Bible Commentaries

Luke 19:2 — 2. ] Ζακχαῖος = זַכַּי , ‘pure,’ Ezra 2:9 ; Nehemiah 7:14 ; also found in the Rabbinical writings, see Lightfoot. He was not a Gentile, as Tertullian supposed, (contr. Marc. iv. 37, vol. ii. p. 451,) but a Jew, see Luke 19:9 . ἀρχιτ . ] Probably an administrator of the revenue derived from balsam , which was produced in abundance in the neighbourhood.

Luke 2:33 — 33. ὁ πατ . αὐτοῦ ] In Luk 2:48 we have Joseph again called by this name. Our Lord Himself would not speak of him thus , see Luke 2:49 ; but in the simplicity of the narrative we may read οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ and such expressions, without any danger of forgetting the momentous history of the Conception and Nativity.

John 5:43 — 43. ] The first clause is clear. In the latter we have a prophetic declaration regarding the Jews in the latter days. This ἄλλος is in strong contrast with the ἄλλος of John 5:32 . ‘The testimony of that Other, who is greater than I, ye will not receive; but if another come in his own name, him ye will receive.’ The words are perhaps spoken primarily of the false or Idol-Messiah, the Antichrist, who shall appear

John 8:34 — 34. ] ποιῶν τὴν ἁμαρτ ., not = ἁμαρτάνων , for that all do; but = ἐργαζόμενος τὴν ἀνομίαν , Matthew 7:23 . It implies living in the practice of sin , doing sin , as a habit: see reff. The mere moral sentiment of which this is the spiritual expression, was common among the Greek and Roman philosophers. See Wetstein: also Romans 6:12 ; 2 Peter 2:19 .

Acts 2:29 — 29. ἄνδρες ἀδελφοί ] q. d. , ‘ I am your brother, an Israelite, and therefore would not speak with disrespect of David.’ He prepares the way for the apologetic sentence which follows. ἐξόν ] supply, not ἔστω , but ἐστίν , I may , &c. The

Acts 2:8-11 — 8 11 .] This question is broken, in construction, by the enumeration of Acts 2:9-10 , and then Act 2:11 takes up the construction again from Acts 2:8 . As regards the catalogue itself , of course it cannot have been thus delivered as part of a speech by any hearer on the occasion , but is inserted into a speech expressing the

Romans 14:10 — 10 .] He returns to the duty of abstaining, the weak , from judging his stronger brother; the strong , from despising the weaker. It seems probable that χριστοῦ has been substituted for θεοῦ in the later MSS. from 2 Corinthians 5:10 . The fact of Origen once citing it, decides nothing, in the presence of the expression βήματος τοῦ χριστοῦ in 2 Cor.

Romans 7:2 — 2. ] For (not merely = e.g., but, as Thol., the example is itself the proof) the married (ref.) woman is bound by the law to the living husband: but if the husband die, she is set free from (lit. annulled from) the law of (‘ regarding ,’ compare reff. and ὁ νόμος τοῦ λεπροῦ . Lev 14:2 ) the husband (no hypallage).

1 Corinthians 2:3 — 3. ] κἀγώ , and I , coupled to ἦλθον in 1 Corinthians 2:1 , and ἐγώ repeated for emphasis, the nature of his own preaching being the leading subject-matter here. The weakness and fear and much trembling must not be exclusively understood of his manner of speech as contrasted with the rhetorical preachers,

1 Corinthians 3:22-23 — 22, 23. ] Specification of some of the things included under πάντα : and first of those teachers in whom they were disposed to boast , in direct reference to ch. 1 Corinthians 1:12 . But having enumerated Paul, Apollos, Cephas, he does not say εἴτε

1 Corinthians 6:6 — 6. ] (It seems not to be so) : nay , &c., as implied in 1 Corinthians 6:1 . ἀλλά after a question passes rapidly on to the other alternative, the particle negativing the question being suppressed. So Xen. Mem. i. 2. 2, πῶς οὖν αὐτὸς ὢν τοιοῦτος ἄλλους ἂν ἀσεβεῖς … ἐποίησεν ; Ἀλλ ʼ ἔπαυσε μὲν τούτων πολλούς , ἀρετῆς ποιήσας ἐπιθυμεῖν . See Hartung, Partikellehre, ii. 37.

2 Corinthians 3:2 — 2. ] Ye are our epistle (of commendation), written on our hearts (not borne in our hands to be shewn, but engraven, in the consciousness of our work among you, on our hearts. There hardly can be any allusion, as Olsh. thinks, to the twelve jewels engraven

2 Corinthians 7:7 — 7. ἀλλὰ καὶ … ] not only … but also with the comfort with which he was comforted concerning you: i.e. ‘we shared in the comfort which Titus felt in recording to us your desire,’ &c. see 2 Corinthians 7:13 . He rejoiced in announcing the news: we in hearing them. There is no inaccuracy of construction, as De W. supposes. ἐπιπόθησιν , either longing to see me , or longing to fulfil my wishes . The former is the more simple. ὀδυρμόν

1 Thessalonians 1:2 — 2 .] εὐχαριστοῦμεν , coming so immediately after the mention of Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus, can hardly be here understood of the Apostle alone, as Pelt, Conyb. and Hows., Jowett, al. For undoubted as it is that he often, e.g. ch. 1 Thessalonians 3:1-2

1 Thessalonians 1:4 — we know . Thdrt., Erasm., Grot., al., take it for οἴδατε γάρ , or εἰδότες ἐστέ , wrongly referring it to the Thessalonians: Pelt joins it with μνείαν ποιούμενοι : but the construction as above seems the best. ὑπὸ θεοῦ belongs to ἠγαπημένοι , as in 2 Thessalonians 2:13 , see also Romans 1:7 ; not to εἰδότες , as Est. thinks possible ( ὑπό for παρά ?), nor to ἐκλογήν either as E. V., ‘ your election of God ,’ which is ungrammatical (requiring τὴν ὑπ . θ . ἐκ .), or as Œc., Thl., all.,

2 Thessalonians 3:16 — 16 .] Concluding wish . On αὐτὸς δέ , see on ch. 2 Thessalonians 2:16 . ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης ] As the Apostle constantly uses ὁ θεὸς τῆς εἰρ . for the God of Peace (see Romans 15:33 ; Romans 16:20 :2 Corinthians 13:11 , al.), we here must understand our Lord Jesus Christ. ἡ εἰρήνη must not be understood

1 Timothy 5:4 — Hesych.; grandchildren : not as E. V. ‘ nephews ;’ at least, not in its present sense. μανθανέτωσαν ] What is the subject? (1) The ancient Commentators mostly understand αἱ χῆραι , implied in τίς χήρα : so vulg. ( discat : also D-lat, 2 cursives have μανθανέτω ), Chr. (see below), Thdrt., Œc., Jer., Pel., Ambr., Luth., Calv., Grot., Calov., Huther, al. (2) But some of the ancients took τὰ τέκνα ἢ ἔκγονα as the subject: e.g. Œc. 2, Thl., and so Beza, Wolf, Mosh, Wegscheid: Heydenr.,

2 Timothy 2:3 — 3 .] Suffer hardship with me (Conyb. happily renders it, ‘Take thy share in suffering.’ The συγ - binds it to what precedes and follows, referring primarily to the Apostle himself, though doubtless having a wider reference to all who similarly suffer: see above, on the connexion of 2Ti 2:2 ), as a good soldier of Jesus Christ .

1 Peter 4:2 — 2 .] with a view ( εἰς τό depends on ὁπλίσασθε , the intermediate general sentence being parenthetical) no longer ( μηκέτι , subjective) by the lusts of men (as your rule: what is called the normal dative: not, as Wies. al., = δικαιοσύνῃ ζήσωμεν

Jude 1:4 — 4 .] For there crept in (aor. explaining the arising of the occasion of his thus writing. On παρεισέδυσαν , cf. 2 Peter 2:1 , παρεισάξουσιν , and note: also Galatians 2:4 , where we have both παρεισάκτους and παρεισῆλθον . Secrecy, and lack of legitimate introduction, are plainly expressed in this word. “ Crept in ,” viz. into the Christian church)