THE PARABLE OF THE TEN VIRGINS. a 455 CHAP. VII XXV. 6 Marriage is to take place-waiting for the summons to go forth and welcome the Bridegroom. The common mistake, that the Virgins are represented in verse 1 as having gone forth on the road to meet the Bridegroom, is not only irrational-since it is scarcely credible that they would all have fallen asleep by the wayside, and with lamps in their hands-but incompatible with the circumstance, St. Matt. that at midnight the cry is suddenly raised to go forth and meet Him. In these circumstances, no precise parallel can be derived from the ordinary Jewish marriage-processions, where the bridegroom, accompanied by his groomsmen and friends, went to the bride's house, and thence conducted the bride, with her attendant maidens and friends, into his own or his parents' home. But in the Parable, the Bridegroom comes from a distance and goes to the bridal house. Accordingly, the bridal procession is to meet Him on His Arrival, and escort Him to the bridal place. No mention is made of the Bride, either in this Parable or in that of the Marriage of the King's Son. This, for reasons connected with their application since in the one case the Wedding Guests, in the other the Virgins, occupy the place of the Bride. And here we must remind ourselves of the general canon, that, in the interpretation of a Parable, details must not be too closely pressed. The Parables illustrate the Sayings of Christ, as the Miracles His Doings; and alike the Parables and the Miracles present only one or another, not all the aspects of the truth. Another archæological inquiry will, perhaps, be more helpful to our understanding of this Parable. The 'lamps'-not torches'-which the Ten Virgins carried, were of well-known construction. They bear in Talmudic writings commonly the name Lappid, but the Aramised form of the Greek word in the New Testament also occurs as Lampad and Lampedas. The lamps consisted of a round receptacle for pitch or oil for the wick. This was placed in a hollow cup or deep saucer-the Beth Shikkua —which was fastened by a pointed end into a long wooden pole, so as to bear it aloft. According to Jewish authorities, it was the custom in the East to carry in a bridal procession about ten such lamps. We have the less reason to doubt that such was also the case in Palestine, since, according to rubric, ten was the number required to be present at any office or ceremony, such as at the benedictions accompanying the marriageceremonies. And, in the peculiar circumstances supposed in the Parable, Ten Virgins are represented as going forth to meet the Bridegroom, each bearing her lamp. b Jer. Yoma from top 41 a, line 24 e Chel. ii. 8 See the voc. Aruch, ad BOOK 6 The first point which we mark is, that the Ten Virgins brought, presumably to the bridal house, their own lamps.' Emphasis must be laid on this. Thus much was there of personal preparation on the part of all. But while the five that were wise brought also 'oil in the vessels '2 [presumably the hollow receptacles in which the lamp proper stood], the five foolish Virgins neglected to do so, no doubt expecting that their lamps would be filled out of some common stock. In the text the foolish Virgins are mentioned before the wise,3 because the Parable turns on this. We cannot be at a loss to interpret the meaning of it. The Bridegroom far away is Christ, Who is to come for the Marriage-Feast from the far country'-the Home above-certainly on that night, but we know not at what hour of it. The ten appointed bridal companions who are to go forth to meet Him are His professed disciples, and they gather in the bridal house in readiness to welcome His arrival. It is night, and a marriage-procession: therefore, they must go forth with their lamps. All of them have brought their own lamps, they all have the Christian, or, say, the Church-profession: the lamp in the hollow cup on the top of the pole. But only the wise Virgins have more than this-the oil in the vessels, without which the lamps cannot give their light. The Christian or Church-profession is but an empty vessel on the top of a pole, without the oil in the vessels. We here remember the words of Christ: Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify St. Matt. v. your Father Which is in heaven.' The reason why the foolish Virgins had omitted to bring their oil is indicated in the text: "They which [airives] were foolish, when they brought their own lamps, brought not with them oil;' they brought their own lamps, but not their own oil. This, probably, not from forgetfulness-for they could scarcely have forgotten the need of oil, but from wilful neglect, in the belief that there would be a common stock out of which they might be supplied, or that there would be sufficient time for the supply of their need after the announcement that the Bridegroom was coming. They had no conception that the call would come so suddenly, nor that there would be so little interval between the arrival of the Bridegroom and the closing of the door.' And so 16 The better reading in ver. 1, and again in ver. 7, is not autŵv, 'their,' but ἑαυτῶν. The word aurav in ver. 4, 'their vessels,' is probably spurious. In both cases, as so often, the improving' copy а WHEREIN THE FOOLISHNESS OF THE FIVE CONSISTED. they deemed it not necessary to undertake what must have involved both trouble and carefulness-the bringing their own oil in the hollow vessels in which the lamps were fixed. We have proceeded on the supposition that the oil was not carried in separate vessels, but in those attached to the lamps. It seems scarcely likely that these lamps had been lighted while waiting in the bridal house, where the Virgins assembled, and which, no doubt, was festively illuminated. Many practical objections to this view will readily occur. The foolishness of the five Virgins therefore consisted, not (as is commonly supposed) in their want of perseverance as if the oil had been consumed before the Bridegroom came, and they had only not provided themselves with a sufficient extra-supply-but in the entire absence of personal preparation,' having brought no oil of their own in their lamps. This corresponds to their conduct, who, belonging to the Church-having the 'profession-being bridal companions provided with lamps, ready to go forth, and expecting to share in the wedding feast-neglect the preparation of grace, personal conversion and holiness, trusting that in the hour of need the oil may be supplied out of the common stock. But they know not, or else heed not, that every one must be personally prepared for meeting the Bridegroom, that the call will be sudden, that the stock of oil is not common, and that the time between His arrival and the shutting of the door will be awfully brief. For and here begins the second scene in the Parable-the interval between the gathering of the Virgins in readiness to meet Him and the arrival of the Bridegroom is much longer than had been anticipated. And so it came, that both the wise and the foolish. Virgins slumbered and slept.' Manifestly, this is but a secondary trait in the Parable, chiefly intended to accentuate the surprise of the sudden announcement of the Bridegroom. The foolish Virgins did not ultimately fail because of their sleep, nor yet were the wise reproved for it. True, it was evidence of their weakness-but then it was night; all the world was asleep; and their own drowsiness might be in proportion to their former excitement. What follows is intended to bring into prominence the startling suddenness of the Bridegroom's Coming. It is midnight-when sleep is deepestwhen suddenly there was a cry, Behold, the Bridegroom cometh! Come ye out to the meeting of Him. Then all those Virgins awoke, and prepared (trimmed) their lamps.' This, not in the sense of tions. So especially Goebel, to whom, in general, we would acknowledge our obliga 457 CHAP. VII BOOK V heightening the low flame in their lamps, but in that of hastily drawing up the wick and lighting it, when, as there was no oil in the vessels, the flame, of course, immediately died out. 'Then the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are going out. But the wise answered, saying: Not at all-it will never suffice for us and you! Go ye rather to the sellers, and buy for your own selves.' This advice must not be regarded as given in irony. The trait is introduced to point out the proper source of supply—to emphasise that the oil must be their own, and also to prepare for what follows. 'But while they were going to buy, the Bridegroom came; and the ready ones [they that were ready] went in with Him to the MarriageFeast, and the door was shut.' The sudden cry at midnight: The Bridegroom cometh!' had come with startling surprise both to the wise and the foolish Virgins; to the one class it had come only unexpectedly, but to the other also unpreparedly. Their hope of sharing or borrowing the oil of the wise Virgins being disappointed, the foolish were, of course, unable to meet the Bridegroom. And while they hurried to the sellers of oil, those that had been ready not only met, but entered with the Bridegroom into the bridal house, and the door was shut. It is of no importance whether or not they finally succeeded in obtaining oil-although at that time of night this seems unlikely-since it could no longer be of any possible use, as its object was to serve in the festive procession, which was now past. Nevertheless, and when the door was shut, those foolish Virgins came, calling on the Bridegroom to open to them. But they had failed in that which could alone give them a claim to admission. Professing to be bridesmaids, they had not been in the bridal procession, and so, in truth and righteousness, He could only answer from within: Verily I say unto you, I know you not.' This, not only in punishment, but in the right order of things. The personal appiication of this Parable to the disciples, which the Lord makes, follows almost of necessity. Watch therefore, for ye know not the day, nor the hour.'3 Not enough to be in waiting with the Church; His Coming will be far on in the night; it will be sudden; it will be rapid: be prepared therefore, be ever and personally prepared! Christ will come when least expected-at mid 1 MTOTε. See Grimm, ad voc. But it is impossible to give the full force of the word. The better reading is où un, which double negation I have rendered, for want of better, by never.' 3 The clause in which the Son of Man cometh' is spurious-an early gloss crept into the text. THE PARABLE OF THE TALENTS. night and when the Church, having become accustomed to His long delay, has gone to sleep. So sudden will be His Coming, that after the cry of announcement there will not be time for anything but to go forth to meet Him; and so rapid will be the end, that, ere the foolish Virgins can return, the door has been for ever closed. To present all this in the most striking manner, the Parable takes the form of a dialogue, first between the foolish and the wise Virgins, in which the latter only state the bare truth when saying, that each has only sufficient oil for what is needed for joining the marriageprocession, and no one what is superfluous. Lastly, we are to learn from the dialogue between the foolish Virgins and the Bridegroom, that it is impossible in the day of Christ's Coming to make up for neglect of previous preparation, and that those who have failed to meet Him, even though of the bridal Virgins, shall be finally excluded as being strangers to the Bridegroom. 459 СНАР. VII XXV. 14-30 2. The Parable of the Talents-their use and misuse a-follows St. Matt. closely on the admonition to watch, in view of the sudden and certain Return of Christ, and the reward or punishment which will then be meted out. Only that, whereas in the Parable of the Ten Virgins the reference was to the personal state, in that of the Talents' it is to the personal work of the Disciples. In the former instance, they are portrayed as the bridal maidens who are to welcome His Return; in the latter, as the servants who are to give an account of their stewardship. From its close connection with what precedes, the Parable opens almost abruptly: 'For [it is] like a Man going abroad, [who] called His own servants, and delivered to them His goods.' The emphasis rests on this, that they were His own servants, and to act for His interest. His property was handed over to them, not for safe custody, but that they might do with it as best they could in the interest of their Master. This appears from what immediately follows: and so to one He gave five talents (about 1,170l.), but to one two (about 4687.), and to one one (=6,000 denarii, about 2347.), to each according to his own capability' that is, He gave to each according to his capacity, in proportion as He deemed them severally able for larger or smaller administration. And He journeyed abroad straightway.' 2 Having entrusted the management of His affairs to His servants, according to their capacity, He at once went away. · κατὰ τὴν ἰδίαν δύναμιν. 2 Some critics and the R. V. have drawn the word 'straightway' to the next verse, as referring to the activity of the first servant. The reasons urged by Goebel against this seem to me quite |