Vincent's Word Studies in the NT

John 18:1

Brook [χ ε ι μ α ρ ρ ο υ]. From ceima, winter, and rJew, to flow. Properly, a winter torrent. Only here in the New Testament. Rev., in margin, ravine. In classical Greek it occurs in Demosthenes in the sense of a drain or conduit. It may be taken as equivalent to the Arabic wady, which means a stream and its bed, or properly, the valley of a stream even when the stream is dry.

Kidron [κ ε δ ρ ω ν]. Which might also be rendered of the cedars, which some editors prefer. There is some uncertainty as to the exact meaning of the word cedar, which occurs frequently, some supposing it to be a general name for the pine family. A tree of dark foliage is mentioned in the Talmud by the name of cedrum. The ravine of Kidron separated the Mount of Olives from the Temple - Mount. Westcott cites from Derenbourg (" On the History and Geography of Palestine ") a passage of the Talmud to the effect that on the Mount of Olives there were two cedars, under one of which were four shops for the sale of objects legally pure; and that in one of them pigeons enough were sold for the sacrifices of all Israel. He adds : "Even the mention of Kidron by the secondary and popular name of 'the ravine of the cedars' may contain an allusion to a scandal felt as a grievous burden at the time when the priests gained wealth by the sale of victims by the two cedars." The Kidron is the brook over which David passed, barefoot and weeping, when fleeing from Absalom (2 Samuel 14:23-30). There King Asa burned the obscene idol of his mother (1 Kings 14:13). It was the receptacle for the impurities and abominations of idol - worship, when removed from the temple by the adherents of Jehovah (2 Chronicles 29:16); and, in the time of Josiah, was the common cemetery of the city (2 Kings 23:6). In the vision of Ezekiel (xlvii. 5, 6, 7) he goes round to the eastern gate of the temple, overhanging the defile of Kidron, and sees the waters rushing down into the valley until the stream becomes a mighty river.

A garden. Neither John nor Luke give the name Gethsemane.

2 - 12. Compare Matthew 26:47-56; Mark 16:43-52; Luke 22:47-53.

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Vincent's Word Studies in the NT

John 18:1

Old Testament

New Testament