Bible Commentaries

Matthew 1:25 — 25. ] “ ‘ non cognovit eam, doneo .’ Non sequitur, ergo post: sufficit tamen confirmari virginitatem ad partum usque: de reliquo tempore lectori æquo relinquitur existimatio.” Bengel. And with regard to the much-controverted

Matthew 16:21 — 21. ] On δεῖ , which is common to the three Evangelists, see Luke 24:26 ; John 3:14 , and ch. Matthew 26:54 . πολλὰ παθεῖν = ἀποδοκιμασθῆναι in Mark and Luke. These πολλά were afterwards explicitly mentioned, ch. Matthew 20:18 : Luke 18:31-32 .

Matthew 19:4-6 — 4 6. ] On these verses we may remark (1) that our Lord refers to the Mosaic account of the Creation as the historical fact of the first creation of man; and grounds his argument on the literal expressions of that narrative. (2) That He cites both from the first and second chapters of Genesis, and in immediate connexion; thus shewing them to be consecutive parts of a continuous narrative, which, from their different diction, and apparent repetition, they have sometimes been

Matthew 21:12 — 12. ] Compare the notes on John 2:13-18 . The cleansing related in our text is totally distinct from that related there. It is impossible to suppose that St. Matthew and St. John, or any one but moderately acquainted with the events which he undertook

Matthew 9:2 — 2. τὴν πίστιν αὐτ . ] Namely, in letting him down through the roof, because the whole house and space round the door was full, Mark 2:4 . αὐτῶν must be supposed to include the sick man, who was at least a consenting party to the bold step which they

Luke 16:27 — 27. ] This is the believing and trembling of James 2:19 . His eyes are now opened to the truth; and no wonder that his natural sympathies are awakened for his brethren. That a lost spirit should feel and express such sympathy, is not to be wondered at; the misery of such will be very much heightened by the awakened and active state of those higher faculties and feelings which selfishness and the body kept down here.

John 17:15 — 15. οὐκ ἐρωτῶ ] Said mostly for their sakes, for whom it was necessary that they should abide yet in the flesh, to do God’s work, and ( Joh 17:17 ) to be sanctified by God’s truth. τοῦ πον . ] Not ‘ from the evil ,’ as E. V.; but from the evil One, see the usage of our Apostle in 1 John 2:13-14 , ὅτι νενικήκατε τὸν πονηρόν , ib. 1 John 5:18 , and compare ib. 1 John 3:12 .

John 18:28-40 — 28 19:16. ] Jesus before the Gentile governor . Matthew 27:2 ; Matthew 27:11-30 . Mark 15:1-19 . Luke 23:1-25 . Before this comes in the section of Luke 22:66-71 , containing the close of the examination before the Sanhedrim, which did not happen till the morning. This undesigned agreement between Luke and John further confirms the justice of the view respecting the two hearings maintained above: see note on Luke, as above.

John 19:1-16 — 28 19:16. ] Jesus before the Gentile governor . Matthew 27:2 ; Matthew 27:11-30 . Mark 15:1-19 . Luke 23:1-25 . Before this comes in the section of Luke 22:66-71 , containing the close of the examination before the Sanhedrim, which did not happen till the morning. This undesigned agreement between Luke and John further confirms the justice of the view respecting the two hearings maintained above: see note on Luke, as above.

John 7:10 — 10. ] οὐ φαν . , i.e. not in the usual caravan-company, nor probably by the usual way. Whether the Twelve were with Him, we have no means of judging: probably so, for they appear ch. John 9:2 ; and after their becoming once attached to the Person of our Lord as Apostles, we find no trace of his having been for any long time separated from them, except during their mission Matthew 10:0 , which was long ago accomplished.

Acts 15:11 — 11 . Seeing that we all in common believe that the grace of Christ is the sufficient, and only cause of our salvation, it can neither be reasonable nor according to God’s will, to fetter that grace with superfluous and vexatious conditions. See nearly the same argument retorted on Peter himself, Galatians 2:14 ff. κἀκεῖνοι are the Gentile Christians , not our fathers; their ground of trust is the same as ours: ours , no more than theirs.

Acts 26:26 — 26. ] Agrippa is doubly his witness, (1) as cognizant of the facts respecting Jesus, (2) as believing the prophets . This latter he does not only assert, but appeals to the faith of the king as a Jew for its establishment. ἐν γωνίᾳ … τοῦτο ] This , the act done to Jesus by the Jews, and its sequel, was not done in an obscure corner of Judæa, but in the metropolis, at a time of more than common publicity.

Acts 4:2 — 2. ] ἐν τ . Ἰησ , not, as E. V., ‘ through Jesus,’ but in the person (or example) of Jesus , alleging Him as an example of that which the Sadducees denied: preaching by implication, inasmuch as one resurrection would imply that of all, the resurrection of the dead. The ἐν in reff. carries this somewhat further, but the usage is philologically the same. ‘The resurrection through Jesus’ does not appear on the present occasion to have formed part of their preaching.

Acts 8:32 — 32. ] Perhaps it is best to render, The contents of the (passage of) Scripture which he was reading were as follows: see περιέχει , 1 Peter 2:6 . Cicero indeed appears to use περιοχή in the sense of a ‘paragraph,’ or ‘chapter;’

1 Corinthians 11:11 — 11. ] Yet is neither sex insulated and independent of the other in the Christian life . ἐν κυρίῳ is not the predicate (as Grot., &c.), ‘neque viri exclusis mulieribus … participes sunt beneficiorum per Christum partorum:’ nor does it mean according to the ordinance of God , as Chrys., Beza, Olsh., for the phrase ἐν κυρίῳ is well known as applying to the Christian state , in the Lord . See e.g. Romans 16:2 ; Romans 16:8 ; Romans 16:11-12 (bis), &c.

1 Corinthians 11:9 — 9. ] For also ( parallel with 1Co 11:8 another reason: not subordinate to it, as Meyer, who renders ἐκ in 1 Corinthians 11:8 , ‘dependent on,’ and regards this verse as giving the reason) the man was not created (emphasis on ἐκτίσθη , as before on ἐστιν ) on account of the woman, &c. In this verse, besides the manner of creation, ἐκ τοῦ ἀνδρός , the occasion of creation, διὰ τὸν ἄνδρα , is insisted on; see Genesis 2:18 ff.

2 Corinthians 12:17-18 — 17, 18. ] Specification, in refutation, of the ways in which this might be supposed to have taken place . The construction τινα ὧν … δι ʼ αὐτοῦ is an anacoluthon. He sets τινα ὧν ἀπέστ . πρ . ὑμ . forward in the place of emphasis; how intending to govern τινα , is not plain: but drops the construction, and proceeds, δι ʼ αὐτοῦ κ . τ . λ . See examples of the same in reff., and Winer, edn. 6, § 63. i. 2. d.

1 Thessalonians 4:12 — 12 .] Purpose of 1 Thessalonians 4:11 . εὐσχημόνως ] honourably : ἀτάκτως , 2Th 3:6 ; 2 Thessalonians 3:11 , is the opposite. πρός , with regard to : as in the proverb οὐδὲν πρὸς Διόνυσον , πρὸς Τιμόθεον πρᾶξαι , Demosth., p. 1185. See Bernhardy, p. 265. τοὺς ἔξω ] the unbelieving world (reff.). μηδενός (subjective, as ruled by the χρείαν ἔχητε ) is much better taken neuter than masculine; for as Lün. observes, to stand in need of no man , is for man an impossibility.

1 Thessalonians 4:2 — 2 .] takes up the καθὼς παρελάβετε of the former verse, and appeals to their memory in its confirmation. See similar appeals in Galatians 4:13 ; 1 Corinthians 15:1 . παραγγ . ] commands , see reff. The stress is on τίνας , to which τοῦτο answers, 1 Thessalonians 4:3 . διὰ τ . κ . Ἰησ . ] by , i.e. coming from , παραγγελθείσας διὰ . So τὰς διὰ τῶν ὀλίγων πολιτείας , Demosth. p. 489: δι ʼ ἑαυτοῦ , of himself, Xen. Cyr. viii. 1. 43: see Bernhardy, p. 236.

2 Peter 1:2 — 2 .] grace to you and peace be multiplied (so in ref.: but further specified here by what follows) in (as the vehicle, or conditional element of the multiplication) knowledge ( ἐπίγνωσις , “cognitio maturior:” but this can hardly be given in English without too strong a phrase) of God, and of Jesus our Lord (every unusual expression, like Ἰης . τοῦ κυρ . ὑμῶν , occurring only Romans 4:24 , should be noticed as a morsel of evidence to the independence of the Epistle).