Attributed commentary excerpt
John Gill's Exposition on Luke 12:24
A historical reference excerpt for this verse. Read it alongside the biblical text and other available sources.
Exposition of the Old and New Testament
John Gill (1697–1771) · 18th-century historical commentary
Source: BibleWord.ai's local reference edition of this named work.
Consider the ravens, etc.] According to the Jews f395 there are three sorts of ravens, the black raven, the raven of the valley, which is said to be white, and the raven whose head is like a dove. In Matthew the “fowls of the air” in general are mentioned, as they are here in the Cambridge copy of Beza's; but in others, “the ravens” in particular, they being fowls of very little worth, and disregarded by men, and odious to them, as well as unclean by the law; and yet these are taken care of by God. The Arabic version reads, “the young ravens”; and these are which are said to cry unto God, who provides food for them, and gives it to them, (<183841>Job 38:41, <19E709>Psalm 147:9) for they neither sow nor reap, which neither have storehouse nor barn; and yet they are provided for, and therefore, why should men, and especially God's own people, distrust his providence over them, when they both sow and reap, have the seedtime, and harvest in the appointed seasons: they cast their seed into the earth, and it springs up and brings forth much fruit, which they reap when ripe, and gather into their barns and storehouses, from whence they are supplied till another season returns; wherefore they have no reason to distress themselves, seeing, though this is not the case of ravens, yet God feedeth them; their young ones, as the above places show. Jerom says f396 , that it is affirmed by some philosophers, that they live upon dew. The Jews f397 have a notion, that the old ravens being cruel to their young, and hating them, the Lord has pity on them, and prepares flies, or worms for them, which arise out of their dung, and enter into their mouths, and they them. One of their commentators says f398, when the young ones are hatched they are white, and the old ones leave them, not taking them for their own, and therefore bring them no food, and then they cry to God; and this is mentioned by some Christian writers, but not sufficiently confirmed: and another of them observes f399, that the philosophers of the Gentiles say, that the ravens leave their young as soon as they are hatched; but what Aristotle f400, Pliny f401, and Aelianus f402 affirm of these creatures is, that as soon as they are able to fly they turn them out of their nests, and even drive them out of the country where they are; when, as it is said in Job, “they wander for lack of meat, and cry unto God, who gives it to them”: and since this is the case, and the providence of God is so much concerned for such worthless creatures, the people of God, and disciples of Christ, ought by no means to distrust it: for as it follows, how much more are ye better than the fowls: or “than these”, as the Vulgate Latin version reads; that is than these ravens, or any other fowls whatever; (see Gill on “<400626>Matthew 6:26”).
How to use this source
This excerpt is attributed to its named commentary. It is included as a historical study resource and should be evaluated in light of Scripture and other relevant evidence.
