Bible Commentaries

Matthew 27:46 — 46. ] See Psalms 22:1 . The words λεμὰ σαβαχθανί are Chaldee, and not Hebrew. Our Lord spoke them in the ordinary dialect, not in that of the sacred text itself. The weightiest question is, In what sense did He use them? His inner consciousness of union with God must

Matthew 5:13 — 13. ] The transition from the preceding verses is easy and natural, from the δεδιωγμένοι ἕνεκεν δικαιοσύνης , of which Matthew 5:11-12 , were a sort of application, and the allusion to the ancient Prophets, to ὑμεῖς ἐστε τὸ ἅλ . τ . γ . Elisha healed the unwholesome water by means of salt ( 2Ki 2:20 ), and the ordinary use of salt for culinary purposes is to prevent putrefaction:

Luke 16:1 — view I am not in possession, and therefore can only generally say, that it is perfectly preposterous: Pontius Pilate &c. &c. διεβλήθη not wrongfully , which the word does not imply necessarily but maliciously , which it does imply: see Daniel 6:24 . The reason why it has come so generally to signify ‘ wrongful accusation,’ is, that malicious charges are so frequently slanderous. The steward himself does not deny it. Meyer (see above) in carrying out his view, would interpret this

John 10:8 — door ,” Camer., nor “ instead of me ,” Lampe, &c.: nor “ pressing before me ,” ch. John 5:7 , which would have been ἔρχονται , not ἦλθ .: nor “before taking the trouble to find me, the door,” Stier, iv. 492, edn. 2: nor any other of the numerous shifts which have been adopted). What pretended teachers then came before Christ? Remember the connexion of these discourses. He has taught the Jews that Abraham and the Prophets entered by Him (ch. Joh 8:56

John 3:14 — poison, there was healing; that the plague had been overcome. In it , there was no poison; only the likeness of it. Now was not the Lord Jesus made ἐν ὁμοιώματι σαρκὸς ἁμαρτίας , Rom 8:3 ? Was not He made ‘Sin for us, who knew no sin’ ( 2Co 5:21 )? Did not He, on His Cross, make an open shew of, and triumph over, the Enemy, so that it was as if the Enemy himself had been nailed to that Cross ( Col 2:15 )? Were not Sin and Death and Satan crucified, when He was crucified? ἐκεῖ μέν ,

Acts 17:18 — properly by Cleanthes and Chrysippus in the third century B.C. Their philosophy, while it approached the truth in holding one supreme Governor of all, compromised it, in allowing of any and all ways of conceiving and worshipping Him (see below, Act 17:24-25 ), and contravened it, in its pantheistic belief that all souls were emanations of Him. In spirit it was directly opposed to the gospel, holding the independence of man on any being but himself, together with the subjection of God and man alike

Acts 23:5 — only when a high priest was detained as hostage in Rome, that we read of another being appointed in his room (Antt. xx. 8. 11): and ( β ) which is fatal to the hypothesis, Jonathan himself ( ὁ ἀρχιερεύς ) was sent to Rome with Ananias (B. J. ii. 12. 6, τοὺς ἀρχιερεῖς Ἰωνάθην καὶ Ἀνανίαν … ἀνέπεμψεν ἐπὶ Καίσαρα ). Jonathan was called by the title merely as having been previously high priest. He succeeded Caiaphas, Antt. xviii. 4. 3: and he was not high priest again afterwards, having expressly

Romans 11:12 — 12. ] Then the Apostle argues on this, as Meyer well says, ‘a felici effectu causæ pejoris ad feliciorem effectum causæ melioris;’ But (‘ posito , that’ as in last verse taking for granted the historical fact, that the stumble

Romans 9:18 — ‘ treating hardly ,’ against which the next verse would be decisive, if there were no other reason for rejecting it. But it is very doubtful whether the word can ever bear the meaning. The only passage which appears to justify it (for in 2Ch 10:4 it clearly has the import of hardening, making severe ) is Job 39:16 , where ἀπεσκλήρυνε τὰ τέκνα ἑαυτῆς ( αὑτῆς A [78] ) the LXX version of the Heb. הִקְשִׁיחַ , is supposed to mean, ‘ treats her offspring hardly .’ But the LXX

Romans 9:31 — not = δικαιοσύνη νόμου , as Chrys., Theodoret, Œcum., Calv., Beza, Bengel, by the so-called, but as Thol. observes, unlogical figure of Hypallage: it may mean either (1) as Meyer, Fritz., Thol., an ideal law of righteousness, a justifying law , or (2) as Chrys., al., see above, the Iaw of Moses , thus described: or (3) which I believe to be the true account of the words, νόμος δικαιος . is put regarding the Jews, rather than merely δικαιος ., because in their case there was a prescribed norm of

1 Corinthians 7:21-24 — 21 24 .] Second example : SLAVERY. Wert thou called (converted) [ being ] a slave, let it not be a trouble to thee: but if thou art even able to become free, use it (i.e. remain in slavery) rather . This rendering, which is that of Chrys., Theodoret,

1 Corinthians 7:31 — κατά , as in κατέχοντες , appears here to imply that intense and greedy use which turns the legitimate use into a fault. This meaning is better than ‘ abuse ,’ which is allowable philologically, and is adopted by Theodoret, Theophyl., Œc [32] , Luther, Olsh., al., but destroys the parallel. I would render them, and they who use the world, as not using it in full . So, or merely ‘as not using it,’ regarding καταχρ . = χρ ., Vulg., Calv., Grot., Estius, al., and Meyar and de

Ephesians 1:11 — 11 .] in Him (emphatic repetition, to connect more closely with Him the following relative clause), in whom we (Christians, all , both Jews and Gentiles; who are resolved below into ἡμεῖς and ὑμεῖς : see on Eph 1:12 ) were also (besides having, by His purpose, the revelation of His will, Ephesians 1:9 . Not ‘ we also ,’ καὶ ἡμεῖς , as vulg. “ in quo etiam nos …,” nor as E. V. ‘ in whom also ’) taken for His inheritance

Ephesians 5:25 — 25 .] I cannot refrain from citing Chrys.’s very beautiful remarks on this next passage, εἶδες μέτρον ὑπακοῆς ; ἄκουσον καὶ μέτρον ἀγάπης . βούλει σοι τὴν γυναῖκα ὑπακούειν , ὡς τῷ χριστῷ τὴν ἐκκλησίαν ; προνόει καὶ αὐτὸς αὐτῆς , ὡς ὁ χριστὸς τῆς

1 Thessalonians 1:5 — fact for concluding ( εἰδότες ) the existence of that election. ὅτι must then be because , and a colon be placed at ὑμῶν . These reasons are (1) the power and confidence with which he and Silvanus and Timotheus preached among them ( 1Th 1:5 ), and (2) the earnest and joyful manner in which the Thessalonians received it (1 Thessalonians 1:6 ff.). Both these were signs of God’s grace to them tokens of their election vouchsafed by Him. τὸ εὐαγγ . ἡμ . , the gospel which we preached .

1 Timothy 5:22 — 22 f.] The same subject is continued, and direction given whereby the scandal just dealt with may be prevented: viz. by caution in ordaining at first. The reference is primarily to presbyters: of course extending also in its spirit to all other church

1 Timothy 6:13 — him, is a powerful argument to firmness for his servant in his own confession. Another rendering of this verse is given by Mack, al.: it makes τὴν καλὴν ὁμολογίαν governed by παραγγέλλω , and understands by it the same confession as in 1 Timothy 6:12 ; ‘I enjoin on thee, in the presence … and of Christ Jesus who bore testimony before Pontius Pilate the good confession.’ But this is quite inadmissible. For it is opposed both to the sense of παραγγέλλω , and to the following context, in

Hebrews 8:1 — : and see many more examples in Bl. and Wetst., as in Thl., τὸ μέγιστον καὶ συνεκτικώτερον . The other meaning, sum total , would be apposite enough here, were the sense of κεφ . confined to Hebrews 8:1 , which has been treated of before: but Heb 8:2 contains new particulars, which cannot be said to be the sum of any things hitherto said. Besides, even were that condition fulfilled, this sense would require not the present participle λεγομένοις , but the past, λεχθεῖσιν , or εἰρημένοις , and the

James 3:5 — gives a far livelier and more graphic sense here. Cf. also Hom. Il. β . 455, ἠΰτε πῦρ ἀΐδηλον ἐπιφλέγει ἄσπετον ὕλην , and λ . 155, ὡς δ ʼ ὅτε πῦρ ἀΐδηλον ἐν ἀξύλῳ ἐμπέσῃ ὕλῃ . The comparison is beautifully used in a good sense by Philo, De Migr. Abr. § 21, vol. i. p. 455, σπινθὴρ γὰρ καὶ ὁ βραχύτατος ἐντυφόμενος ὅταν καταπνευσθεὶς ζωπυρηθῇ , μεγάλην ἐξάπτει πυράν · καὶ τὸ βραχύτατον οὖν ἀρετῆς , ὅταν ἐλπίσι χρησταῖς ὑποθαλπόμενον ἀναλάμψῃ , καὶ τὰ τέως μεμυκότα καὶ τυφλὰ ἐξωμμάτωσε , καὶ τὰ ἀφαυανθέντα

James 5:15 — levius fert, et tentationibus dæmonis calcaneo insidiantis facilius resistit: et sanitatem corporis interdum, ubi saluti animæ expedierit, consequitur”) the sick man ( κάμνω , ægroto , is classical, even in its absolute use: cf. Soph. Phil. 262: Xen. Cyr. i. 6. 16), and the Lord (most probably Christ, again: He who is Lord in the Christian Church) shall raise him up (from his bed of sickness: see reff. Here again our R.-Cath. friends are in sad perplexity. The vulg. led the way with its