Χαῖρε βασιλεῦ τῶν Ἰουδαίων. The soldiers are playing at Ave Caesar and mingling brutal outrage with it. In the Gospel of Peter the formula is “Judge righteously, O king of Israel,” and the title on the cross is “This is the king of Israel”; see on Mark 15:32. Lk., having given the mockery by Herod and his guards (Luke 23:11), omits the mockery by Pilate’s troops, and the one incident may have led to the other, for some of Pilate’s soldiers probably accompanied Him and witnessed Herod’s brutality. But Pilate did not join in the mockery, as Herod did. Herod was exasperated with Jesus for not gratifying his curiosity. Pilate was exasperated, not with Jesus, but with the priests, for preventing him from setting Jesus free. On the voc. βασιλεῦ (not ὁ βασιλεύς) see J. H. Moulton, p. 70.

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Old Testament