Deceptive Appearances
W. Baxendale. John 7:19-30 Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why go you about to kill me?… Rabbi Joshua, the son of Chananiah, was a very learned and wise man, but he was ugly. His complexion was so dark that he was nicknamed "The Blacksmith," and little children ran away from him. One day, when the Rabbi went to court, the Emperor Trajan's daughter laughed at his ugliness, and said, "Rabbi, I wonder how it is that such great wisdom should be contained in an ugly head." Rabbi Joshua kept his temper, and, instead of replying, asked, "Princess, in what vessels does your august father keep his wine?" "In earthern jars, to be sure," replied she. "Indeed," exclaimed the Rabbi, "why all the common people keep their wine in earthern jars; the Emperor's wine should be kept in handsome vessels." The princess, who thought that Joshua was really in earnest, went off to the chief butler, and ordered him to pour all the Emperor's wine into gold and silver vessels, earthern jars being unworthy of such precious drink. The butler followed these orders; but when the wine came to the royal table it had turned sour. The next time the princess met the Rabbi she expressed her astonishment at his having given her such a strange piece of advice, and mentioned the result. "Then you have learned a simple lesson, princess," was the Rabbi's reply. " Wine is best kept in common vessels: so is wisdom." The next time the princess met the Rabbi she did not laugh at his ugly face. (W. Baxendale.) Parallel Verses KJV: Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me? WEB: Didn't Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keeps the law? Why do you seek to kill me?"