Luke 7:25

ἄνθρωπον ἐν μαλακοῖς ἱματίοις ἠμφιεσμένον. A contrast to the camel’s hair mantle and leathern girdle of the Baptist; Matthew 3:4.

οἱ ἐν ἱματισμῷ ἐνδόξῳ καὶ τρυφῇ. St Luke’s classical dislike to repetition makes him substitute ἱμ. ἐνδ. for ἐν μαλακοῖς ἱματίοις (Matthew 11:8). ‘They are in glorious apparel and luxury.’ The Herods were specially given both to ostentation in dress (Acts 13:21) and to luxury, Mark 6:21; Jos. B. J. I. 20, § 2; Antt. XIX. 8, § 2; 18, § 7. τρυφῇ occurs in the N.T. only here and in 2 Peter 2:13.

ἐν τοῖς βασιλείοις. ‘In the palaces.’ Such as the palaces of the Herods which His hearers had seen at Tiberias, Caesarea Philippi, and Jerusalem. We might almost fancy an allusion to Manaen the Essene, who is said in the Talmud to have openly adopted gorgeous robes to shew his allegiance to Herod. To the Herodians generally, and to all whose Judaism was a mere matter of gain and court favour, might have been applied the sneering nickname of the Talmud ‘Proselytes of the royal table’ (Gere Shulchan Melachim. Kiddushin, f. 65. 2; Grätz, III. 308), which may be compared with the sneering Hindoo phrase “rice-Christians.” John had been in palaces, but only to counsel and reprove. Our Lord on the only two occasions on which He entered palaces—on the last day of His life—was mocked by being robed in “bright apparel” (Luke 23:11), and a purple or scarlet robe (Matthew 27:28).