Bible Commentaries

Matthew 13:33 — 33. ] FOURTH PARABLE. THE LEAVEN. Luke 13:20-21 . Difficulties have been raised as to the interpretation of this parable which do not seem to belong to it. It has been questioned whether ζύμη must not be taken in the sense in which it so often occurs in Scripture, as symbolic of pollution and

Acts 18:18 — 18. ] It has been considered doubtful whether the words κειρ . τ . κεφ . κ . τ . λ . apply to Paul , the subject of the sentence, or to Aquila , the last subject. The former is held by Chrys., Theoph., Aug [89] , Jer [90] , Isid [91] , Bede [92] , Calv., Beza, Calov., Wolf, Olsh., Neand., De Wette, Baumgarten, Hackett, Wordsworth (whose note may be profitably consulted), al.: the latter by (Vulg.), Grot., Alberti, Kuinoel, Meyer, al., and more recently Dean Howson, vol. i. p. 498. But I quite

Acts 26:28 — 28. ἐν ὀλίγῳ ] These words of Agrippa have been very variously explained. (1) The rendering ‘ propemodum ,’ ‘ parum abest, quin ,’ (‘ almost ,’ E. V.,) adopted by Chrys., Beza, Grot., Valla, Luther, Piscator, Calov.,

Acts 3:21 — 21 . ὃν δεῖ οὐρ . μ . δέξασθαι ] These words admit of a double rendering: (1) ‘ Whom the heaven must receive .’ (2) ‘ Who must possess (capessere) the heaven .’ Of these the former is in my view decidedly preferable

2 Thessalonians 1:6 — is no element here, but His might , of which they are the angels serving His power and proclaiming His might) in (the) fire of flame (further specification of the ἀποκάλυψις above: does not belong to the following. On the analogy, see Exodus 3:2 ; Exodus 19:18 ; Dan 7:9-10 ) allotting (distributing as their portion: reff.) vengeance to those who know not God (the Gentiles, see reff.), and to those (the τοῖς repeated indicates a new class of persons) who obey not the Gospel of our Lord

Hebrews 1:1 — Maximus Tyrius, in which πολύτροπος is also conjoined with it: Dissert. xvii. 7, τῇ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου ψυχῇ δύο ὀργάνων ὄντων πρὸς σύνεσιν , τοῦ μὲν ἁπλοῦ , ὃν καλοῦμεν νοῦν , τοῦ δὲ ποικίλου καὶ πολυμεροῦς καὶ πολυτρόπου , ἃς αἰσθήσεις καλοῦμεν : and ib. vii. 2, οὐθὲν δεῖ τῆς πολυμεροῦς ταύτης κ . πολυτρόπου μούσης τε καὶ ἁρμονίας : also ib. xxxix. 2, τὸ πολυμερὲς καὶ πολύφωνον τοῦ τῶν σωμάτων πολέμου , ἃς καλοῦμεν νόσους : Plut. de Virt. Mil. p. 757 D, ποικίλον τι δρᾶμα κ . πολυμερές : id. de Invid. et Odio,

Hebrews 11:7 — note ch. Heb 8:5 ) concerning the things not yet seen (these words belong to χρηματισθείς , not to εὐλαβηθείς , as Erasm.(vers.) and Grotius. The latter asserts that εὐλαβεῖσθαι περί τινος occurs in Plato; but the passage appears to be Legg. xi. p. 927 C, εὐλαβούμενον περὶ τροφήν τε καὶ παιδείαν ὀρφανῶν , and it is asserted by others that εὐλαβεῖσθαι περί τινος is not found. Still it might surely be legitimate: we have εὐλαβεῖσθαι ἀμφί τινι in Lucian, Gall. 21. But the other arrangement is more

Hebrews 12:18 — difficulty in his deferring the ὄρος so long. ψηλαφωμένῳ has been variously interpreted. Some, as Schöttgen, Kypke, Bengel, al., and Bretschneider, and even Palm and Rost, Lex., understand it, “ touched by the fire of God,” cf. Ps. 103:32, ὁ ἁπτόμενος τῶν ὀρέων καὶ καπνίζονται . But this seems hardly consistent with the present part., nor indeed at all with the sense of the word itself, which is to touch by feeling about, as a blind man does, contrecto, palpo Isaiah 59:10 , ψηλαφήσουσιν

Hebrews 12:23 — 23 .] Before rendering this verse, the difficult question of its punctuation must be dealt with. I extract in substance Delitzsch’s note. The following varieties are possible, and occur, not only as proposed by Commentators, but as set down in MSS.

Hebrews 12:24 — 24 .] and to the mediator of the latter covenant ( νέας , not = καινῆς . νέος is recens : καινός , novus : νέος , the more objective word, καινός , the more subjective. But this must not be taken exclusively. νέος carries with it the freshness of

Hebrews 2:6 — 6 .] But (“ δέ introduces a contrast to a preceding negative sentence frequently in our Epistle: cf. ch. Hebrews 4:13 ; Hebrews 4:15 ; Hebrews 9:12 ; Hebrews 10:27 ; Hebrews 12:13 . It makes a more sharply marked contrast than ἀλλά , as our aber or vielmehr as compared with sondern .” Bleek. Cf. Thuc. i. 125, ἐνιαυτὸς μὲν οὐ διετρίβη , ἔλασσον δέ : ib. 5, οὐκ ἔχοντός πω αἰσχύνην τούτου

Hebrews 3:13 — senses, viz. that of an influence to be exerted, in a body consisting of many members, by one member upon another: where, in other words, ἀλλήλων might stand without change of the sense. So in reff.: and in the best Greek writers, e. g. Xen. Mem. iii. 5. 2, εὐμενεστέρους … ἑαυτοῖς : § 16, οἵγε ἀντὶ μὲν τοῦ συνεργεῖν ἑαυτοῖς τὰ συμφέροντα , ἐπηρεάζουσιν ἀλλήλοις , καὶ φθονοῦσιν ἑαυτοῖς μᾶλλον ἢ τοῖς ἄλλοις ἀνθρώποις : ib. ii. 7. 12, and De Venat. vi. 12, &c. As regards our passage, this certainly is especially

Hebrews 8:3 — how comes it to be said that He has somewhat to offer in heaven, seeing that His offering, of Himself, was made once for all, in contradistinction to those of the Levitical priests which were being constantly offered? See especially ch. Hebrews 10:11-12 , which, on this view, brings the Writer here into direct contradiction to himself. In order to avoid this, Lünemann and Hofmann (Schriftb. ii. 1. 288) attempt to make the aor. προσενέγκῃ retrospective: “it is necessary for Him to have (there,

James 3:6 — 6 .] Likewise the tongue is a fire, that world of iniquity (these latter words are still in apposition with ἡ γλῶσσα (and belong appositionally to the subject , not to πῦρ the predicate: as e. g. in Æsch. Choeph. 529 f., ἐν σπαργάνοισι παιδὸς ὁρμῆσαι δίκην , τινὸς βορᾶς χρῄζοντα , νεογενὲς δάκος ); not, as many Commentators, an elliptical clause requiring ὕλη to complete it “igni respondet lingua, materiæ seu silvæ respondet mundus improbus,” Morus,

1 Peter 5:13 — what Babylon is intended, whether Rome, or the Chaldæan capital, or some village in Egypt, see Prolegomena, § iv. 10 ff.), and Marcus my son (perhaps, and so most have thought, the well-known Evangelist (see Eus. H. E. ii. 15: Orig [35] in Eus. vi. 25: Œc. al.): perhaps the actual son of St. Peter, bearing this name (Œc.-altern., Bengel, al.). The fact of Peter taking refuge in the house of Mary the mother of John Mark ( Act 12:2 ), casts hardly any weight on the side of the former interpretation:

2 Peter 2:13 — 13 b, 14 .] These verses most probably, as to construction, form an independent participial sentence, connected by apposition with what precedes. This is better than to consider them as all belonging to ἐπλανήθησαν in 2 Peter 2:15 , which clearly is confined in its reference to its own sentence, or as giving the ground of φθαρήσονται above. Imagining a pleasure delicate living for a day (the interpretations of ἐν ἡμέρᾳ have been various. Œc. gives it, τὴν ἀληθῆ κ

1 John 4:11 — children of God, ἐκ θεοῦ γεγεννῆσθαι , which runs through all this section of the Epistle. If we are of God, that love which is in Him, and which He is, will be in us, will make us like Him, causing us to love those who are begotten of Him, ch. 1 John 5:1-2 . And of this love, our apprehension of His Love to us will be the motive and the measure).

1 John 4:7-8 — Augustine, fitting together “Dilectio est ex Deo,” and “Dilectio est Deus,” infers that “Dilectio est Deus ex Deo,” which comparing with Romans 5:5 , he infers that love is the Holy Spirit: Tract, vii. 6, vol. iii. p. 2032): and every one that loveth (there is no need to supply an object after ἀγαπῶν , as τὸν θεόν in A, “his brother” as some latt., and Lücke: indeed to do so would be to narrow the general sense of the Apostle’s saying: all love is

Revelation 14:14-16 — 14 16 .] The harvest. And I saw, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud ( ἐπί with accus. on first mention, see ch. Rev 4:2 note), one sitting like to the Son of man (i. e. to Christ, see ch. Rev 1:13 note. This clearly is our Lord Himself, as there), having upon his head a golden crown (in token of His victory being finally gained: see ch. Rev 19:12 ) and in His hand

Revelation 20:11-15 — 11 15 .] The general judgment . And I saw a great white throne (great, in distinction from the thrones before mentioned, Revelation 20:4 ; white, as seen in purest light, and symbolizing the most blameless justice), and Him that sitteth on it (viz. God: the Father: see ch. Revelation 4:3 , Revelation 21:5 . It is necessary to keep to the well-known formula of the book in interpreting