Note 16 — THE “TEACHING OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES”

Gr. ζηλωτὴς. The American editors translate this “jealous”; but Mr. Heron and Dr. Taylor more faithfully render it “a zealot,” though this, a natural warning to Jews, would come oddly to Christians. “Zealot” specified a fanatical Jewish type (Luke vi, 15; Acts i, 13; xxi, 20), but the Jesuists were exhorted to be “zealous” (same word) in 1 Cor. xiv, 12; Tit. ii, 14. Nowhere are Christian “zealots” rebuked; but Jewish fanatics in foreign lands needed warning from peace-loving teachers. On the other hand, the rendering “jealous” is evidently adopted because of the very difficulty of conceiving that Christian teachers would warn their flocks against being either “zealous” or “zealots.” The context, however, clearly justifies our translation. ↑