significant of her convictions, the teaching of that royal mo ther, as recorded in Proverbs

31:2-9, is worthy of a "mother in Israel." No wonder that the record of her teaching is

followed by an enthusiastic description of a godly woman's worth and work (Prov 31:10-

31), each verse beginning with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet (the Hebrew

alphabet has 22 letters), like the various sections of Psalm 119--as it were, to let her

praises ring through every letter of speech.

As might have been expected, the spirit of the Apocryphal books is far different from

that which breathes in the Old Testament. Still, such a composition as Ecclesiasticus

shows that even in comparatively late and degenerate times the godly upbringing of

children occupied a most prominent place in religious thinking. But it is when we

approach the New Testament, that a fresh halo of glory seems to surround woman. And

here our attention is directed to the spiritual influence of mothers rather than of fathers.

Not to mention "the mother of Zebedee's children," nor the mother of John Mark, whose

home at Jerusalem seems to have been the meeting-place and the shelter of the early

disciples, and that in times of the most grievous persecution; nor yet "the elect lady and

her children," whom not only St. John, "but also all they that know the truth," loved in

truth (2 John 1), and her similarly elect sister with her children (v 13), two notable

instances will occur to the reader. The first of these presents a most touching instance

of a mother's faith, and prayers, and labour of love, to which the only parallel in later

history is that of Monica, the mother of St. Augustine. How Eunice, the daughter of the

pious Lois, had come to marry a heathen,37 we know as little as the circumstances which

may have originally led the family to settle at Lystra (Acts 16:1; compare 14:6, etc.), a

place where there was not even a synagogue.

At most then two or three Jewish families lived in that heathen city. Perhaps Lois and

Eunice were the only worshippers of Jehovah there; for we do not even read of a

meeting-place for prayer, such as that by the river-side where Paul first met Lydia. Yet in

such adverse circumstances, and as the wife of a Greek, Eunice proved one to whom

royal Lemuel's praise applied in the fullest sense: "Her children arise up and call her

blessed," and "Her works praise her in the gates"-- of the new Jerusalem. Not a truer

nor more touching portraiture of a pious Jewish home could have been drawn than in

these words of St. Paul: "I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which

dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice"; and again, "From a child

thou hast know the Holy Scriptures" (2 Tim 1:5, 3:15). There was, we repeat, no

synagogue in Lystra where Timothy might have heard every Sabbath, and twice in the

week, Moses and the Prophets read, and derived other religious knowledge; there was,

so far as we can see, neither religious companionship nor means of instruction of any

kind, nor religious example, not even from his father; but all around quite the contrary.

But there was one influence for highest good--constant, unvarying, and most powerful.

It was that of "mother of Israel." From the time that as a "taph" he clung to her--even

before that, when a "gamul," an "olel," and a "jonek" --had Eunice trained Timothy in

the nurture and admonition of the Lord. To quote again the forcible language of St. Paul,

"From an infant"38 (or baby) "thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to

make thee wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

From the Apocrypha, from Josephus, and from the Talmud we know what means of

instruction in the Scriptures were within reach of a pious mother at that time. In a house

like that of Timothy's father there would, of course, be no phylacteries, with the portions

of Scripture which they contained, and probably no "Mesusah," although, according to

the Mishnah (Ber. iii. 3), the latter duty was incumbent, not only upon men but upon

women. the Babylon Talmud (Ber. 20 b) indeed gives a very unsatisfactory reason for

the latter pro vision. But may it not be that the Jewish law had such cases in view as that

of Eunice and her son, without expressly saying so, from fear of lending a sanction to

mixed marriages? Be this as it may, we know that at the time of the Syrian persecutions,

just before the rising of the Maccabees, the possession of portions or of the whole of

the Old Testament by private families was common in Israel. For, part of those

persecutions consisted in making search for these Scriptures and destroying them (1