Bible Commentaries

Matthew 22:11-12 — 11, 12. ] This second part of the parable is in direct reference to the word of prophecy, Zephaniah 1:7-8 ; cf. especially Matthew 22:8 , καὶ ἔσται ἐν ἡμέρᾳ θυσίας κυρίου καὶ ἐκδικήσω .… ἐπὶ πάντας τοὺς ἐνδεδυμένους ἐνδύματα ἀλλότρια . The coming of the King

Luke 11:48 — 48. ] See on Matthew 23:34-36 . We have here a remarkable variation of expression in Luke 11:49 , ἡ σοφία τοῦ θεοῦ εἶπεν here = ἐγώ Matt. Various explanations have been given of this. The difficulty is not the variation just noticed, so much as that no such passage exists

John 1:16 — 16. ] Origen (in Evang. Johan. tom. vi. 2, vol. iv. p. 102) blames Heracleon for terminating the testimony of John at the end of John 1:17 , and makes it continue to the end of John 1:18 . But it can hardly be that his testimony extends beyond John 1:15 , for ἡμεῖς πάντες would bear no very

John 2:11 — miracles of the Gospel of the Infancy, and such like works, from credit. σημεῖον , which occasionally occurs in the other Gospels and the Acts in this absolute sense of a miracle (see reff.), is St. John’s ordinary word for it. Cf. Luthardt, p. 62. τὴν δόξαν αὐτ . ] The glory, namely, which is referred to in ch. John 1:14 , where see note. It was a miracle eminently shewing forth the glory of the λόγος , δι ʼ οὗ πάντα ἐγένετο , in His state of having become flesh. And this ‘ believing

John 21:18 — question , as Lücke thinks: the futures are prophetic. ἀμὴν ἀμήν ] John’s manner again. ὅτε ἦς νεώτερος [may be merely] in contrast to ὅταν δὲ γηρ . [Or] it perhaps includes his life up to the time prophesied of. ἐζώνν . σ ., as in John 21:7 , he had girt his fisher’s coat to him: but not confined in its reference to that girding alone ‘thou girdedst thyself up for My work, and wentest hither and thither but hereafter there shall be a service for thee “paullo constrictior”

Acts 11:26 — 26. ] The unusual word πρώτως seems to imply priority not only in time, but also in usage: at Antioch first and principally. So we have in Aristot. Eth. Nic. viii. 5, πρώτως καὶ κυρίως . Χριστιανούς ] This name is never used by Christians of themselves

Acts 24:11 — Felix having been so long time a judge among the Jews, must be well able to search into and adjudicate on an offence whose whole course was comprised within so short a period. The twelve days may be thus made out: 1. his arrival in Jerusalem, ch. Act_21:15 to Act_17:2 . his interview with James, ib. Acts 21:18 ff. Acts 21:3 . his taking on him the vow, ib. 26; 3 7. the time of the vow, interrupted by 7. his apprehension, ch. Acts 21:27 ; Acts 8:0 . his appearance before the Sanhedrim, ch. Acts 22:30

Acts 24:5 — some reason, after this seizure, why he was there present and freed from Jewish durance. The phænomena are common enough in the Acts, of unaccountable insertions, and almost always in D (here deficient). See a list of such in Prolegg. to Acts, § Acts 24:3 . But in this place it is the omission which is unaccountable, for no similarity of ending, no doctrinal consideration can have led to it. The two reasons cited from Matthæi by Bloomfield, ed. 9, 1) “that the critics believed the Jews hardly

Acts 27:3 — 3. Σιδῶνα ] This celebrated city is generally joined in the N. T. with Tyre, from which it was distant 200 stadia (Strabo, xvi. 756 ff.), and of which it was probably the mother city. It was within the lot of the tribe of Asher ( Jos 19:28 ), but never conquered by the Israelites (Judges 1:31 ; Jdg 3:3 ). From the earliest times the Sidonians were renowned

Acts 27:7 — when the wind became unfavourable. γεν . κατά ] having come over against , as E. V. Κνίδον ] Cnidus is a peninsula at the entrance of the Ægean Sea, between the islands of Cos and Rhodes, having a lofty promontory and two harbours, Strabo, xiv. 2. “With N.W. winds the ship could work up from Myra to Cnidus; because, until she reached that point, she had the advantage of a weather shore, under the lee of which she would have smooth water, and, as formerly mentioned, a westerly current;

Romans 7:8 — . λαβεῖν διὰ would not express whence the ἀφορμή is taken, as παρά or ἐκ , but only by what means some ἀφ . is taken from some source, which would not here suit the Apostle’s meaning, seeing that the source itself was the commandment, and (2) Romans 7:13 , διὰ τοῦ ἀγ . κατεργ ., decides the matter here, but absolutely , as frequently, see Wetst.) by means of the commandment (not = τοῦ νόμου , but the tenth commandment , the prohibition in question) wrought in me (not ‘ wrought

1 Corinthians 11:16 — supplication with them at their various stations, see Acts 16:13 . τοιαύτην συνήθειαν ] The best modern Commentators, e.g. Meyer and De Wette, agree with Chrys. in understanding this, τοιαύτ . συνήθ ., ὥστε φιλονεικεῖν κ . ἐρίζειν κ . ἀντιτάττεσθαι . p. 235. And so Ambrose, Beza, Calvin, Estius, Calov., al. But surely it would be very unlikely, that after so long a treatment of a particular subject , the Apostle should wind up all by merely a censure of a fault common to their behaviour on this and

1 Corinthians 13:13 — necessarily the meaning , and not that love alone shall abide for ever, and the other two merely during the present state . For (1) νυνὶ δέ is not ‘but now ,’ i.e. in this present state, as opposed to what has just been said 1 Corinthians 13:12 , but ‘ rebus sic stantibus,’ ‘quæ cum ita sint ,’ and the inference from it just the contrary of that implied in the other rendering: viz. that since tongues, prophesyings, knowledge, will all pass away , we have left but

1 Corinthians 2:9 — 9 f.] But (opposition to 1Co 2:8 ) as it is written, The things which eye saw not, and ear heard not, and which came not up (reff.) upon heart of man, how many things God prepared for them that love Him, to us God revealed through His Spirit . There is no anacoluthon (as De W.)

2 Corinthians 11:4-5 — excuse.’ All this lies in the γάρ ) if indeed ( εἰ μέν introduces a reality , and is full here of deep irony. Cf. Il. α . 135, ἀλλ ʼ εἰ μὲν δώσουσι γέρας μεγάθυμοι Ἀχαιοί : ‘if the Achæans shall really give me another gift;’ and μ . 138 142, εἰ μὲν δὴ Ἀντιμάχοιο δαΐφρονος υἱέες ἐστὸν … νῦν μὲν δὴ τοῦ πατρὸς ἀεικέα τίσετε λώβην …, ‘if ye really are, &c., … ye verily will’.… See Hartung, Partikellehre, ii. 414) he that cometh (viz. the false teachers generically thus designated:

Galatians 3:22 — 22 .] But on the contrary ( ἀλλά , not δέ : comp. Ellic. This not being the case, no law being given out of which could come righteousness) the Scripture (not the Law, as Chrys. and most of the Fathers, also Calv., Beza, al.; but as in Galatians 3:8

Galatians 4:18 — at Galatians 4:17 , that the words ζηλοῦσθαι ἐν καλῷ are an evident reference to ζηλοῦσιν ὑμ . οὐ καλῶς , and that the wider context of the whole passage adduces a contrast between their conduct when he was with them and now, I think it much better (2) to explain thus: ‘I do not mean to blame them in the abstract for τὸ ζηλοῦν ὑμᾶς : any teacher who did this καλῶς , preaching Christ, would be a cause of joy to me ( Php 1:15-18 ): and it is an honourable thing (for you) to be the objects of

Ephesians 4:9 — whether to earth merely, so that τῆς γῆς is the genitive of apposition, or to Hades , so that it is genitive of possession. Usage will not determine for 1) it is uncertain whether the Apostle meant any allusion to the corresponding Hebrew expression: 2) that expression is used both for Hades , Psalms 63:9 , and for earth ( θεμέλια , LXX), Isaiah 44:23 (and for the womb , Psa 139:15 ). Nor can it be said (as Harl., Mey.) that the descent into hell would be irrelevant here or that our Lord ascended

Ephesians 5:28 — 28 .] Thus (two ways of understanding this οὕτως are open to us: 1) as referring back to Christ’s love for the church, ‘Thus,’ ‘in like manner,’ &c., as (being) ‘their own bodies:’ and 2) as referring forward

Philippians 1:22 — 22 .] But if (the syllogistic, not the hypothetical ‘if:’ assuming that it is so) the continuing to live in the flesh (epexegesis of τὸ ζῇν above), this very thing ( τοῦτο directs attention to the antecedent as the principal or only subject