Mat 3:4-6, 11 | Barnes | STEP | Verse 4. His raiment of camel's hair . His clothing. This is not the fine hair of the camel from which our elegant cloth is made, called eamlet ; nor the more elegant stuff, brought from the East Indies, under the name of camel's hair; but the long, shaggy hair of the camel, from which a coarse, cheap cloth is made, still worn by the poorer classes in the East, and by monks. This dress of the camel's hair, and a leathern girdle, it seems, was the common dress of the prophets, . His meat was locusts . His food. These constituted the food of the common people. Among the Greeks, the vilest of the people used to eat them; and the fact that John made his food of them is significant of his great poverty and humble life. The Jews were allowed to eat them, . Locusts are flying insects, and are of various kinds. The green locusts are about two inches in length, and about the thickness of a man's finger. The common brown locust is about three inches long. The general form and appearance of the locust is not unlike the grasshopper They were one of the plagues of Egypt, . In eastern countries they are very numerous. They appear in such quantities as to darken the sky, and devour in a short time every green thing. The whole earth is sometimes covered with them for many leagues, . "Some species of the locust are eaten at this day in eastern countries, and are even esteemed a delicacy when properly cooked. After tearing off the legs and wings, and taking out the entrails, they stick them in long rows upon wooden spits, roast them at the fire, and then proceed to devour them with great zest. There are also other ways of preparing them. For example: They cook them and dress them in oil; or, having dried them, they pulverize them, and when other food is scarce make bread of the meal. The Bedouins pack them with salt, in close masses, which they carry in their leathern sacks. From these they cut slices as they may need them. It is singular that even learned men have suffered themselves to hesitate about understanding these passages of the literal locust, when the fact that these are eaten by the orientals is so abundantly proved by the concurrent testimony of travellers. One of them says, they are brought to market on strings in all the cities of Arabia, and that he saw an Arab on Mount Sumara, who had collected a sack full of them. They are prepared in different ways. An Arab in Egypt, of whom he requested that he would immediately eat locusts in his presence, threw them upon the glowing coals; and after he supposed they were roasted enough, he took them by the legs and head, and devoured the remainder at one mouthful. When the Arabs have them in quantities, they roast or dry them in an oven, or boil them and eat them with salt. The Arabs in the kingdom of Morocco boil the locusts; and the Bedouins eat locusts, which are collected in great quantities in the beginning of April, when they are easily caught. After having been roasted a little upon the iron plate on which bread is baked, they are dried in the sun, and then put into large sacks, with the mixture of a little salt. They are never served up as a dish, but every one takes a handful of them when hungry. " Un. Bib. Die Wild honey . This was probably the honey that he found in the rocks of the wilderness. Palestine was often called the land flowing with milk and honey, . Bees were kept with great care and great numbers of them abounded in the fissures of trees and the clefts of rocks. There is also a species of honey called wild-honey, or wood-honey , or honey-dew, produced by certain little insects, and deposited on the leaves of trees, and flowing from them in great quantities to the ground. See . This is said to be produced still in Arabia; and perhaps it was this which John lived upon. (n) "raiment" (o) "locusts"

Matthew 3:4-6

Verse 4. His raiment of camel's hair. His clothing. This is not the fine hair of the camel from which our elegant cloth is made, called eamlet; nor the more elegant stuff, brought from the East Indies, under the name of camel's hair; but the long, shaggy hair of the camel, from which a coarse, cheap cloth is made, still worn by the poorer classes in the East, and by monks. This dress of the camel's hair, and a leathern girdle, it seems, was the common dress of the prophets, 2Kgs 1:8, Zech 13:4.

His meat was locusts. His food. These constituted the food of the common people. Among the Greeks, the vilest of the people used to eat them; and the fact that John made his food of them is significant of his great poverty and humble life. The Jews were allowed to eat them, Lev 11:22. Locusts are flying insects, and are of various kinds. The green locusts are about two inches in length, and about the thickness of a man's finger. The common brown locust is about three inches long. The general form and appearance of the locust is not unlike the grasshopper They were one of the plagues of Egypt, Ex 10:1. In eastern countries they are very numerous. They appear in such quantities as to darken the sky, and devour in a short time every green thing. The whole earth is sometimes covered with them for many leagues, Joel 1:4, Isa 33:4. "Some species of the locust are eaten at this day in eastern

countries, and are even esteemed a delicacy when properly

cooked. After tearing off the legs and wings, and taking out

the entrails, they stick them in long rows upon wooden spits,

roast them at the fire, and then proceed to devour them with

great zest. There are also other ways of preparing them.

For example: They cook them and dress them in oil; or, having

dried them, they pulverize them, and when other food is scarce

make bread of the meal. The Bedouins pack them with salt, in

close masses, which they carry in their leathern sacks. From

these they cut slices as they may need them. It is singular

that even learned men have suffered themselves to hesitate

about understanding these passages of the literal locust,

when the fact that these are eaten by the orientals is so

abundantly proved by the concurrent testimony of travellers.

One of them says, they are brought to market on strings in all

the cities of Arabia, and that he saw an Arab on Mount

Sumara, who had collected a sack full of them. They are

prepared in different ways. An Arab in Egypt, of whom he

requested that he would immediately eat locusts in his presence,

threw them upon the glowing coals; and after he supposed they

were roasted enough, he took them by the legs and head, and

devoured the remainder at one mouthful. When the Arabs have

them in quantities, they roast or dry them in an oven, or boil

them and eat them with salt. The Arabs in the kingdom of

Morocco boil the locusts; and the Bedouins eat locusts, which

are collected in great quantities in the beginning of April,

when they are easily caught. After having been roasted a

little upon the iron plate on which bread is baked, they are

dried in the sun, and then put into large sacks, with the

mixture of a little salt. They are never served up as a dish,

but every one takes a handful of them when hungry. "

Un. Bib. Die

Wild honey. This was probably the honey that he found in the rocks of the wilderness. Palestine was often called the land flowing with milk and honey, Ex 3:8,17, 13:5. Bees were kept with great care and great numbers of them abounded in the fissures of trees and the clefts of rocks. There is also a species of honey called wild-honey, or wood-honey 1Sam 14:27, or honey-dew, produced by certain little insects, and deposited on the leaves of trees, and flowing from them in great quantities to the ground. See 1Sam 14:24-27. This is said to be produced still in Arabia; and perhaps it was this which John lived upon.

(n) "raiment" 2Kgs 1:8, Mt 11:8 (o) "locusts" Lev 11:22 Verse 5. Jerusalem. The people of Jerusalem.

All Judea. Many people from Judea. It does not mean that literally all the people went, but that great multitudes went. It was general. Jerusalem was in the part of the country called Judea. Judea was situated on the west side of the Jordan. Mt 2:1.

Region about Jordan. On the east and west side of the river; near to Jordan. Verse 6. Were baptized. The word baptize signifies originally to tinge, to dye, to stain, as those who dye clothes. It here means to cleanse or wash anything by the application of water. Mk 7:4. Washing, or ablution, was much in use among the Jews, as one of the rites of their religion, Nu 19:7, Heb 9:10. It was not customary, however, among them, to baptize those who were converted to the Jewish religion until after the Babylonish captivity. At the time of John, and for some time previous, they had been accustomed to administer a rite of baptism, or washing, to those who became proselytes to their religion; that is, who were converted from being Gentiles. This was done to signify that they renounced the errors and worship of the pagans, and as significant of their becoming pure by embracing a new religion. It was a solemn rite of washing, significant of cleansing from their former sins, and purifying them for the peculiar service of Jehovah. John found this custom in use; and as he was calling the Jews to a new dispensation, to a change in their form of religion, he administered this right of baptism, or washing, to signify the cleansing from their sins, and adopting the new dispensation, or the fitness rot the pure reign of the Messiah. They applied an old ordinance to a new purpose. As it was used by John it was a significant rite, or ceremony, intended to denote the putting away of impurity, and a purpose to be pure in heart and life. The Hebrew Word (tabal) which is rendered by the word baptize, occurs in the Old Testament in the following places, viz. :-- Lev 4:6, 14:6,51, Nu 19:18, Ruth 2:14, Ex 12:22, De 33:24, Eze 23:15 Job 9:31, Lev 9:9, 1Sam 14:27, 2Kgs 5:14, 8:15, Gen 37:31, Josh 3:15. It occurs in no other places; and from a careful examination of these passages, its meaning among the Jews is to be derived. From these passages, it will be seen that its radical meaning is not to sprinkle, or to immerse. It is to dip, commonly for the purpose of sprinkling, or for some other purpose. Thus, to dip the finger, i.e. a part of the finger, in blood--enough to sprinkle with, Lev 4:6. To dip a living bird, and cedar wood, and scarlet, and hyssop, in the blood of the bird that was killed, for the purpose of sprinkling; where it could not be that all these should be immersed in the blood of a single bird. To dip hyssop in the water, to sprinkle with, Nu 19:18. To dip a portion of bread in vinegar, Ruth 2:14. To dip the feet in oil--an emblem of plenty, De 33:24. To dye, or stain, Eze 23:15. To plunge into a ditch, so as to defile the clothes, Job 9:31. To dip the end of a staff in honey, 1Sam 14:27. To dip in Jordan--a declaration respecting Naaman the Syrian, 2Kgs 5:14. The direction of the prophet was to wash himself, 2Kgs 5:10. This shows that he understood washing and baptizing to mean the same thing. To dip a towel, or quilt, so as to spread it on the face of a man to smother him, 2Ki 8:15. In none of these cases can it be shown that the meaning of the word is to immerse entirely. But in nearly all the cases, the notion of applying the water to a part only of the person or object, though it was by dipping, is necessarily to be supposed.

In the New Testament the word, in various forms, occurs eighty times; fifty-seven with reference to persons. Of these fifty-seven times, it is followed by "in" (εν) eighteen times, as in water, in the desert, in Jordan; nine times by "into," (εις,) as into the name, etc., into Christ; once it is followed by επι (Acts 2:38) and twice by "for," (υπερ) 1Cor 15:29.

The following remarks may be made in view of the investigation of the meaning of this word.

1st. That in baptism it is possible, perhaps probable, that the notion of dipping would be the one that would occur to a Jew.

2nd. It would not occur to him that the word meant of necessity to dip entirely, or completely to immerse.

3rd. The notion of washing would be the one which would most readily occur as connected with a religious rite. See the cases of Naaman, and Mk 7:4, (Greek.)

4th. It cannot be proved from an examination of the passages in the Old and New Testaments, that the idea of a complete immersion ever was connected with the word, or that it ever in any case occurred. If they went into the water, still it is not proved by that, that the only mode of baptism was by immersion, as it might have been by pouring, though they were in the water.

5th. It is not positively enjoined anywhere in the New Testament that the only mode of baptism shall be by an entire submersion of the body under water. Without such a precept, it cannot be made obligatory on people of all ages, nations, and climes, even if it were probable that in the mild climate of Judea it was the usual mode.

The river Jordan is the eastern boundary of Palestine or Judea. It rises in Mount Lebanon, on the north of Palestine, and runs in a southerly direction, under ground, for thirteen miles, and then bursts forth with a great noise at Cesarea Philippi. It then unites with two small streams, and runs some miles farther, and empties into the lake Merom. From this small lake it flows thirteen miles, and then falls into the lake Gennesareth, otherwise called the sea of Tiberias, or the sea of Galilee. Through the middle of this lake, which is fifteen miles long and from six to nine broad, it flows undisturbed, and preserves a southerly direction for about seventy miles, and then falls into the Dead Sea.

The Jordan, at its entrance into the Dead Sea, is about ninety feet wide. It flows in many places with great rapidity; and when swollen by rains, pours like an impetuous torrent. It formerly regularly overflowed its banks in time of harvest, that is in March, in some places six hundred paces, Josh 3:15, 1Chr 12:15. These banks are covered with small trees and shrubs, and afford a convenient dwelling for wild beasts. Allusion is often made to these thickets in the sacred Scriptures, Jer 49:19, 50:44,

(p) "confessing their sins" Acts 1:5, 2:36, 19:4,5,16

Matthew 3:11

Verse 11. Whose shoes I am not worthy to bear. The word here translated shoes, has a signification different from what it has in our language. At first, in order to keep the feet from the sharp stones, or the burning sand, small pieces of wood were fastened to the soles of the feet, called sandals. Leather, or skins of beasts dressed, afterwards were used. The foot was not covered at all; but the sandal, or piece of leather or wood, was bound by thongs.

The wooden sandal is much worn in Arabia, Judea, and Egypt. It has a raised heel and toe, as represented in some of the preceding cuts; and, though often expensive and neat, it was usually a cheap, coarse, and very clumsy article.

The people put off these when they entered a house, and put them on when they left it. To loose and bind on sandals, on such occasions, was the business of the lowest servants; and their office was to loose and carry about their masters' sandals. The expression here, then, was an expression of great humility; and John says that he was not worthy to be the servant of Him who should come after him.

Shall baptize you. Shall send upon you the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God is frequently represented as being poured out upon his people, Provo 1:23, Is 44:3, Joel 2:28,29, Acts 2:17,18. The baptism of the Holy Spirit is the same, therefore, as the sending of his influences to convert, purify, and guide the soul.

The Holy Ghost: The Third Person of the adorable Trinity, whose office it is to enlighten, renew, sanctify, and comfort the soul. He was promised by the Saviour to convince of sin, Jn 16:8. To enlighten or teach the disciples, Jn 14:26, 16:13. To comfort them in the absence of the Saviour, Jn 14:18, 16:7. To change the heart, Tit 3:5. To be baptized with the Holy Ghost means, that the Messiah would send upon the world a far more powerful and mighty influence than had attended the preaching of John. Many more would be converted. A mighty change would take place. His ministry would not affect the external life only, but the heart, the motives, the soul; and produce rapid and permanent changes in the lives of men. See Acts 2:17,18.

With fire. This expression has been very variously understood. Some have supposed that he refers to the afflictions and persecutions with which men would be tried under the gospel; others, that the word fire means judgment or wrath. A part of his hearers he would baptize with the Holy Ghost, but the wicked with fire and vengeance. Fire is a symbol of vengeance. See Is 5:24, 61:2, 66:24. If this be the meaning, as seems to be probable, then John says that the ministry of the Messiah would be far more powerful than his was. It would be more searching and trying; and they who were not fitted to abide the test, would be cast into eternal fire. Some have supposed, however, that by fire, here, he intends to denote that his ministry would be refining, powerful, purifying, as fire is sometimes an emblem of purity, Mal 3:2. It is difficult to ascertain the precise meaning, further than that his ministry would be very trying, purifying, searching. Multitudes would be converted; and those who were not true penitents should not be able to abide the trial, and should be driven away.

(u) "with the Holy Ghost" Acts 1:5