compel

April 23, 2019

Highways and byways (Lk 14:23-14:23)

“Then the master said

To the slave.

‘Go out

To the roads

And lanes!

Compel people

To come in.

Thus,

My house

May be filled.’”

 

καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον Ἔξελθε εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς καὶ φραγμοὺς καὶ ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν, ἵνα γεμισθῇ μου ὁ οἶκος·

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that this master told his slave (καὶ εἶπεν ὁ κύριος πρὸς τὸν δοῦλον) to go out (Ἔξελθε) to the the highway roads (εἰς τὰς ὁδοὺς) and hedge lanes (καὶ φραγμοὺς).  He was going to compel the people to come in (καὶ ἀνάγκασον εἰσελθεῖν).  Thus, he wanted his house filled (ἵνα γεμισθῇ μου ὁ οἶκος).  Once again, this is similar to Matthew, chapter 22:9.  The slaves were to go into the main streets or the meeting places on the roads (πορεύεσθε οὖν ἐπὶ τὰς διεξόδους τῶν ὁδῶν).  Then they should invite everyone or as many as they could find to this wedding banquet (καὶ ὅσους ἐὰν εὕρητε καλέσατε εἰς τοὺς γάμους).  This king was intent on having this wedding dinner full, just like here.  Have you gone to a wedding banquet with empty seats?

June 9, 2015

The introduction of the Greek god Zeus in the Temple (2 Macc 6:1-6:2)

“Not long after this, King Antiochus sent an Athenian senator to compel the Jews to forsake the laws of their ancestors. He wanted them to no longer live by the laws of God. He was also to pollute the temple in Jerusalem. He was to call it the temple of the Olympian Zeus. He also was to call the temple in Gerizim the temple of Zeus, the Friend of Strangers, as did the people who lived in that place.”

King Antiochus IV sent an Athenian elder senator to compel the Jews to give up the laws of their ancestors and their God. He wanted to pollute the Temple in Jerusalem by calling it the Temple of the Olympian Zeus. He was putting in an altar and statue of Zeus in the Temple. This was a strong enforcement procedure. In 1 Maccabeus, it was more like a unification of worship in the Seleucid Empire, while here it is specific to Samaria and Jerusalem. The temple at Mount Gerizim of the Samaritans had the added title Zeus, Friend of Strangers.