Bible Commentaries

The Sick of the Palsy

1-12. Healing of the palsied man (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27). See on Mt.

13-17. Call of Levi (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27). See on Mt.

16. The scribes and Pharisees] RV 'the scribes of the Pharisees': implying that some scribes were Sadducees, though this was rare.

18-22. The controversy on fasting (Matthew 9:14; Luke 5:33). See on Mt.

21. New cloth] RV 'undressed cloth.' Else the new piece] RV 'else that which should fill it up, taketh from it, the new from the old, and a worse rent is made.'

22. Old bottles] RV 'old wine-skins.' And the wine is spilled] RV 'and the wine perisheth and the skins: but they put new wine into fresh wine-skins.'

23-28. Plucking the ears of corn on the sabbath (Matthew 12:1; Luke 6:1). See on Mt.

26. In the days of Abiathar the high priest] RV 'when Abiathar was high priest.' A well-known difficulty, for Ahimelech seems to have been the high priest at this time. 'The whole expression, which occurs neither in Mt nor Lk, is omitted by a very important group of authorities, and may be an editorial note' (Swete). If it be retained, it is not to be regarded as a mere blunder, but as a deliberate inference from the somewhat conflicting data of the OT. For whereas in 1 Samuel 21:1; Ahimelech appears as high priest, and is shortly afterwards slain by Saul for his friendship with David (1 Samuel 22:16), in 2 Samuel 8:17; 1 Chronicles 18:16; 1 Chronicles 24:6 he appears long after his supposed death, officiating in the priesthood together with Zadok, and is represented as the son, not the father of Abiathar. St. Mark's expression is, therefore, quite in harmony with one of the two conflicting OT. accounts. Such confusions of proper names are not uncommon in the OT.