Biblical commentary on the New Testament - The Christian ...

Matthew XII. 1-4. 439
also. Furthermore, Jesus must have left Jerusalem very soon, if
he wallved through the fields of Galilee on the first Sabbath after
the feast, which, as it is well known, was celebrated during seven
days. Finally—the explanation itself is indeed ingenious, and pos-
sibly correct, but proofs of it are wanting. We may w^ell imagine,
that every first Sabbath of two closely following each other, and, as
it were, belonging to one another, was thus named ; and such a case
frequently occurred. For, in the three great festivals, tlie first and
the last of the seven days were celebrated, and these might very
easily be followed or preceded by a Sabbath, so that these two days
of rest followed each other. The same was the case with the Pentecost
and new moons. The first of these two days of rest was then
called devTepu-pG)Tov. In favour of this explanation, although it
likewise cannot be proven, would be the omission of the articLe,
which points in a manner not to be mistaken to several adfSfiara
devrepS-pura. (The Hebrew na-i or lina-^ is translated by the LXX.
sometimes adiiiiaTov^ sometimes adfSjda-a, and both the forms occur
in the New Testament likewise.) [It is best to assume a weekly
Sabbath, falling between the two festal Sabbatlis of a festal week.
Comp. my Krit. d. ev. Gesch. § 79.]
Ver. 2.—The plucking of ears of corn, in so far as it was done
for appeasing hunger, was permitted by the law (Deut. xxiii. 25) ;
it was only forbidden to use the reaping-hook. But tlie Pharisaic
Micrology, which had perverted the simple Mosaic commandment
of external rest into a grievous institution, added the plucking of
ears of corn on the Sabbath-day to the forbidden labours. They
divided all business into thirty-nine main classes (called fathers),
many of which, moreover, had subdivisions (called daughters).
Ver. 3, 4.—Jesus, therefore, endeavours to raise them from their
limited standing-point to a spirit of greater freedom, and this, in
such a manner that, from the law itself, he points out to them its
free application ; whence he would derive the result, that the law,
with its arrangements, must be understood and treated spiritually.
The first example adduced is that of David. The wxll-known nar-
rative of this occurrence, which took place when David fled before
Saul, is found in 1 Sam. xxi. 1, seq. The loaves of shew-bread
{aproL TrpoOtaEcjg = Cis tfiV), were placed on small tables in the
sanctuary of the tabernacle. (Exod. xxxv. 13, xxxix. 36.) The
addition made by Mark ii. 26, i-rl 'AfSidOap, under Abiathar, ]n-esents
some difliculties. For, according to the narrative in the Old Testament,
it was not Abiathar, but his father Abimelech, who was at
that time high-priest ; and the expression t-t, cannot be otherwise
understood than at the time when he was in office. (Compare Luke
iii. 2, iv. 27 ; Acts xi. 28.) Beza considered this passage an inter-
polation ; but there is no ground for this opinion. The MSS. with