could only be done by regular divorce; this one determination only standing out clearly,
that, if it must be, her letter of divorce shall be handed to her privately, only in the
presence of two witnesses. The humble Tsaddiq of Nazareth would not willingly have
brought the blush to any face, least of all would he make of her 'a public exhibition of
shame.'48 It was a relief that he could legally divorce her either publicly or privately,
whether from change of feeling, or because he had found just cause for it, but hesitated to
make it known, either from regard for his own character, or because he had not sufficient
legal evidence49 of the charge. He would follow, all unconscious of it, the truer manly
feeling of R. Eliezar,50 R. Jochanan, and R. Zera,51 according to which a man would not
like to put his wife to shame before a Court of Justice, rather than the opposite sentence
of R. Meir.
48. I have thus paraphrased the verb παραδειγµατιζω rendered in Heb. vi. 6 'put to an
open shame.' Comp. also LXX. Num. xxv. 4; Jer. xiii. 22; Ezek. xxviii. 17 (see Grimm,
Clavis N.T. p. 333 b) Archdeacon Farrar adopts the reading δειγµατισαι .
49. For example, if he had not sufficient witnes ses, or if their testimony could be
invalidated by any of those provisions in favour of the accused, of which traditionalism
had not a few. Thus, as indicated in the text, Joseph might have privately divorced Mary
leaving it open to doubt on what ground he had so acted.
50. Keth. 74 b 75 a.
51. Keth. 97 b.
The assurance, which Joseph could scarcely dare to hope for, was miraculously conveyed
to him in a dream- vision. All would now be clear; even the terms in which he was
addressed ('thou son of David'), so utterly unusual in ordinary circumstances, would
prepare him for the Angel's message. The naming of the unborn Messiah would accord
with popular notions;52 the symbolism of such a name was deeply rooted in Jewish
belief;53 while the explanation of Jehoshua or Jeshua (Jesus), as He who would save His
people (primarily, as he would understand it, Israel) from their sins, described at least one
generally expected aspect of His Mission, 54 although Joseph may not have known that it
was the basis of all t he rest. And perhaps it was not without deeper meaning and insight
into His character, that the Angel laid stress on this very element in His communication
to Joseph, and not to Mary.
52. See a former note.
53. Thus we read in (Shocher Tobh) the Midras h on Prov. xix. 21 (closing part; ed.
Lemberg. p. 16 b) of eight names given to the Messiah, viz. Yinnon (Ps. xxii. 17, 'His
name shall sprout [bear sprouts] before the Sun;' comp. also Pirqé de R. El. c. 2);
Jehovah; Our Righteousness; Tsemach (the Branch, Zech. iii. 8); Menachem (the
Comforter, Is. li. 3); David (Ps. xviii. 50); Shiloh (Gen. xlix. 10); Elijah (Mal. iv. 5). The
Messiah is also called Anani (He that cometh in the clouds, Dan. vii. 13; see Tanch. Par.
Toledoth 14); Chaninah, with reference t o Jer. xvi. 13; the Leprous, with reference to Is.
liii. 4 (Sanh. 96 b). It is a curious instance of the Jewish mode of explaining a meaning by