x. 30), seems inappropriate here, because the idea of thanksgiving is

introduced in the following verse.

III. 17, 18]

χάριτι, ᾄδοντες ἐν ταῖς καρδίαις ὑμῶν τῷ Θεῷ· ^{17}καὶ πᾶν ὅ τι ἐὰν ποιῆτε ἐν λόγῳ ἢ ἐν ἔργῳ, πάντα ἐν ὀνόματι Κυρίου Ἰησοῦ, εὐχαριστοῦντες τῷ Θεῷ πατρὶ δι’ αὐτοῦ.

^{18}Αἱ γυναῖκες, ὑποτάσσεσθε τοῖς ἀνδράσιν, ὡς ἀνῆκεν

ἄδοντες κ.τ.λ.] This external manifestation must be accompanied by the inward emotion. There must be the thanksgiving of the heart, as well as of the lips; comp. Ephes. v. 19 ἄδοντες καὶ ψάλλοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ (probably the correct reading), where τῇ καρδίᾳ ‘_with_ the heart’ brings out the sense more distinctly.

17. πᾶν ὅ τι κ.τ.λ.] This is probably a nominative absolute, as Matt. x. 32 πᾶς οὖν ὅστις ὁμολογήσει ... ὁμολογήσω κἀγὼ ἐν αὐτῷ (comp. Luke xii. 8), Luke xii. 10 πᾶς ὃς ἐρεῖ λόγον ... ἀφεθήσεται αὐτῷ, John xvii. 2 πᾶν ὃ δέδωκας αὐτῷ, δώσῃ _αὐτοῖς_ κ.τ.λ.; comp. Matt. vii. 24 (v.l.).

πάντα] sc. ποιεῖτε, as the following εὐχαριστοῦντες suggests; comp. ver. 23.

ἐν ὀνόματι κ.τ.λ.] This is the great practical lesson which flows from the theological teaching of the epistle. Hence the reiteration of Κυρίῳ, ἐν Κυρίῳ, etc., vv. 18, 20, 22, 23, 24. See above p. 104.

εὐχαριστοῦντες] On this refrain see the notes on i. 12, ii. 7.

τῷ Θεῷ πατρὶ] This, which is quite the best authenticated reading, gives a very unusual, if not unique, collocation of words, the usual form being either ὁ Θεὸς καὶ πατήρ or Θεὸς πατήρ. The καί before πατρί in the received text is an obvious emendation. See the note on i. 3, and the appendix on various readings.

18–21. ‘Ye wives, be subject to your husbands, for so it becomes you in Christ. Ye husbands, love and cherish your wives, and use no harshness towards them. Ye children, be obedient to your parents in all things; for this is commendable and lovely in Christ. Ye parents, vex not your children, lest they lose heart and grow sullen’.

18 sq. These precepts, providing for the conduct of Christians in private households, should be compared with Ephes. v. 22–vi. 9, 1 Pet. ii. 18–iii. 7, Tit. ii. 1 sq.; see also Clem. Rom. 1, Polyc. _Phil._ 4 sq.

Αἱ γυναῖκες] ‘_Ye wives_’, the nominative with the definite article being used for a vocative, as frequently in the New Testament, e.g. Matt. xi. 26, Mark v. 41, Luke viii. 54; see Winer § xxix. p. 227 sq. The frequency of this use is doubtless due to the fact that it is a reproduction of the Hebrew idiom. In the instances quoted from classical writers (see Bernhardy _Syntax_ p. 67) the address is not so directly vocative, the nominative being used rather to _define_ or _select_ than to _summon_ the person in question.

τοῖς ἀνδράσιν] The ἰδίοις of the received text may have been inserted (as it is inserted also in Ephes. v. 24) from Ephes. v. 22, Tit. ii. 5, 1 Pet. iii. 1, 5, in all which passages this same injunction occurs. The scribes however show a general fondness for this adjective; e.g. Mark xv. 20, Luke ii. 3, Acts i. 19, Ephes. iv. 28, 1 Thess. ii. 15, iv. 11.

III. 19–22]

ἐν Κυρίῳ. ^{19}Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ μὴ πικραίνεσθε πρὸς αὐτάς. ^{20}Τὰ τέκνα, ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν κατὰ πάντα· τοῦτο γὰρ εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν ἐν Κυρίῳ. ^{21}Οἱ πατέρες, μὴ ἐρεθίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀθυμῶσιν. ^{22}Οἱ δοῦλοι, ὑπακούετε κατὰ πάντα

ἀνῆκεν] The imperfect, as Ephes. v. 4 ἃ οὐκ ἀνῆκεν (the correct reading); comp. _Clem. Hom._ Contest. 3 τοῦδε μὴ μεταδοῦναι χάριν, ὡς οὐ προσῆκεν, Xen. _de Re Equestr._ xii. 14 ἃ ἱππάρχῳ προσῆκεν εἰδέναι τε καὶ πράττειν; and see D’Orville on Charito viii. 2 (p. 699 sq.). The common uses of the imperfect ἔδει, ἔπρεπεν, etc., in classical writers do not present a very exact parallel; for they imply that the thing which ought to have been done has been left undone. And so we might interpret Acts xxii. 22 οὐ γὰρ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν (the correct reading). Here however there can hardly be any such reference; and the best illustration is the English past tense ‘ought’ (= ‘owed’), which is used in the same way. The past tense perhaps implies an essential _à priori_ obligation. The use of χρῆν, ἔχρην, occasionally approximates to this; e.g. Eur. _Andr._ 423.

The idea of ‘propriety’ is the link which connects the primary meaning of such words as ἀνήκειν, προσήκειν, καθήκειν, ‘aiming at or pertaining to’, with their ultimate meaning of moral obligation. The word ἀνήκειν occurs in the New Testament only here and in the contemporary epistles, Ephes. v. 4, Philem. 8.

ἐν Κυρίῳ] probably to be connected with ὡς ἀνῆκεν, rather than with ὑποτάσσεσθε; comp. ver. 20 εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν ἐν Κυρίῳ.

19. μὴ πικραίνεσθε κ.τ.λ.] ‘_show no bitterness, behave not harshly_’; comp. Lynceus in Athen. vi. p. 242 C πικρανθείη πρός τινα τῶν συζώντων, Joseph. _Ant._ v. 7. I δεινῶς πρὸς τοὺς τοῦ δικαίου προϊσταμένους ἐκπικραινόμενος, Plut. _Mor._ p. 457 A πρὸς γύναια διαπικραίνονται. So also πικραίνεσθαι ἐπί τινα in the LXX, Jerem. xliv (xxxvii). 15, 3 Esdr. iv. 31. This verb πικραίνεσθαι and its compounds occur frequently in classical writers.

20. κατὰ πάντα] as ver. 22. The rule is stated absolutely, because the exceptions are so few that they may be disregarded.

εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν] ‘_is well pleasing, commendable_’. The received text supplies this adjective with a dative of reference τῷ Κυρίῳ (from Ephes. v. 10), but ἐν Κυρίῳ is unquestionably the right reading. With the reading thus corrected εὐάρεστον, like ἀνῆκεν ver. 18, must be taken absolutely, as perhaps in Rom. xii. 2 τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θἑοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ εὐάρεστον καὶ τέλειον: comp. Phil. iv. 8 ὅσα σεμνά ... ὅσα προσφιλῆ. The qualification ἐν Κυρίῳ implies ‘as judged by a Christian standard’, ‘as judged by those who are members of Christ’s body.’

21. ἐρεθίζετε] ‘_provoke, irritate_’. The other reading παροργίζετε has higher support, but is doubtless taken from the parallel passage, Ephes. vi. 4. ‘Irritation’ is the first consequence of being too exacting with children, and irritation leads to moroseness (ἀθυμία). In 2 Cor. IX. 2 ἐρεθίζειν is used in a good sense and produces the opposite result, not despondency but energy.

ἀθυμῶσιν] ‘_lose heart, become spiritless_’, i.e. ‘go about their task in a listless, moody, sullen frame of mind’. ‘_Fractus animus_’, says Bengel, ‘pestis juventutis’. In Xen. _Cyr._ i. 6. 13 ἀθυμία is opposed to προθυμία, and in Thuc. ii. 88 and elsewhere ἀθυμεῖν is opposed to θαρσεῖν.

III. 23]

τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις, μὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι, ἀλλ’ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας, φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον. ^{23}ὃ ἐὰν ποιῆτε, ἐκ ψυχῆς ἐργάζεσθε ὡς

22. ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείαις.

22.–iv. 1. ‘Ye slaves, be obedient in all things to the masters set over you in the flesh, not rendering them service only when their eyes are upon you, as aiming merely to please men, but serving in all sincerity of heart, as living in the sight of God and standing in awe of Him. And in every thing that ye do, work faithfully and with all your soul, as labouring not for men, but for the great Lord and Master Himself; knowing that ye have a Master, from whom ye will receive the glorious inheritance as your recompense, whether or not ye may be defrauded of your due by men. Yes, Christ is your Master and ye are his slaves. He that does a wrong shall be requited for his wrong-doing. I say not this of slaves only, but of masters also. There is no partiality, no respect of persons, in God’s distribution of rewards and punishments. Therefore, ye masters, do ye also on your part deal justly and equitably by your slaves, knowing that ye too have a Master in heaven’.

22. Οἱ δοῦλοι] The relations of masters and slaves, both here and in the companion epistle (Ephes. vi. 5–9), are treated at greater length than is usual with St Paul. Here especially the expansion of this topic, compared with the brief space assigned to the duties of wives and husbands (vv. 18, 19), or of children and parents (vv. 20, 21), deserves to be noticed. The fact is explained by a contemporary incident in the Apostle’s private life. His intercourse with Onesimus had turned his thoughts in this direction. See above, p. 33, and the introduction to the Epistle to Philemon: comp. also the note on ver. 11.

ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ] ‘_eye-service_’, as Ephes. vi. 6: comp. _Apost. Const._ iv. 12 μὴ ὡς ὀφθαλμόδουλος ἀλλ’ ὡς φιλοδέσποτος. This happy expression would seem to be the Apostle’s own coinage. At least there are no traces of it earlier. Compare ἐθελοθρησκεία ii. 23. The reading ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ is better supported than ὀφθαλμοδουλείαις, though the plural is rendered slightly more probable in itself by its greater difficulty.

ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι] again in Ephes. vi. 6. It is a LXX word, Ps. lii. 6, where the Greek entirely departs from the Hebrew: comp. also ἀνθρωπαρεσκεῖν Ign. _Rom._ 2, ἀνθρωπαρέσκεια Justin _Apol._ i. 2 (p. 53 E). So ὀχλοαρέσκης or ὀχλόαρεσκος, Timo Phlias. in Diog. Laert. iv. 42 (vv. 11.).

ἁπλότητι καρδίας] as in Ephes. vi. 5, i.e. ‘with _undivided_ service’; a LXX expression, 1 Chron. xxix. 17, Wisd. i. 1.

τὸν Κύριον] ‘_the_ one _Lord_ and Master’, as contrasted with τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις: the idea being carried out in the following verses. The received text, by substituting τὸν Θεόν, blunts the edge of the contrast.

23. ἐργάζεσθε] i.e. ‘do it diligently’, an advance upon ποιητε.

οὐκ ἀνθρώποις] For the use of οὐ rather than μὴ in antitheses, see Winer § lv. p. 601 sq. The negative here is wholly unconnected with the imperative, and refers solely to τῷ Κυρίῳ.

III. 24, 25]

τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις,] ^{24}εἰδότες ὅτι ἀπὸ Κυρίου ἀπολήμψεσθε τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν τῆς κληρονομίας· τῷ Κυρίῳ Χριστῷ δουλεύετε· ^{25}ὁ γὰρ ἀδικῶν κομίσεται ὃ

24. ἀπὸ Κυρίου ‘However you may be treated by your earthly masters, you have still _a_ Master who will recompense you.’ The absence of the definite article here (comp. iv. 1) is the more remarkable, because it is studiously inserted in the context, vv. 22–24, τὸν Κύριον, τῷ Κυρίῳ, τῷ Κυρίῳ. In the parallel passage Ephes. vi. 8 it is παρὰ Κυρίου: for the difference between the two see Gal. i. 12.

τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν] ‘_the just recompense_’, a common word both in the lxx and in classical writers, though not occurring elsewhere in the New Testament; comp. ἀνταπόδομα Luke xiv. 12, Rom. xi. 9. The double compound involves the idea of ‘exact requital’.

τῆς κληρονομίας] ‘_which consists in the inheritance_’, the genitive of apposition: see the note on τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου, i. 12. There is a paradox involved in this word: elsewhere the δοῦλος and the κληρονόμος are contrasted (Matt. xxi. 35–38, etc., Rom. viii. 15–17, Gal. iv. 1, 7), but here the δοῦλος is the κληρονόμος. This he is because, though δοῦλος ἀνθρώπων, he is ἀπελεύθερος Κυρίου (1 Cor. vii. 22) and thus κληρονόμος διὰ Θεοῦ (Gal. iv. 7); comp. Hermas _Sim._ v. 2 ἵνα συγκληρονόμος γένηται ὁ δοῦλος τῷ ὑιῷ (with the context).

τῷ Κυρίῳ κ.τ.λ.] i.e. ‘_you serve_ as your master _the_ great _Master Christ_.’ This clause is added to explain who is meant by the preceding ἀπὸ Κυρίου. For this application of Κύριος compare (besides the parallel passage, Ephes. vi. 6–9) 1 Cor. vii. 22 ὁ γὰρ ἐν Κυρίῳ κληθὲις δοῦλος ἀπελεύθερος Κυρίου ἐστίν κ.τ.λ. It seems best to take δουλεύετε here as an indicative, rather than as an imperative; for (1) The indicative is wanted to explain the previous ἀπὸ Κυρίου; (2) The imperative would seem to require ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ, as in Ephes. vi. 7 (the correct text). On the other hand see Rom. xii. 11.

25. ὁ γὰρ ἀδικῶν κ.τ.λ.] Who is this unrighteous person ? The slave who defrauds his master of his service, or the master who defrauds his slave of his reward? Some interpreters confine it exclusively to the former; others to the latter. It seems best to suppose that both are included. The connexion of the sentence ὁ γὰρ ἀδικῶν (where γάρ, not δέ, is certainly the right reading) points to the slave. On the other hand the expression which follows, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα κ.τ.λ., suggests the master. Thus there seems to be a twofold reference; the warning is suggested by the case of the slave, but it is extended to the case of the master; and this accords with the parallel passage, Ephes. vi. 8 ἕκαστος ὃ ἂν ποίησῃ ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο κομίσεται παρὰ Κυρίου, _εἴτε δοῦλος εἴτε ἐλεύθερος_.

The recent fault of Onesimus would make the Apostle doubly anxious to emphasize the duties of the slave towards the master, lest in his love for the offender he should seem to condone the offence. This same word ἠδίκησεν is used by St Paul to describe the crime of Onesimus in Philem. 18. But on the other hand it is the Apostle’s business to show that justice has a double edge. There must be a _reciprocity_ between the master and the slave. The philosophers of Greece taught, and the laws of Rome assumed, that the slave was a chattel. But a chattel could have no rights. It would be absurd to talk of treating a chattel with justice. St Paul places the relations of the master and the slave in a wholly different light. Justice and equity are the expression of the Divine mind: and with God there is no προσωπολημψία. With Him the claims of the slave are as real as the claims of the master.

κομίσεται] For this sense of the middle, ‘to recover’, ‘to get back’, and so (with an accusative of the thing to be recompensed), ‘to be requited for’, see e.g. Lev. xx. 17 ἁμαρτίαν κομιοῦνται, 2 Cor. v. 10 κομίσηται ἕκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος; comp. Barnab.

IV. 1]

ἠδίκησεν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολημψία. IV. ^1Οἱ κύριοι, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα τοῖς δούλοις παρέχεσθε, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔχετε Κύριον ἐν οὐρανῷ.

§ 4 ὁ Κύριος ἀπροσωπολήμπτως κρινεῖ τὸν κόσμου· ἕκαστος, καθὼς ἐποίησεν, κομιεῖται. In the parallel passage Ephes. vi. 8, the form is certainly κομίσεται: here it is more doubtful, the authorities being more equally divided between κομιεῖται and κομίσεται. See however the note on γνωρίσουσιν iv. 9.

προσωπολημψία] On this word see the note Gal. ii. 6. This προσωπολημψία, though generally found on the side of rank and power, may also be exercised in favour of the opposite; Levit. xix. 15 οὐ λήψῃ πρόσωπον πτωχοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ θαυμάσῃς πρόσωπον δυνάστου. There would be a tendency in the mind of the slave to assume that, because the προσωπολημψία of man was on the side of the master, there must be a corresponding προσωπολημψία of God on the side of the slave. This assumption is corrected by St Paul.

IV. 1. τὴν ἰσότητα] ‘_equity_’, ‘_fairness_’; comp. Plut. _Sol. et Popl. Comp._ 3 νόμων ἰσότητα παρεχόντων. Somewhat similarly Lysias _Or. Fun._ 77 (speaking of death) οὔτε γὰρ τοὺς πονηροὺς ὑπερορᾷ οὔτε τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς θαυμάζει, ἀλλ’ _ἴσον ἑαυτὸν παρέχει_ πᾶσιν. It seems a mistake to suppose that ἰσότης here has anything to do with the treatment of slaves _as equals_ (comp. Philem. 16). When connected with τὸ δίκαιον, the word naturally suggests an even-handed, impartial treatment, and is equivalent to the Latin _æquitas_: comp. Arist. _Top._ vi. 5 (p. 143) ὁ τὴν δικαιοσύνην (λέγων) ἕξιν ἰσότητος ποιητικὴν ἢ διανεμητικὴν τοῦ ἴσου, Philo _de Creat. Princ._ 14 (II. p. 373) ἔστι γὰρ ἰσότης ... μήτηρ δικαιοσύνης, Clem. Alex. _Strom._ vi. 6 (p. 764) μετὰ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἰσότητος τῆς πρὸς τοὺς επιστρέφοντας. Thus in Arist. _Eth. Nic._ v. 1 τὸ δίκαιον and τὸ ἴσον are regarded as synonymes, and in Plut. _Mor._ p. 719 the relation of ἰσότης to δικαίοτης is discussed. The word here is used in the same sense in which the adjective occurs in the common expressions ἴσος δικαστής, ἴσος ἀκροατής, etc. Philo, describing the Essene condemnation of slavery, says, _Omn. prob. lib._ 12 (II. p. 457) καταγινώσκουσί τε τῶν δεσποτῶν, οὐ μόνον ὡς ἀδίκων, ἰσότητα λυμαινομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἀσεβῶν κ.τ.λ., but he possibly does mean ‘equality’ rather than ‘equity.’

παρέχεσθε] ‘_exhibit on your part_.’ The middle παρέχεσθαι, ‘to afford from oneself,’ will take different shades of meaning according to the context, as ‘to furnish one’s _quota_’ (e.g. Herod. viii. 1, 2) or ‘to put forward one’s _representative_’ (esp. of witnesses, e.g. Plato _Apol._ 19 D). Here the idea is ‘reciprocation’, the master’s duty as corresponding to the slave’s.

ἔχετε Κύριον] as Ephes. vi. 9; comp. 1 Cor. vii. 22 ὁ ἐλεύθερος κληθὲις δοῦλός ἐστιν Χριστοῦ.

IV. 2–4]

^2Τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτερεῖτε, γρηγοροῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ· ^3προσευχόμενοι ἅμα καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν, ἵνα ὁ Θεὸς ἀνοίξῃ ἡμῖν θύραν τοῦ λόγου, λαλῆσαι τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι’ ὃ καὶ δέδεμαι· ^4ἵνα φανερώσω

2–6. ‘Be earnest and unceasing in prayer; keep your hearts and minds awake while praying: remember also (as I have so often told you) that thanksgiving is the goal and crown of prayer. Meanwhile in your petitions forget not us—myself Paul—my fellow-labourer Timothy—your evangelist Epaphras—all the teachers of the Gospel; but pray that God may open a door for the preaching of the word, to the end that we may proclaim the free offer of grace to the Gentiles—that great mystery of Christ for which I am now a prisoner in bonds. So shall I declare it fearlessly, as I am bound to proclaim it. Walk wisely and discreetly in all your dealings with unbelievers; allow no opportunity to slip through your hands, but buy up every passing moment. Let your language be always pervaded with grace and seasoned with salt. So will you know how to give a fit answer to each man, as the occasion demands.’

2. προσκαρτερεῖτε] ‘_cling closely to_’, ‘_remain constant to_’ (comp. Mark iii. 9, Acts viii. 13, x. 7), and so ‘continue stedfast in’. This word occurs again with τῇ προσευχῇ, ταῖς προσευχαῖς, Acts i. 14, ii. 42, vi. 4, Rom. xii. 12. The construction is with a simple dative both in the New Testament (ll. cc.) and in classical writers, except where it stands absolutely (Acts ii. 46, Rom. xiii. 6). The injunction here corresponds to the ἀδιαλέιπτως προσεύχεσθε of 1 Thess. v. 17.

γρηγοροῦντες] Long continuance in prayer is apt to produce listlessness. Hence the additional charge that the heart must be _awake_, if the prayer is to have any value. The word is not to be taken literally here, but metaphorically. In Matt. xxvi. 41 etc., γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, the idea is not quite the same.

ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ] as the crown of all prayer; see the notes on i. 12, ii. 7.

3. ἡμῶν] ‘_us_’, ‘the Apostles and preachers of the Gospel’, with reference more especially to Timothy (i. 1) and Epaphras (iv. 12, 13). Where the Apostle speaks of himself alone, he uses the singular (ver. 3, 4 δέδεμαι, φανερώσω). Indeed there is no reason to think that St Paul ever uses an ‘epistolary’ plural, referring to himself solely: see the note on 1 Thess. iii. 1.

ἵνα κ.τ.λ.] On the sense of ἵνα after προσεύχεσθαι etc., see the note on i. 9.

θύραν τοῦ λόγου] ‘_a door_ of admission _for the word_’, i.e. ‘an opportunity of preaching the Gospel’, as 1 Cor. xvi. 9 θύρα γάρ μοι ἀνέῳγεν μεγάλη καὶ ἐνεργής, 2 Cor. ii. 12 θύρας μοι ἀνεῳγμένης ἐν Κυρίῳ: comp. Plut. _Mor._ p. 674 D ὥσπερ πύλης ἀνοιχθέισης, οὐκ ἀντέσχον ... συνεισιοῦσι παντοδαποῖς ἀκρόαμασιν. Similarly )έισοδος is used in 1 Thess. i. 9, ii. 1. The converse application of the metaphor appears in Acts xiv. 27 ἤνοιξεν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν θύραν πίστεως, where the door is opened not to the teachers, but to the recipients of the Gospel. According to another interpretation (suggested by Ephes. vi. 19 ἵνα μοι δοθῇ λόγος ἐν ἀνοίζει τοῦ στόματος μου) it is explained ‘the door of our speech’, i.e. ‘our mouth’: comp. Ps. cxli (cxl). 3, Mic. vii. 5, Ecclus. xxviii. 25. But the parallel passages do not favour this sense, nor will the words themselves admit it. In that case for ἡμῖν θύραν τοῦ λόγου we should require τὴν θύραν τῶν λόγωυ [ἡμῶν]. ‘The word’ here is ‘the Gospel’, as frequently.

λαλῆσαι ‘_so as to speak_’, the infinitive of the consequence, like εἰδέναι ver. 6 ; see Winer § xliv, p. 400.

τὸ μυστήριον κ.τ.λ. i.e. the doctrine of the free admission of the Gentiles. For the leading idea which St Paul in these epistles attaches to ‘the mystery’ of the Gospel, see the note on i. 26.

δι’ ὅ St Paul might have been still at large, if he had been content to preach a Judaic Gospel. It was because he contended for Gentile liberty, and thus offended Jewish prejudices, that he found himself a prisoner. See Acts xxi. 28, xxii. 21, 22, xxiv. 5, 6, xxv. 6, 8. The other reading, δι’ ὅν, destroys the point of the sentence.

καὶ δέδεμαι 2 Tim. ii. 9 μέχρι δεσμῶν, Philem. 9 νυνὶ δὲ καὶ δέσμιος.

4. ἵνα φανερώσω κ.τ.λ. This is best taken as dependent on the previous clause ἵνα ὁ Θεός ... τοῦ Χριστοῦ. For instances of a double ἵνα, where the second is not coordinated with, but subordinated to, the first, see the note on Gal. iii. 14. The immediate purport of the Colossians’ prayers must be that the Apostle should have all opportunities of preaching the Gospel: the ulterior object, that he should use these opportunities boldly.

IV. 5, 6]

αὐτό, ὡς δεῖ με λαλῆσαι. ^5ἐν σοφίᾳ περιπατεῖτε πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω, τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι· ^6ὁ λόγος

5. ἐν σοφίᾳ] Matt. x. 16 γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις.

τοὺς ἔξω] ‘_those without the pale_’ of the Church, the unbelievers; as in 1 Cor. v. 12, 13, 1 Thess. iv. 12. So οἱ ἔξωθεν, 1 Tim. iii. 7. The believers on the other hand are οἱ ἔσω, 1 Cor. v. 12. This mode of speaking was derived from the Jews, who called the heathen החיצונים (Schöttgen on 1 Cor. _l.c._), translated οἱ ἐκτός Ecclus. Prol. and οἱ ἔξωθεν Joseph. _Ant._ xv. 9. 2.

ἐξαγοραζόμενοι κ.τ.λ. ‘_buying up the opportunity for yourselves_, letting no opportunity slip you, of saying and doing what may further the cause of God’: comp. Ephes. v. 16. The expression occurs also in Dan. ii. 8 οἶδα ὅτι καιρὸν ὑμεῖς ἐξαγοράζετε, i.e. ‘are eager to gain time’. Somewhat similar are the phrases τὸν χρόνον κερδαίνειν, τὸ παρὸν κερδαίνειν. In much the same sense Ignatius says, _Polyc._ 3 τοὺς καιρὸυς καταμάνθανε. For this sense of ἐξαγοράζω ‘coemo’ (closely allied in meaning to συναγοράζω), see Polyb. iii. 42. 2 ἐξηγόρασε παρ’ αὐτῶν τά τε μονόξυλα πλοῖα πάντα κ.τ.λ., Plut. _Vit. Crass._ 2. More commonly the word signifies ‘to redeem’ (see the note on Gal. iii. 13), and some would assign this sense to it here; but no appropriate meaning is thus obtained. In Mart. _Polyc._ 2 διὰ μιᾶς ὥρας τὴν αἴωνιον κόλασιν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι it means ‘buying off’, a sense in which ἐξωνεῖσθαι occurs several times. The reason for the injunction is added in Ephes. v. 16, ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσιν: the prevailing evil of the times makes the opportunities for good more precious.

6. ἐν χάριτι] ‘_with grace, favour_’, i.e. ‘acceptableness’, ‘pleasingness’; comp. Eccles. x. 12 λόγοι στόματος σοφοῦ χάρις, Ps. xliv (xlv). 3 ἐξεχύθη χάρις ἐν χέιλεσί σου, Eccles. xxi. 16 ἐπὶ χέιλους συνετοῦ ἑυρεθήσεται χάρις. In classical writers χάρις λόγων is a still more common connexion; e.g. Demosth. _c. Phil._ i. 38, Dionys. Hal. _de Lys._ §§ 10, 11, Plut. _Vit. Mar._ 44.

IV. 7]

ὑμῶν πάντοτε ἐν χάριτι, ἅλατι ἠρτυμένος, εἰδέναι, ὑμᾶς πῶς δεῖ ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ ἀποκρίνεσθαι.

^7Τὰ κατ ἐμὲ πάντα γνωρίσει ὑμῖν Τύχικος ὁ ἀγαπητὸς

ἅλατι] comp. Mark ix. 50 ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας ἄναλον γένηται, ἐν τίνι αὐτὸ _)αρτυσετε_· ἔχετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἅλα. The salt has a twofold purpose. (1) It gives a flavour to the discourse and recommends it to the palate: comp. Job vi. 6 εἰ βρωθήσεται ἄρτος ἄνευ ἁλός· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστι γεῦμα ἐν ῥήμασι κενοῖς; in which passage the first clause was rendered by Symmachus μήτι βρωθήσεται _ἀνάρτυτον_ τῷ μὴ ἔχειν ἅλα; This is the primary idea of the metaphor here, as the word ἠρτυμένος seems to show. (2) It preserves from corruption and renders wholesome; Ign. _Magn._ 10 ἁλίσθητε ἐν αὐτῷ ἵνα μὴ διαφθαρῇ τις ἐν ὑμῖν, ἐπὲι ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσμῆς ἐλεγχθήσεσθε. Hence the Pythagorean saying, Diog. Laert. viii. I. 35 οἱ ἅλες πᾶν σώζουσιν ὅ τι καὶ παραλάβωσι. It may be inferred that this secondary application of the metaphor was present to the Apostle’s mind here, because in the parallel epistle, Ephes. iv. 29, he says πᾶς λόγος _σαπρὸς_ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκπορεύεσθω κ.τ.λ. In the first application the opposite to ἅλατι ἠρτυμένος would be μωρός ‘_insipid_’ (Luke xiv. 34); in the second, σαπρός ‘_corrupt_’.

Heathen writers also insisted that discourse should be ‘seasoned with salt’; e.g. Cic. _de Orat._ i. 34 ‘facetiarum quidam lepos quo, tanquam sale, perspergatur omnis oratio’. They likewise dwelt on the connexion between χάρις and ἅλες; e.g. Plut. _Mor._ p. 514 F χάριν τινὰ παρασκευάζοντες ἀλλήλοις, ὥσπερ ἁλσὶ τοῖς λόγοις ἐφηδύνουσι τὴν διατριβήν, p. 697 D (comp. p. 685 A) οἱ πολλοὶ χάριτας καλοῦσιν [τὸν ἅλα], ὅτι ἐπὶ τὰ πλεῖστα μιγνύμενος εὐάρμοστα τῇ γεύσει καὶ προσφιλῆ ποιεῖ καὶ κεχαρισμένα, p. 669 A ἡ δὲ τῶν ἁλῶν δύναμις ... χάριν αὐτῷ καὶ ἡδονὴν προστίθησι, Dion. Chrys. _Or._ xviii. § 13. Their notion of ‘salt’ however was wit, and generally the kind of wit which degenerated into the εὐτραπελία denounced by St Paul in Ephes. v. 4 (see the note there).

The form ἅλας is common in the LXX and Greek Testament. Otherwise it is rare: see Buttmann _Gramm._ I. p. 220, and comp. Plut. _Mor._ 668 F.

εἰδέναι] ‘_so as to know_’; see the note on λαλῆσαι ver. 3.

ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ] ‘Not only must your conversation be opportune as regards the time; it must also be appropriate as regards the person’. The Apostle’s precept was enforced by his own example, for he made it a rule to become τοῖς πᾶσιν πάντα, ἵνα πάντως τινὰς σώσῃ (1 Cor. ix. 22).

7–9. ‘You will learn everything about me from Tychicus, the beloved brother who has ministered to me and served with me faithfully in the Lord. This indeed was my purpose in sending him to you: that you might be informed how matters stand with me, and that he might cheer your hearts and strengthen your resolves by the tidings. Onesimus will accompany him—a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of yourselves, a Colossian. These two will inform you of all that is going on here.’

7. Τὰ κατ’ ἐμὲ πάντα] ‘_all that relates to me_’; see the note on Phil. i. 12, and comp. Bion in Diog. Laert. iv. 47. So Acts xxv. 14 τὰ κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον.

γνωρίσει] On this word see the note Phil. i. 22.

Τύχικος] Tychicus was charged by St Paul at this same time with a more extended mission. He was entrusted with copies of the circular letter, which he was enjoined to deliver in the principal churches of proconsular Asia (see above, p. 37, and the introduction to the Epistle to the Ephesians). This mission would bring him to Laodicea, which was one of these great centres of Christianity (see p. 8); and, as Colossæ was only a few miles distant, the Apostle would naturally engage him to pay a visit to the Colossians. At the same time the presence of an authorised delegate of St Paul, as Tychicus was known to be, would serve to recommend Onesimus, who owing to his former conduct stood in every need of such a recommendation. The two names Τύχικος and Ὀνήσιμος occur in proximity in Phrygian inscriptions found at Altentash (Bennisoa?) Boeckh 3857r sqq. appx.

Tychicus was a native of proconsular Asia (Acts xx. 4) and perhaps of Ephesus (2 Tim. iv. 12: see _Philippians_ p. 11). He is found with St Paul at three different epochs in his life. (1) He accompanied him when on his way eastward at the close of the third missionary journey A.D. 58 (Acts xx. 4), and probably like Trophimus (Acts xxi. 29) went with him to Jerusalem (for the words ἄχρι τῆς Ἀσίας must be struck out in Acts xx. 4). It is probable indeed that Tychicus, together with others mentioned among the Apostle’s numerous retinue on this occasion, was a delegate appointed by his own church according to the Apostle’s injunctions (1 Cor. xvi. 3, 4) to bear the contributions of his brethren to the poor Christians of Judæa; and if so, he may possibly be the person commended as the brother οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ διὰ πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν (2 Cor. viii. 18): but this will depend on the interpretation of the best supported reading in Acts xx. 5 οὗτοι δὲ προσελθόντες ἔμενον ἡμᾶς ἐν Τρωάδι. (2) We find Tychicus again in St Paul’s company at the time with which we are immediately concerned, when this epistle was written, probably towards the end of the first Roman captivity A.D. 62, 63 (see _Philippians_ p. 31 sq.). (3) Once more, at the close of St Paul’s life (about A.D. 67), he appears again to have associated himself with the Apostle, when his name is mentioned in connexion with a mission to Crete (Tit. iii. 12) and another to Ephesus (2 Tim. iv. 12). For the legends respecting him, which are slight and insignificant, see _Act. Sanct. Boll._ April. 29 (III. p. 619).

Tychicus is not so common a name as some others which occur in the New Testament, e.g. Onesimus, Trophimus; but it is found occasionally in inscriptions belonging to Asia Minor, e.g. Boeckh _C. I._ 2918, 3665, [3857 c], 3857 r, (comp. 3865 i, etc.); and persons bearing it are commemorated on the coins of both Magnesia ad Mæandrum (Mionnet III. p. 153 sq., _Suppl._ VI. p. 236) and Magnesia ad Sipylum (_ib._ IV. p. 70). The name occurs also in Roman inscriptions; e.g. Muratori, pp. DCCCCXVII, MCCCXCIV, MMLV. Along with several other proper names similarly formed, this word is commonly accentuated Τυχικός (Chandler _Greek Accentuation_ § 255), and so it stands in all the critical Seditions, though according to rule (Winer § vi. p. 58) it should be Τύχικος.

IV. 8]

ἀδελφὸς καὶ πιστὸς δίακονος καὶ σύνδουλος ἐν Κυρίῳ· ^8ὃν ἔπεμψα πρὸς ὑμᾶς εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο, ἵνα

καὶ πιστὸς κ.τ.λ.] The connexion of the words is not quite obvious. It seems best however to take ἐν Κυρίῳ as referring to the whole clause πιστὸς δίακονος καὶ σύνδουλος rather than to σύνδουλος alone: for (1) The two substantives are thus bound together by the preceding πιστός and the following ἐν Κυρίῳ in a natural way: (2) The attachment of ἐν Κυρίῳ to πιστὸς δίακονος is suggested by the parallel passage Ephes. vi. 21 Τύχικος ὁ ἀγαπητὸς ἀδελφὸς καὶ πιστὸς δίακονος ἐν Κυρίῳ. The question of connecting ἐν Κυρίῳ with ἀδελπὅς as well need not be entertained, since the idea of ἀδελπὅς, ‘a Christian brother’, is complete in itself: see the note on Phil. i. 14. The adjective πιστός will here have its passive sense, ‘trustworthy, stedfast’, as also in ver. 9: see _Galatians_ p. 154 sq.

δίακονος] ‘_minister_’, but to whom? To the churches, or to St Paul himself? The following σύνδουλος suggests the latter as the prominent idea here. So in Acts xix. 22 Timothy and Erastus are described as δύο τῶν διακονούντων αὐτῷ. Tychicus himself also was one of several who ministered to St Paul about that same time (Acts xx. 4). It is not probable however, that δίακονος has here its strict official sense, ‘a deacon’, as in Rom. xvi. 1, Phil. i. 1, 1 Tim. iii. 8, 12.

σύνδουλος] The word does not occur elsewhere in St Paul, except in i. 7, where it is said of Epaphras. It is probably owing to the fact of St Paul’s applying the term in both these passages to persons whom he calls δίακονοι, that σύνδουλος seems to have been adopted as a customary form of address in the early Church on the part of a bishop, when speaking of a deacon. In Ignatian letters for instance, the term is never used except of deacons; _Ephes._ 2, _Magn._ 2, _Philad._ 4, _Smyrn._ 12. Where the martyr has occasion to speak of a bishop or a presbyter some other designation is used instead.

8. ἔπεμψα] ‘_I send_,’ or ‘_I have sent_,’ ἔπεμψα being the epistolary aorist; see the note on ἔγραψα, Gal. vi. 11. Tychicus appears to have accompanied the letter itself. For similar instances of the epistolary ἔπεμψα, ἐπέστειλα, etc., see 2 Cor. viii. 18, 22, ix. 3, Ephes. vi. 22, Phil. ii. 25, 28, Philem. 11, Hebr. xiii. 22, Polyc. _Phil._ 13.

IV. 9]

γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν καὶ παρακαλέσῃ τὰς καρδίας ὑμῶν, ^9σὺν Ὀνησίμῳ τῷ πιστῷ καὶ ἀγαπητῷ ἀδελφῷ, ὅς ἐστιν ἐξ ὑμῶν. πάντα ὑμῖν γνωρίσουσιν τὰ ὧδε.

γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν] This must be preferred to the received reading, γνῷ τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν, for two independent reasons. (1) The preponderance of ancient authority is decidedly in its favour. (2) The emphatic εἰς αὐτὸ τοῦτο ἵνα seems imperatively to demand it. St Paul in the context twice states the object of Tychicus’ visit to be that the Colossians might be informed about the Apostle’s own doings, τὰ κατ’ ἐμὲ πάντα γνωρίσει ὑμῖν (ver. 7), and πάντα ὑμῖν γνωρίσουσιν τὰ ὧδε. He could hardly therefore have described ‘the very purpose’ of his mission in the same breath as something quite different.

It is urged indeed, that this is a scribe’s alteration to bring the passage into accordance with Ephes. vi. 21. But against this it may fairly be argued that, on any hypothesis as regards the authorship and relation of the two letters, this strange variation from γνῶτε τὰ περὶ ἡμῶν to γνῷ τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν in the author himself is improbable. On the other hand a transcriber was under a great temptation to substitute γνῷ for γνῶτε owing to the following παρακαλέση, and this temptation would become almost irresistible, if by any chance περὶ ὑμῶν had been written for περὶ ἡμῶν in the copy before him, as we find to be the case in some MSS. See the detached note on various readings.

παρακαλέσῃ κ.τ.λ.] i.e. ‘encourage you to persevere by his tidings and exhortations’. The phrase occurs again, Ephes. vi. 22, 2 Thess, ii. 17: see above ii. 2. The prominent idea in all these passages is not comfort or consolation but perseverance in the right way.

9. σὺν Ὀνησίμῳ] See above, p. 33, and the introduction to the Epistle to Philemon.

τῷ πιστῷ κ.τ.λ.] The man whom the Colossians had only known hitherto, if they knew him at all, as a worthless runaway slave, is thus commended to them as no more a slave but a brother, no more dishonest and faithless but trustworthy, no more an object of contempt but of love; comp. Philem. 11, 16.

γνωρίσουσιν] This form has rather better support from the MSS than γνωριοῦσιν: see also above, iii. 25. On the Attic future from verbs in -ιζω in the Greek Testament generally see Winer § xiii. p. 88, A. Buttmann p. 32 sq. Is there any decisive instance of these Attic forms in St Paul, except in quotations from the LXX (e.g. Rom. x. 19, xv. 12)?

10–14. ‘I send you greeting from Aristarchus who is a fellow-prisoner with me; from Marcus, Barnabas’ cousin, concerning whom I have already sent you directions, that you welcome him heartily, if he pays you a visit; and from Jesus, surnamed Justus; all three Hebrew converts. They alone of their fellow-countrymen have worked loyally with me in spreading the kingdom of God; and their stedfastness has indeed been a comfort to me in the hour of trial. Greeting also from Epaphras, your fellow-townsman, a true servant of Christ, who is ever wrestling in his prayers on your behalf, that ye may stand firm in the faith, perfectly instructed and fully convinced in every will and purpose of God. I bear testimony to the earnestness with which he labours for you and the brethren of Laodicea and those of Hierapolis. Greeting also from Luke the physician, my very dear friend, and from Demas.’

IV. 10]

^{10}Ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἀρίσταρχος ὁ συναιχμάλωτός

10. The salutations to Philemon are sent from the same persons as to the Colossians, except that in the former case the name of Jesus Justus is omitted.

Ἀρίσταρχος] the Thessalonian. He had started with St Paul on his voyage from Jerusalem to Rome, but probably had parted from the Apostle at Myra (see _Philippians_ p. 33 sq.). If so, he must have rejoined him at Rome at a later date. On this Aristarchus see _Philippians_ p. 10 and the introduction to the Epistles to the Thessalonians. He would be well known in proconsular Asia, which he had visited from time to time; Acts xix. 29, xx. 4, xxvii. 2.

συναιχμάλωτός μου] In Philem. 23 this honourable title is withheld from Aristarchus and given to Epaphras. In Rom. xvi. 7 St Paul’s kinsmen, Andronicus and Junias, are so called. On the possibility of its referring to a spiritual captivity or subjection see _Philippians_ p. 11. In favour of this meaning it may be urged, that, though St Paul as a prisoner was truly a δέσμιος, he was not strictly an αἰχμάλωτος ‘a prisoner of war’; nor could he have called himself so, except by a confusion of the actual and metaphorical. If on the other hand συναιχμάλωτος refers to a physical captivity, it cannot easily be explained by any known fact. The incident in Acts xix. 29 is hardly adequate. The most probable solution would be, that his relations with St Paul in Rome excited suspicion and led to a temporary confinement. Another possible hypothesis is that he voluntarily shared the Apostle’s captivity by living with him.

Μάρκος] doubtless John Mark, who had been associated with St Paul in his earlier missionary work; Acts xii. 25, xv. 37 sq. This commendatory notice is especially interesting as being the first mention of him since the separation some twelve years before, Acts xv. 39. In the later years of the Apostle’s life he entirely effaced the unfavourable impression left by his earlier desertion; 2 Tim. iv. 11 ἔστιν γάρ μοι εὔχρηστος εἰς διακονίαν.

This notice is likewise important in two other respects. (1) Mark appears here as commended to a church of proconsular _Asia_, and intending to visit those parts. To the churches of this same region he sends a salutation in 1 Pet. v. 13; and in this district apparently also he is found some few years later than the present time, 2 Tim. iv. 11. (2) Mark is now residing at _Rome_. His connexion with the metropolis appears also from 1 Pet. v. 13, if Βαβυλῶν there (as seems most probable) be rightly interpreted of Rome; and early tradition speaks of his Gospel as having been written for the Romans (Iren. iii. 1. 1; comp. Papias in Euseb. _H.E._ iii. 39).

IV. 10]

μου, καὶ Μάρκος ὁ ἀνεψιὸς Βαρνάβα, περὶ οὗ ἐλάβετε

ὁ ἀνεψιὸς] ‘_the cousin_’. The term ἀνεψιοί is applied to cousins german, the children whether of two brothers or of two sisters or of a brother and sister, as it is carefully defined in Pollux iii. 28. This writer adds that αὐτανέψιοι means neither more nor less than ἀνεψιοί. As a synonyme we find ἐξάδελφος, which however is condemned as a vulgarism; Phryn. p. 306 (ed. Lobeck). Many instances of ἀνεψιοί are found in different authors of various ages (e.g. Herod, vii. 5, 82, ix. 10, Thucyd. i. 132, Plato _Charm._ 154 B, _Gorg._ 471 B, Andoc. _de Myst._ § 47, Isæus _Hagn. Her._ § 8 sq., Demosth. _c. Macart._ § 24, 27, etc., Dion. Hal. _A. R._ i. 79, Plut. _Vit. Thes._ 7, _Vit. Cæs._ 1, _Vit. Brut._ 13, Lucian _Dial. Mort._ xxix. 1, Hegesipp. in Euseb. _H.E._ iv. 22), where the relationship is directly defined or already known, and there is no wavering as to the meaning. This sense also it has in the LXX, Num. xxxvi. 11. In very late writers however (e.g. Io. Malalas _Chron._ xvii. p. 424, Io. Damasc. _adv. Const. Cab._ 12, II. p. 621; but in Theodt. _H.E._ v. 39, which is also quoted by E. A. Sophocles _Gr. Lex._ s.v. for this meaning, the text is doubtful) the word comes to be used for a nephew, properly ἀδελφιδοῦς; and to this later use the rendering of our English versions must be traced. The German translations also (Luther and the Zürich) have ‘Neffe’. The earliest of the ancient versions (Latin, Syriac, Egyptian) seem all to translate it correctly; not so in every case apparently the later. There is no reason to suppose that St Paul would or could have used it in any other than its proper sense. St Mark’s relationship with Barnabas may have been through his mother Mary, who is mentioned Acts xii. 12. The incidental notice here explains why Barnabas should have taken a more favourable view of Mark’s defection than St Paul, Acts xv. 37–39. The notices in this passage and in 2 Tim. iv. 11 show that Mark had recovered the Apostle’s good opinion. The studious recommendation of St Mark in both passages indicates a desire to efface the unfavourable impression of the past.

The name of Mark occurs in five different relations, as (1) The early disciple, John Mark, Acts xii. 12, 25, xv. 39; (2) The later companion of St Paul, here and Philem. 24, 2 Tim. iv. 11; (3) The companion and ‘son’ of St Peter, 1 Pet. v. 13; (4) The evangelist; (5) The bishop of Alexandria. Out of these notices some writers get three or even four distinct persons (see the note of Cotelier on _Apost. Const._ ii. 57). Even Tillemont (_Mem. Eccl._ II. p. 89 sq., 503 sq.) assumes two Marks, supposing (1) (2) to refer to one person, and (3) (4) (5) to another. His main reason is that he cannot reconcile the notices of the first with the tradition (Euseb. _H.E._ ii. 15, 16) that St Mark the evangelist accompanied St Peter to Rome in A. D. 43, having first preached the Gospel in Alexandria (p. 515). To most persons however this early date of St Peter’s visit to Rome will appear quite irreconcilable with the notices in the Apostolic writings, and therefore with them Tillemont’s argument will carry no weight. But in fact Eusebius does not say, either that St Mark went _with_ St Peter to Rome, or that he had preached in Alexandria _before_ this. The Scriptural notices suggest that the same Mark is intended in all the occurrences of the name, for they are connected together by personal links (Peter, Paul, Barnabas); and the earliest forms of tradition likewise identify them.

Βαρνάβα] On the affectionate tone of St Paul’s language, whenever he mentions Barnabas after the collision at Antioch (Gal. ii. 11 sq.) and the separation of missionary spheres (Acts xv. 39), see the note on Gal. ii. 13. It has been inferred from the reference here, that inasmuch as Mark has rejoined St Paul, Barnabas must have died before this epistle was written (about A. D. 63); and this has been used as an argument against the genuineness of the letter bearing his name (Hefele _Sendschr. d. Apost. Barnab._ p. 29 sq.); but this argument is somewhat precarious. From 1 Cor. ix. 6 we may infer that he was still living, A. D. 57. The notices bearing on the biography of Barnabas are collected and discussed by Hefele, p. 1 sq.

ἐλάβετε ἐντολάς] These injunctions must have been communicated previously either by letter or by word of mouth: for it cannot be a question here of an epistolary aorist. The natural inference is, that they were sent by St Paul himself, and not by any one else, e.g. by St Peter or St Barnabas, as some have suggested. Thus the notice points to earlier communications between the Apostle and Colossæ.

But what was their tenour? It seems best to suppose that this is given in the next clause ἐὰν ἔλθῃ κ.τ.λ. By an abrupt change to the _oratio recta_ the injunction is repeated as it was delivered; comp. Ps. cv (civ). 15 ἤλεγξεν ὑπὲρ αὐτῶν βασιλεῖς· μὴ ἅψησθε κ.τ.λ. After verbs signifying ‘to command, charge, etc.’, there is a tendency to pass from the oblique to the direct; e.g. Luke v. 14, Acts i. 4, xxiii. 22. The reading δέξασθαι gives the right sense, but can hardly be correct. If this construction be not accepted, it is vain to speculate what may have been the tenour of the injunction.

IV. 11]

ἐντολάς, Ἐὰν ἔλθῃ πρὸς ὑμᾶς, δέξασθε αὐτόν, ^{11}καὶ Ἰησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Ἰοῦστος, οἱ ὄντες ἐκ περιτομῆς· οὗτοι μόνοι συνεργοὶ εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, οἵτινες

11. καὶ Ἰησοῦς] He is not mentioned elsewhere. Even in the Epistle to Philemon his name is omitted. Probably he was not a man of any prominence in the Church, but his personal devotion to the Apostle prompted this honourable mention. For the story which makes him bishop of Eleutheropolis in Palestine, see Le Quien _Oriens Christ._ in III. p. 633.

Ἰοῦστος] A common name or surname of Jews and proselytes, denoting obedience and devotion to the law. It is applied to two persons in the New Testament, besides this Jesus; (1) Joseph Barsabbas, Acts i. 23; (2) A proselyte at Corinth, Acts xviii. 7. It occurs twice in the list of early Jewish Christian bishops of Jerusalem, in Euseb. _H.E._ iii. 35, iv. 5. It was borne by a Jew of Tiberias who wrote the history of the Jewish war (Joseph. _Vit._ §§ 9, 65), and by a son of the historian Josephus himself (_ib._ § 1). It occurs in the rabbinical writings (יוסטא or יוסטי, Schöttgen on Acts. i. 23, Zunz _Judennamen_ p. 20), and in monumental inscriptions from Jewish cemeteries in various places (Boeckh _C. I._ no. 9922, 9925; _Revue Archéologique_ 1860, II. p. 348; Garrucci _Dissertazioni Archeologiche_ II. p. 182). So also the corresponding female name Justa (Garrucci _l.c._ p. 180). In _Clem. Hom._ ii. 19, iii. 73, iv. 1, xiii. 7, the Syrophœnician woman of the Gospels is named Ἰοῦστα, doubtless because she is represented in this Judaizing romance as a proselytess προσήλυτος xiii. 7) who strictly observes the Mosaic ordinances ( τὴν νόμιμον ἀναδεξαμένη πολιτείαν ii. 20), and is contrasted with the heathen ‘dogs’ ( τὰ ἔθνη ἐοικότα κυσίν ii. 19) who disregard them. In some cases Justus might be the only name of the person, as a Latin rendering of the Hebrew Zadok; while in others, as here and in Acts i. 23, it is a surname. Its Greek equivalent, ὁ δίκαιος, is the recognised epithet of James the Lord’s brother: see _Galatians_, p. 348.

οἱ ὄντες κ.τ.λ.] i.e. ‘converts from Judaism’ (see the note Gal. ii. 12), or perhaps ‘belonging to the Circumcision’; but in this latter case περιτομῆς, though without the article, must be used in a concrete sense, like τῆς περιτομῆς, for ‘the Jews’. Of Mark and of Jesus the fact is plain from their name or their connexions. Of Aristarchus we could not have inferred a Jewish origin, independently of this direct statement.

μόνοι] i.e. of the Jewish Christians in Rome. On this antagonism of the converts from the Circumcision in the metropolis, see _Philippians_ p. 16 sq. The words however must not be closely pressed, as if absolutely no Jewish Christian besides had remained friendly; they will only imply that among the more prominent members of the body the Apostle can only name these three as stedfast in their allegiance: comp. Phil. ii. 20 οὐδένα ἔχω ἰσόψυχον ... οἱ πάντες γὰρ κ.τ.λ. (with the note).

IV. 12]

ἐγενήθησάν μοι παρηγορία. ^{12}ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἐπαφρᾶς ὁ ἐξ ὑμῶν, δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ, πάντοτε ἀγωνιζόμενος ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς, ἵνα σταθῆτε τέλειοι

τὴν βασιλείαν κ.τ.λ.] See the note on i. 13.

οἵτινες κ.τ.λ.] ‘_men whom I found_ etc.’; comp. Acts xxviii. 15 οὓς ἰδὼν ὁ Παῦλος εὐχαριστήσας τῷ Θεῷ ἔλαβεν θάρσος, and see _Philippians_ p. 17. For οἵτινες, not specifying the individuals, but referring them to their class characteristics, see the notes on Gal. iv. 24, v. 19, Phil. iii. 7, iv. 3.

παρηγορία] ‘_encouragement_’, ‘_comfort_’. The range of meaning in this word is even wider than in παραμυθία or παράκλησις (see the note Phil. ii. 1). The verb παρηγορεῖν denotes either (1) ‘to exhort, encourage’ (Herod. v. 104, Apoll. Rhod. ii. 64); (2) ‘to dissuade’ (Herod. ix. 54, 55); (3) ‘to appease’, ‘quiet’ (Plut. _Vit. Pomp._ 13, _Mor._ p. 737 C); or (4) ‘to console, comfort’ (Æsch. _Eum._ 507). The word however, and its derivates παρηγορία, παρηγόρημα, παρηγορικός, παρηγορητικός, were used especially as medical terms, in the sense of ‘assuaging’, ‘alleviating’; e.g. Hippocr. pp. 392, 393, 394, Galen XIV. p. 335, 446, Plut. _Mor._ pp. 43 D, 142 D; and perhaps owing to this usage, the idea of consolation, comfort, is on the whole predominant in the word; e.g. Plut. _Mor._ p. 56 A τὰς ἐπὶ τοῖς ἀτυχήμασι παρηγοπίας, p. 118 A τοῖς ἀφαιρουμένοις τὰς λύπας διὰ τῆς γενναίας καὶ σεμνῆς παρηγορίας, _Vit. Cim._ 4 ἐπὶ παρηγορίᾳ τοῦ πένθους. In Plut. _Mor._ p. 599 B παρηγορία and συνηγορία are contrasted, as the right and wrong method of dealing with the sorrows of the exile; and the former is said to be the part of men παρῥησιαζομένων καὶ διδασκόντων ὅτι τὸ λυπεῖσθαι καὶ ταπεινοῦν ἑαυτὸν ἐπὶ παντὶ μὲν ἄχρηστόν ἐστι κ.τ.λ.

12. Ἐπαφρᾶς] His full name would be Epaphroditus, but he is always called by the shortened form Epaphras, and must not be confused with the Philippian Epaphroditus (see _Philippians_ p. 60), who also was with St Paul at one period of his Roman captivity. Of Epaphras, as the evangelist of Colossæ, and perhaps of the neighbouring towns, see above, pp. 29 sq., 34 sq.

ὁ ἐξ ὑμῶν] ‘_who belongs to you_’, ‘_who is one of you_’, i.e. a native, or at least an inhabitant, of Colossæ, as in the case of Onesimus ver. 9; comp. Acts iv. 6, xxi. 8, Rom. xvi. 10, 11, 1 Cor. xii. 16, Phil. iv. 22, etc.

δοῦλος Χ. Ἰ.] This title, which the Apostle uses several times of himself, is not elsewhere conferred on any other individual, except once on Timothy (Phil. i. 1), and probably points to exceptional services in the cause of the Gospel on the part of Epaphras.

ἀγωνιζόμενος] ‘_wrestling_’; comp. Rom. xv. 30 συναγωνίσασθαί μοι ἐν ταῖς προσευχαῖς. See also the great ἀγωνία of prayer in Luke xxii. 44. Comp. Justin _Apol._ ii. 13 (p. 51 B) καὶ εὐχόμενος καὶ παμμάχως ἀγωνιζόμενος. See also i. 29, ii. 1, with the notes.

σταθῆτε] ‘_stand fast_’, doubtless the correct reading rather than στῆτε which the received text has; comp. Matt. ii. 9, xxvii. 11, where also the received text substitutes the weaker word.

IV. 13]

καὶ πεπληροφορημένοι ἐν παντὶ θελήματι τοῦ Θεοῦ. ^{13}μαρτυρῶ γὰρ αὐτῷ ὅτι ἔχει πολὺν πόνον ὑπὲρ

πεπληροφορημένοι] ‘_fully persuaded_’. The verb πληροφορεῖν has several senses. (1) ‘To fulfil, accomplish’; 2 Tim. iv. 5 τὴν διακονίαν σου πληροφόρησον, _ib._ ver. 17 τὸ κήρυγμα πληροφορηθῇ, _Clem. Hom._ xix. 24 πεπληροφορημένον νῦν ἤδη τριῶν ἡμερῶν. So perhaps Hermas _Sim._ 2 πληροφοροῦσι τὸν πλοῦτον αὐτῶν ... πληροφοροῦσι τὰς ψυχὰς αὐτῶν, though it is a little difficult to carry the same sense into the latter clause, where the word seems to signify rather ‘to satisfy’. (2)‘To persuade fully, to convince’; Rom. iv. 21 πληροφορηθὲις ὅτι ὃ ἐπήγγελται δυνατός ἐστιν καὶ ποιῆσαι, xiv. 5 ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ νοὶ πληροφορέισθω, Clem. Rom. 42 πληροφορηθέυτες διὰ τῆς ἀναστάσεως κ.τ.λ., Ign. _Magn._ 8 εἰς τὸ πληροφορηθῆναι τοὺς ἀπειθοῦντας, _ib._ 11 πεπληροφορῆσθαι ἐν τῇ γεννὴσει κ.τ.λ., _Philad._ inscr. ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει αὐτοῦ πεπληροφορημένη ἐν παντὶ ἐλέει, _Smyrn._ 1 πεπληροφορημένους εἰς τὸν Κύριον ἡμῶν, _Mart. Ign._ 7 πληροφορῆσαι τοὺς ἀσθενεῖς ἡμᾶς ἐπὶ τοῖς προγεγονόσιν, _Clem. Hom._ Ep. ad Iac. 10 πεπληροφορημένος ὅτι ἐκ Θεοῦ δικαίου, _ib._ xix. 24 συνετιθέμην ὡς πληροφορούμενος. So too LXX Eccles. viii. 11 ἐπληροφορήθη καρδία τοῦ ποιῆσαι τὸ πονηρόν. (3) ‘To fill’; Rom. xv. 13 πληροφορήσαι ὑμᾶς πάσης χαρᾶς (a doubtful v. l.), Clem. Rom. 54 τίς πεπληροφορημένος ἀγάπης; _Test. xii Patr._ Dan 2 τῇ πλεονεξίᾳ ἐπληροφορήθην τῆς ἀναιρέσεως αὐτοῦ, where it means ‘I was filled with’, i.e. ‘I was fully bent on’, a sense closely allied to the last. From this account it will be seen that there is in the usage of the word no justification for translating it ‘most surely believed’ in Luke i. 1 τῶν πεπληροφορημένων ἐν ἡμῖν πραγμάτων, and it should therefore be rendered ‘fulfilled, accomplished’. The word is almost exclusively biblical and ecclesiastical; and it seems clear that the passage from Ctesias in Photius (_Bibl._ 72) πολλοῖς λόγοις καὶ ὅρκοις πληροφορήσαντες Μεγάβυζον is not quoted with verbal exactness. In Isocr. _Trapez._ § 8 the word is now expunged from the text on the authority of the MSS. For the substantive πληροφορία see the note on ii. 2 above. The reading of the received text here, πεπληρωμένοι, must be rejected as of inferior authority.

ἐν παντὶ κ.τ.λ.] ‘_in every thing willed by God_’; comp. 1 Kings ix. 11. So the plural τὰ θελήματα in Acts xiii. 22, Ephes. ii. 3, and several times in the LXX. The words are best connected directly with πεπληροφορημένοι. The passages quoted in the last note amply illustrate this construction. The preposition may denote (1) The abode of the conviction, as Rom. xiv. 5 ἐν τῷ ἰδίῳ νοΐ; or (2) The object of the conviction, as Ign. _Magn._ II ἐν τῇ γεννήσει, _Philad._ inscr. ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει; or (3) The atmosphere, the surroundings, of the conviction, as _Philad._ inscr. ἐν παντὶ )ελέει. This last seems to be its sense here. The connexion σταθῆτε ... ἐν, though legitimate in itself (Rom. v. 2, 1 Cor. xv. 1), is not favoured by the order of the words here.

13. πολὺν πόνον] ‘_much toil_’, both inward and outward, though from the connexion the former notion seems to predominate, as in ἀγῶνα ii. 1; comp. Plat. _Phædr._ p. 247 B πόνος τε καὶ ἀγὼν ἔσχατος ψυχῇ πρόκειται. Of the two variations which transcribers have substituted for the correct reading, ζῆλον emphasizes the former idea and κόπον the latter. The true reading is more expressive than either. The word πόνος however is very rare in the New Testament (occurring only Rev. xvi. 10, 11, xxi. 4, besides this passage), and was therefore liable to be changed.

καὶ τῶν κ.τ.λ.] The neighbouring cities are taken in their geographical order, commencing from Colossæ; see above, p. 2. Epaphras, though a Colossian, may have been the evangelist of the two larger cities also.

IV. 14]

ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν Λαοδικίᾳ καὶ τῶν ἐν Ἱεραπόλει. ^{14}ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Λουκᾶς ὁ ἰατρὸς ὁ ἀγαπητός, καὶ Δημᾶς.

Λαοδικίᾳ] This form has not the same overwhelming preponderance of authority in its favour here and in vv. 15, 16, as in ii. 1, but is probably correct in all these places. It is quite possible however, that the same person would write Λαοδικια and Λαοδικεια indifferently. Even the form Λαοδικηα is found in Mionnet, Suppl. VII. p. 581. Another variation is the contraction of Λαοδ- into Λαδ-; e.g. Λαδικηνός, which occurs frequently in the edict of Diocletian.

14. Λουκᾶς] St Luke had travelled with St Paul on his last journey to Jerusalem (Acts xxi. 1 sq.). He had also accompanied him two years later from Jerusalem to Rome (Acts xxvii. 2 sq.). And now again, probably after another interval of two years (see _Philippians_ p. 31 sq.), we find him in the Apostle’s company. It is not probable that he remained with St Paul in the meanwhile (_Philippians_ p. 35), and this will account for his name not occurring in the Epistle to the Philippians. He was at the Apostle’s side again in his second captivity (2 Tim. iv. 11).

Lucas is doubtless a contraction of Lucanus. Several Old Latin MSS write out the name _Lucanus_ in the superscription and subscription to the Gospel, just as elsewhere Apollos is written in full Apollonius. On the frequent occurrence of this name Lucanus in inscriptions see _Ephem. Epigr._ II. p. 28 (1874). The shortened form Lucas however seems to be rare. He is here distinguished from οἱ ὄντες ἐκ περιτομῆς (ver. 11). This alone is fatal to his identification (mentioned as a tradition by Origen _ad loc._) with the Lucius, St Paul’s ‘kinsman’ (i.e. a Jew; see _Philippians_ pp. 17, 171, 173), who sends a salutation from Corinth to Rome (Rom. xvi. 21). It is equally fatal to the somewhat later tradition that he was one of the seventy (_Dial. c. Marc._ § 1 in Orig. _Op._ I. p. 806, ed. De la Rue; Epiphan. _Hær._ li. 11). The identification with Lucius of Cyrene (Acts xiii. 13) is possible but not probable. Though the example of Patrobius for Patrobas (Rom. xvi. 14) shows that such a contraction is not out of the question, yet probability and testimony alike point to Lucanus, as the longer form of the Evangelist’s name.

ὁ ἰατρὸς] Indications of medical knowledge have been traced both in the third Gospel and in the Acts; see on this point Smith’s _Voyage and Shipwreck of St Paul_ p. 6 sq. (ed. 2). It has been observed also, that St Luke’s first appearance in company with St Paul (Acts xvi. 10) nearly synchronizes with an attack of the Apostle’s constitutional malady (Gal.