"But if any one would reproach us with our Lord's days, (Sundays,) our preparation days, (Fridays,) or our Easter or Pentecost, &c." the old Christians celebrated every Friday in the week by a fast. Here Origen speaks first of the Sundays, and then of the Fridays. " But he who steadily prepares himself for the true life, keeps constant preparation days," i. e. every day is as holy with him as the weekly Friday, consecrated to the remembrance of Christ. Walch quotes here an important passage from Clement of Alexandria. Strom. B. 12. c. 7. "The true Gnostick understands the mystery of these days of fasting of the fourth, and of the preparation day, of which the first is named from Mercury, and the second from Venus." Who does not see that the preparation day is here the day of Venus, namely, Friday? He further quotes the re

markable words of Peter of Alexandria.

"Let

no man blame us for keeping the fourth and the preparation days," (Wednesdays and Fridays,) "on which days, according to tradition, we ought to fast." After having explained the reason of the Wednesday's fast, he adds "on the preparation day we fast because on that day," (Friday,) "he suffered for us." Dufresne has observed in his Glossary, that the great or

holy preparation day, is, in the language of the church, "Good Friday." Theophylact, quoted by Fabricius, says, "This day is called the day of preparation, for, as the Jews prepare on the sixth day of the week, what they intend to eat on the seventh, so they call it the preparation day." He quotes likewise from a manuscript chronology, extending from Adam to Leo Philosophus, and which must have been, therefore, written in the ninth or tenth century, the following passage, "Constantine decreed many laws affecting Christians, and ordained the consecration of the preparation day (Friday,) and of the Sunday, the one on account of the crucifixion, the other on account of the resurrection of the Lord." From these passages it is evident, that the Greek word "Parasceue" signified Friday, and not merely a preparation for a high festival. It is used in this first sense in the Latin, and generally in the Vulgate, the Greek word being retained in the Latin translation, and especially, according to the testimony of Blanchini in the greater part of the translations previous to Jerome. It occurs frequently in the fathers, as Friday, and is explained in this sense in Gesner's dictionary, and by Wetstein in ap

propriate quotations from Victorinus Petavionensis and Augustin. It may, therefore, be assumed as indubitable that the " Preparation Day" or rather the Greek word, which renders it, is "Friday." If Luther had so translated it, it would have obviated many frivolous doubts and objections; but Luther, in his translation of the New, was not the same powerful man he was when he translated the Old Testament. The translations, which preceded him, have some of them the " 'Holy," or as we should "Good Friday."

say,

66

That their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away."] The above is the usual translation, but the Vulgate has a different expression, which coincides better with the ambiguity of the Greek text. According to the received translation, every reflecting reader will come to the following conclusion: that when the bones of any one are broken with a club, he will not die before sunset, so as to enable the body to be taken away; it is, in fact, not a mortal blow. He may, and probably would, survive twenty-four hours. This has been remarked of those, who have been broken alive upon the wheel, from the feet upwards; the bones are broken, but if there is no blow, imme

diately affecting the vital parts, they will live twenty-four hours after having been thus attached to the wheel. All our commentators entirely overlook this difficulty; I inquired of Mr. Wrinsberg, our professor of anatomy, in what time and in what manner a man would probably die, whose bones had been broken upon the wheel? His answer was 66 not from loss of blood, but from gangrene, and probably on the third day." But if we take a different translation, the difficulty is obviated. The Greek word apei, tollere, as it occurs in the Greek and in the Latin Vulgate, signifies also to "kill." I then translate it thus, "that the bones should be broken, and that they should be killed," or, "that after the bones had been broken, they should be killed." The mode of putting to death would be, as I conceive, from a spear being directed straight to the heart; but as their sufferings would be so far abridged by this mode, whilst in the other case, they would live in inexpressible pain, and with intolerable thirst, for three, nay perhaps for seven days, their bones were previously broken, in order to substitute a sharp and violent death for the longer pain, from which they were now

relieved.

D

"For that sabbath day was an high day.”] I am aware that some manuscripts read "for the day of this sabbath," but I have preferred the common reading, as most in conformity with recognised editions, and in either case the grammar of the sentence is equally applicable.

33, 34. When they see that Jesus is dead, they do not give themselves the trouble of breaking his legs, because he could feel no pain from it; but one amongst them executes his main commission, by piercing his side in such a manner, as necessarily to cause death, in case he had not been dead already. These verses are loaded with many ignorant and feeble comments. Some have even endeavoured to ascertain the name of the soldier, and some have even given it, although not mentioned by John. Some say, he pierced him through malice, others from curiosity to know if he was dead. My opinion is, he acted in obedience to his orders, which were that the crucified persons should be put to death, and as this could not be effected by merely breaking the bones, he was to pierce the heart for that purpose. Some commentators have found out, that the Greek word voow signifies "to tickle," and not "to pierce;" but these comments are unworthy of the New Tes