Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Matthew 6:26 - 6:26

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Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges - Matthew 6:26 - 6:26


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26. ἐμβλέψατε. The aorist implies the instantaneous glance possibly at large flocks of birds whirling at that moment in the sky, just as Canon Tristram observed on that very spot ‘myriads of rock pigeons. In absolute clouds they dashed to and fro in the ravine, whirling round with a rush and a whirr that could be felt like a rush of wind.’ The cliffs too are full of caves, the secure resting-places of ‘noble griffons, lammergeyers, lanner falcons, and several species of eagles’ (Land of Israel, p. 446). From this description and from the emphatic ἕν στρουθίον, ch. Mat 10:29, it seems that the multitude of the birds is a leading thought in this illustration just as the colour and brightness of the flowers is the most prominent point in the other.

οὐ σπείρουσιν κ.τ.λ. There is no argument here against forethought or labour. In one sense ‘trusting to providence’ is idleness and a sin. God has appointed labour as the means whereby man provides for his wants. Even birds shew forethought, and search for the food which God has provided for them.

διαφέρειν, to differ by way of excellence, i.e. ‘to excel’: μᾶλλον redundant strengthens the verb.