Mar 14:69-70 | JFB | STEP | 69. And a maid saw him again —or, "a girl." It might be rendered "the girl"; but this would not necessarily mean the same one as before, but might, and probably does, mean just the female who had charge of the door or gate near which Peter now was. Accordingly, in , she is expressly called "another [maid]." But in Luke ( ) it is a male servant: "And after a little while [from the time of the first denial] another"—that is, as the word signifies, "another male" servant. But there is no real difficulty, as the challenge, probably, after being made by one was reiterated by another. Accordingly, in John ( ), it is, " They said therefore unto him, &c.—as if more than one challenged him at once. and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them —or, as in —"This [fellow] was also with Jesus the Nazarene."

Mark 14:69-70

69. And a maid saw him again—or, "a girl." It might be rendered "the girl"; but this would not necessarily mean the same one as before, but might, and probably does, mean just the female who had charge of the door or gate near which Peter now was. Accordingly, in Mt 26:71, she is expressly called "another [maid]." But in Luke (Lu 22:58) it is a male servant: "And after a little while [from the time of the first denial] another"—that is, as the word signifies, "another male" servant. But there is no real difficulty, as the challenge, probably, after being made by one was reiterated by another. Accordingly, in John (Joh 18:25), it is, "They said therefore unto him, &c.—as if more than one challenged him at once.

and began to say to them that stood by, This is one of them—or, as in Mt 26:71 —"This [fellow] was also with Jesus the Nazarene."

70. And a little after—"about the space of one hour after" (Lu 22:59).

they that stood by said again to Peter, Surely thou art one of them: for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto—"bewrayeth [or 'discovereth'] thee" (Mt 26:73). In Luke (Lu 22:59) it is, "Another confidently affirmed, saying, Of a truth this [fellow] also was with him: for he is a Galilean." The Galilean dialect had a more Syrian cast than that of Judea. If Peter had held his peace, this peculiarity had not been observed; but hoping, probably, to put them off the scent by joining in the fireside talk, he was thus discovered. The Fourth Gospel is particularly interesting here: "One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman [or kinsman to him] whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee in the garden with Him?" (Joh 18:26). No doubt his relationship to Malchus drew his attention to the man who had smitten him, and this enabled him to identify Peter. "Sad reprisals!" exclaims BENGEL. Poor Peter! Thou art caught in thine own toils; but like a wild bull in a net, thou wilt toss and rage, filling up the measure of thy terrible declension by one more denial of thy Lord, and that the foulest of all.