Bible Commentaries

Matthew 4:2 — 2. νηστεύσας ] Not in the wider ecclesiastical sense of the word, but its strict meaning, of abstaining from all food whatever; οὐκ ἔφαγεν οὐδὲν ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις , Luke 4:2 . Similarly Moses, Exodus 34:28 , ἦν ἐναντίον κυρίου τεσσαράκοντα ἡμ

Mark 11:1-2 — 1, 2. ] As far as εὑρήσετε , the agreement in Matt., Mark, and Luke is nearly verbal; after that Mark and Luke only mention the foal , and add, on which never man sat. Compare with this Luke 23:53 . Our Lord’s birth, triumph, and burial were to be,

John 12:31 — 31. ] All this is a comment on ἐλήλυθεν ἡ ὥρα , John 12:23 : and now a different side of the subject is taken up, and one having immediate reference to the occasion: viz. the drawing of the Gentile world to Him. νῦν ] He speaks of Himself as having actually entered the hour of His passion, and views the

Acts 5:37 — And, in returning to the mention of him as the founder of the fourth sect among the Jews (xviii:1. 6), he calls him ὁ Γαλιλαῖος Ἰούδας . From the above citation it is plain that this ἀπογραφή was that so called κατ ʼ ἐξοχήν , under Quirinus: see Luk 2:2 and note. His revolt took a theocratic character, his followers maintaining μόνον ἡγεμόνα καὶ δεσπότην τὸν θεόν (Jos. as above). ἀπώλετο ] Not related by Josephus. διεσκορπίσθησαν ] Strictly accurate for they still existed, and at last became

Romans 2:16 — 16. ] To what has this verse reference ? Hardly to that just preceding, which surely speaks of a process going on in this life (so however Chrys. takes it. See also a fine passage in Bourdaloue’s Sermons, Vol. i. Serm. ii. p. 27, ed. Paris, 1854): nor, as commonly assumed, to κριθήσονται ( Rom 2:12 ), which only terminates one in a series of clauses connected by γάρ : but to the great affirmation of the passage, concluding with Romans 2:10 . To this it is bound, it appears

Romans 5:1 — for his supposed sense, as well as by Kühner (§ 464), is of this kind. Besides, to call the sense ‘we ought to have,’ deliberative , seems a misnomer.) But how can man be exhorted to have peace with God? To be reconciled to God, he may, 2 Corinthians 5:20 ; but of this there is no mention here, and having (been allowed to believe in and enjoy) peace with God , depends on, not our reconciliation to Him, not any thing subjective in ourselves, but the objective fact of His reconciliation

1 Corinthians 15:47 — 47 .] So exactly in Genesis 2:7 . God made man χοῦν λαβὼν ἀπὸ τῆς γῆς . Meyer has some excellent remarks here, with which I entirely agree: “Since the body of Adam is thus characterized as a ψυχικὸν σῶμα , as 1 Corinthians 15:45 , and psychical organism involves mortality

2 Corinthians 1:19 — affirming the same of the great Subject of that doctrine, as set before them by Paul and his colleagues. χριστός , personal not for ‘ doctrina de Christo ’ HE HIMSELF is the centre and substance of all Christian preaching: see 1 Corinthians 1:23 , and note at 2 Corinthians 2:2 . ὁ τοῦ θεοῦ υἱός is prefixed for solemnity, and to shew how unlikely fickleness or change is in Christ, being such as He is . Cf. 1 Samuel 15:29 , ‘the Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent.’ Σιλουανοῦ

Galatians 2:18 — by now reasserting the obligation of the law, are proving ( quoad te ) that your former step of setting aside the law was in fact a transgression of it:’ viz. in that you neglected and set it aside, not, as Chrys., Thl., and Meyer (from Gal 2:19 ), because the law itself was leading you on to faith in Christ: for (1) that point is not yet raised, not belonging to this portion of the argument, and (2) by the hypothesis of this verse the ἐγώ has given up the faith in Christ, and so cannot

Galatians 3:2 — 2 .] τ . μόνον , not to mention all the other grounds on which I might rest my argument, ‘ this only ,’ &c. διὰ συντόμου λόγου κ . ταχίστης ἀποδείξεως ὑμᾶς πεῖσαι βούλομαι . Chr. μαθεῖν , be informed: not to be pressed, as Luther,

Galatians 6:1-5 — transgression (with the meaning ‘overtaken’ for προλημφθῇ , falls also that of ‘ inadvertence ’ for παράπτωμα . The stronger meaning of ‘ sin ,’ is far commoner in St. Paul: see ref. Rom. and ib. Romans 5:15-16 ; Romans 5:20 ; 2 Corinthians 5:19 ; Ephesians 1:7 ; Ephesians 2:1 ; Ephesians 2:5 ; Col 2:13 bis), do ye, the spiritual ones (said not in irony, but bonâ fide : referring not to the clergy only, but to every believer), restore (Beza, Hammond, Bengel, al., have

1 Thessalonians 5:14 — 14 . ἀτάκτους ] This as ch. 1Th 4:11 , 2 Thessalonians 3:6 ; 2 Thessalonians 3:11 , certainly implies that there was reason to complain of this ἀταξία in the Thessalonian church. “ ἄτακτος is especially said of the soldier who does not remain in his rank: so inordinatus in Livy.”

1 Timothy 3:7 — testimony coming ‘from without’), lest he fall into (a question arises which must be answered before we can render the following words. Does ὀνειδισμόν (1) stand alone, ‘ into reproach, and the snare of the devil ,’ or is it (2) to be joined with παγίδα as belonging to διαβόλου ? For (1), which is the view of Thl., Est., Wolf, Heyden., Huther, Wiesinger, al. (and Ellic. doubtfully), it is alleged, that ὀνειδισμόν is separated from καὶ παγίδα by ἐμπέσῃ . But this alone cannot

Hebrews 11:36 — 36 .] others again (no further contrast need be brought out; ἄλλοι μέν , ἕτεροι δέ , is common enough in recounting various classes) had trial (the passive sense of πεῖραν λαμβάνειν , as we had the active before, Hebrews 11:29 , where see examples of that use. The passive signification is found Polyb. xxviii. 9. 7, πολλοὺς ἄν ἐποίησε τῆς αὐτῆς τύχης πεῖραν αὐτῷ λαβεῖν : Diod. Sic. xii. 24, τὴν θυγατέρα ἀπέκτεινεν , ἵνα μὴ τῆς ὕβρεως λάβῃ πεῖραν : Jos. Antt. ii. 5. 1, οὗ

James 3:17 — enumerated) peaceable, forbearing ( μὴ ἀκριβοδίκαιος ἐπὶ τὸ χεῖρον , Aristot. Eth. Nic. x. 6. See note on Php 4:5 ), easily persuaded (“suadibilis,” vulg. The word occurs in the active sense of “easily persuading,” in Æschyl. Agam. 274, πότερα δ ʼ ὀνείρων φάσματ ʼ εὐπειθῆ σέβεις : and Choeph. 259, πέμπειν ἔχοις ἂν σήματ ʼ εὐπειθῆ βροτοῖς : but not, that I am aware, in this passive sense), full of compassion (the great triumph of the Christian practical life is won by ἔλεος : see

1 Peter 1:1 — 1 .] Peter (the Greek form of the name Cephas, a stone, given him by our Lord, see John 1:43 ; in 2Pe 1:1 it is “Symeon Peter”) an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the elect strangers (see on παρεπιδήμοις , Heb 11:13 note. ἐκλεκτοῖς , chosen of God to His adopted family in Christ. The construction is irregularly carried on from ἐκλ . by

1 Peter 3:17 — 17 .] For (confirmation of the exhortation to a good conscience above: Œc., al., refer it to 1 Peter 3:14 , μακάριοί ἐστε ) it is better (we have had a similar argument in ch. 1 Peter 2:19-20 , from which passage the sense of κρεῖττον here is made clear: there it is said of the suffering for well-doing, that it is χάρις , that it is κλέος , that εἰς τοῦτο ἐκλήθητε . “Beatius,” says Bengel, “infinitis modis:”

1 John 2:12-14 — 12 14 .] Threefold address to the readers, accompanied by a threefold reason for writing to them; all repeated by way of parallelism, with some variations and enlargements . On the connexion and explanation of these verses, it may be observed, 1) that

1 John 2:18 — the close of the Apostolic age : and even more decidedly that of Œc. ( ἔστι δὲ τὸ ἔσχατον καὶ κατὰ τὸ χείριστον ἐκλαθεῖν , ὡς ὅταν φαμέν , εἰς ἔσχατον ἀφῖγμαι κακοῦ ), Schöttgen, Carpzov., Rosenm., for all other reasons, and on account of the saying 2 Timothy 3:1 , ἐν ἐσχάταις ἡμέραις ἐνστήσονται καιροὶ χαλεποί . These then being cleared away, we come to the view of Grot.: “ultimum tempus, ubi ad Judæos sermo est, significat tempus proximum excidio urbis ac templi et reipublicæ Judæorum,”

Jude 1:7 — 7 .] Third Example : Sodom and Gomorrha. See 2 Peter 2:6 . How (not “even as,” E. V.; “ wie auch ,” Luther; “ similiter ,” Semler, al.; nor does it answer to ὁμοίως below, Jude 1:8 ; but is dependent on ὑπομνῆσαι ὑμᾶς βούλομαι above, Jude 1:5 , and parallel