Page:Lives of the apostles of Jesus Christ (1836).djvu/96

 expenses of the temple-worship at Jerusalem, appear to have been waiting for Christ's return from this journey, to call on him for his share, if he were willing to pay it as a good Jew. They seem to have had some doubts, however, as to the manner in which so eminent a teacher would receive a call to pay those taxes, from which he might perhaps deem himself exempted by his religious rank, more especially as he had frequently denounced, in the most unmeasured terms, all those concerned in the administration of the religious affairs of the Jewish nation. As soon as he had returned, therefore, they took the precaution to make the inquiry of Peter, as the well-known intimate of Jesus, "Doth not your Master pay tribute?" Peter, knowing well the steady, open reverence which Jesus always manifested for all the established usages of his country, readily and unhesitatingly answered "Yes." And when he was come into the house, and was upon the point of proposing the matter to him, Jesus anticipated him, saying, "How thinkest thou, Simon? of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute? of their own children, or of the children of others?" Peter says, "From others' children." Jesus says again to him, "Then are the children free." That is: "If, when the kings and rulers of the nations gather their taxes, for the support of their royal state and authority, they pass over their own children untaxed, as a thing of course, then I, the son of that God who is the eternal king of Israel, am fairly exempt from the payment of the sum due from other Jews, for the support of the ceremonials of my Father's temple in Jerusalem." Still he did not choose to avail himself of this honorable pretext, but went on to tell Simon, "Nevertheless, lest we should give needless occasion for offense, we will pay what they exact; and for this purpose, go thou to the sea, and take up the fish that comes up first; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money; take that and give it them for me and thee."

Anticipated him.—This word I substitute in the place of "prevented" which is the expression used in our common English Bible, and which in the changes of modern usage has entirely lost the signification which it had when the translators applied it to this passage. The Greek word here is [Greek: proephthasen**], (proephthasen,) and literally means "forespake" or "spake before" him. This was the idea which the English translators wished to express by the word "prevented," whose true original meaning is "anticipated," or "was beforehand with him," being in Latin compounded of the words prae, "before," and venio, "come." Among the numerous conveniences of Webster's improved edition of the Bible, for popular use, is the fact that in this and similar passages he has altered the obsolete expression, and changed it for a modern one, which is just and faithful to the original idea. In this passage I find he has very properly given the word above suggested, without my knowledge of the coincidence.