 The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible Matthew 14:26
And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea…
It
being now morning, and perhaps might have moon light; and besides,
there is always more light upon the water than land; they were able
to discern something like a man, walking upon the surface of the
sea, but had not light enough to distinguish what, or who it was;
and, moreover, had no thought of Christ, or expectation of seeing
him; and the appearance of a man walking upon the waters being so
unusual, and astonishing,
they were troubled, saying it is a spirit:
a nocturnal apparition, a
demon in human form. The Jews, especially the sect of the Pharisees,
had a notion, from whom the disciples might have their's, of
spirits, apparitions, and demons, being to be seen in the night;
hence that rule F21,
``it is forbidden a man to salute his friend in the night,
for we are careful, lest (awh dv) , "it should be a demon".''
They say a great many things of one (tylyl) , "Lilith", that has its
name from (hlyl) , "the night", a she demon, that used to appear in
the night, with an human face, and carry off young children, and kill
them. Some such frightful notions had possessed the minds of the
disciples:
and they cried out for fear,
as persons in the utmost consternation,
in the greatest danger, and in want of help: the fear of spirits
arises from the uncommonness of their appearance; from their
superiority to men in power and strength; from the enmity there is
between men and evil spirits; and from a general notion of their
doing hurt and mischief: hence, demons are, by the Jews, called
(Nyqyzm) , "hurtful", or "hurting", all their study being to do hurt to
men; and the same word is here used in Munster's Hebrew Gospel: add
to all this, that the fear of the disciples might be increased,
through a vulgar notion among seafaring men, that such sights are
ominous, and portend evil to sailors; and they might the more easily
be induced to give credit to this, and fear, since they were already
in such imminent danger.
FOOTNOTES:
F21 T. Bab. Megilla, fol. 3. 1. Sanhedrim, fol. 44. 1.
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Copyright Statement
The New John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible Modernised and adapted for the computer by Larry Pierce of Online Bible. All Rightes Reserved, Larry Pierce, Winterbourne, Ontario.
A printed copy of this work can be ordered from: The Baptist Standard Bearer, 1 Iron Oaks Dr, Paris, AR, 72855
Bibliography Information
Gill, John. "Commentary on Matthew 14:26". "The New John Gill Exposition of the Entire Bible". <http://classic.studylight.org/com/geb/view.cgi?book=mt&chapter=014&verse=026>. 1999.
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