubit the breadth thereof; foursquare shall
it be: and two cubits shall be the height thereof: the horns
thereof shall be of the same. And thou shalt overlay it with
pure gold, the 141top thereof, and the 142sides thereof round
about, and the horns thereof; and thou shalt make unto it
a crown of gold round about.
And two golden rings shalt thou make to it under the
crown of it, by the two 143corners thereof, upon the two
sides of it shalt thou make it; and they shall be for places
5 for the staves to bear it withal. And thou shalt make the
staves of shittim wood, and overlay them with gold.
And thou shalt put it before the veil that is by the ark
of the testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the
testimony, where I will meet with thee.
And Aaron shall burn thereon 144sweet incense every morn-
ing: when he dresseth the lamps, he shall burn incense upon
it. And when Aaron 145lighteth the lamps 146at even, he shall
burn incense upon it, a perpetual incense before the Lord
throughout your generations.
Ye shall offer no strange incense thereon, nor burnt
sacrifice, nor meat offering; neither shall ye pour drink offer-
ing thereon.
10 And Aaron shall make an atonement upon the horns of
it once in a year with the blood of the sin offering of atone-
ments: once in the year shall he make atonement upon it
throughout your generations: it is most holy unto the Lord.
THE WORKMEN
31: 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, See, I have called
by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the
tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the spirit of God,
30: 1 altar . . . incense: This stands in the priests’ sanctuary.
141
Heb. roof.
142
Heb. walls.
143
Heb. ribs.
144
Heb. incense of spices.
145
Or, setteth up. Heb. causeth to ascend.
146
Heb. between the two evens.
118 EXODUS: COMPLETION
in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and

in all manner of workmanship, to devise cunning works, to
work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of
5 stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all
manner of workmanship.
And I, behold, I have given with him Aholiab, the son
of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan: and in the hearts of all
that are wise hearted I have put wisdom, that they may make
all that I have commanded thee; the tabernacle of the con-
gregation, and the ark of the testimony, and the mercy seat
that is thereupon, and all the furniture of the tabernacle,
and the table and his 147furniture, and the pure candlestick
with all his furniture, and the altar of incense, and the altar
of burnt offering with all his furniture, and the laver and
10 his foot, and the cloths of service, and the holy garments
for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to min-
ister in the priest’s office, and the anointing oil, and sweet
incense for the holy place: according to all that I have com-
manded thee shall they do.
COMPLETION
40:29 And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the
tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon
it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the Lord com-
manded Moses.
And he set the laver between the tent of the congrega-
tion and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal. And
Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their
30 feet thereat: when they went into the tent of the congrega-
tion, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed;
as the Lord commanded Moses.
And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle
and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So
Moses finished the work.
31:9 altar of burnt offering: This great altar stands in the people’s court.
32:1 –40:28 All these instructions have been given to Moses in darkness on top of
Sinai. The people, believing him to be lost, persuade Aaron to make another
god, a golden calf, by melting down their golden ornaments. Moses, on return-
ing, angrily destroys the tablets of the Law, but God is persuaded, when the idol
is destroyed by a penitent people, to remake the tablets. The Tabernacle is then
constructed as ordered.
147
Heb. vessels.
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LEVITICUS 119
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and

35 the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was
not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because
the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled
the tabernacle.
And when the cloud was taken up from over the
tabernacle, the children of Israel 148went onward in all their
journeys: but if the cloud were not taken up, then they
journeyed not till the day that it was taken up. For the cloud
of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was
on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, through-
out all their journeys.
Leviticus
In Exodus, the Israelites encamped at Sinai; in the next book, Leviticus,
there is virtually no travel at all. They stay where they are, and Moses
dispenses their elaborate and comprehensive Law. Besides the per-
sonal and ritual aspects, there is an emphasis on the foundation of
the priesthood, with Aaron as archetype, that suggests an intention
to authenticate and justify its power. The status of the priesthood,
after all, was destroyed with the destruction of the state of Judah.
The ramifications of the Law extend from the middle of Exodus
through Leviticus to Numbers, while Deuteronomy, a later text, adds
still more. There are regulations concerning ritually clean and unclean
foods, the assessment of diseases, the regulation of marriage, the
celebration of feasts. This is a single, unified law for the entire com-
munity; there is no distinction between religious and civil law,
between criminal and civil cases, between law and morality. Inevitably,
the complexity and scope of this law left many specific issues uncer-
tain, and these were discussed for many centuries. The codification
of this ‘case law’, the Mishnah, was not concluded until the end of
the second century ad, and so it did not enter the Christian tradi-
tion of the Bible, although exchanges between the Scribes and Christ
in NT form part of that debate (see also Epilogue, p. 343).
Leviticus covers many areas: manuals of ceremony (Chapters 1–9);
directives concerning ceremonial purity (11–16); laws concerning purity
of life (17 – 26); regulation of vows, etc. (27). A warning narration
of the fate of Nadab and Abihu, who broke the ceremonial laws, is
inserted as Chapter 10. Here, Chapter 16 is part of the ceremonial
law of the annual Day of Atonement, when the nation’s guilt is
148
Heb. journeyed.
120 LEVITICUS: THE DAY OF ATONEMENT
purified, and Chapter 19 illustrates the ‘Law of Holiness’ – that is

of holiness of life.
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT

16: 2 And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto Aaron thy
brother, that he come not at all times into the holy place
within the veil, before the mercy seat, which is upon the
ark; that he die not: for I will appear in the cloud upon
the mercy seat.
Thus shall Aaron come into the holy place: with a young
bullock for a sin offering, and a ram for a burnt offering.
He shall put on the holy linen coat, and he shall have the
linen breeches upon his flesh, and shall be girded with a
linen girdle, and with the linen mitre shall he be attired:
these are the holy garments; therefore shall he wash his flesh
in water, and so put them on.
5 And he shall take of the congregation of the children of
Israel two kids of the goats for a sin offering, and one ram
for a burnt offering. And Aaron shall offer his bullock of
the sin offering, which is for himself, and make an atone-
ment for himself, and for his house.
And he shall take the two goats, and present them
before the Lord at the door of the tabernacle of the con-
gregation. And Aaron shall cast lots upon the two goats;
one lot for the Lord, and the other lot for the 149scapegoat.
And Aaron shall bring the goat upon which the Lord’s
16:2 Aaron had been established as the first High Priest (Exod 28; Lev 8).
2 mercy seat: See n, p. 115.
3 sin . . . burnt offering: There is an essential difference. Burnt offerings were
voluntary acts of homage; sin or trespass offerings were required acts of propitia-
tion, a kind of fine paid to God.
Sacrifice had a twofold function: to show allegiance to God, and to ward off the
effects of transgression of the Law. All the prophets from Amos to Jesus insist
that the only valid sacrifice is a good and true life, but sacrifice was a major
feature of Temple ritual down to Roman times, until the Temple was destroyed
in ad 70. Rituals of sacrifice became, for the Christians turning their backs on
the Temple (and being excluded from it), an irrelevance of the past. As a sym-
bol, however, it then came into its own; Christ’s is the final sacrifice, ending all
further need for propitiation and figuring the fulfilment of the Covenant; see
pp. 479–81.
8 scapegoat: The word is Tn’s invention: so all except D, goat of dimission (Vg,
capro emissario).
149
Heb. Azazel.
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LEVITICUS: THE DAY OF ATONEMENT 121
10 lot 150fell, and offer him for a sin offering. But the goat, on
which the lot fell to be the scapegoat, shall be presented
alive before the Lord, to make an atonement with him, and
to let him go for a scapegoat into the wilderness.
And Aaron shall bring the bullock of the sin offering,
which is for himself, and shall make an atonement for him-
self, and for his house, and shall kill the bullock of the sin
offering which is for himself: and he shall take a censer full
of burning coals of fire from off the altar before the Lord,
and his hands full of sweet incense beaten small, and bring
it within the veil: and he shall put the incense upon the
fire before the Lord, that the cloud of the incense may cover
the mercy seat that is upon the testimony, that he die not:
and he shall take of the blood of the bullock, and sprinkle
it with his finger upon the mercy seat eastward; and before
the mercy seat shall he sprinkle of the blood with his finger
seven times.
15 Then shall he kill the goat of the sin offering, that is for
the people, and bring his blood within the veil, and do with
that blood as he did with the blood of the bullock, and
sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, and before the mercy seat:
and he shall make an atonement for the holy place, because
of the uncleanness of the children of Israel, and because of
their transgressions in all their sins: and so shall he do for
the tabernacle of the congregation, that 151remaineth among
them in the midst of their uncleanness.
And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the con-
gregation when he goeth in to make an atonement in the
holy place, until he come out, and have made an atonement
for himself, and for his household, and for all the congre-
gation of Israel.
And he shall go out unto the altar that is before the
Lord, and make an atonement for it; and shall take of the
blood of the bullock, and of the blood of the goat, and
put it upon the horns of the altar round about. And he
shall sprinkle of the blood upon it with his finger seven times,
and cleanse it, and hallow it from the uncleanness of the
children of Israel.
20 And when he hath made an end of reconciling the holy
place, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and the altar,
he shall bring the live goat: and Aaron shall lay both his
150
Heb. went up.
151
Heb. dwelleth.
122 LEVITICUS: A PART OF THE LAW
hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess over him
all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their trans-
gressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of
the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of 152a fit
man into the wilderness: and the goat shall bear upon him
all their iniquities unto a land 153not inhabited: and he shall
let go the goat in the wilderness.
And Aaron shall come into the tabernacle of the con-
gregation, and shall put off the linen garments, which he put
on when he went into the holy place, and shall leave them
there: and he shall wash his flesh with water in the holy
place, and put on his garments, and come forth, and offer
his burnt offering, and the burnt offering of the people,
and make an atonement for himself, and for the people.
25 And the fat of the sin offering shall he burn upon the altar.
And he that let go the goat for the scapegoat shall wash
his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward come
into the camp.
And the bullock for the sin offering, and the goat for the
sin offering, whose blood was brought in to make atone-
ment in the holy place, shall one carry forth without the
camp; and they shall burn in the fire their skins, and their
flesh, and their dung. And he that burneth them shall wash
his clothes, and bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he
shall come into the camp.
And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the
seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict
your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your
own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: for
30 on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to
cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before
the Lord. It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall
afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
A PART OF THE LAW

19: 1 And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto all the
congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them,
Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and
keep my sabbaths: I am the Lord your God.
152
Heb. a man of opportunity.
153
Heb. of separations.
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LEVITICUS: A PART OF THE LAW 123
Turn ye not unto idols, nor make to yourselves molten

gods: I am the Lord your God.
5 And if ye offer a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord,
ye shall offer it at your own will. It shall be eaten the same
day ye offer it, and on the morrow: and if ought remain until
the third day, it shall be burnt in the fire. And if it be eaten
at all on the third day, it is abominable; it shall not be
accepted. Therefore every one that eateth it shall bear his
iniquity, because he hath profaned the hallowed thing of the
Lord: and that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt
not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou
10 gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean
thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape of thy
vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and stranger:
I am the Lord your God.
Ye shall not steal, neither deal falsely, neither lie one to
another. And ye shall not swear by my name falsely, neither
shalt thou profane the name of thy God: I am the Lord.
Thou shalt not defraud thy neighbour, neither rob him:
the wages of him that is hired shall not abide with thee all
night until the morning.
Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumblingblock
before the blind, but shalt fear thy God: I am the Lord.
15 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment: thou shalt not
respect the person of the poor, nor honour the person of the
mighty: but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour.
Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among
thy people: neither shalt thou stand against the blood of
thy neighbour: I am the Lord.
Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt
in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, 154and not suffer sin upon
him. Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against
the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neigh-
bour as thyself: I am the Lord.
Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle
gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with
mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and
woollen come upon thee.
19:16 as a talebearer : Tn, Cv; Gt, as a privy accuser; Cv, false privy, Gv, walk
about with tales; BB, go up and down with tales; D, be a criminatour, or a whisperer.
18 thou shalt love . . . : See Mark 12:31, James 2:8, pp. 377, 489.
154
Or, that thou bear not sin for him.
124 LEVITICUS: A PART OF THE LAW
20 And whosoever lieth carnally with a woman, that is a bond-

maid, 155betrothed to an husband, and not at all redeemed,
nor freedom given her; 156she shall be scourged; they shall
not be put to death, because she was not free. And he shall
bring his trespass offering unto the Lord, unto the door of
the tabernacle of the congregation, even a ram for a trespass
offering. And the priest shall make an atonement for him
with the ram of the trespass offering before the Lord for
his sin which he hath done: and the sin which he hath done
shall be forgiven him.
And when ye shall come into the land, and shall have
planted all manner of trees for food, then ye shall count
the fruit thereof as uncircumcised: three years shall it be as
uncircumcised unto you: it shall not be eaten of. But in
the fourth year all the fruit thereof shall be 157holy to praise
25 the Lord withal. And in the fifth year shall ye eat of the fruit
thereof, that it may yield unto you the increase thereof: I
am the Lord your God.
Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood: neither shall ye
use enchantment, nor observe times. Ye shall not round the
corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners
of thy beard. Ye shall not make any cuttings in your flesh
for the dead, nor print any marks upon you: I am the Lord.
Do not 158prostitute thy daughter, to cause her to be a
whore; lest the land fall to whoredom, and the land become
30 full of wickedness. Ye shall keep my sabbaths, and reverence
my sanctuary: I am the Lord.
20 she shall be scourged: An unsatisfactory translation; the reading is ambiguous,
as the margin suggests. The word for scourging is better ‘investigation’: perhaps,
‘there shall be an inquiry’, implying that someone may be punishable when a
third person’s property (the slave) has been used without permission. Tn, there
shall be a pain upon it.
26 –27 times . . . round: Suggesting ritual acts that may associate one with pagan
religions.
29 prostitute: This may seem to be a superfluous command, but it probably refers
to pollution in pagan sexual rites rather than to common prostitution. The union
of gods, which fertilised the land and brought forth crops, was symbolised, even
conjured, in the coupling of the suppliant farmer and a temple devotee. Such
sexual rites, part of the normal culture of the Canaanites, were a serious temp-
tation to idolatry and the loss of the nation’s cultural identity. See Ashtoreth, 1
Kgs 11:5n, p. 181, and Amos 2:7–8, p. 200.
155
Or, abused by any. Heb. reproached by, (or, for) man.
156
Or, they. Heb. there shall be a scourging.
157
Heb. holiness of praises to the Lord.
158
Heb. profane.
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NUMBERS 125
Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek

after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your
God.
Thou shalt rise up before the hoary head, and honour
the face of the old man, and fear thy God: I am the Lord.
And if a stranger sojourn with thee in your land, ye shall
not 159vex him. But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall
be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love
him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt:
I am the Lord your God.
35 Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in meteyard,
in weight, or in measure. Just balances, just 160weights, a just
ephah, and a just hin, shall ye have: I am the Lord your God,
which brought you out of the land of Egypt. Therefore shall
ye observe all my statutes, and all my judgments, and do
them: I am the Lord.
Numbers
Numbers expands the Law, and restarts the story of the wandering
Israelites in the desert, probably in the thirteenth century bc
(Ussher’s date for the events and for Moses’ supposed writing of
the book is 1446). It takes its name from the ‘numbering’ (as an
army) of the tribes and their officers; the formal rituals described
are, on the whole, of interest only to the specialist. The episodic
narrative portions do little to advance the main action of the Old
Testament from Sinai to the Promised Land; the central argument
of the book is that God holds the Israelites back for many years
because they have doubted his power to give them these rich,
powerful and well-guarded cities (Num 14 – 17). The book contains
repeated exhortations to the people, based on fifth-century fears for
national religious purity, to shun contact with the tribes they meet.
One effect of this fear is that the narrative portions are often xeno-
phobic as well as bloodthirsty (e.g. 25:1–14).
Further reading might be: the budding of Aaron’s rod (17:1– 11);
Moses’ striking water from the rock at Meribah (20:1– 13); the voice
of Balaam’s ass (Num 22– 4). There is little critical comment.
35 meteyard: A standard measuring rod.

36 ephah . . . hin: measures of volume, dry and liquid respectively.
159
Or, oppress.
160
Heb. stones.
126 NUMBERS: THE FIERY SERPENT
THE FIERY SERPENT

21: 4 And they journeyed from mount Hor by the way of the
Red sea, to compass the land of Edom: and the soul of the
people was much 161discouraged because of the way.
5 And the people spake against God, and against Moses,
Wherefore have ye brought us up out of Egypt to die in
the wilderness? for there is no bread, neither is there any
water; and our soul loatheth this light bread.
And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people,
and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died.
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have
sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against
thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the serpents
from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery ser-
pent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that
every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live.
And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole,
and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man,
when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.
At the end of Numbers, Israel is poised on the edge of Jordan, ready
to invade but anxious in the face of such well-prepared enemies.
Moses, like all the others of his generation, is, for his sins, not per-
mitted to enter the promised land; Deuteronomy 34:1–6 records that
he died in sight of it.
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy concludes the Pentateuch; as part of the OT narrative,
it forms something of an interruption in the narrative which began
in Exodus, was delayed in Leviticus and Numbers, and is pursued in
Joshua. It is largely a reinterpretation of Law, usually identified with
the ‘book of the law’ discovered in the reign of Josiah, the reform-
ing king of Judah (c.638 –608 bc: 2 Kgs Chapters 22– 3), insistently
warning the people in powerful rhetoric of the ancient Covenant,
and not to take their prosperity for granted. Yet this, rather than an
interruption, is a restatement of the core theme of the Pentateuch,
underlining the chief purpose of the narrative.
161
Heb. shortened, or, grieved.
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DEUTERONOMY: THE LAW 127
Ussher dates Deuteronomy (‘Second Law’), at 1446 bc, and, with

tradition (34:1– 4), supposes it to be Moses’ work on the point of
death. Much of its material may be ancient, but modern consensus
puts the date of its final recension c.550–540 bc: see Anderson (1988:
376 – 9).
THE LAW
6: 1 Now these are the commandments, the statutes, and the
judgments, which the Lord your God commanded to teach
you, that ye might do them in the land whither ye 162go to
possess it: that thou mightest fear the Lord thy God, to
keep all his statutes and his commandments, which I com-
mand thee, thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son, all the
days of thy life; and that thy days may be prolonged.
Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it
may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily,
as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the
land that floweth with milk and honey.
5 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord: and thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which
I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou
shalt 163teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt
talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when
thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and
when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign
upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine
eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house,
and on thy gates.
10 And it shall be, when the Lord thy God shall have brought
thee into the land which he sware unto thy fathers, to
Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give thee great and
goodly cities, which thou buildedst not, and houses full of
all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged,
which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which
thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be
full; then beware lest thou forget the Lord, which brought
6:4 Hear, O Israel . . . one Lord: Of all the Judaic Law, this verse has been taken
as the central admonition. Note the use Jesus makes of it (p. 377).
162
Heb. pass over.
163
Heb. whet, or, sharpen.
128 DEUTERONOMY: THE LAW
thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of

164
bondage.
Thou shalt fear the Lord thy God, and serve him, and
shalt swear by his name. Ye shall not go after other gods,
of the gods of the people which are round about you (for
15 the Lord thy God is a jealous God among you); lest the
anger of the Lord thy God be kindled against thee, and
destroy thee from off the face of the earth . . .
30: 1 And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come
upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before
thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the
nations, whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and
shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice
according to all that I command thee this day, thou and
thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul; that
then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and have com-
passion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all
the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee
...
30:8 And thou shalt return and obey the voice of the Lord, and
do all his commandments which I command thee this day.
And the Lord thy God will make thee plenteous in every
work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the
fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good:
for the Lord will again rejoice over thee for good, as he
10 rejoiced over thy fathers: if thou shalt hearken unto the voice
of the Lord thy God, to keep his commandments and his
statutes which are written in this book of the law, and if
thou turn unto the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and
with all thy soul.
15 the anger of the Lord: Deut may be identified with the book of laws discovered
in Josiah’s reign, c.620 bc, (2 Kgs 22:8; see p. 189), at which time the northern
kingdom of Israel had already been destroyed by Assyria (722 bc). In this case
the author warns his audience that a similar threat hung over Judah – in vain:
Josiah was killed at Megiddo, c.609 bc, and Judah finally overwhelmed in
597 –586 bc. If this is primarily a book of the sixth century bc, then the threat
has been fulfilled, as his audience are only too aware. In either case, the aim of
the author or editor is not to frighten his hearers with a savage god, but to declare
that they have brought their own fate upon themselves by their arrogance.
164
Heb. bondmen, or, servants.
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DEUTERONOMY: MOSES’ DEATH 129
For this commandment which I command thee this day,

it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. It is not in
heaven, that thou shouldest say. Who shall go up for us to
heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it, and do
it? Neither is it beyond the sea, that thou shouldest say,
Who shall go over the sea for us, and bring it unto us, that
we may hear it, and do it? But the word is very nigh unto
thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do
it . . .
30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that
I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing:
therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou
mayest obey his voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto
20 him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou
mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy
fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.
MOSES’ DEATH
34: 1 And Moses went up from the plains of Moab, unto the
mountains of Nebo, to the top of Pisgah, that is over against
Jericho: and the Lord showed him all the land of Gilead,
unto Dan, and all Naphtali, and the land of Ephraim, and
Manasseh, and all the land of Judah, unto the utmost sea,
and the South, and the plain of the valley of Jericho, the
city of palm trees unto Zoar.
And the Lord said unto him, This is the land which I
sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, saying,
I will give it unto thy seed: I have caused thee to see it
5 with thine eyes, but thou shalt not go over thither. So Moses
the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab,
according to the word of the Lord.
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THE HISTORIES
The history of Israel after the death of Moses is continued in two

series of books. Joshua-Judges and Samuel-Kings, compiled in the
sixth and fifth century bc, cover many centuries, from perhaps
the thirteenth century bc to the sixth. The second set, Chronicles-
Ezra-Nehemiah, once a single work (c.250–150 bc), rewrites the his-
tory from the death of Saul, and continues it through the work of
Ezra and Nehemiah in the renewal of Judah after the Exile.
The series from Joshua to Kings is deeply influenced by the
Pentateuch, and by the trauma of exile that has affected the com-
piling authors. Events are determined by God’s will and observance
or neglect of the Covenant, but the style changes; the Pentateuch
has created the heroic myth of Moses, agent of God, while the authors
of Samuel and Kings wrote a history of kings and soldiers, and some-
times of the people. True, ‘everything is mediated by the tradition’,1
but the result is as close to genuine history as one can expect. 1-2
Samuel reads like a continuous account, unlike the episodic structure
of the earlier narratives; the whole moves through the story of con-
quest and success towards the inevitable end in Babylonian exile.
It is a violent history, compared with the quiet nomad world of
Abraham, centuries before. Joshua picks up from Deuteronomy with
its account of the ruthless occupation of Canaan (c.1200 bc?). Judges
narrates events of the lawless times that followed, culminating in a
tale of mass rape, murder and vengeful near-genocide ( Jdg 19– 21).
Leviticus enjoins good and peaceful fair-dealing among the people
(p. 130), and no doubt most of them tried to live honest lives; but
the line, ‘The land had rest forty years’ ( Jdg. 5:31) is significant for
its rarity.
In 1 Samuel (c.1000 bc), things improve. Samuel, God’s choice
of Judge, rules Israel effectively, but the people, harassed by the
Philistines, demand, and get, a King. Saul is chosen, and a revolution
has taken place. The loose, often rivalrous tribal association of past
years, is converted into a single kingdom of Israel (1 Sam 8–9), with,
1
Kratz (2000: 309).
132 THE HISTORIES
eventually, a capital at Jerusalem (2 Sam 5). Bloodshed is not ended;

Saul’s suspicion of young David, the people’s hero, the endemic rivalry
of South and North, and the revolt of David’s son Absalom (pp. 153ff.)
demonstrate the fragility of internal peace.
Solomon’s kingdom reaches its zenith of peace, justice and
power, but the instability is proved when, after his death (c.900 bc)
Israel, centred in Samaria in the north, breaks away from Judah. The
one kingdom becomes two (1Kings 12): two to three hundred years
later, each is crushed in turn by the great powers of the age (Fall,
pp. 187ff. below).
So Kings ends. Ezra and Nehemiah then take up the story of
return, recovery and rebuilding, against Samaritan opposition, and
the re-establishment of the ancient religion and reaffirmation of the
Law, through the agency of the Pentateuch.
Much of the record of these books is perfunctory, but at its best
it is outstanding. The tragedy of Absalom, unfolding from David’s
careless kingship, is depicted with vivid but economic detail. The
grim irony of time is carefully plotted, in Joab’s life and death. Ruth
is a welcome respite, but otherwise there is little happiness in these
pages. Without the occasional glimpses of everyday life – Joab’s field,
a woman spreading corn to dry, even the two squabbling prosti-
tutes – it might seem as if savage memories of the fall of Jerusalem
(pp. 189–93) were reflected back on to the page spelling out the old
wars, seeing wholesale slaughter as normality. It remains for the
prophets to draw attention to the basic matters of history: the quiet
existence of families under vine and fig tree, where ‘none shall make
them afraid’.
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Joshua
The progressive conquest of the promised land of Canaan is narrated
in a series of episodes as a single extended campaign. The principal
incidents of special interest are the siege of Jericho in Jos 2 and 6;
crossing Jordan (Jos 3); the sun made to stand still (10:1–14). After
the conquest seemed established, Chapters 13–19 list the distribution
of the land, while Chapters 20–1 concern ‘cities of refuge’ or sanctuary.
The campaign may be dated in the thirteenth century bc; the text,
however, took its present form much later, in the seventh to sixth
century bc. (Ussher dates these events in 1441 bc, perhaps only two
centuries out.) The book ends with a renewal of the Covenant, to
underline the purpose of the whole.
Further reading. There is little critical comment: Webb (1987) is
useful; and see Culley (1992) 114 –7 for discussion of the narrative
technique.
JERICHO
2:1 And Joshua the son of Nun 2sent out of Shittim two men
to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And
they went, and came into an harlot’s house, named Rahab,
and 3lodged there.
And it was told the king of Jericho, saying, Behold, there
came men in hither to night of the children of Israel to
search out the country. And the king of Jericho sent unto
Rahab, saying, Bring forth the men that are come to thee,
which are entered into thine house: for they be come to
search out all the country.
And the woman took the two men, and hid them, and
said thus, There came men unto me, but I wist not whence
5 they were: and it came to pass about the time of shutting
of the gate, when it was dark, that the men went out: whither
the men went I wot not: pursue after them quickly; for ye
shall overtake them.
But she had brought them up to the roof of the house,
and hid them with the stalks of flax, which she had laid in
order upon the roof. And the men pursued after them the
way to Jordan unto the fords: and as soon as they which
pursued after them were gone out, they shut the gate.
2
Or, had sent.
3
Heb. lay.
134 JOSHUA: JERICHO
And before they were laid down, she came up unto them
upon the roof; and she said unto the men, I know that the
Lord hath given you the land, and that your terror is fallen
upon us, and that all the inhabitants of the land 4faint because
of you . . .
2:12 Now therefore, I pray you, swear unto me by the Lord,
since I have showed you kindness, that ye will also show
kindness unto my father’s house, and give me a true token:
and that ye will save alive my father, and my mother, and
my brethren, and my sisters, and all that they have, and
deliver our lives from death.
And the men answered her, Our life 5for yours, if ye utter
not this our business. And it shall be, when the Lord hath
given us the land, that we will deal kindly and truly with thee.
15 Then she let them down by a cord through the window:
for her house was upon the town wall, and she dwelt upon
the wall. And she said unto them, Get you to the mountain,
lest the pursuers meet you; and hide yourselves there three
days, until the pursuers be returned; and afterward may ye
go your way.
And the men said unto her, We will be blameless of this
thine oath which thou hast made us swear. Behold, when
we come into the land, thou shalt bind this line of scarlet
thread in the window which thou didst let us down by:
and thou shalt 6bring thy father, and thy mother, and thy
brethren, and all thy father’s household, home unto thee.
20 And it shall be, that whosoever shall go out of the doors
of thy house into the street, his blood shall be upon his head,
and we will be guiltless: and whosoever shall be with thee
in the house, his blood shall be on our head, if any hand
be upon him. And if thou utter this our business, then we
will be quit of thine oath which thou hast made us to swear.
And she said, According unto your words, so be it. And
she sent them away, and they departed: and she bound the
scarlet line in the window.
And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode
there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the
pursuers sought them throughout all the way, but found
them not. So the two men returned, and descended from
the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the
son of Nun, and told him all things that befell them: and
4
Heb. melt.
5
Heb. instead of you to die.
6
Heb. gather.
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JOSHUA: JERICHO 135
they said unto Joshua, Truly the Lord hath delivered into
our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the
country do 7faint because of us . . .
6: 1 Now Jericho 8was straitly shut up because of the children
of Israel: none went out, and none came in. And the Lord
said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho,
and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valour.
And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go
round about the city once. Thus shalt thou do six days. And
seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams’
horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven
5 times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets. And it
shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with
the ram’s horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet,
all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall
of the city shall fall down 9flat, and the people shall ascend
up every man straight before him.
And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said
unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven
priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark
of the Lord. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and
compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before
the ark of the Lord.
And it came to pass, when Joshua had spoken unto the
people, that the seven priests bearing the seven trumpets
of rams’ horns passed on before the Lord, and blew with
the trumpets: and the ark of the covenant of the Lord fol-
lowed them. And the armed men went before the priests
that blew with the trumpets, and the 10rearward came after
the ark, the priests going on, and blowing with the trum-
10 pets. And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye
shall not shout, nor 11make any noise with your voice,
neither shall any word proceed out of your mouth, until
the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout. So the ark of
the Lord compassed the city, going about it once: and they
came into the camp, and lodged in the camp.
And Joshua rose early in the morning, and the priests
took up the ark of the Lord. And seven priests bearing seven
trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord went on
7
Heb. melt.
8
Heb. did shut up, and was shut up.
9
Heb. under it.
10
Heb. gathering host.
11
Heb. make your voice to be heard.
136 JOSHUA: JUDGES
continually, and blew with the trumpets: and the armed men
went before them; but the rearward came after the ark of the
Lord, the priests going on, and blowing with the trumpets.
And the second day they compassed the city once, and
15 returned into the camp: so they did six days. And it came
to pass on the seventh day, that they rose early about the
dawning of the day, and compassed the city after the same
manner seven times: only on that day they compassed the
city seven times.
And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests
blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout;
for the Lord hath given you the city . . .
6: 20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trum-
pets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound
of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout,
that the wall fell down 12flat, so that the people went up
into the city, every man straight before him, and they took
the city. And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city,
both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep,
and ass, with the edge of the sword.
But Joshua had said unto the two men that had spied
out the country, Go into the harlot’s house, and bring out
thence the woman, and all that she hath, as ye sware unto
her. And the young men that were spies went in, and brought
out Rahab, and her father, and her mother, and her
brethren, and all that she had; and they brought out all her
13
kindred, and left them without the camp of Israel.
And they burnt the city with fire, and all that was
therein: only the silver, and the gold, and the vessels of brass
and of iron, they put into the treasury of the house of the
20 Lord. And Joshua saved Rahab the harlot alive, and her
father’s household, and all that she had; and she dwelleth
in Israel even unto this day; because she hid the messen-
gers, which Joshua sent to spy out Jericho.
Judges
According to Joshua, the land is decisively conquered; but in Judges,
it is a loose confederation without a king, a land of warlords. The
purposeful drive of previous books is lacking; any overall leadership
comes from ‘judges’, seeing themselves as God-chosen leaders. The
conquered peoples rebel, surrounding nations invade, including the
12
Heb. Under it.
13
Heb. families.
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JOSHUA: JAEL AND SISERA 137
Philistines, moving from the sea into the south-west. The following
passage is typical; its special interest is that ‘Deborah’s Song’ is
generally acknowledged to be the oldest text in the Bible, perhaps
c.twelfth century bc. Other incidents in Judges are: Gideon’s cam-
paigns (Chapters 6– 8); the fable of the trees (9:6 –21); Jephthah’s
daughter (Chapter 11); Samson and Delilah (Chapters 13 – 16).
Further reading. Boling (1975: 91–120) is a thorough and scholarly
exposition, useful to the non-specialist (although not all scholars will
agree with all of Boling’s readings). Culley (1992) discusses the tech-
niques of Judges Chapter 4 as part of a larger study of OT narrative.
Gros Louis and Ackerman (1984: 141–62) provides another reading
of the book of Judges as a whole. Hauser (1987: 285–95) compares
Deborah’s Song with the triumph song of Exodus 15 (p. 106), as does
Alter (1985: 43–54); Exum (1985) discusses the topic of Deborah as
‘mother in Israel’.
JAEL AND SISERA

4: 1 And the children of Israel again did evil in the sight of
the Lord, when Ehud was dead. And the Lord sold them
into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, that reigned in Hazor;
the captain of whose host was Sisera, which dwelt in
Harosheth of the Gentiles.
And the children of Israel cried unto the Lord: for he
had nine hundred chariots of iron; and twenty years he
mightily oppressed the children of Israel.
And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she
5 judged Israel at that time. And she dwelt under the palm
tree of Deborah between Ramah and Beth-el in mount
Ephraim: and the children of Israel came up to her for judg-
ment. And she sent and called Barak the son of Abinoam
out of Kedesh-naphtali, and said unto him, Hath not the
Lord God of Israel commanded, saying, Go and draw
toward mount Tabor, and take with thee ten thousand men
of the children of Naphtali and of the children of Zebulun?
And I will draw unto thee to the river Kishon Sisera, the
captain of Jabin’s army, with his chariots and his multitude;
and I will deliver him into thine hand.
4:2 Hazor: To follow the campaign, see map, p. 544.

3 iron: At the threshold between the Bronze and Iron Ages, the army with iron
chariots had a great advantage.
4 Deborah means ‘bee’; it may have magical significance.
7 Kishon: A river rising on Mt Tabor (see map) and coming to the sea, except
when dried up, north of Carmel. It is a small stream but treacherously muddy,
through the ages a battleground: see Boling (1975: 116).
138 JOSHUA: JAEL AND SISERA
And Barak said unto her, If thou wilt go with me, then
I will go: but if thou wilt not go with me, then I will not
go. And she said, I will surely go with thee: notwithstanding
the journey that thou takest shall not be for thine honour;
10 for the Lord shall sell Sisera into the hand of a woman. And
Deborah arose, and went with Barak to Kedesh. And Barak
called Zebulun and Naphtali to Kedesh; and he went up with
ten thousand men at his feet: and Deborah went up with him.
Now Heber the Kenite, which was of the children of Hobab
the father in law of Moses, had severed himself from the
Kenites, and pitched his tent unto the plain of Zaanaim,
which is by Kedesh. And they showed Sisera that Barak the
son of Abinoam was gone up to mount Tabor. And Sisera
14
gathered together all his chariots, even nine hundred char-
iots of iron, and all the people that were with him, from
Harosheth of the Gentiles unto the river of Kishon.
And Deborah said unto Barak, Up; for this is the day in
which the Lord hath delivered Sisera into thine hand: is not
the Lord gone out before thee? So Barak went down from
mount Tabor, and ten thousand men after him. And the
15 Lord discomfited Sisera, and all his chariots, and all his host,
with the edge of the sword before Barak; so that Sisera
lighted down off his chariot, and fled away on his feet. But
Barak pursued after the chariots, and after the host, unto
Harosheth of the Gentiles: and all the host of Sisera fell upon
the edge of the sword; and there was not 15a man left.
Howbeit Sisera fled away on his feet to the tent of Jael
the wife of Heber the Kenite: for there was peace between
Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite.
And Jael went out to meet Sisera, and said unto him, Turn
in, my lord, turn in to me; fear not. And when he had turned
in unto her into the tent, she covered him with a 16mantle.
And he said unto her, Give me, I pray thee, a little water
to drink; for I am thirsty. And she opened a bottle of milk,
and gave him drink, and covered him.
20 Again he said unto her, Stand in the door of the tent, and
it shall be, when any man doth come and inquire of thee,
and say, Is there any man here? that thou shalt say, No.
11 Heber the Kenite: The Kenites were Gentiles, but allies of Israel since Moses’
time; Moses’ father-in-law was a Kenite (Jdgs 1:16). Kedesh is north of Hazor.
14
Heb. gathered by cry, or, proclamation.
15
Heb. unto one.
16
Or, rug, or, blanket.
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JOSHUA: DEBORAH’S SONG 139
Then Jael Heber’s wife took a nail of the tent, and 17took
an hammer in her hand, and went softly unto him, and smote
the nail into his temples, and fastened it into the ground:
for he was fast asleep and weary. So he died.
And, behold, as Barak pursued Sisera, Jael came out to
meet him, and said unto him, Come, and I will show thee
the man whom thou seekest. And when he came into her
tent, behold, Sisera lay dead, and the nail was in his temples.
So God subdued on that day Jabin the king of Canaan
before the children of Israel. And the hand of the children
of Israel 18prospered, and prevailed against Jabin the king
of Canaan, until they had destroyed Jabin king of Canaan.
DEBORAH’S SONG
5: 1 Then sang Deborah and Barak the son of Abinoam on that
day, saying,
Praise ye the Lord for the avenging of Israel,
when the people willingly offered themselves.
Hear, O ye kings; give ear, O ye princes;
I, even I, will sing unto the Lord;
I will sing praise to the Lord God of Israel.
Lord, when thou wentest out of Seir,
when thou marchedst out of the field of Edom,
the earth trembled, and the heavens dropped,
the clouds also dropped water.
5 The mountains 19melted from before the Lord,
even that Sinai from before the Lord God of Israel.
In the days of Shamgar the son of Anath,
in the days of Jael, the highways were unoccupied,
and the 20travellers walked through 21byways.
The inhabitants of the villages ceased,
they ceased in Israel,
until that I Deborah arose,
that I arose a mother in Israel.
5:1 sang: For Hebrew verse structure, see pp. 43–4.
17
Heb. put.
18
Heb. going, went, and was hard.
19
Heb. flowed.
20
Heb. walkers of paths.
21
Heb. crooked ways.
140 JOSHUA: DEBORAH’S SONG
They chose new gods; then was war in the gates:

was there a shield or spear seen among forty
thousand in Israel?
My heart is toward the governors of Israel,
that offered themselves willingly among the people.
Bless ye the Lord.
10 22
Speak, ye that ride on white asses,
ye that sit in judgment, and walk by the way.
They that are delivered from the noise of archers in
the places of drawing water,
there shall they rehearse the 23righteous acts of the Lord,
even the righteous acts toward the inhabitants of his
villages in Israel:
then shall the people of the Lord go down to the gates.
Awake, awake, Deborah:
awake, awake, utter a song:
arise, Barak, and lead thy captivity captive,
thou son of Abinoam.
Then he made him that remaineth have dominion
over the nobles among the people:
the Lord made me have dominion over the mighty.
Out of Ephraim was there a root of them against Amalek;
after thee, Benjamin, among thy people;
out of Machir came down governors,
and out of Zebulun they that 24handle the pen of
the writer.
15 And the princes of Issachar were with Deborah;
even Issachar, and also Barak:
he was sent on 25foot into the valley.
10 white asses: Superior beasts – a sign of rank: these verses comprehend all classes
of people, down to those who ‘walk by the way’.
11 the noise of archers: An obscure line. RSV proposes the sound of musicians at
the watering places; NEB, NIV are similar. JB has the shouts of a rejoicing people
gathered about . . . ; but NAS has the sound of those who divide flocks among . . . The
key word, given as archers or musicians remains uncertain; its root suggests ‘division’.
14 was there a root of them: Better, ‘Ephraim took root’ (i.e. did not join in the
battle) – perhaps hiding behind Benjamin. The following lines distinguish the
faithful tribes from the absent.
Machir: i.e. the tribe of Manasseh. In general, the tribes that fought were those
whose lands were directly threatened.
22
Or, Meditate.
23
Heb. righteousnesses of the Lord.
24
Heb. draw with the pen, &c.
25
Heb. his feet.
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JOSHUA: DEBORAH’S SONG 141

26
For the divisions of Reuben there were great
27
thoughts of heart.
Why abodest thou among the sheepfolds,
to hear the bleatings of the flocks?
28
For the divisions of Reuben there were great
searchings of heart.
Gilead abode beyond Jordan:
and why did Dan remain in ships?
Asher continued on the sea 29shore,
and abode in his 30breaches.
Zebulun and Naphtali were a people that 31jeoparded
their lives unto the death
in the high places of the field.
The kings came and fought,
then fought the kings of Canaan
in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo;
they took no gain of money.
20 They fought from heaven;
the stars in their 32courses fought against Sisera.
The river of Kishon swept them away,
that ancient river, the river Kishon.
O my soul, thou hast trodden down strength.
Then were the horsehoofs broken
by the means of the 33prancings,
the prancings of their mighty ones.
Curse ye Meroz, said the angel of the Lord,
curse ye bitterly the inhabitants thereof;
because they came not to the help of the Lord,
to the help of the Lord against the mighty.
Blessed above women shall Jael the wife of Heber
the Kenite be,
blessed shall she be above women in the tent.
19 Megiddo: An ancient town of major strategic importance (see map), site of

many battles, the Ar-mageddon of Rev 16:16 (p. 494): King Josiah of Judah was
killed there in a battle between Assyrians and Egyptians, c.609 bc (2 Chron 35:20–5).
26
Or, in the divisions, &c.
27
Heb. impressions.
28
Or, In.
29
Or, port.
30
Or, creeks.
31
Heb. exposed to reproach.
32
Heb. paths.
33
Or, tramplings, or, plungings.
142 RUTH
25 He asked water, and she gave him milk;

she brought forth butter in a lordly dish.
She put her hand to the nail,
and her right hand to the workmen’s hammer;
and 34with the hammer she smote Sisera,
she smote off his head,
when she had pierced and stricken through his
temples.
35
At her feet he bowed, he fell, he lay down:
at her feet he bowed, he fell:
where he bowed, there he fell down 36dead.
The mother of Sisera looked out at a window,
and cried through the lattice,
Why is his chariot so long in coming?
why tarry the wheels of his chariots?
Her wise ladies answered her,
yea, she returned 37answer to herself,
Have they not sped? have they not divided the prey;
38
to every man a damsel or two;
to Sisera a prey of divers colours,
a prey of divers colours of needlework,
of divers colours of needlework on both sides,
meet for the necks of them that take the spoil?
So let all thine enemies perish, O Lord:
but let them that love him be as the sun
when he goeth forth in his might.
And the land had rest forty years.
Ruth
In Jewish tradition Ruth was placed among the Writings (see pp. 15,
277), dating from c.third to second century bc, and read at the
barley-harvest feast. In 1611 it was regarded as a ‘history’ (Ussher dates
it 1312 bc), which it certainly is not. However, Campbell (1975) argues
that it may have been written down as early as the ninth century bc.
30 sped: i.e. ‘succeeded’ (the original sense of OE spedan).
34
Heb. she hammered.
35
Heb. Between.
36
Heb. destroyed.
37
Heb. her words.
38
Heb. to the head of a man.
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RUTH: NAOMI’S BEREAVEMENT 143
Judges ends with one of the most horrific episodes in the histories,
concerning murder by mass rape, avenged by near-genocide, with a
‘happy ending’ in which peace is made by matching the surviving
warriors and virgins together to ensure tribal continuity. This is now
followed immediately by this gem, Ruth, a story of loyalty, kind-
ness and affection, a celebratory story, very different from all that
surrounds it – but much more than a charming legend. Widowed,
Naomi turns to her own people for help. Her daughter-in-law
Ruth, a foreigner, stays by her; Boaz fulfils his family duties. All are
rewarded in their children, for Israel’s two greatest kings, David and
Solomon, are their descendants.
Virtue rewarded is a well-known theme; here, the virtue of family
loyalty. In addition, Ruth explicitly counters the tribal exclusivity
of much of OT (e.g. Num 33:50– 6; Deut 7:3; Ezra 9). Boaz’ treat-
ment of Ruth becomes instead an example to the Israelites of the
virtue of giving harbour to strangers (see Boaz’ words, 2:11–12, and
Lev 19.34 above).
The writing is far from naive; the author shows both pathos and
wit in word and plot. Characters and situations are neatly and eco-
nomically drawn. The subtleties of the Hebrew do not translate, but
narrative features do: for example the organisation into four distinct
scenes, and the use of dialogue to advance the action as well as to
display, if not character, at least the attitudes of the actors.
Further reading. Gen 38 forms an interesting contrast to Ruth.
For two sensitive readings, see Sasson (1987: 320 –7) and, with a new
translation and full, detailed textual notes, Campbell (1975) in the
Anchor series. Carmichael (1979) considers Ruth in the social traditions
of the Pentateuch, and Wainwright (1991) in relation to NT. See also
Jeffrey (1992: 669–70).
NAOMI’S BEREAVEMENT
1: 1 Now it came to pass in the days when the judges 39ruled,
that there was a famine in the land. And a certain man of
Beth-lehem-Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab,
he, and his wife, and his two sons. And the name of the
man was Elimelech, and the name of his wife Naomi, and
the name of his two sons Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites
of Beth-lehem-judah. And they came into the country of
Moab, and 40continued there.
1:1 Beth-lehem-judah . . . Moab: See p. 405. The audience of Ruth knew that
Bethlehem was the home town of the great king David; Moab a foreign land.
39
Heb. judged.
40
Heb. were.
144 RUTH: NAOMI’S BEREAVEMENT
And Elimelech Naomi’s husband died; and she was left,

and her two sons. And they took them wives of the women
of Moab; the name of the one was Orpah, and the name
of the other Ruth: and they dwelled there about ten years.
5 And Mahlon and Chilion died also both of them; and the
woman was left of her two sons and her husband.
Then she arose with her daughters in law, that she might
return from the country of Moab: for she had heard in the
country of Moab how that the Lord had visited his people
in giving them bread. Wherefore she went forth out of the
place where she was, and her two daughters in law with her;
and they went on the way to return unto the land of Judah.
And Naomi said unto her two daughters in law, Go, return
each to her mother’s house: the Lord deal kindly with you,
as ye have dealt with the dead, and with me. The Lord grant
you that ye may find rest, each of you in the house of her
husband.
Then she kissed them; and they lifted up their voice, and
wept. And they said unto her, Surely we will return with
10 thee unto thy people. And Naomi said, Turn again, my
daughters: why will ye go with me? are there yet any more
sons in my womb, that they may be your husbands? Turn
again, my daughters, go your way; for I am too old to have
an husband. If I should say, I have hope, 41if I should have
an husband also to night, and should also bear sons; would
ye 42tarry for them till they were grown? would ye stay for
them from having husbands? nay, my daughters; for 43it
grieveth me much for your sakes that the hand of the Lord
is gone out against me.
And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah
15 kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her. And she
said, Behold, thy sister in law is gone back unto her people,
and unto her gods: return thou after thy sister in law.
And Ruth said, 44Entreat me not to leave thee, or to return
from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go;
2 Elimelech: ‘God is king’. The names are made appropriate: Naomi, ‘pleasant’;
Mara, ‘bitter’; Mahlon, ‘mild’; Chilion, ‘sorrowful’; Orpah, ‘youthful’; Ruth, ‘friend-
ship’; Boaz, ‘strength’.
5 the woman was left of : i.e. ‘she remained’; ‘she was the only one left of all these’.
41
Or, if I were with an husband.
42
Heb. hope.
43
Heb. I have much bitterness.
44
Or, Be not against me.
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RUTH: RUTH GLEANS 145
and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be

my people, and thy God my God: where thou diest, will I
die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and
more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
When she saw that she 45was steadfastly minded to go
with her, then she left speaking unto her. So they two went
until they came to Beth-lehem. And it came to pass, when
they were come to Beth-lehem, that all the city was moved
about them, and they said, Is this Naomi?
20 And she said unto them, Call me not 46Naomi, call me
47
Mara: for the Almighty hath dealt very bitterly with me.
I went out full, and the Lord hath brought me home again
empty: why then call ye me Naomi, seeing the Lord hath
testified against me, and the Almighty hath afflicted me?
So Naomi returned, and Ruth the Moabitess, her daugh-
ter in law, with her, which returned out of the country of
Moab: and they came to Beth-lehem in the beginning of
barley harvest.
RUTH GLEANS
2:1 And Naomi had a kinsman of her husband’s, a mighty man
of wealth, of the family of Elimelech; and his name was 48Boaz.
And Ruth the Moabitess said unto Naomi, Let me now go
to the field, and glean ears of corn after him in whose sight
I shall find grace. And she said unto her, Go, my daughter.
And she went, and came, and gleaned in the field after
the reapers: and her 49hap was to light on a part of the field
belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech.
And, behold, Boaz came from Beth-lehem, and said unto
17 The Lord do so . . . : A solemn oath, found elsewhere in OT: ‘May I be accursed

. . .’. It avoids reciting the curse itself; the very words might bring it down.
22 Moabitess: Ruth is a foreigner, until she persuades Boaz to bring her into the
family.
2:2 glean: This is a religious duty (Lev 19:9 –10; p. 123), not an optional charity.
Boaz’ instructions go well beyond his duty.
3 hap: Chance. ‘Happy’ originally meant ‘lucky’; it happened, ‘it chanced’.
45
Heb. strengthened herself.
46
That is, Pleasant.
47
That is, Bitter.
48
Called Booz, Matt. 1. 5.
49
Heb. hap happened.
146 RUTH: RUTH GLEANS
the reapers, The Lord be with you. And they answered him,
The Lord bless thee.
5 Then said Boaz unto his servant that was set over the
reapers, Whose damsel is this? And the servant that was set
over the reapers answered and said, It is the Moabitish damsel
that came back with Naomi out of the country of Moab:
and she said, I pray you, let me glean and gather after the
reapers among the sheaves: so she came, and hath con-
tinued even from the morning until now, that she tarried
a little in the house.
Then said Boaz unto Ruth, Hearest thou not, my
daughter? Go not to glean in another field, neither go from
hence, but abide here fast by my maidens: let thine eyes be
on the field that they do reap, and go thou after them: have
I not charged the young men that they shall not touch thee?
and when thou art athirst, go unto the vessels, and drink
of that which the young men have drawn.
10 Then she fell on her face, and bowed herself to the ground,
and said unto him, Why have I found grace in thine eyes,
that thou shouldest take knowledge of me, seeing I am a
stranger?
And Boaz answered and said unto her, It hath fully been
showed me, all that thou hast done unto thy mother in law
since the death of thine husband: and how thou hast left
thy father and thy mother, and the land of thy nativity, and
art come unto a people which thou knewest not heretofore.
The Lord recompense thy work, and a full reward be given
thee of the Lord God of Israel, under whose wings thou
art come to trust.
Then she said, 50Let me find favour in thy sight, my lord;
for that thou hast comforted me, and for that thou hast
spoken 51friendly unto thine handmaid, though I be not like
unto one of thine handmaidens.
And Boaz said unto her, At mealtime come thou hither,
and eat of the bread, and dip thy morsel in the vinegar.
7 that she tarried: Better, as RSV, without resting even for a moment; REB, she
has hardly had a moment’s rest in the shelter.
11 all . . . : Ruth had gone further than duty demanded. She was young, fit and
marriageable; by returning to her family with Orpah she would have been cared
for without having to glean; but her loyalty rescued Naomi from destitution.
50
Or, I find favour.
51
Heb. to the heart.
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RUTH: RUTH AND BOAZ 147
And she sat beside the reapers: and he reached her parched
corn, and she did eat, and was sufficed, and left.
15 And when she was risen up to glean, Boaz commanded
his young men, saying, Let her glean even among the
sheaves, and 52reproach her not: and let fall also some of
the handfuls of purpose for her, and leave them, that she
may glean them, and rebuke her not.
So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that
she had gleaned: and it was about an ephah of barley. And
she took it up, and went into the city: and her mother in
law saw what she had gleaned: and she brought forth, and
gave to her that she had reserved after she was sufficed.
And her mother in law said unto her, Where hast thou
gleaned to day? and where wroughtest thou? blessed be he
that did take knowledge of thee. And she showed her mother
20 in law with whom she had wrought, and said, The man’s
name with whom I wrought to day is Boaz. And Naomi
said unto her daughter in law, Blessed be he of the Lord,
who hath not left off his kindness to the living and to the
dead. And Naomi said unto her, The man is near of kin
unto us, 53one of our next kinsmen.
And Ruth the Moabitess said, He said unto me also, Thou
shalt keep fast by my young men, until they have ended all
my harvest. And Naomi said unto Ruth her daughter-in-law,
It is good, my daughter, that thou go out with his maidens,
that they 54meet thee not in any other field.
So she kept fast by the maidens of Boaz to glean unto
the end of barley harvest and of wheat harvest; and dwelt
with her mother in law.
RUTH AND BOAZ

3: 1 Then Naomi her mother in law said unto her, My daughter,
shall I not seek rest for thee, that it may be well with thee?
And now is not Boaz of our kindred, with whose maidens
14 He reached her: ‘Handed her’; a usage still extant in dialect.
parched corn: Roasted barley. Ruth was associated with the festival of the barley
harvest.
22 that they meet thee not: i.e., ‘that no-one may molest you’.
3:1 rest: A secure home.
52
Heb. shame her not.
53
Or, one that hath right to redeem.
54
Or, fall upon thee.
148 RUTH: RUTH AND BOAZ
thou wast? Behold, he winnoweth barley to night in the

threshingfloor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and
put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the floor:
but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall
have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he
lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall
lie, and thou shalt go in, and 55uncover his feet, and lay
thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do. And
5 she said unto her, All that thou sayest unto me I will do.
And she went down unto the floor, and did according
to all that her mother in law bade her. And when Boaz had
eaten and drunk, and his heart was merry, he went to lie
down at the end of the heap of corn: and she came softly,
and uncovered his feet, and laid her down.
And it came to pass at midnight, that the man was
afraid, and 56turned himself: and, behold, a woman lay at
his feet. And he said, Who art thou? And she answered,
I am Ruth thine handmaid: spread therefore thy skirt over
thine handmaid; for thou art 57a near kinsman.
10 And he said, Blessed be thou of the Lord, my daughter: for
thou hast showed more kindness in the latter end than at
the beginning, inasmuch as thou followedst not young men,
whether poor or rich. And now, my daughter, fear not; I will
do to thee all that thou requirest: for all the 58city of my
people doth know that thou art a virtuous woman.
And now it is true that I am thy near kinsman: howbeit
there is a kinsman nearer than I. Tarry this night, and it
shall be in the morning, that if he will perform unto thee
the part of a kinsman, well; let him do the kinsman’s part:
but if he will not do the part of a kinsman to thee, then
will I do the part of a kinsman to thee, as the Lord liveth:
lie down until the morning.
4 uncover his feet: an act not without daring, in view of the social difference between
the two, and the fact that it will take place in private and at night: but a proper
and modest way of attracting Boaz’ attention, not a brash sexual advance. Sasson
(1987: 325) reads the scene as humorous, at Boaz’ expense.
9 spread thy skirt . . . : A symbolic request that he, as a near relative of her dead
husband, should marry her. Deut 25:5 requires a brother to take his widowed
sister-in-law as wife, their firstborn taking the dead man’s name, to preserve his
lineage.
55
Or, lift up the clothes that are on his feet.
56
Or, took hold on.
57
Or, one that hath right to redeem.
58
Heb. gate.
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RUTH: THE MARRIAGE 149
And she lay at his feet until the morning: and she rose
up before one could know another. And he said, Let it not
be known that a woman came into the floor. Also he said,
15 Bring the 59veil that thou hast upon thee, and hold it. And
when she held it, he measured six measures of barley, and
laid it on her: and she went into the city.
And when she came to her mother in law, she said,
Who art thou, my daughter? And she told her all that the
man had done to her. And she said, These six measures of
barley gave he me; for he said to me, Go not empty unto
thy mother in law.
Then said she, Sit still, my daughter, until thou know
how the matter will fall: for the man will not be in rest,
until he have finished the thing this day.
THE MARRIAGE
4: 1 Then went Boaz up to the gate, and sat him down there:
and, behold, the kinsman of whom Boaz spake came by;
unto whom he said, Ho, such a one! turn aside, sit down
here. And he turned aside, and sat down. And he took ten
men of the elders of the city, and said, Sit ye down here.
And they sat down.
And he said unto the kinsman, Naomi, that is come again
out of the country of Moab, selleth a parcel of land, which
was our brother Elimelech’s: and 60I thought to advertise
thee, saying, Buy it before the inhabitants, and before the
elders of my people. If thou wilt redeem it, redeem it : but
if thou wilt not redeem it, then tell me, that I may know:
for there is none to redeem it beside thee; and I am after
thee. And he said, I will redeem it.
15 laid it on her: Set the burden on her head; a sign of some intimacy. A man
would not normally help a woman so.
17 Go not empty: The gift acts as a formal mark of the engagement. Note that
it, in effect, ‘rescinds’ Naomi’s lament (1:21) at returning ‘empty’ (the Heb word
is repeated).
4: 4 before: i.e. ‘in the presence of ’.
redeem: A key word. Another form of the same Heb. word is translated as kins-
man (JB redeemer) in 3:9, 12; 4:3–6. The nearest kinsman is by custom the one
with the right to redeem, the right of ‘first offer’ to buy the field so that it will
not be lost to the family.
59
Or, sheet, or, apron.
60
Heb. I said I will reveal in thine ear.
150 RUTH: THE MARRIAGE
5 Then said Boaz, What day thou buyest the field of the
hand of Naomi, thou must buy it also of Ruth the Moabitess,
the wife of the dead, to raise up the name of the dead upon
his inheritance.
And the kinsman said, I cannot redeem it for myself,
lest I mar mine own inheritance: redeem thou my right to
thyself; for I cannot redeem it. Now this was the manner
in former time in Israel concerning redeeming and concerning
changing, for to confirm all things; a man plucked off his
shoe, and gave it to his neighbour: and this was a testimony
in Israel. Therefore the kinsman said unto Boaz, Buy it for
thee. So he drew off his shoe.
And Boaz said unto the elders, and unto all the people,
Ye are witnesses this day, that I have bought all that was
Elimelech’s, and all that was Chilion’s and Mahlon’s, of
10 the hand of Naomi. Moreover Ruth the Moabitess, the wife
of Mahlon, have I purchased to be my wife, to raise up the
name of the dead upon his inheritance, that the name of
the dead be not cut off from among his brethren, and from
the gate of his place: ye are witnesses this day.
And all the people that were in the gate, and the elders,
said, We are witnesses. The Lord make the woman that is
come into thine house like Rachel and like Leah, which
two did build the house of Israel: and 61do thou worthily
in Ephratah, and be 62famous in Beth-lehem: and let thy
house be like the house of Pharez, whom Tamar bare unto
5 buy it also of Ruth: Douai (from Vg), thou must take also Ruth. Almost all
authorities agree that acquire Ruth also is preferable. The word translated buy
is garbled. It remains in dispute whether Boaz says, ‘you must acquire’ or ‘I will
acquire’ Ruth. In the first case, ‘Ruth comes with the field. Your child by her will
not be accounted yours, but Mahlon’s, in the line of Elimelech.’ In the second,
‘You take the field, but Ruth’s child will claim back the field from you.’ In either
case, the unnamed kinsman will lose the field, and he hastily withdraws. For
alternative readings, see Sasson (1987: 326 – 27), and Campbell (1975: 145).
7 plucked off his shoe: By symbolically treading on a piece of land a buyer took
possession; by handing the shoe that had trodden on it he handed over the right
to it. In cases similar to Ruth’s, Deut 25:9–10 gives a different significance to the
symbol, but the same result. However, we should not treat Ruth, written centuries
after ‘the judges ruled’ (1:1), as authoritative on ancient matters of land law.
12 Pharez: One of twins born to Tamar (Gen 38). After Tamar is twice widowed,
Judah fails in his duty of marrying her to his third son. She, by disguising herself
as a wayside harlot, lures him into fathering her child – in the event, her twins. When
she is seen to be pregnant, Judah condemns her to death for adultery, but he,
not Tamar, is shamed when the truth is revealed. Later, she gives birth to Pharez
and Zara. In contrast with Judah, Boaz has behaved with propriety throughout.
61
Or, get thee riches, or, power.
62
Heb. proclaim thy name.
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2 SAMUEL: DAVID AND ABSALOM 151
Judah, of the seed which the Lord shall give thee of this
young woman.
So Boaz took Ruth, and she was his wife: and when
he went in unto her, the Lord gave her conception, and
she bare a son. And the women said unto Naomi, Blessed
be the Lord, which hath not 63left thee this day without a
64
kinsman, that his name may be famous in Israel. And he
15 shall be unto thee a restorer of thy life, and 65a nourisher
of 66thine old age: for thy daughter in law, which loveth
thee, which is better to thee than seven sons, hath borne
him.
And Naomi took the child, and laid it in her bosom, and
became nurse unto it. And the women her neighbours gave
it a name, saying, There is a son born to Naomi; and they
called his name Obed: he is the father of Jesse, the father
of David.
David and Absalom

In 1 Samuel, Saul has proved an able warrior but an unstable man.
His incorrigible envy of David’s growing success and popularity after
he kills the Philistine giant, Goliath (1 Sam Chapter 17) unsettles the
nation. When Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle, David becomes
king (2 Sam Chapter 1).
The second book of Samuel covers David’s reign; Jerusalem is cap-
tured and established as the national capital, and the Philistines are
defeated. The Israelites take control of the land and, the story says,
become the pre-eminent power in the region. David, the poet-king,
is the greatest hero in Israel’s history, praised for his execution of
justice (2 Sam 8:16), but all is not well. Rivalry between north and
south, Israel and Judah, simmers on, eventually dividing the nation.
In particular, David’s personal and political weaknesses in his later
years weaken the fabric of the nation, as this episode shows.
The annals of Samuel has fine qualities as prose that are recogn-
isable even in translation, as the sequence that follows demonstrates.
17 Obed is not named in Sam or Kgs, where Jesse is simply ‘an Ephrathite’. There
is thus a convenient gap into which Ruth will fit. Obed appears in 1 Chron 2:12
as well as in the NT genealogies (Matt 1:5; Lk 3: 32). Ruth concludes with a gen-
ealogy from Pharez to David.
63
Heb. caused to cease unto thee.
64
Or, redeemer.
65
Heb. to nourish.
66
Heb. thy grey hairs.
152 2 SAMUEL: BATH-SHEBA AND URIAH
All the narrative techniques analysed by Robert Alter – economy of

expression, the structural use of speech in action, implied comment,
etc. – are found here. David appears, not as some stylised hero-king,
but as an identifiable individual, self-indulgent and often indecisive.
The historian is convinced that all is in the hands of God, but this
does not prevent him depicting complex characters, such as the
serviceable Joab or the proud Abishai. Passing characters, such as
Uriah or Ahimaaz, are never insignificant; they are silently touched
in, and fully used, as when the integrity of the one, or the youthful
enthusiasm of the other, contrasts with the cynical wisdom of David
or Joab. Time is handled with skilful, almost cinematic elasticity
(Bar-Efrat 1989: 142–58), as in the suspense of Tamar’s preparation,
action by action, of the cakes (13:8–9); and when the narrator follows
David step by step through his retreat, only to sweep through the
decisive battle in a moment before pausing at the death of Absalom.
Throughout there is a subtlety of direct observation, description
and characterisation, and in particular a political and psychological
awareness, not found elsewhere in OT. This is no mere chronicle
history, but narration in the hands of a master.
Further reading. All these are very readable: the accounts of Saul
and David in 1 Sam Chapters, 9–10; 17 (Goliath); 18–20; 24–5: the lament
over Saul and Jonathan, 2 Sam 1; the affair of Abner and Joab,
2 Sam Chapters 2–3, 1 Kings 2:5–6.
Critically, Alter (1981: 75–6), Sternberg (1989: 187–222) and Bar-
Efrat (1989: 126–8) all give substantial space to thematic and formal
analysis. See also Jeffrey 1992: 11–14, 180–4.
BATH-SHEBA AND URIAH

11:1 And it came to pass, 67after the year was expired, at the time
when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and
his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed
the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David
tarried still at Jerusalem.
And it came to pass in an evening-tide, that David arose
from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s
11:1 David tarried: This establishes David’s self-indulgence, a major feature of

the narrative.
2 David arose: His armies are at war; he is having a siesta – an example of
‘ambiguous statement with comprehensive intent’ – a highly significant fact stated
without any emphasis on its significance (Alter 1981: Chapter 7).
67
Heb. at the return of the year.
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2 SAMUEL: BATH-SHEBA AND URIAH 153
house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself;

and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.
And David sent and inquired after the woman. And one
said, Is not this 68Bath-sheba, the daughter of 69Eliam, the
wife of Uriah the Hittite? And David sent messengers, and
took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her;
70
for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned
5 unto her house. And the woman conceived, and sent and
told David, and said, I am with child.
And David sent to Joab, saying, Send me Uriah the Hittite.
And Joab sent Uriah to David. And when Uriah was come
unto him, David demanded of him 71how Joab did, and how
the people did, and how the war prospered. And David said
to Uriah, Go down to thy house, and wash thy feet. And
Uriah departed out of the king’s house, and there 72followed
him a mess of meat from the king.
But Uriah slept at the door of the king’s house with all
the servants of his lord, and went not down to his house.
10 And when they had told David, saying, Uriah went not down
unto his house, David said unto Uriah, Camest thou not
from thy journey? why then didst thou not go down unto
thine house?
And Uriah said unto David, The ark, and Israel, and
Judah, abide in tents; and my lord Joab, and the servants
a woman washing: Almost unnamed here, though in her great scene in 1 Kgs 2
she is named throughout, being the new king’s mother: see Bar-Efrat (1989: 37– 9).
In David’s eyes, Bath-sheba is merely ‘a woman’, though she is well connected:
Eliam was Ahithophel’s son. Bailey (1990: 88) argues that Bath-sheba is not a
reluctant participant. David’s deepest treachery is the murder of Uriah, one of
his elite soldiers (1 Chron 11:41).
washing: Bath-sheba’s bathing was probably the ritual post-menstrual washing
(Lev 15:19ff.); in Lev 18:19, sex with a woman not so ‘purified’ is forbidden. After
this her child must be David’s, unless Uriah returns to her.
8 mess: A cooked portion.
9 Uriah slept . . . : It was taboo for a man on active service to sleep with a woman;
Uriah, one of David’s special guard (2 Kgs 23:39), will not take his ease at home
while the army is in the field (verse 11). David is angry that Uriah’s conscience
is not as easy as his own.
68
Or, Bath-shua.
69
Or, Ammiel.
70
Or, and when she had purified herself, &c., she returned.
71
Heb. of the peace of, &c.
72
Heb. went out after him.
154 2 SAMUEL: BATH-SHEBA AND URIAH
of my lord, are encamped in the open fields; shall I then

go into mine house, to eat and to drink, and to lie with
my wife? as thou livest, and as thy soul liveth, I will not
do this thing.
And David said to Uriah, Tarry here to day also, and to
morrow I will let thee depart. So Uriah abode in Jerusalem
that day, and the morrow. And when David had called him,
he did eat and drink before him; and he made him drunk:
and at even he went out to lie on his bed with the servants
of his lord, but went not down to his house.
And it came to pass in the morning, that David wrote
15 a letter to Joab, and sent it by the hand of Uriah. And he
wrote in the letter, saying, Set ye Uriah in the forefront of
the 73hottest battle, and retire ye 74from him, that he may
be smitten, and die.
And it came to pass, when Joab observed the city, that
he assigned Uriah unto a place where he knew that valiant
men were. And the men of the city went out, and fought
with Joab: and there fell some of the people of the servants
of David; and Uriah the Hittite died also.
Then Joab sent and told David all the things concerning
the war; and charged the messenger, saying, When thou hast
made an end of telling the matters of the war unto the king,
and if so be that the king’s wrath arise, and he say unto
20 thee, Wherefore approached ye so nigh unto the city when
ye did fight? knew ye not that they would shoot from the
wall? Who smote Abimelech the son of 75Jerubbesheth? did
not a woman cast a piece of a millstone upon him from
the wall, that he died in Thebez? why went ye nigh the
wall? then say thou, Thy servant Uriah the Hittite is dead
also. So the messenger went, and came and showed David
all that Joab had sent him for.
11 as thou livest: The oath is common, but its duplication is not. It is ironic
that David has already done what Uriah swears he will not (Bar-Efrat 1989:
126 –7).
14 a letter: Soldiers would not so easily abandon a companion in battle. Joab
arranges the murder more subtly, while forestalling David’s anger at his partial
disobedience.
21 Abimelech: The incident is found Jdg 9.
73
Heb. strong.
74
Heb. from after him.
75
Or, Jerub-baal.
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2 SAMUEL: NATHAN SPEAKS 155
NATHAN SPEAKS
11:26 And when the wife of Uriah heard that Uriah her husband
was dead, she mourned for her husband. And when the
mourning was past, David sent and fetched her to his house,
and she became his wife, and bare him a son.
12: 1 But the thing that David had done displeased the Lord.
And the Lord sent Nathan unto David. And he came unto
him, and said unto him, There were two men in one city;
the one rich, and the other poor. The rich man had exceed-
ing many flocks and herds: but the poor man had nothing,
save one little ewe lamb, which he had bought and nourished
up: and it grew up together with him, and with his children;
it did eat of his own 76meat, and drank of his own cup, and
lay in his bosom, and was unto him as a daughter.
And there came a traveller unto the rich man, and he spared
to take of his own flock and of his own herd, to dress for the
wayfaring man that was come unto him; but took the poor
man’s lamb, and dressed it for the man that was come to him.
5 And David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man;
and he said to Nathan, As the Lord liveth, the man that
hath done this thing 77shall surely die: and he shall restore
the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because
he had no pity.
And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith
the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel,
and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; and I gave
thee thy master’s house, and thy master’s wives into thy
bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and
if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto
thee such and such things. Wherefore hast thou despised
the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in his sight? thou
hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken
his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword
of the children of Ammon.
11: 26 the wife of Uriah: Bath-sheba is named again only when she is David’s wife
(12:24). See also Wainwright (1991: 155–76), and Jeffrey (1992: 77– 8).
12:1 Nathan: ‘Given’. He appears in a number of episodes as David’s trusted adviser
(e.g. 1 Kgs 1–3).
5 shall surely die: Literally ‘is a son of death’.
7 out of the hand of Saul: 1 Sam 18:10–11, 19:1–10, 20: 20– 31, etc. David’s lineage is
to supersede Saul’s; hence the resentment (see p. 151).
76
Heb. morsel.
77
Or, is worthy to die.
156 2 SAMUEL: NATHAN SPEAKS
10 Now therefore the sword shall never depart from thine

house; because thou hast despised me, and hast taken the
wife of Uriah the Hittite to be thy wife.
Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will raise up evil against thee
out of thine own house, and I will take thy wives before thine
eyes, and give them unto thy neighbour, and he shall lie with
thy wives in the sight of this sun. For thou didst it secretly:
but I will do this thing before all Israel, and before the sun.
And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the
Lord. And Nathan said unto David, The Lord also hath
put away thy sin; thou shalt not die. Howbeit, because by
this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of
the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee
15 shall surely die. And Nathan departed unto his house.
And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bare
unto David, and it was very sick. David therefore besought
God for the child; and David 78fasted, and went in, and lay
all night upon the earth. And the elders of his house arose,
and went to him, to raise him up from the earth: but he
would not, neither did he eat bread with them.
And it came to pass on the seventh day, that the child
died. And the servants of David feared to tell him that the
child was dead: for they said, Behold, while the child was
yet alive, we spake unto him, and he would not hearken
unto our voice: how will he then 79vex himself, if we tell
him that the child is dead?
But when David saw that his servants whispered, David
perceived that the child was dead: therefore David said unto
his servants, Is the child dead? And they said, He is dead.
20 Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and anointed
himself, and changed his apparel, and came into the house of
the Lord, and worshipped: then he came to his own house; and
when he required, they set bread before him, and he did eat.
Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this that
thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the child, while
it was alive; but when the child was dead, thou didst rise
and eat bread.
And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted and
wept: for I said, Who can tell whether God will be gracious
to me, that the child may live? But now he is dead, where-
fore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go
to him, but he shall not return to me.
78
Heb. fasted a fast.
79
Heb. do hurt.
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2 SAMUEL: THE RAPE OF TAMAR 157
And David comforted Bath-sheba his wife, and went in

unto her, and lay with her: and she bare a son, and he called
his name Solomon: and the Lord loved him.
THE RAPE OF TAMAR

13: 1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom the son of David
had a fair sister, whose name was Tamar; and Amnon the
son of David loved her. And Amnon was so vexed, that he
fell sick for his sister Tamar; for she was a virgin; and
80
Amnon thought it hard for him to do any thing to her.
But Amnon had a friend, whose name was Jonadab, the
son of Shimeah David’s brother: and Jonadab was a very
subtle man. And he said unto him, Why art thou, being
the king’s son, 81lean 82from day to day? wilt thou not tell
me? And Amnon said unto him, I love Tamar, my brother
Absalom’s sister.
5 And Jonadab said unto him, Lay thee down on thy bed,
and make thyself sick: and when thy father cometh to see
thee, say unto him, I pray thee, let my sister Tamar come,
and give me meat, and dress the meat in my sight, that I
may see it, and eat it at her hand.
So Amnon lay down, and made himself sick: and when
the king was come to see him, Amnon said unto the king,
I pray thee, let Tamar my sister come, and make me a
couple of cakes in my sight, that I may eat at her hand.
Then David sent home to Tamar, saying, Go now to thy
brother Amnon’s house, and dress him meat.
So Tamar went to her brother Amnon’s house; and he was
laid down. And she took 83flour, and kneaded it, and made
cakes in his sight, and did bake the cakes. And she took a
pan, and poured them out before him; but he refused to eat.
13:1 Absalom, Tamar, Amnon: David had many children by many wives (1 Chron
3: 7–9); this passage implies that Tamar is Absalom’s full sister. Amnon is David’s
eldest son; by raping his half-sister he shows himself unworthy of kingship. For
a discussion of this episode, see Bar-Efrat (1989: 239–82); also Jeffrey (1992: 11–14).
Tamar, ‘palm-tree’, is a common symbol of female beauty (see Song 7: 7, also
Gen 38; Ruth 4:12n, Pharez).
Absalom and Amnon, ironically, mean ‘father of peace’ and ‘faithful’.
6 cakes: So Gv, BB. MtB, Gt, fritters ; D, little suppings.
80
Heb. it was marvellous, or, hidden in the eyes of Amnon.
81
Heb. thin.
82
Heb. morning by morning.
83
Or, paste.
158 2 SAMUEL: THE RAPE OF TAMAR
And Amnon said, Have out all men from me. And they
10 went out every man from him. And Amnon said unto Tamar,
Bring the meat into the chamber, that I may eat of thine
hand. And Tamar took the cakes which she had made, and
brought them into the chamber to Amnon her brother. And
when she had brought them unto him to eat, he took hold
of her, and said unto her, Come lie with me, my sister.
And she answered him, Nay, my brother, do not 84force
me; for 85no such thing ought to be done in Israel: do not
thou this folly. And I, whither shall I cause my shame to
go? and as for thee, thou shalt be as one of the fools in
Israel. Now therefore, I pray thee, speak unto the king; for
he will not withhold me from thee.
Howbeit he would not hearken unto her voice: but, being
stronger than she, forced her, and lay with her.
15 Then Amnon hated her 86exceedingly; so that the hatred
wherewith he hated her was greater than the love where-
with he had loved her. And Amnon said unto her, Arise,
be gone. And she said unto him, There is no cause: this evil
in sending me away is greater than the other that thou didst
unto me. But he would not hearken unto her.
Then he called his servant that ministered unto him, and
said, Put now this woman out from me, and bolt the door
after her. And she had a garment of divers colours upon her:
for with such robes were the king’s daughters that were
virgins apparelled. Then his servant brought her out, and
bolted the door after her. And Tamar put ashes on her head,
and rent her garment of divers colours that was on her, and
laid her hand on her head, and went on crying.
20 And Absalom her brother said unto her, Hath 87Amnon
thy brother been with thee? but hold now thy peace, my
sister: he is thy brother; 88regard not this thing. So Tamar
remained 89desolate in her brother Absalom’s house.
But when king David heard of all these things, he was
very wroth. And Absalom spake unto his brother Amnon
neither good nor bad: for Absalom hated Amnon, because
he had forced his sister Tamar.
19 went on crying: i.e. ‘walked on, lamenting’.
20 Amnon: Margin Aminon is an insulting diminutive.
84
Heb. humble me.
85
Heb. it ought not to be done.
86
Heb. with great hatred greatly.
87
Heb. Aminon.
88
Heb. set not thine heart.
89
Heb. and desolate.
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2 SAMUEL: THE MURDER OF AMNON 159
THE MURDER OF AMNON

13: 23 And it came to pass after two full years, that Absalom had
sheepshearers in Baal-hazor, which is beside Ephraim: and
Absalom invited all the king’s sons.
And Absalom came to the king, and said, Behold now,
thy servant hath sheepshearers; let the king, I beseech thee,
25 and his servants go with thy servant. And the king said to
Absalom, Nay, my son, let us not all now go, lest we be
chargeable unto thee. And he pressed him: howbeit he would
not go, but blessed him.
Then said Absalom, If not, I pray thee, let my brother
Amnon go with us. And the king said unto him, Why should
he go with thee? But Absalom pressed him, that he let
Amnon and all the king’s sons go with him.
Now Absalom had commanded his servants, saying, Mark
ye now when Amnon’s heart is merry with wine, and when
I say unto you, Smite Amnon; then kill him, 90fear not: have
not I commanded you? be courageous, and be 91valiant.
And the servants of Absalom did unto Amnon as
Absalom had commanded. Then all the king’s sons arose,
and every man 92gat him up upon his mule, and fled.
30 And it came to pass, while they were in the way, that
tidings came to David, saying, Absalom hath slain all the
king’s sons, and there is not one of them left. Then the
king arose, and tare his garments, and lay on the earth; and
all his servants stood by with their clothes rent.
And Jonadab, the son of Shimeah David’s brother,
answered and said, Let not my lord suppose that they have
slain all the young men the king’s sons; for Amnon only is
dead: for by the 93appointment of Absalom this hath been
94
determined from the day that he forced his sister Tamar.
Now therefore let not my lord the king take the thing
to his heart, to think that all the king’s sons are dead: for
Amnon only is dead . . .
28 be . . . valiant: MtB, play the lusty bloods; Cv, Gv, BB, play the men; D, play
the valiant men. An example of successive translators toning down Tn’s collo-
quialism; see also But howsoever, 18:22n.
90
Or, will you not, since I have commanded you?
91
Heb. sons of valour.
92
Heb. rode.
93
Heb. mouth.
94
Or, settled.
160 2 SAMUEL: ABSALOM’S REVOLT
13: 37 But Absalom fled, and went to Talmai, the son of

95
Ammihud, king of Geshur. And David mourned for his
son every day. So Absalom fled, and went to Geshur, and
was there three years. And the soul of king David 96longed
to go forth unto Absalom: for he was comforted concerning
Amnon, seeing he was dead.
ABSALOM’S REVOLT
The 1611 chapter heading reads: Joab, suborning a widow of Tekoah,
by a parable to incline the Kings heart to fetch home Absalom, bringeth
him to Jerusalem. But this only raises Absalom’s popularity in the north,
at David’s expense.
14: 25 97
But in all Israel there was none to be so much praised as
Absalom for his beauty: from the sole of his foot even to
the crown of his head there was no blemish in him. And
when he polled his head, (for it was at every year’s end that
he polled it: because the hair was heavy on him, therefore
he polled it): he weighed the hair of his head at two hun-
dred shekels after the king’s weight.
And unto Absalom there were born three sons, and one
daughter, whose name was Tamar: she was a woman of a
fair countenance . . .
15:1 And it came to pass after this, that Absalom prepared him
chariots and horses, and fifty men to run before him. And
Absalom rose up early, and stood beside the way of the gate:
and it was so, that when any man that had a controversy
98
came to the king for judgment, then Absalom called unto
him, and said, Of what city art thou? And he said, Thy
servant is of one of the tribes of Israel. And Absalom said
unto him, See, thy matters are good and right; but 99there
is no man deputed of the king to hear thee. Absalom said
moreover, Oh that I were made judge in the land, that every
37 Talmai: Absalom’s (and Tamar’s) maternal grandfather.

Geshur: See map, p. 544.
Absalom fled: The repetition appears to be a copyist’s error.
15:2 gate: Where the king dispenses justice; see Gen 22:17, p. 75, and Ruth 4:1,
p. 149.
95
Or, Ammihur.
96
Or, was consumed.
97
Heb. And as Absalom there was not a beautiful man in all Israel to praise greatly.
98
Heb. to come.
99
Or, none will hear thee from the king downward.
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2 SAMUEL: ABSALOM’S REVOLT 161
man which hath any suit or cause might come unto me,
and I would do him justice!
5 And it was so, that when any man came nigh to him to
do him obeisance, he put forth his hand, and took him,
and kissed him. And on this manner did Absalom to all
Israel that came to the king for judgment: so Absalom
stole the hearts of the men of Israel . . .
Absalom makes an excuse to go to Hebron, south of Jerusalem, and
raises a revolt.
15:12 And the conspiracy was strong; for the people increased
continually with Absalom. And there came a messenger to
David, saying, The hearts of the men of Israel are after
Absalom.
And David said unto all his servants that were with him
at Jerusalem, Arise, and let us flee; for we shall not else escape
15 from Absalom: make speed to depart, lest he overtake us
suddenly, and 100bring evil upon us, and smite the city with
the edge of the sword. And the king’s servants said unto
the king, Behold, thy servants are ready to do whatsoever
my lord the king shall 101appoint.
And the king went forth, and all his household 102after
him. And the king left ten women, which were concubines,
to keep the house. And the king went forth, and all the
people after him, and tarried in a place that was far off.
David, in short, fled. Zadok, the high priest, follows him with the
Ark of the Covenant from the Tabernacle, but David sends him back.
15: 30 And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, 103and
wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went
barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every
man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
And one told David, saying, Ahithophel is among the con-
spirators with Absalom. And David said, O Lord, I pray thee,
turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness.
David leaves his friend Hushai behind as an agent in Absalom’s camp.
30 people that was: This use of people as singular appears as late as 1662 (OED
sense 2).
31 Ahithophel’s son was one of David’s guard of 37 ‘mighty men’ (as was Uriah;
see 11:9n, p. 153). Hence Ahithophel’s guilt and suicide before the battle.
100
Heb. thrust.
101
Heb. choose.
102
Heb. at his feet.
103
Heb. going up and weeping.
162 2 SAMUEL: CIVIL WAR
CIVIL WAR
16: 15 And Absalom, and all the people the men of Israel, came
to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel with him.
And it came to pass, that when David was come to the top
of the mount, where he worshipped God, behold, Hushai
the Archite came to meet him with his coat rent, and earth
upon his head: unto whom David said, If thou passest on
with me, then thou shalt be a burden unto me: but if thou
return unto the city, and say unto Absalom, I will be thy
servant, O king; as I have been thy father’s servant hitherto,
so will I now also be thy servant: then mayest for me defeat
the counsel of Ahitophel.
And hast thou not there with thee Zadok and Abiathar
the priests? Therefore it shall be, that what thing soever thou
shalt hear out of the king’s house, thou shalt tell it to
Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Behold, they have there with
them their two sons, Ahimaaz Zadok’s son, and Jonathan
Abiathar’s son; and by them ye shall send unto me every
thing that ye can hear.
20 Then said Absalom to Ahithophel, Give counsel among
you what we shall do. And Ahithophel said unto Absalom,
Go in unto thy father’s concubines, which he hath left to
keep the house; and all Israel shall hear that thou art
abhorred of thy father: then shall the hands of all that are
with thee be strong.
So they spread Absalom a tent upon the top of the house;
and Absalom went in unto his father’s concubines in the
sight of all Israel.
And the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counselled in
those days, was as if a man had inquired at the 104oracle of
God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David
and with Absalom.
17:1 Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now
choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and
pursue after David this night: and I will come upon him
while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid:
22 went in . . . : a deliberate, insulting and unforgivable act of usurpation,

fulfilling Nathan’s words (12:11).
104
Heb. word.
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2 SAMUEL: CIVIL WAR 163
and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will
smite the king only: and I will bring back all the people
unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned:
so all the people shall be in peace. And the saying 105pleased
Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
5 Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also,
and let us hear likewise 106what he saith. And when Hushai
was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying,
Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after
his saying? if not; speak thou.
And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that
Ahithophel hath 107given is not good at this time. For, said
Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be
mighty men, and they be 108chafed in their minds, as a bear
robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man
of war, and will not lodge with the people. Behold, he is
hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come
to pass, when some of them be 109overthrown at the first,
that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among
the people that follow Absalom. And he also that is valiant,
10 whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for
all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they
which be with him are valiant men.
Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered
unto thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that
is by the sea for multitude; and 110that thou go to battle in
17: 3 the man . . . returned: The text is doubtful, but this translation makes little
sense. Cf. Gv . . . when all shall return, (the man whom thou seekest being slain),
all the people shall be in peace. AV often provides a literal translation when it
cannot find an intelligible one. The problem is not yet solved: some modern
translations are: RSV, NRSV, as a bride comes home to her husband. You seek the
life of only one man, and all . . . ; NEB, JB REB, I shall bring all the people over
[JB back] to you as a bride is brought [JB returns] to her husband; NIV, and bring
all the people back to you. The death of the man you seek will mean the return of all.
11 Dan . . . to Beer-sheba: From far north to far south (see map, p. 544). Hushai
flatters Absalom by suggesting that all twelve tribes are for him, but Absalom’s
citizen army was no match for David’s professionals, as Ahithophel saw, and defeat
was inevitable.
105
Heb. was right in the eyes of, &c.
106
Heb. what is in his mouth.
107
Heb. counselled.
108
Heb. bitter of soul.
109
Heb. fallen.
110
Heb. that thy face, or, presence go, &c.
164 2 SAMUEL: CIVIL WAR
thine own person. So shall we come upon him in some place

where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the
dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men
that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.
Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel
bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river,
until there be not one small stone found there.
And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The
counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of
Ahithophel. For the Lord had 111appointed to defeat the
good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the Lord
might bring evil upon Absalom.
15 Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the
priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and
the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.
Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge
not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily
pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people
that are with him.
Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; for
they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench
went and told them; and they went and told king David.
Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they
went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house
in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went
down. And the woman took and spread a covering over the
well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing
20 was not known. And when Absalom’s servants came to the
woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and
Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone
over the brook of water. And when they had sought and
could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they
came up out of the well, and went and told king David,
and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the
water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you. Then
David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they
passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not
one of them that was not gone over Jordan.
17 En-rogel: ‘The fuller’s spring’, just outside Jerusalem to the south.
111
Heb. commanded.
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2 SAMUEL: THE BATTLE IN THE WOOD 165
And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not

112
followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him
home to his house, to his city, and 113put his household in
order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the
sepulchre of his father.
Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over
Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him . . .
THE BATTLE IN THE WOOD

18: 6 So the people went out into the field against Israel: and
the battle was in the wood of Ephraim; where the people
of Israel were slain before the servants of David, and there
was there a great slaughter that day of twenty thousand men.
For the battle was there scattered over the face of all the
country: and the wood 114devoured more people that day
than the sword devoured.
And Absalom met the servants of David. And Absalom
rode upon a mule, and the mule went under the thick boughs
of a great oak, and his head caught hold of the oak, and
he was taken up between the heaven and the earth; and
10 the mule that was under him went away. And a certain man
saw it, and told Joab, and said, Behold, I saw Absalom
hanged in an oak.
And Joab said unto the man that told him, And, behold,
thou sawest him, and why didst thou not smite him there
to the ground? And I would have given thee ten shekels of
silver, and a girdle.
And the man said unto Joab, Though I should 115receive
a thousand shekels of silver in mine hand, yet would I not
put forth mine hand against the king’s son: for in our hear-
ing the king charged thee and Abishai and Ittai, saying,
116
Beware that none touch the young man Absalom. Other-
wise I should have wrought falsehood against mine own
24 Mahanaim: East of Jordan, north of the Dead Sea (see map). Absalom is
following David.
18:6 wood of Ephraim: An unidentified northern area east of Jordan (though
Ephraim’s territory was west of the river).
112
Heb. done.
113
Heb. gave charge concerning his house.
114
Heb. multiplied to devour.
115
Heb. weigh upon mine hand.
116
Heb. Beware whosoever ye be of, &c.
166 2 SAMUEL: THE BATTLE IN THE WOOD
life: for there is no matter hid from the king, and thou
thyself wouldest have set thyself against me.
Then said Joab, I may not tarry thus 117with thee. And
he took three darts in his hand, and thrust them through
the heart of Absalom, while he was yet alive in the 118midst
15 of the oak. And ten young men that bare Joab’s armour
compassed about and smote Absalom, and slew him.
And Joab blew the trumpet, and the people returned from
pursuing after Israel: for Joab held back the people. And
they took Absalom, and cast him into a great pit in the wood,
and laid a very great heap of stones upon him: and all Israel
fled every one to his tent.
Now Absalom in his lifetime had taken and reared up
for himself a pillar, which is in the king’s dale: for he said,
I have no son to keep my name in remembrance: and he
called the pillar after his own name: and it is called unto
this day, Absalom’s place.
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, Let me now run,
and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath 119avenged
him of his enemies. And Joab said unto him, Thou shalt
not 120bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings
another day: but this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because
20 the king’s son is dead. Then said Joab to Cushi, Go tell
the king what thou hast seen. And Cushi bowed himself
unto Joab, and ran.
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab,
But 121howsoever, let me, I pray thee, also run after Cushi.
And Joab said, Wherefore wilt thou run, my son, seeing
that thou hast no tidings 122ready? But howsoever, said he,
let me run. And he said unto him, Run. Then Ahimaaz ran
by the way of the plain, and overran Cushi.
18 the king’s dale is just outside David’s Jerusalem, but the monument no longer
exists. 2 Sam 14:27 notes Absalom’s sons; perhaps, being impatient, he erected
the pillar before they were born. Or perhaps this explanation is folk etymology.
22 But howsoever . . . : MtB, Come what come will, let me run; Cv, What and I
ran also? Gt, Well (said he) come what come will, let me run; Gv, What, I pray
thee, if I also run? BB, Yet what if I run? D, But what if I run? [Vg, quid enim
si cucurrero] For versions of 18:19 –33, see pp. 499 –506.
117
Heb. before thee.
118
Heb. heart.
119
Heb. judged him from the hand, &c.
120
Heb. be a man of tidings.
121
Heb. be what may.
122
Or, convenient?
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2 SAMUEL: THE BATTLE IN THE WOOD 167
And David sat between the two gates: and the watchman
went up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lifted
up his eyes, and looked, and behold a man running alone.
25 And the watchman cried, and told the king. And the king
said, If he be alone, there is tidings in his mouth. And he
came apace, and drew near.
And the watchman saw another man running: and the
watchman called unto the porter, and said, Behold another
man running alone. And the king said, He also bringeth
tidings. And the watchman said, 123Me thinketh the running
of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of
Zadok. And the king said, He is a good man, and cometh
with good tidings.
And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king, 124All is well.
And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king,
and said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath 125deliv-
ered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord
the king.
And the king said, 126Is the young man Absalom safe?
And Ahimaaz answered, When Joab sent the king’s servant,
and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult, but I knew not
30 what it was. And the king said unto him, Turn aside, and
stand here. And he turned aside, and stood still.
And, behold, Cushi came; and Cushi said, 127Tidings,
my lord the king: for the Lord hath avenged thee this day
of all them that rose up against thee. And the king said
unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushi
answered, The enemies of my lord the king, and all that
rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.
And the king was much moved, and went up to the cham-
ber over the gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said,
O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! would God
I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son!
123
Heb. I see the running.
124
Or, Peace be to thee.
125
Heb. shut up.
126
Heb. Is there peace?
127
Heb. Tidings is brought.
168 2 SAMUEL: AFTERMATH
AFTERMATH
19: 1 And it was told Joab, Behold, the king weepeth and mour-
neth for Absalom. And the 128victory that day was turned
into mourning unto all the people: for the people heard
say that day how the king was grieved for his son. And the
people gat them by stealth that day into the city, as people
being ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the
king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice,
O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
5 And Joab came into the house to the king, and said, Thou
hast shamed this day the faces of all thy servants, which this
day have saved thy life, and the lives of thy sons and of
thy daughters, and the lives of thy wives, and the lives of
thy concubines; 129in that thou lovest thine enemies, and
hatest thy friends. For thou hast declared this day, that
thou 130regardest neither princes nor servants: for this day
I perceive, that if Absalom had lived, and all we had died
this day, then it had pleased thee well.
Now therefore arise, go forth, and speak 131comfortably
unto thy servants: for I swear by the Lord, if thou go not
forth, there will not tarry one with thee this night: and that
will be worse unto thee than all the evil that befell thee
from thy youth until now.
Then the king arose, and sat in the gate. And they told
unto all the people, saying, Behold, the king doth sit in the
gate. And all the people came before the king: for Israel
had fled every man to his tent . . .
20:3 And David came to his house at Jerusalem; and the king
took the ten women his concubines, whom he had left to
keep the house, and put them 132in ward, and fed them,
but went not in unto them. So they were 133shut up unto
the day of their death, 134living in widowhood.
128
Heb. salvation, or, deliverance.
129
Heb. by loving, &c.
130
Heb. that princes or servants are not to thee.
131
Heb. to the heart of thy servants.
132
Heb. an house of ward.
133
Heb. bound.
134
Heb. in widowhood of life.
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1 KINGS: SOLOMON’S KINGDOM 169
Solomon’s Kingdom
The Books of Kings narrate events covering about 400 years, from the
accession of Solomon to the aftermath of the Exile from Jerusalem
after 586. Solomon may be dated c.970–920 bc (Ussher, more accu-
rate now, dates Solomon’s reign 1015–974 bc.). The final text, dating
probably from the mid-fifth century bc, forms a continuous record
of the changing sequence of kings, switching repeatedly between the
northern and southern kingdoms, Israel and Judah.
A dynasty is not established until it is safely held by a second
generation. At the beginning of 1 Kings, David’s kingdom seems
firmly established, its enemies controlled if not destroyed, but these
passages illustrate the deadly intrigues within the royal house of David’s
many sons by many mothers. There is nothing of spiritual light
in these pages. Handel’s magnificent anthem has made ‘Zadok the
priest and Nathan the Prophet’ famous, but there is no glory in this
coronation, Nathan’s hasty device in a very real fear for his life (1:12).
As the very beginning of the whole book shows, Everything has a
political aspect, even David’s personal harem arrangements.
But Solomon is established. Secure in power and wisdom, he seems
to establish Israel in reality as God’s chosen people. He builds a mag-
nificent gilded Temple, literally God’s palace on Mount Zion. The
promise to Abraham (p. 69), that Israel would become ‘a great and
mighty nation’, had, apparently, been fulfilled.
Already there are portents of decay. Solomon, after reaffirming the
Covenant, admits into his courts alien wives and, worse, their deities.
Decadence has set in; after Solomon’s death the northern tribes revolt
against the centralising government in Jerusalem, forming a kingdom
known variously as Ephraim (the dominant tribe), Samaria (its capital
city), or simply Israel. The southern kingdom, known as Judah, is
centred on Jerusalem, and consists only of Judah itself, with Benjamin,
the smallest tribe of all, and Levi, the landless but powerful priestly
caste centred on the Temple.
For all the pride of Solomon, these are small nations pinched
between warring great powers, Egypt to the south, Assyria and
Babylon to the north. Samaria survives until 722 (2 Kgs Chapter 17,
p. 184), Judah until 597 (2 Kgs 25:8 –20, p. 189).
This is the story told in Kings. It is true that the wicked Ahab
lived as long as Josiah, the good reformer, and that Josiah’s evil
ancestor Manasseh died in his bed. But the compilers, living under
the exile of the sixth century bc, and knowing that in the end
both Israel and Judah had been totally destroyed, declared that this
ultimate disaster had been brought on by the repeated faithlessness
of rulers and people. The years of prosperity under wicked kings were
170 1 KINGS: KING-MAKING
only a delay, the gift of a long-suffering God, who had kept his
Covenant promise when they had not.
Further reading. Compare 2 Chron 1– 9: for the gift of wisdom,
see 3:1–15: the Temple, 5:1–8:13: the Queen of Sheba, Chapter 10. There
is little critical material available: see p. 55.
KING-MAKING
1 Kings 1: 1 Now king David was old and 135stricken in years; and they
covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. Wherefore
his servants said unto him, 136Let there be sought for my
lord the king 137a young virgin: and let her stand before
the king, and let her 138cherish him, and let her lie in thy
bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. So they sought
for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found
Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. And
the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and min-
istered to him: but the king knew her not.
5 Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying,
I will 139be king: and he prepared him chariots and horse-
men, and fifty men to run before him. And his father had
not displeased him 140at any time in saying, Why hast thou
done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother
bare him after Absalom. And he 141conferred with Joab the
son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they
following Adonijah 142helped him.
But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty
men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah.
And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the
stone of Zoheleth, which is by 143En-rogel, and called all
1:5 Adonijah was David’s fourth, and eldest surviving son. Amnon, the eldest,
and Absalom, the third, were already dead; the second, Chileab, is only a name.
displeased. i.e., had not disciplined him.
135
Heb. entered into days.
136
Heb. let them seek.
137
Heb. a damsel, a virgin.
138
Heb. be a cherisher unto him.
139
Heb. Reign.
140
Heb. from his days.
141
Heb. his words were with Joab.
142
Heb. helped after Adonijah.
143
Or, the well Rogel.
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1 KINGS: KING-MAKING 171
his brethren the king’s sons, and all the men of Judah the
10 king’s servants: but Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and
the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called not.
Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother
of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the
son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth
it not? Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee
counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life
of thy son Solomon. Go and get thee in unto king David,
and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear
unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son
shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why
then doth Adonijah reign? Behold, while thou yet talkest
there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and
144
confirm thy words.
15 And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber:
and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite
ministered unto the king. And Bath-sheba bowed, and
did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, 145What
wouldest thou? And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest
by the Lord thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly
Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon
my throne. And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and
now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: and he hath
slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath
called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and
Joab the captain of the host: but Solomon thy servant hath
20 he not called. And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all
Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall
sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. Otherwise
it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with
his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted
146
offenders.
And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the
prophet also came in. And they told the king, saying,
Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in
before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his
face to the ground. And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast
thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit
25 upon my throne? For he is gone down this day, and hath
144
Heb. Fill up.
145
Heb. What to thee?
146
Heb. sinners.
172 1 KINGS: KING-MAKING
slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath
called all the king’s sons, and the captains of the host, and
Abiathar the priest; and, behold, they eat and drink before
him, and say, 147God save king Adonijah. But me, even me
thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of
Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. Is
this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not
shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne
of my lord the king after him?
Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba.
And she came 148into the king’s presence, and stood before
the king. And the king sware, and said, As the Lord liveth,
30 that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, even as I
sware unto thee by the Lord God of Israel, saying, Assuredly
Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon
my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day.
Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did
reverence to the king, and said, Let my lord king David
live for ever.
And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And
they came before the king. The king also said unto them,
Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon
my son to ride upon 149mine own mule, and bring him
down to Gihon: And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the
prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with
35 the trumpet, and say, God save king Solomon. Then ye
shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon
my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have
appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah.
And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and
said, Amen: the Lord God of my lord the king say so too.
As the Lord hath been with my lord the king, even so be
he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the
throne of my lord king David. So Zadok the priest, and
Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada,
and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and
1: 33 Mine own mule: Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem (p. 373) is a delib-
erate echo of Solomon’s entry, proclaiming his kingship and defying the usurper.
Gihon: a well, and a settlement, south-east of Jerusalem.
147
Hebr. let king Adonijah live.
148
Hebr. before the king.
149
Heb. which belongeth to me.
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1 KINGS: DAVID’S BEQUESTS 173
caused Solomon to ride upon king David’s mule, and

brought him to Gihon. And Zadok the priest took an horn
of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And
they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save
king Solomon . . .
DAVID’S BEQUESTS
1: 51 And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth
king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns
of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to
day that he will not slay his servant with the sword. And
Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there
shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness
shall be found in him, he shall die. So king Solomon sent,
and they brought him down from the altar. And he came
and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto
him, Go to thine house.
2: 1 Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die;
and he charged Solomon his son, saying, I go the way of
all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself
a man; and keep the charge of the Lord thy God, to walk
in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments,
and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in
the law of Moses, that thou mayest 150prosper in all that thou
doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: that the Lord
may continue his word which he spake concerning me, say-
ing, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before
me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there
shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel.
5 Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah
did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts
of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the
son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war
in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was
about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. Do
therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head
go down to the grave in peace.
2: 5 The story here summarised is told in full in 2 Samuel Chapter 3. Joab mis-
trusts Abner, with whom David has made a treaty, and kills him. David, though
furious, promises not to punish Joab; he now has vicarious revenge.
150
Or, do wisely.
174 1 KINGS: OF ADONIJAH AND JOAB
2: 10 So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city
of David.
OF ADONIJAH AND JOAB

2:12 Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and
his kingdom was established greatly.
And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba
the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peace-
ably? And he said, Peaceably. He said moreover, I have
somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. And he
said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that
15 all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit
the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother’s:
for it was his from the Lord. And now I ask one petition
of thee, 151deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on.
And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king,
(for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the
Shunammite to wife. And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak
for thee unto the king.
Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak
unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her,
and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne,
and caused a seat to be set for the king’s mother; and she
sat on his right hand.
20 Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray
thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on,
my mother: for I will not say thee nay. And she said, Let
Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother
to wife.
And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother,
And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for
Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder
brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for
Joab the son of Zeruiah.
Then king Solomon sware by the Lord, saying, God do
so to me, and more also, if Adonijah have not spoken this
word against his own life. Now therefore, as the Lord liveth,
which hath established me, and set me on the throne of
David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he
25 promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. And king
151
Turn not away my face.
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1 KINGS: SOLOMON’S WISDOM 175
Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada;

and he fell upon him that he died . . .
2:28 Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after
Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab
fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold
on the horns of the altar. And it was told king Solomon
that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord; and,
behold, he is by the altar.
30 Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying,
Go, fall upon him. And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of
the Lord, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come
forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah
brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and
thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as
he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou
mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed,
from me, and from the house of my father. And the Lord
shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon
two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them
with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to
wit, Abner the son of Ner, captain of the host of Israel,
and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah.
Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab,
and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David,
and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne,
shall there be peace for ever from the Lord. So Benaiah the
son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him:
and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness.
SOLOMON’S WISDOM
3: 16 Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the
king, and stood before him.
And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman
dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her
in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that
I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and
we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house,
save we two in the house. And this woman’s child died in
the night; because she overlaid it.
20 And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside
me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom,
and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in
176 1 KINGS: SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead:

but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it
was not my son, which I did bear.
And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son,
and the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead
is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before
the king.
Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that
liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay;
but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. And the
king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword
25 before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child
in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.
Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto
the king, for her bowels 152yearned upon her son, and she
said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise
slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine,
but divide it.
Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child,
and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all
Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged;
and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of
God was 153in him, to do judgment.
SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
6: 17 And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubits
long. And the cedar of the house within was carved with
154
knops and 155open flowers: all was cedar; there was no
stone seen.
And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set
20 there the ark of the covenant of the Lord. And the oracle
in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits
in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he
6:18 knops: See Exod 25:31n, p. 115.

19 oracle: A mistranslation: better, inner shrine (as NEB); the Holy of Holies.
20 cubit: A linear measure, approximately 18 ins, the length from fingertip to elbow.
152
Heb. were hot.
153
Heb. In the midst of him.
154
Heb. gourds.
155
Heb. as openings of.
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1 KINGS: SOLOMON’S TEMPLE 177
overlaid it with 156pure gold; and so covered the altar which

was of cedar.
So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold:
and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the
oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. And the whole house
he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house:
also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with
gold.
And within the oracle he made two cherubims of 157olive
tree, each ten cubits high. And five cubits was the one wing
of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub:
from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the utter-
25 most part of the other were ten cubits. And the other cherub
was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and
one size. The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and
so was it of the other cherub.
And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and
158
they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that
the wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of
the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings
touched one another in the midst of the house. And he
overlaid the cherubims with gold. And he carved all the walls
of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims
and palm trees and 159open flowers, within and without . . .
7: 23 And he made a molten sea, ten cubits 160from the one brim
to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five
cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about.
And under the brim of it round about there were knops com-
passing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about:
the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast.
25 It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north,
and three looking toward the west, and three looking
6:20 pure: Margin shut up is a literal translation that seems to make no sense, but
shut up here is an adjectival past participle, meaning ‘refined’.
7:23 molten sea: A vast basin of cast metal: see margin. D margin explains: ‘vessel
so called for the bigness being a great lavatorie’ (i.e. washbasin).
156
Heb. shut up.
157
Or, oily, Heb. trees of oil.
158
Or, the cherubims stretched forth their wings.
159
Heb. openings of flowers.
160
Heb. from his brim to his brim.
178 1 KINGS: SOLOMON’S TEMPLE
toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and
the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts
were inward. And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim
thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers
of lilies: it contained two thousand baths . . .
7: 48 And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the
house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the table of gold,
whereupon the showbread was, and the candlesticks of
pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before
the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs
of gold, and the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basins,
50 and the spoons, and the 161censers of pure gold; and the
hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the
most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of
the temple.
So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for
the house of the Lord. And Solomon brought in the 162things
which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and
the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures
of the house of the Lord . . .
9:1 And it came to pass, when Solomon had finished the
building of the house of the Lord, and the king’s house,
and all Solomon’s desire which he was pleased to do, that
the Lord appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had
appeared unto him at Gibeon. And the Lord said unto him,
I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast
made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou
hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes
and mine heart shall be there perpetually. And if thou wilt
walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of
heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have
commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judg-
5 ments: then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon
Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying,
There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel.
But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or your
children, and will not keep my commandments and my
statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other
9:2 Gibeon: See 2 Sam 7 and 1 Kgs 3:3–15.
161
Heb. ash pans.
162
Heir holy things of David.
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1 KINGS: QUEEN AND WIVES 179
gods, and worship them: then will I cut off Israel out of
the land which I have given them; and this house, which
I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight;
and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all
people: and at this house, which is high, every one that
passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they
shall say, Why hath the Lord done thus unto this land, and
to this house? And they shall answer, Because they forsook
the Lord their God, who brought forth their fathers out
of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods,
and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath
the Lord brought upon them all this evil.
QUEEN AND WIVES

10: 1 And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of
Solomon concerning the name of the Lord, she came to
prove him with hard questions. And she came to Jerusalem
with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and
very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come
to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her
heart.
And Solomon told her all her 163questions: there was not
any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. And
when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon’s wisdom,
5 and the house that he had built, and the meat of his table,
and the sitting of his servants, and the 164attendance of his
ministers, and their apparel, and his 165cupbearers, and his
ascent by which he went up unto the house of the Lord;
there was no more spirit in her.
And she said to the king, It was a true 166report that I
heard in mine own land of thy 167acts and of thy wisdom.
Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine
eyes had seen it : and, behold, the half was not told me:
10:1 Sheba: The land of one of the Cushite (Ethiopian) peoples, who seem to
have moved into southern Arabia and prospered there.
163
Heb. words.
164
Heb. standing.
165
Or, butlers.
166
Heb. word.
167
Heb. sayings.
180 1 KINGS: QUEEN AND WIVES
168
thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I
heard. Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which
stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom.
Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delighted in thee,
to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the Lord loved
Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgment
and justice.
10 And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of
gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones:
there came no more such abundance of spices as these which
the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon.
And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from
Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of 169almug trees,
and precious stones. And the king made of the almug trees
170
pillars for the house of the Lord, and for the king’s house,
harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such
almug trees, nor were seen unto this day.
And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her
desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon
gave her 171of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to
her own country, she and her servants . . .
11: 1 But king Solomon loved many strange women, 172together

with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites,
Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; of the
nations concerning which the Lord said unto the children
of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come
in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after
their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. And he had
seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred con-
cubines: and his wives turned away his heart.
For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives
turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was
10 talents: See Matt 25:15n, p. 401.

11 Ophir: A land in the east famed for its gold; perhaps India.
12 almug trees: A high-quality hardwood used for fine work in furniture, fittings
and musical instruments; usually identified with red sandalwood.
168
Heb. thou hast added wisdom and goodness to.
169
Or, algum-trees.
170
Heb. a prop, or, rails.
171
Heb. according to the hand of king Solomon.
172
Or, beside.
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1– 2 KINGS: DECADENCE 181
not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David
5 his father. For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess
of the Zidonians, and after 173Milcom the abomination of
the Ammonites. And Solomon did evil in the sight of the
Lord, and 174went not fully after the Lord, as did David his
father.
Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the
abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem,
and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon.
And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt
incense and sacrificed unto their gods.
Decadence
The Books of Kings have their origin in the formal annals of the time,
edited after the sixth-century exile of Judah (see p. 132). They are
full of incident; those included here represent the non-political side
of life in Israel. Elijah (‘Jahweh is God’), who figures largely in
1 Kings, most famous of the early prophets, is a man of action, not
a speaker or writer; he denounced corrupt rulers, and those who
abandoned Jahweh, no book is devoted to his oratory. He worked
during the reign of Ahab (c.870 –850) about 50 years after the death
of Solomon. In Old Testament eyes, a prophet is not in the first
place an orator or poet, but essentially one to whom God spoke per-
sonally (see p. 196). Elijah had a special place in later Jewish thought
11: 5 Ashtoreth: The Canaanite pantheon, like the Greek, included more than one
powerful goddess, variously identified with queenly motherhood, or with sexu-
ality and war. The author of Kings contemptuously heaps them all in one, labelling
as ‘harlots’ their votaries who administered the sexual rites. Denunciations of for-
nication, not uncommon in the Prophets, usually refer to this kind of idolatry
rather than to common prostitution, which may be tolerated, as in the incidents
of Judah and Tamar (Gen 38:14–26, see Pharez, Ruth 4:12n, p. 150) and Rahab,
the harlot of Jericho visited by, and protecting, the Israelite spies ( Josh 2: 1–7,
6:21–5, and Heb 11:31n, p. 483). See also prostitute, Lev 19:20n, p. 124.
5 Milcom: i.e. Molech, the ‘abomination’ who required child sacrifice (see Jer 19,
pp. 235–6).
7 high place: These were usually ancient Canaanite shrines. Sometimes they were
taken over for Jahweh, not altogether without compromise.
173
Called Molech ver. 7.
174
Heb. fulfilled not after.
182 1– 2 KINGS: ELIJAH AND AHAB
(see p. 269n) as a miracle-worker, one of the select few in the Old

Testament who are carried away to God without death. By New
Testament times, he was expected to return as a precursor of the
Messiah (see pp. 354n, 369).
Elijah’s successor is Elisha, whose great deeds are told in 2 Kings;
other prophets mentioned in Kings include Micaiah, Elijah’s con-
temporary who predicts Ahab’s death (1 Kgs 22:1–40); and Isaiah
(2 Kgs 19–20).
Further reading. Elijah and the prophets of Baal (1 Kgs 18:1– 19:8);
Naboth’s vineyard (21: 1– 24); the death of Ahab (1 Kgs 22); Elisha
heals Naaman the leper (2 Kgs 5); the siege of Samaria (6:24– 7:20);
Jehu and the death of Jezebel (2 Kgs 9).
ELIJAH AND AHAB

1 Kgs: 16:30 And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the
Lord above all that were before him. And it came to pass,
175
as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins
of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel
the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went
and served Baal, and worshipped him. And he reared up
an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built
in Samaria. And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more
to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the
kings of Israel that were before him . . .
16:30 Ahab: (‘uncle’) reigned c.875–853 bc.

31 Jeroboam I: (‘enlarger’) reigned c.931–909 bc over the ten tribes (see p. 172).
As ruler of the northern kingdom he also rejected the claim that the Temple of
Jerusalem was the one permissible site for major sacrifices, and allowed several
others in the north to be used as substitutes (as had been the old practice). But
in addition he set up golden calves at Beth-el (an ancient centre of bull-worship)
and elsewhere, using Aaron as a precedent (1 Kgs 12:25ff.; Exod 32:4). Jezebel brought
Canaanite divinities from Sidon when she married Ahab (as Solomon did, p. 180).
Elijah is not presented as monotheistic – he does not deny the ‘existence’ of the
Baalim, the local gods, but demands that Israelites should not worship them.
See (Jeffrey 1992: 401–2).
31 Zidonians from Sidon: an ancient and prosperous Canaanite merchant town,
north of Israel.
Baal: A local god of fertility, and a common element in personal names.
33 made a grove: The word translated as grove is Asherah, the queen-goddess:
more accurately, a tree or pillar, her symbol. See p. 187, and Ashtoreth, 11:5n, p. 181.
175
Heb. was it a light thing, &c.
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1– 2 KINGS: ELIJAH AND AHAB 183
17: 1 And 176Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of

Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth,
before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these
years, but according to my word. And the word of the Lord
came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee east-
ward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before
Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook;
and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.
5 So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord:
for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before
Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the
morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank
of the brook.
And it came to pass 177after a while, that the brook dried
up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the
word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee
to 178Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell
there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there
to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came
to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there
gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch
me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and
said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake,
but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse:
and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in
and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou
hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring
it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For
thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall
17:1, 3 Tishbite . . . Cherith: Neither Tishbe nor Cherith is identifiable with certainty.
1 Gilead: The mountainous area east of Jordan, south-east of the Sea of Galilee
(see map, p. 544).
9 Zarephath: Now Sarafand, between Sidon and Tyre. Outside Israel, but within
reach of Jezebel’s family. The widow would have been among the poorest class
of society.
12 cruse: ‘A small earthenware vessel’ (OED).
176
Heb. Elijahu. Luke 4.25 he is called Elias.
177
Heb. at the end of days.
178
Luke 4:26 called Serepta.
184 1– 2 KINGS: ELIJAH IN HIDING
not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day
that the Lord 179sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah:
and she, and he, and her house, did eat 180many days. And
the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail,
according to the word of the Lord, which he spake 181by Elijah.
And it came to pass after these things, that the son of
the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his
sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.
And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O
thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin
to remembrance, and to slay my son?
And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took
him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where
he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried
20 unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also
brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slay-
ing her son? And he 182stretched himself upon the child three
times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God,
I pray thee, let this child’s soul come 183into him again.
And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of
the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah
took the child, and brought him down out of the cham-
ber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and
Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah,
Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that
the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
In Chapter 18, a famous narrative dramatised by Mendelssohn, but
too long to include here, Elijah confronts, overcomes and destroys
the prophets of Jezebel’s Baal. The drought ends, but she threatens
his life.
ELIJAH IN HIDING
19: 9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and,
behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said
unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
21 stretched . . . three times: Perhaps some kind of artificial respiration.
19:9 doest: This word appears to have two syllables, but was pronounced as one.
179
Heb. giveth.
180
Or, a full year.
181
Heb. by the hand of.
182
Heb. measured.
183
Heb. into his inward parts.
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1– 2 KINGS: ELIJAH IN HIDING 185
10 And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God
of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy
covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek
my life, to take it away.
And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount
before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a
great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces
the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind:
and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in
the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord
was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.
And it was so, when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his
face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering
in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him,
and said, What doest thou here, Elijah?
And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God
of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy
covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets
with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek
my life, to take it away.
15 And the Lord said unto him, Go, return on thy way to
the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint
Hazael to be king over Syria: and Jehu the son of Nimshi
shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha the son
of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet
in thy room. And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth
the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth
from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. Yet 184I have left
me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not
bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed
him.
So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of
Shaphat, who was ploughing with twelve yoke of oxen
before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by
him, and cast his mantle upon him. And he left the oxen,
and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my
father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he
15 to . . . Damascus: Elijah was at Beer-sheba (see map, p. 544); the journey meant
crossing the entire, hostile land of Israel.
19 twelve yoke: A rich man’s team; the twelve yoke would require drivers (the
‘people’ who joined in the meal).
184
Or, I will leave.
186 1– 2 KINGS: ELIJAH’S DEPARTURE
20 said unto him, 185Go back again: for what have I done to
thee? And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of
oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instru-
ments of the oxen, and gave unto the people, and they did
eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered
unto him . . .
ELIJAH’S DEPARTURE
2 Kings 2:11 And it came to pass, as they still went on, and talked,
that behold, there appeared a chariot of fire, and horses of
fire, and parted them both asunder; and Elijah went up by
a whirlwind into heaven. And Elisha saw it, and he cried,
My father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horse-
men thereof. And he saw him no more: and he took hold
of his own clothes, and rent them in two pieces. He took
also the mantle of Elijah that fell from him, and went back,
and stood by the bank of Jordan; and he took the mantle
of Elijah that fell from him, and smote the waters, and said,
Where is the Lord God of Elijah? and when he also had
smitten the waters, they parted hither and thither: and Elisha
went over.
The Kingdoms’ Fall

The varying fortunes of the kings of Judah and Samaria in the
200 years after Solomon are narrated in 1 and 2 Kings. Several years
of disarray followed in the northern kingdom of Samaria after the
prosperous reign of Jeroboam II (d. c.746 bc: see Amos, p. 199), but
seemed to be resolved by the accession of Pekah (c.736: see Isa 7:1ff.,
p. 219). Then in 734, Samaria and Syria formed a foolhardy alliance
against Assyria; Judah in the south (advised by Isaiah) refused to
join. Shalmaneser of Assyria decided to end these pinpricks once for
all; Samaria fell to Assyria in 722 bc, everyone who mattered was
exiled to the east, colonists from surrounding countries, with other
religions, were brought in, and the Ten Tribes as such disappear from
history. The annalist narrates these dire events with cool directness,
21 instruments: They burnt some wooden part of the equipment to make the
fire. Similar urgency, which saves time finding wood, and shows the sacrifice to
be total and irreversible, is found in 1 Sam 6:14; 2 Sam 24:22.
185
Heb. Go return.
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1– 2 KINGS: THE FALL OF SAMARIA 187
but with a plain Judean bias. The fall of Samaria is blamed on the
Samaritans’ moral weakness, whereas the bare simplicity describing
the disasters overtaking Jerusalem day by day, a century later, masks
the personal anguish of an observer.
THE FALL OF SAMARIA

2 Kings 17:5 Then the king of Assyria came up throughout all the
land, and went up to Samaria, and besieged it three years.
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took
Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed them
in Halah and in Habor by the river of Gozan, and in the
cities of the Medes. For so it was, that the children of Israel
had sinned against the Lord their God, which had brought
them up out of the land of Egypt, from under the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt, and had feared other gods, and
walked in the statutes of the heathen, whom the Lord cast
out from before the children of Israel, and of the kings of
Israel, which they had made.
And the children of Israel did secretly those things that
were not right against the Lord their God, and they built
them high places in all their cities, from the tower of the
10 watchmen to the fenced city. And they set them up 186images
and groves in every high hill, and under every green tree:
and there they burnt incense in all the high places, as did
the heathen whom the Lord carried away before them; and
wrought wicked things to provoke the Lord to anger: for
they served idols, whereof the Lord had said unto them,
Ye shall not do this thing.
Yet the Lord testified against Israel, and against Judah,
187
by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from
your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes,
17:6 ninth year, 722 bc.

carried Israel away: The ‘lost ten tribes’ have been identified in various places.
The simplest explanation of their disappearance is that they intermarried with
Gentiles in their new homes, as did those few who were left in Samaria. This
passage underlines the hostility and contempt felt between Jew and Samaritan
(see also pp. 409, 420). In fact, ‘to this day’ Samaritans worship the God of
Moses and the Pentateuch, holding theirs to be a purer worship than the Jews’.
9 high places: See 1 Kgs 11:7n, p. 181.
10 groves: See made a grove, 1 Kgs 16:33n, and Milcom, n, p. 181.
186
Heb. statues.
187
Heb. by the hand of all.
188 1– 2 KINGS: THE FALL OF SAMARIA
according to all the law which I commanded your fathers,

and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.
Notwithstanding they would not hear, but hardened
their necks, like to the neck of their fathers, that did not
believe in the Lord their God. And they rejected his statutes,
15 and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his
testimonies which he testified against them; and they fol-
lowed vanity, and became vain, and went after the heathen
that were round about them, concerning whom the Lord
had charged them, that they should not do like them.
And they left all the commandments of the Lord their
God, and made them molten images, even two calves, and
made a grove, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and
served Baal. And they caused their sons and their daughters
to pass through the fire, and used divination and enchant-
ments, and sold themselves to do evil in the sight of the
Lord, to provoke him to anger. Therefore the Lord was
very angry with Israel, and removed them out of his sight:
there was none left but the tribe of Judah only . . .
17: 24 And the king of Assyria brought men from Babylon, and
from Cuthah, and from Ava, and from Hamath, and from
Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead
of the children of Israel: and they possessed Samaria, and
dwelt in the cities thereof.
25 And so it was at the beginning of their dwelling there,
that they feared not the Lord: therefore the Lord sent lions
among them, which slew some of them. Wherefore they spake
to the king of Assyria, saying, The nations which thou hast
removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the
manner of the God of the land: therefore he hath sent lions
among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know
not the manner of the God of the land.
Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, Carry
thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence;
and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them
the manner of the God of the land. Then one of the priests
whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt
in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the Lord.
Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put
them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans
had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt:
30 And the men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, and the
men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made
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1– 2 KINGS: THE FALL OF JUDAH 189
Ashima, and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the
Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and
Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.
So they feared the Lord, and made unto themselves
of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which
sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places. They
feared the Lord, and served their own gods, after the man-
ner of the nations 188whom they carried away from thence.
Unto this day they do after the former manners: they fear
not the Lord, neither do they after their statutes, or after
their ordinances, or after the law and commandment which
the Lord commanded the children of Jacob, whom he named
35 Israel; with whom the Lord had made a covenant, and
charged them, saying, Ye shall not fear other gods, nor bow
yourselves to them, nor serve them, nor sacrifice to them:
but the Lord, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt
with great power and a stretched out arm, him shall ye fear,
and him shall ye worship, and to him shall ye do sacrifice.
And the statutes, and the ordinances, and the law, and
the commandment, which he wrote for you, ye shall observe
to do for evermore; and ye shall not fear other gods. And
the covenant that I have made with you ye shall not forget;
neither shall ye fear other gods. But the Lord your God ye
shall fear; and he shall deliver you out of the hand of all
your enemies.
40 Howbeit they did not hearken, but they did after their
former manner. So these nations feared the Lord, and served
their graven images, both their children, and their children’s
children: as did their fathers, so do they unto this day.
THE FALL OF JUDAH

Judah survived in her mountains 125 precarious years longer. King
Josiah, Jeremiah’s hero (p. 129n), purified the national religion, c.620,
restored the Temple and the ancient Law, and once more destroyed
the alien shrines, only to die in battle at Megiddo (see p. 128n),
609/8 bc. He had chosen the wrong side by joining Assyria, now
in terminal decline, and annihilated for ever by Nebuchadnezzar
17:32ff.: So they feared the Lord . . . and served their own gods: This unseemly con-
tempt of the Judeans for their fallen northern sister-nation continued into the
time of Christ: see the incident of the Samaritan woman, p. 420.
188
Or, who carried them away from thence.
190 1– 2 KINGS: THE FALL OF JUDAH
of Babylon in 605. Even Judah outlasted Assyria, but now fell sub-
ject to Nebuchadnezzar. A futile rebellion by the puppet king
Jehoiachin led to the sack of Jerusalem and the Temple in 597, with
the exile of all ‘save the poorest sort of people in the land’ (2 Kgs
24:14). The new puppet, Zedekiah, also rebelled against Babylon; this
time, in 586, Nebuchadnezzar finally and cruelly crushed Judah, and
the Temple and its accoutrements, so lovingly described in Exodus,
were destroyed.
Further reading. Sennacherib (2 Kgs 18:13–19:37); Josiah’s reforms
(2 Kgs 23:1–30). The prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel (pp. 227, 243) also
write of these years.
25: 1 And it came to pass in the ninth year of his reign, in
the tenth month, in the tenth day of the month, that
Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he, and all his host,
against Jerusalem, and pitched against it; and they built forts
against it; round about. And the city was besieged unto the
eleventh year of king Zedekiah.
And on the ninth day of the fourth month the famine
prevailed in the city, and there was no bread for the people
of the land. And the city was broken up, and all the men
of war fled by night by the way of the gate between two
walls, which is by the king’s garden (now the Chaldees were
against the city round about): and the king went the way
toward the plain.
5 And the army of the Chaldees pursued after the king, and
overtook him in the plains of Jericho: and all his army were
scattered from him. So they took the king, and brought
him up to the king of Babylon to Riblah; and they gave
189
judgment upon him. And they slew the sons of Zedekiah
before his eyes, and 190put out the eyes of Zedekiah,
and bound him with fetters of brass, and carried him to
Babylon.
And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month,
which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king
of Babylon, came Nebuzar-adan, 191captain of the guard, a
10 servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: and he burnt
the house of the Lord, and the king’s house, and all the
houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he
25:8 nineteenth year: 587/6 bc.
189
Heb. spake judgment with him.
190
Heb. made blind.
191
Or, chief marshal.
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with fire. And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with
the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem
round about.
Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and
the 192fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with
the remnant of the multitude, did Nebuzar-adan the captain
of the guard carry away. But the captain of the guard left
of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen.
And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the Lord,
and the bases, and the brazen sea that was in the house of
the Lord, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the
brass of them to Babylon. And the pots, and the shovels,
and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass
15 wherewith they ministered, took they away. And the firepans,
and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold,
and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away.
The two pillars, 193one sea, and the bases which Solomon
had made for the house of the Lord; the brass of all these
vessels was without weight. The height of the one pillar was
eighteen cubits, and the chapiter upon it was brass: and
the height of the chapiter three cubits; and the wreathen
work, and pomegranates upon the chapiter round about,
all of brass: and like unto these had the second pillar with
wreathen work.
And the captain of the guard took Seraiah the chief priest,
and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three keepers of
the 194door: and out of the city he took an 195officer that
was set over the men of war, and five men of them that
196
were in the king’s presence, which were found in the city,
and the 197principal scribe of the host, which mustered the
people of the land, and threescore men of the people of
20 the land that were found in the city: and Nebuzar-adan
captain of the guard took these, and brought them to the
13 brazen sea: See molten sea 7:23n, p. 177. Note that the Judean author treats
the end of the glories of Solomon’s Temple (pp. 176ff .) simply, with a deep sense
of tragedy, in contrast to the censorious manner with which he had dealt with
the fall of rival Samaria.
192
Heb. fallen away.
193
Heb. the one sea.
194
Heb. threshold.
195
Or, eunuch.
196
Heb. saw the king’s face.
197
Or, scribe of the captains of the host.
192 1– 2 KINGS: THE FALL OF JUDAH
king of Babylon to Riblah: and the king of Babylon smote

them, and slew them at Riblah in the land of Hamath. So
Judah was carried away out of their land.
And as for the people that remained in the land of
Judah, whom Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon had left,
even over them he made Gedaliah the son of Ahikam, the
son of Shaphan, ruler.
And when all the captains of the armies, they and their
men, heard that the king of Babylon had made Gedaliah
governor, there came to Gedaliah to Mizpah, even Ishmael
the son of Nethaniah, and Johanan the son of Careah,
and Seraiah the son of Tanhumeth the Netophathite, and
Jaazaniah the son of a Maachathite, they and their men.
And Gedaliah sware to them, and to their men, and said
unto them, Fear not to be the servants of the Chaldees:
dwell in the land, and serve the king of Babylon; and it shall
25 be well with you. But it came to pass in the seventh month,
that Ishmael the son of Nethaniah, the son of Elishama, of
198
the seed royal, came, and ten men with him, and smote
Gedaliah, that he died, and the Jews and the Chaldees that
were with him at Mizpah.
And all the people, both small and great, and the captains
of the armies, arose, and came to Egypt: for they were afraid
of the Chaldees.
And it came to pass in the seven and thirtieth year of the
captivity of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the twelfth month,
on the seven and twentieth day of the month, that Evil-
merodach king of Babylon in the year that he began to reign
did lift up the head of Jehoiachin king of Judah out of prison;
30 and he spake 199kindly to him, and set his throne above the
throne of the kings that were with him in Babylon; and
changed his prison garments: and he did eat bread continu-
ally before him all the days of his life. And his allowance
was a continual allowance given him of the king, a daily rate
for every day, all the days of his life.
27 seven and thirtieth year: 549 bc.

Evil-Merodach: Nebuchadnezzar’s son, r. 562–560; he was assassinated.
out of prison: This clemency, besides marking the king’s accession, may also have
come on the eve of the great New Year festival, a traditional date for such gen-
erosities. This last line of Kings marks the final end of Solomon’s line; Jehoiachin
(see p. 190) is a landless, subjectless pensioner of the king of Babylon.
198
Heb. of the kingdom.
199
Heb. good things with him.
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Here the narrative of Kings ends; the book was compiled in the
aftermath of this disaster. Ezra and Nehemiah take up the story of
the return from exile c.520 bc, and in the Apocrypha, Maccabees
is concerned with events c.168 bc, giving a mere seven verses to the
empire of Alexander (336–323). None of these mentions perhaps
the most important fact of all: that in the face of exile to Babylon,
the nation’s leaders drew together their ancient traditions in order to
preserve the national identity, and so created the Pentateuch and the
Histories.
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THE PROPHETS
The great prophets are at the heart of the Old Testament. Their
tradition grew out of the Canaanite seers, or groups of ecstatic dancers,
who spoke their oracles in trance in the courts and streets of towns
and cities. Like their Hellenic counterparts, they had a respected place
in their society and, in course of time, prophets came to speak to
the hopes and conscience of Israel. Only later were the words of the
most famous collected on scrolls by their followers. The named
prophets who gave their names to the books range in date from Amos
in the mid-eighth century bc to Malachi in the late fifth century bc.
Later, the spaces on these scrolls were filled with other prophecies
attributed to the named prophets, or associated with them by content,
style or chance. Only Jeremiah and Ezekiel contain little borrowed
work, but nevertheless, each book has its individual character laid
down by the character of the prophet who is at its core. The books
as we now have them did not take final form until about 200–180 bc
(see individual headnotes).
The classic prophecy, as in Amos, is a poetic oracle, normally loose
and unstructured as one might expect from pieces that originated
extempore; they were translated by editors who did not see any
metrical system in them. Not all are poetic; Ezekiel is chiefly in prose,
as are the later prophets (e.g. Zechariah, Malachi), and the quasi-
prophetic works Daniel (p. 268) and Jonah. All are best read as they
were composed, as short pieces. To read them page after page, con-
tinuously, is to court mental indigestion, but careful selection will
reveal their greatness and variety.
The personalities of the prophets speak through the variety and
handling of their themes. Amos is driven by righteous anger, a master
of the simple, telling image; Jeremiah reveals through his public anger
the private anguish of the man; Ezekiel reveals little of himself through
a barrage of bizarre images; and so on. They are all individuals, and,
significantly, in this they mark a slow but steady change in the polit-
ical and social world charted by the Old Testament.
The Law requires justice and fairness in all one’s dealings (Lev
19:9–18, p. 123; 25:23, 35ff.); David and Solomon were praised for their
196 THE PROPHETS
justice in judgment (2 Sam 8:15; and p. 151), but much of the his-
tory from Joshua to Kings records the barbarity of a world ruled by
warlords, with wholesale slaughter of an enemy tribe often glorified.
So it is in Nahum and Joel, and the Prophets may often beat the
same drum: the backsliding of Israel from the Lord, their enemies’
evil, and the Lord’s judgments, which will usher in another new
age of domination. But the Prophets were not establishment men
called to speak God’s word, they did not care whom they offended,
and the most memorable of them denounce, not Assyria or Babylon,
but the smugness of a corrupt establishment, and the oppression of
the poor (e.g., pp. 199, 206–7), and, with a vision of the Messiah,
Prince of Peace, envisage a world of peace and justice for all (Micah
4:3– 4, p. 211) that echoes even today. Between the Exodus and Job,
the biblical world seems to have changed. The Writings, too, reflect
a world in which peace is the norm, and the Prophets, speaking up to
three centuries before the age of Plato, surely had some part in this.
One characteristic prophetic device calls for special mention: the
riddle-symbol. The prophet startles his audience into attention with
some cryptic object – Amos’ basket of overripe fruit, Ezekiel’s tile and
iron pan (pp. 204, 246) – then makes it a symbol of his message
from God. This device can be varied infinitely, as these selections
show. It is important that, although the symbol may be cryptic, the
interpretation is plain. The trance-led obscurity of Delphi is not part
of the final prophetic tradition.
After the return from exile, the prophetic mood changes, as in
Zechariah and Malachi. More and more prophecies are written, not
based on impromptu speech, so that the tone becomes careful and
composed. The experience is ‘religious’, less direct and immediate;
the prophetic impulse runs more slowly. (Daniel is a special case.)
Yet the written, composed poetry of the second part of Isaiah is among
the greatest in the Bible, and even the lesser prophets added to the
store of material and expectation on which the writers of NT drew.
Tradition has made ‘prophecy’ a synonym for foretelling the
future, as such AV chapter-headings as this show: ‘Under the type
of Joshua, the restoration of the Church. Christ the Branch is
promised’ (Zech 3:8, p. 264). But the prophets were those to whom
God spoke directly (see Heb 1:1, p. 475); hence, when they looked
into the future, the prophets spoke, not with their own wisdom, but
from him. Those who foresaw accurately – as Isaiah foretold the retreat
of Sennacherib (told in 2 Kgs 19:20–37) – were included, whereas ‘false
prophets’, who proposed what God did not dispose, are mentioned
only with contempt. A modern reader might see that the prophets’
skill lay in expressing in poetic form their interpretation of con-
temporary events. At their best they create a moral poetry which
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THE PROPHETS 197
both moves and rings true. Few Western poets succeed in this. The
prophets also lend to OT a far greater depth than it would otherwise
have, for it is they who first take the central events of the past – the
Covenant, the Exodus, the wilderness years and the conquest – and
turn them into powerful and visionary symbols. The prophecies
are fragmentary; few are finely finished; but they turn what in the
Histories and the Law was often chauvinism and militarism into a
vision of justice and peace, speaking not for crowns and thrones but
for ‘the poor and fatherless’.
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Prophets of the two kingdoms:

Amos
Amos (‘Burden-bearer’), the earliest of the 16 recorded prophets,
was at work in Samaria late in the reign of Jeroboam II in the mid-
eighth century bc, a century after Elijah. According to 2 Kgs 14 – 15,
the reign was long and successful, in spite of Jeroboam’s pagan lean-
ings, but his death was followed first by anarchy, and then by wars
with neighbouring states, including the sister-Israelite kingdom,
Judah. The great power of Assyria was an ever-increasing threat, nib-
bling at the kingdom before finally devouring it, c.722 bc. Several
of the 16 prophets are associated with this period, including Amos,
Hosea, Micah and Isaiah. (The following selection is arranged, not
in the biblical order, but so that the development of prophecy can
be traced in parallel with the ‘History’; see pp. 169, 186.)
As with most of the prophetic books, significant parts of Amos
are later accretions. Nevertheless, a striking personality stands out
from the text. Amos describes himself as a herdsman from Tekoa,
far to the south in Judah, driven to prophecy by the corruptions of
the northern kingdom, Israel (7:14–15). He is a shepherd from a hard,
dry land, an angry man with a strong sense of social justice – the
first such radical in recorded history – who hates to see blatant dis-
honesty living in luxury, especially when it is coupled with idolatry
(2:6–8). Unlike later prophets, he has little to offer in the way of hope;
the few happier promises in the book are later additions. Neverthe-
less, he is a dramatic if unsubtle orator, his images and rhetoric clear
and forceful. Little critical comment, however, has been made on
his style.
THE STATE OF ISRAEL

2: 6 Thus saith the Lord;
For three transgressions of Israel, and for four,
I will not turn away the punishment thereof;
because they sold the righteous for silver,
and the poor for a pair of shoes;
that pant after the dust of the earth on the head
of the poor,
and turn aside the way of the meek:
2:6 three . . . four: Amos is speaking to the court of Israel. This is the last of a series
of denunciations in this pattern, beginning with traditional enemies and coming
closer to home, until after dealing with Judah, Amos comes to his hearers.
200 AMOS: THE STATE OF ISRAEL
and a man and his father will go in unto the same 1maid,
to profane my holy name:
and they lay themselves down
upon clothes laid to pledge by every altar,
and they drink the wine of 2the condemned
in the house of their god.
Yet destroyed I the Amorite before them,
whose height was like the height of the cedars,
and he was strong as the oaks;
yet I destroyed his fruit from above,
and his roots from beneath.
10 Also I brought you up from the land of Egypt,
and led you forty years through the wilderness,
to possess the land of the Amorite.
And I raised up of your sons for prophets,
and of your young men for Nazarites.
Is it not even thus, O ye children of Israel? saith the Lord.
But ye gave the Nazarites wine to drink;
and commanded the prophets, saying, Prophesy not.
Behold, 3I am pressed under you,
as a cart is pressed that is full of sheaves.
Therefore the flight shall perish from the swift,
and the strong shall not strengthen his force,
7 the same maid: They both worship at an alien shrine, in sexual rites with the
same votary. See Lev 19:29, 1 Kgs 11:5, nn, pp. 125, 178.
8 pledge: Items taken in pawn were not the property of the creditor; they were
to be returned in the same condition as received. In addition, ‘If thou at all take
thy neighbour’s raiment to pledge, thou shalt deliver it to him as the sun goes
down. For that is his covering only, it is his raiment for his skin: wherein shall
he sleep?’ (Exod 22:26–7). Worst of all, these offences are committed in pursuit
of the idolatrous rites referred to already.
wine of the condemned: Better, ‘wine taken in fines’ – i.e. through penalties from
wrongdoers or creditors; again, it is used to honour an idol.
9 Amorite: A powerful kingdom centred on Heshbon (Num 21: 21– 31; and map,
p. 544).
11 Nazarites: i.e. ‘consecrated ones’, ritually devoted to God. Laws for the con-
secration are laid down in Num 6:1–21.
13 Behold, I am pressed . . . : cf. the more ‘rustic’ Douai translation: Behold, I will
screak under you, as a wain screaketh, loaden with hay: see Hammond (1982: 171–2).
1
Or, young woman.
2
Or, such as have fined, or, mulcted.
3
Or, I will press your place, as a cart full of sheaves presseth.
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AMOS: ‘THE DAY OF THE LORD’ 201
neither shall the mighty deliver 4himself:

15 neither shall he stand that handleth the bow;
and he that is swift of foot shall not deliver himself :
neither shall he that rideth the horse deliver himself.
And he that is 5courageous among the mighty
shall flee away naked in that day, saith the Lord . . .
‘THE DAY OF THE LORD’

5: 18 Woe unto you that desire the day of the Lord! to what end
is it for you? the day of the Lord is darkness, and not light.
As if a man did flee from a lion,
and a bear met him;
or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall,
and a serpent bit him.
20 Shall not the day of the Lord be darkness, and not light?
even very dark, and no brightness in it?
I hate, I despise your feast days,
and I will not 6smell in your solemn assemblies.
Though ye offer me burnt offerings and your meat
offerings,
I will not accept them:
neither will I regard the 7peace offerings of your
fat beasts.
Take thou away from me the noise of thy songs;
for I will not hear the melody of thy viols.
But let judgment 8run down as waters,
and righteousness as a mighty stream.
25 Have ye offered unto me sacrifices
and offerings in the wilderness forty years, O house
of Israel?
5:18 the day of the Lord: Originally an annual festival, anticipated with excitement:
only later coming to mean ‘Doomsday’. The people were taking for granted their
status as ‘heirs of the promise’, paying perfunctory ritual dues, rather than hon-
ouring God’s justice.
4
Heb. his soul, or, life.
5
Heb. strong of heart.
6
Or, smell your holy-days.
7
Or, thank-offerings.
8
Heb. roll.
202 AMOS: JUDGMENT
But ye have borne the 9tabernacle of your Moloch

and Chiun your images, the star of your god,
which ye made to yourselves.
Therefore will I cause you to go into captivity beyond
Damascus,
saith the Lord, whose name is The God of hosts.
JUDGMENT
7: 1 Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me; and, behold,
he formed 10grasshoppers in the beginning of the shooting
up of the latter growth; and, lo, it was the latter growth
after the king’s mowings. And it came to pass, that when
they had made an end of eating the grass of the land, then
I said,
O Lord God, forgive, I beseech thee:
11
by whom shall Jacob arise?
for he is small.
The Lord repented for this:
It shall not be, saith the Lord.
Thus hath the Lord God showed unto me: and, behold,
the Lord God called to contend by fire, and it devoured
5 the great deep, and did eat up a part. Then said I,
O Lord God, cease, I beseech thee:
by whom shall Jacob arise?
for he is small.
The Lord repented for this:
This also shall not be, saith the Lord God.
Thus he showed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon
a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
And the Lord said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And
I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord,
26 tabernacle: Obscure: Moloch, the name of a god, means ‘king’, and Sikkuth
may also be a deity. Some modern versions follow AV; but note NIV the shrine
of your king, the pedestal of your idols (NEB is similar). JB, RSV, prefer to read,
as AV margin: Sakkuth your king, and Kaiwan your god (NAS similar).
9
Or, Siccuth your king.
10
Or, green worms.
11
Or, who of, or, for Jacob shall stand.
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AMOS: JUDGMENT 203
Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of

my people Israel:
I will not again pass by them any more:
and the high places of Isaac shall be desolate,
and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste;
and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam
with the sword.
7: 10 Then Amaziah the priest of Beth-el sent to Jeroboam king

of Israel, saying, Amos hath conspired against thee in the
midst of the house of Israel: the land is not able to bear
all his words. For thus Amos saith, Jeroboam shall die by
the sword, and Israel shall surely be led away captive out
of their own land.
Also Amaziah said unto Amos,
O thou seer, go, flee thee away into the land of Judah,
and there eat bread, and prophesy there:
but prophesy not again any more at Beth-el:
for it is the king’s 12chapel,
and it is the 13king’s court.
Then answered Amos, and said to Amaziah,
I was no prophet,
neither was I a prophet’s son;
but I was an herdman,
and a gatherer of 14sycomore fruit:
15 And the Lord took me 15as I followed the flock,
and the Lord said unto me,
Go, prophesy unto my people Israel.
7:10 Amaziah: ‘Jahweh is strong’.

conspired: The institutional prophet was regarded as a kind of witch, whose duty
was to conjure success for his masters. Amos, in prophesying doom, is seen to
be putting the ‘evil eye’ on the nation.
14 sycomore fruit: Poor folk’s food: not our sycamore, but a kind of fig yielding
inferior fruit (ficus sycomorus, Greek sykomoros, Hebrew shiqmah). Amos is not a
salaried cult prophet, but a man of few needs who can fend for himself.
12
Or, sanctuary.
13
Heb. house of the kingdom.
14
Or, wild figs.
15
Heb. from behind.
204 AMOS: JUDGMENT
Now therefore hear thou the word of the Lord:

Thou sayest, Prophesy not against Israel,
and drop not thy word against the house of Isaac.
Therefore thus saith the Lord;
Thy wife shall be an harlot in the city,
and thy sons and thy daughters shall fall by the sword,
and thy land shall be divided by line;
and thou shalt die in a polluted land:
and Israel shall surely go into captivity
forth of his land.
8: 1 Thus hath the Lord God shewed unto me: and behold a
basket of summer fruit. And he said, Amos, what seest thou?
And I said, A basket of summer fruit. Then said the Lord
unto me,
The end is come upon my people of Israel;
I will not again pass by them any more.
And the songs of the temple
16
shall be howlings in that day,
saith the Lord God:
there shall be many dead bodies in every place;
they shall cast them forth 17with silence.
Hear this, O ye that swallow up the needy, even to make
the poor of the land to fail, saying, When will the 18new
moon be gone, that we may sell corn? and the sabbath, that
we may 19set forth wheat, making the ephah small, and the
5 shekel great, and 20falsifying the balances by deceit? that we
may buy the poor for silver, and the needy for a pair of
shoes; yea, and sell the refuse of the wheat?
The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely
I will never forget any of their works.
8: 1 summer fruit: A pun on qais, ‘fruit’, and qes, ‘end’.

5 new moon . . . sabbath: Regular rituals, closely observed while the spirit of the
Law is treated with contempt.
ephah . . . shekel: Measures of capacity and weight respectively. By buying and sell-
ing with false measures, profits may be vastly increased at the expense of the poor.
7 excellency: Or ‘pride’.
16
Heb. shall howl.
17
Heb. be silent.
18
Or, month.
19
Heb. open.
20
Heb. perverting the balances of deceit.
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HOSEA 205
Shall not the land tremble for this,

and every one mourn that dwelleth therein?
and it shall rise up wholly as a flood;
and it shall be cast out and drowned,
as by the flood of Egypt . . .
8: 11 Behold, the days come,

saith the Lord God,
that I will send a famine in the land,
not a famine of bread,
nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the Lord:
and they shall wander from sea to sea,
and from the north even to the east,
they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord,
and shall not find it.
In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for
thirst. They that swear by the sin of Samaria, and say, Thy
god, O Dan, liveth; and, The 21manner of Beer-sheba liveth;
even they shall fall, and never rise up again.
Hosea
Hosea (‘Jahweh is aid’) worked in the third quarter of the eighth
century bc, when the prosperity of Jeroboam II’s reign gave way to
a period of anarchy (see Amos, headnote, p. 194).
The book falls into two parts. Hosea Chapters 1–3 are personal
narrative, the rest discrete prophetic oracles. The first part, as in Amos,
projects the prophet’s personality, but there can scarcely be a
greater contrast than between the two, whether in personality or
attitude. Amos responds to the evils of Israel with denunciation,
whereas Hosea expresses distress at the chaos that would follow, and
a longing for the country to be reconciled and at peace. He empha-
sises social injustice less than the people’s rejection of God and their
acceptance of the local religions.
The special interest of Hosea lies in his extended use of a single,
remarkable riddle-image. He marries, actually or symbolically, a
promiscuous wife, thus creating in his own experience a metaphor
of God’s distress at Israel’s unfaithfulness. ‘An angry God – and he
is never angrier than in Hosea’s prophecies – is nevertheless haunted
21
Heb. way.
206 HOSEA: THE LOVERS
by his own unsubjugated affections’ (Fisch 1988: 140). Hosea’s writing

lacks the rhetorical force of Amos, but his blend of personal emotion
and public statement, so strange to Western ears, is moving as well
as extraordinary.
Further reading. Anderson and Freedman (1980) is invaluable for
close study. Fisch (1988) gives a sensitive reading; Setel (1985), by
contrast, is abrasive but stimulating.
THE LOVERS
1: 2 The beginning of the word of the Lord by Hosea. And the
Lord said to Hosea,
Go, take unto thee a wife of whoredoms
and children of whoredoms:
for the land hath committed great whoredom,
departing from the Lord.
So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim;
which conceived, and bare him a son. And the Lord said
unto him, Call his name Jezreel; for yet a little while, and
5 I will 22avenge the blood of Jezreel upon the house of Jehu,
and will cause to cease the kingdom of the house of Israel.
And it shall come to pass at that day, that I will break the
bow of Israel in the valley of Jezreel.
And she conceived again, and bare a daughter. And God
said unto him, Call her name 23Lo-ruhamah: for 24I will no
more have mercy upon the house of Israel; but 25I will utterly
take them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of
Judah, and will save them by the Lord their God, and will
1:2 a wife of whoredoms: Whether she was already promiscuous, or became so after
her marriage to Hosea, is disputed, as is the question whether she was a cult
votary, or an ordinary prostitute, or simply an unfaithful wife. Anderson and
Freedman (1980: 156 –63) discuss the matter at length, and conclude that the
Hebrew implies she was ‘a married woman who is promiscuous’ – in her nature,
rather than a professional prostitute. See also Ashtoreth, 1 Kgs 11:5n, p. 181.
4 Jezreel . . . Jehu: Near Megiddo (Jdg 5:19n, p. 141): Ahab (p. 182) built his palace
there, and murdered Naboth for his vineyard. Jehu, anointed by Elisha in Ahab’s
place, killed Jezebel and destroyed Ahab’s dynasty at Jezreel (2 Kgs 9–10), estab-
lishing his own.
22
Heb. visit.
23
That is, Not having obtained mercy.
24
Heb. I will not add any more to.
25
Or, that I should altogether pardon them.
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HOSEA: THE LOVERS 207
not save them by bow, nor by sword, nor by battle, by horses,

nor by horsemen.
Now when she had weaned Lo-ruhamah, she conceived,
and bare a son. Then said God, Call his name 26Lo-ammi:
for ye are not my people, and I will not be your God.
10 Yet the number of the children of Israel shall be as the
sand of the sea, which cannot be measured nor numbered;
and it shall come to pass, that 27in the place where it was said
unto them, Ye are not my people, there it shall be said unto
them, Ye are the sons of the living God. Then shall the
children of Judah and the children of Israel be gathered
together, and appoint themselves one head, and they shall
come up out of the land: for great shall be the day of Jezreel.
2: 1 Say ye unto your brethren, 28Ammi;
and to your sisters, 29Ruhamah.
Plead with your mother, plead:
for she is not my wife,
neither am I her husband:
let her therefore put away her whoredoms out of her
sight,
and her adulteries from between her breasts;
lest I strip her naked,
and set her as in the day that she was born,
and make her as a wilderness,
and set her like a dry land,
and slay her with thirst.
And I will not have mercy upon her children;
for they be the children of whoredoms.
5 For their mother hath played the harlot:
she that conceived them hath done shamefully:
for she said, I will go after my lovers,
that give me my bread and my water,
2:1 Say ye . . . : AV erroneously links this to the following lines and separates it
from the previous passage.
2:2 Plead: Or ‘dispute’ or ‘contend’ (as at law).
adulteries: i.e. ‘the marks of her adulteries’, the ornaments worn by the votary
(Amos 2:7n, p. 200).
5 my lovers: But it was God who had made the crops grow, not the Baalim through
the fertility rites.
26
That is, Not my people.
27
Or, instead of that.
28
That is, My people.
29
That is, having obtained mercy.
208 HOSEA: THE LOVERS
my wool and my flax,

mine oil and my 30drink.
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up thy way with thorns,
and 31make a wall, that she shall not find her paths.
And she shall follow after her lovers,
but she shall not overtake them;
and she shall seek them,
but shall not find them:
Then shall she say,
I will go and return to my first husband;
for then was it better with me than now.
For she did not know
that I gave her corn, and wine, 32and oil,
and multiplied her silver and gold,
33
which they prepared for Baal.
Therefore will I return,
and take away my corn in the time thereof,
and my wine in the season thereof,
and will 34recover my wool and my flax
given to cover her nakedness.
10 And now will I discover her 35lewdness
in the sight of her lovers,
and none shall deliver her out of mine hand.
I will also cause all her mirth to cease,
her feast days, her new moons,
and her sabbaths, and all her solemn feasts.
And I will 36destroy her vines
and her fig trees, whereof she hath said,
These are my rewards
that my lovers have given me:
and I will make them a forest,
and the beasts of the field shall eat them.
30
Heb. drinks.
31
Heb. wall a wall.
32
Heb. new wine.
33
Or, wherewith they made Baal.
34
Or, take away.
35
Heb. folly, or, villainy.
36
Heb. make desolate.
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HOSEA: THE LOVERS 209
And I will visit upon her the days of Baalim,

wherein she burned incense to them,
and she decked herself with her earrings and her jewels,
and she went after her lovers,
and forgat me, saith the Lord.
Therefore, behold, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak 37comfortably unto her.
15 And I will give her her vineyards from thence,
and the valley of Achor for a door of hope:
and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth,
and as in the day when she came up out of the land
of Egypt.
And it shall be at that day, saith the Lord, that thou shalt
call me 38Ishi; and shalt call me no more 39Baali. For I will
take away the names of Baalim out of her mouth, and they
shall no more be remembered by their name.
And in that day will I make a covenant for them
with the beasts of the field,
and with the fowls of heaven,
and with the creeping things of the ground:
and I will break the bow and the sword
and the battle out of the earth,
and will make them to lie down safely.
And I will betroth thee unto me for ever;
yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness,
and in judgment, and in loving kindness, and in mercies.
20 I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness:
and thou shalt know the Lord.
And it shall come to pass in that day,
I will hear,
saith the Lord,
I will hear the heavens,
and they shall hear the earth;
13 Baalim: Plural; a generic name for local nature gods.

15 Achor: i.e. ‘Trouble’: there, in Josh 7:16ff. Achan was stoned to death for theft,
and the place was thereafter called ‘Trouble’. Israel will be punished but not
destroyed.
37
Or, friendly. Heb. to the heart.
38
That is, My husband.
39
That is, My lord.
210 HOSEA: A NEW DAY
and the earth shall hear the corn,

and the wine, and the oil;
and they shall hear Jezreel.
And I will sow her unto me in the earth;
and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained
mercy;
and I will say to them which were not my people,
Thou art my people;
and they shall say, Thou art my God.
A NEW DAY
6: 1 Come, and let us return unto the Lord:
for he hath torn, and he will heal us;
he hath smitten, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us:
in the third day he will raise us up,
and we shall live in his sight.
Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord;
his going forth is prepared as the morning;
and he shall come unto us as the rain,
as the latter and former rain unto the earth.
Micah
The oracles attributed to ‘Micah’ (‘Who is like Jahweh?’) are con-
temporary with Hosea and Isaiah, but date after the fall of Samaria,
c.722 bc (see p. 187), and are addressed primarily to Judah, not Israel.
In Micah as in Amos, a passionate sense of justice is essential to
the national religion. As in Isaiah, the imagery of the Temple and
its rituals on Mount Zion is used by Micah to look forward to a
golden age when worship will mean not only Temple ritual but also
peace, justice and integrity, concern for which thus enhances and
expands the meaning of the traditional symbols.
THE LORD’S DEMANDS

3: 9 Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob,
and princes of the house of Israel,
that abhor judgment,
and pervert all equity.
6:3 the latter and former rain: The two wet seasons, winter and spring.
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MICAH: THE LORD’S DEMANDS 211
10 They build up Zion with 40blood,

and Jerusalem with iniquity.
The heads thereof judge for reward,
and the priests thereof teach for hire,
and the prophets thereof divine for money:
yet will they lean upon the Lord, 41and say,
Is not the Lord among us?
none evil can come upon us.
Therefore shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as
a field,
and Jerusalem shall become heaps,
and the mountain of the house
as the high places of the forest.
4: 1 But in the last days it shall come to pass,

that the mountain of the house of the Lord
shall be established in the top of the mountains,
and it shall be exalted above the hills;
and people shall flow unto it.
And many nations shall come, and say,
Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
and to the house of the God of Jacob;
and he will teach us of his ways,
and we will walk in his paths:
for the law shall go forth of Zion,
and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.
And he shall judge among many people,
and rebuke strong nations afar off;
and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
and their spears into 42pruninghooks:
nation shall not lift up a sword against nation,
neither shall they learn war any more.
3: 12 mountain of the house: One of AV’s clumsier literal translations, presumably

aiming to echo the previous verse. Zion is the mountain on which the house of
God was built.
4:1 the last days: Almost identical to Isa 2:2–4; similar to Zech 3:10. So the Prophecies
grew; favoured passages from minor or unknown sources could be attached to
famous works, and might enter the canon at more than one place.
40
Heb. bloods.
41
Heb. saying.
42
Or, scythes.
212 MICAH: THE LORD’S DEMANDS
But they shall sit every man under his vine

and under his fig tree;
and none shall make them afraid:
For the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.
5 For all people will walk every one in the name of his god,
and we will walk in the name of the Lord our God
for ever and ever.
In that day, saith the Lord,
will I assemble her that halteth,
and I will gather her that is driven out,
and her that I have afflicted;
And I will make her that halted a remnant,
and her that was cast far off a strong nation:
and the Lord shall reign over them in mount Zion
From henceforth, even for ever . . .
6: 1 Hear ye now what the Lord saith;

Arise, contend thou 43before the mountains,
and let the hills hear thy voice.
Hear ye, O mountains, the Lord’s controversy,
and ye strong foundations of the earth:
for the Lord hath a controversy with his people,
and he will plead with Israel.
O my people, what have I done unto thee?
and wherein have I wearied thee?
testify against me.
For I brought thee up out of the land of Egypt,
and redeemed thee out of the house of servants;
and I sent before thee Moses, Aaron, and Miriam.
5 O my people, remember now
what Balak king of Moab consulted,
5 the name of his god: Unlike Amos and Isaiah, Micah is willing to admit other
gods for other peoples.
6 halteth: Limps.
6:1 Hear ye now . . . : This imitates the opening of an advocate’s address to the
court (his ‘controversy’).
5 Balak . . . Balaam: A famous confrontation: Balak, a Moabite king, sent for the
pagan prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites. At first Balaam refused to come,
because first his ass and then he himself saw an angel challenging them. Later
Balaam blessed Israel instead: ‘How shall I curse, whom God hath not cursed?’
(Num 23:8). They did not spare his life (Num 31:8).
43
Or, with.
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ISAIAH (1 ) 213
and what Balaam the son of Beor answered him

from Shittim unto Gilgal;
that ye may know the righteousness of the Lord.
Wherewith shall I come before the Lord,
and bow myself before the high God?
shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves 44of a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
or with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my 45body for the sin of my soul?
He hath showed thee, O man, what is good;
and what doth the Lord require of thee,
but to do justly,
and to love mercy,
and to 46walk humbly with thy God?
Isaiah (1)
Almost all the prophetic books contain additional material, often
hard to distinguish from other sources. Isaiah is no exception, but is
also a special case. Chapters 1–39 belong to a much earlier time than
Chapter 40ff. which are the work of ‘Second Isaiah’ and others. The
later parts of Isaiah are concerned with the Jews exiled in Babylon,
and their return to Jerusalem, 200 years later.
Chapters 1–39 are concerned, like Micah, with Judah and
Jerusalem, c.735–700 bc, at the time when catastrophe was falling
on Israel in the north (for background, see p. 187). When Tiglath-
Pileser III became King of Assyria c.745 bc, a period of Assyrian expan-
sion began. The kings of Judah, inclined to worm their way out of
trouble by devious practices and local alliances, looked for safety in
Shittim was the Israelites’ last encampment outside the promised land, and Gilgal
the first inside it (Josh 3:1, 4:20).
6 burnt offerings . . . cakes: Offerings were meant to be signs of spiritual recon-
ciliation, but easily became merely the payment of a conclusive fine.
7 give my firstborn: See Hinnom, Jer 19:2n, p. 235.
8 walk humbly . . . : Cv, MtB, Gt, to be lowly, and to walk with thy God; BB, to
humble thyself, to walk with thy God; D, to walk solicitous . . .
44
Heb. sons of a year?
45
Heb. belly.
46
Heb. humble thyself to walk.
214 ISAIAH (1 ): CORRUPTIONS AT COURT
alliance with him. Isaiah advised the king to lie quiet and trust in
God. Like the other prophets, however, he sees the nation’s great-
est danger to be her own lack of inner integrity; his most evocative
passages demand God’s chosen nation to act with right and justice.
Isaiah also inaugurates an early form of apocalyptic writing (e.g.
p. 225: see Daniel p. 268), symbolically foretelling a new age when
God’s hand will be shown, and the kingdom flourish again under a
new David, the Messiah (the ‘anointed one’, ‘prince’).
Further reading. Assyria’s threat to Judah and Isaiah’s part in
defying it is told in 2 Kgs 18–19; see Byron’s famous poem, The Destruc-
tion of Sennacherib. Schökel’s study (1987: 165–83) provides a concise
and very helpful overview.
CORRUPTIONS AT COURT
3: 13 The Lord standeth up to plead,
and standeth to judge the people.
The Lord will enter into judgment
with the ancients of his people,
and the princes thereof:
for ye have 47eaten up the vineyard;
the spoil of the poor is in your houses.
15 What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces,
and grind the faces of the poor?
saith the Lord God of hosts.
Moreover the Lord saith,
Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
and walk with stretched forth necks and 48wanton eyes,
walking and 49mincing as they go,
and making a tinkling with their feet:
Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab
the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion,
and the Lord will 50discover their secret parts.
3:15 grind the faces of the poor: Wyc (later version) grynden togidre the faces of
poure men; Cv, MtB, mar the faces of the innocents; Gt, mar the faces of the poor;
Gv, BB, D as AV.
16 daughters of Zion: This savage attack on fashionable women is typical of the
opening chapters of Isaiah, but not of the book as a whole: see p. 221 and In
the year 6:1n.
47
Or, burnt.
48
Heb. deceiving with their eyes.
49
Or, tripping nicely.
50
Heb. make naked.
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ISAIAH (1): CORRUPTIONS AT COURT 215
In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their
tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their 51cauls, and their
round tires like the moon, the 52chains, and the bracelets,
20 and the 53mufflers, the bonnets, and the ornaments of the
legs, and the headbands, and the 54tablets, and the earrings,
the rings, and nose jewels, the changeable suits of apparel,
and the mantles, and the wimples, and the crisping pins,
the glasses, and the fine linen, and the hoods, and the veils.
And it shall come to pass,
that instead of sweet smell there shall be stink;
and instead of a girdle a rent;
and instead of well set hair baldness;
and instead of a stomacher a girding of sackcloth;
and burning instead of beauty.
25 Thy men shall fall by the sword,
and thy 55mighty in the war.
And her gates shall lament and mourn;
and she being 56desolate shall sit upon the ground.
4: 1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man,
saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel:
only 57let us be called by thy name, 58to take away our
reproach.
18 bravery: In the sixteenth-century sense of ‘display’. Modern translations differ
as to the details of these items, since many of the words occur uniquely here,
but the effect is clear. Some of AV’s expressions are comparatively clumsy: e.g.
tinkling . . . feet (anklets); changeable . . . apparel (NIV, fine robes; REB, fine dresses).
round . . . moon: Modern versions have ‘crescents’, the symbol of the moon-goddess.
24 stomacher: Cv’s word (1535); its first recorded use for a women’s garment: origin-
ally a kind of warm blouson for men covering stomach as well as chest. Later,
for women, an ornamental covering for the bosom (not the stomach) behind
the lacing of a gown. In the Hebrew, simply ‘a fine robe’.
burning: Better, ‘branding’, as most modern versions.
4: 1 in that day: AV has this chapter heading: ‘In the extremity of evils, Christ’s
kingdom shall be a Sanctuary’, understanding Isaiah to be inspired with divine
knowledge. There are many similar examples: e.g., 7:14n, virgin: See also Amos
5:18n.
51
Or, caps of network.
52
Or, sweet balls.
53
Or, spangled ornaments.
54
Heb. houses of breath, or, perfume boxes.
55
Heb. might.
56
Or. cleansed, or emptied.
57
Heb. let thy name be called upon us.
58
Or, take thou away.
216 ISAIAH (1): ‘THE DAY OF THE LORD’
‘THE DAY OF THE LORD’

4: 2 In that day shall the branch of the Lord be 59beautiful and
glorious, and the fruit of the earth shall be excellent and
comely 60for them that are escaped of Israel. And it shall
come to pass, that he that is left in Zion, and he that
remaineth in Jerusalem, shall be called holy, even every one
that is written 61among the living in Jerusalem: when the
Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of
Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from
the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit
of burning.
5 And the Lord will create upon every dwelling place of
mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke
by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night: for 62upon
all the glory shall be 63a defence.
And there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day-
time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for a
covert from storm and from rain.
THE SONG OF THE VINEYARD

5: 1 Now will I sing to my wellbeloved
a song of my beloved
touching his vineyard.
My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a 64very fruitful hill:
and he 65fenced it,
and gathered out the stones thereof,
and planted it with the choicest vine,
and built a tower in the midst of it,
and also 66made a winepress therein:
2 branch: A shoot: the Hebrew word is also used in similar contexts (but not
otherwise), by Jeremiah 23:5 (and 33:15) and Zechariah 3:8 (and 6:12).
5 cloud and smoke: such as protected the people in the desert: see Exod 40:30,
p. 118).
5:1 song: The parable opens deceptively in the form of a wedding song.
59
Heb. beauty and glory.
60
Heb. for the escaping of Israel.
61
Or, to life.
62
Or, above.
63
Heb. a covering.
64
Heb. the horn of the son of oil.
65
Or, made a wall about it.
66
Heb. hewed.
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ISAIAH (1 ): ISAIAH’S CALL 217
And he looked that it should bring forth grapes,

and it brought forth wild grapes.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah,
judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that
I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should
bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
5 And now go to; I will tell you what I will do to my
vineyard:
I will take away the hedge thereof,
and it shall be eaten up;
and break down the wall thereof,
and it shall be 67trodden down:
and I will lay it waste:
it shall not be pruned, nor digged;
but there shall come up briers and thorns:
I will also command the clouds
that they rain no rain upon it.
For the vineyard of the Lord of hosts is the house of Israel,
and the men of Judah 68his pleasant plant:
and he looked for judgment,
but behold 69oppression;
for righteousness,
but behold a cry.
ISAIAH’S CALL
6: 1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting
upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his 70train filled the
7 oppression: A double pun: on mishpat, ‘judgment’, and mispah, ‘bloodshed,

violence’; and on tsedekah, ‘righteousness’, and tse’ekah, ‘cry’.
6:1 In the year . . . : c.740 bc (see Chronology, p. 533). This reads like the
opening of the book; preceding material may have been added to the scroll later
(see p. 213). Uzziah is recorded (2 Kgs 15:1– 6; 2 Chron 26) as a faithful king, as
was his successor Jotham, but not Ahaz (see next passage, 7:1–16).
I saw also the Lord: The Holy of Holies, God’s residence, was closed to mortals
(pp. 120–21). Isaiah saw him in a trance, when God’s presence overflowed to fill
the entire Temple.
67
Heb. for a treading.
68
Heb. plant of his pleasures.
69
Heb. a scab.
70
Or, the skirts thereof.
218 ISAIAH (1 ): ISAIAH’S CALL
temple. Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings;
with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered
his feet, and with twain he did fly.
And 71one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy,
is the Lord of hosts: 72the whole earth is full of his glory.
And the posts of the 73door moved at the voice of him that
cried, and the house was filled with smoke.
5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am 74undone; because I
am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a
people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of hosts.
Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, 75having a live
coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from
off the altar: and he 76laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo,
this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away,
and thy sin purged.
Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall
I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, 77Here am I;
send me.
And he said, Go, and tell this people,
78
Hear ye indeed,
but understand not;
and see ye 79indeed,
but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears
heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and
hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and
convert, and be healed.
Then said I, Lord, how long? And he answered,
2 seraphims: properly, seraphim (already a plural); an early mention of the angels

as royal attendants upon God.
6 live coal: A riddle-symbol (p. 193).
71
Heb. this cried to this.
72
Heb. his glory is the fulness of the whole earth.
73
Heb. thresholds.
74
Heb. cut off.
75
Heb. and in his hand a live coal.
76
Heb. caused it to touch.
77
Heb. behold me.
78
Heb. Hear ye in hearing, or, without ceasing, &c.
79
Heb. in seeing.
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ISAIAH (1): IMMANUEL 219
Until the cities be wasted without inhabitant,

and the houses without man,
and the land 80be utterly desolate,
and the Lord have removed men far away,
and there be a great forsaking in the midst of the land.
But yet in it shall be a tenth, 81and it shall return,
and shall be eaten:
as a teil tree, and as an oak,
whose 82substance is in them, when they cast their leaves:
so the holy seed shall be the substance thereof.
IMMANUEL
7: 1 And it came to pass in the days of Ahaz the son of Jotham,
the son of Uzziah, king of Judah, that Rezin the king of
Syria, and Pekah the son of Remaliah, king of Israel, went
up toward Jerusalem to war against it, but could not pre-
vail against it. And it was told the house of David, saying,
Syria is 83confederate with Ephraim. And his heart was moved,
and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are
moved with the wind.
Then said the Lord unto Isaiah, Go forth now to meet
Ahaz, thou, and 84Shear-jashub thy son, at the end of the
conduit of the upper pool in the 85highway of the fuller’s
5 field; and say unto him, take heed, and be quiet; fear not,
86
neither be fainthearted for the two tails of these smoking
firebrands, for the fierce anger of Rezin with Syria, and of
13 teil: The terebinth, or turpentine tree. Gt, And as the terebinth tree and oak
in winter cast their leaves; and yet have sap in them . . . ; Gv, eaten up as an elm
or as an oak which have a substance in them, when they cast their leaves. D, as a
terebinth, and as an oak, that spreadeth his boughs: that which should stand in it . . .
7:1 Ahaz: King of Judah. Rezin was king of Syria, and Pekah, son of Remaliah,
of Israel. See pp. 186–7, headnote.
3 Shear-jashub: See marginal translation: like Hosea (1:4 – 9, p. 206), Isaiah gave
his children symbolic names.
80
Heb. desolate with desolation.
81
Or, when it is returned, and hath been browsed.
82
Or, stock, or, stem.
83
Heb. resteth on Ephraim.
84
That is, The remnant shall return.
85
Or, causeyway.
86
Heb. let not thy heart be tender.
220 ISAIAH (1): IMMANUEL
the son of Remaliah. Because Syria, Ephraim, and the son

of Remaliah, have taken evil counsel against thee, saying,
Let us go up against Judah, and 87vex it, and let us make
a breach therein for us, and set a king in the midst of it,
even the son of Tabeal:
Thus saith the Lord God, It shall not stand, neither
shall it come to pass. For the head of Syria is Damascus,
and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore
and five years shall Ephraim be broken, 88that it be not a
people.
And the head of Ephraim is Samaria, and the head of
Samaria is Remaliah’s son. 89If ye will not believe, surely ye
will not be established.
10 90
Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask
thee a sign of the Lord thy God; 91ask it either in the depth,
or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, nei-
ther will I tempt the Lord.
And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small
thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?
Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold,
a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and 92shall call his
15 name Immanuel. Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may
know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.
For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and
choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be for-
saken of both her kings.
7–9 It shall not stand . . . : ‘Their threats will not materialise, since Syria and Samaria
are led by such people as Rezin and Pekah’.
11 a sign: Judah refused to join an alliance between Syria and Israel against Assyria,
c.734 bc. They saw Judah as a danger to their rear, but Isaiah declares that their
threat will come to nothing; before ‘that girl’s unborn child’ is a few years old,
both allies will be broken. He was right; at that time Assyria was irresistible.
14 virgin: Hebrew ‘young (unmarried) woman’; perhaps Isaiah indicated a lady
of the court whose marriage could soon be expected. NT writers found that Isa’s
prophecy fitted the birth of Christ, and through the Greek of LXX, parthenos,
‘young woman, virgin’, the doctrine of the Virgin Birth developed.
Immanuel: ‘God with us’.
87
Or, waken it.
88
Heb. from a people.
89
Or, do ye not believe? It is because ye are not stable.
90
Heb. and the Lord added to speak.
91
Or, make thy petition deep.
92
Or, thou, O virgin, shalt call.
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ISAIAH (1 ): ASSYRIA 221
ASSYRIA
10: 1 Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees,
and 93that write grievousness which they have prescribed;
to turn aside the needy from judgment,
and to take away the right from the poor of my people,
that widows may be their prey,
and that they may rob the fatherless!
And what will ye do in the day of visitation,
and in the desolation which shall come from far?
to whom will ye flee for help?
and where will ye leave your glory?
Without me they shall bow down under the prisoners,
and they shall fall under the slain.
For all this his anger is not turned away,
but his hand is stretched out still.
5 94
O 95Assyrian, the rod of mine anger,
96
and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.
I will send him against an hypocritical nation,
and against the people of my wrath will I give him
a charge,
to take the spoil,
and to take the prey,
and 97to tread them down like the mire of the streets.
Howbeit he meaneth not so,
neither doth his heart think so;
but it is in his heart to destroy
and cut off nations not a few . . .
10: 13 For he saith,
By the strength of my hand I have done it,
and by my wisdom; for I am prudent:
and I have removed the bounds of the people,
and have robbed their treasures,
10:5 Assyrian: Isaiah sees God as a universal power controlling even the terrible
power of Assyria – which he will discard when the time comes.
93
Or, to the writers that write grievousness.
94
Or, Woe to the Assyrian.
95
Heb. Asshur.
96
Or, though.
97
Heb. to lay them a treading.
222 ISAIAH (1 ): ASSYRIA
and I have put down the inhabitants 98like a valiant man:

and my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people:
and as one gathereth eggs that are left,
have I gathered all the earth;
and there was none that moved the wing,
or opened the mouth,
or peeped.
15 Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth there-
with? or shall the saw magnify itself against him that
shaketh it? 99as if the rod should shake itself against them
that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up 100itself, as if
it were no wood.
Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among
his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a
burning like the burning of a fire.
And the light of Israel shall be for a fire,
and his Holy One for a flame:
and it shall burn and devour his thorns
and his briers in one day;
And shall consume the glory of his forest,
and of his fruitful field, 101both soul and body:
and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
And the rest of the trees of his forest
102
shall be few, that a child may write them.
20 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the remnant
of Israel, and such as are escaped of the house of Jacob,
shall no more again stay upon him that smote them; but
shall stay upon the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, in truth.
The remnant shall return, even the remnant of Jacob, unto
the mighty God.
For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the
sea, yet a remnant 103of them shall return: the consumption
20 stay upon: i.e. rely on (as Judah was tempted to rely on Assyria).
22 sand of the sea recalls the promise to Abraham, p. 75.
consumption . . . : Better, destruction: ‘This destruction, which has been decreed,
will produce infinite goodness’.
98
Or, like many people.
99
Or, as if a rod should shake them that lift it up.
100
Or, that which is not wood.
101
Heb. from the soul, and even to the flesh.
102
Heb. number.
103
Heb. in, or among.
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ISAIAH (1 ): JESSE’S OFFSPRING 223
decreed shall overflow 104with righteousness. For the Lord

God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined,
in the midst of all the land.
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts,
O my people that dwellest in Zion, be not afraid of the
Assyrian: he shall smite thee with a rod, 105and shall lift up
25 his staff against thee, after the manner of Egypt. For yet a
very little while, and the indignation shall cease, and mine
anger in their destruction. And the Lord of hosts shall stir
up a scourge for him according to the slaughter of Midian
at the rock of Oreb: and as his rod was upon the sea, so
shall he lift it up after the manner of Egypt.
And it shall come to pass in that day, that his burden
106
shall be taken away from off thy shoulder, and his yoke
from off thy neck, and the yoke shall be destroyed because
of the anointing.
JESSE’S OFFSPRING
10: 33 Behold, the Lord, the Lord of hosts,
shall lop the bough with terror:
and the high ones of stature shall be hewn down,
and the haughty shall be humbled.
And he shall cut down the thickets of the forest with iron,
and Lebanon shall fall 107by a mighty one.
11: 1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse,
and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
and the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him,
the spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
and shall make him of 108quick understanding in the
fear of the Lord:
26 slaughter . . . : Gideon defeated the Midianite invaders, and killed their leaders
(Jdg 6:1–10, 7:1–25).
his rod . . . Egypt: Awkwardly translated: the drift is, ‘He will lift up his rod over
the sea as he did against Egypt’ (see p. 105).
11: 1 rod . . . of Jesse: A child of the lineage of Jesse, David’s father; a return to the
branch image (see p. 216).
104
Or, in.
105
Or, but he shall lift up his staff for thee.
106
Heb. shall remove.
107
Or, mightily.
108
Heb. scent, or, smell.
224 ISAIAH (1): THE LORD’S VENGEANCE
and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,

neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
but with righteousness shall he judge the poor,
and 109reprove with equity for the meek of the earth:
and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth,
and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
5 And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins,
and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb,
and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;
and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
and a little child shall lead them.
And the cow and the bear shall feed;
their young ones shall lie down together:
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp,
and the weaned child shall put his hand on the
110
cockatrice’ den.
They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain:
for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the sea.
THE LORD’S VENGEANCE

34: 1 Come near, ye nations, to hear;
and hearken, ye people:
let the earth hear, and all 111that is therein;
the world, and all things that come forth of it.
For the indignation of the Lord is upon all nations,
and his fury upon all their armies:
he hath utterly destroyed them,
he hath delivered them to the slaughter . . .
34: 8 For it is the day of the Lord’s vengeance,

and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion.
34:2 all nations: Not Judah alone – stressing once again Jahweh’s universal power.
This passage is directed against Edom, the tribe descended from Esau, brother
of Israel (or Jacob). The two tribes were often at odds: see p. 78.
109
Or, argue.
110
Or, adder’s.
111
Heb. the fulness thereof.
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ISAIAH (1 ): THE LORD’S VENGEANCE 225
And the streams thereof shall be turned into pitch,

and the dust thereof into brimstone,
and the land thereof shall become burning pitch.
10 It shall not be quenched night nor day;
the smoke thereof shall go up for ever:
from generation to generation it shall lie waste;
none shall pass through it for ever and ever.
But the 112cormorant and the bittern shall possess it;
the owl also and the raven shall dwell in it:
and he shall stretch out upon it the line of confusion,
and the stones of emptiness.
They shall call the nobles thereof to the kingdom,
but none shall be there,
and all her princes shall be nothing.
And thorns shall come up in her palaces,
nettles and brambles in the fortresses thereof:
and it shall be an habitation of dragons,
and a court for 113owls.
114
The wild beasts of the desert shall also meet
with 115the wild beasts of the island,
and the satyr shall cry to his fellow;
the 116screech owl also shall rest there,
and find for herself a place of rest.
15 There shall the great owl make her nest,
and lay, and hatch, and gather under her shadow:
there shall the vultures also be gathered,
every one with her mate.
Seek ye out of the book of the Lord, and read:
no one of these shall fail,
none shall want her mate:
for my mouth it hath commanded,
and his spirit it hath gathered them.
And he hath cast the lot for them,
and his hand hath divided it unto them by line:
they shall possess it for ever,
from generation to generation shall they dwell therein.
9 thereof : i.e. of the enemy, Edom.

11 line . . . stones: A marking-line and a plumb-line.
112
Or, pelican.
113
Heb. daughters of the owl, or, ostriches.
114
Heb. Ziim.
115
Heb. Ijim.
116
Or, night monster.
226 ISAIAH (1): THE LORD’S VENGEANCE
35: 1 The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad

for them;
and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose.
It shall blossom abundantly,
and rejoice even with joy and singing:
the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it,
the excellency of Carmel and Sharon,
they shall see the glory of the Lord,
and the excellency of our God.
Strengthen ye the weak hands,
and confirm the feeble knees.
Say to them that are of a 117fearful heart,
Be strong, fear not:
behold, your God will come with vengeance,
even God with a recompense;
he will come and save you.
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.
Then shall the lame man leap as an hart,
and the tongue of the dumb sing:
for in the wilderness shall waters break out,
and streams in the desert.
And the parched ground shall become a pool,
and the thirsty land springs of water:
in the habitation of dragons, where each lay,
shall be 118grass with reeds and rushes.
And an highway shall be there,
and a way,
and it shall be called The way of holiness;
The unclean shall not pass over it;
119
but it shall be for those:
the wayfaring men, though fools,
shall not err therein.
35:2 Lebanon . . . Carmel . . . Sharon: See map, p. 533.

8 The way of holiness: The way to Jerusalem and the Temple symbolises the way
of obedience to God and his Law, by which holiness was defined.
it shall be for those: Impossibly corrupt: REB, ‘it will become a pilgrim’s way’,
but several other modern versions ignore the clause as hopeless.
the wayfaring . . . : Better, as REB, ‘no fool will trespass on it’.
117
Heb. hasty.
118
Or, a court for reeds, &c.
119
Or, for he shall be with them.
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PROPHETS OF THE EXILE: JEREMIAH 227
No lion shall be there,

nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon,
it shall not be found there;
but the redeemed shall walk there:
10 and the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come
to Zion
with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads:
they shall obtain joy and gladness,
and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.
Prophets of the Exile: Jeremiah

Jeremiah’s work covers a long and eventful period in the history of
Judah. The earliest material (e.g. Hinnom, p. 235) dealing with the
period of Josiah’s reforms, c.622 bc (told in 2 Kings 22–23); the later
part of his work belongs to the turbulent period after Josiah’s death,
when Babylon conquered and destroyed Jerusalem, 604–586 bc.
Jeremiah’s unfortunate reputation as a prophet of doom should
be set aside. As with other prophets, his public oratory is composed
mainly in short odes, with much use of riddle-symbols (p. 196). In his
earlier public pieces Jeremiah denounces the complacent belief that
correctness of ritual would guarantee divine protection to a corrupt,
oppressive and apostate society. In the traumatic years that followed
Josiah’s death in 608, he could only warn that both diplomacy and
resistance were futile against Babylon, the new superpower, who
destroyed Jerusalem and exiled to Babylon in 586 bc everyone of
consequence in the state. Jeremiah differs from the other prophets
in that he writes personal poetry within the national calamity. His
distress over Jerusalem is as honest as his individual sense of inade-
quacy. He is a gentler, less demanding figure than Amos or Ezekiel,
but more passionate than Hosea or Isaiah.
Jeremiah 36 – 43 gives a broken account but a clear picture of the
confusion of this time. Lamentations (not included here), traditionally
attributed to Jeremiah, is a series of elegies written by someone else
after the exile, in acrostic patterns, on themes connected with the
fall of Jerusalem.
ORACLES AND JUDGMENTS

1: 4 Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Before I formed thee in the belly
I knew thee;
228 JEREMIAH: ORACLES AND JUDGMENTS
and before thou camest forth out of the womb

I sanctified thee,
and I 120ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.
Then said I, Ah, Lord God! behold, I cannot speak: for
I am a child. But the Lord said unto me, Say not, I am a
child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and
whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. Be not
afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith
the Lord.
Then the Lord put forth his hand, and touched my mouth.
And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have put my words
in thy mouth.
10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations
and over the kingdoms,
to root out, and to pull down,
and to destroy, and to throw down,
to build, and to plant.
Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
Jeremiah, what seest thou? And I said, I see a rod of an
almond tree. Then said the Lord unto me, Thou hast well
seen: for I will hasten my word to perform it . . .
2: 4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all
the families of the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord,
What iniquity have your fathers found in me,
that they are gone far from me,
and have walked after vanity,
and are become vain?
Neither said they, Where is the Lord
that brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
that led us through the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and of pits,
through a land of drought, and of the shadow
of death,
1:5 nations : The Gentile nations.

9 touched my mouth: A symbol of choice and purification: cf. Isaiah’s live coal,
p. 218.
11 rod of an almond tree: Heb shaqedh, a pun on ‘watching’, shoqedh.
120
Heb. gave.
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JEREMIAH: ORACLES AND JUDGMENTS 229
through a land that no man passed through,

and where no man dwelt?
And I brought you into a 121plentiful country,
to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof;
but when ye entered, ye defiled my land,
and made mine heritage an abomination.
The priests said not, Where is the Lord?
and they that handle the law knew me not:
the pastors also transgressed against me,
and the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and walked after things that do not profit.
Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord,
and with your children’s children will I plead.
10 For pass 122over the isles of Chittim, and see;
and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently,
and see if there be such a thing.
Hath a nation changed their gods,
which are yet no gods?
but my people have changed their glory
for that which doth not profit.
Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this,
and be horribly afraid,
be ye very desolate,
saith the Lord.
For my people have committed two evils;
they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters,
and hewed them out cisterns,
broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave?
why is he 123spoiled?
15 The young lions roared upon him, and 124yelled,
and they made his land waste:
his cities are burned without inhabitant.
2:8 pastors: ‘shepherds, guides’.

10 Chittim . . . unto Kedar: i.e. ‘nations from east to west’; Chittim is Cyprus;
sometimes signifying the Greek world in general. Kedar was a trans-Jordanian
desert people.
121
Or, the land of Carmel.
122
Or, over to.
123
Heb. become a spoil?
124
Heb. gave out their voice.
Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes

125
have broken the crown of thy head.
Hast thou not procured this unto thyself,
in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God,
when he led thee by the way?
And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt,
to drink the waters of Sihor?
or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria,
to drink the waters of the river?
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee,
and thy backslidings shall reprove thee:
know therefore and see
that it is an evil thing and bitter,
that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God,
and that my fear is not in thee,
saith the Lord God of hosts.
20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke,
and burst thy bands;
and thou saidst, I will not 126transgress;
when upon every high hill and under every green tree
thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine,
wholly a right seed:
how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant
of a strange vine unto me?
For though thou wash thee with nitre,
and take thee much soap,
yet thine iniquity is marked before me,
saith the Lord God.
16 Noph; Tahapanes: Egyptian cities: Noph is Memphis. Factions in Judah disputed

the wisdom of alliance with Egypt, which was nearer, or Assyria, which was stronger
until defeated by Babylon and annihilated, 612 –605 bc. In Chapter 43, Jeremiah
is kidnapped by the Egyptian faction and taken to Tahapanes.
18 the way of Egypt . . . Assyria: i.e. ‘Israel hopes for safety in alliances with one
or other of the two great empires’. The river is the Euphrates. Israel accepted
the Law (‘I will not transgress’), and yet has worshipped gods more comfort-
able than Jahweh.
20 high hill . . . harlot: See Ashtoreth, high place, 1 Kgs 11:5, 7nn, p. 181. The green
tree was the symbol of the goddess.
125
Or, feed on my crown.
126
Or, serve.
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How canst thou say, I am not polluted,

I have not gone after Baalim?
see thy way in the valley,
know what thou hast done:
127
thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
128
a wild ass 129used to the wilderness,
that snuffeth up the wind at 130her pleasure;
in her occasion who can 131turn her away?
all they that seek her will not weary themselves;
in her month they shall find her.
25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod,
and thy throat from thirst,
but thou saidst,
132
There is no hope.
no, for I have loved strangers,
and after them I will go . . .
2: 29 Wherefore will ye plead with me?
Ye all have transgressed against me,
saith the Lord.
30 In vain have I smitten your children;
they received no correction:
Your own sword hath devoured your prophets,
like a destroying lion.
O generation, see ye the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness unto Israel?
a land of darkness?
wherefore say my people,
133
We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
Can a maid forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love?
therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
127
Or, O swift dromedary.
128
Or, O wild ass.
129
Heb. taught.
130
Heb. the desire of her heart.
131
Or, reverse it.
132
Or, Is the case desperate?
133
Heb. We have dominion.
Also in thy skirts is found the blood

of the souls of the poor innocents:
I have not found it by 134secret search,
but upon all these.
35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger
shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because
thou sayest, I have not sinned. Why gaddest thou about so
much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of
Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
Yea, thou shalt go forth from him,
and thine hands upon thine head:
for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences,
and thou shalt not prosper in them . . .
5: 20 Declare this in the house of Jacob, and publish it in
Judah, saying,
Hear now this, O foolish people,
and without 135understanding;
which have eyes, and see not;
which have ears, and hear not:
Fear ye not me? saith the Lord:
will ye not tremble at my presence,
which have placed the sand for the bound of the sea
by a perpetual decree, that it cannot pass it:
and though the waves thereof toss themselves,
yet can they not prevail;
though they roar,
yet can they not pass over it?
But this people hath a revolting and a rebellious heart;
they are revolted and gone.
Neither say they in their heart,
Let us now fear the Lord our God,
that giveth rain, both the former and the latter, in his season:
he reserveth unto us the appointed weeks of the harvest.
25 Your iniquities have turned away these things,
and your sins have withholden good things from you.
34 upon all these: A literal translation of a very obscure phrase. Perhaps it should
be linked to the following line, as in RSV.
5:24 former . . . latter: The two rainy seasons, winter and spring.
134
Heb. digging.
135
Heb. heart.
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For among my people are found wicked men:

136
they lay wait, as he that setteth snares;
they set a trap, they catch men.
As a 137cage is full of birds,
so are their houses full of deceit:
therefore they are become great, and waxen rich.
They are waxen fat, they shine:
yea, they overpass the deeds of the wicked:
they judge not the cause, the cause of the fatherless,
yet they prosper;
and the right of the needy do they not judge.
Shall I not visit for these things?
saith the Lord:
shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
30 138
A wonderful and horrible thing
is committed in the land;
the prophets prophesy falsely,
and the priests 139bear rule by their means;
and my people love to have it so:
and what will ye do in the end thereof? . . .
7: 3 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel,
Amend your ways and your doings, and I will cause you
5 to dwell in this place. Trust ye not in lying words, saying,
The temple of the Lord, The temple of the Lord, The
temple of the Lord, are these. For if ye throughly amend
your ways and your doings; if ye thoroughly execute judg-
ment between a man and his neighbour; if ye oppress
not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed
not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other
gods to your hurt: then will I cause you to dwell in this
place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and
ever.
Behold, ye trust in lying words, that cannot profit. Will
ye steal, murder, and commit adultery, and swear falsely,
and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other gods whom
10 ye know not; and come and stand before me in this house,
140
which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered
136
Or, they pry as fowlers lie in wait.
137
Or, coop.
138
Heb. Astonishment and filthiness.
139
Or, take into their hands.
140
Heb. whereupon my name is called.
to do all these abominations? Is this house, which is called

by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold,
even I have seen it, saith the Lord . . .
8: 18 When I would comfort myself against sorrow,
my heart is faint 141in me.
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people
142
because of them that dwell in a far country:
Is not the Lord in Zion?
is not her king in her?
Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven
images,
and with strange vanities?
20 The harvest is past, the summer is ended,
and we are not saved.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt;
I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
Is there no balm in Gilead;
is there no physician there?
why then is not the health of the daughter of my
people 143recovered?
9: 1 Oh 144
that my head were waters,
and mine eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Oh that I had in the wilderness
a lodging place of wayfaring men;
that I might leave my people,
and go from them!
for they be all adulterers,
an assembly of treacherous men.
And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies:
but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth;
8:18 When I would comfort . . . : Jeremiah, God and Judah speak in turn. Judah
expects the automatic protection of God, since he dwells in Jerusalem.
22 balm: So all except Gt: triacle. Gilead is a hilly, wooded area north-east of
Jordan.
9:2 lodging place . . . : Gt, a cottage far from folk; D, an inn of wayfaring men.
141
Heb. upon.
142
Heb. because of the country of them that are far off.
143
Heb. gone up.
144
Heb. who will give my head, &c.
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JEREMIAH: HINNOM 235
for they proceed from evil to evil,

and they know not me,
saith the Lord . . .
9: 9 Shall I not visit them for these things?
saith the Lord:
shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?
10 For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing,
and for the 145habitations of the wilderness a lamentation,
because they are 146burned up, so that none can pass
through them;
neither can men hear the voice of the cattle;
147
both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled;
they are gone.
And I will make Jerusalem heaps,
and a den of dragons;
and I will make the cities of Judah 148desolate,
without an inhabitant . . .
9: 23 Thus saith the Lord,
Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory in his might,
let not the rich man glory in his riches:
But let him that glorieth glory in this,
that he understandeth and knoweth me,
that I am the Lord which exercise loving kindness,
judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:
for in these things I delight,
saith the Lord.
HINNOM
Hinnom is a valley just outside Jerusalem, where worshippers of
Moloch sacrificed their own children as burnt offerings. Josiah put
an end to these rites, c.621 bc (2 Kgs 22–3; 2 Chron 34–5; see also p. 187);
Jeremiah’s prophecy may be part of a campaign against them. In
the Gospels, Hinnom (in its Greek form, Gehenna) is a symbol of
Hell (pp. 393–4).
145
Or, pastures.
146
Or, desolate.
147
Heb. From the fowl even to, &c.
148
Heb. desolation.
236 JEREMIAH: HINNOM
19: 1 Thus saith the Lord, Go and get a potter’s earthen bottle,
and take of the ancients of the people, and of the ancients
of the priests; and go forth unto the valley of the son of
Hinnom, which is by the entry of the 149east gate, and pro-
claim there the words that I shall tell thee, and say,
Hear ye the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah,
and inhabitants of Jerusalem;
Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel;
Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, the which
whosoever heareth, his ears shall tingle.
Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place,
and have burned incense in it unto other gods, whom nei-
ther they nor their fathers have known, nor the kings of
Judah, and have filled this place with the blood of inno-
5 cents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn
their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I
commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind:
therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that this
place shall no more be called Tophet, nor The valley of the
son of Hinnom, but The valley of slaughter.
And I will make void the counsel of Judah
and Jerusalem in this place;
and I will cause them to fall by the sword before
their enemies,
and by the hands of them that seek their lives:
and their carcases will I give to be meat
for the fowls of the heaven,
and for the beasts of the earth.
And I will make this city desolate, and an hissing; every
one that passeth thereby shall be astonished and hiss
because of all the plagues thereof. And I will cause them
to eat the flesh of their sons and the flesh of their daugh-
ters, and they shall eat every one the flesh of his friend in
the siege and straitness, wherewith their enemies, and they
that seek their lives, shall straiten them.
east gate: AV is wrong twice, in both text and margin. The word means ‘Gate
of the Potsherd’; hence Jeremiah’s symbolic act.
11 Tophet: The meaning is uncertain: a name given to the sacrificial shrines in
Hinnom.
149
Heb. the sungate.
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JEREMIAH: HINNOM 237
10 Then shalt thou break the bottle in the sight of the men
that go with thee, and shalt say unto them, Thus saith the
Lord of hosts; Even so will I break this people and this city,
as one breaketh a potter’s vessel, that cannot 150be made
whole again: and they shall bury them in Tophet, till there
be no place to bury.
Thus will I do unto this place, saith the Lord, and to the
inhabitants thereof, and even make this city as Tophet: and
the houses of Jerusalem, and the houses of the kings of
Judah, shall be defiled as the place of Tophet, because of
all the houses upon whose roofs they have burned incense
unto all the host of heaven, and have poured out drink offer-
ings unto other gods.
Then came Jeremiah from Tophet, whither the Lord had
sent him to prophesy; and he stood in the court of the Lord’s
house; and said to all the people, Thus saith the Lord of
15 hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city
and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced
against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they
might not hear my words.
20: 1 Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also
chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah
prophesied these things. Then Pashur smote Jeremiah the
prophet, and put him in the stocks that were in the high
gate of Benjamin, which was by the house of the Lord.
And it came to pass on the morrow, that Pashur
brought forth Jeremiah out of the stocks. Then said
Jeremiah unto him, The Lord hath not called thy name
Pashur, but 151Magor-missabib. For thus saith the Lord,
Behold, I will make thee a terror to thyself, and to all thy
friends: and they shall fall by the sword of their enemies,
and thine eyes shall behold it: and I will give all Judah into
the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall carry them
captive into Babylon, and shall slay them with the sword.
5 Moreover I will deliver all the strength of this city, and
all the labours thereof, and all the precious things thereof,
and all the treasures of the kings of Judah will I give into
the hand of their enemies, which shall spoil them, and take
20: 1 Pashur means ‘free’; later Jeremiah plays it off against ‘captivity’.
150
Heb. be healed.
151
That is, Fear round about.
238 JEREMIAH: THE UNJUST RICH MAN
them, and carry them to Babylon. And thou, Pashur, and

all that dwell in thine house shall go into captivity: and thou
shalt come to Babylon, and there thou shalt die, and shalt
be buried there, thou, and all thy friends, to whom thou
hast prophesied lies.
THE UNJUST RICH MAN

22: 13 Woe unto him that buildeth his house by
unrighteousness,
and his chambers by wrong;
that useth his neighbour’s service without wages,
and giveth him not for his work;
that saith, I will build me a wide house
and 152large chambers,
and cutteth him out 153windows;
and it is ceiled with cedar,
and painted with vermilion.
15 Shalt thou reign, because thou closest thyself in cedar?
did not thy father eat and drink,
and do judgment and justice,
and then it was well with him?
He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well with him:
was not this to know me?
saith the Lord.
But thine eyes and thine heart are not
but for thy covetousness,
and for to shed innocent blood, and for oppression,
and for 154violence, to do it.
Therefore thus saith the Lord concerning Jehoiakim the son
of Josiah king of Judah;
22: 18 Jehoiakim: Son and successor to Josiah (2 Kgs 23.31–7). His rebellion against
Nebuchadnezzar in 602 led to the fall of Judah in 597 bc. In 2 Chron 36 (a later
work) he is said, however, to have been taken into exile; 2 Kgs 24 does not men-
tion a shameful death. Perhaps this is a genuine contemporary prophecy that did
not come literally true.
152
Or, through-aired.
153
Or, my windows.
154
Or, incursion.
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JEREMIAH: THE NEW DAVID 239
They shall not lament for him, saying,

Ah my brother! or, Ah sister!
they shall not lament for him, saying,
Ah lord! or, Ah his glory!
He shall be buried with the burial of an ass,
drawn and cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.
THE NEW DAVID

22: 29 O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord,
Write ye this man childless,
a man that shall not prosper in his days:
for no man of his seed shall prosper,
sitting upon the throne of David,
and ruling any more in Judah.
23: 1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep
of my pasture! saith the Lord. Therefore thus saith the Lord
God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye
have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have
not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of
your doings, saith the Lord. And I will gather the remnant
of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them,
and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be
fruitful and increase. And I will set up shepherds over them
which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be
dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.
5 Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord,
that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch,
and a King shall reign and prosper,
and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.
In his days Judah shall be saved,
and Israel shall dwell safely:
and this is his name whereby he shall be called,
155
The Lord Our Righteousness.
23:5 Branch: cf. Isa 4:1, pp. 210, 217, and Zech 3:19, p. 264.
155
Heb. Jehovah-tsidkenu.
240 JEREMIAH: ORACLES OF COMFORT
ORACLES OF COMFORT
30: 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
Thus speaketh the Lord God of Israel, saying, Write thee
all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book. For,
lo, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will bring again
the captivity of my people Israel and Judah, saith the Lord:
and I will cause them to return to the land that I gave to
their fathers, and they shall possess it . . .
31: 1 At the same time, saith the Lord, will I be the God of
all the families of Israel, and they shall be my people.
Thus saith the Lord,
The people which were left of the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest.
The Lord hath appeared 156of old unto me, saying,
Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love:
therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee.
Again I will build thee,
and 157thou shalt be built,
O virgin of Israel:
thou shalt again be adorned with thy 158tabrets,
and shalt go forth in the dances of them that
make merry.
5 Thou shalt yet plant vines
upon the mountains of Samaria:
the planters shall plant,
and shall 159eat them as common things.
For there shall be a day, that the watchmen upon the
mount Ephraim shall cry, Arise ye, and let us go up to Zion
unto the Lord our God.
For thus saith the Lord;
Sing with gladness for Jacob,
and shout among the chief of the nations:
publish ye, praise ye, and say,
O Lord, save thy people,
the remnant of Israel.
156
Heb. from afar.
157
Or, have I extended lovingkindness unto thee.
158
Or, timbrels.
159
Heb. profane them.
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JEREMIAH: ORACLES OF COMFORT 241
Behold, I will bring them from the north country,

and gather them from the coasts of the earth,
and with them the blind and the lame,
the woman with child
and her that travaileth with child together:
a great company shall return thither.
They shall come with weeping,
and with 160supplications will I lead them:
I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters
in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble:
for I am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is my firstborn . . .
31: 15 Thus saith the Lord;
A voice was heard in Ramah,
lamentation, and bitter weeping;
Rahel weeping for her children
refused to be comforted for her children,
because they were not.
Thus saith the Lord;
Refrain thy voice from weeping,
and thine eyes from tears:
for thy work shall be rewarded,
saith the Lord;
and they shall come again from the land of the enemy.
And there is hope in thine end,
saith the Lord,
that thy children shall come again to their own border . . .
31: 23 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; As yet they
shall use this speech in the land of Judah and in the cities
thereof, when I shall bring again their captivity;
The Lord bless thee, O habitation of justice,
and mountain of holiness.
31:15 Rahel: i.e. Rachel, Jacob’s beloved wife, grandmother of Ephraim and
Manasseh, tribes lost with the fall of Samaria, 722 bc (p. 188). Ramah was in
Benjamin, the tribe of Rachel’s second son, to the north of Judah. Perhaps this
lament marks the advance of the Babylonian armies into Benjamin on their way
to Jerusalem.
160
Or, favours.
242 JEREMIAH: A NEW COVENANT
And there shall dwell in Judah itself, and in all the cities
thereof together, husbandmen, and they that go forth with
25 flocks. For I have satiated the weary soul, and I have
replenished every sorrowful soul. Upon this I awaked, and
beheld; and my sleep was sweet unto me.
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will sow
the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed
of man, and with the seed of beast. And it shall come to
pass, that like as I have watched over them, to pluck up,
and to break down, and to throw down, and to destroy,
and to afflict; so will I watch over them, to build, and to
plant, saith the Lord. In those days they shall say no more,
The fathers have eaten a sour grape,
and the children’s teeth are set on edge.
30 But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that
eateth the sour grape, his teeth shall be set on edge.
A NEW COVENANT
31: 31 Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a
new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house
of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant
they brake, 161although I was an husband unto them, saith
the Lord: but this shall be the covenant that I will make
with the house of Israel;
After those days,
saith the Lord,
I will put my law in their inward parts,
and write it in their hearts;
and will be their God,
and they shall be my people.
And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall
all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of
them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and
I will remember their sin no more.
29 a sour grape: i.e. only the guilty will suffer, not the innocent or those caught
up in trouble.
161
Or, should I have continued an husband unto them?
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EZEKIEL: VISIONS OF GOD 243
Ezekiel
In Chapter 1, Ezekiel is already among the first exiles in Babylon,
c.593 bc; he wrote until after the final siege and fall of Jerusalem in
586 (for which, see pp. 189–93 and 213).
Ezekiel is the most austere and the most fantastic of the great
prophets, less a poet than a transcriber of strange visions reinforced
with bizarre material. Much more than the other major prophets, he
uses prose as the chosen medium. Sometimes his visions are in the
familiar form of riddle-symbols (e.g. p. 196), but they are constantly
more stark, more harsh, than any other prophet’s, expressing his anger
at his fellow Jews, who have forsaken their majestic, universal God
for Tammuz, alien god of death and regeneration, or for the sun,
or other lesser creatures. Ezekiel’s vision seems to be limited, in that
he concentrates on idolatry rather than on social and moral dis-
obedience, and his vision of renewal (p. 248) seems to include Israel
alone, but the startling originality of the brilliant, surrealistic vision
of God in the opening passage, or of the Valley of Dry Bones, is
unique.
VISIONS OF GOD
1: 1 Now it came to pass in the thirtieth year, in the fourth month,
in the fifth day of the month, as I was among the 162cap-
tives by the river of Chebar, that the heavens were opened,
and I saw visions of God.
In the fifth day of the month, which was the fifth year
of king Jehoiachin’s captivity, the word of the Lord came
expressly unto 163Ezekiel the priest, the son of Buzi, in the
land of the Chaldeans by the river Chebar; and the hand
of the Lord was there upon him.
1:1 thirtieth year: Obscure, but the next line dates the piece c.593 bc, between
the first sack of Jerusalem in 597 and its destruction in 587/6.
2 Jehoiachin (ironically, ‘Jahweh establishes’) was only eight when he became
king of Judah for three months in 597, after the death of his father Jehoiakim
(Jer 22:18n, p. 238). His ‘reign’ coincided with the siege of Jerusalem by
Nebuchadnezzar’s armies, and he spent most of his life in exile. He was replaced
by Zedekiah.
3 Chebar: The Euphrates: cf. Ps 137, p. 321.
162
Heb. captivity.
163
Heb. Jehezhel.
244 EZEKIEL: VISIONS OF GOD
And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the

north, a great cloud, and a fire 164infolding itself, and a bright-
ness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour
of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst
5 thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this
was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man. And
every one had four faces, and every one had four wings.
And their feet were 165straight feet; and the sole of their feet
was like the sole of a calf’s foot: and they sparkled like the
colour of burnished brass. And they had the hands of a man
under their wings on their four sides; and they four had
their faces and their wings. Their wings were joined one to
another; they turned not when they went; they went every
10 one straight forward. As for the likeness of their faces, they
four had the face of a man, and the face of a lion, on the
right side: and they four had the face of an ox on the left
side; they four also had the face of an eagle. Thus were their
faces: and their wings were 166stretched upward; two wings
of every one were joined one to another, and two covered
their bodies. And they went every one straight forward:
whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned
not when they went.
As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appear-
ance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance
of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures;
and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth light-
ning. And the living creatures ran and returned as the appear-
ance of a flash of lightning.
15 Now as I beheld the living creatures, behold one wheel
upon the earth by the living creatures, with his four faces.
The appearance of the wheels and their work was like unto
the colour of a beryl: and they four had one likeness: and
their appearance and their work was as it were a wheel in
the middle of a wheel. When they went, they went upon
their four sides: and they turned not when they went. As
for their rings, they were so high that they were dreadful;
and their 167rings were full of eyes round about them four.
And when the living creatures went, the wheels went by
them: and when the living creatures were lifted up from
164
Heb. catching itself.
165
Heb. a straight foot.
166
Or, divided above.
167
Or, streaks.
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EZEKIEL: VISIONS OF GOD 245
20 the earth, the wheels were lifted up. Whithersoever the spirit
was to go, they went, thither was their spirit to go; and the
wheels were lifted up over against them: for the 168spirit of
the living creature was in the wheels. When those went, these
went; and when those stood, these stood; and when those
were lifted up from the earth, the wheels were lifted up over
against them: for the spirit of the living creature was in the
wheels.
And the likeness of the firmament upon the heads of
the living creature was as the colour of the terrible crystal,
stretched forth over their heads above. And under the
firmament were their wings straight, the one toward the
other: every one had two, which covered on this side, and
every one had two, which covered on that side, their bod-
ies. And when they went, I heard the noise of their wings,
like the noise of great waters, as the voice of the Almighty,
the voice of speech, as the noise of an host: when they stood,
they let down their wings.
25 And there was a voice from the firmament that was over
their heads, when they stood, and had let down their
wings. And above the firmament that was over their heads
was the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire
stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the likeness
as the appearance of a man above upon it. And I saw as
the colour of amber, as the appearance of fire round about
within it, from the appearance of his loins even upward, and
from the appearance of his loins even downward, I saw as
it were the appearance of fire, and it had brightness round
about. As the appearance of the bow that is in the cloud
in the day of rain, so was the appearance of the brightness
round about. This was the appearance of the likeness of the
glory of the Lord. And when I saw it, I fell upon my face,
and I heard a voice of one that spake.
2: 1 And he said unto me, Son of man, stand upon thy feet,
and I will speak unto thee. And the spirit entered into me
when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet, that I
heard him that spake unto me.
26 throne: cf. the throne in Rev 4:2. Ezekiel is very nationalistic, but his God is
universal, not simply a tribal god who has suffered a defeat by the Babylonian
gods.
168
Or, of life.
246 EZEKIEL: IMAGES OF SIEGE
5 And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the

children of Israel, to a rebellious 169nation that hath
rebelled against me: they and their fathers have trans-
gressed against me, even unto this very day. For they are
170
impudent children and stiffhearted. I do send thee unto
them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord
God. And they, whether they will hear, or whether they
will forbear (for they are a rebellious house), yet shall know
that there hath been a prophet among them. And thou, son
of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their
words, though 171briers and thorns be with thee, and thou
dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words,
nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious
house. And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether
they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are
172
most rebellious.
IMAGES OF SIEGE
4: 1 Thou also, son of man, take thee a tile, and lay it before
thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem: and lay
siege against it, and build a fort against it, and cast a mount
against it; set the camp also against it, and set 173battering
rams against it round about.
Moreover take thou unto thee 174an iron pan, and set it
for a wall of iron between thee and the city: and set thy
face against it, and it shall be besieged, and thou shalt lay
siege against it. This shall be a sign to the house of Israel.
5 Lie thou also upon thy left side, and lay the iniquity of the
house of Israel upon it: according to the number of the days
that thou shalt lie upon it thou shalt bear their iniquity.
For I have laid upon thee the years of their iniquity,
2:3 I send thee back to Jerusalem, that is, where the people think they will not
be attacked again; he is to try to disabuse them.
169
Heb. nations.
170
Heb. hard of face.
171
Or, rebels.
172
Heb. rebellion.
173
Or, chief leaders.
174
Or, a flat plate, or, slice.
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EZEKIEL: IMAGES OF SIEGE 247
according to the number of the days, three hundred and

ninety days: so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the house
of Israel.
And when thou hast accomplished them, lie again on thy
right side, and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the house of
Judah forty days: I have appointed thee 175each day for a
year. Therefore thou shalt set thy face toward the siege of
Jerusalem, and thine arm shall be uncovered, and thou shalt
prophesy against it. And, behold, I will lay bands upon thee,
and thou shalt not turn thee 176from one side to another,
till thou hast ended the days of thy siege.
Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans,
and lentiles, and millet, and 177fitches, and put them in
one vessel, and make thee bread thereof, according to the
number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, three
10 hundred and ninety days shalt thou eat thereof. And thy
meat which thou shalt eat shall be by weight, twenty
shekels a day: from time to time shalt thou eat it.
Thou shalt drink also water by measure, the sixth part
of an hin: from time to time shalt thou drink. And thou
shalt eat it as barley cakes, and thou shalt bake it with dung
that cometh out of man, in their sight. And the Lord said,
Even thus shall the children of Israel eat their defiled bread
among the Gentiles, whither I will drive them.
Then said I, Ah Lord God! behold, my soul hath not
been polluted: for from my youth up even till now have I
not eaten of that which dieth of itself, or is torn in pieces;
neither came there abominable flesh into my mouth.
15 Then he said unto me, Lo, I have given thee cow’s dung
for man’s dung, and thou shalt prepare thy bread there-
with. Moreover he said unto me, Son of man, behold, I
will break the staff of bread in Jerusalem: and they shall eat
bread by weight, and with care; and they shall drink water
by measure, and with astonishment: that they may want bread
and water, and be astonied one with another, and consume
away for their iniquity.
4:9 fitches: The word is a variant of vetch. Margin’s spelt is a grain related to wheat,
which is probably the actual plant referred to.
175
Heb. a day for a year, a day for a year.
176
Heb. from thy side to thy side.
177
Or, spelt.
248 EZEKIEL: THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES
THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES

37: 1 The hand of the Lord was upon me, and carried me out
in the spirit of the Lord, and set me down in the midst of
the valley which was full of bones, and caused me to pass
by them round about: and, behold, there were very many
in the 178open valley; and, lo, they were very dry.
And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones live?
And I answered, O Lord God, thou knowest.
Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones, and
say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord.
Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones; Behold, I will
5 cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live: and I will
lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and
cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall
live; and ye shall know that I am the Lord.
So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I prophe-
sied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking, and the bones
came together, bone to his bone. And when I beheld, lo,
the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin
covered them above: but there was no breath in them.
10 Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the 179wind,
prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith
the Lord God; Come from the four winds, O breath, and
breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophe-
sied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them,
and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding
great army.
Then he said unto me, Son of man, these bones are the
whole house of Israel: behold, they say, Our bones are dried,
and our hope is lost: we are cut off for our parts. Therefore
prophesy and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause
you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the
land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when
I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you
up out of your graves, and shall put my spirit in you, and
ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then
shall ye know that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed
it, saith the Lord.
178
Or, champain.
179
Or, breath.
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EZEKIEL: THE VALLEY OF DRY BONES 249
15 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, More-
over, thou son of man, take thee one stick, and write upon
it, For Judah, and for the children of Israel his companions:
then take another stick, and write upon it, For Joseph, the
stick of Ephraim, and for all the house of Israel his com-
panions: and join them one to another into one stick; and
they shall become one in thine hand.
And when the children of thy people shall speak unto
thee, saying, Wilt thou not show us what thou meanest
by these? say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Behold,
I will take the stick of Joseph, which is in the hand of
Ephraim, and the tribes of Israel his fellows, and will put
them with him, even with the stick of Judah, and make them
one stick, and they shall be one in mine hand. And the sticks
whereon thou writest shall be in thine hand before their
20 eyes. And say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God;
Behold, I will take the children of Israel from among the
heathen, whither they be gone, and will gather them on
every side, and bring them into their own land: and I will
make them one nation in the land upon the mountains of
Israel; and one king shall be king to them all: and they shall
be no more two nations, neither shall they be divided into
two kingdoms any more at all: neither shall they defile them-
selves any more with their idols, nor with their detestable
things, nor with any of their transgressions: but I will save
them out of all their dwellingplaces, wherein they have
sinned, and will cleanse them: so shall they be my people,
and I will be their God.
And David my servant shall be king over them; and they
all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in my judg-
25 ments, and observe my statutes, and do them. And they
shall dwell in the land that I have given unto Jacob my ser-
vant, wherein your fathers have dwelt; and they shall dwell
therein, even they, and their children, and their children’s
children for ever: and my servant David shall be their prince
for ever.
Moreover I will make a covenant of peace with them; it
shall be an everlasting covenant with them: and I will place
them, and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the
37:16 Judah . . . Joseph: The two divided (and now destroyed) parts of the nation,
together representing all Israel (p. 169).
18 when the children . . . echoes Exod 12:26 (p. 103); the whole passage promises
a new Exodus from another bondage.
250 ‘SECOND’ ISAIAH
midst of them for evermore. My tabernacle also shall be

with them: yea, I will be their God, and they shall be my
people. And the heathen shall know that I the Lord do sanc-
tify Israel, when my sanctuary shall be in the midst of them
for evermore.
Prophets of the return:

‘Second’ Isaiah
For many generations, including the translators of 1611, Isaiah
was a single book, although style and theme change completely at
Chapter 40. They saw this as the beginning of a series of ‘prophecies’,
in the sense of divinely given foresight, foretelling the coming and
nature of Christ. It is now generally recognised that this is the begin-
ning of a work by a new, anonymous author, writing c.540 bc, when
the capture of Babylon by Cyrus, king of Persia, gave the exiled Jews
hope of release after 50 years of exile.
‘First’ Isaiah (p. 213) was a prophet of (northern) Israel. ‘Second’
speaks to exiled (southern) Judah; but he looks to the future, to
one greater Israel, and takes further the concept of his universal God.
His unique contribution to the prophetic writings is his vision of
God’s ‘Servant’. This is not the military figure foreseen by others
such as the seventh-century Isaiah (p. 223) as a successor to David,
who would restore Israel’s political fortunes and take revenge on all
her old enemies. The unknown prophet writes in near-mystical terms
of his ‘chosen one’, sometimes the leader, often the whole nation of
Israel, who is not merely master of the world, but, in the tradition
of Abraham, the servant of God who will advance his purposes for
the world. Israel’s tribulations are not merely punishment; they are
essential to Israel’s growth towards fulfilment of the Covenant.
‘Second Isaiah’ is a captive in Babylon: he cannot copy ‘first’ Isaiah’s
active involvement in politics, or even, though contemporary national
events remain his theme, speak in public. He is specifically a writer,
a poet as we understand the word, celebrating the hope of release,
and ruminating on the meaning of the captivity. That he is a great
poet is not in doubt, as the influence of his images attests. Other
prophets used and reinforced the imagery of the Covenant, the Exodus
and the Tabernacle, but they scarcely developed it. ‘Second Isaiah’,
on the other hand, expanded the basic concepts out of recognition;
he is a true ‘unacknowledged legislator’.
Further reading. Alter (1985: 157–62) gives a close analysis of the
passage on p. 256 (49:14–23).
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‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE END OF EXILE 251
THE END OF EXILE

40: 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye 180comfortably to Jerusalem,
and cry unto her,
that her 181warfare is accomplished,
that her iniquity is pardoned:
for she hath received of the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be exalted,
and every mountain and hill shall be made low:
and the crooked shall be made 182straight,
and the rough places 183plain:
5 and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
The voice said, Cry.
And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass,
and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field:
the grass withereth,
the flower fadeth:
because the spirit of the Lord bloweth upon it:
surely the people is grass.
40:1 Comfort ye: i.e. ‘strengthen’. This passage, originally written of the immin-
ent release of the Jewish exiles, came to be seen (e.g., Mark 1:2–3, p. 353), as a
foreshadowing of the coming of Jesus the Messiah – exemplifying the way OT
symbols are reinterpreted in later tradition. Compare Cv, MtB, Be of good cheer,
my people, be of good cheer (saith your God); Gt, Comfort my people (O ye prophets,
comfort my people, saith your God); Gv, BB as AV, except . . . will your God say;
D, Be comforted [Vg, consolamini], my people, be comforted, saith your God.
3 straight . . . highway: Gv as AV except a path for a highway. More (from Vg:
see p. 23) has: Make redy the way of our Lord, make straight the paths of our God
in the wilderness.
180
Heb. to the heart.
181
Or, appointed time.
182
Or, a straight place.
183
Or, a plain place.
252 ‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE END OF EXILE
The grass withereth,

the flower fadeth:
but the word of our God shall stand for ever.
184
O Zion, that bringest good tidings,
get thee up into the high mountain;
185
O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings,
lift up thy voice with strength;
lift it up, be not afraid;
say unto the cities of Judah,
Behold your God!
10 Behold, the Lord God will come 186with strong hand,
and his arm shall rule for him:
behold, 187his reward is with him,
and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd:
he shall gather the lambs with his arm,
and carry them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those 188that are with young . . .
40: 18 To whom then will ye liken God?
or what likeness will ye compare unto him?
The workman melteth a graven image, and the goldsmith
20 spreadeth it over with gold, and casteth silver chains. He
that 189is so impoverished that he hath no oblation chooseth
a tree that will not rot; he seeketh unto him a cunning work-
man to prepare a graven image, that shall not be moved.
Have ye not known? have ye not heard?
hath it not been told you from the beginning?
have ye not understood from the foundations of
the earth?
190
It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,
and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers;
that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain,
and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in:
184
Or, O thou that tellest good tidings to Zion.
185
Or, O thou that tellest good tidings to Jerusalem.
186
Or, against the strong.
187
Or, recompense for his work.
188
Or, that give suck.
189
Heb. is poor of oblation.
190
Or, Him that sitteth, &c.
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‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE END OF EXILE 253
that bringeth the princes to nothing;

he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.
Yea, they shall not be planted;
yea, they shall not be sown:
yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth:
and he shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither,
and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble.
25 To whom then will ye liken me,
or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high,
and behold who hath created these things,
that bringeth out their host by number:
he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might,
for that he is strong in power;
not one faileth.
Why sayest thou, O Jacob,
and speakest, O Israel,
My way is hid from the Lord,
and my judgment is passed over from my God?
Hast thou not known?
hast thou not heard,
that the everlasting God, the Lord,
the Creator of the ends of the earth,
fainteth not, neither is weary?
there is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint;
and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.
30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
and the young men shall utterly fall:
but they that wait upon the Lord
shall 191renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.
24 Cp. Gt: Of them it may be said they be not planted or sown again; Gv: As thogh
they were not planted, as thogh they were not sown.
191
Heb. change.
254 ‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: MY SERVANT ISRAEL
MY SERVANT ISRAEL
42: 1 Behold my servant, whom I uphold;
mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth;
I have put my spirit upon him:
he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the 192smoking flax shall he not 193quench:
he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall not fail nor be 194discouraged,
till he have set judgment in the earth:
and the isles shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith God the Lord,
he that created the heavens,
and stretched them out;
he that spread forth the earth,
and that which cometh out of it;
he that giveth breath unto the people upon it,
and spirit to them that walk therein:
I the Lord have called thee in righteousness,
and will hold thine hand,
and will keep thee,
and give thee for a covenant of the people,
for a light of the Gentiles;
42: 1 my servant: See p. 250; the first appearance of this major theme. The Servant
is essentially paradoxical in that he comes as a judge, but with no power except
the simple authority of his justice. Yet, as the children of Israel were the ‘chosen
people’, it follows that they are both leaders and servants of the whole world.
To be thus ‘chosen’ is the special burden that responsibility lays on the chosen.
Other ‘servant songs’ not included here begin at 49: 1 and 50: 4. Note that the
poet does not here apply the term Messiah (Hebrew mashach, Greek Christos) to
the Servant, though he does so later (45:1) to the Persian emperor Cyrus (see
p. 250). Messiah was not originally a title: AV normally translates the word anointed,
using Messiah only twice (Dan 9:25, 26). The anointing was a ritual symbol pub-
licly conferring special priestly and/or royal status and privilege, as coronation
does in Western custom. Thus a messenger anointed by God was his plenipo-
tentiary, acting for him and with his full power and authority. The concept of
the Messiah came, however, to have powerful significance for the Jews well before
the time of Jesus.
192
Or, dimly burning.
193
Or, quench it.
194
Heb. broken.
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‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: MY SERVANT ISRAEL 255
to open the blind eyes,

to bring out the prisoners from the prison,
and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
I am the Lord: that is my name:
and my glory will I not give to another,
neither my praise to graven images.
Behold, the former things are come to pass,
and new things do I declare:
before they spring forth I tell you of them . . .
42: 18 Hear, ye deaf;
and look, ye blind, that ye may see.
Who is blind, but my servant?
or deaf, as my messenger that I sent?
who is blind as he that is perfect,
and blind as the Lord’s servant?
20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not;
opening the ears, but he heareth not.
The Lord is well pleased for his righteousness’ sake;
he will magnify the law, and make 195it honourable.
But this is a people robbed and spoiled;
196
they are all of them snared in holes,
and they are hid in prison houses:
they are for a prey,
and none delivereth;
197
for a spoil,
and none saith, Restore.
Who among you will give ear to this?
who will hearken and hear 198for the time to come?
Who gave Jacob for a spoil,
and Israel to the robbers?
did not the Lord,
he against whom we have sinned?
For they would not walk in his ways,
neither were they obedient unto his law.
25 Therefore he hath poured upon him
the fury of his anger,
and the strength of battle:
and it hath set him on fire round about,
yet he knew not;
195
Or him.
196
Or, in snaring all the young men of them.
197
Heb. a treading.
198
Heb. for the after time?
256 ‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE LORD’S MERCY
and it burned him,

yet he laid it not to heart.
43: 1 But now thus saith the Lord that created thee, O Jacob,
and he that formed thee, O Israel,
Fear not: for I have redeemed thee,
I have called thee by thy name;
thou art mine.
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee;
and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:
when thou walkest through the fire,
thou shalt not be burned;
neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
For I am the Lord thy God,
the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour:
I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee.
Since thou wast precious in my sight,
thou hast been honourable, and I have loved thee:
therefore will I give men for thee,
and people for thy 199life.
5 Fear not: for I am with thee:
I will bring thy seed from the east,
and gather thee from the west;
I will say to the north, Give up;
and to the south, Keep not back:
bring my sons from far,
and my daughters from the ends of the earth;
even every one that is called by my name:
for I have created him for my glory,
I have formed him;
yea, I have made him.
THE LORD’S MERCY

49: 13 Sing, O heavens;
and be joyful, O earth;
and break forth into singing, O mountains:
for the Lord hath comforted his people,
and will have mercy upon his afflicted.
43:2 through the waters: As Moses went through the Red Sea, but the poet takes
the image further.
199
Or, person.
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‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE LORD’S MERCY 257
But Zion said,

The Lord hath forsaken me,
and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15 Can a woman forget her sucking child,
200
that she should not have compassion
on the son of her womb?
Yea, they may forget,
yet will I not forget thee.
Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands;
thy walls are continually before me.
Thy children shall make haste;
thy destroyers and they that made thee waste
shall go forth of thee.
Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold:
all these gather themselves together,
and come to thee.
As I live, saith the Lord,
thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all, as with an
ornament,
and bind them on thee, as a bride doeth.
For thy waste and thy desolate places,
and the land of thy destruction,
shall even now be too narrow by reason of the inhabitants,
and they that swallowed thee up shall be far away.
20 The children which thou shalt have,
after thou hast lost the other,
shall say again in thine ears,
The place is too strait for me:
give place to me that I may dwell.
Then shalt thou say in thine heart,
Who hath begotten me these,
seeing I have lost my children, and am desolate,
a captive, and removing to and fro?
and who hath brought up these?
Behold, I was left alone;
these, where had they been?
Thus saith the Lord God,
Behold, I will lift up mine hand to the Gentiles,
and set up my standard to the people:
200
Heb. from having compassion.
258 ‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE MESSENGER AND SERVANT
and they shall bring thy sons in their 201arms,

and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders.
And kings shall be thy 202nursing fathers,
and their 203queens thy nursing mothers:
they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth,
and lick up the dust of thy feet;
and thou shalt know that I am the Lord:
for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me.
Shall the prey be taken from the mighty,
or 204the lawful captive delivered?
25 But thus saith the Lord,
Even the 205captives of the mighty shall be taken away,
and the prey of the terrible shall be delivered:
for I will contend with him that contendeth with thee,
and I will save thy children.
And I will feed them that oppress thee with their own flesh;
and they shall be drunken with their own blood,
as with 206sweet wine:
and all flesh shall know that I the Lord
am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer,
the mighty One of Jacob.
THE MESSENGER AND THE SERVANT

52: 7 How beautiful upon the mountains
are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings,
that publisheth peace;
that bringeth good tidings of good,
that publisheth salvation;
that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth!
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice;
with the voice together shall they sing:
for they shall see eye to eye,
when the Lord shall bring again Zion.
52:7 him . . . tidings: Gt. The Embassy tour.
201
Heb. bosom.
202
Heb. nourishers.
203
Heb. princesses.
204
Heb. the captivity of the just.
205
Heb. captivity.
206
Or, new wine.
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‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE MESSENGER AND SERVANT 259
Break forth into joy,

sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem:
for the Lord hath comforted his people,
he hath redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord hath made bare his holy arm
in the eyes of all the nations;
and all the ends of the earth shall see
the salvation of our God.
Depart ye, depart ye,
go ye out from thence,
touch no unclean thing;
go ye out of the midst of her;
be ye clean, that bear the vessels of the Lord.
For ye shall not go out with haste,
nor go by flight:
for the Lord will go before you;
and the God of Israel will 207be your rereward.
Behold, my servant shall 208deal prudently,
he shall be exalted and extolled,
and be very high.
As many were astonied at thee;
his visage was so marred more than any man,
and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations;
the kings shall shut their mouths at him:
11 touch no unclean thing: The original context is the faithful Israelites’ return
to Jerusalem to re-establish the Temple and its worship. They will be carrying
the sacred objects, and must be ritually clean. This is a religious rehabilitation,
not simply a political release.
12 go out with haste: As in the Exodus (Exod 12:11, p. 103).
13 my servant is rightly honoured for his justice, but he has suffered a great deal
in winning his status. Here the images of leader and people blend together.
14 As many . . . men: This has been shifted, and should be read after we should
desire him (53:2).
15 sprinkle: Obscure. In Exod 24:6, Moses sprinkles the sacrifice’s blood on the
people as a symbol of renewal of the Covenant. In Lev 4:6, the priest sprinkles
the blood on the altar during the sin-offering (Num 19: 4, 19 are similar: see Heb
12:24n, p. 485). But the Hebrew here is uncertain; alternative readings have been
proposed, based on LXX many nations shall wonder at him: NEB proposes recoil
at sight of him: RSV’s startle is ingenious.
207
Heb. gather you up.
208
Or, prosper.
260 ‘SECOND’ ISAIAH: THE MESSENGER AND SERVANT
for that which had not been told them shall they see;
and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
53: 1 Who hath believed our 209report?
and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of a dry ground:
he hath no form nor comeliness;
and when we shall see him, there is no beauty
that we should desire him.
He is despised and rejected of men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
and 210we hid as it were our faces from him;
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was 211wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his 212stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned everyone to his own way;
and the Lord 213hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth:
he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so he openeth not his mouth.
214
He was taken from prison and from judgment:
and who shall declare his generation?
For he was cut off out of the land of the living:
for the transgression of my people 215was he stricken.
209
Or, doctrine? Heb. hearing.
210
Or, He hid as it were his face from us: Heb. as an hiding of faces from him,
or, from us.
211
Or, tormented.
212
Or, bruise.
213
Heb. hath made the iniquity of us all to meet on him.
214
Or, he was taken away by distress and judgment ; but, &c.
215
Heb. was the stroke on him.
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ZECHARIAH 261
And he made his grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his 216death;
because he had done no violence,
neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him;
he hath put him to grief:
217
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,
he shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days,
and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
He shall see of the travail of his soul,
and shall be satisfied:
by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many;
for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he hath poured out his soul unto death:
and he was numbered with the transgressors;
and he bare the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Zechariah
After the many pages centred on the exile of the Jews to Babylon,
the first six chapters of Zechariah, written to encourage the rebuild-
ing of the Temple, c.520 bc, in an age, not of threat, but of recon-
struction, offer happier, but more cryptic material. These chapters
consist of a series of eight visions shown him by an angel; the form
is akin to apocalypse (see p. 268), though without its extravagance.
Symbols are central here as they are in the earlier prophets, but
53:9 wicked . . . rich: The rich are often condemned for their sins, but are not
usually identified with the wicked as unequivocally as here. One letter in the Hebrew
turns rich into evil-doers, which would solve the question, though convenient
emendations must always be viewed with caution.
10 yet it pleased . . . transgressors: These lines are difficult, but the drift is plain:
that the Servant will see the fulfilment of the Promise made to his ancestor Abraham
after the end of all trials and labours – remembering that ‘in thee shall all families
of the earth be blessed’ (Gen 12:3, p. 75).
216
Heb. deaths.
217
Or, when his soul shall make an offering.
262 ZECHARIAH: THE RED HORSE
Zechariah expounds them like a lesson; he is a teacher, sermoniser,

expositor of meanings. True, he can produce such memorable lines
as, ‘Who hath despised the day of small things?’ (4:10), but on the
whole, these are measured visions, written down in prose in a spirit
of earnest exhortation, unlike the vigorous, open-air oratory of the
earlier prophets, whose images came to them direct from God. By
contrast, some later chapters of the book (by different authors and
of disputed dates), when the prophet envisages the rebuilt city and
its prosperity, display notably more enthusiasm.
THE RED HORSE

1: 7 Upon the four and twentieth day of the eleventh month,
which is the month Sebat, in the second year of Darius,
came the word of the Lord unto Zechariah, the son of
Berechiah, the son of Iddo the prophet, saying, I saw by
night, and behold a man riding upon a red horse, and he
stood among the myrtle trees that were in the bottom; and
behind him were there red horses, 218speckled, and white.
Then said I, O my lord, what are these? And the angel
that talked with me said unto me, I will show thee what
these be.
10 And the man that stood among the myrtle trees
answered and said, These are they whom the Lord hath sent
to walk to and fro through the earth. And they answered
the angel of the Lord that stood among the myrtle trees,
and said, We have walked to and fro through the earth, and,
behold, all the earth sitteth still, and is at rest.
Then the angel of the Lord answered and said, O Lord
of hosts, how long wilt thou not have mercy on Jerusalem
and on the cities of Judah, against which thou hast had indig-
nation these threescore and ten years?
And the Lord answered the angel that talked with me
with good words and comfortable words. So the angel that
1:7 second year of Darius: 520 bc; Darius ruled 521–486 bc. It was he whose armies
were defeated at Marathon in 490.
8 myrtle trees: Myrtle are associated with fresh growth; the angel’s interpretation
is adequate.
bottom: A ‘shadowy place’: a common element in place names.
12 threescore and ten: Approximately: see pp. 189–93.
218
Or, bay.
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ZECHARIAH: THE MEASURING LINE 263
communed with me said unto me, Cry thou, saying, Thus

saith the Lord of hosts; I am jealous for Jerusalem and for
15 Zion with a great jealousy. And I am very sore displeased
with the heathen that are at ease: for I was but a little dis-
pleased, and they helped forward the affliction.
Therefore thus saith the Lord; I am returned to
Jerusalem with mercies: my house shall be built in it, saith
the Lord of hosts, and a line shall be stretched forth upon
Jerusalem. Cry yet, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts;
My cities through 219prosperity shall yet be spread abroad;
and the Lord shall yet comfort Zion, and shall yet choose
Jerusalem.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and saw, and behold four
horns. And I said unto the angel that talked with me, What
be these? And he answered me, These are the horns which
have scattered Judah, Israel, and Jerusalem.
20 And the Lord showed me four carpenters. Then said I,
What come these to do? And he spake, saying, These are
the horns which have scattered Judah, so that no man did
lift up his head: but these are come to fray them, to cast
out the horns of the Gentiles, which lifted up their horn
over the land of Judah to scatter it.
THE MEASURING LINE

2: 1 I lifted up mine eyes again, and looked, and behold a man
with a measuring line in his hand. Then said I, Whither goest
thou? And he said unto me, To measure Jerusalem, to see
what is the breadth thereof, and what is the length thereof.
And, behold, the angel that talked with me went forth,
and another angel went out to meet him, and said unto
him, Run, speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem shall
be inhabited as towns without walls for the multitude of
5 men and cattle therein: For I, saith the Lord, will be unto
her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory in the
midst of her.
18 horns often symbolise a nation or its power (cp. Dan 7:8, p. 265).
Four is hard to fix; perhaps the four corners of the earth are meant. The car-
penters seem not to be specific.
219
Heb. good.
264 ZECHARIAH: THE NEW PRIESTHOOD
THE NEW PRIESTHOOD

3: 1 And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before
the angel of the Lord, and 220Satan standing at his right
hand 221to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The
Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath cho-
sen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out
of the fire?
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood
before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those
that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments
from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused
thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with
5 change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre
upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and
clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood
by.
And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, say-
ing, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my
ways, and if thou wilt keep my 222charge, then thou shalt
also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I
will give thee 223places to walk among these that stand by.
Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fel-
lows that sit before thee: for they are 224men wondered at:
for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the branch.
For behold the stone that I have laid before Joshua; upon
one stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will engrave the grav-
ing thereof, saith the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the
3:1 Joshua: High priest c.538 – 515 bc, at the time of the return to Jerusalem and
the rebuilding of the Temple. Also mentioned in Haggai 1: 1–2. 4, and, as Jeshua,
in Ezra 3: 2–9, etc. and Nehemiah 12:1– 26.
8 BRANCH: This may refer simply to the integrity of Zerubbabel, governor of
Jerusalem, but see Isa 11:1 (p. 223: AV chapter heading there refers to ‘the Branch
out of the root of Jesse’), where the echo is as unmistakable as the Messianic
implications.
9 stone . . . seven eyes: Two precious stones bearing the names of the 12 tribes were
part of the High Priest’s vestments. Seven is a magical number (e.g. there were
seven lamps in the sanctuary), but its specific meaning here is uncertain, beyond
the suggestion of a seven-faceted stone.
220
That is, an adversary.
221
Heb. to be his adversary.
222
Or, ordinance.
223
Heb. walks.
224
Heb. men of wonder.
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MALACHI 265
iniquity of that land in one day. In that day, saith the Lord
of hosts, shall ye call every man his neighbour under the
vine and under the fig tree.
QUESTION AND ANSWER

5: 5 Then the angel that talked with me went forth, and said
unto me, Lift up now thine eyes, and see what is this that
goeth forth.
And I said, What is it? And he said, This is an ephah that
goeth forth. He said moreover, This is their resemblance
through all the earth.
And, behold, there was lifted up a 225talent of lead: and
this is a woman that sitteth in the midst of the ephah. And
he said, This is wickedness. And he cast it into the midst
of the ephah; and he cast the weight of lead upon the mouth
thereof.
Then lifted I up mine eyes, and looked, and, behold, there
came out two women, and the wind was in their wings; for
they had wings like the wings of a stork: and they lifted up
the ephah between the earth and the heaven.
10 Then said I to the angel that talked with me, Whither
do these bear the ephah? And he said unto me, To build
it an house in the land of Shinar: and it shall be established,
and set there upon her own base.
Malachi
Malachi dates from c.460 –450 bc or a little later, when the Temple
had been rebuilt, and the overwhelming of Judah by larger empires
was turning into memory – for the present at least. The title means
simply, ‘My Messenger’; the author is anonymous. He calls on Moses
as his model; his particular target is the failure of corrupt priests to
observe the Temple sacrifices in their full correctness and purity. But
although Malachi’s vision of the future seems limited, so that ‘the
messenger of the covenant’ will bring only a punishment of such
5:6 ephah: Basically, a measure of volume, approximately 26 imperial gallons or

120 litres: here a container of that size.
11 Shinar: The Babylonian plain.
225
Or, weighty piece.
266 MALACHI: THE REFINER’S FIRE
priests for misusing tithes, not the great day of worldwide peace and
happiness envisaged by the great prophets, several of his phrases and
images were taken up and given a wider significance by NT writers.
THE REFINER’S FIRE

2: 17 Ye have wearied the Lord with your words. Yet ye say,
Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one
that doeth evil is good in the sight of the Lord, and he
delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?
3: 1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the
way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly
come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant,
whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the Lord
of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall
stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and
like fullers’ soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of
silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them
as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an
offering in righteousness.
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant
unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in 226former
5 years. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will
be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the
adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that
227
oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the
fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right,
and fear not me, saith the Lord of hosts.
For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of
Jacob are not consumed. Even from the days of your fathers
ye are gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept
them. Return unto me, and I will return unto you, saith
the Lord of hosts. But ye said, Wherein shall we return?
3: 3 the sons of Levi: The priesthood: the tribe of Levi, being totally devoted to
priestly duties (Num 1:47 – 53), were assigned no military duties in the wilderness
(were not ‘numbered’), and did not receive land at the conquest of Canaan.
226
Or, ancient.
227
Or, defraud.
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MALACHI: THE REFINER’S FIRE 267
Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say,
Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye
are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this
whole nation.
10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may
be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith
the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of
heaven, and 228pour you out a blessing, that there shall
not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the
devourer for your sakes, and he shall not 229destroy the fruits
of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before
the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.
And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a
delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts . . .
4: 1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;
and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be
stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith
the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor
branch.
But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righ-
teousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go
forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread
down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles
of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord
of hosts.
Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I com-
manded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes
5 and judgments. Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet
before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the
Lord: and he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the chil-
dren, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I
come and smite the earth with a curse.
4:5 Elijah: Elijah did not die, but was carried up to heaven in a whirlwind (see
p. 182). He was the subject of some influential post-Old-Testament writings, and
by New Testament times it was generally believed that he would return as a pre-
cursor of the Messiah: see pp. 182, 254.
4: 6 a curse: In the standard arrangement (see pp. 10 –13), this is the end of the
Old Testament.
228
Heb. empty out.
229
Heb. corrupt.
268 DANIEL
Daniel
Although Nebuchadnezzar features in Daniel, this book belongs
to an era four centuries later than the Exile, which is now ancient
history. Judah has new conquerors. The Greek empire of Alexander
(r. 336 –323 bc) overthrew the Persian empire of Cyrus, Darius and
their descendants. Judea fell without a struggle, and after Alexander’s
death was ruled first by the Ptolemaic dynasty from Egypt and
then by the Seleucid dynasty from Syria. In 168 bc Antiochus IV
Ephiphanes (r. 175 – 163), trying to subdue the region, broke down
the walls of Jerusalem, and defiled the Temple by setting up a statue
of Jupiter in the sanctuary sacred to Jahweh alone. Daniel was
written shortly after 168 bc to encourage the Jews, at about the time
of this outrage, which ignited the successful rebellion under the
Maccabees.
Daniel is the first biblical example of true apocalyptic writing. It
took over some of their functions, and is foreshadowed by them
in places, it is in a genre of its own. Pre-exilic prophets, with a recog-
nised place in court and society, were public speakers rather than
writers. They declared ‘the Word of God’ which had inspired them,
and used earthly symbols to illuminate contemporary events, whereas
Apocalypse was conscious literature from its beginning. It had a series
of marked conventions: the writer is normally anonymous, or (strictly
speaking) pseudonymous, taking the name of an ancient hero or patri-
arch, to whose era the work is attributed. The narrator may then
‘look forward’ to the time of trial, the actual time of writing, to
describe the tyrant cryptically in grotesque caricature, foretelling his
overthrow. The message is a fantastic vision from heaven, explained
to the writer by an angel. The symbols are not single and dramatic,
as in most prophecies, but extensive and elaborate. The whole
became a special and recognisable form.
Daniel was included by LXX among the prophets, as in our Bibles,
but by the Masoretic text among the Writings (pp. 13–15), where
it surely belongs. Daniel is introduced as a prince of Israel carried
off to Babylon, and honoured by Nebuchadnezzar. In Daniel
Chapters 2–6, five famous tales follow: the dream of the idol with
feet of clay, the tale of the three men in the ‘burning fiery furnace’,
Nebuchadnezzar’s dream of his own degradation, Belshazzar’s
feast, and Daniel’s triumph in the lion’s den. In Daniel Chapters 7–12
a series of apocalyptic visions are narrated, supposedly by Daniel
himself. The fantastic nature of the visions, their less than total expli-
cation (so much being self-evident to contemporary readers, or too
dangerous to reveal openly), and their extensive prospect into the
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DANIEL: BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST 269
future, have all made them fruitful material for cranks and religious
charlatans. Daniel should not be dismissed on this account. The
narrative skill of the first chapters, and the Eastern grotesqueness of
the fantasies, startling to those accustomed to more restrained
imagery, are both worth study. Oddly, the book is written, appar-
ently by choice, in two languages. Only Dan 1 and 8–12 are in Hebrew:
Dan 2– 7 are in Aramaic (referred to in AV margin as ‘Chaldee’), a
Semitic language (also used in parts in Ezra) closely related to Hebrew;
it had become the language of Palestine, and the business language
of the whole Levant, as it was in NT times.
Further reading. Jeffrey (1992:177 – 80) discusses the literary uses
of Daniel; Collins (1993) is a comprehensive commentary.
BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST
5: 1 Belshazzar the king made a great feast to a thousand of his
lords, and drank wine before the thousand.
Belshazzar, whiles he tasted the wine, commanded to
bring the golden and silver vessels which his 230father
Nebuchadnezzar had 231taken out of the temple which was
in Jerusalem; that the king, and his princes, his wives, and
his concubines, might drink therein. Then they brought the
golden vessels that were taken out of the temple of the house
of God which was at Jerusalem; and the king, and his princes,
his wives, and his concubines, drank in them. They drank
wine, and praised the gods of gold, and of silver, of brass,
of iron, of wood, and of stone.
5 In the same hour came forth fingers of a man’s hand,
and wrote over against the candlestick upon the plaster of
the wall of the king’s palace: and the king saw the part of
the hand that wrote.
Then the king’s 232countenance 233was changed, and his
thoughts troubled him, so that the 234joints of his loins were
loosed, and his knees smote one against another. The king
5:1 Belshazzar was a historic figure, not king but son, not of Nebuchadnezzar
but of Nabonidus, the last king of Babylon, which, while under Belshazzar’s com-
mand, was captured by Cyrus (not Darius), undefended. There is thus a core of
fact in this story.
230
Or, grandfather.
231
Chald. brought forth.
232
Chald. brightnesses.
233
Chald. changed it.
234
Or, girdles. Chald. bindings, or, knots.
270 DANIEL: BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST
cried 235aloud to bring in the astrologers, the Chaldeans,

and the soothsayers. And the king spake, and said to the
wise men of Babylon, Whosoever shall read this writing, and
show me the interpretation thereof, shall be clothed with
236
scarlet, and have a chain of gold about his neck, and shall
be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Then came in all the king’s wise men: but they could
not read the writing, nor make known to the king the
interpretation thereof. Then was king Belshazzar greatly
troubled, and his 237countenance was changed in him, and
his lords were astonied.
10 Now the queen by reason of the words of the king and
his lords came into the banquet house: and the queen
spake and said, O king, live for ever: let not thy thoughts
trouble thee, nor let thy countenance be changed: there is
a man in thy kingdom, in whom is the spirit of the holy
gods; and in the days of thy 238father light and understanding
and wisdom, like the wisdom of the gods, was found in him;
whom the king Nebuchadnezzar thy 238father, the king, I
say, thy father, made master of the magicians, astrologers,
Chaldeans, and soothsayers; forasmuch as an excellent
spirit, and knowledge, and understanding, 239interpreting of
dreams, and shewing of hard sentences, and 240dissolving
of 241doubts, were found in the same Daniel, whom the king
named Belteshazzar: now let Daniel be called, and he will
show the interpretation.
Then was Daniel brought in before the king. And the
king spake and said unto Daniel, Art thou that Daniel, which
art of the children of the captivity of Judah, whom the king
my 242father brought out of Jewry? I have even heard of
thee, that the spirit of the gods is in thee, and that light
and understanding and excellent wisdom is found in thee.
12 Belteshazzar: In Dan 1, Daniel is given this name as a Babylonian honour.
235
Chald. with might.
236
Or, purple.
237
Chald. brightnesses.
238
Or, grandfather.
239
Or, of an interpreter, &c.
240
Or, of a dissolver.
241
Chald. knots.
242
Or, grandfather.
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DANIEL: BELSHAZZAR’S FEAST 271
15 And now the wise men, the astrologers, have been brought
in before me, that they should read this writing, and make
known unto me the interpretation thereof: but they could
not show the interpretation of the thing: and I have heard
of thee, that thou canst 243make interpretations, and dis-
solve doubts: now if thou canst read the writing, and make
known to me the interpretation thereof, thou shalt be
clothed with scarlet, and have a chain of gold about thy
neck, and shalt be the third ruler in the kingdom.
Then Daniel answered and said before the king, Let thy
gifts be to thyself, and give thy 244rewards to another; yet
I will read the writing unto the king, and make known to
him the interpretation.
O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar
thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour:
and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations,
and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he
would he slew; and whom he would he kept alive; and whom
he would he set up; and whom he would he put down.
20 But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened
245
in pride, he was 246deposed from his kingly throne, and
they took his glory from him: and he was driven from the
sons of men; and 247his heart was made like the beasts, and
his dwelling was with the wild asses: they fed him with grass
like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of heaven;
till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom
of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will.
And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine
heart, though thou knewest all this; but hast lifted up thy-
self against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the
vessels of his house before thee, and thou, and thy lords,
thy wives, and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them;
and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass,
iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know:
and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are
all thy ways, hast thou not glorified:
21 driven . . . : This is the subject of Chapter 4.
243
Chald, interpret.
244
Or, fee.
245
Or, to deal proudly.
246
Chald, made to come down.
247
Or, he made his heart equal, &c.
272 DANIEL: THE FOUR BEASTS
Then was the part of the hand sent from him; and this
writing was written. And this is the writing that was written,
25 mene, mene, tekel, upharsin. This is the interpretation
of the thing: mene; God hath numbered thy kingdom, and
finished it. tekel; Thou art weighed in the balances, and
art found wanting. peres; Thy kingdom is divided, and given
to the Medes and Persians.
Then commanded Belshazzar, and they clothed Daniel
with scarlet, and put a chain of gold about his neck, and
made a proclamation concerning him, that he should be the
third ruler in the kingdom. In that night was Belshazzar
the king of the Chaldeans slain. And Darius the Median took
the kingdom, 248being 249about threescore and two years old.
THE FOUR BEASTS

7: 2 Daniel spake and said, I saw in my vision by night, and,
behold, the four winds of the heaven strove upon the great
sea. And four great beasts came up from the sea, diverse
one from another.
The first was like a lion, and had eagle’s wings: I beheld
till the wings thereof were plucked, 250and it was lifted up
25 Mene, Tekel, Upharsin: ‘Numbered, weighed, and divided’: or, as names of

weights: ‘a mina, a shekel, and half-minas’. Peres is the singular. Daniel’s inter-
pretation turns on these ambiguities. It has also been suggested that this was a
stock phrase used in dismissing a bankrupt.
7: 3 four great beasts: Legends of the struggle of gods with monsters are wide-
spread, and Rev uses Babylonian legends in a scene derived from this (p. 503).
The abyss, or ‘great sea’, likewise recalls the chaos of Eastern visions of creation
(cp. Gen 1:2). The four beasts (or kingdoms, 7:17), seen in the text with the author’s
hindsight, but with the forward-looking perspective of Belshazzar’s time (7:1) are:
(1) Babylon, a ferocious devourer yet to be destroyed; (2) Medea, and (3) Persia,
both less destructive; and (4) the Seleucids. Directly, this passage echoes the ‘image’
of Dan 2, where four ancient kingdoms are represented as gold, silver, brass and
iron; and a fifth, of mixed iron and clay, the corrupt Antiochus: see also the four
horns of Zech 1:18 –21, p. 263.
4 like a lion: Babylon is often symbolised by the lion in her statuary; Jer 50: 44
refers to Nebuchadnezzar as a lion. The leopard likewise symbolised Persia. Hartman
and Di Lella (1977: 212–13) propose that the clause it had three ribs . . . flesh belongs
to the lion, and the clause it was lifted . . . given to it belongs to the bear.
248
Chald. he as the son of, &c.
249
Or, now.
250
Or, wherewith.
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DANIEL: THE FOUR BEASTS 273
from the earth, and made stand upon the feet as a man,
and a man’s heart was given to it.
5 And behold another beast, a second, like to a bear, and
it 251raised up itself on one side, and it had three ribs in
the mouth of it between the teeth of it: and they said thus
unto it, Arise, devour much flesh.
After this I beheld, and lo another, like a leopard, which
had upon the back of it four wings of a fowl; the beast had
also four heads; and dominion was given to it.
After this I saw in the night visions, and behold a fourth
beast, dreadful and terrible, and strong exceedingly; and it
had great iron teeth: it devoured and brake in pieces, and
stamped the residue with the feet of it: and it was diverse
from all the beasts that were before it; and it had ten horns.
I considered the horns, and, behold, there came up among
them another little horn, before whom there were three of
the first horns plucked up by the roots: and, behold, in this
horn were eyes like the eyes of man, and a mouth speaking
great things.
I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the
Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow,
and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was
like the fiery flame, and his wheels as burning fire. A fiery
10 stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand
thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times
ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and
the books were opened. I beheld then because of the voice
of the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even
till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given
to the burning flame.
As concerning the rest of the beasts, they had their
dominion taken away: yet 252their lives were prolonged for
a season and time.
5 of it: A typical avoidance by AV of neuter his, which was too old-fashioned, or

its, which was too colloquial: see p. 41.
7–8 a fourth beast: The first three were ferocious, but this is horribly grotesque.
The ten horns symbolise ten kings in the Greek dynasty; the little horn that usurps
the three others is Antiochus IV himself; speaking great things, i.e. ‘boasting’.
9 cast down: Better, ‘set down, set in place’.
12 prolonged: The Seleucid kings will be destroyed, but the three other nations (so
long afterwards) will be allowed to survive – if not their rulers. See a time, 7:25n.
251
Or, it raised up one dominion.
252
Chald. a prolonging in life was given them.
274 DANIEL: THE FOUR BEASTS
I saw in the night visions, and, behold, one like the Son
of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a king-
dom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve
him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be
destroyed.
15 I Daniel was grieved in my spirit in the midst of my 253body,
and the visions of my head troubled me. I came near unto
one of them that stood by, and asked him the truth of all
this. So he told me, and made me know the interpretation
of the things.
These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which
shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of 254the most
High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for
ever, even for ever and ever. Then I would know the truth
of the fourth beast, which was diverse 255from all the others,
exceeding dreadful, whose teeth were of iron, and his nails
of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the
20 residue with his feet; and of the ten horns that were in his
head, and of the other which came up, and before whom
three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth
that spake very great things, whose look was more stout than
his fellows. I beheld, and the same horn made war with the
saints, and prevailed against them; until the Ancient of
days came, and judgment was given to the saints of the
most High; and the time came that the saints possessed the
kingdom.
Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth king-
dom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms,
and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down,
13 like the Son of man: i.e. human, not a beast. He may represent Israel, or the
Messiah, but it is doubtful that an elaborate Messianic message may be read here.
Hartman and Di Lella (1977: 85–102, 218–19) suggest that this ‘son of man’ is
no more than a human-formed angel, one of the ‘thousands’. See also Mark
2:10n, p. 357.
19 would: Past tense, ‘wished to’.
truth: The fourth beast and the ‘little horn’ are made even more monstrous, to
underline the point.
253
Chald. sheath.
254
Chald. high ones, that is, things, or, places.
255
Chald. from all those.
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DANIEL: THE FOUR BEASTS 275
and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this king-
dom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after
them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall
25 subdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against
the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most
High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall
be given into his hand until a time and times and the divid-
ing of time.
But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his
dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end. And
the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the king-
dom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people
of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an ever-
lasting kingdom, and all 256dominions shall serve and obey
him.
Hitherto is the end of the matter. As for me Daniel, my
cogitations much troubled me, and my countenance changed
in me: but I kept the matter in my heart.
25 a time . . . : This kind of cryptic enigma attracts the interest of pseudo-

mystical interpreters. It may signify three-and-a-half years: 1 (‘a time’) + 2 (‘times’)
+ 1/2 (‘the dividing of time’); cp. Rev 12:6, 14nn, p. 501.
256
Or, rulers.
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THE WRITINGS
Of the more ‘poetic’ and fictional works listed as ‘Writings’ (see

pp. 11–14), those from Esther to The Song of Songs constitute a distinct
group. The Pentateuch was justified by attribution to Moses, and the
Prophets were divinely inspired. Acceptance into the religious canon
was less easily achieved for the Writings than for the Pentateuch
and the later histories. Attribution to David, as with the Psalms, or
Solomon (Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song) helped; the rest were anonymous,
and so less surely. Incidentally, in the fictions Ruth and Esther, women
succeed in advancing their people against the odds, one in romance,
one in politics, both by their virtue. All the Writings were compiled
late, not finally finding their place in the Hebrew canon, after long
dispute, religious and political, until the late first century ad.
Job and the ‘Wisdom’ writings are more Hebraic than Hellenic, but
a certain Hellenic influence may perhaps be detected in Job and the
writings extolling ‘Wisdom’ (e.g. pp. 292, 324), an important element
in later Hebrew religious writing.1 By contrast, Psalms and Proverbs
contain some very ancient material; Amos, the earliest of the prophets,
leans heavily on traditional proverbs, while some of the Psalms may
go back as far as the age of the legendary poet-king David, to whom
many are attributed. What is noticeable among these writings is
the sense that, in different ways, they arise from a more settled, and
more humane, society than do the narrative works, in which the
barbarity of war is everyday material, whoever commits it.
To describe this group as miscellaneous is true, but hardly does
justice to some fine works. Job is the finest complete work of literature
in the Bible; Esther is an excellent tale; The Song of Songs is both
brilliant and beautiful. Even the pessimistic Ecclesiastes contains passages
of great beauty; and everyone knows at least one Psalm.
1
See Colllins (1998) for a useful angle on the subject.
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Job
The date of Job is unusually uncertain, even for the Old Testament.
Scholars have argued for dates before, after and during the exile. It
may originate in a pre-exilic story, developed fully during or after
the Exile, by one or more authors – as happened with the Homeric
epics.
Whatever its development, Job remains coherent and well-shaped.
As it now stands, it consists of a narrative Prologue and Epilogue,
relating the beginning and end of Job’s misfortunes at the hands of
an Olympian deity (or, more precisely, of his servant Satan), which
frame a cyclic sequence of poetic dialogue. Job’s first lament (Job
Chapter 3) is followed by three rounds of debate ( Job Chapters 4–31).
In each round, his friends Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar reprove him
in turn, and he replies to each one. The third cycle is incomplete;
Zophar does not speak, while Job Chapter 28 is an interpolation
in praise of Wisdom. Perhaps the poet paused before entering the
next phase.
At Chapter 32 a new figure, Elihu, more impetuous than the rest,
intervenes. He speaks four times (Chapters 32, 34, 35, 36), but Job does
not answer him. Then at Job 38 God himself interposes with two
speeches (Chapters 38 –9; 40:6–41:34). His first speech is the climax
of the whole work; God demands to know by what right Job
protests, and Job makes his submission (40:3–5). God’s second speech
(probably another interpolation) is little more than a description of
Leviathan and Behemoth. After its sudden end, Job makes his final
submission (42:1–6), admitting at last the impossibility of understand-
ing God’s mind or intentions. This leads into the Epilogue.
Job has at times been seen as a drama on the Greek model, like
Milton’s Samson Agonistes, which it resembles in being based on
argument rather than on suspense and action. There may indeed be
some Greek influence (a favoured if uncertain date of composition
places it around the time of Alexander’s ascendancy, 332–325 bc),
but Job is not a drama. There is no suspense dependent on Job’s
act or neglect, and little characterisation or action. Job’s final sub-
mission, and the restoration of his fortunes, are less the climax of a
conflict than an authorial device for rounding off the book. In drama,
speech punctuates the action; in Job, the reverse. Job resembles most
of all the medieval debate poem of medieval Western literature, such
as The Owl and the Nightingale or Chaucer’s Parlement of Foules.
The question is not unimportant. The reader looking for drama
in Job will be disappointed, because of the lack of tragic tension.
The value of Job lies in the quality of its poetry, kept moving by the
280 JOB: PROLOGUE
ritual drive of its cyclic motion. This is one of the most difficult of
forms, aiming, through thought, to prolong intensity of feeling in a
manner usually restricted to the lyric. There is much great narrative
writing in the Bible; Job is a rare place where the poet reflects at
length. Jeremiah and ‘Second Isaiah’ write moving reflective poetry,
but only Job uses a mode which develops it so extensively.
This selection comprises the Prologue (Chapters 1–3); one of the
exchanges from the body of the book (Chapters 11–14, the third part
of the first cycle); the great Wisdom chapter (Chapter 28); and the
close, God’s two speeches with Job’s replies and the Epilogue.
Further reading. Useful discussions are to be found in Alter (1985:
85 –111); Greenberg (1987: 283–303); Fisch (1988: 26 –42; also Jeffrey
1992: 403 –5).
PROLOGUE
1: 1 There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job;
and that man was perfect and upright, and one that feared
God, and eschewed evil. And there were born unto him
seven sons and three daughters. His 2substance also was
seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five
hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a
very great 3household; so that this man was the greatest of
all the 4men of the east. And his sons went and feasted in
their houses, every one his day; and sent and called for their
three sisters to eat and to drink with them.
5 And it was so, when the days of their feasting were gone
about, that Job sent and sanctified them, and rose up early
in the morning, and offered burnt offerings according to the
number of them all: for Job said, It may be that my sons
have sinned, and cursed God in their hearts. Thus did Job
5
continually.
1: 1 Uz is mentioned elsewhere, and may have been a real place; the matter is
disputed, but hardly matters. Job means ‘the hated one’.
perfect: Not necessarily sinless, but perfect in integrity. His prosperity is God’s
reward; Satan’s attacks are capricious.
5 cursed God: Hebrew barak (literally ‘say goodbye’) is normally used to mean
bless, though the context requires ‘curse’. Is the author using a modest euphemism
rather than the word curse in association with God’s name?
2
Or, cattle.
3
Or, husbandry.
4
Heb. sons of the east.
5
Heb. all the days.
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JOB: JOB’S CALAMITY 281
Now there was a day when the sons of God came to

present themselves before the Lord, and 6Satan came also
7
among them. And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence
comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From
going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and
down in it.
And the Lord said unto Satan, 8Hast thou considered
my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth,
a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and
escheweth evil?
Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, Doth Job fear
10 God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on
every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and
his 9substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine
hand now, and touch all that he hath, 10and he will curse
thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan, Behold, all
that he hath is in thy 11power; only upon himself put not
forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the presence
of the Lord.
JOB’S CALAMITY
1: 13 And there was a day when his sons and his daughters were
eating and drinking wine in their eldest brother’s house:
and there came a messenger unto Job, and said, The oxen
were ploughing, and the asses feeding beside them: and the
15 Sabeans fell upon them, and took them away; yea, they have
slain the servants with the edge of the sword; and I only
am escaped alone to tell thee.
While he was yet speaking, there came also another, and
said, 12The fire of God is fallen from heaven, and hath burned
Satan: Hebrew, ‘accuser’: not here the Christian Devil, but an accusing angel,
whose speciality was to seek out sin. The angelic court, unknown in earlier biblical
writings, became established in post-exilic times: see Epilogue, p. 343.
15 Sabeans: Of Sheba, in south-east Arabia: see 1 Kgs 10:1n, p. 179.
6
Heb. the Adversary.
7
Heb. in the midst of them.
8
Heb. Hast thou set thy heart on.
9
Or, cattle.
10
Heb. if he curse thee not to thy face.
11
Heb. hand.
12
Or, A great fire.
282 JOB: JOB’S CALAMITY
up the sheep, and the servants, and consumed them; and

I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While he was yet
speaking, there came also another, and said, The Chaldeans
made out three bands, and 13fell upon the camels, and have
carried them away, yea, and slain the servants with the edge
of the sword; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee. While
he was yet speaking, there came also another, and said, Thy
sons and thy daughters were eating and drinking wine in
their eldest brother’s house: and, behold, there came a great
wind 14from the wilderness, and smote the four corners
of the house, and it fell upon the young men, and they are
dead; and I only am escaped alone to tell thee.
20 Then Job arose, and rent his 15mantle, and shaved his head,
and fell down upon the ground, and worshipped, and said,
Naked came I out of my mother’s womb,
and naked shall I return thither:
the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away;
blessed be the name of the Lord.
16
In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly.
2:1 Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among
them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said
unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered
the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it.
And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my
servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect
and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth
evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou
movedst me against him, 17to destroy him without cause.
And Satan answered the Lord, and said, Skin for skin,
5 yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put
forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh,
22 charged . . . foolishly : RSV’s charged God with wrong is better.

2:2 skin for skin: Satan implies that Job will save someone else’s skin in exchange
for his own.
13
Heb. rushed.
14
Heb. from aside, &c.
15
Or, robe.
16
Or, attributed folly to God.
17
Heb. to swallow him up.
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JOB: JOB’S LAMENT 283
and he will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto
Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; 18but save his life.
So went Satan forth from the presence of the Lord, and
smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto
his crown. And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself
withal; and he sat down among the ashes.
Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? curse God, and die. But he said unto her, Thou
10 speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh. What? shall
we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive
evil? In all this did not Job sin with his lips.
Now when Job’s three friends heard of all this evil that
was come upon him, they came every one from his own
place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and
Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment
together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.
And when they lifted up their eyes afar off, and knew
him not, they lifted up their voice, and wept; and they
rent every one his mantle, and sprinkled dust upon their
heads toward heaven. So they sat down with him upon the
ground seven days and seven nights, and none spake a word
unto him: for they saw that his grief was very great.
JOB’S LAMENT
3: 1 After this opened Job his mouth, and cursed his day. And
Job 19spake, and said,
Let the day perish wherein I was born,
and the night in which it was said,
There is a man child conceived.
Let that day be darkness;
let not God regard it from above,
neither let the light shine upon it.
5 Let darkness and the shadow of death 20stain it;
let a cloud dwell upon it;
21
let the blackness of the day terrify it.
7 sore boils: Gt, marvellous sore boils.

13 upon the ground seven days: Two features customary in mourning.
18
Or, only.
19
Heb. answered.
20
Or, challenge it.
21
Or, let them terrify it, as those who have a bitter day.
284 JOB: JOB’S LAMENT
As for that night, let darkness seize upon it;

22
let it not be joined unto the days of the year,
let it not come into the number of the months.
Lo, let that night be solitary,
let no joyful voice come therein.
Let them curse it that curse the day,
who are ready to raise up 23their mourning.
Let the stars of the twilight thereof be dark;
let it look for light, but have none;
neither let it see 24the dawning of the day:
10 because it shut not up the doors of my mother’s womb,
nor hid sorrow from mine eyes.
Why died I not from the womb?
why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of
the belly?
Why did the knees prevent me?
or why the breasts that I should suck?
For now should I have lain still and been quiet,
I should have slept:
then had I been at rest,
with kings and counsellors of the earth,
which built desolate places for themselves;
15 Or with princes that had gold,
who filled their houses with silver:
or as an hidden untimely birth I had not been;
as infants which never saw light.
There the wicked cease from troubling;
and there the 25weary be at rest.
3:8 their mourning: Or, ‘a wreath’, or something wreathed, such as the sea-serpent
Leviathan (see 40:15n).
11 Why died I not . . .? For a discussion and translation of these lines, see Hammond
(1982: 197).
12 prevent: sixteenth-century usage; modern ‘support’ or ‘receive’.
17 the wicked . . . : Cv, Gt, Gv, BB, There must the wicked cease [Gv, The wicked
have ceased ] from their tyranny, and there such as laboured valiantly be at rest. D,
There the impious have ceased from tumult, & there the wearied in strength have
rested.
22
Or, let it not rejoice among the days.
23
Or, a leviathan.
24
Heb. the eyelids of the morning.
25
Heb. wearied in strength.
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JOB: FROM THE FIRST CYCLE 285
There the prisoners rest together;

they hear not the voice of the oppressor.
The small and great are there;
and the servant is free from his master.
20 Wherefore is light given to him that is in misery,
and life unto the bitter in soul;
which 26long for death, but it cometh not;
and dig for it more than for hid treasures;
which rejoice exceedingly, and are glad,
when they can find the grave?
Why is light given to a man whose way is hid,
and whom God hath hedged in?
For my sighing cometh 27before I eat,
and my roarings are poured out like the waters.
25 For 28the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me,
and that which I was afraid of is come unto me.
I was not in safety,
neither had I rest,
neither was I quiet;
yet trouble came.
FROM THE FIRST CYCLE

Zophar speaks third in the first cycle. He argues that Job is foolish
to protest innocence when his fate proves that he must have sinned.
11: 1 Then answered Zophar the Naamathite, and said,
Should not the multitude of words be answered?
and should 29a man full of talk be justified?
Should thy 30lies make men hold their peace?
and when thou mockest, shall no man make thee
ashamed?
For thou hast said, My doctrine is pure,
and I am clean in thine eyes.
5 But oh that God would speak,
and open his lips against thee;
and that he would show thee the secrets of wisdom,
that they are double to that which is!
26
Heb. wait.
27
Heb. before my meat.
28
Heb. I feared a fear, and it came upon me.
29
Heb. a man of lips.
30
Or, devices.
286 JOB: FROM THE FIRST CYCLE
Know therefore that God exacteth of thee

less than thine iniquity deserveth.
Canst thou by searching find out God?
canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection?
It is 31as high as heaven; what canst thou do?
deeper than hell; what canst thou know?
The measure thereof is longer than the earth,
and broader than the sea.
10 If he 32cut off, and shut up, or gather together,
then 33who can hinder him?
For he knoweth vain men: he seeth wickedness also;
will he not then consider it?
For 34vain man would be wise,
though man be born like a wild ass’s colt.
If thou prepare thine heart,
and stretch out thine hands toward him;
if iniquity be in thine hand, put it far away,
and let not wickedness dwell in thy tabernacles.
15 For then shalt thou lift up thy face without spot;
yea, thou shalt be steadfast, and shalt not fear:
because thou shalt forget thy misery,
and remember it as waters that pass away:
and thine age 35shall be clearer than the noonday;
thou shalt shine forth,
thou shalt be as the morning.
And thou shalt be secure, because there is hope;
yea, thou shalt dig about thee,
and thou shalt take thy rest in safety.
Also thou shalt lie down, and none shall make thee
afraid;
yea, many shall 36make suit unto thee.
20 But the eyes of the wicked shall fail,
and 37they shall not escape,
and their hope shall be as 38the giving up of the ghost.
31
Heb. the heights of heaven.
32
Or, make a change.
33
Heb. who can turn him away?
34
Heb. empty.
35
Heb. shall arise above the noonday.
36
Heb. entreat thy face.
37
Heb. flight shall perish from them.
38
Or, a puff of breath.
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JOB: JOB RESPONDS 287
JOB RESPONDS
12: 1 And Job answered and said,
No doubt but ye are the people,
and wisdom shall die with you.
But I have 39understanding as well as you;
40
I am not inferior to you:
yea, 41who knoweth not such things as these?
I am as one mocked of his neighbour,
who calleth upon God, and he answereth him:
the just upright man is laughed to scorn.
5 He that is ready to slip with his feet
is as a lamp despised in the thought of him that is
at ease.
The tabernacles of robbers prosper,
and they that provoke God are secure;
into whose hand God bringeth abundantly.
But ask now the beasts, and they shall teach thee;
and the fowls of the air, and they shall tell thee:
or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee:
and the fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee.
Who knoweth not in all these
that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this?
10 In whose hand is the 42soul of every living thing,
and the breath of 43all mankind.
Doth not the ear try words?
and the 44mouth taste his meat?
With the ancient is wisdom;
and in length of days understanding.
With 45him is wisdom and strength,
he hath counsel and understanding.
Behold, he breaketh down,
and it cannot be built again:
12:1 Douai reads: Are you then man alone, & shal wisdom die with you? – making
no distinction between ye and you, as AV does.
12:6 tabernacles : Here, simply ‘tents’, the robbers’ homes.
39
Heb. an heart.
40
Heb. I fall not lower than you.
41
Heb. with whom are not such as these?
42
Or, life.
43
Heb. all flesh of man.
44
Heb. palate.
45
That is, With God.
288 JOB: JOB RESPONDS
he shutteth 46up a man,

and there can be no opening.
15 Behold, he withholdeth the waters, and they dry up:
also he sendeth them out, and they overturn
the earth.
With him is strength and wisdom:
the deceived and the deceiver are his.
He leadeth counsellors away spoiled,
and maketh the judges fools.
He looseth the bond of kings,
and girdeth their loins with a girdle.
He leadeth princes away spoiled,
and overthroweth the mighty.
20 He removeth away 47the speech of the trusty,
and taketh away the understanding of the aged.
He poureth contempt upon princes,
and 48weakeneth the strength of the mighty.
He discovereth deep things out of darkness,
and bringeth out to light the shadow of death.
He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them:
he enlargeth the nations, and 49straiteneth them again.
He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of
the earth,
and causeth them to wander
in a wilderness where there is no way.
25 They grope in the dark without light,
and he maketh them to 50stagger like a drunken man.
13:1 Lo, mine eye hath seen all this,
mine ear hath heard and understood it.
What ye know, the same do I know also:
I am not inferior unto you.
Surely I would speak to the Almighty,
and I desire to reason with God.
But ye are forgers of lies,
ye are all physicians of no value.
20 removeth . . . trusty: i.e. ‘respectable people are silenced’.
46
Heb. upon.
47
Heb. the lip of the faithful.
48
Or, looseneth the girdle of the strong.
49
Heb. leadeth in.
50
Heb. wander.
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5 O that ye would altogether hold your peace!

and it should be your wisdom.
Hear now my reasoning,
and hearken to the pleadings of my lips.
Will ye speak wickedly for God?
and talk deceitfully for him?
Will ye accept his person?
will ye contend for God?
Is it good that he should search you out?
or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him?
10 He will surely reprove you,
if ye do secretly accept persons.
Shall not his excellency make you afraid?
and his dread fall upon you?
Your remembrances are like unto ashes,
your bodies to bodies of clay.
51
Hold your peace, let me alone,
that I may speak, and let come on me what will.
Wherefore do I take my flesh in my teeth,
and put my life in mine hand?
15 Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:
but I will 52maintain mine own ways before him.
He also shall be my salvation:
for an hypocrite shall not come before him.
Hear diligently my speech,
and my declaration with your ears.
Behold now, I have ordered my cause;
I know that I shall be justified.
Who is he that will plead with me?
for now, if I hold my tongue, I shall give up
the ghost.
20 Only do not two things unto me:
then will I not hide myself from thee.
Withdraw thine hand far from me:
and let not thy dread make me afraid.
Then call thou, and I will answer:
or let me speak, and answer thou me.
How many are mine iniquities and sins?
make me to know my transgression and my sin.
51
Heb. Be silent from me.
52
Heb. prove, or, argue.
290 JOB: JOB RESPONDS
Wherefore hidest thou thy face,

and holdest me for thine enemy?
25 Wilt thou break a leaf driven to and fro?
and wilt thou pursue the dry stubble?
For thou writest bitter things against me,
and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.
Thou puttest my feet also in the stocks,
and 53lookest narrowly unto all my paths;
thou settest a print upon the 54heels of my feet.
And he, as a rotten thing, consumeth,
as a garment that is moth eaten.
14:1 Man that is born of woman is 55of few days,
and full of trouble.
He cometh forth like a flower,
and is cut down:
he fleeth also as a shadow.
and continueth not.
And dost thou open thine eyes upon such an one,
and bringest me into judgment with thee?
56
Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?
not one.
5 Seeing his days are determined,
the number of his months are with thee,
thou hast appointed his bounds that he cannot pass;
turn from him, that he may 57rest,
till he shall accomplish, as an hireling, his day.
For there is hope of a tree, if it be cut down,
that it will sprout again,
and that the tender branch thereof will not cease.
Though the root thereof wax old in the earth,
and the stock thereof die in the ground;
13:28 And he . . . : i.e. ‘life in general is consumed’; this is sudden, and it has been
suggested that the line belongs after ‘continueth not’ (14:2).
53
Heb. observest.
54
Heb. roots.
55
Heb. short of days.
56
Heb. Who will give.
57
Heb. cease.
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yet through the scent of water it will bud,

and bring forth boughs like a plant.
10 But man dieth, and 58wasteth away:
yea, man giveth up the ghost,
and where is he?
As the waters fall from the sea,
and the flood decayeth and drieth up:
so man lieth down,
and riseth not:
till the heavens be no more,
they shall not awake,
nor be raised out of their sleep.
O that thou wouldest hide me in the grave,
that thou wouldest keep me secret, until thy wrath
be past,
that thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and
remember me!
If a man die, shall he live again?
All the days of my appointed time will I wait,
till my change come.
15 Thou shalt call, and I will answer thee:
thou wilt have a desire to the work of thine hands.
For now thou numberest my steps:
dost thou not watch over my sin?
My transgression is sealed up in a bag,
and thou sewest up mine iniquity.
And surely the mountain falling 59cometh to nought,
and the rock is removed out of his place.
The waters wear the stones:
thou 60washest away the things which grow out of
the dust of the earth;
and thou destroyest the hope of man.
14:10 But man dieth: There are hidden parallels in the Hebrew here, as in ‘dieth,
wasteth, giveth’, for which see Hammond (1982: 196 – 8).
58
Heb. is weakened, or, cut off.
59
Heb. fadeth.
60
Heb. overflowest.
292 JOB: INTERPOLATION: OF WISDOM
20 Thou prevailest for ever against him, and he passeth:

thou changest his countenance, and sendest him away.
His sons come to honour,
and he knoweth it not;
and they are brought low,
but he perceiveth it not of them.
But his flesh upon him shall have pain,
and his soul within him shall mourn.
INTERPOLATION: OF WISDOM
28: 1 Surely there is 61a vein for the silver,
and a place for gold where they fine it.
Iron is taken out of 62the earth,
and brass is molten out of the stone.
He setteth an end to darkness,
and searcheth out all perfection:
the stones of darkness,
and the shadow of death.
The flood breaketh out from the inhabitant;
even the waters forgotten of the foot:
they are dried up,
they are gone away from men.
5 As for the earth, out of it cometh bread:
and under it is turned up as it were fire.
The stones of it are the place of sapphires:
and it hath 63dust of gold.
There is a path which no fowl knoweth,
and which the vulture’s eye hath not seen:
the lion’s whelps have not trodden it,
nor the fierce lion passed by it.
He putteth forth his hand upon the 64rock;
he overturneth the mountains by the roots.
10 He cutteth out rivers among the rocks;
and his eye seeth every precious thing.
28:6 sapphires: Probably lapis lazuli is meant; it has gold-like flecks (‘dust of gold’)
in it.
61
Or, a mine.
62
Or, dust.
63
Or, gold ore.
64
Or, flint.
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JOB: INTERPOLATION: OF WISDOM 293
He bindeth the floods 65from overflowing;

and the thing that is hid bringeth he forth to light.
But where shall wisdom be found?
and where is the place of understanding?
Man knoweth not the price thereof;
neither is it found in the land of the living.
The depth saith, It is not in me:
and the sea saith, It is not with me.
15 66
It cannot be gotten for gold,
neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof.
It cannot be valued with the gold of Ophir,
with the precious onyx, or the sapphire.
The gold and the crystal cannot equal it:
and the exchange of it shall not be for 67jewels of fine
gold.
No mention shall be made of 68coral, or of pearls:
for the price of wisdom is above rubies.
The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it,
neither shall it be valued with pure gold.
20 Whence then cometh wisdom?
and where is the place of understanding?
Seeing it is hid from the eyes of all living,
and kept close from the fowls of the 69air.
Destruction and death say,
We have heard the fame thereof with our ears.
God understandeth the way thereof,
and he knoweth the place thereof.
For he looketh to the ends of the earth,
and seeth under the whole heaven;
25 to make the weight for the winds;
and he weigheth the waters by measure.
When he made a decree for the rain,
and a way for the lightning of the thunder:
then did he see it, and 70declare it;
he prepared it, yea, and searched it out.
65
Heb. from weeping.
66
Heb. Fine gold shall not be given for it.
67
Or, vessels of fine gold.
68
Or, Ramoth.
69
Or, heaven.
70
Or, number it.
294 JOB: GOD’S CHALLENGE
And unto man he said,

Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom;
and to depart from evil is understanding.
GOD’S CHALLENGE
Elihu’s speeches follow; then, without introduction, God appears.
38:1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and
said, Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without
knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will
demand of thee, and 71answer thou me.
Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the
earth?
declare, 72if thou hast understanding.
5 Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest?
or who hath stretched the line upon it?
Whereupon are the 73foundations thereof 74fastened?
or who laid the corner stone thereof;
when the morning stars sang together,
and all the sons of God shouted for joy?
Or who shut up the sea with doors,
when it brake forth, as if it had issued out of the
womb?
When I made the cloud the garment thereof,
and thick darkness a swaddlingband for it,
10 and 75brake up for it my decreed place,
and set bars and doors, and said,
Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further:
and here shall 76thy proud waves be stayed?
Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days;
and caused the dayspring to know his place;
that it might take hold of the 77ends of the earth,
that the wicked might be shaken out of it?
It is turned as clay to the seal;
and they stand as a garment.
71
Heb. make me know.
72
Heb. if thou knowest understanding.
73
Heb. sockets.
74
Heb. made to sink?
75
Or, established my decree upon it.
76
Heb. the pride of thy waves.
77
Heb. wings.
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JOB: GOD’S CHALLENGE 295
15 And from the wicked their light is withholden,

and the high arm shall be broken.
Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?
or hast thou walked in the search of the depth?
Have the gates of death been opened unto thee?
or hast thou seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Hast thou perceived the breadth of the earth?
declare if thou knowest it all.
Where is the way where light dwelleth?
and as for darkness, where is the place thereof,
20 That thou shouldest take it 78to the bound thereof,
and that thou shouldest know the paths to the house
thereof?
Knowest thou it, because thou wast then born?
or because the number of thy days is great?
Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow?
or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail,
which I have reserved against the time of trouble,
against the day of battle and war?
By what way is the light parted,
which scattereth the east wind upon the earth?
25 Who hath divided a watercourse for the overflowing of
waters,
or a way for the lightning of thunder;
to cause it to rain on the earth, where no man is;
on the wilderness, wherein there is no man;
to satisfy the desolate and waste ground;
and to cause the bud of the tender herb to spring
forth?
Hath the rain a father?
or who hath begotten the drops of dew?
Out of whose womb came the ice?
and the hoary frost of heaven, who hath gendered it?
30 The waters are hid as with a stone,
and the face of the deep 79is frozen.
80
Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades,
or loose the bands of 81Orion?
78
Or, at.
79
Heb. is taken.
80
Or, the seven stars. Heb. Cimah.
81
Heb. Cesil?
296 JOB: GOD’S CHALLENGE
Canst thou bring forth 82Mazzaroth in his season?

or canst thou 83guide Arcturus with his sons?
Knowest thou the ordinances of heaven?
canst thou set the dominion thereof in the earth?
Canst thou lift up thy voice to the clouds,
that abundance of waters may cover thee?
35 Canst thou send lightnings, that they may go,
and say unto thee, 84Here we are?
Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts?
or who hath given understanding to the heart?
Who can number the clouds in wisdom?
or 85who can stay the bottles of heaven,
86
when the dust 87groweth into hardness,
and the clods cleave fast together?
Wilt thou hunt the prey for the lion?
or fill the 88appetite of the young lions,
40 when they couch in their dens,
and abide in the covert to lie in wait?
Who provideth for the raven his food?
when his young ones cry unto God,
they wander for lack of meat.
39: 1 Knowest thou the time when the wild goats of the
rock bring forth?
or canst thou mark when the hinds do calve?
Canst thou number the months that they fulfil?
or knowest thou the time when they bring forth?
They bow themselves, they bring forth their young ones,
they cast out their sorrows.
38:32 Mazzaroth, Arcturus: Constellations not certainly identified.

36 inward parts . . . heart: Cv, MtB, D, wisdom, or steadfast understanding. These
seem out of place among the nature imagery, and the translation is uncertain
(e.g. RSV, clouds . . . mists: NEB, depths of darkness . . . secrecy: JB, GNB, ibis . . .
cock: but NAS, NIV remain close to AV).
82
Or, The twelve signs.
83
Heb. guide them.
84
Heb. Behold us?
85
Heb. who can cause to lie down?
86
Or, When the dust is turned into mire.
87
Heb. is poured.
88
Heb. the life.
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JOB: GOD’S CHALLENGE 297
Their young ones are in good liking,

they grow up with corn;
they go forth, and return not unto them.
5 Who hath sent out the wild ass free?
or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass?
Whose house I have made the wilderness,
and the 89barren land his dwellings.
He scorneth the multitude of the city,
neither regardeth he the crying 90of the driver.
The range of the mountains is his pasture,
and he searcheth after every green thing.
Will the unicorn be willing to serve thee,
or abide by thy crib?
10 Canst thou bind the unicorn with his band in the
furrow?
or will he harrow the valleys after thee?
Wilt thou trust him, because his strength is great?
or wilt thou leave thy labour to him?
Wilt thou believe him, that he will bring home thy seed,
and gather it into thy barn?
Gavest thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks?
or 91wings and feathers unto the ostrich?
which leaveth her eggs in the earth,
and warmeth them in dust,
15 and forgetteth that the foot may crush them,
or that the wild beast may break them.
She is hardened against her young ones,
as though they were not hers:
her labour is in vain without fear;
because God hath deprived her of wisdom,
neither hath he imparted to her understanding.
What time she lifteth up herself on high,
she scorneth the horse and his rider.
39: 4 in good liking: i.e. ‘in good condition’ (see OED, good-liking 4; liking 6).
9 unicorn: Some powerful animal, not necessarily one-horned: the wild ox?
13 or wings . . . : Obscure: AV’s attempt seems as good as any.
89
Heb. salt places.
90
Heb. of the exactor.
91
Or, the feathers of the stork and ostrich.
298 JOB: GOD’S SECOND CHALLENGE
Hast thou given the horse strength?

hast thou clothed his neck with thunder?
20 Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper?
the glory of his nostrils is 92terrible.
93
He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength:
he goeth on to meet the 94armed men.
He mocketh at fear, and is not affrighted;
neither turneth he back from the sword.
The quiver rattleth against him,
the glittering spear and the shield.
He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage:
neither believeth he that it is the sound of the trumpet.
25 He saith among the trumpets, Ha, ha;
and he smelleth the battle afar off,
the thunder of the captains,
and the shouting.
Doth the hawk fly by thy wisdom,
and stretch her wings toward the south?
Doth the eagle mount up 95at thy command,
and make her nest on high?
She dwelleth and abideth on the rock,
upon the crag of the rock, and the strong place.
From thence she seeketh the prey,
and her eyes behold afar off.
30 Her young ones also suck up blood:
and where the slain are, there is she.
GOD’S SECOND CHALLENGE

40: 1 Moreover the Lord answered Job, and said,
Shall he that contendeth with the Almighty instruct him?
he that reproveth God, let him answer it.
Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee?
I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.
5 Once have I spoken; but I will not answer:
yea, twice; but I will proceed no further.
92
Heb. terror.
93
Heb. His feet dig.
94
Heb. the armour.
95
Heb. by thy mouth.
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JOB: GOD’S SECOND CHALLENGE 299
Then answered the Lord unto Job out of the whirlwind,

and said,
Gird up thy loins now like a man:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
Wilt thou also disannul my judgment?
wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?
Hast thou an arm like God?
or canst thou thunder with a voice like him?
10 Deck thyself now with majesty and excellency;
and array thyself with glory and beauty.
Cast abroad the rage of thy wrath:
and behold every one that is proud, and abase him.
Look on every one that is proud, and bring him low;
and tread down the wicked in their place.
Hide them in the dust together;
and bind their faces in secret.
Then will I also confess unto thee
that thine own right hand can save thee.
15 Behold now 96behemoth, which I made with thee;
he eateth grass as an ox.
Lo now, his strength is in his loins,
and his force is in the navel of his belly.
97
He moveth his tail like a cedar:
the sinews of his stones are wrapped together.
His bones are as strong pieces of brass;
his bones are like bars of iron.
He is the chief of the ways of God:
he that made him can make his sword to approach
unto him.
25 Surely the mountains bring him forth food,
where all the beasts of the field play.
40:15 behemoth: a mythological monster of the land (as leviathan in 41:1 is of the
sea). Other religions celebrated the control of various gods over land and sea and
their monsters; Hebrew poetry had come to counter with similar but universal
claims for God. But these are fairly exact descriptions of the hippopotamus and
crocodile – perhaps some nature poetry has been conscripted to the author’s
purpose.
17 sinews of his stones : Better, thighs; but the reference in 40:16 –17 is to the
genitalia. For wrapped, most modern translations read knit or closely knit.
96
Or, the elephant, as some think.
97
Or, He setteth up.
300 JOB: GOD’S SECOND CHALLENGE
He lieth under the shady trees,

in the covert of the reed, and fens.
The shady trees cover him with their shadow;
the willows of the brook compass him about.
Behold, he 98drinketh up a river, and hasteth not:
he trusteth that he can draw up Jordan into his mouth.
99
He taketh it with his eyes:
his nose pierceth through snares.
41: 1 Canst thou draw out 100leviathan with an hook?
or his tongue with a cord 101which thou lettest down?
Canst thou put an hook into his nose?
or bore his jaw through with a thorn?
Will he make many supplications unto thee?
will he speak soft words unto thee?
Will he make a covenant with thee?
wilt thou take him for a servant for ever?
5 Wilt thou play with him as with a bird?
or wilt thou bind him for thy maidens?
Shall the companions make a banquet of him?
shall they part him among the merchants?
Canst thou fill his skin with barbed irons?
or his head with fish spears?
Lay thine hand upon him,
remember the battle, do no more.
Behold, the hope of him is in vain:
shall not one be cast down even at the sight of him?
10 None is so fierce that dare stir him up:
who then is able to stand before me?
Who hath prevented me, that I should repay him?
Whatsoever is under the whole heaven is mine.
I will not conceal his parts,
nor his power, nor his comely proportion.
Who can discover the face of his garment?
or who can come to him 102with his double bridle?
Who can open the doors of his face?
his teeth are terrible round about.
41: 1 leviathan: See 40:5n, behemoth.
98
Heb. he oppresseth.
99
Or, Will any take him in his sight, or, bore his nose with a gin?
100
That is, a whale, or, a whirlpool.
101
Heb. which thou drownest.
102
Or, within.
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JOB: GOD’S SECOND CHALLENGE 301
15 His 103scales are his pride,

shut up together as with a close seal.
One is so near to another,
that no air can come between them.
They are joined one to another,
they stick together, that they cannot be sundered.
By his neesings a light doth shine,
and his eyes are like the eyelids of the morning.
Out of his mouth go burning lamps,
and sparks of fire leap out.
20 Out of his nostrils goeth smoke,
as out of a seething pot or caldron.
His breath kindleth coals,
and a flame goeth out of his mouth.
In his neck remaineth strength,
and 104sorrow is turned into joy before him.
The 105flakes of his flesh are joined together:
they are firm in themselves; they cannot be moved.
His heart is as firm as a stone;
yea, as hard as a piece of the nether millstone.
25 When he raiseth up himself, the mighty are afraid:
by reason of breakings they purify themselves.
The sword of him that layeth at him cannot hold:
the spear, the dart, nor the 106habergeon.
He esteemeth iron as straw,
and brass as rotten wood.
The arrow cannot make him flee:
slingstones are turned with him into stubble.
Darts are counted as stubble:
he laugheth at the shaking of a spear.
30 107
Sharp stones are under him:
he spreadeth sharp pointed things upon the mire.
He maketh the deep to boil like a pot:
he maketh the sea like a pot of ointment.
18 neesings: ‘Sneezing’; the use of the word here goes back to Wycliffe.
25 by reason of breakings: AV is literal; the Hebrew is somewhat obscure, but the
general sense is ‘at the crashings [that he makes] they are distraught’, or (as Pope
1973: 281) ‘with consternation prostrate’.
103
Heb. strong pieces of shields.
104
Or, sorrow rejoiceth.
105
Heb. The fallings.
106
Or, breastplate.
107
Heb. Sharp pieces of potsherd.
302 JOB: JOB’S SUBMISSION
He maketh a path to shine after him;

one would think the deep to be hoary.
Upon earth there is not his like,
108
who is made without fear.
He beholdeth all high things:
he is a king over all the children of pride.
JOB’S SUBMISSION
42: 1 Then Job answered the Lord, and said,
I know that thou canst do every thing,
and that 109no thought can be withholden from thee.
Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge?
therefore have I uttered that I understood not;
things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.
Hear, I beseech thee, and I will speak:
I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto me.
5 I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
but now mine eye seeth thee.
Wherefore I abhor myself,
and repent in dust and ashes.
EPILOGUE
42: 10 And the Lord turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed
for his friends: also the Lord 110gave Job twice as much as
he had before.
Then came there unto him all his brethren, and all his
sisters, and all they that had been of his acquaintance before,
and did eat bread with him in his house: and they bemoaned
him, and comforted him over all the evil that the Lord had
brought upon him: every man also gave him a piece of
money, and every one an earring of gold.
42:3 Who is he . . . : Job quotes God’s words at 38:1.

42:10 turned the captivity: A familiar phrase in the context of the Exile, but strange
here, unless it had become proverbial with a broadened meaning.
108
Or, who behave themselves without fear.
109
Or, no thought of thine can be hindered.
110
Heb. added all that had been to Job unto the double.
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THE PSALMS 303
So the Lord blessed the latter end of Job more than

his beginning: for he had fourteen thousand sheep, and
six thousand camels, and a thousand yoke of oxen, and
a thousand she asses. He had also seven sons and three
15 daughters. And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and
the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third,
Keren-happuch. And in all the land were no women found
so fair as the daughters of Job: and their father gave them
inheritance among their brethren.
After this lived Job an hundred and forty years, and saw
his sons, and his sons’ sons, even four generations. So Job
died, being old and full of days.
The Psalms
There is much scholarly argument about the functions and dating
of the Psalms. They are traditionally known as ‘The Psalms of David’;
many are individually ascribed to him with varying plausibility, often
related to a specific incident: some may indeed belong to his era,
the tenth century bc.
In the Hebrew text, they are divided into five books, beginning
with numbers 1, 42, 73, 90, 107; the second group ends with the
verse, ‘the prayers of David . . . are ended’, but some later psalms
are ascribed to him. The age of the subheadings is uncertain; some
appear in LXX but not in the Hebrew text. Some Psalms are for ritual
use, some are public poetry, and some seem to be private religious
expression or meditation. They were, however, officially collected
and approved for a ritual function in the post-exilic Temple (after
515 bc) similar to the place that they still hold in Jewish and Christian
worship. At the same time, many may be read as personal poetry,
as demonstrated by the state of old Bibles; these pages are always
the most worn.
The AV revisers of the text of Psalms were hampered by the reten-
tion, in the Bishops’ Bible and the official Prayer Book, of Coverdale’s
resonant but long-outdated Great Bible version. They felt obliged
not to tamper unduly with this version; from the scholarly point of
view, therefore, the AV Psalms were less accurate than most of the
rest of AV.
14 Jemima means ‘dove’: kezia, ‘cassia tree’ (which has delicate sprays of flowers):
Keren-happuch ‘box of antimony’ – an eye make-up, suggesting ornamentation.
15 gave them inheritance: By the Law, the daughters would not automatically inherit
anything, unless it was specifically willed to them.
304 THE PSALMS: 2
Further reading. There are valuable discussions of the Psalms in

Anderson (1988: 540–57); Alter (1985: 111–36, 1987c: 244–61) and Fisch
(1988: 104 –35). Terrien (2003) is interesting for specialists; Dahood
(1968, 1970) provides detailed textual comment.
PSALM 2
2: 1 Why do the heathen 111rage,
and the people 112imagine a vain thing?
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord,
and against his anointed, saying,
Let us break their bands asunder,
and cast away their cords from us.
He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:
the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,
and 113vex them in his sore displeasure.
Yet have I 114set my king upon 115my holy hill of Zion.
I will declare 116the decree:
the Lord hath said unto me,
Thou art my Son;
this day have I begotten thee.
Ask of me, and I shall give thee
the heathen for thine inheritance,
and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.
Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;
thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.
10 Be wise now therefore, O ye kings:
be instructed, ye judges of the earth.
Ps 2: This is a royal psalm, celebrating Jahweh’s protection of the king; the Lord
will treat him like a son and scatter all his enemies. It was inevitably given Messianic
interpretation (e.g. in Heb 1:5, p. 475).
6 set: Strictly, pour out, anoint – encouraging the Messianic interpretation.
111
Or, tumultuously assemble.
112
Or, meditate.
113
Or, trouble.
114
Or, anointed.
115
Or, Zion, the hill of my holiness.
116
Or, for a decree.
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THE PSALMS: 8 305
Serve the Lord with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.
Kiss the Son, lest he be angry,
and ye perish from the way,
when his wrath is kindled but a little.
Blessed are all they
that put their trust in him.
PSALM 8
to the chief musician upon gittith,
a psalm of david
8: 1 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the
earth!
who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings
hast thou 117ordained strength because of thine enemies,
that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers,
the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
what is man, that thou art mindful of him?
and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels,
and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of
thy hands;
thou hast put all things under his feet:
118
all sheep and oxen,
yea, and the beasts of the field;
the fowl of the air,
and the fish of the sea,
and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!
12 Kiss the Son: Revere the king, God’s delegate. But the reading is doubtful, and
should perhaps be, ‘Kiss (the Lord’s) feet.’
Ps 8: Gittith : Uncertain; conjectures include: an instrument, an origin in Gath,
a hymn for the vintage.
4 what is man . . . : Echoed in Heb 2:6 (and perhaps in Hamlet II ii. 315).
117
Heb. founded.
118
Heb. Flocks and oxen all of them.
306 THE PSALMS: 10
PSALM 10
10: 1 Why standest thou afar off, O Lord?
why hidest thou thyself in times of trouble?
119
The wicked in his pride doth persecute the poor:
let them be taken in the devices that they have imagined.
For the wicked boasteth of his 120heart’s desire,
and 121blesseth the covetous, whom the Lord abhorreth.
The wicked, through the pride of his countenance,
will not seek after God:
122
God is not in all his thoughts.
5 His ways are always grievous;
thy judgments are far above out of his sight:
as for all his enemies, he puffeth at them.
He hath said in his heart, I shall not be moved:
for I shall 123never be in adversity.
His mouth is full of cursing and 124deceit and fraud:
under his tongue is mischief and 125vanity.
He sitteth in the lurking places of the villages:
in the secret places doth he murder the innocent:
his eyes 126are privily set against the poor.
He lieth in wait 127secretly as a lion in his den:
he lieth in wait to catch the poor:
he doth catch the poor,
when he draweth him into his net.
10 He 128croucheth, and humbleth himself,
that the poor may fall 129by his strong ones.
He hath said in his heart, God hath forgotten:
he hideth his face; he will never see it.
Arise, O Lord; O God, lift up thine hand:
forget not the 130humble.
119
Heb. In the pride of the wicked he doth persecute.
120
Heb. soul’s.
121
Or, the covetous blesseth himself, he abhorreth the Lord.
122
Or, all his thoughts are, There is no God.
123
Heb. unto generation and generation.
124
Heb. deceits.
125
Or, iniquity.
126
Heb. hide themselves.
127
Heb. in the secret places.
128
Heb. He breaketh himself.
129
Or, into his strong parts.
130
Or, afflicted.
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THE PSALMS: 23 307
Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God?

he hath said in his heart,
Thou wilt not require it.
Thou hast seen it: for thou beholdest mischief and spite,
to requite it with thy hand:
the poor 131committeth himself unto thee;
thou art the helper of the fatherless.
15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man:
seek out his wickedness till thou find none.
The Lord is King for ever and ever:
the heathen are perished out of his land.
Lord, thou hast heard the desire of the humble:
thou wilt 132prepare their heart,
thou wilt cause thine ear to hear:
To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
that the man of the earth may no more 133oppress.
PSALM 23
a psalm of david
23: 1 The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.
He maketh me to lie down in 134green pastures:
he leadeth me beside the 135still waters.
He restoreth my soul:
he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of
death,
I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
10:13 requite: i.e. requite an account.

Ps 23: One of the 73 psalms traditionally attributed to David, the shepherd who
became king.
131
Heb. leaveth.
132
Or, establish.
133
Or, terrify.
134
Heb. pastures of tender grass.
135
Heb. waters of quietness.
308 THE PSALMS: 24
5 Thou preparest a table before me

in the presence of mine enemies:
thou 136anointest my head with oil;
my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days
of my life:
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord 137for ever.
PSALM 24
a psalm of david
24: 1 The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof;
the world, and they that dwell therein.
For he hath founded it upon the seas,
and established it upon the floods.
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord?
or who shall stand in his holy place?
138
He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart;
who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity,
nor sworn deceitfully.
5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord,
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
This is the generation of them that seek him,
that seek thy face, 139O Jacob.
Selah.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;
and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory?
The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
5 anointest: Either (especially if associated with David) in the sanctification of a

king; or simply as a courtesy to a travelling guest.
Ps 24: An antiphonal psalm, usually taken to be a Temple processional. In its
metrical form still used as such, particularly in Scotland at Communion.
6 Selah indicates a liturgical pause.
136
Heb. makest fat.
137
Heb. to length of days.
138
Heb. The clean of hands.
139
Or, O God of Jacob.
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THE PSALMS: 46 309
Lift up your heads, O ye gates;

even lift them up, ye everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
10 Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.
Selah.
PSALM 46
to the chief musician for the sons
of korah, a song upon alamoth
46: 1 God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed,
and though the mountains be carried into the 140midst
of the sea;
Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled,
though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.
Selah.
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the
city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved:
God shall help her, 141and that right early.
The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved:
he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
Ps 46: sons of Korah: a Levite family (p. 169); ten psalms are so attributed. Alamoth:
For treble singers; or for shawm. This psalm is the basis of Luther’s ‘Ein’ feste
Burg’ – ‘A safe stronghold our God is still’.
Selah: See Ps 24:6n: It is probable that the repeated last line of the psalm (‘The
Lord of hosts . . .’) is a refrain which should also appear here.
4 a river: A true river is implied, not a stream that may be dry in summer. For a
mountain city, Jerusalem was well supplied with one perennial spring and, from the
eighth century bc, an underground aqueduct that brought water into the Pool of
Siloam. In a siege, such as is implied by the opening of this psalm, the city was
generally better supplied than the besiegers. Since God resides in the Temple,
he will protect it (though see Jer 7:4, p. 233). But note the italicised words, added
by the translators; the line might read, ‘A river . . . (is) the holy place . . .’
140
Heb. the heart of the seas.
141
Heb. when the morning appeareth.
310 THE PSALMS: 51
The Lord of hosts is with us;

the God of Jacob is our 142refuge.
Selah.
Come, behold the works of the Lord,
what desolations he hath made in the earth.
He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth;
he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder;
he burneth the chariot in the fire.
10 Be still, and know that I am God:
I will be exalted among the heathen,
I will be exalted in the earth.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
Selah.
PSALM 51
to the chief musician. a psalm of
david, when nathan the prophet
came unto him, after he had gone
in to bathsheba
51: 1 Have mercy upon me, O God,
according to thy loving kindness:
according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me throughly from mine iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions:
and my sin is ever before me.
Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,
and done this evil in thy sight:
that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest,
and be clear when thou judgest.
Ps 51: One of the ‘penitential’ psalms (the others are 6, 32, 38, 102, 130 [p. 303],
143). They follow this general pattern: invocation, confession of sin, penitence
and plea for restitution, song of praise. The historical association of Ps 51 may be
hindsight.
Nathan: See 2 Sam 11–12, especially 12:1n, p. 155.
142
Heb. an high place for us.
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THE PSALMS: 51 311
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother 143conceive me.
Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts:
and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know
wisdom.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Make me to hear joy and gladness;
that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
Hide thy face from my sins,
and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God;
and renew a 144right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from thy presence;
and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;
and uphold me with thy free spirit.
Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;
and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
Deliver me from 145blood-guiltiness, O God,
thou God of my salvation:
and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips;
and my mouth shall show forth thy praise.
For thou desirest not sacrifice; 146else would I give it:
thou delightest not in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:
a broken and a contrite heart, O God,
thou wilt not despise.
Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:
build thou the walls of Jerusalem.
7 hyssop: One of the mints, used in ceremonial purification (Lev 14), sacrificial blood
was mixed with water and sprinkled from a spray of hyssop. Dahood (1968: II 5)
proposes ‘gushing water’ as a better parallel (or opposition) to snow.
14 blood-guiltiness : Literally ‘blood’, which might imply simply a fear of injury.
AV’s translation directs the reader to a different preferred interpretation.
143
Heb. warm me.
144
Or, a constant spirit.
145
Or, bloods.
146
Or, that I should give it.
312 THE PSALMS: 65
Then shalt thou be pleased with the sacrifices of

righteousness,
with burnt offering and whole burnt offering:
then shall they offer bullocks upon thine altar.
PSALM 65
to the chief musician, a psalm and
song of david
65: 1 Praise 147waiteth for thee, O God, in Sion:
and unto thee shall the vow be performed.
O thou that hearest prayer,
unto thee shall all flesh come.
148
Iniquities prevail against me:
as for our transgressions, thou shalt purge them away.
Blessed is the man whom thou choosest,
and causest to approach unto thee,
that he may dwell in thy courts:
we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house,
even of thy holy temple.
5 By terrible things in righteousness
wilt thou answer us, O God of our salvation;
who art the confidence of all the ends of the earth,
and of them that are afar off upon the sea:
which by his strength setteth fast the mountains;
being girded with power:
which stilleth the noise of the seas,
the noise of their waves,
and the tumult of the people.
They also that dwell in the uttermost parts
are afraid at thy tokens:
thou makest the outgoings of the morning and
evening 149to rejoice.
Ps 65: this could be a psalm of thanks for rain, or a harvest song.

5 by terrible things . . . : Or, ‘Thou wilt’ [or ‘dost’] ‘answer us with fearful deeds
of righteousness’.
147
Heb. is silent.
148
Heb. words, or, matters of iniquities.
149
Or, to sing.
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THE PSALMS: 82 313
Thou visitest the earth, and 150waterest it:

thou greatly enrichest it with the river of God,
which is full of water:
thou preparest them corn,
when thou hast so provided for it.
10 Thou waterest the ridges thereof abundantly:
151
thou settlest the furrows thereof:
152
thou makest it soft with showers:
thou blessest the springing thereof.
Thou crownest 153the year with thy goodness;
and thy paths drop fatness.
They drop upon the pastures of the wilderness:
and the little hills 154rejoice on every side.
The pastures are clothed with flocks;
the valleys also are covered over with corn;
they shout for joy, they also sing.
PSALM 82
a psalm of asaph
82: 1 God standeth in the congregation of the mighty;
he judgeth among the gods.
How long will ye judge unjustly,
and accept the persons of the wicked?
Selah.
155
Defend the poor and fatherless:
do justice to the afflicted and needy.
Deliver the poor and needy:
rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
9 Thou visitest . . . : Somewhat obscure, and translations vary in detail.

Ps 82 Asaph: One of three main Levite families assigned to musical duties (1 Chron
25:1–9).
1 the mighty . . . the gods: Either earthly rulers, or the gods of the nations themselves,
are on trial, and dispossessed for their injustice.
150
Or, after thou hadst made it to desire rain.
151
Or, thou causest rain to descend into the furrows thereof.
152
Heb. thou dissolvest it.
153
Heb. the year of thy goodness.
154
Heb. are girded with joy.
155
Heb. Judge.
314 THE PSALMS: 84
5 They know not, neither will they understand;

they walk on in darkness:
all the foundations of the earth are 156out of course.
I have said, Ye are gods;
and all of you are children of the most High.
But ye shall die like men,
and fall like one of the princes.
Arise, O God, judge the earth:
for thou shalt inherit all nations.
PSALM 84
to the chief musician upon gittith,
a psalm for the sons of korah
84: 1 How amiable are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hosts!
My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord:
my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
Yea, the sparrow hath found an house,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
even thine altars, O Lord of hosts, my King, and my God.
Blessed are they that dwell in thy house:
they will be still praising thee.
Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee;
in whose heart are the ways of them:
Who passing through the valley of 157Baca make it a well;
the rain also 158filleth the pools.
They go 159from strength to strength,
every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer:
give ear, O God of Jacob.
Selah.
84: 1 amiable: Desirable, beloved. This psalm has been read as either a song of
the pilgrim making his way up to the Temple for worship, or as an exile’s song,
mourning the Temple’s lost beauty.
2 courts: The courtyards of the Temple, one within another.
156
Heb. moved.
157
Or, of mulberry-trees, make him a well, &c.
158
Heb. severeth.
159
Or, from company to company.
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THE PSALMS: 90 315
Behold, O God our shield,

and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand.
160
I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God,
than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the Lord God is a sun and shield:
the Lord will give grace and glory:
no good thing will he withhold from them that walk
uprightly.
O Lord of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
PSALM 90
a prayer of moses the man of god
90: 1 Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in 161
all
generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world,
even from everlasting to everlasting,
thou art God.
Thou turnest man to destruction;
and sayest, Return, ye children of men.
For a thousand years in thy sight
are but as yesterday 162when it is past,
and as a watch in the night.
5 Thou carriest them away as with a flood; they are as
a sleep:
in the morning they are like grass which groweth up.
In the morning it flourisheth, and 163groweth up;
in the evening it is cut down, and withereth.
For we are consumed by thine anger,
and by thy wrath are we troubled.
Thou hast set our iniquities before thee,
our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.
90:1 Lord . . . generations: ‘O God, our help in ages past’ is the metrical version
of this psalm.
5 carriest . . . flood: cp. Gt, as soon as thou scatterest them, they are even as a sleep:
Gv, Thou hast overflowed them: they are a sleep.
160
Heb. I would choose rather to sit at the threshold.
161
Heb. in generation and generation.
162
Or, when he hath passed them.
163
Or, is changed.
316 THE PSALMS: 91
For all our days are 164passed away in thy wrath:

we spend our years 165as a tale that is told.
10 166
The days of our years are threescore years and ten;
and if by reason of strength they be fourscore years,
yet is their strength labour and sorrow;
for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
Who knoweth the power of thine anger?
even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.
So teach us to number our days,
that we 167may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
Return, O Lord, how long?
and let it repent thee concerning thy servants.
O satisfy us early with thy mercy;
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15 Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast
afflicted us,
and the years wherein we have seen evil.
Let thy work appear unto thy servants,
and thy glory unto their children.
And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us:
and establish thou the work of our hands upon us;
yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.
PSALM 91
91: 1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High
shall 168abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress:
my God; in him will I trust.
Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler,
and from the noisome pestilence.
9 spend: i.e. ‘use up, expend’.

a tale that is told: The italics are a translator’s addition, in this case inspired. Cv,
MtB, Gt, We bring our years to an end, as it were a tale that is told; Gv, We have
spent our years as a thought; D, Our years shall be considered as a spider.
164
Heb. turned away.
165
Or, as a meditation.
166
Heb. as for the days of our years, in them are seventy years.
167
Heb. cause to come.
168
Heb. lodge.
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THE PSALMS: 91 317
He shall cover thee with his feathers,

and under his wings shalt thou trust:
his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night;
nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness;
or for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
A thousand shall fall at thy side,
and ten thousand at thy right hand;
but it shall not come nigh thee.
Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold
and see the reward of the wicked.
Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge,
even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee,
neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
For he shall give his angels charge over thee,
to keep thee in all thy ways.
They shall bear thee up in their hands,
lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
Thou shalt tread upon the lion and 169adder:
the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample
under feet.
Because he hath set his love upon me,
therefore will I deliver him:
I will set him on high,
because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in trouble;
I will deliver him, and honour him.
With 170long life will I satisfy him,
and show him my salvation.
91:11 give his angels charge . . . : Quoted by Satan when tempting Christ, Matt 4:6,
Luke 4: 10.
13 dragon: or ‘snake’.
14 Because . . . : The rest is spoken by God.
169
Or, asp.
170
Heb. length of days.
318 THE PSALMS: 95
PSALM 95
95: 1 O come, let us sing unto the Lord:
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.
Let us 171come before his presence with thanksgiving,
and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms.
For the Lord is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
172
In his hand are the deep places of the earth:
173
the strength of the hills is his also.
5 174
The sea is his, and he made it:
and his hands formed the dry land.
O come, let us worship and bow down:
let us kneel before the Lord our maker.
For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
Today if ye will hear his voice,
Harden not your heart, as in the 175provocation,
and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
When your fathers tempted me,
proved me, and saw my work.
10 Forty years long was I grieved with this generation,
and said, It is a people that do err in their heart,
and they have not known my ways:
Unto whom I sware in my wrath
176
that they should not enter into my rest.
Ps 95: This psalm, Venite, exultemus Domino, is given a special place in the Anglican
ritual, being sung every day, a practice deriving from Benedict (c.ad 540) by way
of the medieval English ‘Sarum’ breviary.
171
Heb. prevent his face.
172
Heb. In whose.
173
Or, the heights of the hills are his.
174
Heb. Whose the sea is.
175
Heb. contention.
176
Heb. if they enter.
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THE PSALMS: 121 319
PSALM 100
a psalm of praise
100: 1 Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, 177all ye lands.
serve the Lord with gladness:
come before his presence with singing.
Know ye that the Lord he is God:
it is he that hath made us, 178and not we ourselves;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter into his gates with thanksgiving,
and into his courts with praise:
be thankful unto him, and bless his name.
5 For the Lord is good;
his mercy is everlasting;
and his truth endureth 179to all generations.
PSALM 121
a song of degrees
121: 1 180
I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills,
from whence cometh my help.
My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:
he that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep.
Ps 100: A pre-Exilic processional as the people entered the Temple. One of the
most famous psalms, especially in its metrical version, ‘All people that on earth
do dwell’.
Ps 121 degrees: i.e. stairs (the root meaning of ‘degrees’); the people sing as they
climb up to the Temple. Note the question-and-answer form (‘I’ . . . ‘thou’). Also
famous in the metrical version, ‘I to the hills will lift mine eyes’, with its charac-
teristic folk-song syntax.
from whence: The Hebrew syntax is ambiguous. The first line may be an assertion,
but the second is certainly a question. The psalmist is looking to the Temple on
Mount Zion for help.
177
Or, all the earth.
178
Or, and his we are.
179
Heb. to generation and generation.
180
Or, Shall I lift up mine eyes to the hills? Whence should my help come?
320 THE PSALMS: 127
The Lord is thy keeper:

the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day,
nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil:
he shall preserve thy soul.
The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in
from this time forth, and even for evermore.
PSALM 127
181
a song of degrees for solomon
127: 1 Except the Lord build the house,
they labour in vain 182that build it:
Except the Lord keep the city,
the watchman waketh but in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late,
to eat the bread of sorrows:
for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord:
and the fruit of the womb is his reward.
As arrows are in the hand of a mighty man;
so are children of the youth.
5 Happy is the man that 183hath his quiver full of them:
they shall not be ashamed,
but they 184shall speak with the enemies in the gate.
PSALM 130
a song of degrees
130: 1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications.
If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities,
O Lord, who shall stand?
Ps 130: The sixth ‘Penitential Psalm’ (see Ps 51n, p. 310).
181
Or, of.
182
Heb. that are builders of it in it.
183
Heb. hath filled his quiver with.
184
Or, shall subdue, or, destroy.
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THE PSALMS: 137 321
But there is forgiveness with thee,

that thou mayest be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait,
and in his word do I hope.
My soul waiteth for the Lord
more than they that watch for the morning:
185
I say, more than they that watch for the morning.
Let Israel hope in the Lord:
for with the Lord there is mercy,
and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
PSALM 137
137: 1 By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down,
yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion.
We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof.
For there they that carried us away captive required of
us 186a song;
187
and they that wasted us required of us mirth, saying,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
How shall we sing the Lord’s song in a 188strange land?
5 If I forget thee, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand forget her cunning.
If I do not remember thee,
let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth;
if I prefer not Jerusalem above my 189chief joy.
Remember, O Lord, the children of Edom in the day of
Jerusalem;
who said,
190
Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
6 My soul waiteth: The Hebrew is disputed, but the sense is clear.

137: 1 By the rivers of Babylon: Many scholars point to the past tenses (‘hanged’,
‘required’) and date this psalm after the return from exile, but its bitterness in
the face of the still-prosperous Babylon and Edom do not seem to support this.
If it was written after the event, it speaks through the persona of a victim.
185
Or, which watch unto the morning.
186
Heb. the words of a song.
187
Heb. laid us on heaps.
188
Heb. land of a stranger.
189
Heb. the head of my joy.
190
Heb. Make bare.
322 THE PSALMS: 139
O daughter of Babylon, who art to be 191destroyed;

happy shall he be, 192that rewardeth thee as thou hast
served us.
Happy shall he be, that taketh
and dasheth thy little ones against 193the stones.
PSALM 139
to the chief musician, a psalm of david
139: 1 O Lord, thou hast searched me, and known me.
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising,
thou understandest my thought afar off.
Thou 194compassest my path and my lying down,
and art acquainted with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my tongue,
but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
5 Thou hast beset me behind and before,
and laid thine hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high, I cannot attain unto it.
Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there:
if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.
If I take the wings of the morning,
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea;
10 Even there shall thy hand lead me,
and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me;
even the night shall be light about me.
Yea, the darkness 195hideth not from thee;
but the night shineth as the day:
196
the darkness and the light are both alike to thee.
For thou hast possessed my reins:
thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb.
191
Heb. wasted.
192
Heb. that recompenseth unto thee.
193
Heb. the rock.
194
Or, winnowest.
195
Heb. darkeneth not.
196
Heb. as is the darkness, so is the light.
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PROVERBS 323
I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made:

marvellous are thy works;
and that my soul knoweth 197right well.
15 My 198substance was not hid from thee, when I was
made in secret,
and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect;
and in thy book 199all my members were written,
200
which in continuance were fashioned,
when as yet there was none of them.
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God!
how great is the sum of them!
If I should count them, they are more in number than
the sand:
when I awake, I am still with thee.
Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God:
depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
20 For they speak against thee wickedly,
and thine enemies take thy name in vain.
Do not I hate them, O Lord, that hate thee?
and am not I grieved with those that rise up against
thee?
I hate them with perfect hatred:
I count them mine enemies.
Search me, O God, and know my heart:
try me, and know my thoughts:
And see if there be any 201wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Proverbs
Although these sayings, like the two following books (Ecclesiastes
and Song of Solomon), were attributed to Solomon, they are, like most
books of the Bible, compiled from several documents and traditions,
139:19 Surely . . . : There is a hiatus here. Either two psalms have been run together,
or the whole is an appeal to God by someone accused by ‘the wicked’ in the
second part.
197
Heb. greatly.
198
Heb. strength, or, body.
199
Heb. all of them.
200
Or, what days they should be fashioned.
201
Heb. way of pain, or, grief.
324 PROVERBS: WISDOM
of varying dates. The central section (Prov 10:1–22:16) consists of a

large number of discrete sayings, some (at least in origin) of great
antiquity.
The latter part of the book, made up of a number of smaller
collections of different dates, fits the title best. The passages quoted
here come from the beginning of the book, which is also the latest
section (c.third century bc). Here the aphorisms are grouped into
continuous paragraphs; Wisdom is personified, and opposed to the
Harlot of Prov 5, who may perhaps be taken metaphorically, as an
allegory of falsehood. Wisdom, a truer and stricter guide, is not a
quality of mind, but a corpus of ancestral and national understanding,
to be revered and given the same authority we allow to scientific
learning.
Further reading. Few literary critics here turned their attention to
Proverbs, but Alter (1985: 163 –84) gives it a chapter.
WISDOM
3: 13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom,
and 202the man that getteth understanding.
For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise
of silver,
and the gain thereof than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies:
and all the things thou canst desire are not to be
compared unto her.
Length of days is in her right hand;
and in her left hand riches and honour.
Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her:
and happy is every one that retaineth her.
THE STRANGE WOMAN

5: 1 My son, attend unto my wisdom,
and bow thine ear to my understanding:
that thou mayest regard discretion,
and that thy lips may keep knowledge.
3: 16 The right hand is superior to the left, and receives the greater benefit.
202
Heb. the man that draweth out understanding.
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PROVERBS: THE STRANGE WOMAN 325
For the lips of a strange woman drop as an honeycomb,

and her 203mouth is smoother than oil:
but her end is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.
5 Her feet go down to death;
her steps take hold on hell.
Lest thou shouldest ponder the path of life,
her ways are moveable, that thou canst not know them.
Hear me now therefore, O ye children,
and depart not from the words of my mouth.
Remove thy way far from her,
and come not nigh the door of her house:
lest thou give thine honour unto others,
and thy years unto the cruel:
10 lest strangers be filled with 204thy wealth;
and thy labours be in the house of a stranger;
and thou mourn at the last,
when thy flesh and thy body are consumed,
and say, How have I hated instruction,
and my heart despised reproof;
and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers,
nor inclined mine ear to them that instructed me!
I was almost in all evil
in the midst of the congregation and assembly.
15 Drink waters out of thine own cistern,
and running waters out of thine own well.
Let thy fountains be dispersed abroad,
and rivers of waters in the streets.
Let them be only thine own,
and not strangers’ with thee.
Let thy fountain be blessed:
and rejoice with the wife of thy youth.
5:6 Lest thou shouldest ponder . . . : Obscure: the sense seems to be that the harlot
does not wish to follow the path of life, which is clear and certain, whereas her
ways are not.
9 cruel: Unscrupulous, grasping parasites, who will swallow your substance and
your life.
14 in all evil: The greatest punishment for adultery was death: he was at least at
the point of suffering public ignominy and lashing.
15 thine own cistern: the image is sexual (cf. fountain later).
203
Heb. palate.
204
Heb. thy strength.
326 PROVERBS: ADVICE
Let her be as the loving hind and pleasant roe;

let her breasts 205satisfy thee at all times;
and 206be thou ravished always with her love.
And why wilt thou, my son, be ravished with a strange
woman,
and embrace the bosom of a stranger?
For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord,
and he pondereth all his goings.
ADVICE
6: 1 My son, if thou be surety for thy friend,
if thou hast stricken thy hand with a stranger,
thou art snared with the words of thy mouth,
thou art taken with the words of thy mouth.
Do this now, my son, and deliver thyself,
when thou art come into the hand of thy friend;
go, humble thyself,
207
and make sure thy friend.
Give not sleep to thine eyes,
nor slumber to thine eyelids.
5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter,
and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Go to the ant, thou sluggard;
consider her ways, and be wise:
which having no guide, overseer, or ruler,
provideth her meat in the summer,
and gathereth her food in the harvest.
How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard?
when wilt thou rise out of thy sleep?
10 Yet a little sleep, a little slumber,
a little folding of the hands to sleep:
So shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth,
and thy want as an armed man.
19 be thou . . . : Margin err thou means ‘wander’.

6:11 armed man: A robber; in a settled community honest men do not go armed.
205
Heb. water thee.
206
Heb. err thou always in her love.
207
Or, so shalt thou prevail with thy friend.
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ECCLESIASTES: ACCEPTANCE 327
Ecclesiastes
The title means simply ‘The Preacher’; the book dates from the
middle or late third century bc. Ecclesiastes hints at the fatalism
of some Hellenic philosophy, and suggests a sense of the futility of
mortal life very much at odds with both priestly Law and prophetic
dynamism. Its lack of positive faith in the Hebrew tradition, its stress
on the ‘vanity’ of life – so much at variance with the tradition of
the Promise of destiny – made it suspect. Of all the books of OT, this
was regarded with the most suspicion among Jewish scholars and
religious leaders, and it was barely accepted into the canon. There is
no allusion to it in NT. Like Proverbs and Solomon’s Song, Ecclesiastes
was attributed to Solomon, and this, with its place in the Wisdom
tradition, and the striking poetry of its best passages, found it a place.
For a discussion, see Fisch (1988) 158 –78.
ACCEPTANCE
11: 1 Cast thy bread 208upon the waters: for thou shalt find it after
many days.
Give a portion to seven, and also to eight; for thou know-
est not what evil shall be upon the earth. If the clouds
be full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth: and
if the tree fall toward the south, or toward the north, in
the place where the tree falleth, there it shall be. He that
observeth the wind shall not sow; and he that regardeth
the clouds shall not reap.
5 As thou knowest not what is the way of the spirit, nor
how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with
child: even so thou knowest not the works of God who
maketh all.
In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening with-
hold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether 209shall
prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be
alike good.
11:1 Cast thy bread . . . : Cv, Send thy victuals over the country; Gv as AV; D, . . .
the passing waters; BB, Lay thy bread upon wet faces.
2 seven and . . . eight: A Hebrew phrase (like ‘two or three’), meaning ‘several’.
The drift is ‘spread your enterprises so that all will not fail together’.
6 whether . . . : i.e. ‘which of two?’
208
Heb. upon the face of the waters.
209
Heb. shall be right.
328 ECCLESIASTES: TIME AND DEATH
TIME AND DEATH

11: 7 Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes
to behold the sun: but if a man live many years, and rejoice
in them all; yet let him remember the days of darkness; for
they shall be many. All that cometh is vanity.
Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth; and let thy heart
cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways
of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but know
thou, that for all these things God will bring thee into
10 judgment. Therefore remove 210sorrow from thy heart, and
put away evil from thy flesh: for childhood and youth are
vanity.
12: 1 Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when
thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them; while the sun, or
the light, or the moon, or the stars, be not darkened, nor the
clouds return after the rain: in the day when the keepers
of the house shall tremble, and the strong men shall bow
themselves, and the 211grinders cease because they are few,
and those that look out of the windows be darkened, and
the doors shall be shut in the streets, when the sound of the
grinding is low, and he shall rise up at the voice of the bird,
5 and all the daughters of music shall be brought low; also
when they shall be afraid of that which is high, and fears shall
be in the way, and the almond tree shall flourish, and the
grasshopper shall be a burden, and desire shall fail: because
man goeth to his long home, and the mourners go about
11: 10 childhood and youth: Not old age: the ages of strength.
12:3 keepers . . . strong men: Metaphors for the weakening limbs.
grinders, windows : Teeth and eyes.
4 he shall rise up: Either a reference to the short sleep of old age, or to the old
man’s voice ‘turning again toward childish treble’.
The daughters of music: Song.
5 almond tree: Another metaphor of old age, variously interpreted. Almond blossom
is white, recalling white hair.
desire: literally, ‘the caper-berry’, an aphrodisiac.
210
Or, anger.
211
Or, the grinders fail, because they grind little.
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THE SONG OF SOLOMON 329
the streets: or ever the silver cord be loosed, or the golden

bowl be broken, or the pitcher be broken at the fountain, or
the wheel broken at the cistern. Then shall the dust return to
the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who
gave it. Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity.
10 And 212moreover, because the preacher was wise, he still
taught the people knowledge; yea, he gave good heed, and
sought out, and set in order many proverbs. The preacher
sought to find out 213acceptable words: and that which was
written was upright, even words of truth.
The words of the wise are as goads, and as nails fastened
by the masters of assemblies, which are given from one
shepherd. And further, by these, my son, be admonished:
of making many books there is no end; and much 214study
is a weariness of the flesh.
215
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God,
and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with
every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.
The Song of Solomon

This set of poems (dating as it stands from the second century bc),
did not easily find its way into the canon. The many doubts from
earliest times as to its suitability were allayed by its ascription to
Solomon, the allusions to him in the text, and allegorical interpreta-
tions of the book. Jewish tradition saw in the Song the historical
relationship of God and his people, and the book was traditionally
read during the Passover feast. The Christian Church (including the
translators of AV: see Song 1:1, 4:5nn) read it as an allegory of the
6 silver cord, etc. These images have been variously interpreted, along the lines
of the previous images. All are parts of the continuous fabric of life – the lamp,
the water at the well, the water-wheel for irrigation; they only fail when life fails.
BB text and marginal note reads: ‘Or ever the silver lace [the marrow in the back
bone] . . . the golden well [the yellow skin that covereth the brain] . . . the pot be
broken [the two great veins] at the well [the liver] and the wheel [the head] be
broken upon the cistern [the heart].
11 nails . . . assemblies: Obscure: the line seems to allude to definitive collections
of Wisdom, deriving ultimately from God.
212
Or, the more wise the preacher was, &c.
213
Heb. words of delight.
214
Or, reading.
215
Or, the end of the matter, even all that hath been heard, is.
330 THE SONG OF SOLOMON
relationship of Christ and the Church. This kind of allegorical inter-

pretation is ancient and persistent; it is no more irrational to interpret
the passionate lover of the Song as God than to interpret a red rose
as a symbol alternately of Love or the house of Lancaster. Certainly,
the sixteenth-century translators saw it in this light (see 4:5n), and
the tradition continued. The popular Self-Interpreting Bible (Brown
1791: 696) insisted that this was a mystical allegory; and, well into
the nineteenth century Davidson (1852), while accepting that the Song
might have an origin as a lovers’ wedding song, stressed that its true
value lay in its allegorical significances.
Some ancient and most modern scholars generally agree with the
untutored reader that this is a poem of earthly love. Many say that it
is a wedding song; others argue that it echoes Canaanite Adonis rites,
in the goddess’s search for her lost love (e.g. Song 3:1–5, p. 323), or the
lovers’ meeting under trees recalling the ‘high places’ and ‘groves’
of Canaanite fertility rites denounced by the prophets (Song 1:17,
pp. 321, 325). Nevertheless, the Song is in no way ritual; if such material
is present, it has been adapted as effectively as European fertility
symbols are adapted in ‘The Holly and the Ivy’. The Song is neither
specifically in the tradition of the Law and the Prophets, nor at odds
with them. This is a song, not a hymn; frankly erotic and sexually
suggestive, but with an idealised sexuality. A sense of celebration pre-
dominates, expressed in a bold, strange but evocative imagery. The
unschooled reader may agree with Alter, that the Song is ‘purely
secular love poetry’ (Alter 1985: 185), while rejecting neither Lands
(1987: 305): ‘If the Song were a continuous allegory of sex . . . it
would be nothing more than a riddle or a tease’, nor Harold Fisch
(who focuses on the dream-like nature of the sequences and their
ambiguities), that no ‘literal’ interpretation of these poems can satisfy:
‘The power of such images propels us beyond the limits of a marriage
song, however exalted’ (Fisch 1988: 98).
The Song is a series of poems, often a dialogue between lovers, some-
times a soliloquy. Hebrew grammar determines if a speaker is male,
female or plural, and there is general agreement as to the division
into songs, but authorities differ as to who is speaking to whom.
AV neither divides the whole into parts nor allocates speeches, and
so these divisions are here only lightly marked.
Further reading. Alter (1985: 185–203) devotes a chapter to this
book. Fisch (1988) and Lands (1987) are valuable and contrasting
discussions, as is Keel (1994); Falk (1982) in addition provides a new
translation. Boyarin (1990) is an interesting short essay on post-OT
Midrashic interpretations of the Song. Brenner (1990) makes a case
for seeing Song 7:10ff. as a kind of parody. See also the works on
Hebrew poetry listed on p. 47, and Jeffrey (1992: 727–30).
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THE SONG OF SONGS,

WHICH IS SOLOMON’S
1: 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth:
for 216thy love is better than wine.
Because of the savour of thy good ointments
thy name is as ointment poured forth,
therefore do the virgins love thee.
Draw me, we will run after thee:
the king hath brought me into his chambers:
we will be glad and rejoice in thee,
we will remember thy love more than wine:
the 217upright love thee.
5 I am black, but comely,
O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
as the tents of Kedar,
as the curtains of Solomon.
Look not upon me, because I am black,
because the sun hath looked upon me:
my mother’s children were angry with me;
they made me the keeper of the vineyards;
but mine own vineyard have I not kept.
Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth,
where thou feedest,
where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon:
for why should I be 218as one that turneth aside
by the flocks of thy companions?
1: 1 Song . . . Solomon’s: The first line in the text, but surely its title; the title in
AV is The Song of Solomon. The tradition of allegorical interpretation is illustrated
by AV’s chapter heading to Chapter 2:
1 The mutual love of Christ and his Church.
8 The hope,
10 and calling of the Church.
14 Christ’s care of the Church.
16 the profession of the Church, her faith and hope.
See also the frontispiece, facsimile of this page.
4 the upright . . . : Perhaps, ‘They are right to love thee’.
5 Kedar: An Ishmaelite people, known for their black tents.
216
Heb. thy loves.
217
Or, they love thee uprightly.
218
Or, as one that is veiled.
If thou know not,

O thou fairest among women,
go thy way forth
by the footsteps of the flock,
and feed thy kids
beside the shepherds’ tents.
1: 9 I have compared thee, O my love,

to a company of horses in Pharaoh’s chariots.
10 Thy cheeks are comely
with rows of jewels,
thy neck with chains of gold.
We will make thee borders of gold
with studs of silver.
While the king sitteth at his table,
my spikenard sendeth forth the smell thereof.
A bundle of myrrh is my wellbeloved unto me;
he shall lie all night betwixt my breasts.
My beloved is unto me as a cluster of 219camphire
in the vineyards of En-gedi.
15 Behold, thou art fair, 220my love;
thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.
Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant:
also our bed is green.
The beams of our house are cedar,
and our 221rafters of fir.
2: 1 I am the rose of Sharon,

and the lily of the valleys.
As the lily among thorns,
so is my love among the daughters.
12 spikenard: A very costly, exotic perfume, imported from India.

14 camphire: Henna: commonly found in En-gedi (see map, p. 544).
17 cedar . . . fir: It has been suggested that this echoes the practice in Canaanite
religions of sexual worship under tree-symbols (see p. 330, and high place, 1 Kgs
11:7n, p. 187).
2:1 rose of Sharon: Not certainly identified. Sharon is usually the seacoast south
of Carmel (see map), but perhaps a region east of Jordan; the images here are
chiefly of flowers blossoming in desert places.
219
Or, cypress.
220
Or, my companion.
221
Or, galleries.
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As the apple tree among the trees of the wood,

so is my beloved among the sons.
222
I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
and his fruit was sweet to my 223taste.
He brought me to the 224banqueting-house,
and his banner over me was love.
2:5 Stay me with flagons, 225comfort me with apples;

for I am sick of love.
His left hand is under my head,
and his right hand doth embrace me.
226
I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,
by the roes, and by the hinds of the field,
that ye stir not up,
nor awake my love,
till he please.
2: 8 The voice of my beloved!

behold, he cometh
leaping upon the mountains,
skipping upon the hills.
My beloved is like a roe or a young hart:
behold, he standeth behind our wall,
he looketh forth at the windows,
227
shewing himself through the lattice.
10 My beloved spake, and said unto me,
Rise up, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
For, lo, the winter is past,
the rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
the time of the singing of birds is come,
and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land;
11 the winter is past : Spring was (and is) a festival time, the season of first fruit,
the beginning of the early harvests. See Appendix 2, p. 526.
12 turtle: The turtle-dove.
222
Or, I delighted, and sat down, &c.
223
Heb. palate.
224
Heb. house of mine.
225
Heb. straw me with apples.
226
Heb. I adjure you.
227
Heb. flourishing.
The fig tree putteth forth her green figs,

and the vines with the tender grape give a good smell.
Arise, my love, my fair one,
and come away.
O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock,
in the secret places of the stairs,
let me see thy countenance,
let me hear thy voice;
for sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance is comely.
15 Take us the foxes,
the little foxes,
that spoil the vines:
for our vines have tender grapes.
My beloved is mine, and I am his:
he feedeth among the lilies.
Until the day break,
and the shadows flee away,
turn, my beloved,
and be thou like a roe
228
or a young hart upon the mountains of Bether.
3: 1 By night on my bed I sought him

whom my soul loveth:
I sought him,
but I found him not.
I will rise now, and go about the city
in the streets, and in the broad ways
I will seek him whom my soul loveth:
I sought him, but I found him not.
The watchmen that go about the city found me:
to whom I said,
Saw ye him whom my soul loveth?
It was but a little that I passed from them,
but I found him whom my soul loveth:
I held him, and would not let him go,
until I had brought him into my mother’s house,
and into the chamber of her that conceived me.
15 foxes: Predatory seducers, spoil: i.e. ‘despoil’, as always in AV.

17 Bether: Perhaps a place name: or (see margin) hills divided by deep clefts or
narrow valleys (with obvious sexual connotations).
228
Or, of division.
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5 I charge you, O ye daughters of Jerusalem,

by the roes, and by the hinds of the field,
nor awake my love,
till he please.
3:6 Who is this that cometh out of the wilderness
like pillars of smoke,
perfumed with myrrh and frankincense,
with all powders of the merchant?
Behold his bed, which is Solomon’s;
Threescore valiant men are about it,
of the valiant of Israel.
They all hold swords, being expert in war:
every man hath his sword upon his thigh
because of fear in the night.
King Solomon made himself 229a chariot
of the wood of Lebanon.
10 He made the pillars thereof of silver,
the bottom thereof of gold,
the covering of it of purple,
the midst thereof being paved with love,
for the daughters of Jerusalem.
Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion,
and behold king Solomon with the crown
wherewith his mother crowned him
in the day of his espousals,
and in the day of the gladness of his heart.
4: 1 Behold, thou art fair, my love;
behold, thou art fair;
thou hast doves’ eyes within thy locks:
thy hair is as a flock of goats,
230
that appear from mount Gilead.
Thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that are even shorn,
which came up from the washing;
whereof every one bear twins,
and none is barren among them.
Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet,
and thy speech is comely:
thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate
within thy locks.
229
Or, a bed.
230
Or, that eat of, &c.
Thy neck is like the tower of David

builded for an armoury,
whereon there hang a thousand bucklers,
all shields of mighty men.
5 Thy two breasts are like two young roes
that are twins,
which feed among the lilies.
Until the day 231break,
and the shadows flee away,
I will get me to the mountain of myrrh,
and to the hill of frankincense.
Thou art all fair, my love;
there is no spot in thee.
4: 8 Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse,

with me from Lebanon:
look from the top of Amana,
from the top of Shenir and Hermon,
from the lions’ dens,
from the mountains of the leopards.
Thou hast 232ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse;
Thou hast ravished my heart
with one of thine eyes,
with one chain of thy neck.
10 How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse!
how much better is thy love than wine!
and the smell of thine ointments than all spices!
Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as the honeycomb:
honey and milk are under thy tongue;
and the smell of thy garments
is like the smell of Lebanon.
4: 5 thy two breasts: Gv margin reads: Wherein are knowledge & zeal, two precious
jewels. BB margin: The two breasts signify the two testaments. D: Both Jews and
Greeks are fed with the principles of Christian doctrine. None wish to recognise
the clear visual imagery of these lines.
8 Amana, Shenir, Hermon: See map; dominant mountains to the north, towards
Damascus.
9 my sister, my spouse: Not literally. The phrase appears to have Egyptian origins;
the woman, by becoming a ‘spouse’, is now his closest kin.
231
Heb. breathe.
232
Or, taken away my heart.
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A garden 233enclosed is my sister, my spouse;

a spring shut up,
a fountain sealed.
Thy plants are an orchard of pomegranates,
with pleasant fruits;
234
camphire, with spikenard,
spikenard and saffron;
calamus and cinnamon,
with all trees of frankincense;
myrrh and aloes,
with all the chief spices:
15 A fountain of gardens,
a well of living waters,
and streams from Lebanon.
4: 16 Awake, O north wind;

and come, thou south;
blow upon my garden,
that the spices thereof may flow out.
let my beloved come into his garden,
and eat his pleasant fruits.
5: 1 I am come into my garden, my sister, my spouse:
I have gathered my myrrh with my spice;
I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey;
I have drunk my wine with my milk:
eat, O friends;
drink, 235yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.
5: 2 I sleep, but my heart waketh:
it is the voice of my beloved that knocketh,
saying, Open to me, my sister,
my love, my dove, my undefiled:
for my head is filled with dew,
and my locks with the drops of the night.
I have put off my coat;
how shall I put it on?
5:1 beloved: Here a plural: ‘beloved friends’.
233
Heb. barred.
234
Or, cypress.
235
Or, and be drunken with loves.
I have washed my feet;

how shall I defile them?
My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door,
and my bowels were moved 236for him.
5 I rose up to open to my beloved;
and my hands dropped with myrrh,
and my fingers with 237sweet-smelling myrrh,
upon the handles of the lock.
I opened to my beloved;
but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone:
my soul failed when he spake:
I sought him, but I could not find him;
I called him, but he gave me no answer.
The watchmen that went about the city found me,
they smote me, they wounded me;
the keepers of the walls
took away my veil from me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
if ye find my beloved, 238that ye tell him,
that I am sick of love.
What is thy beloved more than another beloved,
O thou fairest among women?
what is thy beloved more than another beloved,
that thou dost so charge us?
10 My beloved is white and ruddy,
239
the chiefest among ten thousand.
His head is as the most fine gold,
his locks are 240bushy,
and black as a raven.
His eyes are as the eyes of doves
by the rivers of waters,
washed with milk, and 241fitly set.
8 sick of love: i.e., ‘from’ love.
236
Or (as some read), in me.
237
Heb. passing, or, running about.
238
Heb. what.
239
Heb. a standard-bearer.
240
Or, curled.
241
Heb. sitting in fulness, that is, fitly placed, and set as a precious stone in the
foil of a ring.
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His cheeks are as a bed of spices,

as 242sweet flowers:
his lips like lilies,
dropping sweet smelling myrrh.
His hands are as gold rings
set with the beryl:
his belly is as bright ivory
overlaid with sapphires.
15 His legs are as pillars of marble,
set upon sockets of fine gold:
his countenance is as Lebanon,
excellent as the cedars.
243
His mouth is most sweet:
yea, he is altogether lovely.
This is my beloved,
and this is my friend,
O daughters of Jerusalem.
6:1 Whither is thy beloved gone,
O thou fairest among women?
whither is thy beloved turned aside?
that we may seek him with thee.
My beloved is gone down into his garden,
to the beds of spices,
to feed in the gardens,
and to gather lilies.
I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine:
he feedeth among the lilies.
6: 4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah,

comely as Jerusalem,
terrible as an army with banners.
5 Turn away thine eyes from me,
for 244they have overcome me:
thy hair is as a flock of goats
that appear from Gilead.
6:4 Tirzah means ‘delightfulness’; a fine Canaanite town (see map, p. 544); between
the times of Joshua and Samuel a holy city where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.
242
Or, towers of perfumes.
243
Heb. His palate.
244
Or, they have puffed me up.
Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep

which go up from the washing,
whereof every one beareth twins,
and there is not one barren among them.
As a piece of a pomegranate
are thy temples within thy locks.
There are threescore queens,
and fourscore concubines,
and virgins without number.
My dove, my undefiled is but one;
she is the only one of her mother,
she is the choice one of her that bare her.
The daughters saw her, and blessed her;
yea, the queens and the concubines,
and they praised her.
10 Who is she that looketh forth as the morning,
fair as the moon,
clear as the sun,
and terrible as an army with banners?
6: 11 I went down into the garden of nuts
to see the fruits of the valley,
and to see whether the vine flourished,
and the pomegranates budded.
245
Or ever I was aware, my soul 246made me
like the chariots of Ammi-nadib.
Return, return, O Shulamite;
return, return, that we may look upon thee.
what will ye see in the Shulamite?
as it were the company 247of two armies.
12 Ammi-nadib: AV (except in the margin) does not attempt to translate a difficult

word. Most modern versions prefer to see it as not a name, and read, ‘chariots
of my people’. But what does the translation then mean?
13 Shulamite: Of Shunem: Or (perhaps) this is a name or title, the feminine of
Solomon. Traditionally, the Shulamite was supposed to be the beloved one through-
out the book.
245
Heb. I knew not.
246
Or, set me on the chariots of my willing people.
247
Or, of Mahanaim.
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7:1 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes,

O prince’s daughter!
the joints of thy thighs are like jewels,
the work of the hands of a cunning workman.
Thy navel is like a round goblet,
which wanteth not 248liquor:
thy belly is like an heap of wheat
set about with lilies.
Thy two breasts are like two young roes
that are twins.
Thy neck is as a tower of ivory;
thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon,
by the gate of Bath-rabbim:
thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon
which looketh toward Damascus.
5 Thine head upon thee is like 249Carmel,
and the hair of thine head like purple;
the king is 250held in the galleries.
How fair and how pleasant art thou,
O love, for delights!
This thy stature is like to a palm-tree,
and thy breasts to clusters of grapes.
I said, I will go up to the palm tree,
I will take hold of the boughs thereof:
now also thy breasts shall be as clusters of the vine,
and the smell of thy nose like apples;
and the roof of thy mouth like the best wine
for my beloved,
7:1–10 Brenner (1990: 251–75) reads this song as a lewd parody of the wedding
songs in 4:1–5 and 5:10 – 16. Other commentors agree that euphemisms occur:
e.g., 7:2 navel for vulva: cf. Job 40:17 but see the verse as sincere.
4 Heshbon: A fine town, east of the Dead Sea (see map). Remains of an exten-
sive reservoir still exist.
Bath-rabbim: An uncertain allusion, though the drift is clear.
5 galleries: A mistranslation, though the text is obscure. Probably a continued
reference to hair (RSV, NAS, JB, NIV tresses).
7 palm-tree: A common symbol of feminine beauty; the word is Tamar, a well-
known name (see p. 157, and Pharez, n, p. 150).
8 smell of thy nose: Better, ‘fragrance of thy breath’.
248
Heb. mixture.
249
Or, crimson.
250
Heb. bound.
that goeth down 251sweetly,

causing the lips 252of those that are asleep to speak.
7: 10 I am my beloved’s,
and his desire is toward me.
Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field;
let us lodge in the villages.
Let us get up early to the vineyards;
let us see if the vine flourish,
whether the tender grape 253appear,
and the pomegranates bud forth:
there will I give thee my loves.
The mandrakes give a smell,
and at our gates are all manner
of pleasant fruits, new and old,
which I have laid up for thee, O my beloved.
8: 1 O that thou wert as my brother,
that sucked the breasts of my mother!
when I should find thee without, I would kiss thee;
yea, 254I should not be despised.
I would lead thee, and bring thee
into my mother’s house, who would instruct me:
I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine
of the juice of my pomegranate.
His left hand should be under my head,
and his right hand should embrace me.
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem,
255
nor awake my love,
until he please.
8:5 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness,
leaning upon her beloved?
9 roof of thy mouth: No doubt meant to be taken allusively: perhaps as ‘speech’,

or the speaking voice.
13 mandrakes : A well-known aphrodisiac: see Gen 30:14n, p. 84.
251
Heb. straightly.
252
Or, of the ancient.
253
Heb. open.
254
Heb. they should not despise me.
255
Heb. why should ye stir up, or, why, &c.
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EPILOGUE TO THE OLD TESTAMENT 343
I raised thee up under the apple tree:

there thy mother brought thee forth:
there she brought thee forth that bare thee.
Set me as a seal upon thine heart,
as a seal upon thine arm:
for love is strong as death;
jealousy is 256cruel as the grave:
the coals thereof are coals of fire,
which hath a most vehement flame.
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it:
if a man would give all the substance of his house for love,
it would utterly be contemned.
Epilogue to the Old Testament

The story of the Old Testament ends with Malachi in fifth-century
Jerusalem, newly rebuilt after the Exile; on the next page in most Bibles,
Matthew opens with the birth of Jesus. The ‘Writings’ were written
in the space between the two, but in no way fill in the narrative.
Attached to the Old Testament, in both Jewish and Christian tradi-
tions, are the Apocrypha (see p. 16). This is a mixed group of writings
in Greek, which do include some history (1–2 Maccabees), dealing
principally with the years 168 –160 bc, besides fictional narrative
(e.g. Susannah, Bel and the Dragon, Tobit); and some ‘Wisdom’
and mystic literature. Although they contain much fine writing, and
some very attractive narrative, they have never won whole-hearted
admission to either canon.
Between the Apocrypha and the Gospels there is an uneasy hiatus,
which the New Testament seems to make no attempt to bridge. Yet
everything had changed in those centuries. The ancient superpowers,
Assyria, Babylon and Persia, were long gone. Alexander conquered,
and his successors ruled; then the Maccabean revolt of 168 bc began
a century of independence, until the Romans came in 63 bc.
In this time, attitudes to religion among the Jews changed profoundly;
Job and Ecclesiastes are among the witnesses to this. Partly as an effect
8:7 if a man . . . : This appears to be separate from the preceding line: the remain-
ing lines (a few only) are later additions.
contemned: Despised.
256
Heb. hard.
344 EPILOGUE TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
of conquest, Judaism had spread across the Near East. Ezra’s demands
for tribal separatism were largely ignored; Alexandria became a greater
centre of the faith than Jerusalem, while the community of the exile
throve in Babylon for a thousand years. But the Law of Moses and his
One God subsisted uneasily alongside the imperial religion which,
while recognising many gods, deified its Emperor above all others.
Some militants looked for the Messiah presaged in the Old Testa-
ment, to deal with Rome and fulfil the Promise to Abraham, but for
most, private religion became more and more important.
Nevertheless, the sense of independent national identity persisted
through works which, in many forms, had made the ‘chosen people’
from Abraham to Elijah a symbol of cultural nationhood. They all
centred on the Law, in its widest sense; round it grew up a wealth
of interpretation, comment and parable, a tradition continuing to
this day. For us, its most valuable literary creation was probably
the tradition of the midrash haggadah or ‘narrative commentary’,
whereby biblical stories were expounded with symbolic or legendary
embellishments, a tradition that continued well into the Christian
era. A special development was the pseudepigrapha, ‘pseudonymous
writings’, first appearing in the last centuries bc and continuing for
centuries more. In the Bible itself, Daniel, with its extensions of
narrative of Nebuchadnezzar, may be counted among them. They
are often fragmentary, but make fascinating reading.
This was the tradition into which the authors of the New Testament
were born; presumably they did not think it necessary to expound
such familiar concepts and images, which nevertheless had a profound
and lasting influence on the imagery of Christianity. In particular,
this is the origin of our notions of the angelic hierarchy, of Satan
and his rival body of devils, and of an eternal heaven and hell. These
are no more than embryonic in the Old Testament, as for example
in Job 1:6ff. (p. 280), where Satan is one of the angels in God’s ‘court’.
Indeed Satan may not be a true name, but a description, ‘the accuser’.
We must look in those extra-canonical books for a fuller picture of
these figures.
SATAN, THE ANGELS AND PARADISE

In such works as the Books of Jubilees (second century bc) and
Enoch (second to first century bc) and similar books we find these
familiar images. In Enoch Chapter 40 there are four archangels;
in Chapter 20 there are seven, including Michael, Raphael, Gabriel
and Uriel, each with specified duties. Raphael has charge ‘over the
spirits of men’: in Paradise Lost v–viii Milton has him advising Adam
and Eve. Gabriel is set over ‘all the powers’, and the gates of Paradise,
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EPILOGUE TO THE OLD TESTAMENT 345
again as in Milton. In Enoch Chapter 54 the demons (satans) are

cast down into the pit, much as in Rev 20:10 (p. 489).
Satan himself, as an individual angel, emerges later, often hidden
under different names. He may be identified with Lucifer, or Belial
(angel of anarchy). In Jubilees 17:15ff. (under the name Mastema) it is
Satan, not God, who tempts Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, and is shamed.
In 2 Enoch 31 (a work unconnected with the Book of Enoch) Adam’s
life in Paradise is summarised: there all is light without darkness
(compare Rev 21:23, p. 507), and God opens the heavens so that Adam
may see the angels. But the devil resents this new world, and leaves
heaven, planning revenge on Adam through Eve. In Chapter 29
his rebellion is narrated: when God ordered the angels to worship
Adam as his own image, Gabriel obeyed, but Satan refused and was
dismissed from heaven. In the Apocalypse of Moses 15:1ff. (second cen-
tury ad: the Greek version of The Life of Adam and Eve) Eve gives
her account of the Fall, where we see part of Milton’s ultimate source.
Satan bribes the serpent, speaking through him to tempt Eve, who,
when she bites the fruit, sees herself at once ‘naked of the glory of
righteousness that had hitherto covered her’. The stories in these
books are often inconsistent with one another, but they build up
the pictures of Heaven and Hell, of angels and devils, with which
we are all familiar.
Further reading. For text of the books mentioned above, see Charles
(1913) or Charlesworth (1983, 1985); for analysis and discussion, Gabel
and Wheeler (1986: 144 – 63) and D. S. Russell (1987).
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T H E N E W T E S TA M E N T
Since the New Testament deals with the fulfilment of the promise
made to Abraham in Genesis, it may be read as the dénouement of
the Old Testament, and this is certainly one way in which the New
Testament presents itself. However, the gap of almost 500 years
between the compilation of the Old Testament historical narratives
in the sixth to fifth centuries bc, and the working life of Jesus, is
still marked. Even allowing for the intervening material supplied by
the Writings and the Apocrypha, the difference of attitudes between
Old and New Testaments is still important (see Gabel and Wheeler
1986: 144–63). The dream of Israel’s apotheosis might still be retained
in the Law and the national rituals, but for most of this time, except
for the century 163–63 bc, Judea, a shadow of Solomon’s Israel, had
remained a vassal state of some other dominant power. The arrival
of the Messiah, God’s delegated heir who would deliver Israel,
remained a dream. Nevertheless, there were always freedom-fighters
ready to find one, and Jesus might have seemed the answer, at first
(pp. 373–4).
In reality, Roman law was firmly in force, and the application of
the Mosaic Law was restricted to ritual observance and individual
morality. In John’s Gospel, Pilate is seen trying to exploit this dis-
tinction by shunting the case against Jesus into the harmless hands
of ‘native law and custom’. Jewish religion, guided by the Pharisaic
movement, had become more personal. Michael Grant (1973: 83–95)
sets out the situation in full, showing also why the New Testament is
often as hostile to Judaism as it is dependent on it. The New Testament
presents the Law, so dear to the Pharisees, as a burden rather than the
guiding force of the nation. Bunyan allegorises this as the load of sin
laid on his pilgrim, and increasing with every formal trangression.
From this viewpoint, the New Testament follows three main themes:
the proclamation of the Messiah – not the expected nationalist
military hero of the zealots, but a hero beyond nationalism, with
divine rather than human origins and powers; the displacement of
the Law and its penalties for sin by a morality expressed in the Messiah
himself as model; and the imminence of the Messiah’s return to fulfil
348 THE NEW TESTAMENT
the promise that Abraham’s ‘children’, now identified as all humanity,

should find an ideal and secure home in Revelation’s city-kingdom
of God.
The New Testament, like the Old, is a selection of acceptable works,
edited into shape; it was chosen from many available writings some
time after the middle of the second century ad. The Old Testament,
though pivoting on the Babylonian exile, follows the fortunes of a
nation through many centuries; by contrast, the New Testament is
a concentrated collection, centred on the single figure of Jesus. It
was written for the most part in little more than half a century: Paul’s
own Epistles are dated earliest, c.ad 50– 60, and some of the minor
Epistles last, in the early second century ad (see p. 438). Like the
Old Testament, the New Testament falls into three parts – narrative,
polemical, and ‘poetic’. The narratives are the most immediately avail-
able, but each group has its own quality and literary attractions. None
should be neglected.
Further reading. For background material throughout, besides Grant
(1973), see IDB, Alter and Kermode (1987) and Kümmel (1975). Ryken
(1984b) is a very useful compendium of critical comment; Aune (1987)
is invaluable in the background that it provides to the literary era
in which the New Testament writers operated, as well as for the specific
information given about works which were not admitted to the canon.
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THE GOSPELS
Of the four Gospels, Mark is by general consensus dated c.ad 65 –70,

before or about the time of the catastrophic ending in ad 70 of
the Jewish revolt, when Jerusalem was destroyed. Matthew is usu-
ally dated after 80, when Christians were finally excluded from the
synagogues, although some scholars date it as late as 100, or even
120. Luke, with its continuation in Acts, is normally dated 70 –80,
though some place it as early as 65. These variations remind us once
again that the dating of the New Testament is more intelligent con-
jecture than certainty.
It is a mistake to read the Gospels as ‘biographies’ of Jesus, coloured
by moral stories and enlivened by miracles to give him supernatural
status. Meagher (1970: 19) declares simply that ‘the Gospels are gather-
ings of significant stories about Jesus (and others connected with
him)’, and warns us against making larger claims for the genre. Aune
(1987), on the other hand, compares the Gospels with Graeco-Roman
biographies, whose structure was ‘a fundamentally chronological frame-
work provided by a person’s life . . . amplified by anecdotes, maxims,
speeches, and documents’ (1987: 33), and whose function was com-
monly propaganda, ‘presenting the subject as a paradigm of virtue’
(1987: 35), or even as a god. Aune argues that ‘an analysis of the
constituent literary features of the Gospels situates them comfortably
within . . . ancient biographical conventions in form and function’
(1987: 46). All these viewpoints are valuable, and dangerous if taken
further than their presenters intend. Exactly whom the Gospels were
written for, and with what intentions, are questions constantly debated;
but some things are as certain as can be in this disputed field.
The Gospels were not primarily compiled as a record for future ages,
nor constructed to attract the reader’s interest, or to display the
author’s understanding of the subject’s character. Even though Jesus
is the centre of the narrative, and his actions alone are chronicled,
the only events narrated are those significant to the narrator. This
is a special kind of polemical narrative, in which every incident is
a pointer to the proposition that Jesus is the Messiah, the ‘son of
David’, who came to establish the Kingdom of God, and so to fulfil
350 THE GOSPELS
the Promise to Abraham (if in a very unexpected manner). He will

return, perhaps soon, to see the work completed, and until then,
everything is temporary. This belief echoes throughout the New
Testament, even though now we generally disregard it.
Nor are these Eastern versions of the Grimms’ folk-tales, magical
stories designed to impress the simple. The miraculous element has
a clear purpose: to set the history firmly in the tradition of the Old
Testament symbolism. The wonders of the opening pages of Matthew
and Luke are recognisable signs that the emerging protagonist is
the long-awaited, divinely appointed Messiah. Such allusiveness per-
vades the New Testament, particularly in the details of the Gospels,
whether realistic or wonderful. In Mark there is no such introduc-
tion; only at the very end, after the starkly realistic writing of the
Crucifixion narrative, does any element of the miraculous appear.
There it is saved for the climax, the Resurrection, and most skilfully
understated. In the Gospels as a whole, the ‘miracle’ stories of calming
the sea, or of feeding vast crowds, are in effect a form of teaching,
a kind of acted parable.
Each Gospel has a distinctive character. John has a momentum, and
a style, of his own (see p. 403). Matthew probably wrote for Jewish
Christians at the time when the split between them and traditional
Judaism had become final and was still painful. He is a teacher as much
as a narrator, angry at Pharisaism, and keen to demonstrate that it was
Jesus whose teachings truly fulfilled the Law and the Prophets. His
style, as far as it comes through in AV, is less striking than Mark and
less gracious than Luke, but the Sermon on the Mount, the parables
of righteousness, and the detailed linking of the Old Testament with
the New are irreplaceable. His didactic purpose produces a sectional
organisation, with narrative intervening between blocks of teaching.
Luke, writing for a cultured Gentile audience, to persuade them
of the universal validity of Jesus’ kingship, is a more polished writer
than the others. This quality is largely lost in translation; what is
not lost is his emphasis on Jesus as the defender of the poor, the
inadequate and the self-destructive. He also is persuasive rather than
simply narrative.
Besides the use of allusion to the Old Testament common in all
the Gospels, irony and paradox are much more than mere rhetorical
figures. Paradox is part of the substance of the Gospels: it begins with
Matthew’s narration of the miraculous royal birth, in a cow-house.
This hero is claimed as the Messiah, yet his claim rests on repudia-
tion of the royal dignity of Solomon or the physical prowess of David,
expected of the heroic avenger of Israel. This paradox is treated not
as an embarrassment to be overcome, but as central. Jesus himself
seems to have a great liking for irony and paradox, using them often
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THE GOSPELS 351
to enliven episodes and parables, and to sharpen disputatious remarks.

It is not a superficial quality. It marks out the revolutionary nature
of this interpretation of tradition, and gives a sharp edge to a record
which could so easily become as trite, sentimental, or pompous as
it so often is in the myriad ‘Bible Stories’ which retell the same events
without this seasoning relish of acid paradox.
Inevitably, all these narratives are dominated by the figure of Jesus,
most of all at the climax, the Crucifixion–Resurrection sequence. This,
though it covers only a few days’ events, is the focus of each Gospel,
almost a third of the total space. The treatment in each one is charac-
teristic and distinctive – note for example the extensive treatment
of post-Resurrection events in Luke, balancing his equally extensive
introduction (pp. 404, 413–14). But in each case, from the point at
which Jesus sets out for Jerusalem, the stream of narrative becomes
dominant, with a ‘plot’ to control it. Symbolically, this sequence takes
up the Deliverance theme from Exodus; it is a most audacious real-
isation of the underdog-hero theme found in every culture. Artistic
tradition (unfortunately for thought, if not for art) has dwelt heavily
on an incomplete form of the story, the Crucifixion. The centre of
gravity is the Resurrection, and the briefness of its treatment in the
Gospels does not shift the weight away from it (compare Milton’s
equally brief climax to Paradise Lost, ix:997–1005). The readers know
the end of the story; the emphasis on the fearful attack on Jesus
serves only to build up the certainty with which he breaks free. Even
when religious considerations are set aside, this is a powerful plot.
Further reading. From the multitude of studies of these books,
one may select Drury (1987) for a good beginning, together with
Aune (1987) for background. Other works of particular interest are:
Caird (1980); Fuller (1966); Gabel and Wheeler (1986); Juel (1978);
Kermode (1979); Patte and Patte (1978); Prickett (1991); Pritchard
(1970); Ryken (1984a, b); Wainwright (1991); Warner (1990); and
see Jeffrey (1992: 395 – 9).
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St Mark’s Gospel
In Mark more than any of the other Gospels, narrative predominates.
His writing has the strength of a telling economy of expression,
spare, matter-of-fact, unpretentious. At first reading it may give the
impression of an almost careless collection of episodic and very varied
material, conveniently assembled. There are personal encounters with
the sick, and verbal battles with adversaries up from Jerusalem; pointed
aphorisms; more or less elaborate parables; some set pieces, such
as the healing of the paralysed man (p. 356). Events are narrated,
dialogue reported, teaching documented and that, it seems, is all.
The spareness of the narrative is deceptive. This is neither artless
writing nor literary composition for its own sake. Everything is grist
to the mill. Mark is notable for telling detail, as when he depicts Jesus
‘in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow’ (4:38, p. 361) where
the others say only that he was in a ship and had to be awoken.
Imaginative material is expanded only to emphasise a point. Items
of teaching are clustered to balance the narrative episodes. Mark’s
figure of Jesus emerges and dominates throughout because of, and
not in spite of, this fragmentary, episodic form which never draws
attention to itself.
Mark is chosen for the principal selection, chiefly because he
provides the most concise narrative. Important passages found only
in Matthew and Luke follow, for fuller representation, for their own
worth and to illustrate the qualities of these Gospels.
JOHN THE BAPTIST

1: 1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of
God; as it is written in the prophets,
Behold, I send my messenger before thy face,
Which shall prepare thy way before thee.
The voice of one crying in the wilderness,
Prepare ye the way of the Lord,
make his paths straight.
1:2 Behold . . . face: Malachi 3:1 (cf. 4:5): this refers back to Exod 23:20: ‘Behold,
I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the
place which I have prepared’.
3 The voice . . . straight: Isa 40:3 (p. 251). This is LXX (p. 15); the Hebrew reads,
not ‘voice in the wilderness’, but ‘make straight in the wilderness’.
354 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JOHN THE BAPTIST
John did baptize in the wilderness, and preach the baptism

5 of repentance 1for the remission of sins. And there went out
unto him all the land of Judæa, and they of Jerusalem, and
were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing
their sins. And John was clothed with camel’s hair, and with
a girdle of a skin about his loins; and he did eat locusts
and wild honey; and preached, saying, There cometh one
mightier than I after me, the latchet of whose shoes I am not
worthy to stoop down and unloose. I indeed have baptized
you with water: but he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost.
And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came from
Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
10 And straightway coming up out of the water, he saw the
heavens 2opened, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon
him: and there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
And immediately the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness.
And he was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of
Satan; and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered
unto him.
4 for (margin unto): The apparently trivial alternatives hide a major issue, the
difference between Catholic and Protestant. Rh’s penance unto remission implies
that the (Catholic) institution of penance is needed to bring remission, whereas
repentance is personal, and for is a weaker, less prescriptive word than unto. Gv
translates the Greek much more freely than usual here, to make the point: ‘the
baptism of amendment of life, for remission . . .’. AV accepts the standard Protestant
reading, but not so absolutely as to exclude the alternative from the margin.
5 confessing: Tn 1526 avoided this ecclesiastical word with ‘knowledging their sins’,
but returns to ‘confessing’ in 1534: see previous note.
6 clothed . . . hair : Elijah was ‘an hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather
about his loins’ (2 Kgs 1:8). John, like Elijah, eats desert food (incidentally, highly
nutritious). Mark thus identifies him again as the prophet who would signal the
arrival of the Messiah (see Malachi 4:1, p. 267). See also Jeffrey (1992: 406 – 8).
10 Spirit, like a dove : The verse echoes Isa 42: 1: ‘I have put my spirit upon [my
servant]’. The dove is now a familiar symbol of peace or love (cf. also Noah’s
dove, Gen 8:8 – 12), but its significance in the first century ad is not known. This
passage seems to be the source, rather than an example, of the meaning which
has surrounded the symbol. John, although plainly a charismatic figure, now dis-
appears from the narrative, apart from passing references, until the account of
his death (6:14ff., p. 365).
13 forty days: Traditional Hebrew idiom for ‘a long time’. The rain fell 40 days
and nights in Noah’s flood, Israel wandered 40 years in the wilderness, and was
tempted, as Jesus is tempted 40 days and nights (Matt 4: 7), etc; cf. Homer’s
ten-year sequences, or the common use of threes in folklore.
1
Or, unto.
2
Or, cloven, or, rent.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JESUS IN GALILEE 355
JESUS IN GALILEE
1: 14 Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and
saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at
hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon
and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they
were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me,
and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straight-
way they forsook their nets, and followed him. And when
he had gone a little further thence, he saw James the son
of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the
20 ship mending their nets. And straightway he called them:
and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired
servants, and went after him.
And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the
sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught. And
they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as
one that had authority, and not as the scribes.
And there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean
spirit; and he cried out, saying, Let us alone; what have we
to do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? art thou come to
destroy us? I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of
1:14 Galilee: a northern district in Herod’s dominion, about the size of a county (see
map). It had its own identity and regional pride, and a reputation for turbulence.
In Mark, Jesus conducts most of his work in Galilee, leaving only for the north
(p. 369) towards the end, before beginning his critical journey to Jerusalem
(p. 372).
21 Capernaum: An important city on the north-west shore of the inland Sea of
Galilee (see map, p. 544).
22 scribes: The priesthood was reserved to the tribe of Levi (Num 17: 12–18: 7), and
the elders (8:31n, p. 369), co-opted their members, but no priestly or ‘ordained’
status was needed to assume a scribe’s authority. (The ideal scribe is characterised
in Ecclesiasticus 39:1–11 in the Apocrypha.) Jesus is acting like one of them in that
his activities – interpreting the Law, counselling, preaching – resemble theirs.
The contrast lies between their meticulous scholasticism and his independence
and innate authority. They claim only to interpret the God-given Law; he, by
ignoring ‘essential’ questions about the origin of the disease in the man’s sins,
remitting them without question and healing him, virtually claims executive power.
The rituals ask God to do these things; the Scribes discuss procedures for avoid-
ing offence, or for ‘paying fines’ to avert its consequences. Jesus steps far beyond
their limits. The incident is also a good example of attitudes to fact. This story
is not presented as proof of Jesus’ Messianic status, but as a symbolic illustration
of it. Mark’s audience would assume that miracles were possible, but would expect
them to have a meaning.
356 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JESUS IN GALILEE
25 God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace, and
come out of him.
And when the unclean spirit had torn him, and cried
with a loud voice, he came out of him. And they were all
amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves
saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for
with authority commandeth he the unclean spirits, and they
do obey him. And immediately his fame spread abroad
throughout all the region round about Galilee.
And forthwith, when they were come out of the synagogue,
they entered into the house of Simon and Andrew, with
30 James and John. But Simon’s wife’s mother lay sick of a
fever, and anon they tell him of her. And he came and took
her by the hand, and lifted her up; and immediately the
fever left her, and she ministered unto them.
And at even, when the sun did set, they brought unto
him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed
with devils. And all the city was gathered together at the
door. And he healed many that were sick of divers diseases,
and cast out many devils; and suffered not the devils 3to
speak, because they knew him . . .
2:1 And again he entered into Capernaum after some days; and
it was noised that he was in the house. And straightway
many were gathered together, insomuch that there was no
room to receive them, no, not so much as about the door:
and he preached the word unto them.
And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was borne of four. And when they could not come
nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where
he was: and when they had broken it up, they let down the
5 bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. When Jesus saw their
faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee.
2:3 palsy: Paralysis.

4 press: Crowd. Press has a longer history in this sense than crowd, which OED
records as a verb only, until 1567.
5 be: i.e. ‘have [already] been forgiven’, not ‘I have now forgiven’. The use of
be for are is a southern form common in sixteenth-century texts. Tn, Gv, Rh
have are; Cv, BB, be.
3
Or, to say that they knew him.
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But there were certain of the scribes sitting there, and

reasoning in their hearts, Why doth this man thus speak
blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?
And immediately when Jesus perceived in his spirit that
they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto them, Why
reason ye these things in your hearts? Whether is it easier
to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to
10 say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that ye may
know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive
sins (he saith to the sick of the palsy), I say unto thee, Arise,
and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house. And
immediately he arose, took up the bed, and went forth before
them all; insomuch that they were all amazed, and glorified
God, saying, We never saw it on this fashion.
And he went forth again by the sea side; and all the
multitude resorted unto him, and he taught them. And as
he passed by, he saw Levi the son of Alphæus sitting 4at the
receipt of custom, and said unto him, Follow me. And he
arose and followed him.
15 And it came to pass, that, as Jesus sat at meat in his house,
many publicans and sinners sat also together with Jesus
and his disciples: for there were many, and they followed
7 this man: Tn has the more contemptuous follow, but no one follows him. The
Greek expression is neutral, as the italics imply: ‘this [one]’.
9 Whether: ‘Which of two?’: the interrogative equivalent of either: see p. 40, and
Eccles 11:6, p. 327.
10 the Son of man: An obscure phrase, perhaps Aramaic in origin. At times it could
mean simply, ‘this son of man’, i.e. ‘me’, or ‘you’, as in Ezek (pp. 245–6). Mann’s
translation (1986: 223) has The Man here. By the New Testament times, the term
had come commonly to refer to the Messiah in his expected power and judgment,
developing the image of Daniel 7:13 (p. 274). For readers of AV in the sixteenth-
to nineteenth-centuries ad it seemed to be a title for Jesus as Christ. It is Jesus’
chief term for himself, and it is sometimes hard to know whether or not he intends
it as a title. However, the phrase, hath power on earth, seems to imply, ‘the Son of
Man is here, and has power already’. For a discussion of the problem, see Mann
(1986: 225–8); for a summary of the New Testament use, and a (somewhat
controversial) discussion of the term, see Goppelt (1982: 90 – 7).
14 Levi: Matthew the disciple.
15 publicans : Tax-gatherers. They were suspected of profiteering and extortion,
and much hated, as servants of a detested government (whether Herod or Rome).
In Luke 19:8, the tax-collector Zaccheus makes a virtue of having clean hands: ‘If
I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold.’
4
Or, at the place where the custom was received.
358 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JESUS IN GALILEE
him. And when the scribes and Pharisees saw him eat with
publicans and sinners, they said unto his disciples, How is
it that he eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners?
When Jesus heard it, he saith unto them, They that are whole
have no need of the physician, but they that are sick: I came
not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
And the disciples of John and of the Pharisees used to
fast: and they come and say unto him, Why do the disciples
of John and of the Pharisees fast, but thy disciples fast
not? And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the
bridechamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them? as
long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.
20 But the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken
away from them, and then shall they fast in those days.
No man also seweth a piece of 5new cloth on an old gar-
ment: else the new piece that filled it up taketh away from
the old, and the rent is made worse. And no man putteth
new wine into old bottles: else the new wine doth burst
the bottles, and the wine is spilled, and the bottles will be
marred: but new wine must be put into new bottles.
And it came to pass, that he went through the corn fields
on the sabbath day; and his disciples began, as they went,
to pluck the ears of corn. And the Pharisees said unto him,
Behold, why do they on the sabbath day that which is not
lawful?
25 And he said unto them, Have ye never read what David
did, when he had need, and was an hungered, he, and they
that were with him? How he went into the house of God
16 Pharisees : Priests, elders, scribes and Pharisees are often mentioned together.
The first two held offices (see Chief priests, 11:27n p. 365), and the third a pro-
fession (see Scribes, 1:22n p. 355). Any of them could be a member of the ‘party’
of the Pharisees, the puritans of Judaism. (The priests were more probably Sadducees
– ‘followers of Zadok’, Solomon’s High Priest; they stood by the original Law
of the Pentateuch, seeing later tradition as not authoritative, and rejecting newer
beliefs such as immortality and the rewards of Heaven and Hell, which the Pharisees
accepted.) Jesus gave the Pharisees a rough handling, whence their bad name,
which is not entirely deserved. They set high standards, insisting on detailed
observation of every point of Mosaic Law, and of the Midrashic traditions which
had developed from it (see p. 344). The Gospels, however, see the Pharisees as
at best misguided in their belief that virtue lay in the correct observance of Law,
and at worst as hypocritical.
2:21 a piece of new cloth: Rh, raw (Vg, panni rudis); all others as AV. Modern
versions (e.g. RSV, NEB, NIV) have ‘unshrunk’, making the point clear.
5
Or, raw, or unwrought.
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in the days of Abiathar the high priest, and did eat the
shewbread, which is not lawful to eat but for the priests,
and gave also to them which were with him? And he said
unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man
for the sabbath: therefore the Son of man is Lord also of
the sabbath.
The remaining eight disciples are added to the group: Simon is nick-
named Peter.
3: 19 And they went into an 6house. And the multitude cometh
together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread.
And when his 7friends heard of it, they went out to lay
hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. And the
scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath
Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out
devils.
And he called them unto him, and said unto them in
parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom
be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And
25 if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he
cannot stand, but hath an end. No man can enter into a
strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first
bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto
the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they
shall blaspheme: but he that shall blaspheme against the
Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of
30 eternal damnation: because they said, He hath an unclean
spirit.
26 Abiathar . . . shewbread: The incident is in 1 Sam 21: 1– 6, when David was

hiding from Saul. The loaves of the shewbread (Exod 25: 30) were renewed weekly
(Lev 24:5 –9); being sacred (the custom must derive from the era when a god had
to be fed), they were not thrown away, but eaten by the priests. See also Mack
(1990: 52).
3:22 Beelzebub: One of the greatest in the hierarchy of devils, as opposed to the
archangels. The concept of such angelic hierarchies was well established in the
New Testament times: see Epilogue to the New Testament, p. 343.
23 Satan: See 8:33n.
27 spoil: ‘steal’.
6
Or, home.
7
Or, kinsmen.
360 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

4: 1 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was
gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered
into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was
by the sea on the land.
And he taught them many things by parables, and said
unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out
a sower to sow: and it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell
by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured
5 it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much
earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth
of earth: but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and
because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell
among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and
it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did
yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth,
some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear.
OTHER SAYINGS
4: 26 And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should
cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night
and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he
knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of
herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn
in the ear. But when the fruit is 8brought forth, immediately
he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.
30 And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of
God? Or with what comparison shall we compare it? It is
like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the
earth, is less than all the seeds which be in the earth: but
when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than
4:2 parables: Greek, Vg parabola. The parable, far from being particular to Jesus,
is a classic Jewish religious and literary form used (as Jesus uses it) to illustrate
the scriptures.
6 was scorched: Tn, Gt, Gv, BB, caught heat.
8 did yield: See pp. 47–8.
4: 31 mustard seed: A proverbial contrast: the grown plant is a large shrub.
8
Or, ripe.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE GADARENE SWINE 361
all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls
of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.
And with many such parables spake he the word unto
them, as they were able to hear it. But without a parable
spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he
expounded all things to his disciples.
CALMING THE STORM

4: 35 And the same day, when the even was come, he saith unto
them, Let us pass over unto the other side. And when they
had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he
was in the ship. And there were also with him other little
ships. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves
beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in
the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they
awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that
we perish?
And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the
sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a
40 great calm. And he said unto them, Why are ye so fearful?
how is it that you have no faith?
And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another,
What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the
sea obey him?
THE GADARENE SWINE

5: 1 And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into
the country of the Gadarenes.
And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there
met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,
who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could
bind him, no, not with chains: because that he had been
often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been
4: 35 the other side of the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake about 13 miles long and
rich in fish.
37 beat: Gv, BB, dashed.
38 hinder part : Tn, Gv, BB, stern.
awake: The switching of tenses, characteristic of folk-narrative, is in the Greek
text.
41 what manner of man: Tn, what fellow; Gv, BB, who.
5:1 Gadarenes of Gadara, beyond Jordan, a town noted for its medicinal waters.
362 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE GADARENE SWINE
plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces:

5 neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day,
he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and
cutting himself with stones.
But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped
him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to
do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure
thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto
him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked
him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name
10 is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much
that he would not send them away out of the country.
Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great
herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him,
saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them.
And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean
spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd
ran violently down a steep place into the sea (they were about
two thousand); and were choked in the sea.
And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city,
and in the country. And they went out to see what it was
15 that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was
possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and
clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And
they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was
possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And
they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
And when he was come into the ship, he that had been
possessed with the devil prayed him that he might be with
him. Howbeit Jesus suffered him not, but saith unto him,
Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the
Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee.
9 Legion: A Roman military term, legio, here transliterated into Greek. The con-
notation is always military (the one other use in the New Testament is Matt
26: 53, ‘twelve legions of angels’). Although Gadara was not in occupied Judæa,
the occupying army had impressed itself on the man’s mind. Perhaps there is a
political flavour to the narrative, and some wishful thinking; the pigs (unclean
animals) received the souls of the Roman demons, and drowned themselves. There
is also an irony: Jesus, like any good folk-hero, outwits the devils, who think
they will be safe from a Jew in the pigs’ bodies. Meagher (1970), perhaps hyper-
critically, finds the narrative clumsy.
12 devils: We must beware of the connotations of later tradition. The word here
indicates simply, ‘spirits which disease the mind’.
19 suffered: i.e. ‘permitted’.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER 363
And he departed, and began to publish in Decapolis how

great things Jesus had done for him: and all men did marvel.
JAIRUS’ DAUGHTER
5: 21 And when Jesus was passed over again by ship unto the other
side, much people gathered unto him: and he was nigh unto
the sea. And behold, there cometh one of the rulers of the
synagogue, Jairus by name; and when he saw him, he fell at
his feet, and besought him greatly, saying, My little daughter
lieth at the point of death: I pray thee, come and lay thy
hands on her, that she may be healed; and she shall live.
And Jesus went with him; and much people followed him,
and thronged him.
25 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve
years, and had suffered many things of many physicians,
and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered,
but rather grew worse, when she had heard of Jesus, came
in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she
said, If I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And
straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and
she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
30 And Jesus, immediately knowing in himself that virtue
had gone out of him, turned him about in the press, and
said, Who touched my clothes? And his disciples said unto
him, Thou seest the multitude thronging thee, and sayest
thou, Who touched me? And he looked round about to
see her that had done this thing. But the woman fearing
and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and
fell down before him, and told him all the truth. And he
said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole;
go in peace, and be whole of thy plague.
20 Decapolis : ‘Ten towns’: an area, now largely in north-west Jordan, which had
been settled by Greek colonies in the wake of Alexander (see map, p. 544).
5:25 an issue of blood: By Lev 15:25–30, she was ritually unclean; not only was she barred
from the place set aside for women in the Temple; she rendered ‘unclean’ anything
or person she touched. Hence her fear of discovery; the ‘uncleanness’ must be
purified by careful, time-consuming ritual. Jesus again inverts the Law; ‘virtue’ goes
from him to her, not ‘uncleanness’ from her to him. The ‘ruler of the synagogue’
would know all this; nevertheless Jesus goes straight to heal his daughter.
30 virtue: power, essence: like press for crowd (p. 356), a normal sixteenth- to
seventeenth-century usage.
34 made thee whole: The Greek has a double meaning: ‘healed you’ and ‘saved
you’. By contrast, English heal and whole are derived from the same root.
364 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE DISCIPLES SENT OUT
35 While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the

synagogue’s house certain which said, Thy daughter is
dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon
as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the
ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And he
suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and
John the brother of James.
And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue,
and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly.
And when he was come in, he saith unto them, Why make
ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth.
And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them
40 all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel,
and them that were with him, and entereth in where the
damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and
saith unto her, Talitha Cumi; which is, being interpreted,
Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel
arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years.
And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And
he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and
commanded that something should be given her to eat.
THE DISCIPLES SENT OUT

6: 1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own
country; and his disciples follow him. And when the sabbath
day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and
many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence
hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which
is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought
by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary,
the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon?
and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended
at him.
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without
honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin,
41 Talitha cumi: Aramaic, not a name; Tn, following Erasmus in a common error,
has Tabitha.
42 twelve: This number has deep significance in the 12 tribes and 12 disciples: but
the 12 years of the woman’s disease and the girl’s age, and the 12 ‘legions of angels’,
seem only to indicate a round ‘several’.
with . . . astonishment: Tn, Gt, Gv, BB, out of measure.
43 that . . . eat : So Rh; others, to give her meat.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: DEATH OF JOHN BAPTIST 365
5 and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty

work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and
healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief.
And he went round about the villages, teaching. And he
called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by
two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; and
commanded them that they should take nothing for their
journey, save a staff only; no scrip, no bread, no 9money
in their purse: but be shod with sandals; and not put on
two coats.
10 And he said unto them, In what place soever ye enter
into an house, there abide till ye depart from that place.
And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when
ye depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for
a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, it shall be
more tolerable for Sodom 10and Gomorrha in the day of
judgment, than for that city.
And they went out, and preached that men should
repent. And they cast out many devils, and anointed with
oil many that were sick, and healed them.
THE DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST

6: 14 And king Herod heard of him (for his name was spread
abroad): and he said, That John the Baptist was risen from
the dead, and therefore mighty works do shew forth them-
15 selves in him. Others said, That it is Elias. And others said,
That it is a prophet, or as one of the prophets. But when
Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded:
he is risen from the dead.
For Herod himself had sent forth and laid hold upon John,
and bound him in prison for Herodias’ sake, his brother
6:8 scrip: ‘bag, wallet’.

11 Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by fire (Gen 19: 1–26).
6:14 Herod: See Matt 2:1n, p. 389. This Herod is the Tetrarch of Galilee; his
scandalous marriage with Herodias, his niece and his half-brother’s wife, is his-
torical. This story reflects the Jews’ dislike of him.
15 Elias: Elijah (the Greek form): see Malachi 4:5n, p. 267.
9
The word signifieth a piece of brass money, in value somewhat less than a
farthing, Matt. 10.9, but here it is taken in general for money.
10
Gr., or.
366 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: DEATH OF JOHN BAPTIST
Philip’s wife: for he had married her. For John had said unto
Herod, It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother’s wife.
Therefore Herodias had 11a quarrel against him, and would
20 have killed him; but she could not: for Herod feared John,
knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and 12observed
him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard
him gladly.
And when a convenient day was come, that Herod on
his birthday made a supper to his lords, high captains, and
chief estates of Galilee; and when the daughter of the said
Herodias came in, and danced, and pleased Herod and them
that sat with him, the king said unto the damsel, Ask of
me whatsoever thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he
sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask of me, I will give
it thee, unto the half of my kingdom.
And she went forth, and said unto her mother, What shall
I ask? And she said, The head of John the Baptist. And she
25 came in straightway with haste unto the king, and asked,
saying, I will that thou give me by and by in a charger the
head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry;
yet for his oath’s sake, and for their sakes which sat with
him, he would not reject her. And immediately the king sent
13
an executioner, and commanded his head to be brought:
and he went and beheaded him in the prison, and brought
his head in a charger, and gave it to the damsel: and the
damsel gave it to her mother.
And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took
up his corpse, and laid it in a tomb.
17 he had married her: The Mosaic Law forbade such a marriage, which falls among
the ‘forbidden degrees’ (Lev 18:6– 18). The Deceased Wife’s Sister Act of 1907,
which permits a marriage such as Herod’s, created a great furore in Britain, and
its parallel the Deceased Brother’s Widow’s Act, was not passed until 1921.
22 daughter . . . danced: Gv’s page heading here reads: ‘The inconvenience of
dancing’. She is identified as Salome, not in the Gospels, but by Josephus, Antiq.
xviii 136 (1973: 92 –3); he does not record this episode.
6: 23 sware: Making in public a formal royal oath, which could not be withdrawn
or denied.
25 by and by: i.e. ‘immediately’ (the Elizabethan sense of the phrase).
11
Or, an inward grudge.
12
Or, kept him, or, saved him.
13
Or, one of his guard.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: OTHER INCIDENTS 367
OTHER INCIDENTS
6: 30 And the apostles gathered themselves together unto Jesus,
and told him all things, both what they had done, and what
they had taught. And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves
apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were
many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much
as to eat. And they departed into a desert place by ship
privately. And the people saw them departing, and many
knew him, and ran afoot thither out of all cities, and outwent
them, and came together unto him.
And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was
moved with compassion toward them, because they were
as sheep not having a shepherd: and he began to teach them
many things.
The episodes of feeding the five thousand, and of walking on the
sea, are related here (see John 6, pp. 422–3).
7: 5 Then the Pharisees and scribes asked him, Why walk not
thy disciples according to the tradition of the elders, but
eat bread with unwashen hands? He answered and said unto
them, Well hath Esaias prophesied of you hypocrites, as it
is written, This people honoureth me with their lips, but their
heart is far from me. Howbeit in vain do they worship me,
teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
For, laying aside the commandment of God, ye hold
the tradition of men, as the washing of pots and cups:
and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto
them, Full well ye 14reject the commandment of God, that
10 ye may keep your own tradition. For Moses said, Honour
thy father and thy mother; and, Whoso curseth father or
mother, let him die the death: but ye say, If a man shall
say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a
gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; he shall
be free. And ye suffer him no more to do aught for his father
7:6 Esaias: Isaiah 29:13, using the Greek form of the name Isaiah, from LXX.
11 Corban: Hebrew ‘What is brought near’, frequently found in Lev. with reference
to sacrifices. Jesus implies that anyone, for bad or good reasons, by declaring
property, labour, etc., ‘devoted to God’, could refuse them to his parents, and so
dodge the spirit of the fifth commandment. This comes from the Pharisees’ strict
calculation of the letter of the Law. The quotations are from Exod 20:12; 21: 17
(p. 112).
14
Or, frustrate.
368 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JESUS REVEALED AS MESSIAH
or his mother; making the word of God of none effect

through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many
such like things do ye.
And when he had called all the people unto him, he said
unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and under-
15 stand: there is nothing from without a man, that entering
into him can defile him: but the things which come out
of him, those are they that defile the man. If any man have
ears to hear, let him hear.
And when he was entered into the house from the people,
his disciples asked him concerning the parable. And he saith
unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not
perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into
the man, it cannot defile him; because it entereth not into
his heart, but into the belly, and goeth out into the draught,
20 purging all meats? And he said, That which cometh out
of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of
the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica-
tions, murders, thefts, 15covetousness, wickedness, deceit,
lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all
these evil things come from within, and defile the man.
And from thence he arose, and went into the borders of
Tyre and Sidon, and entered into an house, and would have
no man know it : but he could not be hid.
JESUS REVEALED AS MESSIAH

8: 27 And Jesus went out, and his disciples, into the towns of
Cæsarea Philippi: and by the way he asked his disciples,
saying unto them, Whom do men say that I am? And they
13 none effect: n is retained before the vowel. Note ‘your tradition’.

14 Hearken: Like epic writers, Mark announces the beginning of a speech.
19 draught: privy.
24 Tyre and Sidon : Jesus is leaving Galilee and its environs, extending his activ-
ities to the Gentiles, implicitly rejecting the belief that the Kingdom belongs to
adherents of Judaism alone.
8:27 Cæsarea Philippi: ‘Philip’s Cæsarea’, in the tetrarchy of Herod’s half-brother,
in the far north at the source of the Jordan (as distinct from Cæsarea Maritima,
on the coast). Herod the Great had built a great temple there, c.24 bc. Jesus is
not now in Herod Antipas’ dominions (see map). From this far northerly point,
he begins to move towards his critical appearance in Jerusalem; the first step is
that he is openly revealed as the Messiah (see Isa 42:1n, p. 254).
15
Gk covetousnesses, wickednesses.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JESUS REVEALED AS MESSIAH 369
answered, John the Baptist: but some say, Elias; and others,
One of the prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Peter answereth and saith unto him,
30 Thou art the Christ. And he charged them that they should
tell no man of him.
And he began to teach them, that the Son of man must
suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the
chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days
rise again. And he spake that saying openly. And Peter took
him, and began to rebuke him. But when he had turned
about and looked on his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying,
Get thee behind me, Satan: for thou savourest not the things
that be of God, but the things that be of men.
And when he had called the people unto him with his
disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come
after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
35 follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but
whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s,
the same shall save it. For what shall it profit a man, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what
shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my
words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also
shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the
glory of his Father with the holy angels.
9:1 And he said unto them, Verily I say unto you, that there
be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of
death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with
power.
And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James,
and John, and leadeth them up into an high mountain apart
by themselves: and he was transfigured before them. And
31 the Son of man: See 2:10n.

elders : The third group of religious leaders, besides priests and scribes (see
pp. 344, 362). Each village had its council of elders, and Jerusalem the greatest
of all. Their prime function was to oversee the religious life of the community,
and to adjudicate on matters under the Law. In Jerusalem they took part in the
Sanhedrin (see 14:53n, p. 383; also 2:16n, Pharisees, p. 358).
33 Satan: Hebrew Adversary : by the New Testament times, the legend of Satan
as the fallen angel and leader of forces antagonistic to God was well established:
see p. 345. An early stage is seen in Job (p. 281).
35 will: Note the distinction, largely obliterated in modern English, between will,
‘intend’ (Greek theli), and shall, simple future certainty (in Greek, an inflection
only).
370 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE CHILDREN
his raiment became shining, exceeding white as snow; so

as no fuller on earth can white them. And there appeared
unto them Elias with Moses: and they were talking with
5 Jesus. And Peter answered and said to Jesus, Master, it is
good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles;
one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. For he
wist not what to say; for they were sore afraid. And there
was a cloud that overshadowed them: and a voice came out
of the cloud, saying, This is my beloved Son: hear him.
And suddenly, when they had looked round about, they
saw no man any more, save Jesus only with themselves. And
as they came down from the mountain, he charged them
that they should tell no man what things they had seen,
10 till the Son of man were risen from the dead. And they kept
that saying with themselves, questioning one with another
what the rising from the dead should mean.
THE CHILDREN
9: 33 And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he
asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves
by the way? But they held their peace: for by the way they
had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.
35 And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto
them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of
all, and servant of all. And he took a child, and set him in
the midst of them: and when he had taken him in his arms,
he said unto them, Whosoever shall receive one of such
children in my name, receiveth me: and whosoever shall
receive me, receiveth not me, but him that sent me.
And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one
casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us:
and we forbade him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus
said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a
miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. For
40 he that is not against us is on our part.
9:4 Elias . . . Moses: representing respectively the Prophets and the Law. They spoke
with the voice of God; Elias (Elijah) was the prophet who raised the dead, and
himself did not die (pp. 182, 186). Moses received direct from God the Law which
formed the core of Israel’s identity; his face shone when he brought the tablets
down from Sinai, ‘and they were afraid to come nigh him’ (Exod 34: 29–30). See
also 2 Cor 3:13, p. 468.
7 This is . . . hear him: Recalling Deut 18:15: ‘The Lord thy God will raise up unto
thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him
ye shall hearken.’
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: ON RICHES 371
For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink

in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto
you, he shall not lose his reward. And whosoever shall offend
one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for
him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he
were cast into the sea . . .
10:13 And they brought young children to him, that he should
touch them: and his disciples rebuked those that brought
them. But when Jesus saw it, he was much displeased, and
said unto them, Suffer the little children to come unto me,
and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.
15 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the king-
dom of God as a little child, he shall not enter therein. And
he took them up in his arms, put his hands upon them,
and blessed them.
ON RICHES
10:17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one
running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master,
what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?
And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there
is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the com-
mandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not
steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy
20 father and mother. And he answered and said unto him,
Master, all these have I observed from my youth.
Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him,
One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou
hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.
And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved:
for he had great possessions. And Jesus looked round
about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they
that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the
disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth
again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for
them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God!
25 It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle,
than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
And they were astonished out of measure, saying among
themselves, Who then can be saved? And Jesus looking upon
them saith, with men it is impossible, but not with God:
for with God all things are possible.
372 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: ON THE ROAD
ON THE ROAD
10: 32 And they were in the way going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus
went before them: and they were amazed; and as they
followed, they were afraid. And he took again the twelve,
and began to tell them what things should happen unto
him, saying, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son
of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests, and unto
the scribes; and they shall condemn him to death, and shall
deliver him to the Gentiles: and they shall mock him, and
shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill
him: and the third day he shall rise again.
35 And James and John, the sons of Zebedee, come unto
him, saying, Master, we would that thou shouldest do for
us whatsoever we shall desire. And he said unto them, What
would ye that I should do for you? They said unto him,
Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and
the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.
But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can
ye drink of the cup that I drink of ? and be baptized with
the baptism that I am baptized with? And they said unto
him, We can.
And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the
cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized
40 withal shall ye be baptized: but to sit on my right hand and
on my left hand is not mine to give; but it shall be given
to them for whom it is prepared.
And when the ten heard it, they began to be much
displeased with James and John. But Jesus called them to
him, and saith unto them, Ye know that they which 16are
accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over
them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them.
But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be
10:32 amazed: i.e. ‘bewildered’, as in a maze; stronger than modern usage, but
less than ‘afraid’.
afraid: The disciples recognise that Jesus, having antagonised the religious
establishment, is deliberately walking into danger.
37 in thy glory: They are not thinking of ‘Heaven’; they assume that the ‘glory’
is imminent, and will be political.
42 are accounted to rule : Tn, BB, Rh, seem to bear rule; Gt, are seen to bear rule;
Gv, delight . . .
exercise lordship: Tn, Gt, BB, reign as lords; Gv, have dominion; Rh, overrule thee.
16
Or, think good.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY 373
great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever

45 of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even
the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to
minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
BLIND BARTIMÆUS
10:46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho
with his disciples and a great number of people, blind
Bartimæus, the son of Timæus, sat by the highway side beg-
ging. And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he
began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have
mercy on me. And many charged him that he should hold
his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of
David, have mercy on me.
And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called.
And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good
comfort, rise; he calleth thee. And he, casting away his
50 garment, rose, and came to Jesus. And Jesus answered and
said unto him, What wilt thou that I should do unto thee?
The blind man said unto him, Lord, that I might receive
my sight. And Jesus said unto him, Go thy way; thy faith
hath 17made thee whole. And immediately he received his
sight, and followed Jesus in the way.
THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY

Jesus’ mode of arriving in Jerusalem is full of Messianic symbolism;
the absence of traditional military trappings does not reduce the clear
and dangerous political implications of vv. 9–11, and the crowd’s
response shows that they recognise this.
11: 1 And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage
and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth
two of his disciples, and saith unto them, Go your way into
the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered
into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat;
loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you,
43 minister : In the original sense of ‘servant’.

45 ransom: So Gv, BB; Tn, Gt, Rh, redemption. With different connotations, both
are metaphors of payment to save a prisoner.
17
Or, saved thee.
374 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: JESUS IN THE TEMPLE
Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him;

and straightway he will send him hither.
And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the
door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose
5 him. And certain of them that stood there said unto them,
What do ye, loosing the colt? And they said unto them even
as Jesus had commanded: and they let them go.
And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their gar-
ments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their
garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the
trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went
before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna;
10 Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed
be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the
name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.
And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple:
and when he had looked round about upon all things, and
now the eventide was come, he went out unto Bethany with
the twelve.
JESUS IN THE TEMPLE

11:15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple,
and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the
temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and
the seats of them that sold doves; and would not suffer that
any man should carry any vessel through the temple. And
11: 3 he will send him: Matt 21:5 adds a supporting reference to Zech 9: 9: ‘Behold,
thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal
of an ass.’ In 1 Kgs 1:32–4, David commands that the priests should ‘cause Solomon
my son to ride upon mine own mule’ into Gihon, and ‘anoint him there king over
Israel’. The first symbol would not be lost on the people; although the anointing
(14:3ff. below) was in private, Mark carefully includes both rites.
9 Blessed is he . . . : Hosanna literally means, ‘Save now!’ It is found in Ps 118:25:
‘Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord . . . Blessed be he that cometh’ [etc.], and
was part of the custom at the Feast of Tabernacles which followed the Day of
Atonement late in the year. The word had come to be used as an expression of
joy, but its continuation here has clear political overtones.
11: 15 moneychangers: Only Jewish money could be used in Temple offerings. It
was convenient for those with other currencies, and those who needed doves
for the sacrifice, to buy them. This was done in the great outer court, not the
sanctuary; Jesus’ act is a prophetic symbol (see p. 196), implying that the holy
place was not bounded by the sanctuary, and that objects bought and sold were
not the kind of sacrifice required in the new Kingdom.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: PARABLE OF VINEYARD 375
he taught, saying unto them, Is it not written, My house

shall be called 18of all nations the house of prayer? but ye
have made it a den of thieves.
And the scribes and chief priests heard it, and sought
how they might destroy him: for they feared him, because
all the people was astonished at his doctrine. And when even
was come, he went out of the city . . .
11:27 And they come again to Jerusalem: and as he was walk-
ing in the temple, there come to him the chief priests,
and the scribes, and the elders, and say unto him, By what
authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this
authority to do these things?
And Jesus answered and said unto them, I will also
ask of you one 19question, and answer me, and I will tell
you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of
30 John, was it from heaven, or of men? answer me. And they
reasoned with themselves, saying, If we shall say, From
heaven; he will say, Why then did ye not believe him? But
if we shall say, Of men; they feared the people: for all men
counted John, that he was a prophet indeed.
And they answered and said unto Jesus, We cannot tell.
And Jesus answering saith unto them, Neither do I tell you
by what authority I do these things.
THE PARABLE OF THE VINEYARD

12: 1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain
man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and
digged a place for the winefat, and built a tower, and let
it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. And at
17 My house . . . : Isa 56:7.

den of thieves: Wycliffe’s phrase, from Jer 7:11 (p. 134). There also it prefaces a
prophecy of the Temple’s destruction.
27 chief priests, scribes, elders: See notes on Scribes, p. 355, and elders, p. 369.
From these three groups were chosen the Sanhedrin, a court 71 strong, who held
supreme religious authority in Judæa. Jesus appears before them after his arrest.
Challenges to their authority, such as the next parable of the vineyard, would
naturally worry them.
12:1 vineyard: cf. Isaiah’s parable, p. 216.
winefat: normal sixteenth-century spelling of vat.
18
Or, an house of prayer for all nations?
19
Or, thing.
376 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: CHALLENGE AND DEBATE
the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he

might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vine
yard. And they caught him and beat him, and sent him away
5 empty. And again he sent unto them another servant; and
at him they cast stones, and wounded him in the head, and
sent him away shamefully handled. And again, he sent
another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some,
and killing some.
Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent
him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son.
But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the
heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours.
And they took him, and killed him, and cast him out of
the vineyard. What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard
do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give
the vineyard unto others.
10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which
the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: this
was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes? And
they sought to lay hold on him, but feared the people: for
they knew that he had spoken the parable against them:
and they left him, and went their way.
CHALLENGE AND DEBATE

12: 13 And they send unto him certain of the Pharisees and of
the Herodians, to catch him in his words. And when they
were come, they say unto him, Master, we know that thou
art true, and carest for no man: for thou regardest not the
person of men, but teachest the way of God in truth: is
it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar, or not? Shall we give, or
15 shall we not give?
But he, knowing their hypocrisy, said unto them, Why
tempt ye me? bring me 20a penny, that I may see it. And
10 The stone . . . : From Ps 118:22 –3.

12:13 Herodians: See note on Pharisees, p. 358. The Herodians, identified with the
royal establishment of Galilee, make strange bedfellows with the purist Pharisees,
to whom, in Luke 13:31, they are seen to be hostile; but here they had a common
interest in discomfiting the disturbingly popular Jesus.
14 Is it lawful . . . ? ‘Yes’ would shock the Pharisees, ‘No’ the Herodians.
20
Valuing of our money sevenpence halfpenny.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: CHALLENGE AND DEBATE 377
they brought it. And he saith unto them, Whose is this image
and superscription? And they said unto him, Cæsar’s. And
Jesus answering said unto them, Render to Cæsar the things
that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s. And
they marvelled at him . . .
12:28 And one of the scribes came, and having heard them rea-
soning together, and perceiving that he had answered
them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of
all? and Jesus answered him, The first of all the command-
ments is, Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord:
30 and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart,
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with
all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the
second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour
as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than
these.
And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said
the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but
he: and to love him with all the heart, and with all the under-
standing, and with all the soul, and with all the strength,
and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole
burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he
answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from
the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him
any question . . .
12: 38 And he said unto them in his doctrine, Beware of the scribes,
which love to go in long clothing, and love salutations in
the marketplaces, and the chief seats in the synagogues,
40 and the uppermost rooms at feasts: which devour widows’
houses, and for a pretence make long prayers: these shall
receive greater damnation.
17 Render . . . : To a Jew, and especially a Pharisee, all things are God’s: Jesus
returns a trick answer to a trick question; cf. the aphorisms of the ‘Sermon on the
Mount’ (pp. 391–9). This saying, often read as a precept, is plainly a paradox
designed to show up the adversaries’ self-contradictions.
29 Hear, O Israel: The preface, and the greatest item, of the Ten Commandments
(Deut 6:4 –5, p. 127).
30 Thou shalt love . . . : Lev 19:18 (p. 125).
378 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE WIDOW’S MITE
THE WIDOW’S MITE

12: 41 And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the
people cast 21money into the treasury: and many that were
rich cast in much. And there came a certain poor widow,
and she threw in two 22mites, which make a farthing. And
he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily
I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in,
than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they
did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast
in all that she had, even all her living.
SIGNS OF DOOMSDAY
13: 1 And as he went out of the temple, one of his disciples saith
unto him, Master, see what manner of stones and what build-
ings are here! And Jesus answering said unto him, Seest thou
these great buildings? there shall not be left one stone upon
another, that shall not be thrown down.
And as he sat upon the mount of Olives over against the
temple, Peter and James and John and Andrew asked him
privately, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall
be the sign when all these things shall be fulfilled?
5 And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest
any man deceive you: for many shall come in my name,
saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye
shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled:
for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against
kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and
there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings
of 23sorrows.
12:42 two mites : The rich were putting in brass coins, gifts of no significance.
Mark 13 A strange chapter: the beginning and end have the language and imagery
of Jesus, but the rhetoric of the rest most resembles ‘apocalyptic’ writing (see
Daniel and Rev, pp. 268, 493). Jesus’ speech is usually more concrete than this –
cf. the following parable of the sheep and goats. It may be that his words (e.g. the
last two paragraphs, 13:32–7) were made the peg for popular utterances. Whatever
its source, this chapter has provided several familiar phrases. For a discussion, see
Black (1991: 66 – 92).
21
A piece of brass money.
22
It is the seventh part of one piece of that brass money.
23
The word in the original importeth the pains of a woman in travail.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: SIGNS OF DOOMSDAY 379
But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up

to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and
ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake,
10 for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be
published among all nations.
But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take
no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do
ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that
hour, that speak ye: for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy
Ghost.
Now the brother shall betray the brother to death,
and the father the son; and children shall rise up against
their parents, and shall cause them to be put to death.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake:
but he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be
saved.
But when ye shall see the abomination of desolation,
spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing where it ought
not (let him that readeth understand), then let them that
be in Judæa flee to the mountains: and let him that is on
15 the housetop not go down into the house, neither enter
therein, to take any thing out of his house: and let him
that is in the field not turn back again for to take up his
garment. But woe to them that are with child, and to them
that give suck in those days! And pray ye that your flight
be not in the winter . . .
13:32 But of that day, and that hour knoweth no man, no, not
the angels which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the
Father. Take ye heed, watch and pray: for ye know not
when the time is. For the Son of man is as a man taking a
far journey, who left his house, and gave authority to his
servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the
porter to watch.
35 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master
of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the
cockcrowing, or in the morning: lest coming suddenly he
find you sleeping. And what I say unto you I say unto all,
Watch.
13:14 abomination: cp. Dan 12:31, etc., ‘the abomination that maketh desolate’,
originally a reference to the defilement of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes,
168 – 167 bc (p. 268).
380 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE LAST SUPPER
THE LAST SUPPER

14: 1 After two days, was the feast of the passover, and of
unleavened bread: and the chief priests and the scribes sought
how they might take him by craft, and put him to death.
But they said, Not on the feast day, lest there be an uproar
of the people.
And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper,
as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster
box of ointment of 24spikenard very precious; and she
brake the box, and poured it on his head. And there were
some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why
5 was this waste of the ointment made? For it might have
been sold for more than three hundred pence, and have
been given to the poor. And they murmured against her.
And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she
hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with
you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good:
but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could:
she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying.
Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be
preached thoughout the whole world, this also that she hath
done shall be spoken of for a memorial of her.
10 And Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went unto the chief
priests, to betray him unto them. And when they heard it,
they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he
sought how he might conveniently betray him.
14: 1 passover: See Exod 12: 21ff., p. 102, and Deut 16: 1– 8. In early times, these two
feasts had been distinct, but by now were combined. Originally the Passover
was a domestic ritual, but now the lamb was sacrificed in the Temple, and large
crowds gathered in Jerusalem, causing anxiety to the authorities (‘lest there be
an uproar’) and a shortage of accommodation (‘Where wilt thou go . . . ?’), which,
however, Jesus treats with unconcern.
The Jewish day beginning at sunset, the feast began, by our reckoning, at
6 p.m. on Friday. The priests, wanting to pre-empt any coup, arrested Jesus on
Thursday night, and disposed of him on the day before the Sabbath, our Good
Friday. (John alters the timetable: see p. 438n).
unleavened bread: So Gv; Tn, Cv, Gt, BB, sweet bread; Rh, Azymes (see p. 21).
3 there came a woman: See Luke 7:37n p. 408. Anointing, a polite custom,
becomes here yet another in the series of symbolic acts of coronation, recalling
the anointing of kings and priests. At the end of the next paragraph Jesus adds
a third meaning.
11 money: The familiar ‘30 pieces of silver’ are in Matt 26: 14 –16, 27: 3 – 10. In Zech
11: 10 –14, they are used in a parable of the future of Israel.
24
Or, pure nard, or, liquid nard.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE LAST SUPPER 381
And the first day of unleavened bread, when they 25killed

the passover, his disciples said unto him, Where wilt thou
that we go and prepare that thou mayest eat the passover?
And he sendeth forth two of his disciples, and saith unto
them, Go ye into the city, and there shall meet you a man
bearing a pitcher of water: follow him. And wheresoever
he shall go in, say ye to the goodman of the house, The
Master saith, Where is the guestchamber, where I shall eat
15 the passover with my disciples? And he will shew you a large
upper room furnished and prepared: there make ready for
us. And his disciples went forth, and came into the city, and
found as he had said unto them: and they made ready the
passover. And in the evening he cometh with the twelve.
And as they sat and did eat, Jesus said, Verily I say unto
you, One of you which eateth with me shall betray me.
And they began to be sorrowful, and to say unto him one
20 by one, Is it I? and another said, Is it I? And he answered
and said unto them, It is one of the twelve, that dippeth
with me in the dish. The Son of man indeed goeth, as it
is written of him: but woe to that man by whom the Son
of man is betrayed! good were it for that man if he had
never been born.
And as they did eat, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and
brake it, and gave to them, and said, Take, eat: this is my
body. And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them: and they all drank of it. And he said
unto them, This is my blood of the new testament, which
12 the first day of unleavened bread: In Deut 16: 4, seven days were ordained. Tn,
after Luther, translates sweet breed and ester [Easter] lamb. Gt follows him here,
but later (14:14) uses Tn’s Passover from the New Testament (see p. 102n). These
were among the words which the conservatives did not want to anglicise: Rh
has Azymes and Pasche.
21 The Son of man . . . written of him: Unusually, there is no precise Old Testament
reference here. The suggestion is that the prepared overall plan is being followed.
22 took bread . . . : The unleavened bread of the Passover, which they are eating,
symbolises the Israelites’ ordeal in Egypt, and recalls the haste of their departure
(p. 103) when God delivered them from slavery. The symbolism is that Jesus,
in his coming ordeal, will represent the people, defying their tyrannical enemies,
so as finally to be delivered by God’s act and taken into the ultimate ‘promised
land’. By taking the bread and wine his followers identify with him completely,
‘flesh and blood’.
14:24 new testament : ‘New covenant’; the Greek word diathéké translating Heb
berith, ‘covenant’: see Heb 8:6n, p. 478.
25
Or, sacrificed.
382 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE MOUNT OF OLIVES
is shed for many. Verily I say unto you, I will drink no more
of the fruit of the vine, until that day that I drink it new
in the kingdom of God.
THE MOUNT OF OLIVES: BETRAYAL

14: 26 And when they had sung an 26hymn, they went out into
the mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto them, All ye shall
be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will
smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But
after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee.
But Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended,
30 yet will not I. And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto
thee, That this day, even in this night, before the cock crow
twice, thou shalt deny me thrice. But he spake the more
vehemently, If I should die with thee, I will not deny thee
in any wise. Likewise also said they all.
And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane:
and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.
And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and
began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; and saith
unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry
35 ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell
on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the
hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, All
things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me:
nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt.
And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto
Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one
hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The
spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak.
And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same
40 words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again
14: 26 sung an hymn: The formal ending of the Passover meal.

27 it is written: Two references to two passages: Dan 9: 26, ‘After [62] weeks shall
Messiah be cut off ’, and Zech 13:7, ‘Awake, O sword, against my shepherd . . .
saith the Lord of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.’
32 Gethsemane, Greek from Aramaic, ‘an oil press’; it is on the Mount of Olives,
‘Olive-grove Hill’.
33 amazed: So BB; Tn, Gt, wax abashed; Cv, wax fearful; Gv, be afraid; Rh, fear.
See 10:32n, p. 372: RSV translates troubled, NEB, dismay, JB, distress.
38 ready: The more familiar willing is in Matt 26:41. The Greek phrase is identical
in both passages; the variation is Tyndale’s.
26
Or, psalm.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: THE MOUNT OF OLIVES 383
(for their eyes were heavy), neither wist they what to answer
him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep
on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come;
behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
And immediately, while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one
of the twelve, and with him a great multitude with swords
and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the
elders. And he that betrayed him had given them a token,
saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he; take him,
45 and lead him away safely. And as soon as he was come, he
goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and
kissed him. And they laid their hands on him, and took him.
And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote
a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And Jesus
answered and said unto them, Are ye come out, as against
a thief, with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily
with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not: but
50 the scriptures must be fulfilled. And they all forsook him,
and fled.
And there followed him a certain young man, having a
linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men
laid hold on him: and he left the linen cloth, and fled from
them naked.
And they led Jesus away to the high priest: and with him
were assembled all the chief priests and the elders and the
scribes. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace
of the high priest: and he sat with the servants, and
warmed himself at the fire.
47 cut off his ear: Luke 22:51 adds, ‘And Jesus answered and said, Suffer ye thus far.
And he touched his ear, and healed him.’ In John 18:10 the servant is named, Malchus.
51 a certain young man: Traditionally, and plausibly, supposed to be Mark himself.
The anecdote is in no other account.
53 all the chief priests . . . : The trial procedure was to call the grand council or
Sanhedrin (from Greek sunhedrion, council), which on paper (but only under
the Roman governor) had power of life and death. This night meeting could not
have been properly constituted, but may have been informal and preparatory, to
decide what line to follow if a regular meeting were called in the morning (see
consultation 15:1n). Although the claim to be an anointed king should not in itself
have been accounted blasphemy, this account implies that after the exchange,
‘Art thou the Christ?’ – ‘I am’, the council had no need to proceed formally,
and felt quite justified in taking Jesus before Pilate with a related political charge.
Luke does not mention the night ‘trial’, saying that a full Sanhedrin met in the
morning and heard the case. There are many historical problems in this passage; it
is perhaps enough to note that the author implies that the priests were anxious
to convict, by hook or by crook.
384 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: TRIAL
TRIAL
14: 55 And the chief priests and all the council sought for witness
against Jesus to put him to death; and found none. For many
bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not
together. And there arose certain, and bare false witness
against him, saying, We heard him say, I will destroy this
temple that is made with hands, and within three days I
will build another made without hands. But neither so did
their witness agree together.
60 And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked
Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these
witness against thee? But he held his peace, and answered
nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto
him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus
said, I am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the
right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.
Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need
we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy: what
think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.
65 And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and
to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the
servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
And as Peter was beneath in the palace, there cometh
one of the maids of the high priest: and when she saw Peter
warming himself, she looked upon him, and said, And thou
also wast with Jesus of Nazareth. But he denied, saying, I
know not, neither understand I what thou sayest. And he
went out into the porch; and the cock crew.
And a maid saw him again, and began to say to them that
70 stood by, This is one of them. And he denied it again. And
a little after, they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely
thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech
agreeth thereto. But he began to curse and to swear, saying,
I know not this man of whom ye speak. And the second
time the cock crew. And Peter called to mind the word that
14: 56 agreed not together: The Law required at least two witnesses: Num 35: 30,
Deut 17:6: ‘at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death’.
62 I am: Emphatic ego eimi; Greek grammar does not require the pronoun except
for stress. This echoes God’s self-identification to Moses in Exod 3:14 (p. 91). In
Matt and Luke Jesus says, ambiguously, ‘you say that I am’, but the rest of his
speech, in all three accounts, removes any ambiguity, as does his reply to Pilate.
The remaining words echo Ps 110:1 (Heb 1:13n), Dan 7:13, pp. 274, 476; also e.g.
Heb 1:3, Rev 5:6–14, 21:23, pp. 475, 498–9.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: TRIAL 385
Jesus said unto him, Before the cock crow twice, thou shalt
deny me thrice. And 27when he thought thereon, he wept.
15: 1 And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a con-
sultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council,
and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to
Pilate. And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews?
And he answering said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the
chief priests accused him of many things: but he answered
nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou
nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee.
5 But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marvelled.
Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner,
whomsoever they desired. And there was one named
Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made
insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the
insurrection. And the multitude crying aloud began to
desire him to do as he had ever done unto them.
But Pilate answered them, saying, Will ye that I release unto
10 you the King of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests
had delivered him for envy. But the chief priests moved the
people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye
then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the
Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said
unto them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out
15 the more exceedingly, Crucify him. And so Pilate, willing
to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and
delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.
15:1 consultation: The Sanhedrin is pressing Pilate (see next note) for a death
sentence; he, understanding little of their laws, acts with caution. He seems
unconvinced, probably suspecting that he is being used by the priests for their
own ends, but, given his problems of public order, he is not certain enough of his
position to dismiss the charge out of hand. He would be inclined to rate the quiet
of his province higher than legal nicety. When the crowd side with the priests,
he opts for the death of a prisoner who, for all his technical innocence, promises
trouble. The alternative was to run the risk of an uncontrollable riot in an over-
crowded city, which could result in many deaths and the end of his career.
Pilate: Pontius Pilate, prefect (governor) of the Province of Judæa (see map, p. 544),
c.ad 25–36. In the Gospels he is depicted as a careful, perhaps cynical politician,
but others, e.g. Josephus (1981: 138–9), show him acting with calculated ruthlessness.
See Grant (1973: 99 – 119). In John’s account, however (p. 439), he finds no valid
charge and seeks to dismiss the case, but is out-manoeuvred by the priests.
27
Or, he wept abundantly, or, he began to weep.
386 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: CRUCIFIXION
CRUCIFIXION
15: 16 And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called
Prætorium; and they call together the whole band. And they
clothed him with purple, and plaited a crown of thorns, and
put it about his head, and began to salute him, Hail, King
of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed,
and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped
20 him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the
purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and
led him out to crucify him. And they compel one Simon a
Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the
father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being
interpreted, The place of a skull. And they gave him to drink
wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not. And when
they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting
25 lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the
third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription
of his accusation was written over, the king of the jews.
And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right
hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled,
which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.
And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their
heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple,
30 and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down
from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said
among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; him-
self he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend
now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they
that were crucified with him reviled him.
And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness
over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama
15: 16 Prætorium: A Roman governor’s official residence.

band: Troop of soldiers: common sixteenth-century usage for a small group or
platoon.
17 purple: Mocking the imperial purple, and the hero’s crown of laurel leaves.
22 Golgotha from Aramaic gulguta, ‘skull’; turned into Latin, this gives Calvaria,
or Calvary.
23 wine . . . myrrh: An anaesthetic mixture.
24 take: Matt adds a reference to Ps 22:18, ‘They parted my garments among them,
and upon my vesture did they cast lots.’
25 the third hour of the day, measured from sunrise: i.e. about 9 a.m.
28 he was numbered: Isa 53:12 (p. 252).
32 they that . . . with him: In Luke 23:39 – 43 one of the thieves takes Jesus’ part.
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ST MARK’S GOSPEL: CRUCIFIXION 387
sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God,

35 why hast thou forsaken me? And some of them that stood
by, when they heard it, said, Behold, he calleth Elias. And
one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on
a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see
whether Elias will come to take him down. And Jesus cried
with a loud voice, and gave up the ghost. And the veil of the
temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom.
And when the centurion, which stood over against him,
saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said,
Truly this man was the Son of God. There were also women
40 looking on afar off: among whom was Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and
Salome (who also, when he was in Galilee, followed him,
and ministered unto him); and many other women which
came up with him unto Jerusalem.
And now when the even was come, because it was the
preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of
Arimathæa, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for
the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto
Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled
if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion,
he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And
45 when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to
Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and
wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which
was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door
of the sepulchre. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother
of Joses beheld where he was laid.
34 My God . . . : Ps 22:1.
35: Elias: The Greek form of Elijah, who escaped death (see p. 186).
36 vinegar: Probably some of the thin, sour wine which Roman soldiers drank.
37 gave up the ghost: Greek exepneusen has the root pneu, ‘breath, air, spirit’, hence
‘expired’. OED traces the phrase back to 1305, in other contexts; its connotations
were not necessarily religious when Tn used it. Wycliffe has simply diede here,
but gaf vp the goost in Matt 27:50.
40 Mary . . . of James: Hebrew Miriam. Clearly not Jesus’ mother, or the writer
would say so.
James the less : So Gv, Rh; better, ‘the little’ (as Tn Gt, BB). He is listed in Mark
3: 18 as ‘son of Alphæus’.
Joses, Salome: only names (6:22n, p. 366). Joses can be a form of Joseph; Salome
(‘Peace’) is not rare.
42 preparation: See John 19:14n, the sixth hour, p. 438.
46 wrapped: No preparation of the body was permissible because of the onset of
Sabbath at the end (the 12th hour) of the day. In the next paragraph, Mary and
the others come as soon as they may.
388 ST MARK’S GOSPEL: RESURRECTION
RESURRECTION
16: 1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and
Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet
spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early
in the morning, the first day of the week, they came unto
the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among
themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door
of the sepulchre?
And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled
5 away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre,
they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in
a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith
unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth,
which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the
place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples
and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall
ye see him, as he said unto you.
And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre;
for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any
thing to any man; for they were afraid . . .
St Matthew’s Gospel
Matthew is organised into blocks of teaching, which form the core
of the book, rather than by narrative, which here serves to sustain the
teaching by providing continuity and supporting references from
OT to the narrative. Allusions to the fulfilment of OT promises are
thus an essential part of the Gospel, and pervade even the famous
narrative of the birth of Christ.
16:6 Be not affrighted: In Luke 24:5, the angel begins, ‘Why seek ye the living
among the dead?’
8 afraid: The text continues for 12 more verses, which are absent from most of
the earliest MSS. They are now generally taken to be by a different author. These
verses not only summarise very briefly material found elsewhere (e.g. Luke: see
p. 400), but also contain doctrinal material, e.g. a reference (uncharacteristic of
the tone of the rest of the Gospel) to the necessity of baptism so as to be ‘saved’
from ‘damnation’.
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THE BIRTH OF JESUS

2:1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judæa in the
days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from
the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born King
of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are
come to worship him.
5 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was
troubled, and all Jerusalem with him. And, when he had
gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people
together, he demanded of them where Christ should be
5 born. And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judæa: for
thus it is written by the prophet,
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 28rule my people Israel.
2:1 Jesus: A form of Joshua (‘Jahweh saves’), the hero who brought the Israelites
into the Promised Land.
Herod the king: There was a whole family of Herods, Hellenised rulers in Judæa.
They adhered to Judaism, but had little Jewish blood, being of Edomite origin.
The founder was Herod Antipater (his father had the same name); his son, Herod
the Great (r. 37 – 4 bc), built the third Temple (p. 368). Herod Antipas, Tetrarch
of Galilee, was one of Herod the Great’s sons – see p. 365. Herod Agrippa I
(Acts 12:1) was Herod the Great’s great-grandson by a different line. Herod Agrippa
II tried Paul (Acts 25–6). There were several more. This story appears to refer
to Herod the Great, an efficient but ruthless ruler, who had a habit of ridding
himself of unwanted rivals, though his murders were usually confined to his kin.
Matthew may well be eliding his memory with that of the detested Antipas (see
Mark 6:14n). By medieval times, as in the mystery plays, all the Herods were
rolled into one myth of fury and immoderation: see Jeffrey (1992: 350 –1).
wise men: Isa 60:2– 3: ‘the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen
upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness
of thy rising.’
2 his star: The ‘prophecy’ of Balaam (also a Gentile) in Num 24: 17 – 19: ‘There
shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel . . . out of
Jacob shall come he that shall have dominion . . .’
4 chief priests and scribes: The function of the scribes was to study and interpret the
Law (see Mark 1:22n, p. 355); of the priests, to administer it. They are commonly
treated with hostility in NT, but not here, since they are about to verify author-
itatively, through the reading of prophecy, that this child is the Messiah.
6 And thou Bethlehem: Micah 5:2, quoted from LXX (somewhat mistranslated from
the Hebrew): in AV, ‘But thou, Beth-lehem Ephratah, though thou be little among
the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be
ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.’
28
Or, feed.
390 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: THE BIRTH OF JESUS
Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men,

inquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
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.
When they had heard the king, they departed; and,
lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them,
till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great
joy. And when they were come into the house, they saw
the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and
worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures,
they 29presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and
myrrh.
And being warned of God in a dream, that they should
not return to Herod, they departed into their own country
another way.
And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the
Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take
the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and
be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek
the young child to destroy him.
When he arose, he took the young child and his mother
15 by night, and departed into Egypt: and was there until the
death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken
of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I
called my son.
Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the
wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew
all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts
thereof, from two years old and under, according to the
time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
10 lo, an expression of surprise, now usually regarded as a quaint archaism, but

going back to Old English (e.g., Beowulf ) and in common use – ‘Oh!’, ‘Look!’.
11 frankincense and myrrh were ingredients in consecrating oils: myrrh as a
perfume and in embalming (p. 386).
15 Out of Egypt: Hosea 11:1, where the reference is to the Exodus, and ‘my son’
is Israel, with whom the child is here identified.
16 slew . . . children: There is no independent record of this, though Herod the
Great did have two of his own sons murdered.
coasts: ‘borders’: Tn’s word.
29
Or, offered.
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ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: THE BEATITUDES 391
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremy the

prophet, saying,
In Rama was there a voice heard,
lamentation, and weeping,
and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children,
and would not be comforted,
because they are not.
But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord
20 appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying, Arise, and
take the young child and his mother, and go into the land
of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child’s
life. And he arose, and took the young child and his mother,
and came into the land of Israel.
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT

In the following section from Matthew, a large number of the say-
ings of Jesus are collected together and presented as if they were a
‘sermon’ at a single mass meeting. The aphoristic, unrhetorical form
of the sayings makes this unlikely, but there is a running theme – the
fulfilment of the Mosaic Law in a new fashion for the new ‘kingdom.’
The spirit of the ancient Law, according to Jesus, should be inter-
preted with humane imagination, rather than with restrictive legalism.
The ‘Sermon’ contains many of Jesus’ most famous sayings, begin-
ning with the series known as The Beatitudes.
THE BEATITUDES
5: 1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain:
and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: and he
opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,
Blessed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.
17 Jeremy: AV, and the sixteenth-century translations, retain in NT the traditional

Greek spelling of Jeremiah; the reference is to Jer 31.15 (see pp. 88, 241).
5:3 Blessed . . . : Literally ‘Happy’. These sayings are often regarded as parallel to
the Ten Commandments, though they are more cryptic and less specific.
poor in spirit: In Luke 6:20, simply poor.
392 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: THE BEATITUDES
5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after
righteousness: for they shall be filled.
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers:
for they shall be called the children of God.
10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’
sake:
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute
you, and shall say all manner of evil against you 30falsely,
for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is
your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets
which were before you.
Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt have lost his
savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good
for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under
foot of men.
Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on an hill
15 cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle, and put it
under a 31bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light
unto all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your
Father which is in heaven.
5 the meek: Ps 37:11: ‘But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight them-
selves in the abundance of peace.’
11 falsely : BB lying; Rh, untruly; others as AV. In the sixteenth century ‘falsely’
connotes deceit and scheming, e.g. Tempest II.i.71, ‘very falsely pocket up his
report’, and Lev 19:11 (p. 125).
13 his savour: For his rather than its, see p. 41. On p. 394, of the diseased eye, Tn,
Gt have pluck him out.
15 bushel: This translation goes back to Wycliffe; the word may be taken to mean
‘a barrel’. The margin indicates about 141/2 imperial pints (171/2 US) or 81/4
litres.
30
Gr. lying.
31
The word in the original signifies a measure containing a pint less than a peck.
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ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: THE PERFECT LAW 393
THE PERFECT LAW

5: 17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets:
I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto
you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall
in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever
therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the
kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do, and teach them,
the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall
exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye
shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
Ye have heard that it was said 32by them of old time, Thou
shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of
the judgment: but I say unto you, That whosoever is angry
with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the
judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, 33Raca,
shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say,
Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
Therefore, if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there
rememberest that thy brother hath aught against thee; leave
there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be recon-
ciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
25 Agree with thine adversary quickly, whiles thou art in the
way with him; lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to
the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer, and
thou be cast into prison. Verily I say unto thee, Thou shalt
by no means come out thence, till thou hast paid the utter-
most farthing.
5:17 not come . . . to fulfil: These ‘fulfilments’ of particular laws are paradoxical and
unorthodox. Thus Jesus creates surprise, but his purpose is to reinterpret the
underlying significance of each law.
18 jot : Coined by Tn from Greek iota, the smallest letter.
tittle: Greek kerais: a minute mark, such as the dot of an i, or an accent; in Hebrew
or Arabic, a vowel-point. Meticulous copying was the pride of Jewish lawyers as
they conserved the Law; Jesus refers to minute pointing of the sense rather than
of the script.
21 Ye have heard . . . : These are cryptic paradox, rather than precepts; they
are part of the ‘fulfilment’ or reinterpretation of the law already referred to. The
running theme is that literal and legalistic interpretations of the Law do not make
one virtuous, but what is in the heart and how one actually behaves to others.
22 Raca: An expression of contempt, otherwise unrecorded.
32
Or, to them.
33
That is, Vain fellow.
394 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: THE PERFECT LAW
Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time,

Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, That
whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath
committed adultery with her already in his heart.
And if thy right eye 34offend thee, pluck it out, and cast
it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy
members should perish, and not that thy whole body
30 should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee,
cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee
that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy
whole body should be cast into hell.
It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife,
let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say unto
you, that whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for
the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery:
and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth
adultery.
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of
old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform
unto the Lord thine oaths: but I say unto you, Swear not
at all; neither by heaven; for it is God’s throne: nor by the
35 earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it
is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by
thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or
black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay:
for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil.
Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, That ye resist
not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
40 turn to him the other also. And if any man will sue thee
at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloak
also. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with
him twain. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that
would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
28 Whosoever looketh . . . : Tn 1526, Whosoever eyeth a wife, lusting after her . . . ;
Tn 1534, Cv, Whosoever looketh on a wife, lusting after her . . . ; Gt, Gv, BB, Rh,
Whosoever looketh on [Rh, shall see] a woman [Gt, another man’s wife] to lust
after her.
31 Whosoever . . . divorcement: The procedure is laid down in Deut 24: 1– 5.
38 An eye for an eye: Lev 24:20: the original law was meant as a restraint on
vendettas; when exact retribution had been extracted, that must be the end of
the matter. Jesus characteristically turns the precept upside down.
41 twain: From Tn: common sixteenth-century usage.
34
Or, do cause thee to offend.
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ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: OF PRAYER AND SERVICE 395
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy
neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them
that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use
45 you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and
on the unjust.
For if ye love them which love you, what reward have
ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute
your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not
even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your
Father which is in heaven is perfect.
OF PRAYER AND SERVICE

6: 1 Take heed that ye do not your 35alms before men, to be
seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward 36of your Father
which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms,
37
do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do
in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have
glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know
what thy right hand doeth: that thine alms may be in secret:
and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward
thee openly.
5 And, when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypo-
crites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues
and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of
men. Verily, I say unto you, They have their reward. But
thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret;
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen
do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much
speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father
knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.
6: 2 they have: Present tense in Greek: ‘they have it in their hand’ (and will get
no more).
35
Or, righteousness.
36
Or, with.
37
Or, cause not a trumpet to be sound.
396 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: OF PRAYER AND SERVICE
After this manner therefore pray ye:

Our Father which art in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name.
10 Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory, for ever.
Amen.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father
15 will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses,
neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a
sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may
appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head,
and wash thy face; that thou appear not unto men to fast,
but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth
and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and
20 steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do
not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there
will your heart be also.
The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye
be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if
thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness.
If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great
is that darkness!
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate
the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one,
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
11 daily: Greek epiousios, ‘needed’, or ‘appointed’: a difficult, uncertain word, found

here only. The nearest translation may be ‘for the coming day’ – but this may
imply ‘today’, ‘tomorrow’, or perhaps ‘the future kingdom’.
22 single: Greek haplous, ‘without blemish’.
24 mammon: A word not uncommonly used in religious contexts, not always
pejorative: ‘wealth, possessions’.
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ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: OF JUDGMENT 397
25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life,

what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your
body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat,
and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for
they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns;
yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much
better than they?
Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit
unto his stature? And why take ye thought for raiment?
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil
not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even
Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which
to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not
much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat?
or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be
clothed? (for after all these things do the Gentiles seek):
for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all
these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his
righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the mor-
row shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto
the day is the evil thereof.
OF JUDGMENT
7: 1 Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment
ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete,
it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou
the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the
beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy
brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and
5 behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first
cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou
see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.
28 raiment : From Tn. Not recorded by OED before 1440; not uncommon in
the sixteenth century often in a context of ornamental dress.
34 Sufficient . . . : A famous line, awkward to translate: literally ‘Enough to the
day its own badness’. The influence of Vg sufficit, the lack of a verb in the Greek,
and of its in sixteenth-century English (see p. 41), made problems for the
translators. AV is not at its best here; the things of itself is literal but clumsy. For
a variety of attempts, see Appendix 2, p. 530.
things of itself: see pp. 45–6.
398 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: OF JUDGMENT
Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast
ye your pearls before swine, lest they trample them under
their feet, and turn again and rend you. Ask, and it shall
be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you: for every one that asketh receiveth; and
he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall
be opened.
Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread,
10 will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give
him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your
Father which is in heaven give good things to them that
ask him? Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men
should do to you, do ye even so to them: for this is the
law and the prophets.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and
broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many
there be which go in thereat: 38because strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there
be that find it.
15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s
clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall
know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns,
or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth
good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good
tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree
20 bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore
by their fruits ye shall know them.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter
into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and
in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many
wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never
knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and
doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built
25 his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods
7: 13 strait : narrow. Gv’s streicte marks the link between straight and strict. Rh
has narrow.
38
Or, how.
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ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: OTHER SAYINGS 399
came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and
it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one
that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not,
shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house
upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came,
and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell:
and great was the fall of it.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings,
the people were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught
them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.
OTHER SAYINGS
10:29 Are not two sparrows sold for a 39farthing? and one of them
shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But the
very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear ye not there-
fore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
11:25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things
from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight.
All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no
man knoweth the Son, but by the Father; neither knoweth
any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever
the Son will reveal him.
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and
I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
30 your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh
through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Then
he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came
out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and
45 garnished. Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven
other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and
dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the
first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.
11:28 labour . . . : Tn, Cv, Gt, Gv, BB, labour [Gv, are weary; BB, labour sore]
and are laden and I will ease you; Rh, are burdened and I will refresh you [Vg,
reficiam]. The image is of a tired beast of burden.
39
It is in value halfpenny farthing in the original, as being the tenth part of the
Roman penny.
400 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: PARABLE OF LABOURERS
THE PARABLE OF THE LABOURERS

20: 1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an
householder, which went out early in the morning to hire
labourers into his vineyard. And when he had agreed with
the labourers for a 40penny a day, he sent them into his
vineyard.
And he went out about the third hour, and saw others
standing idle in the marketplace, and said unto them; Go
ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give
you. And they went their way.
5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and
did likewise. And about the eleventh hour he went out,
and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why
stand ye here all the day idle? They say unto him, Because
no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into
the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive.
So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith
unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire,
beginning from the last unto the first. And when they came
that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every
10 man a penny. But when the first came, they supposed that
they should have received more; and they likewise received
every man a penny.
And when they had received it, they murmured against
the goodman of the house, saying, These last 41have wrought
but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which
have borne the burden and heat of the day.
But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee
no wrong: didst thou not agree with me for a penny? Take
that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even
15 as unto thee. Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with
mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good?
So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be
called, but few chosen.
20:2 penny: A silver coin: it is hard to determine a modern value. The context
suggests that it represents a day’s wage for a labourer. See Luke 7:41, p. 409.
16 the last . . . : Parables are not literal statements; this is not a declaration about
wages or labour relations, but a parabolic illustration of ‘the kingdom of God’
and its rewards for virtue (see also pp. 360, 371). One is not to expect a reward
measured upon a scale of virtuous acts. Citizenship of ‘the kingdom’ is an equal
reward to every member.
40
The Roman penny is the eighth part of an ounce, which after five shillings
the ounce is seven pence halfpenny.
41
Or, have continued one hour only.
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ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: PARABLE OF TALENTS 401
THE PARABLE OF THE WISE AND

FOOLISH VIRGINS
25: 1 Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten
virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet
the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were
foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took
no oil with them: but the wise took oil in their vessels with
their lamps.
5 While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and
slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the
bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those
virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish
said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are
42
gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there
be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them
10 that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went
to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready
went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut.
Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord,
open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto
you, I know you not.
Watch therefore; for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of man cometh.
THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS

25: 14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far
country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto
them his goods. And unto one he gave five 43talents, to
15 another two, and to another one; to every man according
to his several ability; and straightway took his journey.
Then he that had received the five talents went and
traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And
likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two.
But he that had received one went and digged in the earth,
and hid his lord’s money.
25:1 went forth: They were going to join the party after the ceremony.
13 Watch: A common NT theme, expecting the imminent return of Jesus ‘in glory’:
cf. Mark 13:37, p. 379.
25:15 talents : Literally, a very large amount; our figurative use of this word goes
back to Middle English.
42
Or, going out.
43
A talent is 187 pound ten shillings.
402 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS
After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and

20 reckoneth with them. And so he that had received five tal-
ents came and brought other five talents, saying, Lord, thou
deliveredst unto me five talents: behold, I have gained beside
them five talents more. His lord said unto him, Well done,
thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over
a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter
thou into the joy of thy lord.
He also that had received two talents came and said,
Lord thou deliveredst unto me two talents: behold, I have
gained two other talents besides them. His lord said unto
him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been
faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many
things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
Then he which had received the one talent came and said,
Lord, I knew thee that thou art an hard man, reaping where
thou hast not sown, and gathering where thou hast not
25 strawed: and I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in
the earth: lo, there thou hast that is thine.
His lord answered and said unto him, Thou wicked and
slothful servant, thou knewest that I reap where I sowed
not, and gather where I have not strawed: thou oughtest
therefore to have put my money to the exchangers, and then
at my coming I should have received mine own with usury.
Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him
which hath ten talents.
For unto every one that hath shall be given, and he shall
have abundance: but from him that hath not shall be taken
away even that which he hath. And cast ye the unprofit-
able servant in outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
30 gnashing of teeth.
THE PARABLE OF THE SHEEP

AND THE GOATS
25:31 When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the
holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of
his glory: and before him shall be gathered all nations: and
he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd
divideth his sheep from the goats: and he shall set the sheep
on his right hand, but the goats on the left.
18 digged: Until the eighteenth century the normal form; OED records dug only
from 1715, but asserts that it arose in the sixteenth century.
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ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: THE SHEEP AND THE GOATS 403
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand,
Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom pre-
pared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was
35 an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave
me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: naked, and
ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison,
and ye came unto me.
Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord,
when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and
gave thee drink? when saw we thee a stranger, and took thee
in? or naked, and clothed thee? or when saw we thee sick,
or in prison, and came unto thee?
40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I
say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the
least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart
from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the
devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me
no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a
stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me
not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
45 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw
we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or
sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you,
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did
it not unto me. And these shall go away into everlasting
punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.
25:41 Depart from me: The original meaning of depart was ‘separate into parts’;
in the Marriage Service, Cranmer wrote, ‘. . . till death us depart’, which was
changed to do part in 1662. The Greek here, however, means simply, ‘Go along’.
41 Notions of the rewards of Heaven and Hell were well developed, originating
in post-OT, pre-NT writings (see Epilogue, p. 343). The Pharisees accepted them,
and Jesus in Matt uses such images in certain poetic passages, which are easily
overemphasised by those who have an affinity for them. Such images as the
everlasting fire may derive from the local rubbish dump, or from such writings
as Revelation (p. 505); see also the next note. Jesus, however, does not develop
the doctrine as he develops the concepts of the Kingdom or the Law; cf. Ps 6:8:
‘Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity . . . Let all mine enemies be ashamed
and sore vexed.’
46 And these . . . : Dan 12:2: ‘And many of them that sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting
contempt.’
404 ST MATTHEW’S GOSPEL: MATTHEW’S ENDING
MATTHEW’S ENDING
Matthew gives a rather longer account than Mark of the crucifixion
of Jesus, and provides a short miraculous account of his resurrection,
followed by these words:
28: 18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is
given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
20 and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: teaching them to
observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
St Luke’s Gospel
There is so much material in common, often verbatim, among the
three ‘synoptic’ Gospels, that it is all the more interesting to observe
their differences of approach and style. Whereas Matthew, aiming at
an audience reared in the Judaic tradition, centres on presenting the
teaching of Jesus, and Mark on a direct and concise account of his
work. Luke is distinguished by his humanity as well as the grace of
his narrative style, qualities exemplified here. He wrote two books,
this and the Acts, for a more Hellenised readership, and addressed
to the ‘most excellent Theophilus’: they begin with the Emperor in
Rome, and end there.
THE MAGNIFICAT
This famous song, named after its opening word in the Latin version,
is included in Luke’s account of the birth of Jesus. It is Mary’s response
to the angel’s announcement that her child will be the Messiah. Note
also the reference to the promise to Abraham (p. 69).
1: 46 And Mary said,
My soul doth magnify the Lord,
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden:
for behold, from henceforth
all generations shall call me blessed.
28:18 Ending: This follows a description of the discovery of the empty sepulchre
by the two Marys.
19 baptizing: The trinitarian formulation indicates a very late date for this sentence.
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ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: THE BIRTH OF JESUS 405
For he that is mighty hath done to me great things;

and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him
from generation to generation.
He hath shewed strength with his arm;
he hath scattered the proud
in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
and exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
and the rich he hath sent empty away.
He hath holpen his servant Israel,
in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers,
to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
THE BIRTH OF JESUS

2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a
decree from Cæsar Augustus, that all the world should be
44
taxed. (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was
governor of Syria.) And all went to be taxed, every one into
his own city.
And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city
of Nazareth, into Judæa, unto the city of David, which is
called Bethlehem (because he was of the house and lineage
5 of David); to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being
great with child.
2:1 a decree: No record of this decree (which would have been taken c.4 – 1 bc)
survives, though there was a census of Judæa (only) in ad 6, of which this is
probably a memory. By setting his birthplace in Bethlehem, Luke also connects
Jesus, the Galilean, to Judæa at the other end of the country, and so to Messianic
prophecy.
4 Bethlehem: A symbolic allusion to the ancient village, birthplace of the great
King David, forerunner of the greater king now to be born; see also the allusion
to Micah below. Both Matthew and Luke include genealogies establishing Jesus’
royal lineage.
5 great with child: The narrative of the announcement to Mary of her conception
through divine, not human, power, and Joseph’s response to a pregnancy not
his, precedes this: see the Magnificat, 1:46ff. For Mary in literary tradition, see
Jeffrey (1992: 489 – 95); and for the nativity tradition, Jeffrey (1992: 539 – 43), and
Isa 7.14n, p. 220.
44
Or, enrolled.
406 ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: THE BIRTH OF JESUS
And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were
accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought
forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling
clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no
room for them in the inn.
And there were in the same country shepherds abiding
in the field, keeping 45watch over their flock by night. And,
lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory
of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore
afraid.
10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for behold,
I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all
people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David
a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign
unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling
clothes, lying in a manger.
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of
the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God
in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men.
15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from
them into heaven, 46the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing
which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known
unto us. And they came with haste, and found Mary, and
Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. And, when they
had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was
told them concerning this child. And all they that heard
it wondered at those things which were told them by the
shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered
them in her heart.
7 no room . . . : Although these narratives are full of OT allusions (as the notes
show), establishing Jesus’ status as Messiah, neither these details nor the shepherds
have a known source elsewhere. Perhaps we should put it down to inspiration.
It is an important example of the freedom felt by all biblical narrators, to enlarge
and deepen the bare frame of the narrative in order to bring out its inner truth.
Luke, it may be noted, was the most ‘humanist’ of the four Gospels.
11 For unto you . . . : Echoing Isa 9:6 ‘For unto us a child is born, unto us a son
is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the
Prince of Peace.’
45
Or, the night-watches.
46
Gr. the men the shepherds.
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ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: ENCOUNTERS 407
NUNC DIMITTIS
After the birth of Jesus, his parents brought him to the Temple for
the first time, as the Law required. Simeon, a devout old man, has
been told in a vision that he would live to see the Messiah; the Nunc
Dimittis is his farewell to life.
2: 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and
said,
Lord now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace,
according to thy word:
30 for mine eyes have seen thy salvation,
which thou hast prepared
before the face of all people;
A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel.
ENCOUNTERS
The following episodes take place in the early part of Jesus’ work,
while he is in Galilee.
7: 19 And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them
unto Jesus, saying, Art thou he that should come? or look
we for another? When the men were come unto him, they
20 said, John Baptist hath sent us unto thee, saying, Art thou
he that should come? or look we for another?
And in that same hour he cured many of their infirmities
and plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were
blind he gave sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them,
Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and
heard; how that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the
gospel is preached. And blessed is he, whosoever shall not
be offended in me.
And when the messengers of John were departed, he began
to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye
out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the
wind?
25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft
raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and
live delicately, are in kings’ courts.
7: 27 Behold . . . : Malachi 3:1; quoted also in Mark 1:2 (p. 342).

408 ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: ENCOUNTERS
But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say

unto you, and much more than a prophet. This is he, of
whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before
thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. For I say
unto you, Among those that are born of women there is
not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that
is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.
And all the people that heard him, and the publicans,
justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John. But
the Pharisees and lawyers 47rejected the counsel of God
30 48
against themselves, being not baptized of him. And the Lord
said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this genera-
tion? and to what are they like? They are like unto children
sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and
saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced;
we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept.
For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drink-
ing wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. The Son of man is
come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold, a gluttonous
man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners!
35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.
And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat
with him, And he went into the Pharisee’s house, and sat
down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which
was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the
Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and
stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his
feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head,
and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.
29 publicans : See Mark 2:15n.

37 a sinner: This woman is usually identified with Mary Magdalene, named in
Luke 8:2. John 11:1–2 (p. 429) says she is Mary, Martha’s sister. Her unspecified
‘sinning’ is generally supposed to be prostitution; although the word used here is
general, it is not clear what else it might have been. (In OT common prostitution,
as distinct from pagan sexual ritual, is usually treated casually. The Graeco-Roman
world was apparently less tolerant. In John 8:2–11, p. 425, it is apparently an errant
wife rather than a prostitute who is condemned to death.) Magdalene’s tears have
given us the word maudlin, and the scene as a whole has been fertile for artists:
see Jeffrey (1992: 486 –8).
38 anointed: Anointing was part of normal cleansing, but of course could also be
part of ritual, as in the anointing of a king. In Matthew and Mark this incident
takes place just before the Last Supper, and Jesus says (Mark 14:8): ‘she is come
aforehand to anoint my body for the burying’.
47
Or, frustrated.
48
Or, within themselves.
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ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: THE GOOD SAMARITAN 409
Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he
spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet,
would have known who and what manner of woman this is
40 that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering
said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee.
And he saith, Master, say on.
There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the
one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when
they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell
me therefore, which of them will love him most?
Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom
he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly
judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon,
Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou
gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my
feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head.
45 Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman since the time I
came in hath not ceased to kiss my feet. Mine head with
oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed
my feet with ointment.
Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many,
are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is
forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy
sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him
began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth
50 sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved
thee; go in peace.
THE GOOD SAMARITAN

10: 25 And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him,
saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest
thou? And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all
thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as
thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right:
this do, and thou shalt live.
41 pence: The word penny renders the silver denarius, about a day’s hire for a
common labourer (Matt 20:2, p. 400).
44 no water: The Pharisee was unlikely to have omitted any customary require-
ment, and this is not to be seen as a rebuke. The woman had given more than
the Law, or custom, demanded.
10:25 lawyer : A scribe: see n p. 355. The style of debate which follows is typical
of a rabbinic disputation.
410 ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: OTHER ENCOUNTERS
But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who
is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from
Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped
him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving
him half dead.
And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:
and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And
likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked
on him, and passed by on the other side.
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he
was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and
went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and
wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to
35 an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when
he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the
host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever
thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour
unto him that fell among the thieves?
And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said
Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
OTHER ENCOUNTERS
10: 38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a
certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received
him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, which
also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.
40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came
to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath
left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me.
32 Levite: Not a priest, but a member of the family dedicated to temple services.
33 Samaritan: it is ironic that Pharisee and Samaritan have exchanged their moral
significance since, and because of, NT. Samaria was devastated c.722 bc (see
p. 188), and the exiled people, the so-called ‘lost ten tribes of Israel’, were absorbed
into Assyria. Those who were left behind mixed with the peoples around them,
as they had always been inclined to do, but continued to worship Jahweh with
a Pentateuch they considered purer than the Jews’, who, however, despised them
as apostates (see pp. 188– 9, 420); it would seem impossible to regard them as
‘neighbours’. Jesus’ parable forces the lawyer into a trap. He must either accept
the Samaritan as a potential neighbour, or advocate moral nonsense. He attempts
to escape by saying ‘the one who . . .’ instead of ‘the Samaritan’, thus making
Jesus’ point.
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ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: THE PRODIGAL SON 411
And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha,

thou art careful and troubled about many things: but one
thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which
shall not be taken away from her . . .
12:13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to
my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. And
he said to him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider
over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covet-
ousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance
of the things which he possesseth.
And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground
of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he
thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I
have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This
will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and
there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will
say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many
years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night 49thy soul
shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be
which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure
for himself, and is not rich toward God.
THE PRODIGAL SON

15: 1 Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners
for to hear him. And the Pharisees and scribes murmured,
saying, This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.
And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man
of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them,
doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and
5 go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he
hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And
when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and
neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have
found my sheep which was lost.
15:1 The title, The Prodigal Son, is not in the text, but was used in the Gt chapter-
heading (though OED gives a reference to a 1525 Vulgate). The word prodigal
seems to be a sixteenth-century coinage, but the title may quickly have become
proverbial. See Jeffrey (1992: 640 –4).
49
Or, they do require thy soul.
412 ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: THE PRODIGAL SON
I say unto you, That likewise joy shall be in heaven over

one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine
just persons, which need no repentance.
Either what woman having ten 50pieces of silver, if she lose
one piece, doth not light a candle, and sweep the house, and
seek diligently till she find it? And when she hath found it,
she calleth her friends and her neighbours together, saying,
Rejoice with me; for I have found the piece which I had
10 lost. Likewise, I say unto you, There is joy in the presence
of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.
And he said, A certain man had two sons: and the younger
of them said to his father, Father, give me the portion of goods
that falleth to me. And he divided unto them his living. And
not many days after the younger son gathered all together,
and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted
his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent
all, there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began
15 to be in want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen
of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.
And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that
the swine did eat: and no man gave unto him.
And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired
servants of my father’s have bread enough and to spare, and
I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and
will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven,
and before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy
20 son: make me as one of thy hired servants. And he arose,
and came to his father.
But when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him,
and had compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed
him. And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against
heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be
called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth
the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his
hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf,
and kill it ; and let us eat, and be merry: for this my son
was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And
they began to be merry.
15 to feed swine: Unclean animals; a humiliating task, symbolic of his alienation

from his people.
50
Drachma here translated a piece of silver, is the eighth part of an ounce, which
cometh to seven pence halfpenny, and is the equal to the Roman penny.
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ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: THE ROAD TO EMMAUS 413
25 Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and
drew nigh to the house, he heard music and dancing. And
he called one of the servants, and asked what these things
meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and
thy father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath
received him safe and sound. And he was angry, and would
not go in: therefore came his father out, and entreated him.
And he answering said to his father, Lo, these many years
do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at any time thy com-
mandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I might
30 make merry with my friends: but as soon as this thy son
was come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou
hast killed for him the fatted calf.
And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever with me, and all
that I have is thine. It was meet that we should make merry,
and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive again;
and was lost, and is found.
THE JUSTIFIED SINNER

18: 9 And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in them-
selves 51that they were righteous, and despised others: Two
men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee,
and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other
men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this
publican. I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that
I possess.
13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so
much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast,
saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you, this man
went down to his house justified rather than the other: for
every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that
humbleth himself shall be exalted.
THE ROAD TO EMMAUS

Luke presents much more material than Matthew or Mark in covering
events after the resurrection, and in particular Jesus’ appearances to
the disciples. In this way it provides a link to Acts, making a con-
tinuous narrative.
51
Or, as being righteous.
414 ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: THE ROAD TO EMMAUS
24: 13 And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village
called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore
furlongs. And they talked together of all these things which
had happened. And it came to pass, that, while they com-
15 muned together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and
went with them. But their eyes were holden that they should
not know him. And he said unto them, What manner of
communications are these that ye have one to another, as
ye walk, and are sad?
And the one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answer-
ing said unto him, Art thou only a stranger in Jerusalem,
and hast not known the things which are come to pass there
in these days? And he said unto them, What things? And
they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which
was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and
all the people: and how the chief priests and our rulers
20 delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified
him. But we trusted that it had been he which should have
redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day
since these things were done, Yea, and certain women also
of our company made us astonished, which were early at
the sepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came,
saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said
that he was alive. And certain of them which were with us
went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women
had said: but him they saw not.
25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to
have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And
beginning at Moses, and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures, the things concerning himself.
And they drew nigh unto the village, whither they went:
and he made as though he would have gone further. But
they constrained him, saying, Abide with us: for it is towards
evening, and the day is far spent. And he went in to tarry
30 with them. And it came to pass, as he sat at meat with them,
he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them.
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he
52
vanished out of their sight.
24:21 the third day : From Friday to Sunday, counting (as was the practice) both
first and last days.
52
Or, ceased to be seen of them.
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ST LUKE’S GOSPEL: LUKE’S ENDING 415
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn
within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while
he opened to us the scriptures? And they rose up the same
hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven
gathered together, and them that were with them, saying,
The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And
35 they told what things were done in the way, and how he
was known of them in breaking of bread.
And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst
of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. But they
were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that they had
seen a spirit. And he said unto them, Why are ye troubled?
and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold my hands
and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a
spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have.
40 And when he had thus spoken, he shewed them his hands
and his feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and
wondered, he said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And
they gave him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb.
And he took it and did eat before them.
LUKE’S ENDING
24: 44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake
unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the
prophets, and in the psalms concerning me.
45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might
understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is
written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from
the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission
of sins should be preached in his name among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses of these things.
And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you:
but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with
power from on high.
50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted
up his hands, and blessed them. And it came to pass, while
47 all nations : Luke asserts that the message is for all the world, not Judaism
only. In Acts, by the same author, this is the major bone of contention.
49 endued looks forward to Luke’s account of the descent of the Spirit of God
to inspire and guide the disciples, as described in Acts 2:1– 4 (p. 445).
416 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL
he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried

up into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned
to Jerusalem with great joy: and were continually in the
temple, praising and blessing God.
Amen.
St John’s Gospel
Few argue now that John the disciple of Jesus actually wrote the
fourth Gospel, although he may well have provided some material
for it. Both the author and the date have been much disputed; but
this is a later work than the other three, probably written towards
the end of the first century ad, at a time when the rift between con-
ventional and Christian Jews had become irremediable.
Outlook, structure and style are all distinctive. The authors of
the so-called ‘Synoptic Gospels’ are by no means simple, unlettered
folk; they tell their stories with skill, and with sharp observation
of detail. John, another great storyteller, adds a sophistication and
conscious eye to effect that suggests a strong Hellenic influence. He
steers his stories with care, taking and holding the reader’s atten-
tion with irony and surprise. The conversation with the Samaritan
woman takes an unexpected turn when he challenges her about
her married life ( John 4:16 –18, p. 420); the revived Lazarus emerges
like the ‘living dead’ in a horror movie, but becomes not a simple
marvel like the raising of Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35–43, p. 363), but
the ironic beginning of the authorities’ plot against him (p. 431). The
three-way contest between the devious priests, flustered Pilate and
self-possessed Jesus makes superb drama.
John is also more of a metaphysician than the other three. Incidents
are reported, not for their individual interest only, but as parts of an
accumulated memory of Jesus’ life. This selection of typical passages
inevitably breaks the continuity of the whole, but the developing
outline of the book may still be followed. Each narrative episode
– often a miracle – is made a text or theme for a larger didactic dis-
course, which in turn is part of a sequence in which all the disparate
elements are moulded together, so that the book becomes one com-
plete statement. The episodes advance with care, from the relatively
trivial turning of water into wine (Chapter 2) to the revival of Lazarus
(Chapter 11); this bringing of life out of death becomes a paradigm
of the death and resurrection of Jesus himself. All is subordinated
to the purpose of leading the reader to understand the true, ideal
51 carried . . . heaven: As was Elijah (2 Kgs 2:11–14, p. 186).
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL 417
realities which underlie the material appearance of things. Jesus’ acts

and words are not merely reported, but interpreted, so that the reader
may understand his inner meanings.
The narrative effects, the surprises, ironies and unexpected turns
given to a situation are thus parts of John’s method of clarifying
what he sees as the mystery of Jesus. His opening statement (1:1 –5)
declares that the eternal and universal principle (‘the Word’) is, para-
doxically, particular and temporal: ‘made flesh, and dwelt among us’.
The ideal is not opposed to the material, but has been demonstrated
within it. Every major incident restates and illustrates this thesis. The
revival of Lazarus becomes, besides as a turning-point in Jesus’ life,
a parable acted out, concerning the universal and indestructible ‘Word’
in its relation to death. The onlookers think that the problem is
sickness, and look to Jesus for his healing powers. He does not heal
the sick Lazarus; he waits until life has left him. Then he says, ‘I am
the life’ (11:25), and goes on to demonstrate this. Martha (v. 24)
assumes that he refers to a future life in which death will not be a
problem, whereas he is speaking of a life-essence inherent in the
universe, and existing regardless of time. Healing there is irrelevant.
The irony is that Jesus’ adversaries, the priests, reject the real life and
dissociate themselves from the ‘Word’ (11:46–57); this is no postscript
but the conclusion and summation of the episode.
For all the narrative skill and subtlety, it may be felt that there is
a sameness about the elegant style of Jesus’ discourses that tends to
be monotony. John imposes an idiom on Jesus; the vivid, personal
aphorisms of the Synoptic Gospels are replaced by a smoother, but
denser and more philosophic tone, in which the reported words of
Jesus emerge into the author’s with no clear margin. The actual words
that Jesus spoke matter less to John than the meaning of his actions,
the things he did. For him, in the search to express meaning it is
quite legitimate to reshape the sayings.
Ethically, the Synoptic Gospels are much more concerned with
behaviour, with the everyday demands made on the disciples, than
is John, whose main emphasis falls on Faith. Their view of the world
is – by and large – more concrete than his. They seem to expect the
imminent establishment of an earthly kingdom of God, ruled by a
returned Jesus. John’s view is more universal and timeless. He does
not wait for a future event and a ‘second coming’, but sees an infinite,
ever-existent kingdom. One therefore need not wait for it; it may
be entered at once, by a faith that sees through the material world
to the ideal within (not beyond) it.
An element which offends many readers is John’s constant,
apparently disparaging, reference to ‘the Jews’ as if they were an alien
people. We should block out twentieth-century, racial echoes in this.
418 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE WORD
John was writing after the Romans’ destruction of the Temple in

ad 70. This was a tense, angry time, when sectarian animosity between
the followers of Jesus and conventional Jews was at its height. Who
were the true children of Abraham? This animosity is reflected
particularly in Chapter 9 (p. 427). A better expression than ‘the Jews’
would have been ‘the Judeans’, those whose spiritual centre was in
Jerusalem, for whom the Samaritans and the Galileans were apostates,
rather than a whole people.
True, the OT complex of imagery – the Promise, the Exodus
journey, the City and Temple – is less in evidence here than in the
other Gospels. In the meeting with the Samaritan woman, the
bucket at the well is not just a talking-point. This is Jacob’s well, a
prophetic symbol, demonstrating Jesus as ‘greater than our father
Jacob’. When he feeds 5000 people (p. 422), he is the new Moses
with new manna, and when he raises Lazarus, he is a new and greater
Elijah (p. 184). For all the quasi-Platonist echoes in his work, one
must not overstate John’s Hellenism. His narrative method, his use
of the symbolism of images and actions, derive as clearly from the
Prophets as his use of the concept of ‘the Word’ derives, perhaps
via the Alexandrian Jew, Philo, from the Hebrew tradition. In this
tradition, John envisages ultimate truth, not as general absolutes,
but as the Word expressed in human form delivered by God: his
will, his irresistible intention.
Further reading. See p. 351; apart from Kermode’s lengthy essay
in Alter and Kermode (1987) 440 –65, there is little recent literary
discussion specifically of this book, but Borg (2001: 202 –18) is
interesting.
THE WORD
1: 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him; and without
him was not any thing made that was made. In him was
1: 1 In the beginning: LXX en archéi: in Greek, as in English, this phrase is iden-

tical to the opening of Genesis.
the Word: Greek logos. In OT ‘the word of God’ is ultimate universal power. A
word was a real, effective expression of will, not merely a symbol or a ‘signifier’:
cf. Gen 1:1– 3. In Hellenic, post-Platonic (especially Stoic) thought, the universe
is One, and its soul the divine Logos or Reason. These notions strongly affected
Jewish philosophers in Alexandria, especially John’s famous contemporary, Philo.
John alters the concept profoundly by identifying the Logos not as an impersonal
principle, but with the personal God – whose nature may thus be incorporated
without limitation into a human being.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: WATER INTO WINE 419
5 life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth
in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.
There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light,
that all men through him might believe. He was not that
Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was
the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into
the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him,
and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and
his own received him not. But as many as received him, to
them gave he 53power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of
blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but of God.
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and
we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of
the Father), full of grace and truth.
15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he
of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before
me: for he was before me. And of his fulness have all we
received, and grace for grace.
For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came
by Jesus Christ. No man hath seen God at any time; the
only-begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father,
he hath declared him.
The rest of the first chapter, as in Mark, deals with John the Baptist’s
recognition of Jesus, who then gathers his group of disciples.
WATER INTO WINE

2:1 And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee;
and the mother of Jesus was there: and both Jesus was
called, and his disciples, to the marriage. And when they
wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have
4 life . . . Light: Like logos, important words in Hellenistic religious thought. John
makes a startling deviation from that context in the next paragraph and comes
to his major point in the fourth.
5 comprehended: Enclosed, contained, surrounded. The Greek can mean either
‘understood it’ or ‘overcame it’.
2:3 wanted: In the original sense of ‘lacked’.
53
Or, the right, or the privilege.
420 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: WOMAN AT JACOB’S WELL
no wine. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do

5 with thee? mine hour is not yet come. His mother saith unto
the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it.
And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the
manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three
firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto them, fill the waterpots with
water. And they filled them up to the brim. And he saith
unto them, Draw out now, and bear unto the governor of
the feast. And they bare it.
When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was
made wine, and knew not whence it was (but the servants
which drew the water knew); the governor of the feast
10 called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, Every man at
the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when men
have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast
kept the good wine until now.
This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee,
and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed
on him.
THE WOMAN AT JACOB’S WELL

4: 5 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar,
near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son
Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being
wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was
about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria
4: 5 Sychar is probably near modern Nablus.

Samaria: For Jewish attitudes to Samaritans, see Luke 10:33n, p. 410; and the
headnote, p. 417. This episode is an excellent example of John’s method. Ironic
misunderstanding is followed by clarification, with a Judaic point hidden inside
(see 4:6n). It is also an example of the extension into NT of the type-scene used
in OT (see Alter 1981: 50ff.): e.g. Gen 24:10–28, 29:1–13 (p. 82), where a suitor (or
his agent) meets a virgin at a well; she draws water for him and their meeting leads
to marriage. The similarities give the scene its symbolic validity; the differences
bear a particular weight of significance.
5 parcel . . . that Jacob gave . . . : In Gen 33:18– 20 this patch of land in this area of
Canaan is bought by Jacob from another tribe after he had camped there. He
erected an altar named ‘God [is] the God of Israel’, thus planting his God’s flag
there. It is still Israelite land for Jesus to use. Later (Josh 24: 32) Joseph was buried
there.
6 Jacob’s well : cf. Gen 29:11, p. 82. Where Jacob’s sheep were watered by the
virtuous Rachel, here we have a ‘loose’ woman, but in both cases water and thirst
make the central symbol.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: WOMAN AT JACOB’S WELL 421
to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For

his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is
it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a
woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the
Samaritans.
10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the
gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to
drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have
given thee living water.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to
draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou
that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob,
which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his
children, and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh
of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of
the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the
water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water
springing up into everlasting life.
15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that
I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto
her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman
answered and said, I have no husband.
Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no
husband: for thou hast had five husbands; and he whom
thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art
20 a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and
ye say, that in Jerusalem, is the place where men ought to
worship. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour
cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at
Jerusalem, worship the Father.
Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship:
for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now
is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in
spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship
him. God is a Spirit, and they that worship him must worship
25 him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I
know that Messias cometh which is called Christ: when he
18 five husbands: Jesus presumably deduced that she was shunned by other women,
or else she would have joined them as they drew water together.
422 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: FEEDING FIVE THOUSAND
is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that
speak unto thee am he.
And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he
talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou?
or, Why talkest thou with her?
The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way
into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which
told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
30 Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.
In the mean while his disciples prayed him, saying, Master,
eat. But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that ye know
not of. Therefore said the disciples one to another, Hath
any man brought him aught to eat?
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him
that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are
yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say
unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they
are white already to harvest.
FEEDING FIVE THOUSAND

6: 1 After these things, Jesus went over the sea of Galilee,
which is the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed
him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them
that were diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain, and
there he sat with his disciples. And the passover, a feast of
the Jews, was nigh.
5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great
company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence
shall we buy bread, that these may eat? And this he said
to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.
Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread
is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take
a little.
One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother,
saith unto him, There is a lad here, which hath five barley
loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so
10 many? And Jesus said, Make the men sit down.
26 I . . . am he: In John, Jesus openly claims to be Messiah (Messias is the Greek

form); in the other Gospels he is more circumspect. See 6:35n.
6:1–14 The only miracle recorded in all four Gospels.
9 barley loaves : A detail given in John only; in 2 Kgs 4: 42– 4, the prophet Elisha’s
followers were miraculously fed with barley loaves during a famine.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE BREAD OF LIFE 423
Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat
down, in number about five thousand. And Jesus took the
loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the
disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and
likewise of the fishes as much as they would.
When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up
the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. Therefore
they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with
the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over
and above unto them that had eaten. Then those men, when
they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a
truth that prophet that should come into the world.
15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and
take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again
into a mountain himself alone.
WALKING ON WATER
6: 16 And when even was now come, his disciples went down unto
the sea, and entered into a ship, and went over the sea toward
Capernaum. And it was now dark, and Jesus was not come
to them. And the sea arose by reason of a great wind that
blew. So when they had rowed about five and twenty or
thirty furlongs, they see Jesus walking on the sea, and draw-
ing nigh unto the ship: and they were afraid.
20 But he saith unto them, It is I; be not afraid. Then they
willingly received him into the ship: and immediately the
ship was at the land whither they went.
THE BREAD OF LIFE

6: 22 The day following, when the people which stood on the
other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat
there, save that one whereinto his disciples were entered,
and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat,
but that his disciples were gone away alone (howbeit there
came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where
they did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks):
when the people therefore saw that Jesus was not there,
neither his disciples, they also took shipping, and came to
11 would: Again the original sense, ‘wished’ (derived from the past tense of will).
14 that prophet: Jewish expectation at this point was varied – a king, an anointed
priest, a prophet – but all parties hoped for a divinely inspired leader.
424 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE BREAD OF LIFE
25 Capernaum, seeking for Jesus. And when they had found

him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi,
when camest thou hither?
Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because
ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled. 54Labour not for the
meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth
unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto
you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
Then said they unto him What shall we do, that we might
work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them,
This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he
hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou
then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou
work? Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is
written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father
giveth you the true bread from heaven. For the bread
of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth
light unto the world.
Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this
35 bread. And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life:
he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that
believeth on me shall never thirst. But I said unto you, That
ye also have seen me, and believe not. All that the Father
giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me
I will in no wise cast out . . .
6:27 Labour not . . . Characteristically, John treats events as signs, and records them
with emphasis on their meaning.
Son of man: See Mark 2:10n, p. 354.
sealed with the seal of his authority.
28 What shall we do . . . ? cf. the lawyer’s question which produced the parable
of the ‘Good Samaritan’, p. 409.
31 manna: another Mosaic precedent: see p. 110. Jesus alludes both to this and
other texts, e.g. Ps 78:24–25: [God] . . . had rained down manna upon them to eat,
and had given them of the corn of heaven. Man did eat angel’s food: he sent them
meat to the full’. Also Ps 105:40: ‘The people asked, and he] . . . satisfied them with
the bread of heaven.’ In 2Kgs 4:38–44 Elisha feeds 100 men with 20 barley loaves.
35 I am: A cryptic claim to divine status (see n pp. 421–2), much used by John.
It is a dangerous echo of God’s own claim, ‘i am that i am’ (p. 92), and Mark
14:62, p. 384.
54
Or, Work not.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE ADULTERESS 425
6:47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath

everlasting life. I am that bread of life. Your fathers did eat
manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread
50 which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat
thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down
from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for
ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will
give for the life of the world.
The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying,
How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink
his blood, ye have no life in you. Whoso eateth my flesh,
and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise
55 him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and
my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father:
so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. This is that
bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers
did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread
shall live for ever.
These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in
Capernaum.
THE ADULTERESS
This incident (8:2–11) is not in all MSS of John; internal and stylistic
evidence suggest it is not his, nor is it used in his characteristic
symbolic way. But the incident is fully characteristic of Jesus, and
no one wants to dismiss it. Some MSS place it in Luke, at the end
of his contentious visit to the Temple.
8:1 Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the
morning he came again into the temple, and all the people
came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them.
And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a
woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in
the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was
5 taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law
53 Except ye eat . . . : A paradox typical of John.

8: 5 law: By Lev 20: 10 sex between a man and a married woman carries the death
penalty for both. Lev 20:2 establishes execution by stoning; by Deut 13: 9– 10 the
prime witnesses must cast the first stone.
426 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE MAN BORN BLIND
commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest

thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have
to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger
wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not.
So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself,
and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let
him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down,
and wrote on the ground.
And they which heard it, being convicted by their own
conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest,
even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman
standing in the midst.
10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the
woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine
accusers? hath no man condemned thee?
She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither
do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
THE MAN BORN BLIND

9: 1 And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from
his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who
did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind?
Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his
parents: but that the works of God should be made mani-
fest in him. I must work the works of him that sent me, while
5 it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. As long
as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.
When he had thus spoken, he spat on the ground, and
made clay of the spittle, and he 55anointed the eyes of the
blind man with the clay, and said unto him, Go, wash in
the pool of Siloam (which is, by interpretation, Sent). He
went his way therefore, and washed, and came seeing.
8: 8 All . . . : A difficult and uncertain line, perhaps a reference to contemporary

popular nationalist leaders and fanatics.
9:3 Neither hath . . . sinned: Jesus deflects his disciples’ interest in sin (which they
assume to be the likely cause of the illness), to the cure. John develops with charac-
teristic irony the contrast between the vision – and increasing confidence – of the
once-blind man and the obstinate tunnel vision of the supposed preservers of truth.
7 Siloam: The water was ‘sent’ through an underground conduit; there is a hint
that Jesus was also ‘sent’. Belief in the healing properties of saliva was widespread:
see Ps 46:4n, p. 309.
55
Or, spread the clay upon the eyes of the blind man.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE MAN BORN BLIND 427
The neighbours therefore, and they which before had

seen him that he was blind, said, Is not this he that sat and
begged? Some said, This is he: others said, He is like him:
10 but he said, I am he. Therefore said they unto him, How
were thine eyes opened?
He answered and said, A man that is called Jesus made
clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to
the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and
I received sight. Then said they unto him, Where is he?
He said, I know not. . .
He is brought before the Pharisees.
9:18 But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had
been blind, and received his sight, until they called the
parents of him that had received his sight. And they asked
them, saying, Is this your son, who ye say was born blind?
20 how then doth he now see? His parents answered them and
said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born
blind: but by what means he now seeth, we know not; or
who hath opened his eyes, we know not: he is of age; ask
him: he shall speak for himself.
These words spake his parents, because they feared the Jews:
for the Jews had agreed already, that if any man did confess
that he was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.
Therefore said his parents, He is of age, ask him.
Then again called they the man that was blind, and said
unto him, Give God the praise: we know that this man is
25 a sinner. He answered and said, Whether he be a sinner or
no, I know not: one thing I know, that whereas I was blind,
now I see. Then said they to him again, What did he to
thee? how opened he thine eyes?
He answered them, I have told you already, and ye did
not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again? will ye also be
his disciples?
Then they reviled him, and said, Thou art his disciple;
but we are Moses’ disciples. We know that God spake unto
Moses: as for this fellow, we know not from whence he is.
30 The man answered and said unto them, Why herein is
a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is,
and yet he hath opened mine eyes. Now we know that God
heareth not sinners: but if any man be a worshipper of
God, and doeth his will, him he heareth. Since the world
24 Give God the praise: A formal charge, in effect putting the man on oath.
428 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP
began was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of
one that was born blind. If this man were not of God, he
could do nothing.
They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether
born in sins, and doest thou teach us? And they 56cast him
out.
35 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when he had
found him, he said unto him, Dost thou believe on the Son
of God? He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I
might believe on him? And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast
both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he
said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him.
And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this
world, that they which see not might see; and that they which
see might be made blind.
40 And some of the Pharisees which were with him heard
these words, and said unto him, Are we blind also? Jesus
said unto them, If ye were blind, ye should have no sin: but
now ye say, We see; therefore your sin remaineth.
THE SHEPHERD AND HIS SHEEP

10:1 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the
door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way,
the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in
by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter
openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his
own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he
putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and
5 the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. And a stranger
will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know
not the voice of strangers.
This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood
not what things they were which he spake unto them.
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto
you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before
me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved,
10 and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh
35 Son of God: Some texts read Son of man: see Mark 2:10n, p. 354.
10:2 the shepherd: There is another parable of the shepherd in Luke 15:1– 7.
56
Or, excommunicated him.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: LAZARUS 429
not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come

that they might have life, and that they might have it more
abundantly.
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and not the shep-
herd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming,
and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them,
and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he
is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.
15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father:
and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep
I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring,
and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold,
and one shepherd.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down
my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from
me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down,
and I have power to take it again. This commandment have
I received of my Father.
LAZARUS
11: 1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany,
the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary
which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet
with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore
his sisters sent unto him saying, Lord, behold, he whom
thou lovest is sick.
When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto
death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might
be glorified thereby.
5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.
When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode
two days still in the same place where he was. Then after
that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judæa again.
His disciples say unto him, Master, the Jews of late
sought to stone thee; and goest thou thither again?
Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day?
If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he
10 seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the night,
he stumbleth, because there is no light in him.
These things said he: and after that he saith unto them,
Our friend Lazarus sleepeth; but I go, that I may awake
430 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: LAZARUS
him out of sleep. Then said his disciples, Lord, if he sleep,

he shall do well. Howbeit, Jesus spake of his death: but they
thought that he had spoken of taking of rest in sleep.
15 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead. And
I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, to the intent
ye may believe; nevertheless let us go unto him. Then said
Thomas, which is called Didymus, unto his fellow-disciples,
Let us also go, that we may die with him.
Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the
grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto
Jerusalem, 57about fifteen furlongs off: and many of the Jews
came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their
20 brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was
coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house.
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been
here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now,
whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee,
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha
saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the
resurrection at the last day.
25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life:
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he
live: and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never
die. Believest thou this?
She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the
Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.
And when she had so said, she went her way, and called
Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come, and
calleth for thee. As soon as she heard that, she arose
quickly, and came unto him.
30 Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in
that place where Martha met him. The Jews then which
were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they
saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed
her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there. Then
when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she
11: 17 four days : The soul was believed to hover over the body for three days, and
then to depart, when (it was thought) decomposition would begin.
20 sat still: ‘Remained’ (not ‘motionless’).
25 I am . . . life: See notes on life, light: I am (1:4; 4:26). The tense is present,
not future: Jesus identifies himself with the logos (1:1n, p. 418), which is an ever-
existent principle, not a future hope.
57
That is, about two miles.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: LAZARUS 431
fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst
been here, my brother had not died.
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also
weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and
58
was troubled, and said, Where have ye laid him? They said
35 unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept.
Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some
of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes
of the blind, have caused that even this man should not
have died?
Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the
grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take
ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead,
saith unto him Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath
been dead four days.
40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou
wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then
they took away the stone from the place where the dead
was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I
thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou
hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by
I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me.
And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice,
Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth,
bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was
bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose
him, and let him go.
45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had
seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some
of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them
what things Jesus had done.
Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council,
and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. If
we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the
Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest
that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor
50 consider that it is expedient for us, that one man should die
44 he that was dead came forth: Literally ‘the dead [one]’; this is meant to be
symbolic as well as dramatically effective.
49 Caiaphas was high priest throughout Pilate’s governorship (c.ad 25–36), before
ad 26 and until 37.
58
Gr. he troubled himself.
432 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: JESUS REFLECTS ON HIS DEATH
for the people, and that the whole nation perish not. And this
spake he not of himself: but being high priest that year, he
prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation; and not for
that nation only, but that also he should gather together in
one the children of God that were scattered abroad.
Then from that day forth they took counsel together for
to put him to death.
JESUS REFLECTS ON HIS DEATH

12: 23 And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that
the Son of man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto
you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die,
it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his
life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am,
there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him
will my Father honour.
Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father,
save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this
hour. Father, glorify thy name.
Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both
glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people therefore,
that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others
said, An angel spake to him.
Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of
30 me, but for your sakes. Now is the judgment of this world:
now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I
be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This
he said, signifying what death he should die.
The people answered him, We have heard out of the law
that Christ abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, The Son
of man must be lifted up? who is this Son of man?
Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light
35 with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come
upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not
whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light,
that ye may be the children of light.
These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide
himself from them.
12:32 lifted up: As Moses lifted up a brazen serpent to counter a plague (Num
21:4– 9, p. 126).
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE LAST EVENING 433
THE LAST EVENING: JESUS WASHES

THE DISCIPLES’ FEET
13: 1 Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that
his hour was come that he should depart out of this world
unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the
world, he loved them unto the end.
And supper being ended, the devil having now put into
the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him; Jesus
knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands,
and that he was come from God, and went to God; he riseth
from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel,
5 and girded himself. After that he poureth water into a basin,
and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with
the towel wherewith he was girded.
Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and 59Peter saith unto
him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered and said
unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt
know hereafter. Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash
my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast
no part with me. Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not
my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save
to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean,
but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore
said he, Ye are not all clean.
So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his
garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know
ye what I have done to you? Ye call me Master and Lord:
and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master,
have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s
15 feet. For I have given you an example, that ye should do
as I have done to you.
13:1 before . . . passover: See passover, n p. 380, and the account in Exodus of its
establishment, p. 103. John puts the betrayal on the night before Passover. Both
John and Mark were more concerned with symbolic truth than factual accuracy,
but they are making different symbolic points. Mark (with Matthew and Luke)
was fitting events to Messianic prophecies, whereas John wished the death of Jesus
to coincide with the death of the sacrificial lamb.
5 water into a basin: It was (and is) normal to provide water to wash dusty hands
and feet, but actually to wash the guest’s feet was menial.
59
Gr. he.
434 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: ‘MY FATHER’S MANSIONS’
Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater

than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent
him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them.
‘MY FATHER’S MANSIONS’

14: 1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe
also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it
were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come
again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there
ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way
ye know.
5 Thomas saith unto him Lord, we know not whither thou
goest; and how can we know the way?
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, and the truth, and
the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me. If ye
had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and
from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.
THE TRUE VINE

15: 1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every
branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and
every branch that beareth fruit he purgeth it, that it may
bring forth more fruit. Now ye are clean through the word
which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in
the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: he that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for 60without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not
in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and
men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are
14: 1 believe in: In the Bible, this has the sense ‘to put trust in’. The sense ‘accept
the existence of’ is later (see OED).
2 mansions : So all versions: Vg mansiones. In the sixteenth century the word had
its present meaning, among others. It could also mean a staging-place or (as here)
a room in a large house. See OED, mansion 2b. Later in this chapter (John 14: 23:
not in this extract) the same Greek word moné is translated abode (so Rh: BB
has dwelling; others, will dwell); it does not appear elsewhere in NT.
60
Or, severed from me.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: BETRAYAL AND ARREST 435
burned. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye

shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Herein
is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye
be my disciples.
As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue
10 ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide
in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments,
and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you,
that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might
be full.
This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as
I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that
a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends,
15 if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you
not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord
doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I
have heard of my Father I have made known unto you.
Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and
ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and
that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask
of the Father in my name, he may give it you. These things
I command you, that ye love one another.
BETRAYAL AND ARREST

18: 1 When Jesus had spoken these words, he went forth with
his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden,
into the which he entered, and his disciples.
And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for
Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples. Judas then,
having received a band of men and officers from the chief
priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and
torches and weapons.
Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon
him, went forth, and said unto them, Whom seek ye? They
5 answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith unto them, I
am he: and Judas also, which betrayed him, stood with them.
As soon then as he had said unto them, I am he, they went
backward, and fell to the ground.
18: 1 the brook Cedron: Hebrew Kidron: a normally dry watercourse between the
east wall of Jerusalem and the Mount of Olives.
6 they went backward: In this Gospel the author stresses that Jesus can be arrested
only because he permits it.
436 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: JUDGMENT
Then asked he them again, Whom seek ye? And they said,
Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I
am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way: that
the saying might be fulfilled, which he spake, Of them which
thou gavest me have I lost none.
10 Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote
the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The ser-
vant’s name was Malchus. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put
up thy sword into the sheath: the cup which my Father hath
given me, shall I not drink it?
Peter’s denial (see Mark 14:54, 66 –72) follows.
JUDGMENT
18: 28 Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto 61the hall of judg-
ment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into
the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they
might eat the passover.
Pilate then went out unto them, and said, What accusation
30 bring ye against this man? They answered and said unto him,
If he were not a malefactor, we would not have delivered
him up unto thee. Then said Pilate unto them, Take ye him,
and judge him according to your law. The Jews therefore
said unto him, It is not lawful for us to put any man to
death: that the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he
spake, signifying what death he should die.
Then Pilate entered into the judgment hall again, and
called Jesus, and said unto him, Art thou the King of the
Jews? Jesus answered him, Sayest thou this thing of thyself,
35 or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am I a
Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered
thee unto me: what hast thou done?
9 Of them . . . have I lost none: Words earlier attributed by John to Jesus (17: 12,
not included here).
18: 28 the judgment hall of the Gentile overlord was not a holy place in which to
be found during Passover; see Mark 15:1n, p. 385. In this crucial passage, Pilate is
manipulated by the priests into running in and out of his palace, instead of pre-
siding over the proceedings from the judgement seat. He is also always wrong-
footed in his verbal duels with Jesus, confident and calm.
31 according to your law. The imperial order permitted the jurisdiction of traditional
‘native law and custom’ for lesser crimes, that Pilate would not want to be bothered
with.
61
Or, Pilate’s home.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: JUDGMENT 437
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my

kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight,
that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my
kingdom not from hence.
Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus
answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was
I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I
should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of
the truth heareth my voice. Pilate saith unto him, What is
truth?
And when he had said this, he went out again unto the
Jews, and saith unto them, I find in him no fault at all.
But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one
at the passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you
40 the King of the Jews? Then cried they all again, saying, Not
this man, but Barabbas. Now Barabbas was a robber.
19:1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him. And
the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his
head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail,
King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.
Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them,
Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that
5 I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the
crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto
them, Behold the man!
When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they
cried out, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto
them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in
him. The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our
law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of
God.
36 My kingdom: Jesus is much less monosyllabic here than in Mark (p. 384). Style
and approach are notably different; here we find almost a discussion of the nature
of the Kingdom, truth, etc.
38 ‘I find no fault . . .’ is a magistrate’s assessment, not a moral judgement. No
valid charge has been laid. At this point, Jesus is on the verge of release.
39 the King of the Jews: The humiliation was possibly a preface to letting him go.
Pilate was probably mocking both Jesus and the Jews. But John in turn is ironical
at Pilate’s expense.
19:2 plaited . . . : The thorns mockingly imitate the laurel crown adorning a hero;
the purple robe was a mark of a rich and great man.
7 Son of God: Roman Emperors made a similar claim (especially later in the century,
when John is usually supposed to have been composed). Pilate would not want
this sort of trouble.
438 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: CRUCIFIXION
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more

afraid; and went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto
Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.
10 Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me?
knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and
have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest
have no power at all against me, except it were given thee
from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath
the greater sin.
And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but
the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou
art not Cæsar’s friend: whosoever maketh himself a king
speaketh against Cæsar.
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus
forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a place that is
called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And it
was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour:
15 and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King! But they
cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him.
Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The
chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar. Then
delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And
they took Jesus, and led him away.
CRUCIFIXION
19: 17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the
place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either
side one, and Jesus in the midst.
And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the
writing was, jesus of nazareth the king of the jews.
20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where
Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written
in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
14 the sixth hour: Noon; see 13:1n, before . . . passover. The day of Passover began
six hours later. John wished to make a dramatic point as Jesus is handed over
at the same time as the Preparation of the Passover, the slaughter of the lamb
taking place ‘in the evening’ (Exod 12:6), traditionally between the ninth and
eleventh hours of the day.
16 Then . . . : Ironical; both Romans and Jews had betrayed their trust. Pilate had
put expediency before justice, and the priests had elevated Caesar above God.
19:17 Golgotha: See Mark 15:22n, p. 386.
19 title: A label showing the criminal’s name and crime.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: CRUCIFIXION 439
Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not,
The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.
Pilate answered, What I have written I have written.
Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took
his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and
also his coat: now the coat was without seam, 62woven from
the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves,
Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be:
that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted
my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast
lots. These things therefore the soldiers did.
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and
his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of 63Cleophas, and Mary
Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the
disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his
mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the
disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that
disciple took her unto his own home.
After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now
accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I
thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they
filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and
30 put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the
vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and
gave up the ghost.
The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that
the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the
sabbath-day (for that sabbath-day was an high day),
besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that
they might be taken away. Then came the soldiers, and brake
the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified
with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he
was dead already, they brake not his legs: but one of the
soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came
35 there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record,
24 They parted . . . : Psalm 22:18.

28 I thirst : An irony: the source of living water (4:14, p. 420) thirsts. Also
Ps 69:21: ‘In my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.’
30 It is finished: Or, ‘it is accomplished’; John stresses throughout that Jesus always
knows what he is doing, and that he has a task which he intends to carry through
successfully; cf. Jesus’ cry in Mark 15:34, p. 387.
62
Or, wrought.
63
Or, Clopas.
440 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: RESURRECTION
and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true,

that ye might believe. For these things were done, that the
scripture should be fulfilled, A bone of him shall not be
broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look
on him whom they pierced.
And after this, Joseph of Arimathæa, being a disciple
of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate
that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave
him leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus.
And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came
to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes,
40 about an hundred pound weight. Then took they the body
of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as
the manner of the Jews is to bury.
Now in the place where he was crucified there was a
garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was
never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because
of the Jews’ preparation day; for the sepulchre was nigh at
hand.
RESURRECTION
20: 1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early,
when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the
stone taken away from the sepulchre. Then she runneth,
and cometh to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom
Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away
the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we know not where they
have laid him.
Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and
came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and
the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the
5 sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the
linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.
Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went
into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the
napkin, that was about his head, not lying with the linen
clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went
36 a bone: The passover ordinance (Exod 12:46, Num 9:12) instructs that the bones
of the sacrificed lamb should not be broken before or during the meal. Thus
John again identifies Jesus with the sacrifice.
37 They shall look: Ps 22:16; Zech 12:10, where ‘they’ are the Gentile nations on whom
God will have taken revenge, and who are now regretting their violence.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: RESURRECTION 441
in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre,

and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the
scripture, that he must rise again from the dead.
10 Then the disciples went away again unto their own
home. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping:
and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the
sepulchre, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at
the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus
had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou?
She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord,
and I know not where they have laid him.
And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and
saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus
15 saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest
thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto
him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou
hast laid him, and I will take him away.
Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith
unto him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master.
Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet
ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto
them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to
my God, and your God.
Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she
had seen the Lord, and that he had spoken these things
unto her.
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the
week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were
assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus, and stood in the
midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. And when
20 he had so said, he shewed unto them his hands and his side.
Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the Lord.
Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my
Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he
had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them,
Receive ye the Holy Ghost: whose soever sins ye remit, they
are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain,
they are retained.
20:9 the scripture: Ps 16:10, ‘Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou
suffer thine holy one to see corruption’, and Hosea 6:2, p. 210.
17 Touch me not: The Vg phrase noli me tangere had become proverbial (e.g.
Wyatt’s sonnet, ‘Whoso list to hunt’), but the AV phrase did not. The Greek
may be translated, ‘Do not try to hold on to me.’
442 ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE LAST MEETING
But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not

with them when Jesus came. The other disciples therefore
25 said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto
them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails,
and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my
hand into his side, I will not believe.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and
Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut,
and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then
saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold
my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my
side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas
answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus
saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou
hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet
have believed.
30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of
his disciples, which are not written in this book: but these
are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ,
the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through
his name.
THE LAST MEETING

21: 1 After these things Jesus shewed himself again to the disciples
at the sea of Tiberias; and on this wise shewed he himself.
There were together Simon Peter, and Thomas called
Didymus, and Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, and the sons
of Zebedee, and two other of his disciples. Simon Peter
saith unto them I go a fishing. They say unto him, We
also go with thee. They went forth, and entered into a ship
immediately; and that night they caught nothing.
But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on
5 the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus. Then
Jesus saith unto them, 64Children, have ye any meat? They
answered him, No.
24 Didymus : ‘Twin’. This story gave rise to the phrase (which is not in NT),
‘doubting Thomas’.
30 And many other signs . . . : Clearly a conclusion: John 21 is an addition.
21:3 I go a fishing: Peter, not knowing what to do, goes back to his habitual
occupation.
64
Or, Sirs.
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ST JOHN’S GOSPEL: THE LAST MEETING 443
And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side
of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now
they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.
Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto
Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it
was the Lord, he girt his fisher’s coat unto him (for he was
naked), and did cast himself into the sea. And the other
disciples came in a little ship (for they were not far from
land, but as it were two hundred cubits), dragging the net
with fishes.
As soon then as they were come to land, they saw a fire
of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread. Jesus saith
10 unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught.
Simon Peter went up, and drew the net to land full of great
fishes, an hundred and fifty and three: and for all there were
so many, yet was not the net broken.
Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine. And none of the
disciples durst ask him, Who art thou? knowing that it was
the Lord. Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth
them, and fish likewise.
This is now the third time that Jesus shewed himself to
his disciples, after that he was risen from the dead.
15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter,
Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He
saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee.
He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
He saith unto him again the second time, Simon, son of
Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou
knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas,
lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him
the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord,
thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus
saith unto him, Feed my sheep. Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
When thou wast young, thou girdest thyself, and walkedst
9 a fire: The scene is set realistically, but the number of fish is symbolic: 153 is a
‘triangular’ number, made by the addition of a sequence of consecutive numbers,
in this case every number from 1 to 17. According to Jerome, the translator of
Vg, 153 represented the total number of known species of fish.
Luke 5:4–11 places a similar story much earlier in Jesus’ work.
18 When thou wast young: The next sentence makes this a prophecy, though
written after the event, that Peter would die by crucifixion. However, it is more
moving if it is taken simply as an image of a helpless old man, carried about
willy-nilly by his children. To gird is, in effect, to dress.
444 ACTS OF APOSTLES
whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou

shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee,
and carry thee whither thou wouldest not. This spake he,
signifying by what death he should glorify God.
And when he had spoken this, he saith unto him, Follow
20 me. Then Peter, turning about, seeth the disciple whom Jesus
loved following; which also leaned on his breast at supper,
and said, Lord, which is he that betrayeth thee? Peter seeing
him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus
saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that
to thee? follow thou me.
Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that
that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him,
He shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what
is that to thee?
This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and
wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
25 And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that
even the world itself could not contain the books that should
be written.
Amen.
The Acts of the Apostles

There is little reason to doubt the claim, made on its first page, that
this account, dating from somewhere between 61 and 80 ad, was
written by Luke as a sequel to his Gospel. It is a selective and lively
record of the activities of the first leaders of the Christian Church
(the Apostles of the title) from its very beginning until the arrival
of Paul in Rome, c.ad 60.
Acts open with Jesus’ departure (the Ascension), followed at the
time of the Jewish feast of Pentecost, by the dramatic inspiration of
the group by fire from heaven that founded the Christian Church.
There follows an account of Peter’s first preaching, and other events
during the first weeks in Jerusalem (2:14–6:4), up to the death of
Stephen, the first martyr (6: 5–8:1). An event which shapes the whole
future of the movement is Peter’s recognition that the message was
24 This is the disciple: This appears to mean that John the disciple wrote the book,
but it may mean only that he supplied the material. The sentence is cryptic, like
so much else in John; the author takes much trouble both to hint at his identity
and to conceal it.
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ACTS OF APOSTLES: PENTECOST 445
for Gentiles as well as Jews (10: 1–11: 21; see p. 447). All these signal
the contention between new sect and old religion, which echoes
throughout the book and into the Epistles.
Acts is a straightforward narrative, a lively, fluent work, alternating
between narrative that ranges from healing miracles to riot and ship-
wreck, and reports of the preaching of Peter and the disputations of
Paul. Peter dominates the account until Chapter 12, and thereafter
Paul. At the end, Paul is in Rome, continuing to preach though still
under guard (28:14–31). In the opening chapters the narrative centres
on Peter, as leader of the group, but from Chapter 13 the emphasis
shifts to Paul, with whom Luke, the author, was closely connected,
as the narrative shows. Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus
is first narrated in 9:1– 22; a substantial part of the book is taken up
with his missionary journeys in Asia Minor and Greece, c.46 –58 ad
(begun after an interval of some years: Chapters 13 –20). Later dis-
putes with traditionalists take him back to Jerusalem (20–21:26). The
disputes lead to violence; Paul is arrested, defends himself before the
authorities, and claims his rights as a Roman citizen (21:27–26:32). This
leads to his dispatch to Rome, an eventful journey (27:1–28:16).
PENTECOST
2:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were
all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came
a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and
it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there
appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it
sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the
Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the
Spirit gave them utterance.
5 And there were dwelling at Jerusalem Jews, devout men,
out of every nation under heaven. Now 65when this was
noised abroad, the multitude came together, and were
66
confounded, because that every man heard them speak in
2:1 Pentecost : The ancient feast of first-fruits, actually at the end of harvest,
50 days (inclusive) after the second day of Passover. The interval is retained in
the period between Easter and Whitsuntide. For a discussion of 2:1–42, see Mack
(1990: 88 – 92).
2 wind: God came to Elijah in a wind, earthquake and fire (p. 185).
3 fire marked the giving of the Law, Exod 19:18, pp. 111–12.
65
Gr. when this voice was made.
66
Or, troubled in mind.
446 ACTS OF APOSTLES: FIRST CHURCH
his own language. And they were all amazed and marvelled,
saying one to another, Behold, are not all these which
speak Galileans? And how hear we every man in our own
tongue, wherein we were born? Parthians, and Medes,
and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in
10 Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and
Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene,
and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and
Arabians, we do hear them speak in our tongues the
wonderful works of God.
THE FIRST CHURCH

4: 32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart
and of one soul: neither said any of them that aught of the
things which he possessed was his own; but they had all
things common. And with great power gave the apostles
witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great
grace was upon them all. Neither was there any among
them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands
or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things
35 that were sold, and laid them down at the apostles’ feet:
and distribution was made unto every man according as
he had need . . .
5:1 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife,
sold a possession, and kept back part of the price, his wife
also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid
it at the apostles’ feet.
But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart
67
to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the
price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own?
and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why
hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not
lied unto men, but unto God.
9 Parthians, Medes, Elamites: All from the direction of Mesopotamia.

Cappadocia . . . Pamphylia: Regions in Asia Minor. The list makes a complete circle
round Palestine.
10 proselytes: Gentiles converted to Judaism, which was expanding round the
Mediterranean at this time. Judaism and Christianity soon became rivals in doctrine
and for converts.
67
Or, to deceive.
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ACTS OF APOSTLES: GENTILES ADMITTED 447
5 And Ananias hearing these words fell down, and gave

up the ghost: and great fear came on all them that heard
these things. And the young men arose, wound him up,
and carried him out, and buried him.
THE GENTILES ADMITTED

11: 1 And the apostles and brethren that were in Judæa heard
that the Gentiles had also received the word of God. And
when Peter was come up to Jerusalem, they that were of
the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest
in to men uncircumcised, and didst eat with them.
But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and
expounded it by order unto them, saying, I was in the city
5 of Joppa praying: and in a trance I saw a vision, a certain
vessel descend, as it had been a great sheet, let down from
heaven by four corners; and it came even to me: upon the
which when I had fastened mine eyes, I considered, and saw
fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wild beasts, and creeping
things, and fowls of the air.
And I heard a voice saying unto me, Arise, Peter; slay
and eat. But I said, Not so, Lord: for nothing common or
unclean hath at any time entered into my mouth.
But the voice answered me again from heaven, What
10 God hath cleansed, that call not thou common. And this
was done three times: and all were drawn up again into
heaven.
And, behold, immediately there were three men already
come unto the house where I was, sent from Cæsarea
unto me. And the Spirit bade me go with them, nothing
doubting. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and
we entered into the man’s house: and he shewed us how
he had seen an angel in his house, which stood and said
unto him, Send men to Joppa, and call for Simon, whose
11: 2 they . . . of the circumcision: Those who argued that the path to citizenship
in the new kingdom was open only through Judaism (see 2:10n, proselytes). This
passage is a turning-point: the promise to Abraham is by divine authority thrown
open to anyone, and is not dependent on birth or loyalty to the Law of Moses.
4 rehearsed: The original meaning of the word is ‘to recite, to repeat’ (e.g. as a
lesson). Cf. Zechariah’s visions (pp. 263– 4).
5 Joppa: Later Jaffa; modern Tel Aviv.
6 fourfooted beasts . . . : The sheet contained a mixture of meats: some of the meats,
and also the mixing of them, broke the Judaic Law.
8 common or unclean: The first is unsanctified, the second unsanctifiable.
448 ACTS OF APOSTLES: PAUL IN PRISON
surname is Peter; who shall tell thee words, whereby thou

and all thy house shall be saved.
15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as
on us at the beginning. Then remembered I the word of
the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water;
but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. Forasmuch
then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who
believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could
withstand God?
When they heard these things, they held their peace, and
glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles
granted repentance unto life.
The matter was not so quickly settled. Acts often alludes to

disagreements, for example as to whether a Gentile could join the
Christians without first being formally admitted to Judaism, or about
the supremacy of the leaders at Jerusalem. In the later chapters, how-
ever, Luke has joined Paul, who thus becomes the leading character,
and his missionary journeys the main theme.
PAUL IN PRISON
16: 16 And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel
possessed with a spirit 68of divination met us, which brought
her masters much gain by soothsaying: the same followed
Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants
of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of
salvation. And this did she many days.
But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I
command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of
her. And he came out the same hour.
And when her masters saw that the hope of their gains
was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, and drew them into
the 69marketplace unto the rulers, and brought them to the
20 magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly
16 John indeed: John the Baptist: see p. 353.

16:16 Divination: Marginal Python relates this girl to the distant oracle of Delphi
(originally Pytho), tended by a priestess, entitled Pythia.
68
Or, of Python.
69
Or, court.
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ACTS OF APOSTLES: PAUL IN PRISON 449
trouble our city, and teach customs, which are not lawful
for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans.
And the multitude rose up together against them: and
the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to
beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them,
they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them
safely: who, having received such a charge, thrust them into
the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks.
25 And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises
unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there
was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison
were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened,
and every one’s bands were loosed.
And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep,
and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword,
and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners
had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do
thyself no harm: for we are all here.
Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trem-
bling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, and brought them
30 out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they
said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word
of the Lord, and to all that were in his house.
And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed
their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway.
And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat
before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his
house.
35 And when it was day, the magistrates sent the serjeants,
saying, Let those men go. And the keeper of the prison told
this saying to Paul, The magistrates have sent to let you
go: now therefore depart, and go in peace.
But Paul said unto them, They have beaten us openly
uncondemned, being Romans, and have cast us into
prison; and now do they thrust us out privily? nay verily;
but let them come themselves and fetch us out.
And the serjeants told those words unto the magistrates:
and they feared, when they heard that they were Romans.
And they came and besought them, and brought them
out, and desired them to depart out of the city. And they
40 went out of the prison, and entered into the house of
Lydia: and when they had seen the brethren, they comforted
them, and departed.
450 ACTS OF APOSTLES: PAUL IN ATHENS
PAUL IN ATHENS
17: 15 And they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens:
and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus
for to come to him with all speed, they departed.
Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was
stirred in him, when he saw the city 70wholly given to idol-
atry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the
Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily
with them that met with him.
Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the
Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this
71
babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth
of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and
the resurrection. And they took him, and brought him unto
72
Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new doctrine,
20 whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest certain strange
things to our ears: we would know therefore what these
things mean. (For all the Athenians and strangers which were
there spent their time in nothing else, but either to tell, or
to hear some new thing.)
Then Paul stood in the midst of 73Mars’ hill, and
said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye
are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your
74
devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, to the
unknown god. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship,
him declare I unto you.
17: 15 conducted: Paul was not familiar with Greece, and as his enemies stirred up
trouble wherever he went, the churches provided him with guides.
18 babbler: The word (found in all versions) is Tyndale’s. Socrates also was charged
with neglecting the gods, introducing new ones, and corrupting the minds of youth.
19 Areopagus: The marginal note is not of course strictly correct, except in the
very broadest sense of ‘court’ or courtyard.
21 but either to tell . . . : So Luke dismisses Greek philosophy: but note the long,
complex sentences he assembles for Paul’s speech on the Areopagus.
22 superstitious : Paul knows how to surprise the Greeks, disparaging them as
‘superstitious’, whereas they prided themselves on rational thought.
23 altar: This cannot be identified, though polytheist altars ‘to unknown gods’
are recorded.
70
Or, full of idols.
71
Or, base fellow.
72
Or, Mars’ Hill. It was the highest court in Athens.
73
Or, the court of the Areopagites.
74
Or, gods that ye worship.
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ACTS OF APOSTLES: PAUL IN ATHENS 451
God that made the world and all things therein, seeing
that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples
made with hands; neither is worshipped with men’s hands,
25 as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life,
and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood
all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth,
and hath determined the times before appointed, and the
bounds of their habitation; that they should seek the Lord,
if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though
he be not far from every one of us: for in him we live, and
move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets
have said, For we are also his offspring.
Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought
not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver,
or stone, graven by art and man’s device. And the times
30 of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all
men every where to repent: because he hath appointed a
day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness
by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath 75given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from
the dead.
And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead,
some mocked: and others said, We will hear thee again of
this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Howbeit
certain men clave unto him, and believed: among the which
was Dionysius the Areopagite, and a woman named Damaris,
and others with them.
28 For we . . . offspring: A well-known tag from the Stoic poet Artus of Cilicia,
b. 310 bc, the sentiment is characteristically Stoic.
29 device: ‘Contrivance’. This contempt for idols is characteristically Judaic
(Amos 5:26; Isa 40:18ff, pp. 202, 252).
75
Or, offered faith.
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THE EPISTLES
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The Epistles of Paul

In origin the earliest texts in the New Testament, the authentic Pauline
Epistles date from c.ad 50–60. It is generally agreed, however, that
Titus and Timothy contain at best Pauline fragments, while the author-
ship of Colossians and Ephesians is debated. The rest are, on the whole,
Paul’s work, although the shape in which we have them is not. Nor
can we be exactly sure where they have been ‘tidied up’.
Like everything in the Bible, the Epistles have undergone a pro-
cess of editing which leaves a composite, rather than an authentic
body of writing. It is an expected process; these were composed
for an audience, not scribbled for a friend. In this period, as Aune
says, ‘moral philosophers increasingly made use of the letter form
as a vehicle for instruction’; the formal salutation and conclusion
of a letter could serve to give a moral discourse a more personal
colouring.1 The simple term ‘Letters’ will not do; the label ‘Epistle’,
although it may seem old-fashioned with its echoes of Horace and
Pope, is justified by the didactic formality of the purpose.
With Paul, we have a kind of writing that is both public and
personal. He wrote ‘for your doctrine’, but he always wrote as him-
self. The editors, too, did their work well; they did not smother the
author in their concern for the doctrine. Paul’s personal style survives,
ranging from the confused, even turgid, to the magnificent. The
Epistles can be skilfully didactic, or headlong; proudly rhetorical, or
scalding with irritation and impatience. When he falls into a complex
argument, Paul can tangle himself very comprehensively in his own
syntax, as ‘the ideas come bubbling up in great profusion’,2 with
thoughts and counter-thoughts flooding in on him. There is a sense
of someone thinking on his feet, only partly editing himself as he
dictates; but, however earnest, his writings are never dry.
Paul was a Jew, born not in Palestine but in Tarsus in Asia Minor,
and originally named Saul after the great king of Israel. The name
Paulus is Latin for ‘little’ – modestly ‘the least of the apostles’. He
was at home in the Graeco-Roman world, and a Roman citizen by
birth; his cosmopolitan outlook was invaluable to the church after
his conversion. But he was also a Pharisee, steeped in the traditions
and the strictest demands of Judaism, who was appalled by the excited
message of Peter and his associates: that Jesus was the Messiah,
as Law, Prophets and resurrection proved; he had brought the
1
Aune (1987: 167, 170).
2
Caird (1980: 171): see also p. 45 above, and Partridge’s discussion of Paul’s rhetoric
(1973: 47 – 51).
456 THE EPISTLES OF PAUL
expected ‘day of the Lord’, and would return at any time to rule
in God’s name. Paul saw that if these heretics made headway,
the Law and all he believed in was threatened. He set out with the
enthusiasm of youth to exterminate the movement before it could
do serious damage.
He was on the way to Damascus in his relentless pursuit of
Christians when, according to Acts 9: 1–22 (see also 1 Cor 9:1, 15:8),
he saw, in a blinding flash of light, a vision of Jesus asking, ‘Why
persecute me?’ – to which he had no answer. He was driven to
accept that the new movement was not a mockery of all he had
believed in, but its culmination. After years of withdrawal, he began
to circulate with the new faith through the Mediterranean. Acts (see
headnote, p. 444) tells the story, leaving him under house arrest,
but continuing his work, in Rome. According to tradition, he was
released, but c.ad 67–68, during Nero’s persecution, was arrested
again, and put to death.
Paul’s theology has, needless to say, attracted endless scholarly
attention; for our purposes, it will be enough to summarise twin
pillars of his belief, as it emerges from his Epistles. First, following
Peter’s acceptance of Gentiles into the group, he abandoned the notion
of a Jerusalem-centred religion, so dear to the Jews. God being
universal, for Paul the kingdom was now open to anyone – unlike
the Davidic kingdom of Israel, or the Roman Empire, restricted
by birth, ritual or regulation. Second, that Jesus having fulfilled the
Promise to Abraham, the Law was not invalidated, but rendered
obsolete. Christ represented for him a great liberation from the chains
of the Law, and freedom is one of the chief elements of his preaching.
Free responsibility, the inevitable outcome and sign of the new faith,
has replaced the demands of the Law. It is a pity that so often the
church after him has not followed his emphasis.
It is anachronistic to expect Paul to show any interest in socio-
political questions; in any case under the Roman Empire that would
have been suicidal. He has often been condemned, not without
reason, for his attitude to women (e.g. 1 Cor 11:1–16), and one might
lay the blame for the church’s disastrous sexual attitudes at his feet
(1 Cor 7:25ff.), not least for introducing into Christian thought the
Platonic dichotomy, unknown to the Hebrew tradition, of (corrupt)
‘nature’ and (higher) ‘spirit’. Such criticisms are often misplaced.
All who have followed him, even when they have rejected him,
have seen better only because they were standing on his shoulders.
Ultimately, Paul rejects the Platonic dichotomy. For him, Christ
does not despise the mortal in favour of the ideal, but expresses the
spiritual in the mortal. In characteristically Judaic fashion, social ethics
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THE EPISTLES OF PAUL: TO THE ROMANS 457
are thus set at the core of the religion, requiring the powerful to act
in the image of Christ as servants of the weak. This is an ethical
revolution fundamental to modern society.
Paul is to Christian thought what Aristotle is to Greek. He could
not spell out all the implications of his arguments, but by blending
Jewish tradition with cosmopolitan understanding, he could create
an organised mode of thought where Peter, Philip and James had
been merely groping. But he was not using Aristotelian methods.
‘He was a visionary; his imagery is exact, his thought chaotic and
paradoxical’.3 Because of this – not in spite of it – he is often more
penetrating than Aristotle, as well as always more readable.
Further reading. Michael Goulder’s (1987) essay, ‘The Pauline
Epistles’, is an excellent, concise and sympathetic introduction. For
a wider sample of the range of Paul’s writings, Galatians, Ephesians
and Philemon may be recommended, together with the parts of
Romans and Corinthians not included in this selection.
To the Romans
Written c.ad 55, and one of the most important of Paul’s letters. Luther
wrote a celebrated commentary on it, and it became a favourite
text for sixteenth-century reformers, including Tyndale, who drew
heavily upon it. Its argument is dense and complex, elaborating
his major themes: that the virtue of the Law was to identify evil and
set an ideal for human conduct; that this ideal was unattainable and
had become a burden in itself; and that only Christ could set the
world free of the opposing bonds of evil and the Law.
In the argument that follows, Paul is caught between his desire,
as a Jew, to uphold the value and necessity of the Law, and his
conviction, as a Christian, that it is now to be discarded. He argues,
therefore, that the Law had been necessary; it showed us what the
good life was, but when we were set on these rails, sin pulled us
off them. Without the Law, we would never have been derailed, but
that does not mean that it was wrong to set out on the track. Now,
however, we have found a way to go in the right direction without
needing rails. This passage is the piece of oratory which brings the
argument to its culmination.
3
Knight (1962: 140).
THE BEGINNING AND END

OF THE LAW
7: 1 Know ye not, brethren (for I speak to them that know
the law), how that the law hath dominion over a man, as
long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband
is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth;
but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of
her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be
married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress:
but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law;
so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to
another man.
Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the
law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to
another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we
5 should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the
flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work
in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now
we are delivered from the law, 4that being dead wherein
we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and
not in the oldness of the letter.
What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid.
Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not
known 5lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.
But sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in
me all manner of concupiscence. For without the law sin
was dead.
For I was alive without the law once: but when the
10 commandment came, sin revived, and I died. And the
commandment, which was ordained to life, I found to be
unto death. For sin, taking occasion by the commandment,
deceived me, and by it slew me. Wherefore the law is holy,
and the commandment holy, and just, and good.
Was then that which is good made death unto me? God
forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in
me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment
might become exceeding sinful.
7:7 Is the law sin . . . ? The rhetoric of question and answer is a standard teaching
device.
4
Or, being dead to that.
5
Or, concupiscence.
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THE EPISTLES OF PAUL 459
For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal,

15 sold under sin. For that which I do I 6allow not: for what
I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that do I.
If then I do that which I would not, I consent unto the
law that it is good. Now then it is no more I that do it,
but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me (that is,
in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present
with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
For the good that I would I do not: but the evil which I
would not, that I do.
20 Now, if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do
it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when
I would do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in
the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law
in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and
bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my
members. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me
from 7the body of this death?
25 I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the
law of sin. There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit.
8: 1 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made
me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law
could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God
sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and 8for
sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the
flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For 9to be carnally minded is death; but 10to be spiritually
minded is life and peace. Because the 11carnal mind is enmity
25 So then . . . sin: This sentence seems to be misplaced. Perhaps it belongs before

‘O wretched man . . .’.
6
Gr. know.
7
Or, this body of death.
8
Or, by a sacrifice for sin.
9
Gr. the minding of the flesh.
10
Gr. the minding of the spirit.
11
Gr. the minding of the flesh.
against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither

indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But
ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the
Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the
10 Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you,
the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because
of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from
the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies 12by his Spirit
that dwelleth in you.
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to
live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die:
but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the
body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of
15 God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the
Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we
are the children of God: and if children, then heirs; heirs
of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer
with him, that we may be also glorified together.
For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed
in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for
20 the manifestation of the sons of God. For the creature was
made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him
who hath subjected the same in hope, because the creature
itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
For we know that 13the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they,
but ourselves also, which have the first-fruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the
adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not
hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But
8: 19 creature: i.e. ‘creation’.
12
Or, because of his Spirit.
13
Or, every creature.
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THE EPISTLES OF PAUL 461
25 if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience

wait for it.
Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we
know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the
Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts
knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And
we know that all things work together for good to them
that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to
be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be
30 the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom he
did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called,
them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also
glorified.
What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us,
who can be against us? He that spared not his own Son,
but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him
also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the
charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he
that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also
maketh intercession for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribu-
lation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,
or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed
all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaugh-
ter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerers
through him that loved us.
29 For whom he did foreknow: On this slight basis, with one or two other
passing remarks, the doctrine of predestination was developed, by Augustine (fifth
century ad) against the more sanguine Briton, Pelagius (who is often thought
to have argued that salvation could be won by a virtuous free will, though in
fact he was chiefly concerned not to allow a doctrine of grace to undermine moral
responsibility). The two attitudes always emerged in subsequent debate. The dispute
continued through the Middle Ages (Chaucer’s Troilus cogitates the matter, Troilus
and Criseyde IV 958ff.), and became especially notorious in the Reformation, as
under Calvin. However, if Paul had intended to establish a doctrine, he would
surely have given it much more space than this.
36 For thy sake: Ps 44:22: the Psalmist protests that God seems to have forsaken
the people, though they have not ‘forgotten the name of our God’.
462 1– 2 CORINTHIANS: THE FIRST EPISTLE
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor

angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present,
nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
To the Corinthians (1– 2)

Paul seems to have written to Corinth at least four times. The first
letter is lost, our First Epistle is probably the second, c.ad 55, and
our Second may be made up of parts of two others, c.ad 55–60.
These are less sustained, more fragmentary pieces of writing than
Romans, because circumstances were different. Corinth was a
difficult church. The town itself was an ancient and flourishing trade
centre, with a reputation, both commercial and moral, similar to that
of Marseilles today. Paul’s church there found it difficult to handle
the moral problems, besides having a tendency to break down into
factions. The letters therefore cover a wide range of topics, and vary
from exposition to exasperation.
The First Epistle

PAUL’S GREETING
1: 1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will
of God, and Sosthenes our brother, unto the church of God
which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ
Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon
the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and
from the Lord Jesus Christ.
38 angels : The Hebrew and Greek words mean ‘messenger’, and this is the com-
mon sense in OT, where the hierarchy of angels is almost unknown. However,
it had developed into the full system we know, with archangels, angels, etc., well
before the first century ad (see Epilogue, p. 334). Colossians is largely devoted
to a warning not to overrate them; see also Rev 22:8– 9, p. 508.
1:1 Paul, called . . . : Letters of the period, formal or personal, normally began with
a salutation or ‘prescript’, usually (as here) in the form ‘[Sender] to [recipient]:
Greetings’, often followed by a prayer or wish for the addressee’s health or
prosperity. See Aune (1987: 163).
Sosthenes: Acts records (18:17) that when he was ruler of the synagogue at Corinth,
Sosthenes was beaten by an angry crowd when the pro-consul Gallio would not
hear a case against Paul because it did not involve Roman civil law.
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1– 2 CORINTHIANS: SECTS AND SCHISMS 463
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of

5 God which is given you by Jesus Christ; that in every thing
ye are enriched by him, in all utterance, and in all know-
ledge; even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in
you: so that ye come behind in no gift; waiting for the
14
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall also confirm
you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our
Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful, by whom ye were called
unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord.
OF SECTS AND SCHISMS

1: 10 Now, I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be
no 15divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined
together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For
it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them
which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions
among you.
Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of
Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye
15 baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptized
none of you, but Crispus and Gaius; lest any should say
that I had baptized in mine own name. And I baptized also
the household of Stephanas: besides, I know not whether
I baptized any other.
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel:
not with wisdom of 16words, lest the cross of Christ should
be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is
to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved
it is the power of God. For it is written,
I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and will bring to nothing the understanding of the
prudent.
1:12 Cephas: Greek for ‘Peter’.

19 I will destroy . . . : Isa 29:14, LXX version (slightly altered).
14
Gr. revelation.
15
Gr. schisms.
16
Or, speech.
464 1– 2 CORINTHIANS: SPIRITUAL VALUES
20 Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the

disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of
God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God
by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after
wisdom: but we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but
unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because the
25 foolishness of God is wiser than men; and the weakness of
God is stronger than men.
For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise
men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble,
are called: but God hath chosen the foolish things of the
world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are
mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are
despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not,
to bring to nought things that are: that no flesh should glory
in his presence.
30 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption: that, according as it is written, He that glori-
eth, let him glory in the Lord.
OF SPIRITUAL VALUES
12: 1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have
you ignorant. Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away
unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. Wherefore I
give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit
20 Where is the wise?: Isa 33:18, approximately: in LXX, ‘Where are the scribes?
Where are the counsellors? Where is the census-taker?’
22 a sign . . . wisdom: In the Jewish tradition, concrete symbols were used by
prophets to make a point, and solid realities, such as a miraculous act, were expected
as proof. Both were ‘signs’ rather than rational, logical proof, the ‘wisdom’ that
the Greeks expected.
31 He that glorieth . . . : Abbreviated from Jer 9: 24, ‘the glorifier, let him glory in
understanding and knowing that i am the Lord’.
12:1 gifts: So Gv, BB; Tn, Gt, Rh, things. Note the italics, meaning that the word
is a translator’s addition. The more neutral things might therefore be preferable.
The context later shows, however, that Paul is speaking of personal gifts, so that
gifts is not invalid.
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1– 2 CORINTHIANS: SPIRITUAL VALUES 465
of God calleth Jesus 17accursed: and that no man can say

that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And
5 there are differences of 18administrations, but the same Lord.
And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same
God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the
Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. For to one is
given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word
of knowledge by the same Spirit; to another faith by the
same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;
to another the working of miracles; to another prophecy;
10 to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of
tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: but all
these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit, dividing
to every man severally as he will.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all
the members of that one body, being many, are one body:
so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into
one body, whether we be Jews or 19Gentiles, whether we be
bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one
15 Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. If the
foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the
body; is it therefore not of the body? And if the ear shall
say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body; is it
therefore not of the body? If the whole body were an eye,
where were the hearing? if the whole were hearing, where
were the smelling?
20 But now hath God set the members every one of them
in the body, as it hath pleased him. And if they were all
one member, where were the body? But now are they many
members, yet but one body. And the eye cannot say unto
the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the
feet, I have no need of you. Nay, much more those members
of the body, which seem to be more feeble, are necessary:
and those members of the body, which we think to be less
10 tongues: ‘Glossolalia’, trance-formed ecstatic utterances in languages unintelligible

to hearers. This phenomenon was common in the early Church, is still found in
certain religious traditions, and has been revived in some modern ‘charismatic’
Churches. There was plainly much controversy at Corinth over its value.
17
Or, Anathema.
18
Or, ministries.
19
Gr. Greeks.
466 1– 2 CORINTHIANS: SPIRITUAL VALUES
honourable, upon these we 20bestow more abundant honour;

and our uncomely parts have more abundant comeliness.
25 For our comely parts have no need: but God hath tempered
the body together, having given more abundant honour to
that part which lacked: that there should be no 21schism in
the body; but that the members should have the same care
one for another. And whether one member suffer, all the
members suffer with it; or one member be honoured, all
the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
And God hath set some in the church, first apostles, second-
arily prophets, thirdly teachers, after that miracles, then gifts
of healings, helps, governments, 22diversities of tongues.
Are all apostles? are all prophets? are all teachers? are all
30 23
workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all
speak with tongues? do all interpret? But covet earnestly the
best gifts: and yet shew I unto you a more excellent way.
13: 1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a
tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy,
and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have
not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not;
charity 24vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave
5 itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth
25
in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things.
10 Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they
shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether
13:1 charity: So BB, Rh (Vg, caritas); Tn, Gt, Gv, love (Greek agapé). One of
the ecclesiastical words rejected by Tn (see p. 21). AV, more conservative, chose
charity here (elsewhere generally retaining Tn’s love), but RV and most modern
translators have reverted to love.
20
Or, put on.
21
Or, division.
22
Or, kinds.
23
Or, powers.
24
Or, is not rash.
25
Or, with the truth.
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1– 2 CORINTHIANS: LIGHT AND LIBERTY 467
there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part,

and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is
come, then that which is in part shall be done away.
When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as
a child, I 26thought as a child: but when I became a man,
I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass,
27
darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then
shall I know even as also I am known.
And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but
the greatest of these is charity.
The Second Epistle

LIGHT AND LIBERTY
3: 2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of
all men: forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the
epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but
with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone,
but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we
through Christ to God-ward: not that we are sufficient of
5 ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our suffici-
ency is of God; who also hath made us able ministers of
the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for
the letter killeth, but the spirit 28giveth life.
But if the ministration of death, written and engraven
in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could
12 glass: i.e. looking-glass, in Paul’s time a rather ineffective piece of polished metal.
darkly : Greek en ainigmati, ‘in a riddle’; Tn, Cv, Gt, Gv, BB, even in a dark
speaking; Rh, in a dark sort.
3: 3 tables of stone : A clear reference to Moses’ tables of the law, which then rep-
resented God’s spirit or will.
4 to God-ward: From Tn, ‘arch., late ME’ (OED).
6 testament: i.e. covenant: see p. 4, and covenant, Heb 8:6n, p. 478.
7 ministration: Vg ministratio, Greek diakonia, ‘service’, from diakonos, ‘servant,
messenger’ (whence English deacon). God’s will is delegated, if imperfectly, to
the old Law; its sacrifices were thought to ‘administer’ healing as an ointment does.
death . . . engraven in stones is the Law, the old Covenant, done away when the Temple
was destroyed. Tn, Cv, Gt, BB, figured in stones: Gv, figured with letters in stones.
26
Or, reasoned.
27
Gr. in a riddle.
28
Or, quickeneth.
468 1– 2 CORINTHIANS: LIGHT AND LIBERTY
not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of

his countenance; which glory was to be done away: how shall
not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if
the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth
the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even
10 that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect,
by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is
done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth
is glorious.
Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great 29plain-
ness of speech: and not as Moses, which put a veil over his
face, that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look
to the end of that which is abolished: but their minds were
blinded: for until this day remaineth the same veil untaken
away in the reading of the old testament; which veil is done
15 away in Christ. But even unto this day, when Moses is read,
the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn
to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.
Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding
as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as 30by the Spirit of the Lord.
4:1 Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received
mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things
of 31dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the
word of God deceitfully; but, by manifestation of the truth
commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight
of God. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are
lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds
of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel
of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.
5 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord;
and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness, 32hath shined
glory of his countenance : See Exod 19:21– 25, p. 111.

8 rather: An obsolete usage: ‘all the more’.
13 veil: Not the curtain-veil of the Temple (Greek katapetasma), but the face-
covering (kalumna) which Moses put on (Exod 34:33–5) because, on coming down
from Sinai, his face shone with reflected divine glory and frightened the People.
29
Or, boldness.
30
Or, of the Lord the Spirit.
31
Or, shame.
32
Gr. is he who hath.
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1– 2 CORINTHIANS: LIGHT AND LIBERTY 469
in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory

of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excel-
lency of the power may be of God, and not of us. We are
troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed,
but 33not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down,
10 but not destroyed; always bearing about in the body the
dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might
be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway
delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of
Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then
death worketh in us, but life in you . . .
4: 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh

for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the
things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are
temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
5:1 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan,
earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which
is from heaven: if so be that being clothed we shall not be
found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being
burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed
upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life . . .
5: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, 34he is a new creature:
old things are past away; behold, all things become new.
And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to
himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry
of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconcil-
ing the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses
unto them; and hath 35committed unto us the word of
reconciliation.
4: 8 troubled . . . : The rhetoric of this verse is lost in English; it is based on the

assonance of the inflexion: e.g., ‘phlibomenoi/stenochorumenoi, aporoumenoi/
exaporoumenoi’, etc.
5: 2 in this : i.e. ‘in this present house’.
17 creature: i.e. ‘creation’.
33
Or, not altogether without help, or, means.
34
Or, let him be.
35
Gr. put in us.
470 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY
20 Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God

did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye
reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him.
6: 1 We then, as workers together with him, beseech you also
that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith,
I have heard thee in a time accepted,
and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee:
behold now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of
salvation.) Giving no offence in any thing, that the ministry
be not blamed: but in all things 36approving ourselves as the
ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in neces-
5 sities, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, 37in tumults,
in labours, in watchings, in fastings; by pureness, by know-
ledge, by longsuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by
love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God,
by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on
the left, by honour and dishonour, by evil report and good
report: as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well
known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not
10 killed; as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making
many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
The Second Epistle to Timothy

According to Acts 16: 1, Timothy was a young man who joined Paul
on his second tour of the Mediterranean, c.ad 50, when for the first
time he moved into Europe. Paul had entrusted various important
missions to him, and he stayed with Paul during much of his first
imprisonment, c.60 –62. He was one of Paul’s favourite young dis-
ciples, and this letter is supposed to have been written to him when
Paul was in prison in Rome, waiting for his case to be heard. Paul
seems to have been in house arrest or limited freedom for years, before
his execution, c.ad 64–68. It is not known what became of Timothy.
21 who knew: The antecedent is he, not us.

6:2 I have heard . . . succoured thee: Isa 49:8. The rest of the parenthesis, behold
. . . salvation is Paul’s comment.
36
Gr. commending.
37
Or, in tossings to and fro.
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THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY 471
Modern scholars no longer consider the letter authentic as a whole,

though a common view is that fragments of genuine Pauline writ-
ing (in particular, the personal references) have been worked into a
fictitious letter, composed perhaps c.ad 110–125. In 1611, however,
Paul’s authorship was unquestioned, and the letter was taken at face
value. Even if it is all fabrication, it is a remarkable piece of imaginative
writing, for it reads like a genuine and moving letter from an old
man, who knows that his work and his life are drawing to an end,
to a young follower who is going to face all the pitfalls, the pains
and the deferred hopes that he himself has found on his way.
THOUGHTS FOR A YOUNG FRIEND

1: 1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, accord-
ing to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy,
my dearly beloved son: Grace, mercy and peace, from God
the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.
I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure
conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee
in my prayers night and day; greatly desiring to see thee,
5 being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; when
I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother
Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also . . .
2: 1 Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in
Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me
38
among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faith-
ful men, who shall be able to teach others also.
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of
Jesus Christ. No man that warreth entangleth himself with
the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath
5 chosen him to be a soldier. And if a man also strive for
masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully.
39
The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of
the fruits.
1:3 from my forefathers: i.e. in the manner I inherited from them.

5 Lois, Eunice : Not named elsewhere, but in Acts 16:1– 2 Timothy’s mother is
said to be ‘a Jewess, [who] believed; but his father was a Greek: which was well
reported of . . .’
38
Or, by.
39
Or, The husbandman labouring first, must be a partaker of the fruits.
472 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY
Consider what I say; and the Lord give thee understanding

in all things. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David
was raised from the dead according to my gospel: wherein
I suffer trouble, as an evildoer, even unto bonds; but the word
10 of God is not bound. Therefore I endure all things for the
elect’s sakes, that they may also obtain the salvation which
is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. It is a faithful saying:
For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him:
if we suffer, we shall also reign with him:
if we deny him, he also will deny us:
if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful:
he cannot deny himself . . .
4: 1 I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing
and his kingdom; preach the word; be instant in season, out
of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering
and doctrine. For the time will come when they will not
endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they
heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they
shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned
unto fables.
5 But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the
work of an evangelist, 40make full proof of thy ministry.
For I am ready now to be offered, and the time of my
departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have
finished my course, I have kept the faith: henceforth there
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me
only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
10 Do thy diligence to come shortly unto me: for Demas
hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is
2:10 elect: A word with great significance in the doctrines of predestination, though
sparingly used in the Bible: see Rom 8:29n, p. 461. In Isa 42:1 (p. 254) God’s
‘servant’, identified by Christians with Jesus as the Messiah, was ‘mine elect’;
here the meaning has broadened to include his followers.
11 For if we be dead . . . : For once not a biblical quotation; perhaps an early Christian
hymn.
4: 2 instant : ‘insistent’.
10 Demas: Mentioned in Col 4:14 and Philemon 24 as a colleague in Rome. Crescens
is not mentioned elsewhere; the same is true of other names not specifically annot-
ated below. Titus is frequently mentioned by Paul; an Epistle is dedicated to him.
40
Or, fulfil,
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THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY 473
departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto

Dalmatia.
Only Luke is with me. Take Mark, and bring him with
thee: for he is profitable to me for the ministry. And Tychicus
have I sent to Ephesus.
The cloak that I left at Troas with Carpus, when thou
comest, bring with thee, and the books, but especially the
parchments.
15 Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord
reward him according to his works: of whom be thou ware
also; for he hath greatly withstood 41our words.
At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men
forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.
Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened
me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and
that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of
the mouth of the lion. And the Lord shall deliver me from
every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly
kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
20 Salute Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesi-
phorus. Erastus abode at Corinth: but Trophimus have I
left at Miletum sick.
Do thy diligence to come before winter. Eubulus greeteth
thee, and Pudens, and Linus, and Claudia, and all the
brethren.
The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit. Grace be with
you. Amen.
The second epistle unto Timotheus, ordained the first bishop of
the church of the Ephesians, was written from Rome, when Paul
was brought before 42Nero the second time.
12 Tychicus: Another constant friend, who travelled a good deal with and for Paul
(Acts 20.4).
16 my first answer : When he was charged in court.
17 out of . . . the lion: Under Nero, literally as well as figuratively.
19 Prisca was Aquila’s wife: of Jewish origin, Aquila, like Paul, was a tentmaker.
The two travelled together, and with Paul (Acts 18). Erastus, also named in Acts
19:22 as Paul’s emissary, with Timothy, to Macedonia.
20 Trophimus: Travelled with Paul (Acts 20:4; 21: 29).
21 Linus: Not otherwise mentioned in the Bible, but elsewhere named as a leader
of the Roman Church.
The second . . . This colophon is part of the text.
41
Or, our preachings.
42
Or, Cæsar Nero, or, the emperor Nero.
474 TO THE HEBREWS
The Epistle to the Hebrews

Tyndale followed tradition in ascribing Hebrews to Paul, but his 1534
prologue opens, ‘About this pistle hath ever been much doubting
. . . who should be the author thereof ’, since both style and content
are not like Paul’s. AV continues to ascribe it to Paul, but today
few if any scholars accept this, and the author remains unknown.
Hebrews is mentioned by Clement of Alexandria, who died c.ad 95–96.
This gives a final date, before which there are two estimates. One
prefers a date c.ad 65, on the basis of references to the Temple, which
was not destroyed until 70. The other distrusts this evidence, and
argues, from allusions to persecution, for a date late in Domitian’s
reign, c.90 – 96. We cannot know for sure.
The power of Hebrews derives from its effective rhetorical use
of the great imagery of the OT, which is also the basis of its logic.
It is a style of rhetoric unfamiliar to most Western readers, but that
does not reduce its effectiveness. Hebrews takes the great imagery
surrounding the OT Covenant – the original Promise to Abraham,
the rituals surrounding the renewal of the Covenant at Sinai, and
the High Priest’s annual entry through the veil into the otherwise
prohibited Holy of Holies, to perform the purification of the people
upon the Day of Atonement. These he treats as an unexplained
parable which can be understood only when each of the OT images
is seen as a type, a foreshadowing symbol, of the new faith and the
new Covenant. In complex and fascinating ways he draws repeated
parallels, each enriching the rest, and each time he contrasts the
temporary and imperfect forms of the old with the perpetual and
perfect realities of the new. The tabernacle, God’s mobile house in
the desert, is a type of God’s house, the universe. The sacrifices of
Moses and the priests reconciled God and his children for the time
being; Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice reconciled them for ever. The
veil, through which no one could ever pass, except the High Priest
on that one day in the year, becomes the veil of mortal understanding
which Christ, the eternal High Priest, opened, not for a year, but
for ever. And while the High Priests had gone through it alone, as
the frightened people waited outside, Hebrews sees Christ taking the
whole people boldly with him (p. 481). What had been temporary is
now final, and what had been restricted is now free. The old Covenant
was a promise which the new Covenant has fulfilled.
Hebrews has the logic of typology. The author does not prove,
or attempt to prove, the validity of Christianity by the ratiocinative
processes we have derived from the Greeks. Nor is this allegory;
he does not set out concepts by way of symbols. Typology assumes
that the patterns of truth may be expressed in differing forms at
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TO THE HEBREWS: THE SON 475
different ages. The changing forms may appear in quite unrelated

contexts, but serve similar functions, and always preserve the pattern.
We are not called upon to accept the soundness of arguable doctrines,
but to respond to the validity of an imaginative structure. Donne’s
‘Hymn to God, my God, in my Sickness’ is an exercise in typology.
Hebrews evokes the richness of the old, well-tried pattern of imagery
and, by making that a metaphor of the new faith with its own imagery,
multiplies the power of both together. All this is presented by a
master of style. The Epistle is ‘written in excellent Atticizing Greek’,
says Aune (1987: 212), remarking that the author had plainly received
‘a Hellenistic rhetorical education through the tertiary level’. Hebrews
is one of the most impressive books in the whole Bible, if not
altogether one of the easiest; for elegance it is unmatched.
THE SON
1: 1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in
time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the
worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express
image of his person, and upholding all things by the word
of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; being made
so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance
obtained a more excellent name than they.
5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time,
Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again,
1:1 God who . . . : The Epistle begins, unusually, with no salutation; it is written
not to an individual or a single church, but to a larger group of churches.
2 last days : The early Church believed that the end of the world would soon
come, with the earthly reappearance of Christ and his establishment as king of
the world. In this letter, the sense of an impending culmination of the new
Covenant is a main theme.
3 express image: An exact likeness, as if pressed out from a die. Tn, Cv, Gt, BB,
very image of his substance; Gv, engraved form of his person; Rh, figure of his
substance.
4 by inheritance: The key to this argument. The angels were granted their place
by divine favour; Jesus inherited his by right. The status of the hierarchy of super-
natural spirits was much debated at this time, and Hebrews wishes to establish
Jesus’ position very clearly. His followers will have a part in his inheritance – not
merely in the favours shown to angels.
5 Thou art my son . . . : Ps 2:7 (p. 304); the Psalm glories in the expected sub-
jugation of the heathen by God through his anointed king, or ‘son’, who holds
the earthly dominance.
476 TO THE HEBREWS: THE SON
I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

And again, when he bringeth in the firstbegotten into the
world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.
And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits,
and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith,
Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever:
a sceptre of 43righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity;
therefore God, even thy God, hath anointed thee
with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
10 And,
Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation
of the earth;
and the heavens are the work of thine hands:
they shall perish; but thou remainest;
and they all shall wax old as doth a garment;
and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up,
and they shall be changed:
but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
But to which of the angels said he at any time, Sit on
my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool?
I will be to him . . . : 2 Sam 7:12 –15 (God speaks to David): ‘And when thy days
be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee,
which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall
build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever.
I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten
him . . . But my mercy shall not depart away from him . . .’ Thus Hebrews associates
Jesus, and so his followers, with the divine promise to the Israelites.
6 And let . . . : Deut 32:43. Throughout, Hebrews quotes the LXX version of the text
– hence the minor differences from our OT. AV uses the Hebrew text, which here
is quite different (but see AV margin, ‘Praise his people, ye nations’). Angels –
glorious, but still ministers, servants – are contrasted here with the Son, who as
Prince has glory, and also power over the angels themselves. See also Rom 8:38n,
angels p. 343.
7 Who maketh . . . : Ps 104:1 –5: ‘O Lord my God, thou art very great . . . who
maketh the clouds his chariot: who walketh upon the wings of the wind: who
maketh his angels spirits; his ministers a flaming fire: who laid the foundations
of the earth, that it should not be removed for ever.’ The psalmist thus includes
the angels within the creation God commands.
8– 9 Thy throne . . . : Ps 45:6– 7.
10 Thou Lord . . . : Ps 102:25–7.
13 Sit on my right hand: Ps 110:1: ‘The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right
hand, until I make thine enemies my footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of
thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.’ Cf. Jesus’
words, Mark 14:62, p. 384.
43
Gr. rightness, or straightness.
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TO THE HEBREWS: THE LAST HIGH PRIEST 477
Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister

for them who shall be heirs of salvation?
2: 1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the
things which we have heard, lest at any time we should
44
let them slip. For if the word spoken by angels was stead-
fast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect
so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by
the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard
him; God also bearing them witness, both with signs and
wonders, and with divers miracles, and 45gifts of the Holy
Ghost, according to his own will?
4: 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed

into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our
profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot
15 be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in
all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us
therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
THE LAST HIGH PRIEST

In Chapters 5 –7, the author recalls and elaborates the function of
the High Priest, who was chosen every year to atone by sacrifice
for the nation’s sins. But, he claims, the true and final High Priest
is Christ; all others merely foreshadowed him, and never again will
priests or sacrifices be needed.
8:3 For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices:
wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also
to offer. For if he were on earth, he should not be a priest,
2:5ff.: Christ, the Son, was, however briefly, made much less than the angels, so
that he could be elevated and ‘crowned with glory and honour’. This was done
for humanity, and therefore he became human (‘took on him the seed of
Abraham’).
3:7ff.: The first of a series of warnings that punctuate the argument: do not be
faithless, as Israel was faithless in the wilderness. Remember how they were pre-
vented from entering the land of promise, and from taking their rest.
4: 14 a great high priest: The centre of the argument and the key image, relating
God to mankind through Jesus in the Hebrew image of the High Priest, who
mediated between God and his people (especially on the Day of Atonement,
Lev 16, pp. 120 – 3; also Exod 25:8, p. 113).
44
Gr. run out as leaking vessels.
45
Gr. distribution.
478 TO THE HEBREWS: THE LAST HIGH PRIEST
seeing that 46there are priests that offer gifts according to

5 the law: who serve unto the example and shadow of heav-
enly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was
about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou
make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in
the mount.
But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by
how much also he is the mediator of a better 47covenant,
which was established upon better promises. For if that first
covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been
sought for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make
a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house
of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they con-
tinued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith
the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will 48put my
laws into their mind, and write them 49in their hearts:
and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a
people: and they shall not teach every man his neighbour,
and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for
all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. For I
will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins
and their iniquities will I remember no more.
10:23 –39: A warning not to draw back (‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands
of the Living God’), and an exhortation to be patient and faithful during
persecution.
8:5 See . . . : Exod 25:40.
in the mount : The instructions given for the Tabernacle (pp. 113ff.).
6 covenant: In LXX, Hebrew berith, ‘covenant’ is translated by Greek diathéké
(AV covenant). The normal secular meaning of diathéké is ‘will’ or ‘testament’.
The sixteenth-century translators were torn between translating it here as testament
and going back to the underlying Hebrew covenant. Tn regularly uses testament
here: BB introduces covenant, though reverting to testament in 9:16 –18, in the
context of a will. AV, as can be seen, moves between the two.
8 Behold, the days come : Jer 31:31 – 4, p. 242.
46
Or, they are priests.
47
Or, testament.
48
Or, give.
49
Or, upon.
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TO THE HEBREWS: THE LAST HIGH PRIEST 479
In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first

old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready
9:1 to vanish away. Then verily the first covenant had also
50
ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary. For
there was a tabernacle made; the first, wherein was the
candlestick, and the table, and the shewbread; which is called
51
the sanctuary.
And after the second veil, the tabernacle which is called
the Holiest of all; which had the golden censer, and the ark
of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein
was the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that
budded, and the tables of the covenant; and over it the
5 cherubims of glory shadowing the mercy seat; of which we
cannot now speak particularly.
Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests
went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the
service of God. But into the second went the high priest
alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered
for himself, and for the errors of the people: the Holy
Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all
was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was
yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present,
in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could
not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to
10 the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks, and
9:2 candlestick, etc.: Taking up the Tabernacle-Temple imagery (Exod 25, p. 115).
Note the past tense was; the author thinks back before Solomon’s Temple to the
Tabernacle, and makes no reference to the contemporary Herodian Temple at all,
perhaps because Herod was not a Palestinian Jew; in any case, all later temples
were copies of Solomon’s.
holiest of all: So Tn and all; elsewhere usually ‘Holy of holies’, a literal translation
of the Hebrew, whereas this translates the Septuagint Greek.
4 Aaron’s rod : Num 17: to end discontent, God ordered Moses to set out in
the Tabernacle 12 rods, one for each tribe; one would blossom to signify the
tribe chosen for the priesthood. Levi’s rod, marked with Aaron’s name, budded,
‘bloomed blossoms, and yielded almonds’. The rod was kept as perpetual evidence.
8 the Holy ghost this signifying: So BB (Rh is similar); Tn, Gt, Gv have wherewith
[Gv, whereby] the holy ghost this signified. BB and AV somewhat obscure the sense,
that ‘the holy ghost signifies this’. The Holy of Holies is not the true entry
to God’s presence, but an image of it. The author now compares old and new
Covenants, of which the rituals and sacrifices of the Tabernacle were figurative.
50
Or, ceremonies.
51
Or, holy.
480 TO THE HEBREWS: THE LAST HIGH PRIEST
divers washings, and carnal 52ordinances, imposed on them

until the time of reformation.
But Christ being come an high priest of good things to
come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made
with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by
the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he
entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal
redemption for us.
For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of
an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying
of the flesh: how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit offered himself without 53spot to
God, purge your conscience from dead works, to serve the
living God? . . .
9:23 It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the

heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things
themselves with better sacrifices than these.
For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with
hands, which are the figures of the true; but unto heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us: nor yet
25 that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth
into the holy place every year with blood of others; for then
must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world:
but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to
put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. And as it is appointed
unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them
that look for him shall he appear the second time without
sin unto salvation.
10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come,
and not the very image of the things, can never with those
sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make
the comers thereunto perfect. For then would they not have
ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once
purged should have had no more conscience of sins. But
in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins
every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and
of goats should take away sins . . .
11 not of this building : Not part of this creation. Christ’s perfection is compared
with the old Covenant’s imperfections.
52
Or, rites, or, ceremonies.
53
Or, fault.
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TO THE HEBREWS: ON FAITH 481
10: 11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering often-
times the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for
ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth
expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that
15 are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to
us: for after that he had said before,
This is the covenant that I will make with them after those
days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts,
and in their minds will I write them; and their sins and
iniquities will I remember no more.
Now, where remission of these is, there is no more offering
for sin.
Having therefore, brethren, 54boldness to enter into the
20 holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which
he hath 55consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to
say, his flesh; and having an high priest over the house of
God; let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of
faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience,
and our bodies washed with pure water.
ON FAITH
11: 1 Now faith is the 56substance of things hoped for, the evid-
ence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good
report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen
were not made of things which do appear.
10:16: This is the covenant . . . : Jer 31:33– 4.

19 to enter . . . : The climax of the book. In order to keep the Promise alive, and
themselves reconciled to God, under the old Covenant the people had to wait for
the Promise to be fulfilled, for Moses to come down from the mountain, and
for the priest to come and go into the Holy Place that was forbidden to them.
Now they could all go into the Holy Place, through the forbidden veil (cf. 12:22)
into the new Jerusalem they would now inherit. They have not yet arrived; they
must have faith enough to go through the veil to get to the prize. This brings us
back to the ‘everlasting inheritance’ (see notes p. 475) with which the message
began – this is a skilful piece of rhetoric as well as a theological argument.
11: 1 For a discussion of the rhetoric of this passage, see Mack (1990: 73 – 6).
54
Or, liberty.
55
Or, new made.
56
Or, ground, or, confidence.
482 TO THE HEBREWS: ON FAITH
By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice

than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righte-
ous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead
57
yet speaketh.
5 By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death;
and was not found, because God had translated him: for
before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased
God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for
he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he
is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen
as yet, 58moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of
his house; by the which he condemned the world, and
became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.
By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a
place which he should receive for an inheritance, obeyed;
and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he
sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country,
dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with
10 him of the same promise: for he looked for a city which
hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
Through faith also Sara herself received strength to con-
ceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past
age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as
dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the
sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
These all died 59in faith, not having received the promises,
but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them,
and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers
and pilgrims on the earth. For they that say such things
15 declare plainly that they seek a country. And truly, if they
had been mindful of that country from whence they came
out, they might have had opportunity to have returned.
11: 5 Enoch: Gen 5: 21–4: ‘and he was not, for God took him’, understood to mean
that he was one of the few chosen ones (including Elijah) who did not die, but
for their virtue were taken straight into God’s presence. The list of names here
is based on Ecclesiasticus 44–50 (in the Apocrypha).
57
Or, is yet spoken of.
58
Or, being wary.
59
Gr. according to faith.
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But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly:

wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for
he hath prepared for them a city.
By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac:
and he that had received the promises offered up his only
begotten son, 60of whom it is said, That in Isaac shall thy
seed be called: accounting that God was able to raise him
up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him
in a figure.
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things
to come. By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both
the sons of Joseph; and worshipped, leaning upon the top
of his staff. By faith Joseph, when he died, 61made mention
of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave com-
mandment concerning his bones.
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hid three months
of his parents, because they saw he was a proper child; and
they were not afraid of the king’s commandment. By faith
Moses, when he was come to years, refused to be called the
25 son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather to suffer afflic-
tion with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures
of sin for a season; esteeming the reproach 62of Christ greater
riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto
the recompense of the reward.
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the
king: for he endured, as seeing him who is invisible. Through
faith he kept the passover, and the sprinkling of blood, lest
he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them. By faith
they passed through the Red sea as by dry land: which the
Egyptians assaying to do were drowned.
30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were
compassed about seven days. By faith the harlot Rahab
perished not with them 63that believed not, when she had
received the spies with peace.
18 That in Isaac . . . : Gen 21:12.

19 in a figure : i.e. figuratively.
31 Rahab: In Josh 2:1– 21; 6:2– 25, the harlot of Jericho with whom Joshua’s spies
lodged when they were planning to capture the city (pp. 133 – 6).
60
Or, to.
61
Or, remembered.
62
Or, for Christ.
63
Or, that were disobedient.
And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to
tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae;
of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: who
through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness,
obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched
the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of
weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned
to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead
35 raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting
deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
and others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea,
moreover of bonds and imprisonment: they were stoned,
they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the
sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins;
being destitute, afflicted, tormented (of whom the world was
not worthy); they wandered in deserts, and in mountains,
and in dens and caves of the earth.
And these all, having obtained a good report through faith,
40 received not the promise: God having 64provided some better
thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
12: 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so
great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and
the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the
65
author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was
set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and
is set down at the right hand of the throne of God . . .
12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be
touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and
darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and
32 Gedeon . . . Jephthae: Heroes, judges and kings of the early years of the con-
quest of Canaan. Their exploits are told in Judges.
12:1 Wherefore: A rhetorical pause in the sweeping flow of Heb 11, which at the same
time makes us look back at what has been said. The last phrase of the paragraph
brings Hebrews back to the point at which he began (p. 475) and so he concludes
his main argument, taking breath before moving into the next phase, that of more
direct exhortation.
2 author: So all except BB captain (Vg, auctor; Greek archégos, ‘leader’).
12:18 the mount : Hebrews returns to the imagery of Sinai, Exod 19:3ff., p. 110.
tempest : Tn–BB, tempest of weather; Rh, storm.
64
Or, foreseen.
65
Or, beginner.
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the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated

20 that the word should not be spoken to them any more (for
they could not endure that which was commanded, And if
so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned,
or thrust through with a dart: and so terrible was the sight,
that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake):
But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the
living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable
company of angels, to the general assembly and church of
the firstborn, which are 66written in heaven, and to God the
Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and
to Jesus the mediator of the new 67covenant, and to the blood
of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they
escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more
shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh
from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth: but now
he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the
earth only, but also heaven. And this word, Yet once more,
signifieth the removing of those things that 68are shaken,
as of things that are made, that those things which cannot
be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom
which cannot be moved, 69let us have grace, whereby we
may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
for our God is a consuming fire.
20 And if so much . . . : Exod 19:13.

21 I exceedingly . . . : Deut 9:19.
23 general assembly and church: In spite of its Presbyterian connotations, this phrase
was introduced by AV: Tn, Gt, Gv, BB have congregation; Rh, church.
24 blood of sprinkling : In Exod 24:6ff., Moses renews the covenant by reading it
to the people, and then sprinkling them with the blood of the sacrifice, saying,
‘Behold the blood of the covenant’ – words echoed at Jesus’ last supper (p. 382).
Thus Hebrews links the curse of Abel’s blood (Gen 4:10, p. 66), the conditional
reconciling power of the blood sprinkled by Moses (Exod 24:6), and the abso-
lute reconciling power of Christ’s self-sacrifice.
25 See that: (A favourite imperative of Tn’s, one of the few that survive in the
AV text.) The contrast between the old, partial religious pattern and the abso-
lute new one is used here in the last of a series of warnings that punctuate the
argument.
26 Yet once more . . . : Haggai 2:6.
66
Or, enrolled.
67
Or, testament.
68
Or, may be shaken.
69
Or, let us hold fast.
13: 1 Let brotherly love continue. Be not forgetful to entertain

strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them;
and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also
in the body.
Marriage is honourable in all, and the bed undefiled: but
whoremongers and adulterers God will judge. Let your con-
versation be without covetousness; and be content with such
5 things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my
helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
Remember them which 70have the rule over you, who have
spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, con-
sidering the end of their conversation. Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
Be not carried about with divers and strange doctrines,
for it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace;
10 not with meats, which have not profited them that have
been occupied therein. We have an altar, whereof they have
no right to eat which serve the tabernacle.
For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought
into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burnt with-
out the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify
the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bear-
ing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but
we seek one to come.
15 By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God
continually, that is, the fruit of our lips 71giving thanks to
his name. But to do good and to communicate forget not:
for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
13:2 entertained angels : As Abraham did, Gen 18:1ff, p. 70.

5 I will never . . . : God speaking to Joshua, in Josh 1:5.
6 The Lord is my helper: Ps 118:6.
9 not with meats: Someone was trying to persuade the people to adopt rituals –
presumably from the old Mosaic law – but these, says Hebrews, were irrelevant
and, worse, misleading, since it was God’s ‘grace’ that would ‘establish the heart’,
not conjuring rituals. Note how Hebrews returns to his parabolic typology in the
next sentence. The priests by the Law were entitled to eat a proportion of the meat
sacrificed; ‘our’ altar is something greater than either that or whatever rituals the
‘strange doctrines’ were proposing.
11 burnt without: Lev 16:27, p. 123.
70
Or, are the guides.
71
Gr. confessing to.
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AN EPISTLE FROM JAMES 487
Obey them that 72have the rule over you, and submit
yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must
give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with
grief: for that is unprofitable for you.
Pray for us: for we trust we have a good conscience, in
all things willing to live honestly. But I beseech you the rather
to do this, that I may be restored to you the sooner.
20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead
our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through
the blood of the everlasting 73covenant, make you perfect
in every good work to do his will, 74working in you that
which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to
whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
And I beseech you, brethren, suffer the word of exhor-
tation: for I have written a letter unto you in few words.
Know ye that our brother Timothy is set at liberty; with
whom, if he come shortly, I will see you. Salute all them
that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy
salute you.
25 Grace be with you all.
Amen.
Written to the Hebrews from Italy, by Timothy.
An Epistle from James

There are several shorter General Epistles attributed to different authors,
called ‘general’ because not directed at one specific congregation.
Those attributed to Peter and Jude are not included here. This one
is traditionally attributed to James, the brother of Jesus, but also by
different scholars to other Jameses. The evidence is not conclusive,
and perhaps the matter is not important. According to choice in the
matter, however, the Epistle is usually dated either c.ad 65, or as late
as ad 125–150.
23 Timothy: Paul’s friend; Hebrews, like most of the Epistles, ends personally. The
AV editors followed in attributing it to Paul, but, as Tn 1534 says, ‘About this pistle
hath ever been much doubting and that among great learned men who should
be the author thereof’, since earliest times, and concludes, ‘Now whether it be
Paul’s or no I say not, but permit it to other men’s judgments.’ It is commonly
agreed that Paul did not write this Epistle; but this note adds verisimilitude.
72
Or, guide.
73
Or, testament.
74
Or, doing.
488 AN EPISTLE FROM JAMES: THE LAW OF LIBERTY
In Reformation history this Epistle was used by Catholics as an

answer to the Lutheran doctrine of ‘justification by faith’ developed
from Romans and Hebrews (then also attributed to Paul). As so
often in that tragic conflict, the contradiction is more apparent than
real. It is true that a major theme of James is that ‘faith without
works is dead’, but the two arguments are opposite sides of the
same coin, and it is doubtful if Paul would seriously have disagreed
with James.
The content implies Jewish authorship, but the style suggests a
writer from the Greek world, a distinction that does not come through
in English. In translation, the style appears quite plain, lacking Paul’s
continuity of thought and passionate expression. However, though it
may appear dry, it is in reality a carefully devised discourse, technically
known as a diatribe (not in the modern sense), in which a chosen
theme is set out, and then patiently expounded and illustrated from
every angle; possible counter-arguments especially are stated in
order to be overturned. James’s theme is stated in 1:3–4: ‘The trials
you suffer for your faith challenge your endurance and give you
an opportunity to perfect yourselves.’ His Epistle, besides being a
moral treatise, stands as an excellent example of the work of the Greek
rhetorical schools.
A point of minor interest is that the AV revisers of James show
a remarkable pedantry in their noting of doubtful readings in the
margin: e.g. deed against doing, or that against the. There are pro-
portionally four times as many marginalia as in John’s Epistle.
Further reading. For the Epistle in general, and a discussion of
diatribe, see Ryken (1984b: 147 –51).
THE LAW OF LIBERTY

1: 1 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to
the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting . . .
1: 16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and
every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from
the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither
shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the
word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his
creatures. Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man
20 be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: for the wrath
of man worketh not the righteousness of God. Wherefore
lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and
receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to
save your souls.
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AN EPISTLE FROM JAMES: THE LAW OF LIBERTY 489
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiv-

ing your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and
not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face
in a glass: for he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way,
25 and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But
whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and con-
tinueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer
of the work, this man shall be blessed in his 75deed.
If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth
not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s
religion is vain. Pure religion and undefiled before God
and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the
world.
2:1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Lord of glory, with respect of persons. For if there come
unto your 76assembly a man with a gold ring, in goodly
apparel, and there come in also a poor man in vile raiment;
and ye have respect to him that weareth the gay clothing,
and say unto him, Sit thou here 77in a good place; and say
to the poor, Stand thou there, or sit here under my foot-
stool: are ye not then partial in yourselves, and are become
judges of evil thoughts?
5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the
poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of 78the kingdom
which he hath promised to them that love him? But ye have
despised the poor. Do not rich men oppress you, and draw
you before the judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme
that worthy name by the which ye are called? If ye fulfil
the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: but if ye have respect
to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as
transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend
in one point, he is guilty of all. For he 79that said, Do not
2:8 Thou shalt love : Lev 19:18; Mark 12:31, pp. 133, 377.
9 convinced: i.e. ‘convicted’: Tn, BB, rebuked; Rh, reproved.
75
Or, doing.
76
Or, synagogue.
77
Or, well, or seemly.
78
Or, that.
79
Or, that law which said.
490 AN EPISTLE FROM JAMES: THE LAW OF LIBERTY
commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit

no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor
of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be
judged by the law of liberty. For he shall have judgment
without mercy, that hath showed no mercy; and mercy
80
rejoiceth against judgment.
What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he
hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If
15 a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
and one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye
warmed, and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not
those things which are needful to the body, what doth it
profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being
81
alone.
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works:
shew me thy faith 82without thy works, and I will shew
thee my faith by my works. Thou believest that there is
one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and
tremble.
20 But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works
is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works,
when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? 83Seest
thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works
was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled
which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed
unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend
of God.
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and
not by faith only. Likewise also was not Rahab the harlot
25 justified by works, when she had received the messengers,
and had sent them out another way? For as the body
without the 84spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead
also.
23 Abraham: Gen 15:6; a key verse for Romans 4: 3, where Paul argues that the
Law was not an absolute, since God had accepted Abraham long before it had
been promulgated.
Friend of God : Isa 41:8.
25 Rahab: See Heb 11:31 and n, p. 483.
80
Or, glorieth.
81
Gr. by itself.
82
Some copies read, by thy works.
83
Or, Thou seest.
84
Or, breath.
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THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN: LIFE AND LIGHT 491
The First Epistle of John

Even in translation, there is a similarity in style and approach
between this and the Fourth Gospel, but it is not at all certain that
John the disciple was the author. If he was, these Epistles must have
been written late in his life, perhaps as late as ad 90.
This one should probably be regarded as a written homily, rather
than as an actual letter (see 1:1n). Whoever he was, the author at
first sight seems to do little but reiterate that God is light, God is
love, and that we too must love. But there is more to it than that.
As in the Gospel, the writer is anxious to insist that Jesus was a real,
mortal man, that God was not projecting an insubstantial image of
himself as if to make people believe that he was a man, as the Gnostics
were suggesting. At the same time, he does not want to reject entirely
the vision of divinity in terms of such indefinable absolutes as ‘light’
and ‘truth’. The centre of John’s argument, therefore, is that the
divine light must be seen in mortal and physical expression, and not
merely as a kind of Platonic ideal. In this light, the opening rhapsody
takes on a harder edge.
LIFE AND LIGHT

1: 1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard,
which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked
upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life
(for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear
witness, and shew unto you that eternal life, which was with
the Father, and was manifested unto us); that which we have
seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have
fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father,
and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we
unto you, that your joy may be full.
5 This then is the message which we have heard of him,
and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no
darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him, and
walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: but if we
walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship
one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son
cleanseth us from all sin . . .
1:1 Note that the salutation, etc. (see ‘Paul, called’, 1 Cor 1:1n, p. 462) is dispensed
with, suggesting that this is rather a formal address sent to churches than a letter.
1:6 fellowship: ‘easy friendship’; a word that now has rather ‘churchy’ connotations,
but in the sixteenth century was in common and colloquial use.
492 THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN: SPIRIT OF LOVE
THE SPIRIT OF LOVE

4: 1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out
into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every
spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is of God; and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of
antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and
even now already it is in the world.
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:
because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the
5 world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the
world, and the world heareth them. We are of God: he that
knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth
not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit
of error.
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and
every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He
that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this
was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God
sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might
10 live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but
that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for
our sins.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one
another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love
one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected
in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us,
because he hath given us of his Spirit. And we have seen
and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the
15 Saviour of the world. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is
the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And
we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God,
and God in him. Herein is 85our love made perfect, that
we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as
he is, so are we in this world.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out
fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made
4: 10 propitiation refers to the sacrifice of atonement; see Lev 16, pp. 120 – 3.
85
Gr. love with us.
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REVELATION OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE 493
perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If

20 a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar:
for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen,
how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this
commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God
love his brother also.
The Revelation of
St John the Divine
The Bible ends with a final image of Jerusalem, the summing-up of
the achievement of God’s city that had begun with Abraham. The
Revelation is a strange book, written for the persecuted churches of
western Asia at some (still disputed) time between ad 70 and 100.
It was plainly written in a time of persecution; the most favoured
date places it c.ad 95, when Domitian (81 – 96) was trying to destroy
the Christian Church because (unlike other religions) it would not
accommodate itself to Emperor-worship. The author is fully com-
petent in Greek, but writes in a special style strongly laced with
Hebraisms, which do not translate into English. The peculiar quality
of his imagery, fortunately, survives any translation.
Revelation (Greek Apocalypse) belongs to the uniquely Hebraic
genre of apocalyptic writings, represented by Daniel, to which it
looks back in style, imagery and often in detailed allusion. The con-
ventions of the form were well established. The author adopts the
pseudonym of some ancient hero, prophet or patriarch, and relates
how he was carried into heaven, where an angel guide revealed to
him in a series of visions the mysteries of God’s will for an age,
past, present or future, which is to be decisive in the history of Israel
and the world. Most of these features are present in Revelation,
with a few significant exceptions. John does not (as far as we know)
adopt a pseudonym, but speaks in his own person, as the inter-
mediary carrying an angelic message to the persecuted churches.
Rev 1–3, too, are unusual, a kind of adaptation of the epistle form
to the apocalyptic style. To contemporary readers these would seem
to be deviations from an otherwise recognisable literary form. On
the other hand, the warfare in heaven between God’s emissaries and
the monsters who have taken over the earth, and the strange, even
grotesque images, the shorthand and the stereotypes, in which this
warfare is set out, all now seem bizarre, but would have been as
familiar to John’s contemporaries as a comic strip or an animated
cartoon film are to us.
494 REVELATION OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE
Since the nature of apocalyptic writing has been forgotten,

Revelation has gained an unenviable reputation as a book for cranks,
who have used it as a bran-tub from which to pull every conceivable
kind of strange prophecy of the fate of the world. Even when these
are set aside, it remains a forbidding book, in spite of the magni-
ficence of its tableaux. It is stark and uncompromising. The author
lived in bleak days, and dare not speak plainly. Nor has he any time
for the everyday affairs that concern all the other writers in NT.
The survival of his people is threatened, and he must deal only in
universals.
Revelation, like Hebrews, takes the great tradition of Judaic imagery
and projects it in a new light, adapting ancient hopes to the vision of
the new faith. Herein lies its originality and its unique literary merit.
Megiddo, for example, was an ancient battle-ground in Israelite his-
tory. Here Deborah defeated Sisera (p. 137), and here, in 508 bc, the
great king Josiah of Judah was defeated and killed by the Assyrians.
In Revelation, there is another battle at Megiddo, now Ar-mageddon.
This time, all the kings of the earth are brought together and over-
whelmed by the angels of God. Only the people are preserved. So
John revives and renews all the ancient symbols, sometimes with a
complexity of allusion and echo that baffles annotation. There is a
new Temple, even more magnificent than Solomon’s, and (unlike his)
indestructible. Sacrifices are done away with, because the Lamb’s
sacrifice of himself was final. There are 12 new tribes, who are (as
God promised Abraham) innumerable, because they cover the whole
world. Last of all, there is a great new city, neither transient like
David’s, nor corrupt like Rome, but a perfect and incorruptible new
Jerusalem, in which the people can live for ever without fear.
The grotesqueness of the imagery of Revelation derives largely from
the logic with which it visualises symbols (e.g. the Beast of 13:1ff.).
Like all apocalyptic writings, the book contains little that can be called
humane; the despotic, patriarchal image of God, for example, is
retained to the end. Yet we must not miss the appeal of Revelation
to the people it was written for, the frightened little persecuted groups
who needed such a vision of majestic strength to support them. It
has a very Eastern magnificence to which they could respond, and
even today its bizarre splendour is still not lost. Revelation sums up
the long Judaic tradition in a culmination of the promise made to
Abraham, a most appropriate conclusion to the elaborately woven
patterns and texture of the Bible.
Further reading. The allusive texture of Revelation is much too
complex to be fully unravelled within the scope of this edition. It
involves not only biblical sources, but also extra-biblical Hebrew
writings, historical allusions and the mythology of all parts of Asia
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Minor and the Middle East. There is surprisingly little literary discus-
sion; of the many detailed commentaries, the following are useful:
Caird (1966) is full; Sweet (1979) is more concise; Culbertson (1989)
makes a particular study of the poetics. The entry Revelation in IDB
gives a full summary of principal matters. See also Jeffrey (1992: 665–6)
and Ford (1975) in the Anchor series.
JOHN AS GOD’S SERVANT

1: 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him,
to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come
to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his
servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of
the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words
of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written
therein: for the time is at hand.
JOHN’S VISION
1: 4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which
was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which
are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faith-
ful witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince
of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed
us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings
and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and
dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see
him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of
the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to
come, the Almighty.
I John, who also am your brother, and companion in
tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God,
10 and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on
1:4 seven churches: Named below; John proceeds to address them one by one
with admonition and encouragement. Seven is a sacred number: God rested on
the seventh day (p. 61). Asia is present-day Asia Minor.
8 Alpha and Omega: The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet.
the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of

a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the
last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto
the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and
unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and
unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And
being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the
midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man,
clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about
the paps with a golden girdle.
His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow;
15 and his eyes were as a flame of fire; and his feet like unto
fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the
sound of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven
stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword:
and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid
his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am
the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead;
and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the
keys of hell and of death.
THE VISION OF THE THRONE

The angel sends addresses of encouragement and admonition to ‘the
seven churches of Asia’. The universal vision follows:
4:1 After this I looked, and, behold, a door was opened in
heaven: and the first voice which I heard was as it were of
a trumpet talking with me; which said, Come up hither,
and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. And
immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was
set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
12 seven golden candlesticks : Better, lamps: the seven churches who give light to
the world; see the end of this section.
13 the Son of man: cf. Dan 7:9– 14 (p. 273) and Mark 2:10n (p. 357). In Dan the
Ancient of Days is the son of man’s overlord; here the Son is described in the
imagery used there for the lord (cf. also the angel, Dan 10:5, who also had a golden
girdle, eyes of fire, and feet like brass; see also Caird [1966: 25]).
16 seven stars : The light of heaven, as candles or lamps, are lights on earth (see
p. 117). Christ holds the stars, which in turn guide the earthly lamps and are the
source of their light. There is a hint here of the intermediary angels, worship of
whom was denounced by Paul in Colossians: see Rev 22:8 –9n, p. 508.
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And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a

sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the
throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round about the
throne were four and twenty seats: and upon the seats I saw
four and twenty elders sitting, clothed in white raiment; and
5 they had on their heads crowns of gold. And out of the throne
proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there
were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which
are the seven Spirits of God. And before the throne there
was a sea of glass like unto crystal: and in the midst of the
throne, and round about the throne, were four beasts full
of eyes before and behind.
And the first beast was like a lion, and the second beast
like a calf, and the third beast had a face as a man, and the
fourth beast was like a flying eagle. And the four beasts
had each of them six wings about him; and they were full
of eyes within: and 86they rest not day and night, saying,
Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is,
and is to come.
And when those beasts give glory and honour and
thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever
10 and ever, the four and twenty elders fall down before him
that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for
ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne,
saying,
Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour
and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy
pleasure they are and were created.
4: 3 jasper : A stone of varied colour; yellow, red or – most prized – green.

sardine : Carnelian; like jasper, a chalcedony. Its dominant colours are white and
red, with a hint of translucence.
4 four and twenty: Standard sixteenth-century English. The number is a multiple
of the number of 12 patriarchs in Gen, of the 12 tribes, and equals the 24 orders
of the Levitical priests. The exact significance is uncertain.
6 sea of glass: Also of uncertain significance, but note that the sea is in Revelation
a source of evil, and is finally abolished (see 21:1n, no more sea, p. 505). In
various mythologies, monsters rise from the sea, and God’s first act in creation
was to control it (Gen 1:2–7). Here it is in front of him, and he can oversee even
the monsters within it.
four beasts: cf. Ezek 1 (p. 243) – the same four animals – traditionally representing
animate creation.
86
Gr. they have no rest.
THE SEALED BOOK:

AND THE VISION OF THE LAMB
5: 1 And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne
a book written within and on the backside, sealed with
seven seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a
loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose
the seals thereof?
And no man in heaven, nor in earth, neither under the
earth, was able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
And I wept much, because no man was found worthy to
5 open and to read the book, neither to look thereon. And
one of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion
of the tribe of Juda, the Root of David, hath prevailed to
open the book, and to loose the seven seals thereof.
And I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne and of
the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb
as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which
are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
And he came and took the book out of the right hand of
him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the
book, the four beasts and four and twenty elders fell down
before the Lamb, having every one of them harps, and golden
vials full of 87odours, which are the prayers of saints.
And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy
to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou
wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out
of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; and
10 hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall
reign on the earth.
5:1 The book with seven seals contains history and its judgments – not the ordinary
course of history as we understand it, but God’s great plan, which the Son’s actions
will reveal.
5 Lion of . . . Juda: Recalls the military tradition of the Messiah, the new David.
6 The Lamb is the leading example of the grotesqueness of apocalyptic imagery.
Each feature means something and is therefore included; the effect and connota-
tions of the whole are not considered. This is only another case of the kind of
imagery also found in Song of Songs, e.g. 4:2: ‘thy teeth are like a flock of sheep that
are even shorn’. The Lamb is of course the sacrificial lamb of the sin-offering.
Horns symbolise power (cf. Dan 7.7, p. 273) and the eyes, knowledge and insight.
The paradox of finding a lamb to be complete in power and wisdom is the point
of the whole image.
87
Or, incense.
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And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round

about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the num-
ber of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thou-
sands of thousands; saying with a loud voice,
Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and
riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory,
and blessing.
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth,
and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that
are in them, heard I, saying,
Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him
that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever
and ever. And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four
and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth
for ever and ever.
THE FOUR HORSEMEN

6: 1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I
heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts
saying, Come and see.
And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on
him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he
went forth conquering, and to conquer.
And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the
second beast say, Come and see. And there went out
another horse that was red: and power was given to him that
sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should
kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the
third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black
horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his
hand. And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts
say, 88A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures
of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and
the wine.
And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the
voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see. And I looked,
and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was
6:6 measure : See margin, and NRSV, REB, quart.
88
The word chœnix signifies a measure containing one wine quart, and the twelfth
part of a quart.
Death, and Hell followed with him. and power was given
89
unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with
sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts
of the earth.
And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under
the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of
God, and for the testimony which they held: and they cried
10 with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true,
dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that
dwell on the earth? And white robes were given unto every
one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should
rest yet for a little season, until their fellowservants also and
their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should
be fulfilled.
And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and,
lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black
as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; and
the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree
casteth her 90untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty
wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled
together; and every mountain and island were moved out of
15 their places. And the kings of the earth, and the great men,
and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men,
and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in
the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; and said to the
mountains and rocks,
Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth
on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great
day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
THE WOMAN, THE DRAGON

AND THE BEAST
The servants of the Lamb are released and elevated, but more
troubles follow. There are glimpses of the Beast from the Abyss (or
‘bottomless pit’). Three ‘woes’ are foretold; a monstrous troop of
armed locusts, a great earthquake, and then the third is announced
with a promise that at last the end has come.
6:8 death: i.e. pestilence (as in ‘the Black Death’).
89
Or, to him.
90
Or, green figs.
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11: 19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there
was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there
were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earth-
quake, and great hail. And there appeared a great 91wonder
in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon
12:1 under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars:
and she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained
to be delivered.
And there appeared another 92wonder in heaven; and
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns,
and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the
third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the
earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was
ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it
was born.
5 And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all
nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up
unto God, and to his throne. And the woman fled into the
wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that
11:19 the ark of his testament was placed under the very throne of God in the
Temple of Jerusalem (see Exod 25:10–21; Lev 16:2): John sees in his vision through
to the holiest things of all.
12:1 a woman clothed with the sun . . . : A complex and central image. Of all chapters
in the book, this one makes most use of imagery and symbolism from many sources,
Jewish and Gentile. There are allusions to Eve, mother of all and enemy of the
serpent (Gen 3:15, p. 63); to non-Jewish myths of the goddess who gives birth
to the sun-god, who (as here) is threatened at birth by the sea-monster which
he later destroys; and to Jerusalem as the spirit of the whole tribe of Israel, from
whom will spring the Messiah; by extension, the persecution of the woman by
the dragon identifies her with the church. The sun, moon and stars universalise
her in a typical Eastern fashion, the twelve stars being the zodiac. It is she who
brings about at last the crisis of the book; John’s readers would recognise her
cosmic status. In Rev 17 (not included here) the ‘scarlet woman’, the harlot Babylon,
is presented as a contrast to her.
3 a great red dragon: The archetypal sea-monster (‘the flood . . . cast out of his
mouth’ later in the passage), enemy of gods and men in the old mythologies;
several allusions in OT imply recognition of the symbol (e.g. Job 40:15n, p. 299).
The number of heads and horns seems not to be specifically symbolic.
5 rod of iron: Ps 2:9; this psalm, which is repeatedly used in this episode, speaks
of God’s blessing the Messiah; so here God receives and immediately protects
the child.
91
Or, sign.
92
Or, sign.
they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and

threescore days.
And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his
angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any
more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that
old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the
whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and
the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is
cast down, which accused them before our God day and
night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death.
Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them.
Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the
devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because
he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto the earth,
he persecuted the woman which brought forth the man
child. And to the woman were given two wings of a great
eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place,
where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a
15 time, from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast
out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he
might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the
earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth,
and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of
his mouth. And the dragon was wroth with the woman,
and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which
keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony
of Jesus Christ.
6 a thousand . . . days: 42 months (as later in the passage) or three-and-a-half years

(time plus times plus half a time, as in Dan 7:25, p. 275) – the period of tribula-
tion, half the magical seven years. (In 167 – 164 bc this was the actual period of
oppression by Antiochus Epiphanes, to which Dan refers.)
7 Michael: part of the mythology developed in the period between OT and NT
(see p. 343).
14 eagle: Exod 19:4 and Isa 40:31 (pp. 110, 253). Israel escapes from the tyrant
into the wilderness.
time: See 12:6n.
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13:1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast
rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns,
and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the
93
name of blasphemy. And the beast which I saw was like
unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and
his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him
his power, and his seat, and great authority.
And I saw one of his heads as it were 94wounded to
death; and his deadly wound was healed: and all the world
wondered after the beast. And they worshipped the dragon
which gave power unto the beast: and they worshipped the
beast, saying, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to
make war with him?
5 And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him 95to
continue forty and two months. And he opened his mouth
in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and
his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven. And it was
given unto him to make war with the saints, and to over-
come them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall
worship him, whose names are not written in the book of
life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
If any man have an ear, let him hear.
10 He that leadeth into captivity
shall go into captivity:
He that killeth with the sword
must be killed with the sword.
13:1 beast: Not the dragon-serpent, but his servant. The beast gradually develops
into a plain image of the military power of the Roman Empire. His description
is taken directly from Daniel chapter 7 (p. 274).
2 leopard: The four animals are those of Dan 7:4– 7 in reverse order.
3 one of his heads : The beast is an ‘antichrist’, a blasphemous imitation of the
wounded Christ. Perhaps this head represents Nero, one of the manifestations
of the beast; he was said to have attempted suicide.
4 Who is like unto the beast?: A parody of the meaning of the name Michael, the
beast’s antagonist: ‘Who is like unto God?’
5 power : Literally the phrase used throughout this passage, ‘It was given to him’;
i.e. he held only the power of a deputy. (The next use of the word, however, is
a translation of Greek exousia, ‘authority’.)
10 He that . . . : Jer 15:2; better, as AV, ‘Such as are for death, to death; such as
are for the sword, to the sword’.
93
Or, names.
94
Or, slain.
95
Or, to make war.
Here is the patience and the faith of the saints.

And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth;
and he had two horns like a lamb, and he spake as a dragon.
And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before
him, and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein
to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and
deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those
miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast,
saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should
make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a
sword, and did live.
15 And he had power to give 96life unto the image of the
beast, that the image of the beast should both speak, and
cause that as many as would not worship the image of the
beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and
great, rich and poor, free and bond, 97to receive a mark in
their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man
might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name
of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count
the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man;
and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
The following chapters contain further visions of the opposing armies
of Satan and the Lamb. All the pieces in this war are moved from
11 another beast, representing the priesthood of the cult of the Emperor. He has
horns in parody of the Lamb, but his voice gives him away. His deadly wound
is part of the parody, but probably also alludes to Nero’s suicide (68 ad), after
which a series of impostors claimed to be the emperor risen from the dead. His
powers in the following lines are to spread heresy and idolatry.
16 mark: A slave’s brand, identifying his master.
18 the number of the beast: Numerological symbolism was much used in this period:
666 is a ‘triangular number’ on a base of 36: e.g. an equilateral triangle with sides
of 36 units will contain 666 units (as 15 red snooker balls are triangular on a base
of 5). Greek used letters for numbers, and therefore the value of a name or word
could easily be counted (e.g. Roman MIX = 1009). The reverse process is much more
difficult; attempts to make Nero add up to 666 require dubious manipulations.
Through the ages, cranks have produced every imaginable decipherment; for us
the puzzle remains, but we can assume that if Nero is not intended, someone
very like him is.
96
Gr, breath.
97
Gr, to give them.
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the Throne: among them the harvest and winepress of God, the
scarlet harlot Babylon, and seven more plagues, with the Exodus always
an underlying image. Babylon is overthrown, and although Satan
is allowed one last outbreak, judgment is made at last, and finally,
between light and darkness (where Genesis began).
JUDGMENT
20: 11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it,
from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and
there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book
of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which
were written in the books, according to their works. And
the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
98
hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they
were judged every man according to their works. And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second
15 death. And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire.
THE NEW JERUSALEM

21: 1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first
heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was
no more sea.
And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming
down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned
for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven
saying,
20:13 the sea: See 21:1n below.

14 the second death: Final annihilation, which kills the soul as well as the body.
21: 1 no more sea: The primal source of evil is to be eliminated; note that most of
the evil monsters rise from the sea, and the angels of God come down from heaven.
Dr Susanne Sklar has pointed out to me that Patmos is a rock-bound island,
constantly lashed by severe waves, where the sea is rarely like glass (see p. 497
and 15:2), and has no attractions.
2 the holy city . . . as a bride: Note how in the following passage Jerusalem is some-
times depicted as a city, sometimes as a woman, with no sense of disunity or
incongruity.
98
Or, the grave.
Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will

dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God him-
self shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more
death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any
more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make
all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words
are true and faithful.
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst
of the fountain of the water of life freely. He that over-
cometh shall inherit 99all things; and I will be his God,
and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and
the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and
sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part
in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which
is the second death.
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which
had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked
with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride,
10 the Lamb’s wife. And he carried me away in the spirit to
a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city,
the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone
most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal; and
had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the
gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are
the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: on the
east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south
three gates; and on the west three gates. And the wall of
the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names
of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.
15 And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure
the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. And
3 tabernacle: God has moved into the camp, a king returning to his people. See
Exod 25:9n, p. 114.
8 the second death : See 20:14n.
9 seven vials . . . plagues: Reference to Rev 15 – 16 (not included here).
12 twelve gates: For the 12 tribes of Israel, as well as the disciples; in Ezek 48: 20ff.
(not included in this selection), on which this passage leans heavily, the Temple
as rebuilt is to be apportioned among the tribes.
99
Or, these.
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the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the

breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve
thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the
height of it are equal. And he measured the wall thereof,
an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the
measure of a man, that is, of the angel.
And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the
city was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the foundations
of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of
precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second,
sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald; the
20 fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the
eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus;
the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst. And the
twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of
one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were
transparent glass.
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty
and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no
need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for
the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light
thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk
in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their
glory and honour into it.
25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for
there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory
and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no
16 foursquare: Perfect, as in Ezekiel’s vision (48:20). The reed in this context

was 6 cubits or about 10 ft. A furlong (stadion) was about 6 reeds. The 12,000,
however, represents the number of the tribes multiplied by an immeasurable quan-
tity – the ‘sands of the sea’ of the promise to Abraham at the beginning of the
whole story (Gen 22:17, p. 75).
17 measure of a man: 144 cubits (again, 12 squared) does not seem to compare
with 12,000 stadia, but this is by earthly dimensions. The measure of this ‘man’
is angelic – vastly greater.
18 jasper can be translucent, though of course pure gold cannot; John intends
to suggest its absolute purity.
19 sapphire, etc.: See 4:3n, jasper, etc.; there are many sources for such a list of
precious stones. The High Priest’s breastplate (Exod 28: 15– 30) was ornamented
with 12 stones; Isa 54:11–12 and Ezek 28:13 contain similar series, as do other authors
(e.g. the contemporary Jewish author Josephus). The stones listed here were also
associated with the zodiacal constellations, in reverse order (amethyst belonging
to Aries); this list likewise suggests a completed series. See Ford (1975: 334 – 6,
341 – 4).
21 pearls : translating the Hebrew for carbuncle, a glowing brownish stone.
wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever

worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are
written in the Lamb’s book of life.
22:1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear
as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of
the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either
side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare
twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month:
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the
nations.
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of
God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall
serve him: and they shall see his face; and his name shall be
5 in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there;
and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the
Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever
and ever.
And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true:
and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel
to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be
done. Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth
the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
And I John saw these things, and heard them. And when
I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the
feet of the angel which shewed me these things. Then saith
he unto me, See thou do it not: for I am thy fellowservant,
and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep
the sayings of this book: worship God.
22: 1 river . . . of life: A familiar OT image: first, the actual source of Jerusalem’s
water supply (Ps 46:4, a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God);
travellers in an often arid region would be well aware of the critical necessity
of flowing water; King Hezekiah built a conduit to carry water from the hills
outside into the city (2 Kings 20:20). The life-giving waters gushing forth in the
rebuilt Temple itself (Ezek 47:1; Zech 14:8) were a symbol of renewal after the Exile.
Note also the river of Eden, associated with the Tree of Life (Gen 2:9 –10); here
there is no forbidden tree and therefore ‘no curse’.
4 see his face : Throughout OT, God’s face was too terrible to look upon, and
he hid himself in the Holy of Holies.
7 I come quickly: It was generally believed that Christ would soon return to
establish his Kingdom on earth: see Heb. 1:2 last days, n p. 475.
8 to worship . . . the angel: In Asia Minor it was common to regard angels as
worshipful minor deities (a practice denounced by Paul in Colossians). John will
use them as a literary device, but not as a theological reality – as now, at the
end of his book, he is careful to point out.
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10 And he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the

prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand. He that
is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy,
let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be
righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with
me, to give every man according as his work shall be. I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first
and the last.
Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they
may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through
15 the gates into the city. For without are dogs, and sorcerers,
and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and
whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these
things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of
David, and the bright and morning star.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that
heareth, say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.
For I testify unto every man that heareth the words
of the prophecy of this book, If any man shall add unto
these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are
written in this book: and if any man shall take away from
the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away
his part 100out of the book of life, and out of the holy city,
and from the things which are written in this book.
20 He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come
quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
10 Seal not: It is usual in apocalyptic writings, which the actual author pretends
to have been written in some past age, for the visionary in supposed antiquity
(the author’s persona) to be ordered, by the angel who has revealed the ‘future’
to him, to seal up the writings until the time when they will be needed (i.e. the
actual time of writing and publication). But John says there is no time for this;
he saw the visions himself (‘I John saw . . .’), and they will soon be needed, as
these lines stress. The command which follows (‘He that is unjust . . .’) means:
make your choice quickly and for ever – there is no time to waver. The whole
drift of these last lines is urgency.
16 root : Isa 11:1, p. 217: offspring also fulfils the Messianic hope; star echoes the
supposed Messianic prophecy, ‘There shall come a star out of Jacob’ (Num 24:17:
see Matt 2:2n, p. 389).
100
Or, from the tree of life.
510 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
The Books of the Bible

A Summary
THE OLD TESTAMENT

Genesis the creation and early history of the world; the histories of
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph.
Exodus the enslavement of the Israelites in Egypt, and their escape;
the journey to Sinai; the Ten Commandments; the Tabernacle.
Leviticus the Law in detail.
Numbers incidents in the wilderness; further law.
Deuteronomy a later edition of the Law.
Joshua the Israelites’ invasion of Canaan.
Judges the struggles of Israel to maintain supremacy in Canaan.
Ruth the story of a Moabite woman who finds refuge and marriage
among her Hebrew in-laws, becoming ancestor of the royal line.
1– 2 Samuel the establishment of the kingdom of Israel under Saul
and David.
1–2 Kings the great kingdom of Solomon, its division after his death
and gradual decline and fall.
1–2 Chronicles a third- to second-century bc retelling of the material
of Sam and Kgs, centred on Jerusalem and emphasising even more
strongly the priestly viewpoint.
Ezra; Nehemiah a continuation of Chronicles (see Histories, p. 132).
Ezra deals with the return from exile and the rebuilding of the Temple,
and Nehemiah with the rebuilding of the wall round Jerusalem, the
dedication of the wall and rededication of the people. Both books
condemn foreign marriages and seek to make a separated, theocratic
nation.
Esther a tale of a heroine among the Jews in exile. She won the hand
of Xerxes, emperor of Persia, against the machinations of her court
enemy Haman. Her people are vindicated and Haman hanged. The
book is associated with the minor feast of Purim.
Job a debate poem centred on the trials of Job, the just man.
Psalms hymns, personal and liturgical.
Proverbs the first of three books attributed to Solomon: a collection
of sayings.
Ecclesiastes reflections on life and death.
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THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 511
Song of Solomon a series of songs of love.

Isaiah a court prophet in Jerusalem in the late eighth century bc;
chapters 40 onwards are generally believed to be the work of one
or more later writers.
Jeremiah a prophet in Jerusalem in the last years of Judah.
Lamentations supposedly the laments of Jeremiah on the fall of
Jerusalem, and so placed here in the Christian Bible. For the Jews
it is a part of the Writings (see p. 277). It is a sequence of poems
constructed around an acrostic which cannot be recognised in
translation, as it is based on the Hebrew alphabet.
Ezekiel a contemporary of Jeremiah, prophesying in Jerusalem and
Babylon at the time of the fall of Judah.
Daniel an apocalyptic work attributed to the time of the exile, but
now believed to be written c.168 bc.
Hosea a prophet in Jerusalem, mid-eighth century bc.
Joel a short prophecy, calling for a national fast to propitiate God
in the face of a great famine.
Amos a prophet in Israel, somewhat earlier than Hosea.
Obadiah the shortest book in OT: a denunciation of Edom (see
p. 78n), who in the years before the fall of Judah had sided with
her enemies; a cry of defiance in defeat.
Jonah the story of a prophet who tried to avoid God’s call. After
his famous adventure in the belly of ‘a great fish’, he prophesies of
the threatened destruction of Nineveh (capital of Assyria), whose
people hear him so that the city is saved. The book ends with the
parable of the gourd, on his petulance when the foretold doom does
not follow.
Micah a contemporary of Hosea.
Nahum a short book, opening with a psalm of praise, going on to
a cry of hate against Nineveh, exulting in its impending destruction,
c.612 bc.
Habakkuk (stressed on the second syllable) a prophet, contempor-
ary with Jeremiah, who like him speaks of the threat to Judah from
Babylon.
Zephaniah also contemporary with Jeremiah and Habakkuk. He warns
of the coming catastrophe, but appears not to have lived through it.
Haggai after the exile, he exhorts the people to devote themselves
to rebuilding the Temple; his activities are mentioned in Ezra.
Zechariah; Malachi post-exilic prophets in Jerusalem.
512 THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE
APOCRYPHA
1 Esdras retells the history of the Jews from the time of Josiah until
the return from exile and rededication of the Temple.
2 Esdras quite different from 1 Esdras: apocalyptic prophecy, not
history.
Tobit; Judith religious romances.
Additions to Esther.
The Wisdom of Solomon; Ecclesiasticus (or Sirach) ‘wisdom’ writings
in the tradition of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes.
Baruch psalms and exhortations for the Jews in exile, attributed to
Baruch, Jeremiah’s secretary.
The Song of the Three Children a psalm for insertion after Daniel 3:23.
Susannah; Bel and the Dragon narrative extensions of Daniel.
The Prayer of Manasses (or Manasseh) a short passage ‘when he was
holden captive in Babylon’.
1–2 Maccabees: history of the revolt against the Seleucid (Syrian) rulers
of Judaea, c.168 bc; and afterwards.
THE NEW TESTAMENT

Matthew; Mark; Luke; John four accounts of the work of Jesus.
Acts of the Apostles a continuation of Luke’s account, dealing with
the foundation of the church and the work of Peter and Paul.
Romans; 1–2 Corinthians: letters by Paul to these churches.
Galatians the Galati were a Celtic people settled in Asia Minor. Paul,
impatient with their misapprehension of his teaching, gives them a
summary of his beliefs. An early essay in the material of Romans.
Ephesians to Ephesus: largely concerned with the nature of the
Christian life, ending with a famous passage (6:10–18) based on the
image of ‘the armour of God’.
Philippians a friendly letter of exhortation and encouragement.
Colossians a warning against false religious beliefs, in particular
those that despised this life and placed Jesus as a merely spiritual
being among a hierarchy of angels.
1– 2 Thessalonians : two letters of general advice and exhortation.
1– 2 Timothy; Titus: known as the ‘Pastoral Epistles’, letters to indi-
viduals in church office rather than to whole congregations, dealing
more practically with questions and problems in the Christian life
and ministry.
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THE BOOKS OF THE BIBLE 513
Philemon a short letter, unusual in dealing with a single human

problem. Onesimus, Philemon’s runaway slave, has been converted
to Christianity. Paul urges Philemon not to charge him (the offence
was capital), but to prove true faith by accepting him as a brother.
Hebrews a treatise in the form of an Epistle, concerning the nature
of Christ.
James; 1– 2 Peter; 1 John ‘general’ epistles (i.e. written for general
circulation), concerning the Christian life.
2– 3 John: two very brief letters, each only about 300 words, one to
‘a lady’, the other to ‘Caius’, in the same vein as 1 John.
Jude attributed to the brother of Jesus: a short but fierce condemna-
tion of false teachers, and a warning of the doom likely to fall on
their followers.
Revelation: an apocalyptic work: visions of the last days of the world
and the creation of the City of God.
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APPENDICES
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Appendix 1
Bishop Bancroft’s Rules for the Revisers
The Rules to be observed in the Translation of the Bible.

1. The ordinary Bible read in the Church, commonly called the
Bishops’ Bible, to be followed, and as little altered, as the Truth of the
original will permit.
2. The Names of the Prophets, and the Holy Writers, with the other
Names of the Text, to be retained, as nigh as may be, accordingly
as they were vulgarly used.
3. The old Ecclesiastical Words to be kept, viz. the Word Church
not to be translated Congregation &c.
4. When a Word hath divers significations, that to be kept which
hath been most commonly used by the most of the Ancient Fathers,
being agreeable to the Propriety of the place, and the Analogy of
the Faith.
5. The Division of the Chapters to be altered, either not at all, or
as little as may be, if Necessity so require.
6. No Marginal Notes at all to be affixed, but only for the Explana-
tion of the Hebrew or Greek Words, which cannot without some
circumlocution, so briefly and fitly be exprest in the Text.
7. Such Quotations of Places to be marginally set down, as shall serve
for the fit Reference of one Scripture to another.
8. Every particular Man of each Company, to take the same Chapter,
or Chapters, and having translated, or amended them severally by
himself, where he thinketh good, all to meet together, confer what
they have done, and agree for their Parts what shall stand.
9. As any one Company hath dispatched any one Book in this
manner, they shall send it to the rest, to be considered of seriously
and judiciously, for his Majesty is very careful in this Point.
10. If any Company, upon the Review of the Book so sent, doubt or
differ upon any Place, to send them word thereof: note the Place, and
withal send the Reasons; to which if they consent not, the difference
to be compounded at the General Meeting, which is to be of the chief
Persons of each Company, at the end of the Work.
11. When any Place of special obscurity is doubted of, Letters to be
directed, by Authority, to send to any Learned Man in the Land,
for his judgment of such a Place.
12. Letters to be sent from every Bishop, to the rest of his Clergy,
admonishing them of this Translation in hand; and to move and
charge, as many as being skilful in the Tongues; and having taken pains
in that kind, to send his particular Observations to the Company,
either at Westminster, Cambridge or Oxford.
518 APPENDIX 1
13. The Directors in each Company, to be the Deans of Westminster

and Chester for that Place; and the King’s Professors in the Hebrew
or Greek in either University.
14. These translations to be used when they agree better with the
Text than the Bishops Bible: viz. Tindall’s, Matthew’s, Coverdale’s,
Whitchurch’s, Geneva.
15. Besides the said Directors before mentioned, three or four of the
most Ancient and Grave Divines, in either of the Universities, not
employed in Translating, to be assigned by the Vice-Chancellor,
upon Conference with the rest of the Heads to be Overseers of the
Translations, as well Hebrew as Greek, for the better observation of
the 4th Rule above specified.
Source: Burnet 1681: C366: Burnet says (p. H406), ‘as I copied
it from B[ishop Thomas] Ravis’s Paper’. Ravis was one of the Second
Oxford Company of revisers: see Pollard 1911:52, and DNB.
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Appendix 2
Comparative texts
These texts are given in modernised spelling to make comparison

simpler. Sixteenth-century spelling was by no means standardised, and
varies from one edition to another of the same text. Punctuation is
retained as in the original.
2 SAMUEL 18:19 – 33 (p. 166)

coverdale ’ s bible 1535
Ahimaas the son of Sadoc said: Let me run now, and bring the
king word, that the lord hath gotten him right from the hand of
his enemies. But Joab said: Thou shalt bring no good tidings to day
another day shalt thou bring him word, and not to day, for the king’s
son is dead. But unto Chusi said Joab: Go thou thy way, and tell the
king what thou hast seen. And Chusi did his obeisance unto Joab,
and ran. Ahimaas the son of Sadoc said again unto Joab: What and
I ran also? Joab said: What wilt thou run my son? Come hither, thou
shalt bring no good tidings. (He answered:) What and I ran yet.
He said unto him: Run on thy way then. So Ahimaas ran the straight
way, and came before Chusi.
As for David, he sat between the two gates. And the watchman went
up to the top of the port upon the wall, and lift up his eyes, and saw
a man running alone, and cried, and told the king. The king said: If
he be alone, then is there good tidings in his mouth. And as the same
went and came forth, the watchman saw another man running, and
cried in the port and said: Behold, there runneth a man alone. The
king said: The same is a good messenger also. The watchman said:
I see the running of the first as it were the running of Ahimaas the
son of Sadoc. And the king said: He is a good man, and bringeth
good tidings. Ahimaas cried, and said unto the king: Peace, and
worshipped before the king upon his face to the ground, and said:
Praised be the lord thy God, which hath given over the men that
lift up their hands against my lord the king.
The king said: Goeth it well with the young man Absalom? Ahimaas
said: I saw a great uproar, when Joab the king’s servant sent me thy
servant, and I wot not what it was. The king said: Go about, and
stand here. And he went about and stood there. Behold, then came
Chusi and said: I bring good tidings, my lord the king: The lord
hath executed right for thee this day, from the hand of all them that
520 APPENDIX 2
rose up against thee. But the king said unto Chusi: Goeth it well
with the young man Absalom? Chusi said: Even so go it with all the
enemies of my lord the king, and with all them that rise up against
thee to do evil, as it goeth with the young man. Then was the king
sorrowful, and went up in to the parlour upon the gate, and wept,
and as he went, he said thus: O my son Absalom, my son, my son
Absalom, would God that I should die for thee, O Absalom my son,
my son.
tyndale ( ‘ MATTHEW ’ S ’ BIBLE, 1537)

Taverner’s Bible (1537) is identical to ‘Matthew’s’, except for the marked
phrases detailed in the footnotes.
Then said Ahimaaz the son of Sadock: let me run I pray thee,
and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath 1judged him quit
of the hands of all his enemies. And Joab said unto him: thou art
no man to bear tidings to day: thou shalt bear tidings another time:
but to day thou shalt bear none, because the king’s son is dead.
Then said Joab to Chusi: go and tell the king what thou hast seen.
And Chusi bowed him self unto Joab and ran. Then said Ahimaaz
the son of Sadock again to Joab: come what come will, let me run
I pray thee after Chusi. And Joab said, Wherefore shouldest thou
run my son? for 2and thou run thou gettest no 3reward: well come
what come will let me run. And he said unto him: run. Then Ahimaaz
ran by the plain and over ran Chusi.
And David sat between the two gates. And the watchman went
up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lift up his eyes and
saw: and behold, there came a man running alone. And the watch-
man called and told the king. And the king said: if he come alone,
there is tidings in his mouth. And he came and drew nigh. And the
watchman saw another man running, and called unto the porter and
said: behold, there cometh a nother running alone. And the king
answered: he is also a tidings bringer. And the watchman said: me
thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz
the son of Sadock. And the king said: he is a good man and cometh
with good tidings. And Ahimaaz called and said to the king: good
tidings, and bowed him self to the earth upon his face before the
king and said: blessed be the Lord thy God which hath *shut up
all the men that lift up their hands against my Lord the king. And
* (that is, cut short) [MtB margin].

1
Taverner’s variants : given him judgment forth.
2
for albeit thou . . .
3
reward: but he said, well.
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APPENDIX 2 521
the king said: is the lad Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz answered I saw
a great 4a do, when the king’s servant Joab sent me thy servant. But
I wot not what it was. And the king said: turn and stand here. And
he turned and stood.
And behold Chusi came and said: 5tidings my Lord the king, the
Lord hath quit thee this day out of the hands of all that rose against
thee. And the king said to Chusi: is the lad Absalom safe? And Chusi
answered the enemies of my Lord the king and all that rise against
thee, to have thee, be as thy 6lad is. And the king was moved and
went up to a chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went thus
he said: my son Absalom, my son, my son, my son Absalom, would
to God I had died for thee, Absalom, my son, my son.
great bible (1540)

Then said Ahimaaz the son of Sadock: let me run now, and bear
the king tidings, how that the Lord hath judged him quit of the
hand of his enemies. And Joab said unto him: thou art no man to
bear good tidings to day: thou shalt bear tidings another time: but
to day thou shalt bear none, because the king’s son is dead. Then
said Joab to Chusi: go and tell the king, what thou hast seen: And
Chusi bowed him self unto Joab, and ran. Then said Ahimaaz the son
of Sadock again to Joab: come what come will, let me also run after
Chusi. And Joab said: Wherefore wilt thou run my son? seeing that
for the tidings thou shalt have no reward: well (said he) come what
will, let me run. He said unto him: run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the
plain way, and came before Chusi.
And David sat between the two gates. And the watchman went up
to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lift up his eyes, and saw:
and behold, there came a man running alone. And the watchman
cried, and told the king. And the king said: if he be alone, there is
good tidings in his mouth. And he came, and drew nigh. And the
watchman saw another man running, and he called unto the porter
and said: behold, there cometh another man running alone. And the
king said: he is also a tidings bringer. And the watchman said: me
thinketh the running of the foremost is like the running of Ahimaaz
the son of Sadock. The king said: he is a good man, and cometh
with good tidings. And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king: good
tidings, and he fell down flat to the earth upon his face before the
king, and said: blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath shut up
the men that lift up their hands against my Lord the king. And the
4
a great burly burly.
5
Good tidings my liege Sir King.
6
son.
522 APPENDIX 2
king said: is the young man Absalom safe? Ahimaaz answered:

When Joab sent (Chusi) the king’s servant, and me thy servant, I
saw much a do. But I wot not what it was. And the king said unto
him: turn, and stand here. And he turned, and stood still.
And behold, Chusi came also, and said: Good tidings my Lord
the king, for the Lord hath quit thee this day out of the hand of
all them that rose against thee. And the king said unto Chusi: Is
the young man Absalom safe? Chusi answered: The enemies of my
Lord the king, and all that rise against thee, to do thee hurt, be
as that young man is. And the king was moved, and went up to a
chamber over the gate, and wept. And as he went, thus he said: O
my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, would God I had died
for thee: O Absalom my son, my son.
geneva bible (1560)

Gv distinguished marginal alternatives from comments by differing
superscript marks in the text; the first are indicated here by figures,
thus: 1 and the second by letters: a.
19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok, I pray thee, let me run,
and bear the King tidings that the Lord hath 7delivered him out of
the hand of his enemies.
20 And Joab said unto him, Thou ashalt not be the messenger to
day, but thou shalt bear tidings another time, but to day thou shalt
bear none: for the King’s son is dead.
21 Then said Joab to Cushi, Go, tell the King, what thou hast seen.
And Cushi bowed him self unto Joab, and ran.
22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok again to Joab, What, I pray
thee, if I also run after Cushi? And Joab said, Wherefore now wilt
thou run, my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings to bring?
23 Yet what if I run? Then he said unto him, Run. So Ahimaaz ran
by the way of the plain, and overwent Cushi.
24 Now David sat between the two bgates. And the watchman went
to the top of the gate upon the wall, and lift up his eyes, and saw,
and behold, a man came running alone.
25 And the watchman cried, and told the King. And the King said, If
he be alone, 8he bringeth tidings. And he came apace, and drew near.
a
For Joab bare a good affection to Ahimaas, and doubted how David would take
the reports of Absalom’s death.
b
He sat in the gate of the city of Mahanaim.
7
Hebr. judged.
8
Hebr. tidings are in his mouth.
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APPENDIX 2 523
26 And the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman
called unto the porter, and said, behold, another man runneth alone.
And the King said, He also bringeth tidings.
27 And the watchman said, 9Me thinketh the running of the fore-
most is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Zadok. Then the King
said, He is a cgood man, and cometh with good tidings.
28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the King, Peace be with thee:
and he fell down to the earth upon his face before the King, and
said, Blessed be the Lord thy God, who hath 10shut up the men
that lift up their hands against my lord the King.
29 And the king said, Is the young man Absalom safe? And Ahimaaz
answered, When Joab sent the king’s dservant, and me thy servant,
I saw a great tumult, but I knew not what.
30 And the King said unto him, Turn aside and stand here. So he
turned aside and stood still.
31 And behold, Cushi came, and Cushi said, 11Tidings, my lord the
King: for the Lord hath delivered thee this day out of the hand of
all that rose against thee.
32 Then the King said unto Cushi, Is the young man Absalom safe?
And Cushi answered, The enemies of my lord the King, and all that
rise against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.
33 And the King was emoved, and went up to the chamber over the
gate, and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom,
my son, my son Absalom: would God I had died for thee, O Absalom,
my son, my son.
bishops’ bible (1568)

1
The ‘Bishops’ copied Gv in distinguishing marginal explanations
from a comments, some of which they copied.
19 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Sadoc: let me run now, and bear
the king tidings how that the Lord hath fjudged him quit of the
hand of his enemies.
c
He had had experience of his fidelity: chap. 17. 21.
d
To wit, Chushi, who was an Ethiopian. In 900 bc, as now, Ethiopians were the
best runners. [ed.]
e
Because he considered both the judgement of God against his sin, & could not
otherwise hide his fatherly affection toward his son.
f
That is, hath delivered him out of the hands of his enemies.
9
Hebr. I see the running.
10
Or, delivered up.
11
Hebr. tidings is brought.
524 APPENDIX 2
20 And Joab said unto him: Thou art no man to bear gtidings to
day: thou shalt bear tidings another time: but to day thou shalt bear
none, because the king’s son is dead.
21 Then said Joab to Chusi, Go and tell the king what thou hast
seen: And Chusi bowed himself unto Joab, and ran.
22 Then said Ahimaaz the son of Sadoc again to Joab: What I pray
thee, if I also run after Chusi? And Joab said: Wherefore wilt thou
run my son, seeing that thou hast no tidings to bring?
23 Yet what if I run? he said unto him: Run. Then Ahimaaz ran by
the way of the plain, and came before Chusi.
24 And David sat between the two hgates: And the watchman went
up to the roof over the gate unto the wall, and lift up his eyes and
saw, & behold there came a man running alone.
25 And the watchman cried, & told the king. And the king said: If
he be alone, ithere is tidings in his mouth. And he came a pace, and
drew near.
26 And the watchman saw another man running, and the watchman
called unto the porter, and said: Behold, there cometh another man
running alone. And the king said: He is also a tidings bringer.
27 And the watchman said: 12Me thinketh the running of the fore-
most, is like the running of Ahimaaz the son of Sadoc. The king said:
He is a jgood man and cometh with good tidings.
28 And Ahimaaz called, and said unto the king: Peace be with thee.
And he fell down to the earth upon his face before the king, and
said: Blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath 13shut up the men
that lift up their hands against my lord the king.
29 And the king said: Is the young man Absalom safe? Ahimaaz
answered: When Joab sent the king’s servant, and me thy kservant,
I saw a great tumult. But I wot not what it was.
30 And the king said unto him: turn aside, and stand here. And he
turned aside, and stood still.
31 And behold, Chusi came also, and said: 14Tidings my lord the
king, for the Lord hath 15delivered thee this day out of the hand of
all them that rose against thee.
g
Favouring him, that he should not incur displeasure by telling of the death of
Absalom.
h
He sat in the gate of the city of Mahanaim.
i
That is, he bringeth tidings.
j
He had experience of his fidelity. Chap. 17.8.
k
To wit, Chusai, who was an Ethiopian.
12
Heb. I see the running.
13
Or, delivered up.
14
Heb. Tidings is brought.
15
judged.
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APPENDIX 2 525
32 And the King said unto Chusi: Is the young man Absalom safe?
Chusi answered: The enemies of my lord the king, and all that rise
against thee to do thee hurt, be as that young man is.
33 And the king was lmoved, and went up to the chamber over the
gate and wept: and as he went, thus he said, O my son Absalom,
my son, my son Absalom: would God I had died for thee, O Absalom,
my son, my son.
douai (1609)
And Achimaas the son of Sadoc said: I will run, and tell the king,
that our Lord hath done him judgement of the hand of his enemies.
To whom Joab said: Thou shalt not be messenger this day, but
thou shalt carry the message an other day: to day I will not have
thee carry the message, for the king’s son is dead. And Joab said to
Chusai: Go, and tell the king what thou hast seen. Chusai adored
Joab, and ran.
And again Achimaas the son of Sadoc said to Joab: What letteth
if I also run after Chusai? And Joab said to him: Why wilt thou run
my son? thou shalt not be carrier of good tidings. Who answered:
But what if I run? And he said to him: Run. Achimaas therefore
running a near way out went Chusai. And David sat between the
two gates: and the watchman that was in the top of the gate upon
the wall, lifting up his eyes, saw a man running alone. And crying out
he told the king: and the king said: if he be alone, there are good
tidings in his mouth. And he making haste, and coming nearer, the
watchman saw an other man running, and crying aloud in the top,
he said: There appeareth unto me an other man running alone. And
the king said: And this is a good messenger. And the watchman, I
behold, said he, the running of the former, as it were the running
of Achimaas the son of Sadoc. And the king said: He is a good man,
and cometh bringing good news. And Achimaas crying, said to the
king: God save thee O king. And adoring the king before him flat
to the earth, he said: Blessed be our Lord thy God, who hath shut
up the men that have lifted up their hands against my lord the king.
And the king said: Is the child Absalom safe? And Achimaas said:
I saw a great tumult, when thy servant Joab sent, O king, me thy
servant: other thing I know not. To whom the king: Pass, said he, and
stand here. And when he had passed, and stood, Chusai appeared:
and coming he said: I bring good tidings my lord king: for our Lord
hath judged for thee this day of the hand of all that have risen against
thee. And the king said to Chusai: Is the child Absalom safe? To
l
The rebellion of his son, could not quench his fatherly affection.
526 APPENDIX 2
whom Chusai answering, said: Let the enemies of my lord the king
become, as the child, and all that rise against him unto evil. The
king therefore being made sorry, went up into the high chamber
of the gate, and wept. And thus he spake, going: My son Absalom,
Absalom, my son: who would grant me that I might die for thee.
Absalom my son, my son Absalom.
SONG OF SOLOMON (2:10 –17: p. 333)

In Tn and Cv, this is ‘Solomon’s Balettes’.
TYNDALE 1534a
(from readings appended to nt)
Behold my beloved said to me: up and haste my love, my dove, my
beautiful and come, for now is winter gone and rain departed and
past. The flowers appear in our country and the time is come to cut
the vines. The voice of the turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig
tree hath brought forth her figs, and the vine blossoms give a savour.
Up haste my love, my dove, in the holes of the rock and secret places
of the walls. Shew me thy face and let me hear thy voice, for thy
voice is sweet and thy fashion beautiful.
COVERDALE (1535): also MATTHEW ’ S BIBLE

(where the passage is headed
‘the voice of christ’)
My beloved answered and said unto me: O stand up my love, my
dove, my beautiful, and come: for lo, the winter is now past, the
rain is away and gone. The flowers are come up in the field, the
twisting time is come, the voice of the turtle dove is heard in our
land. The fig tree bringeth forth her figs, the vines bear blossoms,
and have a good smell.
O stand up my love, my beautiful, and come (my dove) out of
the caves of the rocks, out of the holes of the wall: O let me see
thy countenance and hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice and fair
is thy face.
great bible (1540)

My beloved answered, and said unto me,
O stand up my love, my beautiful, and go to thine own: for lo,
the winter is now past the rain away and gone. The flowers are come
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APPENDIX 2 527
up in the field, the time of birds singing is come, the voice of the
turtle dove is heard in our land. The fig tree bringeth forth her figs,
the vine have blossoms and have a good smell. O stand up then and
come my love, my beautiful, and come I say (O my dove) out of
the caves of the rocks out of the holes of the wall: O let me see thy
countenance, and hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice and fair is
thy face.
geneva bible (1560)

10 My wellbeloved spake and said unto me, Arise, my love, my fair
one, and come thy way.
11 For behold, 16winter is past: the rain is changed, and is gone
away.
12 The flowers appear in the earth: the time of the singing of birds
is come, & the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.
13 The figtree hath brought forth her young figs: & the vines with
their small grapes have cast a savour: arise my love, my fair one, and
come away.
14 My dove, that art in the 17holes of the rock, in the secret places
of the stairs, show me thy sight, let me hear thy voice: for thy voice
is sweet, and thy sight comely.

11 My beloved answered and said unto me, O stand up my love,
my beautiful, and go to thine own: mfor lo the winter is now past,
the rain is away and gone.
12 nThe flowers are come up in the field, the time of the birds
singing is come, and the ovoice of the turtle dove is heard in our
land.
13 The fig tree bringeth forth her figs, and the vines bear blossoms,
and have a good smell.
14 O stand up then and come my love my beautiful, (and come I
say) O my dove, out of the caves of the rocks, out of the holes of
the wall, O let me see thy countenance and hear thy voice: for sweet
is thy voice, and fair is thy face.
m
That is, sin and infidelity is put away by Christ.
n
Good works.
o
The voice of the holy ghost.
16
That is, sin and error is driven back by the coming of Christ which is here described
by the spring time, when all things flourish.
17
Thou that art ashamed of thy sins, come and show thy self unto me.
528 APPENDIX 2
douai bible (1609)

Behold my beloved speaketh to me, 18Arise, make haste my love,
my dove, beautiful one, and come. For winter is now past, the rain
is gone, and departed. The flowers have appeared in our land, the
time of pruning is come: the voice of the turtledove is heard in our
land: the figtree hath brought forth her green figs, the flourishing
vineyards have given their savour.
Arise my love, my beautiful one, and come. My dove in the hole of
the rock, in the hollow places of the wall. Shew me thy face, let thy
voice sound in mine ears: for thy voice is sweet, and thy face comely.
HEBREWS (1:1 – 4: p. 475)

tyndale (1526/34): 1526 punctuation
God in time past diversely and many ways, spake unto the fathers
by prophets: but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his
son, whom he hath made heir of all things: by whom also he made
the world. Which son being the brightness of his glory, and very
image of his substance, bearing up all things with the word of his
power, hath in his own person purged our sins, and is sitten on the
right hand of the majesty on high, and is more excellent than the
angels, in as much as he hath by inheritance obtained an excellenter
name than have they.
coverdale (1535)
God in time past diversely and many ways, spake unto the fathers by
prophets, but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his son,
whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the
world. Which (son) being the brightness of his glory, and the very
image of his substance, bearing up all things with the word of his
power, hath in his own person purged our sins, and is set on the right
hand of the majesty on high: being even as much more excellent than
the angels, as he hath obtained a more excellent name than they.
great bible (1540)

God in time past diversely and many ways, spake unto the fathers
by Prophets: but in these last days he hath spoken unto us by his
own son, whom he hath made heir of all things, by whom also he
18
[Christ] yet encourageth [the Church] to approach unto him.
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APPENDIX 2 529
made the world. Which (son) being the brightness of his glory, and
the very image of his substance ruling all things with the word of his
power, hath by his own person purged our sins, and sitteth on the
right hand of the majesty on high: being so much more excellent
than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent
name than they.
geneva bible (1560)

1 At sundry times and in divers manners God spake in the old time
to our fathers by the Prophets:
2 In these last days he hath spoken unto us by his Son, whom he
hath made heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds,
3 Who being the brightness of the glory, and the engraved form of
his person, and bearing up all things by his mighty word, hath by
him self purged our sins, and sitteth at the right hand of the majesty
in the highest places,
4 And is made so much more excellent than the Angels in as much
as he hath obtained a more excellent name than they.
Gv’s marginal comments are longer than the text itself and have there-
fore been omitted.

The Epistle on Christmas day
God which in time past, at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake
unto the fathers in the Prophets:
2 Hath in these plast days, spoken unto us in the son, whom he hath
appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds.
3 Who being the brightness of the glory, and the very image of his
substance, upholding all things with the word of his power, having
by him self purged our sins, 19hath sit on the right hand of the majesty
on high.
4 Being so much more excellent than the Angels, as he hath by
inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.
rheims nt (1582)
Diversely and many ways in times past God speaking to the fathers
in the prophets: last of all in these days hath spoken to us in his son,
whom he hath appointed heir of all, by whom he made the worlds.
p
So that now we have no credit in any new revelations after him.
19
Or, sat.
530 APPENDIX 2
Who being the brightness of his glory, and the figure of his substance,
carrying all things by the word of his power, making purgation of
sins, sitteth on the right hand of the Majesty in the high places.
matthew (6:34B):
‘sufﬁcient unto the day . . .’
*Derivatives of AV indicated thus
Greek: arketon [enough] téi hémera [to the day] hé kakia [the bad
things] autés [of it].
Latin: sufficit diei malitia sua.
AV: Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.
‘Wycliffe’ (1390s): for it suffisith to the dai his own malice.
Low (Scots, 1520): as Wycliffe.
Tn (1526): Eche days trouble ys sufficient for the same silfe day.
Tn (1534a): for the daye present hath ever ynough of his awne trouble.
Cv (1535): Euery daye hath ynough of his own traueyll.
Gt (1539): sufficient uto the daye is the trauayle thereof.
Cheke (c.1550): Eueri dai hath inough adoo with her own trouble.
Gv (1560): the day hathe ynough with his owne grief.
BB (1568); AV (1611): sufficient unto the day is the euill thereof.
Rh (1582); Challoner (1749): sufficient for the day is the euil thereof.
Unitarian Bible (1819): sufficient to the day is its own evil.
Young (1863): sufficient for the day is the euil of it.
Green (1868): enough for the day is its ill.
*RV (1881): [as AV ]
Weymouth (1903): Enough for each day is its own trouble.
Fenton (1906): The care of each day by itself is quite enough.
Moffat (1913): The day’s own trouble is enough for the day.
Concordant (1926): Sufficient for the day is the evil of it.
*RSV (1946): Let the day’s own trouble be sufficient for the day.
Knox (1949): for to-day, to-day’s own troubles are enough.
Basic English (1949): Take care of the trouble of the day as it comes.
Phillips (1952): One day’s trouble is enough for one day.
Rieu (1952): Today’s trouble is enough for today.
NEB (1961): Each day has troubles enough of its own.
New World Bible (1961): Sufficient for each day is its own evil.
*New American Standard (1960); Jerusalem B. (1966): Each day has
enough trouble of its own.
Good News Bible (1966/1976): There is no need to add to the troubles
each day brings.
Barclay (1968): The day’s trouble is quite enough for the day.
New American Bible (1970): Today has troubles enough of its own.
Living Bible (1971): Live one day at a time.
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APPENDIX 2 531
NIV (1973): Each day has enough troubles of its own.

*New King James Bible (1979): Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Darby (1980): Sufficient to the day is its own evil.
Lamsa (1981): Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
Lorimer (1983): ilka day has eneuch adae wi its nain ills.
NRSV (1989): Today’s trouble is enough for today.
Catholic Study Bible (1990): Sufficient for a day is its own evil.
Appendix 3
Chronology
Although the historicity of the Histories is questionable, a chrono-

logical table is useful to follow the narrative. It is impossible to
date the patriarchs from Abraham to Jacob and, in the absence of
corroborative information, the Exodus must remain very conjectural.
The consensus is that the conquest of Canaan by the Israelites took
place around or somewhat before 1200 bc.
The period of the Judges followed, c.1200–1000; in their time the
Philistines appeared in south-east Palestine. In Kings and Chronicles,
the lengths of the reigns of the kings of the two kingdoms are carefully
set out against one another, and may be fitted into a chronology;
even so, there are problems in interpreting the information. From
the sixth century bc – too late, unfortunately, for most of the OT
history – the external evidence becomes increasingly reliable, and the
procedure more certain, although there are always points of doubt.
This list concentrates on the figures who appear in this selection.
Note that almost all dates are approximate. For fuller treatments,
see for example Anderson (1988) or IDB.
Events and Dates bc Books of Events elsewhere

rulers the bible
Kings of all Israel

Saul c.1000 1 Samuel
David 1– 2 Samuel
Solomon c.970 – 920 1 Kings,
2 Chron
Kings of Kings of
Israel Judah
Jeroboam I Rehoboam 920
Ahab Jehoshaphat 2 Kings
850
800
Uzziah
(Azariah)
Jeroboam II
Amos
Zecharaiah 750 – 735 Hosea
(6 months) Jotham
Shallum
(1 month)
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APPENDIX 3 533

rulers the bible
Menahem 745 –737 Tiglath–Pileser III

rules Assyria
c.745 –727
Pekaliah 735 –715
Pekah 736 –732 Rezin rules Syria
c.740 – 732
Ahaz 735 –715
(Jehoahaz)
Hoshea 732 – 722
Destruction 722
of Samaria
Kings of Judah
Hezekiah 715– 687 Isaiah,
Micah
Josiah 740/ Jeremiah
39 –609/8
612 Fall of Nineveh
609/8 Battle of Megiddo
605 Battle of
Carchemish
Fall of Assyria and
hegemony of
Babylon
Puppet kings of Judah 609/8 – 597
Jehoahaz II
Jehoiakim
Jehoiachin
First sack of Jerusalem and 597 Jeremiah,
partial exile to Babylon Ezekiel
Zedekiah 597–587/6
Destruction of Jerusalem: 587/6
major exile and end of
kingdom
Jewish community in exile
in Babylon
539 ‘Second Cyrus II of Persia
Isaiah’ conquers Babylon
Return of exiles; 520–515 Zechariah
rebuilding of temple
Ezra and Nehemiah Malachi
rebuild city
Canon of Pentateuch
established
534 APPENDIX 3

rulers the bible
399 Death of Socrates

336 –323 Job? Alexander the
Great: Judah part
of his empire
Judah under Ptolemies mid-third
of Egypt: Septuagint to mid-
compiled second
century
Seleucid conquest 200 – 198 Ecclesiastes?
Proverbs?
175–163 Antiochus
Epiphanes rules
Maccabean revolt: Judah 168/7 Daniel Mesopotamia
independent
63 bc Roman conquest
ad of Syria and
Palestine
Herod the Great 37 –4
Dates ad
Judaea under direct 6
Roman rule
Pontius Pilate apptd. 26
Work of Jesus c.27 –30
50 –60 Paul’s
Epistles
65 – 70 Mark
Revolt against Rome: 70
destruction of Jerusalem
c.80 –90 OT canon settled
70 –80 Luke, Acts
80 – 90? Matthew
90 –100 Hebrews
90 –95 Revelation
90 –100 Fourth
Gospel
Canon of NT settled Late first
century
340 –420 Jerome, translator
of the Vulgate
Fifth Fall of the
century Roman Empire
Masoretic text of c.sixth
Hebrew scriptures century
www.ebook3000.com
Bibliography
In this list, modern reprints are noted where possible, with a preference for
facsimiles (marked F). Those marked * are the original editions of versions which
have not been reprinted since the sixteenth century. Microfilm facsimiles are
available from University Microfilms Inc., Ann Arbor, Mich. PR indicates the
first reference number for that book in A. W. Pollard and G. R. Redgrave,
A Short-Title Catalogue of Books . . . [in English] 1475–1640, New York, 2nd edn,
rev. 1986.
SIXTEENTH-CENTURY TEXTS
AND FACSIMILES
‘Bishops’ Bible’ (BB): see Parker (1568).
Cheke, Sir John, tr. (1550?) Jas. Goodwin, ed. (1843), The Gospel according
to Saint Matthew . . . from the Greke . . . , Cambridge.
F
Coverdale, Miles (1535) The Coverdale Bible, 1535, intro. S. L. Greenslade (1975)
London: PR 2063.
*—— (1539) tr. The Byble in English, that is to saye the content of al the holy
scrypture . . . , London 1539 (the Great Bible): PR 2068.
Douai or Doway (D): see Martin, Gregory (1609 – 10).
Erasmus, Desiderius (1516), novum instrumentum omne . . . Basle (the first
edition of Erasmus’ New Testament in Greek).
‘Geneva’ (Gv): see Whittingham (1560).
F
The Gutenberg Bible (1968) New York. Facsimile of Vg (1455).
F
Joye, George (1530) tr. Gervase E. Duffield (ed.), The Psalter of David [by]
Aretius Felinus [Martin Bucer]. Facsimile Sutton Courtenay 1971. Bucer’s
commentary with Joye’s trans.: PR 2370.
F
Martin, Gregory et al. (1582) The New Testament of Iesus Christ, translated
faithfully into English . . . In the English College of Rhemes, Rheims: PR
2884.
F
Martin, Gregory et al. (1609 – 10) trs., The Holie Bible faithfully translated
into English, out of the authenticall Latin . . . Doway: PR 2207, London
1975, facsimile. See also Challoner (1749) under ‘Some Other Modern Bibles’.
Matthew’s Bible (MtB): see Tyndale and Coverdale (1537).
More, Sir Thomas; Germain P. Marc’hadour (ed.) (1969–72), The Bible in the
Works of Sir Thomas More, 5 vols reduced to 2, Nieuwkoop, Netherlands.
*Parker, Matthew et al. (1568) trs., The holie Bible, conteyning the olde Testa-
ment and the newe, London, PR 2099. The Bishops’ Bible.
Rheims: see Martin, Gregory (1582).
*Taverner, Richard (1537) tr., The Most Sacred Bible, Whiche is the holy Scripture
. . . newly recognised with great diligence by R. T., London: PR 2067.
F
Tyndale, William (1525a) tr., Edward Arber (ed.), The First Printed New
Testament, 1525, Arber reprints, London 1871: PR 2823. Facsimile of Cologne
fragment.
F
—— (1525b) A. W. Pollard (ed.), The Beginning of the New Testament . . .
1525, Oxford 1926. Facsimile.
536 BIBLIOGRAPHY
F
—— (1526) F. F. Bruce, intro., New Testament, 1526, Worms, London 1976:
PR 2824. Facsimile.
—— (1530) F. F. Bruce; J. I. Mombert (eds), The Five Books of Moses, New
York/London 1967: PR 2350. Reprint of 1884 edn. with new intro.
F
—— (1531a) Francis Fry (ed.), The Prophet Jonas, London 1863: PR 2788.
Facsimile.
—— (1531b) David Daiches (ed.), William Tyndale’s version of the Book of
Jonah, Chicago 1936. Reprint.
—— (1534a) N. Hardy Wallis (ed.), The New Testament translated by W.T.,
Cambridge 1939: PR 2826. Transcript with 1525 variants.
—— (1534b) Daniell, David (ed.) (1989) Tyndale’s New Testament . . . in a
modern spelling edition, New Haven, Conn.
—— (1530 – 6), Daniell, David (ed.) (1992), Tyndale’s Old Testament . . . in
a modern spelling edition, New Haven, Conn.
*Tyndale, William and Coverdale, Miles (1537) trs., The Byble, which is all
the Holy Scripture . . . purely translated in to Englysh by Thomas Matthew,
Antwerp 1537 (Matthew’s Bible): PR 2066; rev. Becke (1549) PR 2077.
Whittingham, William (1557) The newe testament of our lord Jesus Christ . . . ,
Geneva: PR 2871.
F
Whittingham, William et al. (1560) trs.; Lloyd E. Berry (ed.) (1968) The
Geneva Bible. A Facsimile of the 1560 Edition, Madison, Wisconsin, 1969:
PR 2093. From 1575 (PR 2146 [1587]) usually with revisions and notes to
NT by Laurence Tomson; from 1592 (PR 2180 [1599] etc.) with commentary
on Revelation by Francis Junius.
—— (1579) The Bible and holy scriptures . . . , Printed in Edinbrugh be
Alexander Arbuthnot [and Thomas Bas-sandyne], Printer to the Kingis
Maiestie, dwelling at ye Kirk of feild.
Wycliffe, John (attrib.) Purvey, John et al. trs.; J. Forshall and F. Madden
(eds) (1851) The Holy Bible . . . in the earliest Versions by John Wycliffe and
his Followers, 5 vols, Oxford.
—— et al. (1879) The New Testament in English . . . by John Wycliffe, Oxford.
REPRINTS OF AV, 1611 EDN

Henley, W. E. (ed.) (1903) The Holy Bible . . . Anno 1661. Tudor Translations
XXXIII, 6 vols, Cambridge (in paragraphs).
Pollard, Alfred W. (ed.) (1911a) The Holy Bible: An Exact Reprint in Roman
type, page for page . . . 1611, Oxford. Exact transcript in the orig. Spelling,
punctuation and layout. Reissued (1982, without acknowledgement)
Nashville, Tenn.
F
——. ed. and intro. (1911b) The Holy Bible: A Fascimile [of 1611], Oxford.
Slightly reduced: with an intro., and reprint of relevant sixteenth-century
documents.
Weigle, Luther A. (ed.) (1961) The New Testament Octapla, New York. A
reprint of NT; eight versions on a two-page spread: Tyndale; Great, Geneva,
Bishops’, Rheims Bibles; AV; American Standard (cf. with RV); RSV.
Wright, William Aldis (ed.) (1909) The Authorised Version of the English Bible
1611, 5 vols, Cambridge. Exact literatim reprint, one 1611 page printed as two.
www.ebook3000.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY 537
REVISIONS OF AV
(DATES OF COMPLETE TEXTS)
Bates, Ernest Sutherland (ed.) (1936) The Bible Designed to be read as [Living]
Literature, New York (London 1937). The word Living was omitted from
the title of the UK edn, text chiefly AV, partly RV.
Blayney, Benjamin (ed.) (1769) The Holy Bible, Oxford. AV text, with
modernised spelling and detail: became the standard text.
The Holy Bible, being the version set forth AD 1611 . . . revised, Oxford/
Cambridge 1881–85. The ‘Revised Version’.
The Holy Bible . . . revised AD 1881–1885, newly edited by the American Revision
Committee, New York 1901. The ‘American Standard Version’.
The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version, New York and London 1952,
rev. 1971. ‘RSV’: a revision of American Standard Version: revised 1973 as
The Common Bible.
The New Revised Standard Version (1989) Substantially revised revision of
RSV.
Holy Bible: New American Standard, Nashville, Tenn. 1971. (NAS):
revision of American Standard Version of 1960.
The Holy Bible: New King James Version, New York and London 1982.
Originally the ‘Revised Authorized Version’.
SOME OTHER MODERN BIBLES

(NOT DERIVED FROM AV: DATE
OF FIRST COMPLETE EDITION)
Challoner, Richard (1749) Pope, Hugh (ed.) (1934) The Layman’s New
Testament, London. A modern edn of Challoner’s revision of the Rheims
NT: see Martin (1582).
Knox, Ronald, tr., (1949) The Holy Bible.
Moffat, James, New Testament 1913; The Complete Moffat Translation,
London, 1926.
The Jerusalem Bible, London 1966 (JB).
The New English Bible, Oxford/Cambridge 1970 (NEB ).
The Revised English Bible (1989) (REB: fully revised edn of NEB ).
The Good News Bible (GNB), New York and London 1976.
The Holy Bible: New International Version, New York and London 1979 (NIV ).
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Allen, Ward Sykes, ed. (1970) Translating for King James . . . notes used by
a translator . . . 1610–1611, London.
——, ed. (1977) Translating the New Testament Epistles, 1604–1611, Ann Arbor,
MI.
Alter, Robert (1981) The Art of Biblical Narrative, New York.
—— (1985) The Art of Biblical Poetry, New York.
538 BIBLIOGRAPHY
—— (1987a) ‘The Characteristics of Ancient Hebrew Poetry’, in R. Alter

and K. Kermode, eds, The Literary Guide to the Bible, Cambridge, MA,
pp. 611–23.
—— (1987b) ‘Introduction to the Old Testament’, in R. Alter and
K. Kermode, eds, The Literary Guide to the Bible, Cambridge, MA,
pp. 11 – 34.
—— (1987c) ‘Psalms’, in R. Alter and F. Kermode, eds, The Literary Guide
to the Bible, Cambridge, MA, pp. 144 – 263.
Alter, Robert and Kermode, Frank, eds, (1987) The Literary Guide to the
Bible, Cambridge, MA.
Anderson, Bernhard W. (rev. edn 1988) The Living World of the Old
Testament, New York and London.
Anderson, Duncan (1936) The Bible in Seventeenth-Century Life and Letters,
London.
Anderson, Francis I. and Freedman, David Noel (1980) Hosea, New York.
Armerding, Carl E. (1983) The OT and Criticism, Grand Rapids, MI.
Auerbach, Erich (1957), Mimesis, translated by Willard R. Trask, London.
Aune, David R. (1987) The New Testament in its Literary Environment,
Philadelphia, PA.
Bailey, Randall C. (1990) David in Love and War, Sheffield.
Barber, C. L. (1976) Early Modern English, London.
Bar-Efrat, Shimon (1989) Narrative Art in the Bible, translated by
D. Shefer-Vanson, Sheffield.
Barton, John (1984) Reading the OT, London.
Bentley, Jerry H. (1983) Humanists and Holy Writ, Princeton, NJ.
Berlin, Adele (1983) Poetics and Interpretation of Biblical Narrative,
Sheffield.
Berry, George R. (ed.) (1978) The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament,
New York.
Bewer, Julius A. (1962) The Literature of the Old Testament, New York,
rev. edn of 1922.
Black, C. Clifton (1991) ‘An Oration at Olivet’, in Watson, Duane F., Persuasive
Artistry, Sheffield, 66 –92.
Boling, Robert G. (tr. and ed.) (1975) Judges, New York.
Boyarin, Daniel (1990) ‘The Song of Songs: Lock or Key?’, in R. Schwartz,
ed. The Book and the Text: The Bible and Literary Theory, Oxford, pp. 214–27.
Brenner, Athalya (1990) ‘Come back, come back the Shulammite’, in
Y. T. Radday and T. Brenner, eds, On Humour and Comedy in the Hebrew
Bible, Sheffield, pp. 251– 75.
Bromley, G. W. (general ed.) (1979 – 88), The International Standard Bible
Encyclopedia, 4 vols, Grand Rapids, MI.
Brown, John (ed.) (1791) The Self-Interpreting Bible . . . , Edinburgh and
London. Edn used: 1855.
Brown, R. E. (1976) The Gospel according to St. John, 2 vols, New York.
Brown, Stephen J. (1955) Image and Truth: Studies in the Imagery of the Bible,
Rome.
Bruce, F. F. (1978) A History of the Bible in English, London. Rev. edn of
The English Bible: A History of Translations, London, 1961.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY 539
Bryant, Jacob (1775) A New System: or an analysis of ancient mythology . . . ,

London.
Burnet, Gilbert (1681) The History of the Reformation of the Church of
England, vol 2, London.
Butterworth, Charles Collier (1941) The Literary Lineage of the King James
Bible, 1340–1611, Philadelphia, PA.
Buttrick, George A. and Crim, Keith (gen. eds) (1962 – 76) The Interpreter’s
Dictionary of the Bible, 5 vols, Nashville, TN. (IDB).
Caird, G. B. (1966) The Revelation of St John the Divine, London.
—— (1980) The Language and Imagery of the Bible, London.
Campbell, Edward F. jr (tr. and ed.) (1975), Ruth, New York.
Carleton, J. G. (1902) The Part of Rheims in the Making of the English Bible,
Oxford.
Carmichael, C. (1979) Women, Law, and the Genesis Traditions, Edinburgh.
Chambers, R. W. (1932) On the Continuity of English Prose, London.
Charles, R. H. (ed.) (1913) The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha of the Old
Testament in English, 2 vols, Oxford. Much reprinted; the standard edn
until Charlesworth (1983, 1985).
Charlesworth, J. H. (ed.) (1983, 1985) The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha,
2 vols, New York and London.
Clebsch, William A. (1964) England’s Earliest Protestants: 1520–1535, New Haven,
CT.
Clines, David J. A. (1990a) What does Eve do to help?, Sheffield.
—— (1990b) ‘Deconstructing the Book of Job’, in M. Warner, The Bible
as Rhetoric, pp. 65 –80.
——, Gunn, D. M. and Hauser, A. J. (1982) Art and Meaning: Rhetoric in
Biblical Literature, Sheffield.
Collins, John J. (1993) The Book of Daniel: a Commentary, Minneapolis, MN.
—— (1998) Jewish Wisdom in the Hellenistic Age, Edinburgh.
Coats, George W. (1985) Saga, Legend, Tale, Fable, Novella, Sheffield.
Cox, Patricia (1983) Bibliography in Late Antiquity: A Quest for the Holy Man,
Berkeley, CA.
Culbertson, Diana (1989) The Poetics of Revelation, Macon, GA.
Culley, Robert G. (1976) Studies in the Structure of Hebrew Narrative,
Philadelphia, PA.
—— (1992) Themes and Variations: A Study of Action in Biblical Narrative,
Atlanta, GA.
Dahood, Mitchell (tr. and ed.) (1966, 1968, 1970) Psalms, 3 vols, New York.
Daiches, David (1941) The King James Version of the English Bible, Chicago,
IL. Reprinted 1970.
Darlow, T. H. and Moule, H. F. (1903 – 11) Historical Catalogue of
the Printed Editions of Holy Scripture in the Library of the British and Foreign
Bible Society, 2 vols in 4, London. See A. S. Herbert (1968), rev. edn.
Davidson, David (ed.) (1852) The Comprehensive Family Bible, Glasgow and
London.
Deanesly, Margaret (1920, rev. 1966) The Lollard Bible, Cambridge.
Drury, John (1987) ‘Mark’, in R. Alter and K. Kermode, eds, The Literary
Guide to the Bible, Cambridge, MA, pp. 402 – 16.
540 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Elliot, Melvin E. (1967) The Language of the King James Bible, New York.
Erasmus (1529) Exhortation to the Diligent Study of Scripture, tr. anon,
Antwerp.
Exum, J. Cheryl (1985) ‘Mother in Israel’, in L. M. Russell, ed., Feminist
Interpretations of the Bible, Oxford, pp. 73 – 85.
Falk, Marcia (1982) Love Lyrics from the Bible: A Translation and Literary
Study of the ‘Song of Songs’, Sheffield.
Fisch, Harold (1988) Poetry with a Purpose, Bloomington, IN.
Follis, Elaine R. (ed.) (1987) Directions in Biblical Hebrew Poetry, Sheffield.
Ford J. Massyngberde (tr. and ed.) (1975) Revelation, New York.
Frerichs, Ernest S. (ed.) (1988) The Bible and Bibles in America, Atlanta, GA.
Frye, Northrop (1982) The Great Code: The Bible and Literature, London.
Fuller, R. A. (1966) A Critical Introduction to the New Testament, New York
and London.
Gabel, John B. and Wheeler, Charles B. (1986) The Bible as Literature: An
Introduction, Oxford.
Good, Edwin M. (1965) Irony in the Old Testament, Philadelphia.
Gooder, Paula (2000) The Pentateuch: A Story of Beginnings, London.
Goppelt, Leonhard (1982) Typos, translated by Donald H. Madvig, Grand
Rapids, MI.
Goulder, Michael J. (1987) ‘The Pauline Epistles’, in R. Alter and F. Kermode,
eds, The Literary Guide to the Bible, Cambridge, MA, pp. 479 – 502.
—— (1986) The Song of Fourteen Songs, Sheffield.
Grant, Michael (1973) The Jews in the Roman World, London.
Gray, G. B. (1972) The Forms of Hebrew Poetry, Ktav. Reprint of 1915 edn.
Greenberg, Moshe (1987) ‘Job’, in R. Alter and F. Kermode, eds, The Literary
Guide to the Bible, Cambridge, MA, pp. 283 –304.
Greenblatt, Stephen (1980) Renaissance Self-Fashioning, Chicago, IL.
Greenslade, S. L. (1936) The Work of William Tyndale, Glasgow.
—— (ed.) (1963) The Cambridge History of the English Bible, 3 vols,
Cambridge.
Grierson, Herbert (1943) The English Bible, Glasgow.
Gros Louis, Kenneth R. R. and Ackerman, James S. (eds) (1984), Literary
Interpretations of Biblical Narratives, Nashville, TN.
Gunkel, Herman (1917) The Folk-Tale in the Old Testament, translated by
Michael D. Rutter (1987), Sheffield.
Hall, Edward (1548) Ellis, Sir Henry (ed.) (1809), Chronicle containing the
History of England . . . , London. A facsimile reprint was made, 1975,
London.
Hammond, Gerald (1982) The Making of the English Bible, Manchester.
—— (1987) ‘English Translations of the Bible’, in R. Alter and F. Kermode,
eds, The Literary Guide to the Bible, Cambridge, MA, pp. 647 – 65.
Hartman, Louis F. and Di Lella, Alexander A. (ed. and tr.) (1977) Daniel,
New York.
Hatch, Nathan O. and Noll, Mark A. (eds) (1982) The Bible in America,
Oxford.
Hauser, Alan J. (1987) ‘Two Songs of Victory’, in E. Follis, Directions in
Biblical Hebrew Poetry, Sheffield, pp. 265–81.
www.ebook3000.com
BIBLIOGRAPHY 541
Henn, T. R. (1970) The Bible as Literature, London.

Herbert, A. S. (1968) Historical Catalogue . . . 1525– 1961, London. Rev. edn
of Darlow and Moule (1903 –11).
Hirsch, David H. and Aschkenasy, Nehanna (eds) (1984) Biblical Patterns
in Modern Literature, Providence, RI.
IDB (The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible) (1962 – 76) G. A. Buttrick and
K. Crim, gen. eds, 5 vols, Nashville, TN.
Jeffrey, David Lyle (1992) A Dictionary of Biblical Tradition in English
Literature, Grand Rapids, MI.
Jobling, David (1978, 1986) The Sense of Biblical Narrative, I and II,
Sheffield.
Johnson, Alfred M. Jr (ed.) (1976) The New Testament and Structuralism,
Pittsburgh.
Jones, R. F. (1953) The Triumph of the English Language, Stanford, CA.
Josephus (1973) Complete Works, William Whiston, ed., London.
Josipovici, Gabriel (1988) The Book of God, New Haven, CT.
Juel, Donald (1978) Introduction to New Testament Literature, Nashville, TN.
Kaiser, Otto (1970) Introduction to the Old Testament, translated by John
Sturdy, Oxford.
Keel, Othmar (1994) The Song of Solomon, Minneapolis, MN.
Kermode, Frank (1979) The Genesis of Secrecy: On the Interpretation of
Narration, Cambridge, MA.
Knight, George Wilson (1962) The Christian Renaissance, New York.
Kohlenberger, John R. III (ed.) (1987) The NIV Interlinear Hebrew–
English Old Testament, Grand Rapids, MI.
Kratz, Reinhard (2000/2005) The Composition of the Narrative Books of the
Old Testament, London and New York.
Kugel, James L. (1981) The Idea of Biblical Poetry, New Haven, CT.
Kümmel, Werner G. (1975) Introduction to the New Testament, London.
Lands, Francis (1987) ‘Song of Songs’, in R. Alter and F. Kermode, eds,
The Literary Guide to the Bible, Cambridge, MA, pp. 305 –18.
Levi, Peter (ed.) (1974) The English Bible, 1534– 1859, London.
Lewis, Charles S. (1950) The Literary Impact of the Authorised Version, Athlone.
Longman, Tremper III (1987) Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation,
Leicester.
Lowth, Robert (1793) Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrews, London.
Translation of De Sacra Poesi Hebrarum, Oxford 1753.
Lupton, Lewis Frederick (1966 –92) A History of the Geneva Bible, 24 vols,
London. Vols 10 –24 are supplementary.
Mack, Burton L. (1990) Rhetoric and the New Testament, Minneapolis, MN.
McConnell, Frank (1986) The Bible and the Narrative Tradition, New York.
MacGregor, G. (1968) A Literary History of the Bible, Nashville, TN.
Mann, C. S. (tr. and ed.) (1986) Mark, New York.
Meagher, John G. (1970) Clumsy Construction in Mark’s Gospel, 2nd edn,
Toronto.
Meschonnic, Henry (1984) ‘Translating Biblical Rhythm’, in Hirsch and
Aschkenasy, pp. 227–39.
Metzger, Bruce M. (1968) The Text of the New Testament, Oxford.
542 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Moffatt, James (n.d.) The Bible in Scots Literature, London.

Moore, Stephen D. (1989) Literary Criticism and the Gospels, New Haven, CT.
Mozley, C. H. (1937) William Tyndale, London.
—— (1953) Coverdale and his Bibles, London.
Noble, R. (1935) Shakespeare’s Biblical Knowledge, London.
O’Connor, M. (1980) Hebrew Verse Structure, Winona Lake, IN.
Opfell, Olga S. (1982) The King James Bible Translators, Jefferson, NC.
Paine, Gustavus (1959) The Learned Men, New York.
Partridge, A. C. (1969) Tudor to Augustan English, London.
—— (1973) English Biblical Translation, London.
Patte, Aline and Patte, Daniel (1978) Structural Exegesis from Theory to Practice:
Exegesis of Mark 15 and 16, Philadelphia, PA.
Pollard, Alfred W. (1911) Records of the English Bible . . . 1525– 1611, Oxford.
Pope, Marvin H. (1973) Job, New York.
Preminger, Alex and Greenstein, Edward L. (1986) The Hebrew Bible in
Literary Criticism, New York.
Prickett, Stephen (1986) Words and The Word, Cambridge.
—— (1991) Reading the Text: Biblical Criticism and Literary Theory, Oxford.
Pritchard, John Paul (1970) A Literary Approach to the New Testament,
Norman, OK.
Radday, Yehuda T. and Brenner, Athalaya (eds) (1990) On Humour and
Comedy in the Hebrew Bible, Sheffield.
Robertson, D. (1977) The Old Testament and the Literary Critic,
Philadelphia, PA.
Robinson, N. Wheeler (ed.) (1940) The Bible in its Ancient and English
Versions, Oxford.
Rowley, H. H. (1970) Job, London.
Russell, D. S. (1987) The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha: Patriarchs and Prophets
in Early Judaism, London.
Russell, Letty M. (ed.) (1985) Feminist Interpretations of the Bible, Oxford.
Ryken, Leland (1984a) How to Read the Bible as Literature, Grand Rapids, MI.
—— (1984b) The New Testament in Literary Criticism, New York.
Sasson, Jack M. (1987) ‘Ruth’, in R. Alter and F. Kermode, eds, The Literary
Savran, George W. (1988) Telling and Retelling, Bloomington, IN.
Schökel, L. A. (1987) ‘Isaiah’, in R. Alter and F. Kermode, eds, The Literary
Schwartz, Regina (ed.) (1990) The Book and the Text: The Bible and Literary
Theory, Oxford.
Setel, T. Drorah (1985) ‘Prophets and pornography: female sexual imagery
in Hosea’, in Letty M. Russell, ed., Feminist Interpretations of the Bible,
Oxford, pp. 86 –95.
Speiser, E. A. (tr. and ed.) (1964) Genesis, New York.
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady and Spender, Dale (1895, abridged 1985) The Woman’s
Bible, introduction, London.
Sternberg, Meir (1985) The Poetics of Biblical Narrative, Bloomington, IN.
—— (1990) ‘The Grand Chronology’, in R. Schwartz, ed., The Book and
the Text: The Bible and Literary Theory, Oxford, pp. 81 –145.
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Strong, James (ed.) (1894) The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible . . . ,

London. Reprint 1992, Grand Rapids, MI.
Sweet, John (1979) Revelation, London.
Terrien, Samel L. (2003) The Psalms: Strophic Structure . . . , Grand Rapids,
MI and Cambridge.
Trible, Phyllis (1984) Texts of Terror, Philadelphia.
Ussher, James (1658) The Annals of the World, London. English version of
annales veteris et novi testamenti, 1650– 4.
Wainwright, Elaine Mary (1991) Towards a Feminist Critical Reading of . . .
Matthew, Berlin and New York.
Warner, Martin (1990) The Bible as Rhetoric, London.
Watson, Duane F. (ed.) (1991) Persuasive Artistry: Studies in New Testament
Rhetoric, Sheffield.
Watson, Wilfred G. E. (1984) Classical Hebrew Poetry, London.
Webb, Barry G. (1987) The Book of Joshua: An Integrated Study, Sheffield.
Westcott, Rev. Brooke Foss, A General View of the History of the English
Bible, London, 3rd edn, ed. William Aldis Wright, 1905, 1st edn 1868.
Whedbee, W. (1990) ‘The Comedy of Job’, in Y. T. Radday and A. Brenner,
eds, On Humour and Comedy in the Hebrew Bible, Sheffield, pp. 217– 49.
Willoughby, H. R. (1942) The First Authorised Version and the Cranmer
Preface, Chicago, IL.
Young, Robert L. (ed.) (1939) An Analytical Concordance to the Holy Bible,
rev. edn, London.
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Index
Aaron 92–100, 103, 109, 112–13, 117, Apocalypse, apocalyptic writing 214,
120–22, 182n, 212, 479 243–6, 493–4
Abel 66, 485 Apocrypha 16, 22, 193, 343, 347
Abiathar 162, 164 Apollos 463
Abishag 170–1 Arcturus 296
Abishai 152, 165 Areopagus 450
Abner 175 Aristotle 457
Abraham/Abram 3, 5, 9, 57, 68–75 Ark
passim, 75–6, 81, 127, 169, 350, Noah’s 67, 482
344, 347, 350, 404, 474, of the Covenant 114–15, 153, 161,
482–3, 490, 493 176–7, 339n, 479, 501
Absalom 132, 158–68 passim Arthur, legend of 5
Acts: Book 5, 444–51 Armageddon 494, 533: see Megiddo
Adam 3, 6, 57, 63, 345 Asaph 313
Adonijah 170–5 Asher 84
Adrammelech 189: see Molech Ashtoreth 181
adulterous woman 426–7 Asia, seven churches of 495–6
ages of the world, seven 68 Assyria 62, 169, 186–9, 213, 221–5,
Ahab 169, 182, 206n, 532 343, 494, 533
Ahaz 219 Athens 450–1
Ahimaaz 162, 164, 166–7 Atonement, Day of 6, 119–22, 374n,
Ahithophel 161–5 474
Aholiab 117 Augustus, Caesar 405
Alexander of Greece 193, 268, 279, Authorised Version xv, 13, 26
343
Alexander the coppersmith 473 Baal, Baalim 184–5, 188, 208–9,
altar 74, 117, 175, 177–8, 217, 314, 393, 229–30, 236
397, 486, 490, 500 Babel, Tower of 58, 67
Amalek 140 Babylon 2, 53, 169, 188, 227, 321, 343,
Amana 336 344, 505
Amaziah 203 Bahurim 164
Ammi 207 Balaam 125n, 389n
Ammi-nadib 340 Balak 212
Ammonites 152, 180–1 Bancroft, Bishop Richard 32
Amnon 157–60 Barabbas 385, 437
Amorites 200 Barak 137, 484
Amos 195: Book 199–202 Bartimaeus 373
Ananias 446–7 Bath-rabbim 368
Ancient of Days 273 Bath-sheba 152–7, 310
Andrew (disciple) 355–6, 422 ‘Beatitudes, the’ 391–2
Angels (see also cherubim, seraphim) Beelzebub 359
70n, 74, 90, 261–5, 344–5, 362, Beer-sheba 75, 81, 162, 205
369, 379, 406, 432, 441, 447, Behemoth 279, 299
462, 466, 475–6, 495, 497–9, Bel and the Dragon 343
502, 506–9 Belial 42–3, 345
Antiochus Epiphanes 268 Belshazzar 268–72
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INDEX 547
Belteshazzar 270 Chloe 463

Benaiah 170–5 Christ (as title: see Messiah) 2, 6–8,
Benjamin 88 280, 319–20, 369, 378, 389,
tribe 140m, 241n 406, 414, 419, 421, 427, 430,
Berners, Lord 22 432, 442, 448–9, 458, 462–9
Bethany 373, 415, 429 passim, 471–3, 480, 483,
Beth-el 81, 88, 188 486–7
Bether 334 Chronicles, Books of 54, 131
Bethlehem-Judah 143, 150, 389–90 , Chusi (Chusai, Chushi) 166–7,
405–6 519–26
Bethphage 373 Circumcision 71n
Bezaleel 117 ‘City of God’ 5, 418, 494, 505, 509
Bildad 279, 283 Cleopas 414
Bilhah 84 cloud of fire 119, 216
Bilson, Thomas 32 Colossians, Epistle 455
Bishops’ Bible 29–30, 33, 36, 303, commandments, Ten (see also Law) 7,
523–4, 527, 529 112, 189, 367, 371, 376–7, 434,
Blake, William 5 458, 502
blessings (see also curse) 60, 69, 75, Common Prayer, Book of 26, 30, 41,
81, 129, 267, 303, 308, 381, 391, 303
414, 487, 509 Complutum, University of 18, 36
Boaz 145–51 Corinth 462, 473
Bois, John 35 Covenant, promise 4–8, 54, 69, 89,
Branch, the 196, 223, 239, 264 131, 169, 189, 242, 347, 350,
burning bush 90 404, 418
testament as covenant 381–2, 474,
Cæsar 376–7, 405, 438 479, 482, 485, 487
Cæsarea Philippi 368, 447 Coverdale, Miles 18, 22, 24–8 passim,
Caiaphas 431, 436 303, 519, 526, 528
Cain 58, 66–7, 482 Cranmer, Thomas 18, 28
Cana 419–20, 442 Creation 58–61
Canaan, Canaanites 69, 75, 87–8, 90, Cromwell, Thomas 18, 22, 24
94, 107, 131, 137, 141, 178n, cross, crucifixion 351, 371, 385–7,
181n, 332n 438–40
candlesticks, temple 115, 479, 496 curse 60n, 62, 65, 79, 128, 267, 281–3,
Capernaum 355–6, 370, 423–5 367, 508
Carmel 341 Cushi 166–7
Cedron 435 Cyrus 268
Cephas 463
Chaldees, Chaldeans 190–2 (see also Damaris 451
Babylon), 243, 269, 272 Damascus 185, 341, 456
Chaucer, Geoffrey 279, 461n Dan 129, 162, 205
Chebar (Euphrates), 246 Daniel, Book of 195, 214, 268–75
Cheke, Sir John 27–8 passim, 344, 379
Chemosh 181 Darius 262, 268, 272
Cherith, brook, 183 David
Cherubim see also seraphim 115, 177 as king 142, 151–2, 152–168 passim,
chief priests, see priest 169, 170–4, 336, 350, 484,
Chilion 143, 150 494
Chittim 229 lineage 220, 405, 472, 509
548 INDEX
David (continued ) Ephron 75

as type of deliverer 9, 239, 249, Epicureans 450
373–4, 498 Epistles 348, 455–6, 493
as poet 277, 303, 305, 307–8, 312, 322 Erasmus 18, 19, 21, 36
Deborah 55, 137–9, 494 Esaias: see Isaiah
Decapolis 363 Esau (see also Edom), 76, 77–85, 88,
Demas 472 483
Deuteronomy 8, 126, 127–9, 131 Ethiopia 62, 256
Dinah 85, 88 Esther, Book of 277
Dionysius the Areopagite 451 Ethiopia 62, 256, 293
Domitian, Emperor 493 Euphrates (see also Chebar) 62
Donne, John 475 Eve 65, 345
Douai Bible see Rheims–Douai Evil-Merodach 192
Exodus, the 6, 8, 125, 196, 249n, 250,
Ecclesiastes 323, 327ff. 351, 390n, 418
Eden 62, 67 book of 2, 9, 88–118, 126, 353
Edom 77, 107, 126, 139, 180 Ezekiel 195–6, 507
Egypt book of 195, 243–50
country 57, 169, 390–1 Exile 2, 4, 7–8, 53, 120, 269
land of bondage 4, 6, 88ff, 187, Ezra, Book of 54, 193
212, 223, 483
plagues of 94–102 Fisher, John, Bishop of Rochester 27
elders 102, 149–50, 163–4, 367, 383,
385 Gad 84
in Rev 497–9 Gabbatha (‘Pavement’) 438
Elias: see Elijah Gabriel 344
Elihu 279, 294 Gadara 361–2
Elijah, Elias 8, 181–6, passim, 344, Galilee 354–9, 366, 368n, 384,
365, 369–70, 387, 418 387–8, 407, 419–20, 422,
Elim 109 442, 446
Elimelech 143–4, 150 Gedaliah 192
Elishah 185–6 Genesis 9, 57ff, 347
Elizabeth I, Queen 299 Geneva Bible 28ff, 36, 522, 527, 529
Eliphaz 279, 283 Gentiles 247, 257, 263, 350, 372, 389,
Elohim 57, 61 447–8, 456, 464, 473
Emmaus 413–4 Gethsemane 382
Enoch 482 Geshur 160
Book of 345 Gibeon 178
En-gedi 332 Gideon 137, 223n, 484
En-Rogel 164 Gihon 62, 172, 374n
Ephesians, Epistle 455 Gilead 129, 234
Ephesus 473: Ephesians, Epistle to 455 Gilgal 213
Ephraim 129 gittith 305, 314
city 159 Gnostics 491
mount 137, 240 Golgotha 386, 438
tribe 140 (as nation = Goliath 152n
Samaria/Israel) 169, 219–20 Gomer 206
wood 165 Gomorrha 365
Ephrath (see also Beth-lehem) 88, gospels 1, 5, 343, 349, 416–8
143, 151 Great Bible 18, 26, 521, 526, 528
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INDEX 549
Greek (language) 42–3, 343, 438, Isaiah (1) 186, 213–14, 406n
475, 493 Book of 216–27
Greeks 434, 457, 464, 474–5 ‘Second Isaiah’, Book of 8, 196, 213,
groves (see also high places) 181, 250–61, 353
187–8 Iscah 69
Ishmael 72n, 76
Hagar 72–3 Israel: naming of Jacob as 76, 87
Hamath 188, 192 Issachar 85, 140
Handel, 169 italics, use and meaning of xvii
Haran 68–9, 81, 82
Harosheth 137 Jabbok 87
Havilah 62 Jabin 137
Hazael 185 Jacob (see also Israel) person 6, 76ff,
Hazor 137 189, 210–11, 418, 420, 482–3
Heber the Kenite 138 as symbol of Israel 204, 210, 228,
Hebrew language 21–2, 42–5, 330, 232, 240, 253–8, 405, 416, 434
493, 517–18 Jael 137–9
scriptures 13–14 Jahweh (see also Jehovah) 3, 4
Hebrews, Epistle to 5, 474ff. Jairus 363, 416
Hebron 161 James (disciple) 355–6, 369, 372, 382
Henry VIII, King 18, 25 James, Epistle of 487ff.
Hermon, Mount 336 James VI and I, King 32, 39
Herod Antipas (Tetrarch of Galilee) Jehoicachin 190, 192, 243
365 Jehoiakin 238
Herod the Great (‘the king’) 389n, Jehovah (see Jahweh)
389–91 Jehovah-Jireh 74
Herodians 376 Jehu 185, 206n
Herodias 365 Jemima 303
Heshbon 200 Jephthah 137, 484
Hiddekel 62 Jeremiah 189, 195, 227ff. Book of
high places 181, 187–9 Jericho 133–6, 373, 410, 483
Hinnom 235–8 Jeroboam (kings) I, 182: II, 186, 199,
Hiram of Tyre 180 203, 205
Hittites, Heth, sons of 75, 90, 152–4, Jerusalem (see also Zion) city 4, 152,
180 161–2, 168, 181, 190, 211–13,
Holy Ghost, Spirit 359, 379, 404, 216–17, 219, 224–5, 227ff.,
441, 446–7, 461, 465, 468 235–6, 239, 243, 246–7, 261–4,
Holy of Holies (see also Oracle, 321, 339, 342, 372, 389, 444–5,
Sanctuary) 9, 114, 120–1, 177, 447, 448
474, 479, 481 as Judah 169
Homer 4–5 symbol of holy city 394, 485, 505,
Horace (Q. Horatius Flaccus) 455 506–9
Horeb, Oreb (see Sinai) 89–90 , 223, daughters of 331, 333, 335, 338, 342
267 Jesse 151, 223
Hosea, Book of 205–10, 390n Jesus
Hoshea 187 Incidents: ascension 415–16
Hushai 161–4 adulterous woman 426–7
‘Beatitudes’ 391–2
Immanuel 219–20 birth 389–91, 405–6
Isaac 6, 71, 73–5, 482–3, 490 cross, crucifixion 351
550 INDEX
Jesus (continued ) publican and Pharisee 413

Emmaus 413 riches 371, 396, 411
family 364 salt of the earth 392
Gethsemane 382 sheep and goats 402–3
last supper 380–2, 433–4 shepherd 382, 428
and the Law 358–9, 377, 393–5 sower 360
Lord’s Prayer 395–6 sparrows 399
Mary and Martha 410–11 talents 401
moneychangers 375 true vine 434
resurrection 351, 388, 404, 413, 446 vineyard 375–6
sabbath-breaking 358–9 washed pots 367
Samaritans 188, 420–2 wheat, seed, corn of 360
‘Sermon on the Mount’ 350, 361ff. wine bottles 358
transfiguration 369–70 wise and foolish virgins 401
trial 384–5, 436–8 wolves in sheeps’ clothing 398
triumphal entry 373–4 Jezebel 182
washing feet 433 Jezreel 206, 210
widow’s mite 378 Joab 132, 152–4, 165–8, 170–1, 174–5
miracles: Bartimaeus 373 Job, book of 1, 3, 279ff.
Gadarene swine 361 John the Baptist 5, 353–4, 365–6, 369,
Jairus’ daughter 363–4 375, 407–8, 419
at sea 361–2, 367 John (disciple) 355–6, 369, 372, 382,
walking on water 367 491
water into wine 416 John, Gospel of 3, 42, 347, 350, 416ff.
woman healed 362 Epistle 491–3
parables and images: bread of life 422 John (‘the Divine’) 493–4
bread of life 423 Jonadab 157, 159
burglar 359 Jonah, book of 195
Caesar’s pence 376–7 Jonathan (Abiathar’s son) 162–4
candle under bushel 392 Joppa 447
children 370–1 Jordan 126, 186
commandments 377 Joseph (patriarch) 57, 85, 88, 249, 483
cornerstone 376 Joseph, Mary’s husband 390–1, (407)
house divided, empty 413 Joseph of Arimathea 387, 440
house on a rock/sand 399 Joshua (leader) 5, 133ff.
good Samaritan 409–10 Book of 4, 133
harvest 360, 422 high priest 264
labourers 400 Josiah, king 126, 169, 189, 238, 494
lost sheep 411–12 Joye, George, 22
lost silver 412 Judah, son of Jacob 84, 150
Mammon 396 all Israel 241, 250–2, 261, 266, 270
other mansions 434 Juda (NT form) 247, 347, 390–1,
mote and beam 434 405, 498
mustard seed 360–1 region 129
narrow way 398 southern kingdom (see also
needle’s eye 371 Ephraim, Samaria) 169, 186–9,
new cloth 358 199, 217–20, 235–8, 247, 249
pearls before swine 398 tribe 118
privy 368 Judas Iscariot 380, 433, 435
prodigal son 411 Judges, Judges, Book of 136–141
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INDEX 551
Kedar 229, 331 Malachi 195, 265–7

Kedesh 137 Malchus 436
Keren-Happuch 303 Mamre 70, 76
Kezia 303 Manasseh, king 169
King James Bible: see Authorised manna 109–10, 424
Version Marah (place or personal name) 108
kingdom of God 335, 360, 369, 37, Mark 473
382, 387, 397, 400n, 408, 417, Gospel of 350, 354ff., 404
502 marginalia xvii
Kirjath-Arba 75 Mars’ Hill 450
Kishon 137 Martha 410–1, 417, 429–31
Korah, sons of 309, 314 Mary Magdalene 387–8, 408n,
439–41
Laban 76, 82–7 Mary, mother of James and of Joses
laver (sea, brazen) 118–19 387–8
Law, the (see also Testimony) 6–8, Mary, mother of Jesus 364, 390–1,
54, 89, 119–25, 127–9, 189, 195, 404–6, 407, 408n
267, 330, 344, 347, 350, 366, Mary, Martha’s sister 410–1,
377, 391, 397, 415, 419, 425, 429–31
437, 447, 455–6, 457ff., 480–1, Mary, wife of Cleophas 439
489 masoretic text 13, 268
lawyer 408, 409 (see scribe) Matthew (Levi: disciple) 357:
Lazarus 416–8, 429–32 Gospels 349–350, 388ff.
Leah 83–5, 150 ‘Matthew’s’ Bible 25
Lebanon 335–41 Medes, Medea 187, 272
legion 362 Megiddo 141, 189, 206n, 494
leper, leprosy 91, 380 Manasseh 129
Levi, Levite 169, 410: disciple see Matthew, Thomas 23, 24, 518, 520
Matthew: patriarch 84 mercy seat 115–6, 117, 121–2, 479
Leviticus 119–25, 377 Messiah (see also Christ) 196, 274n,
Leviathan 279, 300 344, 347, 349–50, 373, 382,
Linus 473 404, 419, 421, 455
Lo-Ammi 207 Methusaleh 67
Lollards 20 Micah: Book of 210–13
Lo-Ruhamah 206 Michael 344, 502
Lot 68, 70 Midian 90, 223
Lowth, Robert 44 Midrash 344
Lucifer 345 Milcom (see also Molech) 181
Luke 350, 404, 444, 448, 473 Milton John 43, 57, 279, 344, 351
Gospel of 404ff. miracles: see Jesus
Luther 20, 457 Miriam 55, 106, 212
LXX: see Septuagint Mishnah 119
Lydia 449 Mizpah 192
Moab, Moabite 107, 129, 143, 181,
Maccabees, 343: Books 261, 332, 515 212
Machpelah 76 Molech, Moloch, Adrammelech 181,
Magdalene: see Mary Magdalene 202
‘Magnificat’ 5, 404–5 Monmouth, Humphrey 20
Mahanaim 165 More, Sir Thomas 18, 21, 22–4
Mahlon 143, 150 Moriah 73
552 INDEX
Moses 3–4, 8–9, 13, 54, 57, 68, Palestina 107

88–119, 129, 131, 138, 315, Paradise 344–5
447n, 483 Parker, Matthew, Archbishop 29, 32
burning bush 90 Pashur 237
law-giver 112–29, 267, 344, 347, Passover 4, 102–4, 380–1, 433, 440n,
367, 415, 419, 425, 468 483
leader in the wilderness 8–9, Patmos 495
108–13, 424, 474 Paul 6, 45, 444, 448–51, 455–70
Pharaoh 92–101 passim, 450–1, 471, 473, 474
Sinai and serpent 91, 126 Pekah 186, 219
symbolic leader 212, 357, 413, 370, Peniel, Penuel 87
414, 427 Pentateuch 4, 13, 36, 53
Tabernacle 113–18 Pentecost 444–5
myth 58 Persia 343
Peter, Simon 355–6, 363, 369, 370,
Naboth 182n 378, 382–5, 388, 415, 433, 436,
Nahor 68, 87 440–4, 446–8, 455, 463
Naomi 143 Pharaoh 90–106, 180, 187, 332
Naphtali 129, 137–8 Pharaoh’s daughter 483
Nathan 155–6, 170–2, 310 Pharez 150
Nathanael 442 Pharisees 6, 347, 350, 358, 367, 376,
Nazareth 354, 405 397, 408–9, 410, 425, 427–8,
‘Jesus of ’ 373, 384, 388, 414, 435–6, 431, 435, 455
438 Philip (disciple) 422
Nazirites 200 Philistines 131, 137, 151
Nebuchadnezzar 2, 189–90 , 271–2, Philo of Alexandria 418
344 Pilate, Pontius 347, 385–7, 436–40
Nebuzar-adan 190–1 Pisgah 129
Nehemtah, Book 193 Pison 62
Nero 456, 473 plagues of Egypt 94–102
Nicodemus 425, 440 Plato 196, 456, 491
Nimrod 67 Pleiades 295
Noah 67, 354n, 482 Praetorium 386
Nod, land of 67 priest 89, 135, 191, 372
Numbers 8, 125–6 chief priests 380, 383–6, 389, 435, 439
‘Nunc Dimittis’ 5, 407 High Priest 383, 431, 436, 474,
477–81, 486
Obed 151 Prisca 473
Odysseus 3 prodigal son, parable 411–2
offering, sacrifice 66, 74, 101–4, prophets, prophecy
120–3, 113–4, 118–22, 201, 213, prophetic books 9, 14, 52, 54,
236, 280, 310, 377–8, 477–80, 195–7, 330, 365, 375, 389, 414,
482, 486, 490, 492 423, 455, 466, 475, 508–9
Olives, Mount of 373, 378, 381, 425 see individual prophets
Ophir 293 Proverbs, Book of 323ff., 327
oracle (see also Holy of Holies) Psalms, Book of 4, 9, 27, 30, 303ff.
Oreb: see Horeb pseudepigrapha 344
Orion 295 Ptolemy, -ies 268
Orpah 143–4 Purvey, John 17
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INDEX 553
Rabbah 152 Seleucids 268

Rachel, Rahel 82–5, 88, 241, 391 Sennacherib 190, 196
Rahab 133–4, 136, 150, 483, 490 Septuagint 268, 303
Rainolds or Reynolds, John 32 Seraiah 191
Ramah 137, 241, 391 Seraphim (see also angels: cherubim)
Raphael 344 218
Rebekah 77–9 serpent 64, 91–5, 126, 201, 398, 502
Red Sea 101, 104–6, 256n, 483 servant 249, 250, 253–5, 259–60, 405,
resurrection 351, 404, 430, 440–2, 435
446, 450: see Jesus: incidents Shakespeare 3, 39, 392n
Reuben 84 Sharon 332
Revelation (see also Apocalypse) 5, 45, Sheba, Seba 180, 256
493–509 Shenir 336
Rezin 219 Shewbread 359, 479
Rheims–Douai Bible 30–3, 41, 525–6, Shittim 133, 213
528, 529–30 Shulamite, the 340
Riblah 190, 192 Shur 108
Riddle-symbols 193, 196, 236–7, 243 Sidon, Zidon, Zidonians 180–1, 368
Rogers, John 25–6 Silas 448–50
Rome, Romans 343, 418, 431, 444–5, Siloam, pool of 426–7
449, 456, 470, 473, 494 Simeon, priest 407
Ruth, Book of 1, 142–51 Simeon, son of Jacob 84
Ruhammah 207 Simon the Cyrenian 386
Simon Peter: see Peter
Sabbath 124, 204, 208, 358–9, 387, Simon the leper 380
439 Simon the Pharisee 408–9
Sabeans: see Sheba Sin, wilderness of 109
sacrifice: see offering Sinai 9, 89, 109–13, 484
Salome (daughter of Herodias) 365 Sion: see Zion
Salome (disciple) 387–8 Sisera 137–9, 142, 494
Samaria (see Israel) 169, 199, 210, 213, Smith, Miles 32
219–20, 420 Sodom and Gomorrha 365
Samaritan 187, 409–10, 416, 420–2 Solomon 132, 172–8, 347 passim, 277
Samson 137, 484 and justice 175–6, 195, 320, 323,
Samuel 131–2, 484 327, 335, 347
Books of 151 ‘Son of God’ 352, 387, 430, 477
Sanctuary (see oracle, Holy of Holies) ‘Son of man’ 374, 357, 369, 372–3,
114, 479, 486 379, 381, 383–4, 408, 424, 432,
Sanhedrin 383n 496
Sapphira 446 Song of Solomon 323, 327, 331ff.
Sarah, Sarai 57, 68, 70–1, 75–6, 482 Sosthenes 462
Satan 57, 279, 281–2, 344–5, 359, 446, Spirits, seven 495, 497–8
504 Stoics 450
Saul, king 9, 131–2 Succoth 104
scapegoat 121–2 Susannah 343
scribes (see also lawyer) 358, 372, Sychar 420
376–7, 380, 383, 389, 393 synagogue 355–6, 363–4, 377, 379,
Sea, brazen (see also laver) 177 395, 425, 427
‘Second Isaiah’: see Isaiah Syria 219, 405
554 INDEX
Tabernacle (see also Temple) 9, 44, unclean spirits 355–6, 359, 399, 407
89, 113–16, 122, 309, 314, 370, unleavened bread 102, 380–1
458, 474, 469, 479, 482, 486, Ur of the Chaldees 68–9
506 Uriah 152–6
Tabor, Mount 137 Uriel 344
Talmai 160 Ussher, Archbishop 89, 127, 133, 142
Tamar (Genesis) 88, 150 Uz 280
Tamar, Absalom’s daughter 160 Uzziah 217, 219
Tamar, David’s daughter 152,
157–8 veil (Temple) 116, 468, 479, 481
Tarsus 455 vine, vineyard 216–7, 375, 434
Taverner, Richard 27 Vulgate, the 17–18, 22–4
Tekoa 199
Temple (‘house of the Lord’) Whittingham, William 28
see also Tabernacle, Holy of Widow 378
Holies, Sanctuary) 4, 9, wilderness, desert 91, 93, 107–10,
68, 169, 176–8, 190, 210, 126–7, 193–203, 226, 244, 279,
218, 261, 263–4, 268, 378, 288, 306, 324, 321, 343–4,
383, 418, 425, 474ff., 494, 394–8, 411, 468, 486, 501
501, 507 wisdom 277, 287, 292–4, 324, 327,
Terah 68–9 408, 504
Thomas Didymus 430, 442–3 Word, the 417, 418–19
Tiberias, sea of 422–3, 442–3 Writings, the 15, 52, 54, 277ff., 347
Timothy, Timotheus 450, 487: Wycliffe, John 17, 20–21, 392n
Epistles 455
Tirzah 339 Zadok 161–2, 166, 169, 170–3
Tophet 237 Zarephath 183
Trophimus 473 Zebedee (father of James and John,
Tubal-Cain 67 disciples) 355, 372, 442
Tunstall, Cuthbert, Bishop of Zebulun 85, 137–8
London 19 Zechariah 192–3n, 196, 254–7, 261ff.
Twelve Tribes 84 Zedekiah 190
Tychicus 473 Zidon: see Sidon
Tyndale, William 18ff., 24–6, 30–36 Zilpah 84
passim, 40–2, 46–8, 115n, Zion, Mount (see also Jerusalem) 169,
520–1, 526, 528, 530 211, 214–15, 216, 223–4, 227,
NT 20–25, 36, OT 22–3, 36 257–8, 263, 304, 312–14, 321,
Pentateuch 19, 22, 36 335, 485
Romans 457 Zoar 129
typology 475 Zohar 75
Tyre 368 Zophar 279, 283, 285
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King James’s King James’s

literature, and of social history.

Cover image: The Mennonite Preacher Anslo and his Wife,

King James’s Bible

PEARSON EDUCATION LIMITED

First published 1994

Editorial matter © William H. Stevenson 1994, 2010

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Set in 9.5/11.5pt Galliard by 35

Originals and translations 13

The English Bible 18

THE OLD TESTAMENT

Abraham and Sarah 68

David and Absalom 151

Kings: Solomon’s kingdom 169

Kings: Decadence 181

Elijah in hiding 184

The Kingdoms’ Fall 186

Isaiah (1) 213

Prophets of the Exile: Jeremiah 227

Prophets of the return: ‘Second’ Isaiah 250

The Psalms 303

The Song of Solomon 329

Epilogue to the Old Testament 343

THE NEW TESTAMENT

On the road 372

St Matthew’s Gospel 388

St Luke’s Gospel 404

St John’s Gospel 416

Feeding five thousand 422

The Acts of the Apostles 444

To the Romans 457

To the Corinthians (1–2) 462

The First Epistle 462

The Second Epistle 467

The Second Epistle to Timothy 470

The Epistle to the Hebrews 474

An Epistle from James 487

The First Epistle of John 491

The Revelation of St John the Divine 493

The Books of the Bible: a summary 510

Looking up from one of Anthony Marvell’s poems, a student asked,

The problem for new readers is to find a foothold. Normally, for

OT Old Testament JB The Jerusalem Bible

BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

We are indebted to the following for permission to reproduce copy-

2 SHAPE AND PURPOSE

SHAPE AND PURPOSE

may be added, nothing taken away; it is not permitted to cut anything

4 THE COVENANT QUEST

by Zeus, so as to keep the peace, not on Ithaca, which does not

THE COVENANT QUEST

THE COVENANT QUEST 5

The New Testament in its turn represents Jesus as fulfilling the

6 THE LAW AND SIN

and this gives us a truer notion of their understanding of ‘truth’ in

THE LAW AND SIN

THE LAW AND SIN 7

and parts of Numbers, to its restatement in the later Deuteronomy

largely because it has been treated as a unity. Objective analysis, by

Several books may be named as useful in illustrating different