Luk 21:1-4 | Clarke | e4.org | CHAPTER XXI. The poor widow casting two mites into the treasury , 1-4. the destruction of the temple foretold , 5, 6. The signs of this desolation , 7. False Christs , 8. Wars , 9, 10. Earthquakes and fearful sights , 11. Persecutions against the godly , 12-19. Directions how to escape , 20-22. The tribulation of those times , 23-28. The parable of the fig tree, illustrative of the time when they may expect these calamities , 29-33. The necessity of sobriety and watchfulness , 34-36. He teaches by day in the temple, and lodges by night in the mount of Olives, and the people come early to hear him , 37, 38. NOTES ON CHAP. XXI. Verse 1. The rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. ] See all this, from , explained on .

‏ Luke 21:1-4

CHAPTER XXI.

The poor widow casting two mites into the treasury, 1-4.

the destruction of the temple foretold, 5, 6.

The signs of this desolation, 7.

False Christs, 8.

Wars, 9, 10.

Earthquakes and fearful sights, 11.

Persecutions against the godly, 12-19.

Directions how to escape, 20-22.

The tribulation of those times, 23-28.

The parable of the fig tree, illustrative of the time when they may expect these calamities, 29-33.

The necessity of sobriety and watchfulness, 34-36.

He teaches by day in the temple, and lodges by night in the mount of Olives, and the people come early to hear him, 37, 38.

NOTES ON CHAP. XXI.

Verse 1. The rich men casting their gifts into the treasury.] See all this, from Lu 21:1-4, explained on Mr 12:41-44.

Verse 2. A certain poor widow] A widow miserably poor; this is the proper import of πενιχραν, and her being miserably poor heightened the merit of the action.

Two mites.] Which Mark says, Mr 12:42, make a farthing or quadrans, the fourth part of an AS, or penny, as we term it. In Plutarch's time we find the smallest piece of brass coin in use among the Romans was the quadrans, but it appears that a smaller piece of money was in circulation among the Jews in our Lord's time, called here, and in Mark, Mr 12:42, a lepton, i.e. small, diminished, from λειπο, I fail. In ancient times our penny used to be marked with a deep indented cross, dividing the piece into four equal parts, which, when broken in two, made the half-penny, and, when broken into four, made the fourthing, what we have corrupted into farthing. Probably the Roman quadrans was divided in this way for the convenience of the poor. Our term mite seems to have been taken from the animal called by that name; for as that appeared to our ancestors to be the smallest of all animals, so this being the smallest of all coins was called by its name. Junius says that mite was a small base coin among the Dutch. Our word mite seems to be a contraction of the Latin minutum, a small thing, whence the French miete, a crumb, a very small morsel. See Clarke on Mr 12:41.