The life and work of St. Paul

74 THE LIFE AND WOSZ 05 ST. PAUL.
they contained the name of God, " May I lose my son," exclaimed Rabbi
Tarphon, " if I do not fling these books into the fire when thoy come into my
hands, name of God and all. A man chased by a murderer, or threatened by
a serpent's bite, ought rather to take refuge in an idol's temple than in the
houses of the Minim, for these latter know thf* truth and deny it, whereas
idolaters deny God because they know Him no}^ J
Such, then, being the feelings of the Palestinian Jews with regard to every
approach towards idolatry, the antagonism between them and the more liberal
Hellenists rose from the very nature of things, and was so deeply rooted that
we are not surprised to find a trace of it even in the history of the Church ;
for the earliest Christians the Apostles and disciples of Jesus were almost
exclusively Hebrews and Israelites, 2 the former being a general, and the latter
a religious designation. Their feeling towards those who were Hellenists in
principles as well as in language would be similar to that of other Jews, however
much it might be softened by Christian love. But the jealousies of two
sections so widely diverse in their sympathies would be easily kindled; and it is
entirely in accordance with the independent records of that period that, "when
the number of the disciples was being multiplied," there should have arisen,
as a natural consequence, " a murmuring of the Grecians against the Hebrews."
The special ground of complaint was a real or fancied neglect of the widows
of Hellenists in the daily ministration of food and assistance. There might
be some jealousy because all the offices of the little Church were administered
by Hebrews, who would naturally have been more cognisant of the claims of
their immediate compatriots. Widows, however, were a class who specially
required support. We know how full a discussion St. Paul applies to their
general position even at Corinth, and we have already mentioned that some of
the wisest regulations attributed to Gamaliel wore devoted to ameliorating the
Bufferings to which they were exposed. In the seclusion to which centuries of
custom had devoted the Oriental woman, the lot of a widow, with none to plead
her cause, might indeed be bitter. Any inequalities in the treatment of the
class would awaken a natural resentment, and the more so because previous to
their conversion these widows would have had a claim on the Corban, or
Temple treasury. 3
But the Apostles mot these complaints in that spirit of candour and
generosity which is the best proof how little they were responsible for any
partiality which may have been shown to the widows of tho Hebrews. Summoning
a meeting of the disciples, thoy pointed out to them that the day had
now come in which it was inconvenient for the Apostles to have anything
further to do with the apportionment of
4
charity a routine task which
1 SJiaVbath, 116 a ; Derenbourg, p. 380.
2 The Hellenic names of Philip and Andrew prove nothing, because at this epoch such
names were common among the Jews. But they may have had Hellenic connexions.
(Johnxii. 20.)
8 2 Mace. " ill. 10, Then the high priest told him (Heliodorus) that there was such
money laid up for the relief of widows and fatherless children."
4
Acts. vi. 2, JiweowTy Tpcu-^oij. That Tp-irrsfr baa not hero ite meaning of "bank"