Bible Commentaries

Matthew 2:19-21 — return . Τελευτήσαντος δὲ τ . Ἡρ : Herod died in 750 U. C. in his 70th year, at Jericho, of a horrible loathsome disease, rotten in body as in soul, altogether an unwholesome man ( vide Joseph, Bell, i. 33, 1 5; Antiq., xvii. 6, 5; Euseb., H. E., i. 6, 8). The news of his death would fly swiftly, and would not take long to reach Egypt.There would be no need of an angel to inform Joseph of the fact. But his anxieties would not therefore be at an end. Who was to succeed Herod? Might he not be another

Matthew 5:7 — ethical principles of universal validity: “he that humbleth himself shall be exalted,” “to him that hath shall be given,” etc. This Beatitude suitably follows the preceding. Mercy is an element in true righteousness (Micah 6:8 ). It was lacking in Pharisaic righteousness (Matthew 23:23 ). It needed much to be inculcated in Christ’s time, when sympathy was killed by the theory that all suffering was penalty of special sin, a theory which fostered a pitiless type of righteousness

Matthew 8:30 — Matthew 8:30 . μακρὰν : the Vulgate renders non longe , as if οὐ had stood in the Greek before μακ . But there are no variants here. Mark and Luke have ἐκεῖ , which gives rise to an apparent discrepancy. Only apparent, many contend, because both expressions

Mark 12:38 — Mark 12:38 . ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ α .: this expression alone suffices to show that what Mk. here gives is but a fragment of a larger discourse of the same type an anti-scribal manifesto. Here again the evangelist bears faithful witness to a great body of διδαχή he does

Mark 3:7 — hour. The history is very fragmentary, and blanks must be filled up by the imagination. Two crowds meet (1) πολὺ πλῆθος from Galilee; (2) from more remote parts: Judaea, Jerusalem, Idumaea, Peraea, and the district of Tyre and Sidon πλῆθος πολύ (Mark 3:8 ): a considerable crowd, but not so great. ἀπὸ τ . Ἰδουμαίας : Idumaea, mentioned here only, “then practically the southern Shephelah, with the Negeb.” G. A. Smith, Historical Geography of the Holy Land , p. 239. Mentioned by Josephus (B.

2 Corinthians 13:5 — Christian Creed ( cf. 1 Corinthians 16:13 ); prove your own selves ( δοκιμάζειν goes back to δοκιμή of 2 Corinthians 13:3 ; cf. also ἀδόκιμοι at the end of this verse). Or know ye not as to your own selves that Jesus Christ is in you? ( cf. Romans 8:10 , Galatians 4:19 ) unless indeed, sc. , which is certainly not the case (for εἰ μή τι cf. Luke 9:13 , 1 Corinthians 7:5 ) ye are reprobate . ἀδόκιμος is that which will not satisfy a test, and so = reprobus . Their own consciousness of the power

2 Corinthians 13:7 — asking for (2 Corinthians 13:3 ) would not be manifested. And he gives two reasons for this disinterestedness of his intercessions for them: (i.) he could not exercise his authority, even if he would, except in conformity with the facts (2 Corinthians 13:8 ), and (ii.) their moral growth is a real joy to him (2 Corinthians 13:9 ).

Galatians 4:8-10 — Galatians 4:8-10 . BUT THOUGH IN TIME PAST WHEN YOU KNEW NOT GOD YOU WERE SLAVES TO FALSE GODS, HOW CAN YOU, NOW THAT YOU HAVE LEARNT TO KNOW HIM, OR RATHER HAVE BEEN RECOGNISED BY HIM, TURN BACK TO THE LESSONS OF CHILDHOOD AND CRAVE A BONDAGE TO TIMES AND SEASONS?

2 Timothy 2:5 — sqq . And the present passage has light thrown upon it from the earlier epistle, in which the various figures are more fully developed. The connexion between the thought of the soldier and the athlete lies in the word νομίμως (see note on 1 Timothy 1:8 ); and the exact force of νομίμως will appear from a reference to 1 Corinthians 9:25 , “Every man that striveth in the games is temperate in all things”. No one can be said to comply with the rules of the contest who has not undergone the

Titus 1:14 — implies the giving one’s consent, as well as one’s attention. Ἰουδαϊκοῖς : This determines the nature of the μῦθοι referred to in these epistles. See on 1 Timothy 1:4 . ἐντολαῖς ἀνθρώπων ἀποστρεφομένων : We are naturally reminded of Mark 7:7-8 , with its antithesis between the ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων and ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ , and Colossians 2:22 , where the same passage of Isaiah (Isaiah 29:13 ) is echoed. But here the antithesis is not so strongly marked. The commandments are depreciated, not because

Titus 2:2 — sober, sobrii; temperate (R.V.) in respect of their use of strong drink. Chrys. explains it to be vigilant , as does the Syriac, and A.V. m.; but the homely warning seems more appropriate. See note on 1 Timothy 3:2 . σεμνούς : see note on 1 Timothy 3:8 . σώφρονας : see notes on 1Ti 2:9 ; 1 Timothy 3:2 . For ὑγιαίνειν followed by dat. see Titus 1:13 . πίστις , ἀγάπη , ὑπομονή are constantly grouped together (See on 1 Timothy 6:11 ); and this suggests that πίστις here is subjective, not objective,

Titus 3:3 — you need not suppose that it is hopeless to imagine that these wild Cretan folk can be reclaimed. We ourselves are a living proof of the power of God’s grace. Ephesians 2:3 sqq . is an exact parallel. Cf. also 1 Corinthians 6:11 , Ephesians 5:8 , Colossians 3:7 , 1 Peter 4:3 . ἀνόητοι : insipientes, foolish , in the sense in which the word is used in Proverbs ( e.g . Proverbs 17:28 ), without understanding of spiritual things . πλανώμενοι : The analogy of 2 Timothy 3:13 suggests that

James 3:13 — life”. Cf. a quotation from an inscription from Pergamos (belonging to the second century B.C.) given by Deissmann, in which it is said concerning one of the royal officials: ἐν πᾶσιν κα [ ιροῖς ἀμέμπτως καὶ ἀδ ] εῶς ἀναστρεφόμενος ( op. cit. , p. 83). ἐν πραΰτητι σοφίας : cf. with the whole of this verse Sir 3:17-18 , Τέκνον , ἐν πρᾳύτητι τὰ ἔργα σου διέξαγε , καὶ ὑπὸ ἀνθρώπου δεκτοῦ ἀγαπηθήσῃ . Ὅσῳ μέγας εἶ , τοσούτῳ ταπεινοῦ σεαυτόν , καὶ ἔναντι Κυρίου εὑρήσεις χάριν . The pride of knowledge

1 Peter 3:8 — 1 Peter 3:8 . τὸ … τέλος , finally . Oecumenius brings out the possible connotations of the word goal and also the law for all love since love is the end of the law. ὁμόφρονες , of one mind, united , an Epic word. St. Paul’s τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν but here wider

2 Peter 2:8 — 2 Peter 2:8 . βλέμματι γὰρ καὶ ἀκοῇ . Two interpretations are possible (1) Instrumental dative after ἐβασάνιζεν . “He vexed his righteous soul by what he saw and heard.” The objections are ( a ) the long interval that separates βλ . κ . τ . λ . from

1 John 1:2 — which we have heard, etc.”; (2) “That which was from the beginning, which we have seen … beheld, our hands also handled”. Cf. Tert. in crit. n. μαρτυροῦμεν , according to the Lord’s parting charge ( cf. John 15:27 ; Luke 24:48 ; Acts 1:8 ). ἡ μαρτυρία Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ (Revelation 1:2 ; Revelation 1:9 ; Revelation 19:10 ) was the apostolic ἀπαγγελία . ἀπαγγέλλομεν , κ . τ . λ .: “Whence we gather that Christ cannot be preached to us without the Heavenly Kingdom being opened

1 John 5:21 — thinking, not of the heathen worship of Ephesus Artemis and her Temple, but of the heretical substitutes for the Christian conception of God. τεκνία gives a tone of tenderness to the exhortation. φυλάσσειν is used of “guarding” a flock (Luke 2:8 ), a deposit or trust (1 Timothy 6:20 ; 2 Timothy 1:12 ; 2 Timothy 1:14 ), a prisoner (Acts 12:4 ). φυλάσσειν “watch from within ”; τηρεῖν (see note on 1 John 2:3 ), “watch from without ”. Thus, when a city is besieged, the

1 John 5:7-8 — 1 John 5:7-8 . The Water (the Lord’s consecrated Life) and the Blood (His sacrificial Death) are testimonies to the Incarnation, but they are insufficient. A third testimony, that of the Spirit, is needed to reveal their significance to us and bring it home

Revelation 14:1 — i.e. , Messias] stabit super cacumen montis Sion, 39 et quoniam uidisti eum colligentem ad se aliam multitudinem pacificam, hae sunt decem tribus), which apparently described ( cf. Joel 2:32 ) a further cycle of the tradition underlying Revelation 7:1-8 . The appearance of this manlike messiah on mount Zion was accompanied by the manifestation of the celestial Zion (postponed here till 21.). Thus, Revelation 14:1-5 is, in some respects, a companion panel to Revelation 7:9 f., though the retinue of

Revelation 18:9-20 — Revelation 18:9-20 : the wailing on earth, by kings (Revelation 18:9-10 ), merchants (at length, 11 16), and seafaring men (Revelation 18:17-20 ), imitated from the finer and more elaborate passages in Ezekiel 26-28, where kings (Ezekiel 26:15-18 ), traders (very