I. REJECTION OF JOACHIM’S OFFERING 49

made his offering, the minister of the temple, whose name was Issachar, threw Joachim’s offering from off the altar, and drove Joachim out of the temple, saying, ‘Thou, Joachim, art not worthy to enter into the temple, seeing that God has not added His blessing to you, as in your life you have had no seed.’ Thus Joachim received a great insult in the sight of all the people; and he being all ashamed, returned to his house, weeping and lamenting most bitterly.” (MS. Harl.)

The Gospel of St. Mary differs from this MS. in its statement of the respective cities of Joachim and Anna, saying that the family of the Virgin’s father “was of Galilee and of the city of Nazareth, the family of her mother was of Bethlehem.” It is less interesting in details; but gives a better, or at least more graceful, account of Joachim’s repulse, saying that Issachar “despised Joachim and his offerings, and asked him why he, who had no children, would presume to appear among those who had: adding, that his offerings could never be acceptable to God, since he had been judged by Him unworthy to have children; the Scripture having said, Cursed is every one who shall not beget a male in Israel.”¹

Giotto seems to have followed this latter account, as the figure of the high priest is far from being either ignoble or ungentle.

The temple is represented by the two most important portions of a Byzantine church; namely, the ciborium which covered the altar, and the pulpit or reading-desk; with the low screen in front of the alter enclosing the part of the church called the “cancellum.” Lord Lindsay speaks of the priest within this enclosure as “confessing a young man who kneels at his feet.”² It seems to me, rather, that he is meant to be accepting the offering of another worshipper, so as to mark the rejection of Joachim more distinctly.

¹ [See Tischendorf, pp. 113, 114.]

² [Christian Art, vol. ii. p. 186.]

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