16. PRACTICAL AND PERSONAL: THE CONCLUSION

The Epistle now rapidly draws to an end with a number of brief directions, communications, salutations, exhortations, and good wishes. It will suffice to make six subdivisions; (a) The Collection for the Poor at Jerusalem, 1-4; (b) St Paul’s intended Visit to Corinth, 5-9; (c) Timothy and Apollos commended, 10-12; (d) Exhortation interjected, 13, 14; (e) Directions respecting Stephanas and others, 15-18; (f) Concluding Salutations, Warning, and Benediction, 19-24.

1-4. Here, as at 15:49, the Apostle suddenly descends from very lofty heights to matters of ordinary experience. It is as if he had suddenly checked himself in his triumphant rhapsody with the thought that ‘the work of the Lord’ in this life must be attended to. There is still much labour to be undertaken by those who still remain alive waiting for the final victory, and he must return to business.

St Paul had the collection of money for the poorer members of the Church in Jerusalem very much at heart, as is seen from this passage and 2 Corinthians 8:9., with which should be compared Romans 15:26, Galatians 2:10, and Acts 24:17. In “the ablest and most convincing section of Paley’s Horae Paulinae” (2. I) it is shown how these four passages, while having each their distinctive features, “fit and dovetail into one another and thus imply that all are historical.” We thus have “singular evidence of the genuineness” of the documents which contain these different but thoroughly consistent accounts. See Sanday and Headlam (p. 413), and Jowett (p. 419), on Romans 15:29; also the Camb. Grk. Test. on 2Co_8. and 9. The directions given here are so brief that we may suppose that the Corinthians already knew a good deal about the matter, possibly from Titus, who may have been in Corinth before this. Moreover, Titus may have been the bearer of this letter, and in that case would be able to tell them in detail what the Apostle desired them to do. We know that Titus did organize the collection at Corinth. In 2 Corinthians 9:1, St Paul says that ‘it is superfluous for him to write’ on the subject. Nevertheless, in his intense anxiety about the fund, he says a great deal more than he says here, supporting the appeal with strong arguments.

His anxiety about the collection is very intelligible. The distress at Jerusalem was great and constant. Jews often made collections for impoverished Jews; Christians must do at least as much. It was specially to be wished that Gentile Christians should help Jewish Christians, and thus promote better feeling between the two bodies. Still more was it to be wished that Christians at Corinth, where the Apostle’s work was regarded with suspicion and dislike by the Jewish, party, should send liberal help to Christians at Jerusalem, where the suspicion and dislike originated. This would prove two things; (1) that his Apostolic authority was effectual in a Gentile Church, and (2) that he had loyal affection for the Church at Jerusalem.

Augustine suggests that the poverty at Jerusalem was the result of the community of goods (Acts 4:32), a view that is still held, and is probably part of the explanation: communism without careful organization of labour is sure to end in disaster. But there were other causes. Jerusalem had a pauperized population, dependent on the periodical influx of visitors. The Jewish world, from Cicero’s time at least, supported the poor of Jerusalem by occasional subventions. As the Christian Jews came to be regarded as a distinct body, they would lose their share in these doles; and the ‘communism’ of Acts 4:32 was but a temporary remedy. Most of the converts were, therefore, poor at the outset. They were probably ‘boycotted’ and otherwise persecuted by the unconverted Jews (1 Thessalonians 2:14; Jam 2:6, Jam 5:1-6), and their position would be similar to that of Hindoo Christians excluded from their caste, or Protestants in the West of Ireland. And the belief that ‘the Lord was at hand’ (v. 22) may have checked industry at Jerusalem, as it did at Thessalonica (2 Thessalonians 3:10; Didache 12). See Knowling on Acts 20:4, p. 422; Beet on 2 Corinthians 8:15, pp. 426 f.; Hort, Romans and Ephesians, pp. 39 f., ‘173; Ramsay, St Paul the Traveller, 287 f.; Rendall, Expositor, Nov. 1893, p. 321.

1. Περὶ δὲ τῆς λογίας. The abrupt transition leads us to suppose that the Corinthians had asked about the matter: comp. 7:1, 8:1, 12:1. At any rate the sudden introduction of this topic implies that they were already acquainted with it; comp. the sudden transition to Apollos in v. 12. St Paul uses seven words in speaking of this collection; λογία (v. 1); χάρις (v. 3; 2 Corinthians 8:4); κοινωνία (2 Corinthians 8:4, 2 Corinthians 8:9:13; Romans 15:26); διακονία (2 Corinthians 8:4, 2 Corinthians 8:9:1, 2 Corinthians 8:12, 2 Corinthians 8:13); ἁδρότης (2 Corinthians 8:20); εὐλογία (2 Corinthians 9:5); λειτουργία (2 Corinthians 9:12); to which may be added ἐλεημοσύναι (Acts 24:17, in the report of his speech before Felix) and προσφοραί (ibid). The classical word συλλογή is not found in N.T.; in LXX, only of David’s scrip (1 Samuel 17:40). It used to be supposed that λογία or λογεία was found only here and in ecclesiastical writers (Ellicott ad loc., Suicer, ii. p. 247); and Edwards thought that St Paul had coined the word. Deissmann (Bible Studies, pp. 142 f.) shows that it was “used in Egypt from the 2nd cent. b.c. at the latest,” and gives various examples from papyri: in one, λογεία is associated with λειτουργία. He thinks that in 2 Corinthians 9:5 the first εὐλογίαν may be a corruption of λογείαν. See also Light, pp. 104, 366.

εἰς τοὺς ἁγίους. He does not mean that the Christians at Jerusalem were in a special sense ‘holy’; he indicates why the Corinthians ought to give. Those in need are their fellow Christians (1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:1): sic mavult dicere quam ‘pauperes’; id facit ad impetrandum (Beng.). He perhaps also indicates that those in need were the source and original headquarters of the Corinthians’ Christianity (Romans 15:27). Although he does not say so, we might suppose from this passage that all the Jerusalem Christians were poverty-stricken. Romans 15:26 shows that this was not so: it was εἰς τοὺς πτωχοὺς τῶν ἁγίων τῶν ἐν Ἰερ. that the κοινωνία was to be made. With this use of εἰς c. acc. for the dat. commodi comp. 2 Corinthians 8:4, 2 Corinthians 8:9:1, 2 Corinthians 8:13: is found in LXX, and is probably not a Hebraism but an Alexandrian idiom. It is found in papyri; Deissmann, pp. 117 f.

ὥσπερ διέταξα ταῖς ἐκκλ. τ. Γ. ‘Just as I made arrangements for the Churches of Galatia.’ There is a tone of authority in the verb; as Chrysostom remarks, “He did not say, ‘I exhorted and advised,’ but, ‘I made arrangements,’ as being more absolute; and he does not cite the case of one city, but of a whole nation.” And the compound verb indicates that detailed directions had been given to the Galatians,—possibly by St Paul in person. What follows is no doubt a summary of these directions, to be enlarged by Titus. ‘The Churches of Galatia’ are mentioned to show the Corinthians that they are not the only Gentiles who are asked to contribute to the support of Jewish Christians, and also to move them to imitate such good examples. Galatarum exemplum Corinthiis, Corinthiorum exemplum Macedonibus (2 Corinthians 9:2), Corinthiorum et Macedonum Romanis (Romans 15:26) proponit (Beng.).

οὕτως καὶ ὐμεῖς ποιήσατε. ‘So also do you act.’ He writers with confidence: he has only to give directions, and they are sure to be followed. There is none of the anxious pleading of 2 Cor. 8., 2 Corinthians 8:9. And it was perhaps this apparent peremptoriness which his opponents used as an argument against him. See G. H. Rendall, p. 107. We may infer from this that the plan a dopted in Galatia had not proved unsuccessful. The ὥσπερ … οὕτως implies that the details of that plan are to be exactly followed, and ὑμεῖς is emphatic (Galatians 2:10). We need not infer from Galatians 6:6, Galatians 6:7, that the appeal to the Galatians had failed; the Apostle is writing there respecting the support of teachers in Galatia, not of the poor at Jerusalem.

2. κατὰ μίαν σαββάτου. ‘On every first day of the week.’ The expression is Hebraistic; Mark 16:2; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, John 20:19; Acts 20:7. For the sing. σάββατον = ‘week,’ Luke 18:12; [Mark 16:9]. This is our earliest evidence respecting the early consecration of the first day of the week by the Apostolic Church. Apparently, the name ‘Lord’s Day’ was not yet in use, and the first day of the week is never called ‘the sabbath’ in Scripture. If it was right to do good on the Jewish sabbath (Matthew 12:12; Mark 3:4), how much more on the Lord’s Day? καὶ γὰρ ἡ ἡμέρα ἱκανὴ ἦν ἀγαγεῖν εἰς ἐλεημοσύνην, for it reminded them of the untold blessings which they had received (Chrys.). Hastings, DB. 3. p. 140; D. Chr. Ant. 2. p. 2031; Knowling, Test. of St Paul to Christ, pp. 281 f.

ἕκαστος ὑμῶν. It is assumed that every one, however poor, will give something; but the giving is to be neither compulsory nor oppressive. Some of them would be slaves.

παρʼ ἑαυτῷ τιθέτω θησαυρίζων. This cannot mean, ‘Let him assign a certain sum as he is disposed, and put it into the Church treasury.’ It is improbable that at that time there was any Church treasury, and not until much later was money collected during public worship. Each is to lay by something weekly ‘in his own house, forming a little hoard, which will become a heavenly treasure’ (Matthew 6:19-21; Luke 12:21). Chrysostom says that the accumulation was to be made in private, because the additions might be so small that the donor would be ashamed to make them in the congregation. The Apostle virtually says, ‘Become a guardian of holy possessions, a self-elected steward of the poor’—γενοῦ φύλαξ χρημάτων ἱερῶν, αὐτοχειροτόνητος οἰκονόμος πενήτων.*

ὅ τι ἂν εὐοδῶται. ‘Whatsoever he may prosper in,’ ‘whatever success he may have,’ ‘whereinsoever he is prospered by God’; quod pro Dei benignitate licuerit (Beza). The idea of a prosperous journey (ὁδός) has dropped out of the word. The verb is frequent in this more general sense in LXX, especially in Chronicles, Daniel, and Tobit: comp. the Testaments, Judah 1:6; Gad. 7:1. It is not certain what tense εὐοδωται is. WH. (ii. App. p. 172) decide for the perfect; either εὐόδωται, perf. indic., or εὐοδῶται, a very rare perf. mid. subjunctive. J. H. Moulton (Gr. 1. p. 54) follows Blass and Findlay in deciding for the pres. subj., which seems to be more probable. In any case, the meaning is that the amount is to be fixed by the giver in proportion to his weekly gains; and there is no dictation as to the right proportion, whether a tenth, or more, or less. A tenth is little for some, impossible for others; but week by week each would see how much or how little he had got, and would act accordingly.

ἵνα μὴ ὅταν ἔλθω τότε λογίαι γίνωνται. ‘So that, whenever I come, collections may not be going on then.’† Each will have his contribution ready, instead of having to decide at the last moment how much he ought to give, and how the money is to be found. St Paul does not wish to go round begging, when he comes; he will have other things to do. Moreover, he does not wish to put pressure upon them by asking in person (2 Corinthians 9:7): he desires to leave them quite free. The τότε is emphatic; ‘then’ would be the worst possible time.

σαββάτων (K L M) is an obvious correction of the less usual σαββάτου (A B C D E F G L P): א* has σαββατω. For ἄν, B I2 M have ἐάν. εὐοδῶται (א* B D E F G L P) is to be preferred to εὐοδωθῇ (A C I2 K M). Vulg. has quod ei bene placuerit, which seems to imply a reading ὅ τι ἐὰν εὐδοκῇ, and Latin translations of Chrus. have quod sibi videatur or videbitur. ὅταν εὐοδῶται is pure conjecture.

3. ὅταν δὲ παραγένωμαι κ.τ.λ. ‘But whenever I arrive, whomsoever ye may approve, these with letters (commendatory) will I send to take your bounty to Jerusalem.’ He is represented as using the same verb respecting this subject in his speech before Felix (Acts 24:17); ἐλεημοσύνας ποιήσων εἰς τὸ ἔθνος μου παρεγενόμην. AV., RV., and various modern scholars take διʼ ἐπιστολῶν with δοκιμάσητε, in which case the letters are written by the Corinthians as credentials for the delegates to be sent to Jerusalem with the money: so also Arm., Calv., Beza. But it is more natural to take the words with πέμψω, in front of which they are placed in emphatic contrast to σὺν ἐμοί which is similarly placed before πορεύσονται. He will either write letters with which to send the delegates (2 Corinthians 3:1; Acts 9:2), or he will take the delegates with himself. The delegates were not to be sent off until the Apostle arrived at Corinth. What need, therefore, for the Corinthians to write letters? Syr., Copt., Aeth., Chrys., Tisch., Treg., and others take διʼ ἐπ. with πέμψω. ‘Letters’ is probably a true plural, not the “plural of category.” The Apostle would write to more than one person at Jerusalem.*

In N.T., δοκιμάζειν often implies that what has been tested (3:13) has stood the test and been approved (11:28; Romans 1:28, Romans 1:2:18; Rom_1 Thess, 2:4, where see Milligan), as here. Just as St Paul does not dictate what proportion of their gains they ought to give, so he does not select the bearers of the fund, still less claim to have charge of it himself. In no case will he do that, to avoid all suspicion of enriching himself out of it. Those who find the money are to entrust it to persons tested and approved by themselves, and these persons are to have letters from the Apostle as credentials, unless he goes himself. The two aorists, παραγένωμαι and δοκιμάσητε, indicate that his arrival and the selection of the delegates are regarded as contemporaneous.‡

Very often ἀποφέρειν does not mean ‘carry away’ so much as ‘take home, ’ ‘bring to its destination, ’ and in some cases ‘bring back.’ It was not the removal of the money from Corinth, but its being conveyed to Jerusalem, that was the important point: comp. Luke 16:22. And he speaks of it as their ‘gracious gift,’ τὴν χάριν ὑμῶν (2 Corinthians 8:4-7, 2 Corinthians 8:19), beneficentiam vestram (Beza), because he would regard it as free bounty, like the graciousness of God.

4. ἐὰν δὲ ἄξιον ᾖ τοῦ κἀμὲ πορεύεσθαι. ‘But if it be fit that I also should go.’ The ἄξιον is purposely put without a substantive, and πορεύεσθαι is used in its common sense of going on a mission, going with a purpose, with a work to be done: see Westcott on John 7:33. ‘If the amount collected makes it worth while for me also to go on this business’ is another possible meaning. He could not abandon other work in order to present a paltry sum; and an Apostle could not take the lead in so unworthy a mission. It would look like approving miggardliness. There is no pride of office here, but proper respect for himself and them. It is with consciousness of his authority that he says, ‘they shall go with me,’ not ‘I will go with them.’

Were the Corinthians niggardly, or at least somewhat backward in giving? One is inclined to think so by the doubt expressed here: see also 9:11, 12; 2 Corinthians 11:8, 2 Corinthians 11:9, 2 Corinthians 11:12:13. No Corinthian delegates are mentioned Acts 20:4. That might mean that the Corinthians sent their contribution independently. But it might mean that they were not represented because their contribution was so small. St Paul twice went to Jerusalem with money for the poor (Acts 11:29, Acts 11:30, Acts 11:24:17). It was perhaps because he was known to have charge of such funds that he was expected by Felix to pay for his release (24:26).

5-9. He gives further information about the proposed (v. 3) visit to Corinth. He will come, but he must postpone his visit for the present. This postponement will be compensated by the increased length of his visit, when he does come; and they will be able to help him for his next journey. He cannot, however, leave Ephesus just yet, for there is great opportunity for good work, and his presence there is necessary. This will give them all the more time for laying money by for the Jerusalem poor.

5. ὅταν Μ. διέλθω, Μ. γὰρ διέρχομαι. ‘Whenever I shall have journeyed through Macedonia, for I intend journeying through M.’ In Acts (13:6, 14:24, 15:3, 41, 18:23, 19:1, 21, 20:2), διέρχομαι seems to be almost a technical term for a missionary tour or evangelistic journey, the district traversed being in the accusative without a preposition: Ramsay, St Paul, pp. 72, 384; Knowling on Acts 13:6. In contrast to this tour through Macedonia he intends making a long stay (παραμενῶ) at Corinth.

The erroneous note at the end of this Epistle, “written from Philippi,” is based on a misunderstanding of διέρχομαι: as if it meant ‘I am at the present moment passing through M.,’ instead of ‘M. I pass through,’ i.e. ‘such is my intention; I make no long stay anywhere.’ It is clear from v. 8 that he writes from Ephesus.

6. πρὸς ὑμᾶς δὲ τυχὸν παραμενῶ. ‘But with you (first, in emphatic contrast to Macedonia) perchance I shall stay or even winter.’ With πρὸς ὑμᾶς comp. Galatians 2:18; Matthew 13:56; and see Westcott on John 1:1 and 1 John 1:2. The πρός implies more than μετά or σύν, and means ‘in active intercourse with you.’ The acc. abs. τυχόν is not found elsewhere in Biblical Greek, but it occurs in Plato and Xenophon:* comp. the colloquial “happen I shall come.” In 14:10, εἰ τύχοι. His remaining at Corinth through the winter might be necessary, because navigation then would be perilous or impossible. After 14th Sept. navigation was considered dangerous; after IIth Nov. it ceased till 5th March: see Blass on Acts 27:9; Ramsay, St Paul, p. 322; and Zahn, Introduction to N.T., i. p. 319. Orelli on Hor. Obadiah 1:4:2 quotes Vegetius, De re mil. 5:9, ex die 3. Id. Novembr. usque in diem vi. Id. Mart. maria claudi.

ἵνα ὑμεῖς με προπέμψητε κ.τ.λ.. ‘In order that you may be the people to set me forward on my journey, whithersoever I may go.’ He would rather have his ‘send-off’ from them. For this, προπέμπειν is the usual verb (2 Corinthians 1:16; Romans 15:24; Acts 15:3, etc.). He is not asking for money or provisions; the verb does not necessarily mean more than good wishes and prayers. The last clause is purposely indefinite (οὗ ἐὰν π.). He may go to Jerusalem, but that depends upon various circumstances. With οὗ for οἷ comp. Luke 10:1, Luke 10:24:28; it is freq. in late Greek (Genesis 20:13, 28:15; etc.).

WH., following B M 67, prefer καταμενῶ to παραμενῶ (א A C D E F G I2 P). There would be temptation to make the verb similar to παραχειμάσω, all the more so as παραμένειν is more common (Php 1:25; Hebrews 7:23; Jam 1:25) than καταμένειν (Acts 1:13). Nevertheless the balance for παραμενῶ is considerable.

7. οὐ θέλω γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἄρτι ἐν παρόδῳ ἰδεῖν. ‘For I do not care in you case to get a sight (aor.) just in passing.’† For the third time in two verses (πρὸς ὑμᾶς, ὑμεῖς, ὑμᾶς), he lays an affectionate emphasis on the pronoun. In the case of such friends as they are, a mere passing visit would be very unsatisfying; all the more so, because there is much to be arranged at Corinth (11:34). There is no emphasis on ἄρτι, as if he meant, ‘I paid a passing visit to you once, and it was so painful that I do not mean to repeat the experiment now.’ The ἄρτι fits in well with the hypothesis of a previous short visit (2 Corinthians 12:14, 2 Corinthians 13:1), but it does not imply it: it need not be much stronger than ‘just’. But he is thinking less of their need of him to keep them in order (nam et medicus ibi moram habet ubi plures aegrotant), than of his need of them to satisfy his yearning. Lightfoot, who contends for the previous short visit, says that this passage cannot be used as evidence for it (Biblical Essays, p. 275, note).

χρόνον τινα. Emphatic: ‘For I am hoping to stay on in intercourse with you for some little time.’ He is looking forward to living among them. He does not say ‘to stay on at Corinth’ it is the people, not the place, that he cares about. Excepting 1:2, he never mentions Corinth, and then only as their home.

ἐὰν ὁ Κύριος ἑπιτρέψῃ. It is of no importance whether this means God or Christ. But there may be point in the change from θελήσῃ (4:19), ‘If the Lord wills me to do this painful thing,’ to ἐπιτρέψῃ, ‘If He allows me this pleasure’ (Hebrews 6:3). This, however, cannot be pressed: Jam 4:15; Acts 16:21. St Paul’s own practice shows that it is not necessary always to express this condition when announcing one’s plans (v. 5; Romans 15:28; Acts 19:21). Ben Sira is said to have ruled that no one ought to say that he will do anything without first saying, “If the Lord will”; and both St Paul and St James may be influenced by a form of Jewish piety which was sure to commend itself to Christians. Mayor on Jam 4:15 has collected various examples from Greek and Roman writers, but the O.T. does not supply any. Deissmann (Bible Studies, p. 252) gives several illustrations from papyri; and see Eur. Ale. 780-5. Hort (Romans and Ephesians, pp. 42 f.) points out how uncertain St Paul’s future must have seemed to him (Romans 1:10).

‘For I hope’ (RV.) is to be preferred to ‘But I trust’ (AV.) : ἐλπιζω γάρ (א A B C D E F G l M P), ἐλπιζω δέ (K L) : ἐπιτρέψῃ (א A B C l M), ἐπιτρέπῃ (D E F G K).

8. ‘But I propose to stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost.’ Evidently he is writing in or near Ephesus, and probably about Easter (5:7; 15:20). At that time navigation would have begun again, and therefore it would be possible for him to come. It does not much matter whether we read ἐπιμενῶ (= παραμενῶ, παραχειμάσω) or ἐπιμένω (= διέρχομαι): in either case he is expressing his intention. WH. prefer ἐπιμένω, ‘I am staying on.’ Pentecost is probably mentioned as a rough indication of time, a few weeks later. He does not mean that he must keep the Feast of Pentecost at Ephesus. His reasons for staying on are quite different. There is a grand opening for effectual work, and there is a powerful opposition: he must utilize the one and check the other.

9. θύρα γάρ μοι ἀνέῳγεν μεγάλη καὶ ἐνεργῄς. ‘For a door is standing open for me, great and effective.’ The metaphor of a door for an opportunity is simple enough (2 Corinthians 2:12; Colossians 4:3, where see Lightfoot). In all three places an opening for preaching the Gospel seems to be meant, although in 2 Corinthians 2:12 the meaning might be that Troas was a good avenue for reaching the country beyond (Ramsay in Hastings, DB. 4. p. 814). It is possible that εἴσοδος is used in a similar sense 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 1 Thessalonians 2:1. In Acts 14:27 the ‘door’ is opened to the hearers, not to the preachers. But it is not quite clear what ἐνεργής means, or in what sense a door can be called ἐνεργής. Probably St Paul is thinking more of the opportunity than of the ‘door.’ The ‘door’ means an opportunity, and he applies to it an epithet which suits the fact better than the symbol. It may mean either ‘effective, influential, productive of good results,’ or ‘calling for much activity, full of employment’; Philemon 1:6; Hebrews 4:12. In Hebrews 4:12, the Vulg. has efficax; in Philemon 1:6 and here, evidens (other Latin texts, manifesta), which is a translation of ἐναργής, a word which is not found in Biblical Greek; nor is ἐνεργής found in LXX. On the ‘opened door’ given to the Church in Philadelphia (3:8), see Swete ad loc. and Ramsay, Letters to the Seven Churches, p. 404. See also Deissmann, Light, p. 302.

ἀντικείμενοι πολλό. ‘There are many opposing my entrance,’ hindering him from making use of the great opportunity (Php 1:20). Among these are the wild beasts of 15:32, and they would include both Jews and heathen. Act_19. shows how true this estimate of the situation proved. “The superstition of all Asia was concentrated at Ephesus. Throughout the early centuries the city mob, superstitious, frivolous, swayed by the most common-place motives, was everywhere the most dangerous and unfailing enemy of Christianity, and often carried the imperial officials further than they wished in the way of persecution” (Ramsay, St Paul, p. 277). But this determines St Paul, not to fly, but to stay on: quod alios terruisset, Paulum invitat (Grotius).

The intransitive ἀνέῳγεν is late Greek for ἀνεῳκται.

10-12. His intended stay at Corinth reminds him of the visit which Timothy is to pay in preparation for his (4:17); and the thought of the helper who has already started reminds him of another helper, Apollos, who refuses to start at present.

10. Ἐὰν δὲ ἔλθῃ Τ. Timothy had been sent with Erastus from Ephesus to Corinth; but as he had to go through Macedonia (Acts 19:22), and as his time was limited (v. 11), St Paul did not feel sure that he would reach Corinth; and he possibly did not do so. In 2 Cor. we read a good deal about the visit of Titus to Corinth, but nothing is said about Timothy’s visit. On the other hand, while the Apostle explains and defends his own changes of plan about visiting Corinth, he says nothing about Timothy’s having failed to visit them. If Timothy is the ἀδικηθεις of 2 Corinthians 7:12, he must have reached Corinth and have been grossly insulted by some one; but more probably the ἀδικηθείς is St Paul himself. Timothy was in Macedonia when 2 Cor. was written (1:1), and perhaps had never been further.*

βλέπετε ἵνα ἀφόΒως γένηται πρὸς ὑμᾶς. ‘See that he comes to feel at home with you without fear’: comp. Colossians 4:17; 2 John 1:8; but βλέπετε μή (8:9; 10:12; Galatians 5:15; Colossians 2:8, etc.) is more common than βλέπετε ἵνα. They are to take care that there is no painful awkwardness in Timothy’s intercourse with them. Was Timothy timid? There are passages which agree with such a supposition, although they do not necessarily imply it (1 Timothy 5:21-23; 2 Timothy 1:6-8, 2 Timothy 1:2:1, 2 Timothy 1:3, 2 Timothy 1:15, 2 Timothy 1:4:1, 2 Timothy 1:2). See Hastings, DB. 4. p. 768). He was certainly young, for some eight years later St Paul still speaks of his νεότης (1 Timothy 4:12); and the Corinthians could certainly be rude, even to the Apostle himself (2 Corinthians 10:10).

‘For he is working the work of the Lord (15:58), as I also am.’ Therefore, if they put difficulties in Timothy’s way, they will be hindering the work which God has given to the Apostle to do: 4:17. 2:19-21.

κἀγώ (א A C K L P), καὶ ἐγώ (D E F G), ἐγώ (B M 67). WH. adopt the last, on the same evidence as καταμενῶ (v. 6). In Luke 2:48, Luke 16:9, and Acts 10:26, καὶ ἐγώ seems to be right; almost everywhere else κἀγώ is the better reading, but the evidence is frequently divided. In the three exceptions the ἐγώ is rather pointedly co-ordinated with some one else. See Gregory, Prolegomena, p. 96.

11. μή τις οὖν αὐτὸν ἐξουθενήσῃ. ‘Let no one therefore set him at nought—treat him as of no account.’ (1:28, 6:4; 2 Corinthians 10:10; Galatians 4:14; 1 Thessalonians 5:20). Except Mark 9:12, the verb is found only in Paul and Luke. It is stronger than καταφρονείτω (1 Timothy 4:12; comp. 11:22). Beng. quotes, νεώτερος ἐγώ εἰμι καὶ ἐξουδενωμένος (Psalm 119:141: adolescentulus sum ego et contemptus; but here the Vulg. has spernat, with contemnere for καταφρονεῖν.

ἐν εἰρήῃ. To be taken with προπέμψατε, not with ἵνα ἔλθῃ, which would have little point. ‘When he departs, let him see that he has your good will, and that he leaves no bad feeling in any of you.’ ‘In peace’ at the conclusion of his intercourse with them will be a fitting result of ‘without fear’ at the beginning of it. The last clause shows why they ought to set Timothy forward on his journey with peace and good will; he will be on his way to the Apostle, who is expecting him.

μετὰ τῶν ἀδελφῶν. Erastus is the only one mentioned in Acts 19:22; but there may have been others, or St Paul may have expected others. The words need not mean more than that Timothy is not likely to come alone. This, however, is so unimportant a meaning that some prefer taking μετὰ τ. ἀδ. with ἐκδέχομαι: ‘I am expecting him and so are the brethren.’ This is an awkward construction, but it has more point. ‘The brethren’ in this case will be the same as ‘the brethren’ in v. 12, viz. those who brought the letter from Corinth and are waiting to take back the Apostle’s reply. The meaning would then be, ‘Send him back to me in peace, and then the brethren who are waiting for him will be able to start with my answer to you’.

12. Περὶ δε Ἁπολλώ. This looks as if the Corinthians had asked that Apollos should visit them again (5:1. 7:1, 7:25, 8:1, 12:1). At any rate St Paul knew that they would be glad to have Apollos among them once more, and he is anxious to assure them that he is quite willing that Apollos should come. He is not jealous of the able and attractive Alexandrian, and is not at all afraid that he may join the Apollos party (1:12, 3:4-6, 4:6; Titus 3:13). He has urged him strongly to go with the brethren who are to take 1 Cor. to Corinth, and it is not his fault that Apollos does not do so.

καὶ πάντως οὐκ ἦν θέλημα ἳνα ἔλθη κ.τ.λ. ‘And, in spite of all I could say, he had no wish to come now; but he will come whenever the right time arrives.’ The παρεκάλεσα αὐτόν shows whose ‘will’ is meant; ‘I exhorted and entreated him, and there was absolutely no wish to come at present.’ Chrysostom assumes that it is the will of Apollos that is the impediment, and points out how St Paul excuses himself without blaming Apollos. To suppose that the will of God is meant (Theoph., Beng., Evans) is at variance with the context. When St Paul means the will of God, which is very frequently, he says so (1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1, 2 Corinthians 8:5, etc.). * In the N.T., πάντως is found only in Paul and Luke (9:10; Luke 4:23; Acts 28:4): it expresses strong affirmation, utique (Vulg.). The νῦν softens the refusal: Apollos has not made up his mind never to visit Corinth again, but he cannot be induced to come now. Although St Paul was not afraid that Apollos would join the Apollos party, Apollos may have been afraid that this party would try to capture him. If this is correct, ὂταν εὐκαιρήσῃ may have special meaning. Just as οὗ ἐὰν πορεύωμαι (v. 6) suggests, ‘It depends upon you whether I go to Jerusalem or not,’ so this might suggest, ‘It depends upon you whether he comes soon or not.’ The proper καιρός rests with the Corinthians; Apollos will not come while there is an Apollos party in opposition to the Apostle. The ἦν implies that Apollos is not with St Paul at the time of writing: ‘when I spoke to him, there was no wish at all to come now.’ But εὐκαιρήσῃ (Mark 6:31; Acts 17:21; not in LXX) need not imply more than that Apollos was at present not free to come; for which meaning εὔ σχολῆς ἐχειν would be better Greek. On the work of Apollos at Corinth see Knowling on Acts 18:24, Acts 18:25.

Before πολλὰ παρεκάλεσα, א* D* E F G, Latt. Goth. insert δηλῶ ὑμῖν ὅτι, vobis notum facio quoniam: A B C K L M P, Syrr. Copt. Aeth. Arm. omit.

For πολλά, adverbial, comp. v. 19; Romans 16:6, Romans 16:12; it is frequent in Mark (5:10, 23, 38, 43, etc.).

13, 14. There is probably no thought of Apollos in this abrupt transition, such as, ‘Do not put your trust in any teacher, however competent; you must look to your own conduct.’ St Paul means to bring the letter to a close and begins his final exhortations. In five clear and crisp charges he gathers together the duties which he has been inculcating, the duties of a Christian soldier. Four of these have reference to spiritual foes and perils, while the last sums up their duty to one another. They are an army in the field, and they must be alert, steadfast, courageous, strong; and in all things united. “The four imperatives are directed respectively against the heedlessness, fickleness, childishness, and moral enervation of the Corinthians” (Findlay). Comp. 7:29-31, 10:12, 13, 15:1, 14:20, 9:24, 13.

13. Γρηγορεῖτε. This charge seems to have been often given by our Lord, especially at the close of His ministry; Mark 13:34, Mark 13:35, Mark 13:37, Mark 13:14:34, Mark 13:37, 38, and parallels; and μακάριος ὁ γρηγορῶν is one of the seven Beatitudes in Revelation (16:15; comp. 3:2, 3; Matthew 24:42). For its use as a military charge see 1 Macc. 12:27 of Jonathan the high priest to his men, and for its metaphorical use, as here, γρηγόρει, ἀκόμητον πνεῦμα κεκτη μένος (Ign. Polyc. 1): comp. 1 Thessalonians 5:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:10; Colossians 4:2; 1 Peter 5:8. The verb is a late formation from ἐγρήγορα, and is found in the later books of the LXX, in the Psalms of Solomon, and in the Testaments of the 12 Patriarchs. Watchfulness against various enemies and dangers and watchfulness for the coming of Christ are specially meant here.

στήκετε ἐν τῇ πίστει. The warning in 10:12 unites this charge with the preceding one: comp. Romans 5:2, Romans 5:11:20; Ephesians 4:13; 2 Thessalonians 2:15. ‘The faith’ means belief in the Gospel as a whole, and especially in the atonement won by Christ’s death on the Cross (1) and in the life guaranteed by His Resurrection (15). There must be no desertion, no λειποταξία, with regard to that. These first two charges have reference to the Christian warrior awaiting attack; the next two refer to the actual combat.

ἀνδρίζεσθε. ‘Play the man,’ ‘act like men,’ viriliter agite (Vulg.). The verb occurs here only in N.T., but is common in LXX in exhortations; Deuteronomy 31:6, Deuteronomy 31:7, Deuteronomy 31:23; Joshua 1:6, Joshua 1:7, Joshua 1:9, Joshua 1:18, etc. In 2 Samuel 10:12 and Psalm 27:14, 31:25, it is combined with κραταιοῦσθαι, as here. Comp. the dying charge of Mattathias to his sons; ‘And ye, my children, be strong, and show yourselves men in behalf of the law’ (1 Macc. 2:64). Arist. Eth Nic. III:VI. 12 and other illustrations in Wetstein.

κραταιοῦσθε. ‘Be not only manly but mighty; gain the mastery’ (Ephesians 3:16): κραταιός (1 Peter 5:6) and κράτος (Ephesians 1:19, Ephesians 1:6:10; Colossians 1:2; 1 Timothy 6:16) are uniformly used of God.

14. πάντα ὑμῶν ἐν ἀγάπῃ γινέσθω. He is glancing back at the party-divisions, at the selfish disorder at the Lord’s Supper, and at their jealousy in the possession of special charismata, and is recalling 13. Chrysostom has μετὰ ἀγάπης for ἐν ἀγάπῃ, probably through inadvertence; there seems to be no such reading. The change is for the worse.* St Paul says more than that everything they do must be accompanied with love: love must be very atmosphere in which their lives move. This love is the affection which all Christians are bound to cherish for one another and all mankind. The phrase ἐν ἀγάπη is specially frequent in Ephesians (1:4, 3:18, 4:2, 15, 16, 5:2) and always in this sense rather than in that of our love to God or of His to us.

15-18. He remembers some other directions which must be given before he concludes: comp. Romans 16:17. He has spoken of his own fellow-workers, Timothy and Apollos, who are to visit them. He now says a word in commendation of some among themselves whose services to the Church ought to command esteem and deference as well as love. Perhaps he had heard that those whom he mentions had been treated with disrespect. Dobschütz, Probleme, pp. 66, 69.

15. Παρακαλῶ δὲ ὑμᾶς, ἀδελφό. ‘Now I beseech you, my brothers,’—and then he breaks off in order to mention something which will induce them to grant his request. Dionysius the Areopagite, Damaris, and possibly others (Acts 17:33) had been won over before Stephanas, but his was the first Christian household, and as such was the foundation of the Church in those parts. It began with ‘the Church in his house.’ In a similar sense Epaenetus was ἀπαρχὴ τῆς Ἀσίας (Romans 16:5). It was no doubt on account of this important fact that St Paul made an exception in his usual practice and baptized Stephanas and his household (1:16). What follows shows their devotion to the cause. Clement of Rome (Cor. 42), speaking of the Apostles, says: “So preaching everywhere in country and town, they appointed their firstfruits, when they had proved them by the Spirit, to be bishops and deacons unto them that should believe”; where τὰς ἀπαρχὰς αὐτῶν seems to mean the firstfruits of the country districts and towns, χώρας κ. πόλεις. But here it is evident that the Apostle had not appointed Stephanas and his household to any διακονία. They had spontaneously taken this service upon themselves. Just as the brethren appointed (ἔταξαν) that Paul and Barnabas and others should go to Jerusalem about the question of circumcision (Acts 15:2), so Stephanas and his household appointed themselves (ἔταξαν ἑαυτοὐς) to the service of their fellow-Christians. It was a self-imposed duty*.‘The saints’ does not mean the poor at Jerusalem, but believers generally,—the sick and needy, travellers, etc. In class. Grk. τάσσειν ἐαυτόν is common.

16. ἳνα καὶ ὑμεῖς ὑποτάσσησθε τοῖς τοιούτοις. ‘That ye also be in subjection to such men as these’—to such excellent Christians. The AV. ignores the καί, which has special point; ‘that you also do your duty to them as they do to all.’ And perhaps ὑποτάσσεσθαι is chosen with special reference to ἔταξαν ἑαυτούς. ‘They have taken the lead in good works; do you also follow such leadership.’

καὶ παντὶ τῷ συνεργοῦντι καὶ κοπιῶντι. ‘And to every fellow-labourer and hard worker.’*The σύν in συνεργοῦντι is indefinite and comprehensive; neither ‘with us’ (AV.) in particular, nor ‘with them,’ but omni co-operanti (Vulg.), omnibus operam suam conferentibus (Beza); every one who lends a helping hand and works hard (Romans 16:6, Romans 16:12).

17. χαίρω δὲ ἐπὶ τῇ παρουσίᾳ Σ. κ.τ.λ. ‘And it is a joy to me to have Stephanas and Fortunatus and Achaicus here.’ They had probably brought the Corinthian letter and were waiting to take this letter in reply to it. They were a little bit of Corinth, and as such a delight to the Apostle. That Fortunatus and Achaicus were members of the οἰκία Σπεφανᾶ is unlikely; they would have been mentioned in a different way, if they had been; and it is improbable that all the delegates would be taken from one household. Lightfoot thinks that there is no improbability in identifying Fortunatus with the Fortunatus mentioned by Clem. Rom. (Cor. 65): but the identification is precarious, for that Fortunatus may have been a Roman, and the name is not at all rare.† It is possible that the use of παρουσία, implies that the visit of the delegates was official; see on 15:23.

τὸ ὑμέτερον ὑστέρημα. Does this mean ‘my want of you,’ or ‘your want of me’? Both are possible, and each makes good sense. ‘I am deprived of you; but they compensate for your absence’; which is a pleasing way of expressing his affection for the Corinthians and his joy at having some of them with him. On the other hand; ‘You cannot all of you come to me; but these excellent delegates will do quite as well.’ The latter is perhaps a little more probable. In the other case, would he have said ἀνεπλήρωσαν? that these three men quite made up for their absence (Php 2:30)? But, as regards answering the Corinthians’ questions, these delegates were an adequate substitute for the whole community; there was no need for the whole community to interview the Apostle.

א A K L, Chrys. have ὑμῶν τὸ ὑστέρημα: B C D E F G M P read τὸ ὑμέτὲρον ὑδτξρημα, which is more likely to be right. For οὗτοι (א B C K L P, Copt. Arm. Aeth. Goth.), A D E F G M, Vulg. Syrr. read αὐτό, which Lachmann and Alford uncritically prefer.

18. ἀνἑπαυσαν γὰρ τὸ ἐμὸν πνεῦμα καὶ τὸ ὑμῶν. ‘For they refreshed (2 Corinthians 7:13; Philemon 1:7, Philemon 1:20) my spirit—and yours’; explaining how these three men were sufficiently representative of the Corinthian Church. It was a great comfort to him to learn from their delegates how anxious they were for his direction and advice, and to have their assurance about matters which had greatly disturbed him respecting his ‘brothers’ in Corinth. And it is in the highest element of his being (πνεῦμα, not ψυχή) that he has this consolation. He adds καὶ τὸ ὑμῶν with affectionate after-thought: they are sure to feel the same. This may look backward to the relief with which the perplexed Corinthians sent representatives to consult the Apostle, or forward to the time of the representatives’ return, when the Corinthians would be tranquillized by their report and this letter. The latter is better; it will be a great consolation to the Corinthians to learn what a comfort their delegates have been to St Paul.

ἐπιγινώσκετε οὖν τοὺς τοιούτους. ‘Acknowledge therefore such men as these’: cognoscite ergo qui hujusmodi sunt (Vulg.); agnoscite igitur qui sunt hujusmodi (Beza.). ‘Such services as theirs ought to meet with a generous recognition. They have undertaken a long and perilous journey on your behalf, and they have brought great relief and refreshment to me as well as to you.’ In 1 Thessalonians 5:12, St Paul uses εἰδέναι for ‘know’ in the sense of ‘appreciate.’ It would seem from these exhortations (15-18) that the Corinthians were wanting in respect for those whose work or position gave them a claim to reverence and submission. Clement of Rome finds similar fault in them.

19-24. Solemn conclusion to the Epistle with Salutations, Warning, and Benediction. The collective salutations are in three groups. First, those of all the Churches in the proconsular province of Asia, with which St Paul was constantly in touch. Then, from Ephesus in particular, a specially affectionate one from Prisca and Aquila and their household; and finally, a more general one from all the Christians in Ephesus. To these, with his own hand, St Paul adds his own personal salutation, with a farewell warning and blessing.*.

19. Elsewhere the Apostle mentions ‘Asia’ thrice (2 Corinthians 1:8; Romans 16:5; 2 Timothy 1:15), and in all places it is the Roman province that is meant; but the Roman province was not always accurately defined and was used in more than one sense. Here the district of which Ephesus was the capital is probably intended. See Artt. ‘Asia’ in DB. and Enc. Bibl.; Knowling on Acts 2:9; Hort on 1 Peter 1:2, pp. 157 f.; Harnaek, Acts of the Apostles, pp. 102 f.; Swete on Revelation 1:4.

ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς ἐν Κυρίῳ πολλὰ Ἀκύλας καὶ Πρίσκα. Both ἐν Κυρίῳ and πολλά add to the impressiveness of the salutation: it is sent in a devout spirit of fellowship in Christ, and in affectionate earnestness. Ἐν Κυρίῳ, of the sphere or element in which anything exists or takes place, is frequent in all groups of the Pauline Epistles, except the Pastorals, and is specially frequent in the salutations in Rom_16. (2, 8, 11, 12, 13). It sometimes means ‘in God’ (1:31; 2 Corinthians 10:17), but generally means ‘in Christ,’ to which, however, it is not always equivalent; see J. A. Robinson on Ephesians 2:21, p. 72. For the adv. πολλά see on v. 12; also Milligan, Greek Papyri, p. 91.

Prisca would hardly be mentioned as well as her husband, if she were not a prominent Christian; and this prominence is still more marked in Romans 16:3 and 2 Timothy 4:19. “Plainly the woman was the leading figure of the two, so far as regards Christian activity at least. She was a fellow-labourer of St Paul, i.e. a missionary, and she could not take part in missionary work or in teaching, unless she had been inspired and set apart by the Spirit. Otherwise, St Paul would not have recognized her. Shc may be claimed as ἡ ἀπόστολος, although St Paul has not given her this title” (Harnack, The Mission and Expansion of Christianity, ii. p. 66). Harnack thinks it probable that either Prisca or Aquila wrote the Epistle to the Hebrews (Ibid. i. p. 79; Zeitschrift für die neutest. Wissenschaft, 1900, i. pp. 16 f.). In Acts 18:18, Acts 18:26 the wife is placed first; in Acts 18:2, the husband, as here. In Acts she is always called by the diminutive form of the name, Priscilla, which St Paul, according to the best texts, never uses. They were evidently great travellers, according to the nomadic habits of many of the Jews (Sanday and Headlam on Romans 16:3; Deissmann, Light, pp. 119, 170, 278; Renan, S. Paul, pp. 96, 97; Lightfoot, Biblical Essay, p. 299).

σὺν τῇ κατʼ οἶκον αὐτῶν ἐκκλησίᾳ. At Rome, as at Ephesus, the house of this devoted pair was a centre of Christian activity (Romans 16:3), and was probably used for common worship (Colossians 4:15; Philemon 1:2). Hort, The Christian Ecclesia, pp. 117, 118 122. We need increased information about this primitive arrangement.

A 34 omit this verse, doubtless through homoeoteleuton. After αἰ ἐκκλησίαι, C P 47, Chrys. insert πᾶσαι. For ἀσπάζεται (א C D E K P, Goth.), B F G L M, Vulg. have ἀσπάζονται, an obvious correction. For Πρίσκα (א B M P 17, Copt. Arm. Goth.), A C D E F G K L Syrr. Aeth. have Πρίσκιλλα, which AV., Lachm. and Alford adopt.

20. ἀσπάζονται ὑμᾶς οἱ ἀδελφοὶ πάντες. ‘All the brethren salute you,’ with some emphasis on ‘all’ as in 15:7. He means all the members of the Church in Ephesus. The Corinthians are not to think that only Aquila and Priscilla with their circle take an interest in them. St Paul can answer for every Christian at Ephesus. “One feels, in reading such salutations, that the history of nations is coming to an end, and that of a new nation of a wholly different kind is beginning” (Godet). Comp. 2 Corinthians 13:13.

ἀσπάσασθε ὰλλήλους ἐν φιλήματι ἁγίῳ. ‘The affection which the Christians in Ephesus and Asia manifest towards you must kindle in all of you affection for one another, which shouid be expressed by a hallowed use of the common mark of affection.’ Like v.14, this is an exhortation to get rid of their unhappy divisions and jealousies. The solemn kiss was a token of the love for one another which all Christians ought to regard as a debt (Romans 13:8). This φίλημα ἅγιον (1 Thessalonians 5:26; Romans 16:16), or ἅγιον φίλημα (2 Corinthians 13:12), or φίλημα ἀγάπης (1 Peter 5:14), very soon became part of the ritual of public worship. Justin (Apol. i:65) calls it simply φίλημα. Tertullian (De Orat. 14) calls it osculum pacis, and also signaculum orationis (18), and asks whether any prayer can be complete cim divortio sancti osculi. Later he calls it pax, and in the Church Order known as The Testament of the Lord (1:23, 30; 2:4, 9) it is simply ‘the Peace.’ But in the East the more common term was ἀσπασμός. Conybeare (Expositor, 1894 i:461) shows that the ‘kiss of peace’ may have been customary among the Jews. If so, it is unlikely that the kiss was ever promiscuous in Christian worship, for in the synagogue men would kiss men and women women; and this was certainly the custom at a later date in the Church (Const. Apost. ii. 57, vii. 11; Canons of Laodicea, 19; comp. Athenagoras Legat. 32; Clem. Alex. Paed. iii. 11, p. 301 ed. Potter). See Suicer, ἀσπασμός and φιλημα; D. Chr. Ant. p. 902; Kraus, Real-Ency. d. Chr. Alt. i. p. 543. It is said that in some parts of Greece a kiss is still given with the Paschal Salutation, “Christ is risen.” Chrysostom (on 2 Corinthians 13:13) compares the later custom of kissing the entrances of Churches; “We are the temple of Christ. We kiss the porch and entrance of the temple in kissing one another”; and he contrasts the kiss of Judas, which was not ἅγιον. From England the custom spread in the thirteenth century of passing round a tablet (pax, instrumentum paccis, tabella pads, asser ad pacem, oculatorium) to be kissed as a substitute for the kiss of peace. The passing of this through the congregation led to so much confusion that at last it was confined to the clergy (Kraus, 2. p. 602).

21. Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῆ χειρὶ Παύλου. ‘The salutation with my own hand of me Paul’ The Apostle takes the pen from his amanuensis and himself finishes the letter, to authenticate it as coming from him: it must not be possible for his opponents in Corinth to question whether this letter is really St Paul’s: 2 Thessalonians 3:17; Colossians 4:18. Up to this point he had been dictating (Romans 16:22), but he finishes the letter himself. In the papyri, the signature is sometimes in quite a different hand from the rest of the writing (Milligan, Thessalonians, p. 125). The Apostle’s handwriting would be known at Corinth; but we cannot safely infer from Galatians 6:11 that it was unusually large: like other people, he sometimes wrote large, as we use large type, for emphasis (Ramsay, Galatians, p. 466; Deissmann, Light, pp. 153, 158). Παύλου is in apposition with the gen. implied in ἐμῇ.*

εἴ τις οὐ φιλεῖ τὸν Κ., ἤτω ἀνάθεμα. We might have expected ἀγαπᾷ, but the previous φιλήματι may have suggested the lower word. Or St Paul may have purposely chosen it, to indicate the poor character of the love indicated; ‘If anyone does not have even as much affection as φιλεῖν’; and those who were uncharitable to one another could not have this. For the difference between the two verbs see Trench, Syn. § xii.; Cremer, pp. 9f.; comm. on John 21:15-17; Swete on Revelation 3:19. Nowhere else, excepting the somewhat similar Titus 3:15, does St Paul use φιλεῖν, which is rare in the N.T. outside the Gospels. The negative almost forms one word with φιλεῖ, ‘if anyone has no affection for Christ,’ is heartless towards Him. As a matter of fact, this was the case with some: comp. 7:9, 11:6. For ἤτω, a later form of ἔστω, see Jam 5:12; also ἤτω ἡ δόξα Κυρίου εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, Psalm 104:31; Ἰερουσαλὴμ ἤτω ἁγία, 1 Macc. 10:31. It may have been common in adjurations and curses. J. B. Mayor quotes two inscriptions; εἰ δέ τις κακουργήσει, ἤτω ἔνοχος Ἡλίῳ Σελήνῃ, and κατηραμένος ἤτω αὐτὸς καὶ τὰ τέκνα αὐτοῦ (St James, p. 155). Galatians 1:8, Galatians 1:9, we have ἀνάθεμα ἔστω: see on 12:3. See Enc. Bibl. 2. 1432.

Μαρὰν ἀθά. Perhaps the most curious mistake in the English Versions is that which attaches these words, combined into one, to the preceding ‘Anathema,’ as if they formed part of a formula of malediction, ‘be Anathema Maranatha.’ Coverdale has ‘be Anathema Maharan Matha,’ which has perhaps been influenced by Shammatha, the highest form of Jewish excommunication, like Luther’s ‘Maharam Motha.’ The Genevan translates the words; let him be had in execration, yea excommunicate to death’ But the error is far older than any English Version, and perhaps may be traced back to the fifth century. Down to the seventeenth century it was accepted as correct by many scholars; and although abandoned by scholars now, it survives here and there in popular literature, and in the Second Lesson one may still sometimes hear ‘Anathema Maranatha’ read as one expression. Scholars, however, are not agreed as to the exact meaning of Maranatha; as to whether it means ‘The Lord has come,’ or ‘Our Lord has come,’* or ‘Our Lord cometh,’ or ‘Our Lord, come.’ The last would resemble ‘Amen; come Lord Jesus’ (22:20). Yet another interpretation is, ‘Our Lord is the sign’ (Abbott, The Son of Man, p. 465; Ency. Bibl. iii:2935, from Klostermann, Probleme im Aposteltexte, pp. 220-246), but it is not likely to be right. With ‘Our Lord cometh’ compare Php 4:5; Jam 5:8; Revelation 1:7, Revelation 1:3:11; and this agrees with the context and the substance of the Epistle. If it be right, the saying, though in no way a malediction, is monitory in tone. It warns them that at any moment they may have to answer for their shortcomings. Why St Paul gives this warning in Aramaic rather than in Greek, is unknown. The most probable conjecture is that in this language it had become a sort of motto or password, among Christians, and familiar in that shape, like ‘Alleluia’ with ourselves. See Hastings, DB. iii. pp. 241 f.; Findlay ad loc.; Dalman, Words, p. 328. Zahn thinks that the Apostle uses “the language of the Palestinian Jews” because “the persons whom he has in mind are Christians who had come from Palestine” (Introd. to N.T., i. p. 288).

א* A B C* M 17 have τὸν Κύριον, without addition; D E F G K L P, Vulg. Syrr. Copt. Goth., Chrys. add ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦν χριστόν, as in AV. FG have μαρανναθά, which g renders in adventu domini.

23. ἡ χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ μεθʼ ὑμῶν. The Apostle will not end with a word of warning or severity, but adds the usual benediction. Like a true teacher, as Chrysostom says, he helps not only with counsels, but with prayers.

The shortest of the Pauline benedictions is that in Colossians 4:18; 1 Timothy 6:21, ἡ χάρις μεθʼ ὑμῶν. This one is shorter than usual. Sometimes ἡμῶν is inserted after Κυρίον. This one is shorter than usual. Sometimes ἡμῶν is inserted after Κυρίου (Romans 16:20, Romans 16:24; Galatians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 5:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:18), and A L P Vulg. add it here. Sometimes χριστοῦ is inserted after Ἱησοῦ (Romans 16:24; 2 Corinthians 13:13; Galatians 6:18; Php 4:23; 1 Thessalonians 5:28; 2 Thessalonians 3:18; Philemon 1:25), and A C D E F G K L M P, Syrr. Copt. Arm. Aeth. add it here, while א* B 17 Am, Goth omit. Sometimes πάντων (2 Corinthians 13:13; 2 Thessalonians 3:18), sometimes τοῦ πνεύματος (Galatians 6:18; Php 4:23; Philemon 1:25), is inserted before ὑμῶν. The fullest form of all 2 Corinthians 13:13. In spite of the strong evidence for Χριστοῦ here, it is not to be accepted; the probability of insertion either deliberately or mechanically, is great. The evidence against Χριστόν in v. 22 is stronger, and if that is not genuine, Χριστοῦ is not likely to be genuine here.

24. To make his farewell words still more tender, he adda to the Apostolic Benediction a message of personal affection. The verb to be suplied is probably the same in both cases, εἲη, ‘be,’ as in AV. and RV.; εἲη must be understood in v. 23, and is more probably than ἐστί in v. 24. He sends his love in the form of a blessing to help them to correct what he has blames, and to prove to them that, as regards his attitude towards them ἡ ἀγάπη οὐδέποτε πίπτελ. It embraces all of them, even the most faulty, for it is ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, the ‘bond of perfectness’ and the ‘bond of peace,’* He would not have said πάντων, of ἐστί were understoood, for some offenders were too flagrant to be at present included; but as a wish, an aspiration and a prayer, his message may embrace all. And, being ‘in Christ Jesus,’ it has nothing of the partiality or fickleness of human affection. It is, as Chrysostom says, πνευματική τις. διὸ καὶ σφόδρα γνησία.

The final ἀμήν (א A C D K L P, Versions) is as usual, a liturgical, addition: B F M 17 and some Latt. omit. The ἀμήν at the end of galatians, romans, and Jude is genuine; that at the end of 2 Peter is possibly genuine. See Introduction, § ‘Text’.

As already pointed out on v.5, the note in K L and some Latin texts, stating that the letter was weitten from Philippi, is based on a misapprehesion. P and some other texts say correctly that it was written ‘from Ephesus’ or “from Asia,’ while א B* C D* F 17 make no statement about the place of writing.

* Calvin remarks that Christians, who know that they have God for their debtor, ought to feel the blessedness of giving, when even a heathen poet (Mart. 5:42) could write, Quas dederis solas semper habebis opes: and Primasius says that by giving a little at a time they will not feel oppressed, and so can be the cheerful givers who are beloved by God. Compare καὶ συνήγαγον ἀργύριον καθὰ ἑκάστου ἠδύνατο ἡ χείρ (Bar. 1:6).

† It illustrates the caprice of the AV. that in v. 1 λογία is rendered ‘collection,’ and in v. 2 ‘gathering.’ Tyndale and the Genevan have ‘gathering’ in both places, while the Rhemish has ‘collection’ in both. Contrast the ὅταν in 2, 3, 5 with the ἐάν in 10.

K K (Ninth century). Codex S. Synod. xcviii. Lacks 1:1-6:13 ταύτην καί: 8:7 τινὲς δὲ—8:11 ἀπέθανεν.

L L (Ninth century). Codex Angelicus; At Rome.

M M (Ninth century). Harl. 5913 * at the British Museum. Contains 15:52 σαλπίσει to the end of 16. The MS. also contains fragments of 2 Corinthians and (in some leaves now at Hamburg) of Hebrews.

A A (Fifth century.) The Codex Alexandrinus; now at the British Museum.

B B (Fourth century.) The Vatican MS.

C C (Fifth century). The Codex Ephraem, a Palimpsest; now at Paris. Lacks 7:18 ἐν ἀκροβυστίᾳ-9:6 τοῦ μὴ ἐργάζεσθαι: 13:8 παύσονται-14:40 ἀλλὰ ἕτερα.

D D (Sixth century.) Codex Clarmontanus; now at Paris. A Graeco-Latin MS. 14:13 διο͂ ὁ λαλῶν-22 σημεῖον ἐστίν is supplied by a later but ancient hand. Many subsequent hands (sixth to ninth centuries) have corrected the MS. (See Gregory, Prolegomena , pp. 418-422).

E E (Ninth century). At Petrograd. A copy of D, and unimportant

F F (Late ninth century). Codex Augiensis (from Reichenau); now at Trin. Coll. Cambr. Probably a copy of G in any case, secondary to G, from which it very rarely varies (see Gregory, p. 429).

G G (Late ninth century). Codex Boernerianus; at Dresden. Interlined with the Latin (in minluscules). Lacks 1 Corinthians 3:8-16, 1 Corinthians 6:7-14 (F).

P P (Ninth century). Porfirianus Chiovensis. A palimpsest acquired in the East by Porphyrius Bishop of Kiew. Lacks 7:15 ὑμᾶς ὁ θεός-17 περιπάτει: 12:23 τοῦ σώματος-13:5 οὐ λογί-: 14:23 τὸ λαλεῖν μή. A good type of text in St Paul’s Epistles.

אԠא (Fourth century.) The Sinaitic MS., now at St Petersburg, the only MS. containing the whole N.T.

I I2 (Fifth century). Codex Muralti vi. At St Petersburg.Contains 15:53 ταῦτο-16:9.

* In Galatians, St Paul uses the later Graecized political form Ἰεροσόλυμα of the actual city (1:17, 18, 2:1), and the ancient theocratic Hebrew form Ἰερουσαλήμ of the typical city (4:25, 26; comp. Hebrews 12:22; Revelation 3:12; Revelation 21:2, Revelation 21:10). But here and Romans 15:19, Romans 15:25, Romans 15:26, Romans 15:31 he uses Ἰερουσαλήμ of the actual city, “lovingly and reverently,” as of the mother Church and the home of suffering saints. See Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 316.

‡ Papyri seem to show that οὒͅς ἐὰν δοκιμάσητε was a phrase in common use. On commendatory letters see Deissmann, Light, p. 158.

* It has been found in a letter written a leaden tabler from Athens about B.C. 400 (Deissmann, New Light on the N.T., p. 56).

67 67. (Act 66, Apoc. 34. Eleventh century.) At Vienna. The marginal corrections (67**) embody very early readings, akin to those of M (supra). See Westcott and Hort, Introd.§ 212.

† With this use of πάροδος compare 2 Samuel 12:4, ἧλθε πάροδος τῷ ἀνδρὶ τῷ πλουσίῳ, ‘there came a visit to the rich man’; and Wisd. 2:5, where life is called σκιᾶς πάροδος, the ‘passing of a shadow.’ In Genesis 38:14, ὲν παρόδῳ seems to mean ‘on a by-way’ or ‘by the wayside’ (see Skinner ad loc.). The word occurs nowhere else in N.T.

* Lightfoot, Bibical Essays, p. 276; Zahn, Introd. to N.T., 1. p. 344.

*

But see Lightfoot, On Revision, p. 118, who quotes Ign. Ephes. 20, Rom_1, Smyr. 1; where, however, the context shows that the Divine will is meant, and where some texts have τοῦ Θεοῦ expressed.

It is quite clear that St Paul did not regard Apollos as the leader of the Apollos party, any more than he regarded Peter as leader of the Cephas party, or himself as leader of the Paul party. But it is possible that Apollos had some reason, which the Apostle does not care to mention, for not wishing to return to Corinth then. Origen speaks of him as being ἐπίσκοπος at Corinth.

* The AV. has the same weak rendering; ‘with charity,’ following Beza’s cum charitate.

* The AV. is not an improvement on earlier versions, with ‘They have addicted themselves.’ The Genevan is better, with ‘They have given themselves’; and Tyndale still better, with ‘They have appoyned them selves’, For the kind of διακονία see Romans 15:25, Romans 15:31; 2 Corinthians 8:4, 2 Corinthians 8:9:1; Hebrews 6:10; also Hort, Christian Ecclesia, pp. 206 f.

* In κοπιᾶν we perhaps have one of St Paul’s athletic metaphors. It seems to refer to laborious training for a contest; Php 2:16; Colossians 1:29; 1 Timothy 4:10; [Clem. Rom.] 2:7, οἰ πολλὰ κοπιάσαντες καὶ καλῶς ἀγωνισάμενοι, where see Lightfoot; also on Ign. Polyc. 6, συγκοπιᾶτε ἀλλήλοις συναθλεῖτε συντρέχετε.

† The names of Corinthian Christians that are known to us are mostly of Roman or servile origin: see on 1:14; also Hastings, DB. Art. ‘Achaicus’.

* In the papyri, ἀσπἀζεσθαι is frequently used in salutations at the close of letters; e.g. ἀσπἀζου Ἑπαγαθδν καὶ τοὺς φιλοῦντας ἡμᾶς πρὸς ἀληθίαν. See Milligan on 1 Thessalonians 5:26; Deissmann, Bible Studies, p. 257.

47 47. Bodleian. Roe 16. (Eleventh century.)

17 17. (Ev. 33, Act_13. Ninth century.) At Paris (Nat. Gr. 14). See Westcott and Hort., Introd. §§ 211, 212.

* In none of the Epistles which have come down to us does he call himself Saul. Possibly, if he had to write to Jews, he would do so (9:20), See Deissmann, Bible Studies, pp. 316 f.; Ramsay, St Paul, pp. 81 f.; Schiller. Szinessy, Expositor, 3rd series, 4. p. 324. See also on 15:9.

* Chrysostom renders it, Ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν ἧλθε, and interprets it of the Incarnation: “as if the Apostle said, The common Lord and Ruler of all condescended to come down so low, and you remain unchanged and persist in sinning”. The thought of the Incarnation incites to virtue and extinguishes the desire to sin. The Didache has the expression in the invitation to the Holy Communion; εί τις ἃγιός ἐστιν, ἐρχέσθω. εί τισοὐκ ἔστι, μετανοείτὠ μαραναθά Ἀμήν.. (10:6). See Schaff’s note, p. 198; also Field, Otium Norvic. iii. p. 110; Deissmann, Light, pp. 305, 354.

* See Deissmann, Die neutestamentliche formel “in Christo Jesus”; also Sanday and Headlam on Romans 6:11, pp. 160, 161.