^ c I THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, | ^ Princeton, N. J. % BS 413 .B58 v.lA Steiger, Wilhelm, 1809-1836 Exposition of the First epistle of Peter THE BIBLICAL CABINET OR HERMENEUTICAL, EXEGETICAL, PHILOLOGICAL LIBRARY VOL. XIV. EXPOSITION OF THE FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER. EDINBURGH : THOMAS CLAKK, 38. GEORGE STREET; J. G. & F. RIVINGTON, LOXDOX ; AND W. CURRY, JUN. ,^r CO. DUBLIN. MDCCCXXXVI. EXPOSITION FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER CONSIDERED IS REFERENCE TO THE WHOLE SYSTEM OF DIVINE TRUTH. TRANSLATED FROM THE ORIGINAL GERMAN OF WILHELM STEIGER. BY THE REV. PATRICK FAIRBAIRN, MINISTER OF NORTH RONALDSHAY. IN TWO VOLUMES. VOL. II. EDINBURGH : THOMAS CLARK, 38. GEORGE STREET, MDCCCXXXVI. J THOMSON, PRINirR, MILNE SQITARE. THB0L06IC FIRST EPISTLE OF PETER. CHAPTER SECOND. V. 1—5. The Apostle resumes the exhortation which he had interrupted, v. 23 — 23, for the purpose of laying anew the foundation whereon it is grounded, and so turns back to V. 22, which is noticed only by Gerhard. The first verse is therefore less the continuation, than the re- sumption of the preceding exhortation, and is also the link of connection with what follows, as being that out of which the next admonition proceeds. After he had discoursed upon the worth of salvation, and the pos- sibility of faith being tried with temptations, the joy of the first Christians, and their love to the Saviour, he admonished them: 1. to remain true to their calling, and in their walk to remain separate from the world ; 2. but with united hearts to continue firmly bound among themselves, as born together for eternity ; and now, 3. he bids them grow spiritually in Christ, etc. So then, from the beginning of the epistle to the end VOL. II. B 2 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. of this section, (v. 10) the Apostle sets forth in a ge- neral way, the circumstances of the church ; their glory from and in presence of the godhead, their oppression upon earth, their love and confidence toward God, separation from the world in outward conduct, purifi- cation and union in love for the common increase, even to their priesthood before God (v. 5, 8), and their call- ing as preachers in the world (v. 10), — all grounded upon the grace that is in Christ, and received through the word of Christ (v. 5, 10.) V. 1. 'A'TTodsfisvoi 8v 'TTucfccv KccKiav zai t,eo a-tptyyofjtivot, v-tt' ov^ivos tuv ^utrrdv- xed fAiffa^iXtpias », T. A. 4 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 — 5. determinately. For, as Flacius remarks: " These properties are here enumerated by the Apostle in such an order, that the succeeding ones always spring out of those before them; so that the Apostle here recounts, so to speak, a whole genealogy of vices."' This is well exhibited by Flacius down to the (p&ovot. That out of malice toward our fellow-men, all man- ner of UXog, falseness, cunning, necessarily arises, is manifest. With this are just as necessarily connect- ed b'TTox^/ffstc, dissimulations, hypocrisy, especially when dwelling amongst the faithful. But toward those, upon whom we are practising hypocrisy, we must, of necessity, be always affected with envy ; nay, hypocrisy does itself beget and foster envy {(pd6voi)j because we feel ourselves brought thereby into a state of dependence on them, a subordinate and painful condition, and hence cannot but wish that we might soon be raised above hypocrisy, and see others so far lowered, as that we should no more need to play the hypocrite. This leads to active en- deavours for the purpose of detracting from others, to the xaraXaX/a/ (ou(5s -yiaraXaXiag 6 (pOomv xada^ivst, CEcum. and Theoph.), a fault which must always be referred back to those dispositions, and therefore also to a certain degree of jcazia. The Apostle here marks the purification by the expression arrorlkiJ.ai, which, like our ablegen, (to put off), is used first of all of clothes and such things, then of properties, works, and the whole old man. How de Wette ^ Haec vero ipsa eo ordine stmt emimerata, ut semper pos- teriora ex prioribus nascantur, ut liic Ap. quasi integram (ut ita dicam) genealogiam vitiorum recensuit. CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. 5 could give out this verse as " closely related" to Col. iii. 8, it is not easy to comprehend. It resembles far more the one quoted from James below. The ex- hortation to lay aside our evil qualities is in the New Testament addressed only to Christians ; for to them alone is it practicable, in none but them is there a new nature existing, which, as inward, (Eph. iii. 16,) can cast off the old, as an outward thing, (Eph. iv. 22 ; Col. iii. 8,), so that the Christian through the continual renovation (wyavsouc^a/) of his inward man, can also exhibit himself externally as a new man, (Eph. iv. 24 ; Col. iii. 9). But to unbelievers the demand is addressed, that inwardly, in regard to the voiig, they must become different from what they are, V. 2. wg dpriysw/jTcc (3^s(pri, rb XoyiTth adoXov ydXcx, s'TTi'Trodrigars, ha h auriJj au^yjd^rs sig (SMrri^'iav. As verse 1st stands in connection with ch. i. 22, so does the ground of action cog don. /S^sf ??, connect it- self with ch. i. 23, in correspondence with which the exhortation forthwith proceeds: " Since ye have just been born," namely, from that eternal seed, through the word of God. Metaphoram suam continuat Apostolus (Calvin). dpTiysvvrjra (S^stpvj (as vs6(puTog, 1 Tim. iii. 6), accordingly denotes, that they shortly before had been born and converted, an appellation which it was customary for Jews to give to their pro- selytes, (see Wetstein here, and Lightfoot on John iii.), and which is here used in the true, spiritual sense; ne videlicet sibi persuadent novitii, se jam esse veteranos (Beza). But as it may be asked, whe- 6 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 — 5. ther or in how far the Apostle wished to express this thought, Beza rightly adds in regard to it : Est ta- men haec exhortatio omnibus etiam, qui jam videri possent prae aliis virilem aetatem assequuti, plane necessaria. And Calov : quam diu enim hie sumus, parvuli sumus. Hence without any reflection upon their age in Christ, the Apostle might address them in V. 23, as rsKva of the truth, and admonish them as such to nourish themselves upon the truth. But as they had but shortly before been converted, there was certainly in their case a particular call to do so, which the Apostle also intimates in the words ha — au^Tid^Ts. To this special ground, then, not to the preceding context in general, the co-relative ground must be referred : ug — ^^s(pi^. In using this expres- sion, the Apostle is far from designing any thing de- rogatory ; it rather designates the reader as standing in a peculiarly tender relation to God, (comp. Isa. xl. 11), as /3^sf>3 in itself contains the idea of child- hood {ruv ya^ toio-jtuv mai rriv (SaaiXsiav 6 y.voiog d'm(pri- I'aro, QEcum. and Theoph. comp. Matt, xviii. 3, 6.) With this is in part connected the manner of under- standing the principal idea, yaXa. That it sustains the metaphor, is obvious, and also that it denotes something, which believers must appropriate in order to grow in the faith. So in 1 Cor. iii. 2. Heb. v. 12, it signifies an instruction in the first principles of Christianity, milk being the sweet food of children, most easily received and digested. But this particular idea is not essential to the image : in these passages it is rendered prominent through the opposition to ^sufiu (bread), cnoia r^o(pvi. In our text, however, there is CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. 7 no opposition of this kind intended, as the scholiasts (in Matth. p. 63 and 197) and others suppose, there being nothing but a simple reference to the condition of childhood. For this reason Peter here chose the word milk, instead of food in general. We, there- fore, understand thereby the true Christian doctrine, generally, in the whole compass of the figure, which Gregory of Nyssa rightly expounds thus : " milk is the first nourishment of human nature, both pure and simple, truly childlike and guileless, and purged from every evil affection."* Sermo ille vitae, says Beza, qui simili prorsus ratione panis, cibus, aqua, mel di- citur, (see also Wetstein in lo.) Clement of Alex, understands it of feeding upon the incarnate Logos (" let no one think it strange, while you say that by milk is figuratively meant the blood of our Lord; for is not also Avine used figuratively ? So then both blood and milk are symbols of the Lord's suf- ferings and doctrine.")^ The Romish expositors. Est and Salmero, refer it still more arbitrarily to the communion. Calvin, whom Marlorat follows, was misled into another interpretation, through a false view of the connection, not observing, that in ver. 1 the exhortation is merely repeated, while in ver. 2 it is carried forward : " there is," says he, " an anti- ^ To ya.Xa, h -r^u-n tsJj uv^^euzirivyi; (pvfficus Iffri •r^o(pi], h xa^a^d n Koi k'Tt'kyi, h ovrus vyivtuh'/i; ko.) cchaXoi xa) ^atrni ^ov/i^cis airia? xixa^a^fAivfj, in Cant. horn. lO. Mh oh ouv Ti; ^iviZ,i(r6u, kiyoyruv v/u.uv aWnyo^uaiai yaXa, to a,tfjt.(x, Tou xv^lov' *j ya,^ xa,) ei/p^i etvo; aXXTiyo^iirat ; to oclra ci^a, xai alf^ix, xcc) yiXu, tov xv^iou ^oy, serves merely for the explanation of the figure, to prevent its being misunderstood, and has therefore only the negative signification, intimating that we must not think of a corporeal milk, and is synonymous with 'Trvsvf^a.rr/.ov, that is, /zuffrmhv (Grotius). (2.) Xoy, has at the same time a positive meaning, and tells us in what reference the milk signified by ydXa is to be taken, namely, in reference to the soul ; lac illud, non corporis, sed animi (Erasm.) ; this exposition, which at the same time comprehends the preceding one, is vindicated by most of the later commentators. Luther : " That is spiritual, which the soul draws in, which the heart must seek after." So also Eisner, Hammond, Carpzov, Pott, Hensler, Hottinger, Stolz, Wahl. (3.) Xoy. marks not the subjoined quality of a thing, but the subject or thing itself, concerning which the dis- course is (Calov, Beza) ; so that it is in the fullest sense the interpretation of the figure, equal to to ydXa Tou Xoyou, the milk of the word, i. e. the word. This exposition was by the Syriac combined with the pre- ceding one (for it translates : verbum ipsum tanquam lac purum et spirituale) ; Valla and Flacius hesitate between these two ; Caraero says : i. e. svayysXr/.6v. 10 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. Sic Rom. xii. 1. Xoyr/.ri Xarssta est ea, quae decet, quae convenit evangelio. Nam Xoyog est evangelium, infra ver. 8. So also Er. Schmidt, Wolf, Bengal, Ben- son, Bolten. Now, regarding the first exposition, it is at once evident, that to connect the expression milk, which is certainly not often used in the New Testament for doctrine, with the epithet reasojiable, has a very harsh appearance, as Carpzov also felt. Then in common with all the rest, excepting the last, it labours under the impropriety, even if we could conceive doctrine to be meant hy milk, that the mention of this doctrine is made quite abruptly, which must be the more ex- traordinary, as the whole image of the childhood- state of Christians already occurs in what precedes, and in the expression milk is also distinctly contained. Nevertheless, it is unquestionable, that the Apostle means the Christian doctrine (ch. i. 25), although this is not expressed in Xoyr/.h ydXa, as the exposition before us would have it, which circumstance frustrates the view, with which this exposition (very much oc- casioned by the rationale of the Vulgate, and Luther's translation), was espoused by the Socinians, and is now also sometimes brought forward by the ration- alists, for the purpose, namely, of proving, nihil cre- dendum esse, quod rationi adversetur (Snialcius in Calov.) For how could the sense of the Apostle be : Search out for yourselves that doctrine, which is rea- sonable {i. €, which may appear reasonable to you) — whether it be the Christian or some other — that ye may thereby grow ; and not rather : Be ever apply- ing to yourselves the Christian doctrine as that which CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. H alone is truly reasonable ? It would therefore follow, from this view, that the Apostle gave out the word, which was proclaimed by him and his companions unconditionally for that, which must be regarded as reasonable, just as the new-born child sucks in the milk of its mother, without having first chemically analyzed it, and selected only what it chose. To this also corresponds the second epithet adoXov, unadulte- rated (so that the Apostolical doctrine did not require to be first purified). But this whole exposition is de- cidedly opposed to the New Testam^ent use of Xoyog and Xoyixog, which never signify reason, reasonable. It is needless to object Acts xviii. 14, the only place which Wahl adduces in support of this meaning ; xara Koyov certainly signifies there, according to reasoUy but without determining anything for the New Tes- tament usage, because it occurs in the speech of Gallio, and without reference to anything religious. In Rom. xii. 1, Xoyixri (kar^sia) does not signify reasonable ; by that the Apostle thinks just as little of representing the religious service of Christians, as prescribed or directed by reason, as he does of charging the sacrifici- al service of the Jews with being unreasonable.^ Even Grotius does not venture there to avail himself of his hollow interpretation of XoyiMv. He explains it by referring to the circumstance, that the Levitical offer- ings consisted of irrational beasts (aXoya, Wisd. xi. 16), but the Christian in the offering of one's self, a body enlivened by a reasonable soul, and adds : Sic "koy. yaka dixit Petrus 1. ii. 2, thereby opposing his own * See Hottinger in lo. Calov and Tholuck on Rom. xii. 1. Evang. Kirchenzeit, B. III. s. 421. 12 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. exposition of this passage. Hammond, Hettinger, Tholuck, and others, make a more definite application to our verse, taking Xoy. in both places, as bearing reference to the soul. This acceptation is very suit- able to Rom. xii. 1 ;* it is also easy to discover, why there a word in little use stands for the common one, Tvsv/j.artxT] ; namely, because the latter would have been an inadequate expression, since Paul by no means wished to represent the Old Testament service as unspi- ritual, that is, as fleshly, sinful, (Ta^x/xoj, and therefore chose for the Christian, not the expression cri/sj/xar/x^^, but Xoyr/iri, for this expression forms a contrast, not to ffapxixbg, but to a service consisting of outward offer- ings, to the Xar^sla in the ayiov /coo',a./x6i/ (Hebr. ix. 1), and then in general to every ffufMarr/tri yu/j^va&la (1 Tim. iv. 8), inasmuch as he designed to mark a sanctification forming in the soul. So Theodoret (Serra. vi. de Provid.) names the table of the Lord Xoyixij rpoccrg^a, because one partakes there with more than the body. And Chrys. interprets Xoyixnv Xarosiav by oudsv 'i-^ovdav (Sufiamhv, ohbh 'Kayjj oO^si' oiG&rirh^ (see the whole of his excellent exposition). Viewed thus, this passage of Paul is in the highest degree character- istic of the morality of the gospel : The Christian must sacrifice his body to God, but not in a corporeal man- ner. Now in the verse before us, the same opposi- tion to ffw/Aar. is quite suitable : The milk, which nourishes the soul ; and it is also clear why that is not " Comp. in the Pastor of Hermas, for ex. 1'i\a.i Xeytzas Butrixs . Athenagoras legat. pro Christ. ecL Col. p. 13 : n^o(r(pi^uv Stay a.vccif/,axTov B^ufiav xki rnv Xoyixrtv 'r^offuyuv Kar^tiav. CHAP. II. VERSES I 5. 18 rather named 'TrvsvfjLur., for this should signify a milk, which is of a spiritual nature, and it might have oc- casioned the mistake, that the Apostle meant some internal emotions of the mind, whereas he intended thereby something of an external nature, but such as was adapted to the reasonable soul. That in both places the word -^v^/izhg is not employed (as for ex. in Philo, p. 1097, c. : c-TrsTffai ro ■^v)(^ixov cci/MUf x,ai ^'jiud^at oXov Tov vovv x. r. X.), is owing to the bad sense, which it also bears in the New Testament. Let us now put all this together, and it will appear that this exposition deserves to be preferred before the last, which is otherwise entitled to regard, on ac- count both of the prevailing signification of Xoyog in the New Testament and the connection. In Rom. xii. 1, the signification : according to the word, agree- able to Scripture, which is there ascribed to Xoy. by the Syriac and Camero, is quite foreign. Here it is countenanced by the Apostle's custom of explaining his figures by the immediate addition of some such determinate expressions, (ch. i. 9, for ex. 13, 19, 23, where dta Xoyov just as immediately declares the na- ture of the G-roocc a(pdaoTog), according to which his meaning here must be : The milk, which consists in the word = the milk of the word, (comp. the ex- pressions, olvog rou ^vfiov sc. row Qiov, in the Reve- lations, and cioroc 6o(piag in Prov. ix. 5). The sig- nification also of Xoy. in reference to the word, or to the discourse, is one it very generally bears, (see Passow, s. v.) The whole passage is, in point of matter, quite parallel to Jas. i. 21 : A/o u'jro&sfisvoi craffuv '^vrccgiuv 14 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 — 5. xa/ 'Tri^iscucLv Ttaxlag (all spots of filth and foul ex- crescences, all wantonness, superciliousness, cf. Los- ner at h. 1.) h 'Tr^a'jTrjri (= 'r^o(rr,vug in Diod. Sic. s. Munthe ; mansueto animo, Calov ; " with willing obedience," Hottinger) ^ijatr^s rov 'iij."> ''3"'i?:2, '•i ''33b ; but it includes also, that something is, or is done so and so in God's eye, that it is treated by God really as such ; it corre- sponds to our phrase : be?/ Yemand in ansehn stehen (to be had in respect by any one). — r/J.iKrhv zai svri/xov. The Apostle is led, by the object of his discourse, to these ideas. The words express the exact opposite o( d-robidozifMafffMsvov, hut are at the same time those which God himself employs concerning Christ in Isa. xxviii. 16, (so full was the Apostle of various pro- phecies) : 'ido-j lyoj l/x^aXkui sJg ra, Ss/xIX/a 2/wv X/dov coXy-gXTj, szXsxrov, dzPoyojviaTov, svrtfjt,ov, sJg rd ^ifisXia. a-jrr,g, z. r. X. (In the Hebrew the stone is only ^ Occurrit autem scandalo, quum fatetur (Christum) ab hominibus reprobatum. Nam quia bona pars mundi Christum respuit, miilti etiam ab ipso abhorrent, posset hac occasione a nobis contemni. Quemadmodum videmus quosdam iraperitos alienaii ab evangelic, quia non sit ubique plausibile nee gra- tiam suis professoribus conciliet. Atqui P. minoris Christum a nobis fieri vetat, utcunque sit mundo contemptibilis : quia nihilominus suum coram Deo pretium honoremque retineat. 30 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. named : a stone of trial, a corner stone, precious, a foundation stone). The Apostle here passes by the properties which the stone has in itself (toaut-.), and its relation to the building (dg ra Ss/x. a%^.), which he just touches upon, while he brings distinctly out its dignity before God. hXiTtrov is the opposite of d':rod. in so far as this expresses to reject, svTt,aov, in so far as it has the derived signification of despising. hyX, is not precious (which 'rroXurO^rig in the LXX. expresses), but the same with 'x^oiyvuaiMsvog, chap. i. 20, only without regard to the precedent choice ; that refers, as well as this, to Jesus as the Messiah, the foundation-stone of the church. As such he is also hr., which again is not equivalent to irokurzkrig, but signifies in honour. On this account must we also honour Jesus as the Christ, and choose him as the foundation-stone, that we may ground ourselves entirely upon him, may rest wholly upon him. V. 5. y,at aitroi ug "K'ldot 'Coj\irig o/x,odo/xsTffOs. Ipsi quoque tanquam (Calvin), ejusdem noniinis participes, etc. (Bengel). That Christ lives is, as we have seen, a ground for drawing near to him (his goodness was discoursed of immediately before) ; that we live, is, in like manner, the condition and the ground of our doing so. There must be an essential unity, a unity of life, which also serves continually to bind us in a still closer connection. oixod. which we take as the imperative (see above, P. II. 23), is there- fore the medium ; the building up is a reflexive action (Jude20: s'ror/.odo/Movvrsg icivrovg), namely, of believers, whether as individuals or as churches. So also is it CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. 31 taken by Luther, who, however, remarks, that the preachers of the gospel are the builders, the churches, that which is built, wherein he is followed by Calov. Quite correctly, if only every preacher of the gospel, including the laity, M-ho confess the truth and de- clare it to others, and not merely those regularly appointed, be understood thereby, (comp. Luther on what follows). The doctrine of man's sufficiency, for what is good, receives no confirmation from this ex- pansion of the meaning, as Calov also perceived : " For here men are not addressed as needing to be regenerated, but as already born again, concerning whom Bede : he does not desire dead but living stones, that he might encourage the endeavours of good deeds or intentions, wherein with the prevent- ing and assisting grace of God (of both of which the regenerated are partakers) they ought continually to exercise themselves."* ^i^i/rs; accordingly denotes believers (comp. on ver. 4), because they are laid and built up on their foundations, not as dead stones, mechanically or by some external force, but possess within themselves the principle of life, (comp. Ham- mond). By this we may not exclude the opposition to the Jewish temple, which Calvin, Beza and others find here, only that it is a completely tacit compari- son, or more correctly a contrast to all dead stones and buildings, and consequently to that temple. But quite worthless is the exposition of Carpzov and ^ Quod hie non regenerandi, sed regeniti compelleutur, de quibus Beda : non vult nos mortuos lapides sed vivos, ut co- natum insinuet bonae intentionis sive actionis, quo praeveniente se ac comitante Dei gratia exercere semper debeant. 32 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. Morus, which is thus expressed by the former : Cum lapidibus comparantur homines, qui quoniam vivant, vivi lapides iiominantur. For it is cer- tain tliat the Apostle considered many persons who were physically living, as dead stones, incapable of use, just as we speak of dead members of the church or the state; and consequently believers are named living sfoties, not from their being living men (comp. Hottinger), butasstones, thatis, in respect to the build- ing, in which respect, also, Christ is termed liviiig. But in this community of life between Christ and be- lievers, there is to be observed a twofold distinction ; that they are his image {-/mi avToi, viz. just as he is), and that, in the building of living stones, he was cho- sen out before the rest, the foundatio?i- stone, (sxXsxroj — Xi%; dzPoyuviaToc, v. 6, comp. 1 Cor. iii. 11), which consequently has an original spring of life, that one in which the common life has its ground, and from which it is derived to the others. This makes the conformity of life between them cease to appear as mere conformity, while it is considered and represent- ed as one. The unity of will and power, which is at once the cause and condition of the building, is most clearly described in Eph. ii. 20 — 22 : Ye are scro/xo6o- 7og d'/C^oyuviaiis avr^ 'lyjffov Xg/trroD, sv w rraffa 57 o'r/.odofj.'n (the whole structure, not the building) (ruvaofj.oXoya/j.s- vrj au^ei dg vaov ayiov sv /cu^/w — (which may mean : in whom the building is joined together, and through this union in him, replenished with the power of life, grows up; — or: in whose power the closely united building grows up to a temple which is holy in the CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. 3& Lord, but not without him), sv w xai v,'j,eig cmoixohoijM- 6k (with whom the Lord, united and therefore par- takers of his power, ye also, along with others, the whole church, are built up, or build up your- selves,) iig xarouriTT^om rov Siov sv irvrj/iLari, (to a habitation of God in the Spirit, i. e. so that God through his Spirit, dwells in you as his peculiar temple.) We therefore, here also refer ^uvrsg to the spiritual life, which capacitates men for being mem- bers of the spiritual building. So already the Scho- liast, in Matth, p. 198, but too narrowly and exter- nally, merely in regard to the cu/x^ji'a and upfMovia, (of church-members), ^ "TT^lg dXXTjXovg' regarding oixod., it is in itself evident, and rendered unquestion- able from what follows, that it must be done upon Christ, {dvafs/xivoi iavrovg r-Qj dTtooyi/wa/u), CEcum. and Theoph. ; comp. 1 Cor. iii. 12). But common as this image is in Scripture, it is equally common now for the sense to have evanished with the Spirit, and to find little more than a carcase left behind- The generality of men represent to themselves under it, perhaps, a religious emotion, at the most an exercise of feeling somehow or another directed toward Christ. But, that the building up must be a grounding of the soul upon the Messias, the only ground of our salva- tion, that to build ourselves thereon signifies nothing else than " to weave our confidence and trust into one another's, and place them upon him," (Luther), and thereafter to grow in the inner man, (which certainly must have been previously formed in us, as Scripture ?iever speaks of the building up of the unregenerate), VOL. II. D V 34 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. in fellowship with God and all believers, — this is very rarely thought. oixog 'TTViv/jjUr/xbg, /s^drsufji^a dyiov, dvsvsyKcx,/ -^rvsiy/xar/- Tcdg ^i^tr/a? su'TTPoads/irovg toD 0«co did 'irjffoZ Hokstov, Nominandi casus per appositionem additus, (Erasm.) aedificati fiatis domus, etc. (Beza.) The Apostle mentions the effect of the building upon believers themselves. Being built, ye are one house, see above, Eph. ii. 20 — 22, (which the Greek interpreters and Scholiasts specially or exclusively bring out.) Nam etsi quisque nostrum Dei templum est ac dicitur, om- nes tamen coadunari et in unum mutua charitate con- glutinari necesse est. (Calvin.) O7xo$ stands probab- ly, as often in the LXX., in the sense of rT'i, temple^ (s. Bengel), comp. Just. Mar. dial.c. Tr. p. 314. A. (^i](jjdg^ otxov i^^'y/ig Jtal Tr^offxwyjffsoji S'Troi^ffaro. Jlvsufi^a.' Tixog denotes the temple, as opposed to that built with hands, the material ; therefore wrought by the Spirit, and, consequently itself spiritual ; it must also be a temple, in which the Spirit of God dwells, (Eph. ii- 22; 1 Cor. iii. 16; 2 Cor. vi. 16). The word olxog^ which answers exactly to the preceding oiTtohoix. (for strengthening the figure) so situated, forms, at the same time, the transition to what follows, (Pott). " The Apostle here ascends somewhat higher," (Benson). For after he had represented Christians as God's dwelling-place, he advances still farther into the idea of their life, freedom, &c., and represents them as priests, as men who are capable of intercourse witii God. As the former image expressed the relation- CHAP. II. VERSES 1 — 5. 85 ship consolidated by means of a building, and silently increasing, so this expresses the conduct or course of action. " As by the similitude of building upon a living stone Peter represents the progress of believers in the true faith, how that they become thereby more and more cemented, as it were, m ith him and formed into one ; so, by the comparison of priests, he illus- trates their progress in hoHness,"^ &c. (Calov). The sJg before /sgargy^a, though received by Lachmann, appears to be spurious, /i^drivfj^cc properly priest- hood, as denoting the office of a priest, then (in the LXX.) priesthood, in the sense of the college or so- ciety of priests. Per metonymiam accipias abstrac- tum pro concreto, (Zeger), as in our German : herrs- chaft, (the condition of a gentleman, gentry), pries- terstand, (the condition of a priest, clergy). Christians have an office, a privilege, being called to transact with God, they are the holy domestics of God. This leading reference to God is expressed by dytov, consecrated to God, purified/or God. But this office is common to all Christians, as is here declared by Luther : " Now Christ is the high, the highest priest, by God himself anointed, who has offered up his own life for us, which is the highest office of a priest, and also prayed for us on the cross ; in regard to the third, he has preached the gospel to us, and taught all men to know him and God. These three ' Ut similitudine extructionis super lapidem vivum profec- tum in fide vera, ut nempe per ipsam magis cum eo quasi con - glutinentur et coalescant fideles, declarat (P.); ita compara- tione sacerdotum profectum fidelium in sanctitate illustrat. 36 CHAP. II. VERSES I 5. offices he has moreover given to us all, and because he is a priest, and we are his brethren, therefore have all Christians the power and command, yea are most strictly bound, to preach and officiate before God, to intercede for one another, and offer themselves to God." A well known excellent delineation of this doctrine is to be found in Spener's work on the Spi- ritual priesthood. Against the opposite doctrine of the Papists, Beza remarks : Est autem illud non te- mere factum, ut Spiritus Sanctus nunquam in N. Testamento sacerdotis vel sacerdotii nomen ad evan- gelii ministros accommodarit. (The Romish transla- tions of the New Testament endeavour to make up for this supposed defect). The design of the office, the official duty is now declared ; it is an offering-service, dvacpseu (comp. on ver. 24; Heb. v. 7 ; vii. 27 ; xiii. 15. Jas. ii. 21), when used of sacrifices, signifies : to lift or present them upon the altar : ^LKr/a, the offering up, then concretely, the victim, as our word oper (offering). These offerings are called rrvivfjuccr. because they are offered in the Spirit and are not brute animals (Fla- cius), but as being operated by the Spirit, they are themselves of a spiritual nature. In what they con- sist is manifest from Ps. iv. 6; xl. 7 — 11 ; 1. 14, 23; li. 19. Hos. xiv. 3. Rom. xii. 1. Phil. iv. 18. Heb. xiii. 15. According ta these places, taken together, we must regard them as consisting, first of all, in the entire existence of the believer and all that he does, in so far as he therein gives himself up to God with the mortification of his lusts, and sacrifices what he loves after the flesh, for the sake of glorifying God CHAP. II. VERSES 1 — 5. 87 and living after his will. This offering up is accom- plished by the internal approach of faith to Christ, and stands in the denial and renouncement of one's own will, which is inseparably connected with such an act of faith (comp. Matt. x. 38 ; xvi. 24) ; this giving up to God is the act of faith itself on the one side (as it is the appropriation of his grace, as justifying on the other), hence it is itself named a ^ixr/a (offering), and then as being the spring of all good actions, a Xhtovp- y/a, (Phil. ii. 16). Man himself is through it a T^ocfo- ^a (a sacrificial gift), yjyiafffjjsr/j sv Uvrj/j^ari ayiu) (which he presents himself to God, or which is done by the person who converted him to the faith, Rom. xv. 16). Calvin : " Among spiritual sacrifices, the first place belongs to the general oblation of ourselves, con- cerning which Paul speaks in the 12th chap, to the Romans. For never can we offer any thing to God, until we have offered ourselves in sacrifice to him : which is done by the renouncement of ourselves. There follow afterwards prayers, giving of thanks, alms, deeds, and all the exercises of piety,"* as also the public acknowledgment of his name (Heb. xiii. 15), although that is here specified for the first time in a following verse, (ver. 9). This particular of- fering of the thoughts, words, and actions, following the great sacrifice of our persons, the Apostle has ^ Inter hostias spirituales primum locum obtinet generalis nostri oblatio de qua Paulus xii. ad Rom. cap. Neque enim offerre quicquam possumus Deo, donee illi nos ipsos in sacriti- cium obtulerimus : quod fit nostri abnegatione. Sequuntur postea pieces et gratiarum action es, elemosynas et omnia jjie- tatis exercitia. 38 CHAP. II. VERSES 1 5. here chiefly in view, as he considers those spoken of as already holy, as priests. Their offering is accept- ed by God as well pleasing ; they are su'r^ocdsx. tS> &SUI (Rom. XV. 16) = %ffiai deKrai, sud^sffroi rQj Qiui, (Phil. iv. 18, comp. Heb. xiii. 16). d/a 'iriffov X^tffrov. Id potest referri ad id quod proximum est, acceptabiles, aut ad superiora omnia (Erasm.) Didymus refers it to dm(p. (as it stands also, in Hebr. xiii. 15): " These things are the prayers, contemplations, and pious deeds of saints, offered not through a typical priest, but through the priest, who after the order of Melchizedeck, endures for ever. For this Jesus is the great high priest, who hath gone through the whole heavens. Therefore his person is constituted of a man assumed by the Word of God, whence, not to him, but through him oblations are said to be offered unto God, since the divinity of the Father and the Son is one, and the things which are sacrificed to God the Father, are offered also to the Son."^ With this sound interpretation of the dva!,/j alone, coupled with such a dative, is clearly opposed to this signification. Flacius, who, from his misunderstanding the connec- tion in the manner alluded to, prefers the interpreta- tion by ivTi'Mog, feels tliis hardness so much, that he proposes a change in the text. (In Rev. xxi. 24, also the signification honour, which the kings enjoy, is suitable, as well as the ho^a there coupled with it.) That exposition is, moreover, opposed by the article being placed before the (predicate) rz/x/^' and the same objection holds, when Wahl takes r//x5^ for auc- tor honoris; for of this, as such, nothing had hitherto been mentioned, so that the article could not stand before tiie predicate, and more esj)ecially as the sub- ject is admitted, whence n rt/xri must be taken for the subject. But by the first interpretation, we are spared the necessity, both of sup))lying the subject, (whicii is expressly mentioned in the following clause,) CHAP. II. VERSES 6 10. 45 and of admitting the metonomy, which would be too hard, especially in connection with the continued metaphor of a corner-stone, and the connection of the wliole is clear and simple : " Whosoever builds upon this stone, shall not be put to shame. Now to you who believe, is the honour thereof granted, (37 ri[x7i^ the appointed honour, in opposition to the shame, i. e. whatsoever honour proceeds from this foundation-stone, which is honoured by God, v. 6 ; comp. II. p. 50, Didymus;) but others shall have to share in the shame connected with it." In this man- ner, (as Benson also admits,) ri'jjri connects again with svTi>j.og, or rather accords with it in sound, without having, as considered in its simple signification, the same sense. a'TTii^ovai ds Xldov ov d'TrsdoTC/fiaffccv o'l oixodo/jijOuvTsg, ovrog syzvTi&Yi s/g 7ii/xar/, as the LXX. express it, and in sense our expression is exactly the same, for the LXX. are accustomed else- where to put GKCLvbaXov for bllTDTi. Gxcivh. originall}'^ signifies a trapstick (s. Passow, s. v. (SxavbaXr^oov^ ; then in the LXX. and from that in the New Testa- ment for every thing, which makes one fall (literally in Lev. xix. 14. Judith v. 1), consequently of that CHAP. II. VERSES 6 — 10. 49 which betrays, precipitates into sin and misfortune. In the words before us, therefore, there is contained not only what establishes the leading sentiment ex- pressed in the Psalm, viz., " that all the great ones, who boast themselves of their power and dignity, shall never be able to dislodge Christ from his place ;" (Calvin) ; but the Apostle brings prominently to view the objective hurt, which those persons draw upon themselves by their vain attempts : qui in eum impingunt, non Christum, sed seipsos evertunt (Beza), for as Grotius most forcibly expresses it : qui in du- rum lapidem impingunt, graviter cadere ssepe et vul- nerari solent. And in regard to Christ Calvin : " For such as is Christ's stability to uphold all, who by faith lean upon him, such also is his stony hard- ness to break and dash in pieces all who resist him. For betwixt these two there is no medium."* Ex- cellently also Didymus: " Now some man may wonder with himself when he hears, that one and the same thing is for advantage to some, for injury to others. But as the savour of the same unguent is hurtful and nauseous to some, and to others refresh- ing, so also must we understand it to be the case in spiritual things, since the Apostles are a good savour of Christ, to some the savour of life to life, to others of death to death," (2 Cor. ii. 6). And he had pre- viously said : " As Jesus, being the light, came again (?) for judgment into the world, that he might enlighten * Qualis enim est Christi firmitudo ad sustinendos omnes, qui fide in ipsum incumbimt, talis est durities ad fiangendos et conterendos omnes, qui illi resistunt. Nihil enim inter ista duo medium est. VOL. II. E 50 CHAP. II. VERSES 6 10. those who were blind before his arrival, and make those blind who saw perversely (John ix. 39, 41), so also was he set for the fall, and rising again of many in Israel (Luke ii. 34), raising up those who had been brought down by sin, and making those to fall headlong, who sat secure in their sins ; so also, since he is an elect and honoured stone, he dispenses honour to those, who, through faith, are built up on him, etc., to those who do not believe," etc.* To the same effect also Luther, who, nevertheless, brought out an interpretation in the softening style, expound- ing 'xooc'Miu and ffxdvd. afterwards quite subjectively as the offence (in our German sense), which one may take at the preaching of the cross, i. e. the vexation or annoyance it may occasion him, (trans : *' a rock of vexation"). It can, indeed, be alleged in defence of this interpretation, that cr^otrxo'crrw is actually so used (comp. Raphel. ex Polyb. ad h. 1. and Passow, s. v.), but this proves nothing here, where the question is not about a metaphorical use of the individual word, but the whole figure of a -rsr^a rr^offxo/j./xarog. And it ^ Nunc in se quidam miretiir, audiens quoniam una res aliis sit ad utilitatem, aliis ad laesionem. Idem odor unguenti aliis quidem nocet et mortificat, aliis prodest, sic et spiritualiter accipiendum est, quoniam Apostoli Christi bonus odor sunt, aliis odor ex vita in vitam, aliis ex morte in mortem, (2 Cor. ii. 6) Sicut Jesus, quum sit lumen, ut illuminaret eos qui coeci erant ante ejus adventum, et excoecaret qui male vide- bant (John ix. 39, 41), sic etiam positus est ad ruinam et re- surrectionem multorum in Israel (Luke ii. 34), excitans eos qui peccato corruerant, et con-uere faciens, qui in peccatis sta- tum firmissimum possidebant ; sic et quum lapis electus et honoratus sit, honorem praestat eis, qui per fidem superaedifi- cantur in eO; etc., apud eos qui non credunt, etc. CHAP. II. VERSES 6 10. 61 can, besides, be completely refuted on internal grounds, which is of great importance for the following verse. First of all, the clause d'Ts/^oDc/ ^s aISov, z. r. X. stands in contrast to the preceding one : v/j^Tv 65;', x. r. X. But as in this, the subject of discourse is the advantage which believers receive, so that contained in the other must, in like manner, be of an objective dis- advantage.* Nor is it merely in the position of the clause (ocrrsidouffi — ovrog — ) that the idea of recompense is implied, but the connection also imports the same : After that the builders had rejected the stone, con- sequently after they had been vexed by it, did it be- come to unbehevers a stone of stumbling. The pas- sage, therefore, refers to a change in the position of Jesus, which first took place after his rejection (just as with David, if we refer, Ps. cxviii. 22, typically to him), and through which he became a rock for the overthrow of those who, according to the prophecy, were to be his footstool. As that rejection manifestly reached its highest point in the crucifixion, so this judicial position began with his resurrection and cul- minates in the second coming. Finally, this has the confirmation of other passages. There is first the passage of Luke ii. 32, already compared by Didymus, as quoted above, but viewed only in a spiritual light, (with unwarranted limitation, especially as from a mem- ber of the old theocracy). But in the most conclusive manner does Is. viii. 14, according to the Hebrew text, containing the very words used by the righteous * Inversely also the signification of •TtgotrKCfi. and o-xav., which has, besides, sure enough grounds to lean upon, proves our ex- position of the first half of the verse. 52 CHAP. II. VERSES 6 — 10. judge himself in quoting this prophecy (Matt. xxi. 42 — 44. Luke xx. 17), decide in favour of our ex- position. With these words rebuking the Jews, who upon hearing the parable, which predicted their ap- proaching downfal, and the translation of the king- dom to the thankful, answered /x^ ysi/o/ro, he assured them that this was indeed what he declared, by add- ing the interpretation : Therefore say I to you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof, which is only the application of the prophecy (because ye have rejected me, would not have me for the corner-stone, ye shall be rejected, when I have become the corner- stone) ; to which, however, he still further adds : " And whosoever falls upon this stone shall be broken ; but upon whomsoever it falls, it shall grind him to powder." Here the injury, which the stone occasions, as an objective thing, and the might, which he possesses for the purpose (giving up at last the fi- gure of the corner-stone, comp. on ver. 8, end), is most clearly and strikingly expressed. (This provides us also with the right exposition of Rom. ix. 32.) V. 8. 0/ 'r^offKo-TTTovtH, rSi Xoyui d'TrndouvTsg. The Apostle expounds the preceding sentence by a short clause with the relative ; o/' refers to the d-rn- dovffi. 'TTPOff^io'Trroj signifies, as already shown, to strike against^ to heat upon ivith violence, rw X6yu) is some- times connected with 'jr^off-/.., sometimes with d-Tsikuvrsc. However, the construction here is only grammatically, not exegetically doubtful ; and against the Vulgate, Theoph., Erasmus, Luther, Calvin, Flacius, Zeger, CHAP. II. VERSES 6 10. 53 Glassius, we must decide in favour of connecting ruJ \oyu) with ars/^., whicli was preferred by the Syriac, and the grounds of which are given by Benson : The comparison of Christ with the stone, upon which un- believers stumble, and the common form of speech : aTg/^s/v rw Ao^w, Tw shayyzXiu} (below ch. iii. 1 ; iv. 17.) So Beza, Calov, Wolff, Bengel, Beausobre, and all the more recent commentators, excepting Matthaei and Pott. Nolentes verbo evangelii credere, gravissime impingent, i. e. gravissimas poenas ferent (Grotius, who, however, interprets the latter quite loosely of the destruction of the temple, and the temporal pun- ishment of the Jews ) Drusius under rOj Xoyui under- stands Christ himself. It is, however, only the word of Christ ; not to believe which, is indeed unbelief to- ward Christ himself (see on hr ahrui, ver. 6.) How the participle drrnQovvng, is to be construed and ex- plained, is of importance, although the correct ex- position of the preceding v/ords clearly decides it. But it may also be decided from itself, and then it serves to confirm that exposition. It must apparently be explained by inserting either while, or since, be- cause. The former would give the sense, taking in the subject-matter itself: " But to the unbehev- ing , who, while they believe not the word, stumble upon Christ (== are vexed or annoyed on ac- count of him.)" But this is both heavy, and makes the clause, though very short, contain a double tauto- logy, as unbelieving needed here no interpretation. It gives a better exposition to say : " But to the un- believmg , who, because they believe not the word, stumble upon this stone (= fall to the ground 54 CHAP. II. VERSES 6 10. upon it)." It admits of no doubt, that whichever construction is preferred, this is the only explanation that can be received. (Similarly also does the chorus in Sophocles express himself toward Antigone, Ant. V. 853 : 'T^pnkov Is Aixeii ptOiSfov TL^oiriTttn; [al. ^^oiri'raih (which the promise employs in reference to God himself), that circumstance shall have place both in the Old and New Testament ; e. g. in Ex. xix. 6, it is written of Israel : And ye shall be to me a royal priesthood, in the Old Testament and the New."* There follows now the more circumstantial account of the end of the election in itself: hoHness in all beha- viour (a consequence of that priesthood), 'z^voc, de- notes a people in regard to its manners, general custom (£^o$,both from s^w), as yivog in regard to its genealogy. (Upon dytoc, comp. on ch. i. 2, 15). " Wherefore," continues Didymus in the place above, " we are a holy nation, having been called to be holy by him that call- ed us, who is himself holy''^ (comp. Clarius). Xaoj, on the other hand, is a general idea, and is here with- out any particular weight. The stress lies in the ap- pointed end: e/'s 'rrs^i'xo/riffiv, nbiob (Mai. iii. 17 ; Deut. vii. 6), = iig ytrYi6iVy elg xX)j|0!/o^/ai/ (Q^cum. and The- oph.) : " We ourselves are to be for a holy nation, and a people sJg m^z-Troiriffiv, having been begotten out of all destruction : for that is rr^iTroiTiGig, which, by way of eminence, is reckoned among our substance and pos- sessions."^ (Didymus, according to the right punctu- * Ubicunque Deus in lege utitur voce ^b ea res in V. et N. T. occiirret ; e. g. de Israele scribitur Exod. xix. C : Et vos mihi eritis regale sacerdotiiim, in V. et N. T. ** A/0 t6vof ayiov v^dp-^o/u.tv, xXrifivri; v-ro tv xetXivroff ay'iH ovroj, iw< TO eiyiei 'iffiffSai. ' Oi uvroty T^eg to t^voi Lyiov i-rttf^eiv nai kao; if/xlv lis TiftTot- CHAP. II. VERSES 6 — 10. 63 ation). Comp. above, I, p. 70. Peter uses here an ex- pression of the prophet which forms the transition to what follows, in which the external design of choosing out a holy people is declared, viz. the conversion of those who still disbelieved. The words of Isaiah (ch. xliii. 21), in the LXX. are entirely of the same mean- ing (and justify our exposition of crg^/To/^jo'/i' in oppo- sition to that of Grotius: ad salutem) : Xaov /^oy, h Tsois-rotriffd/j^riV, rug d^srdg fio'j dn^ysTffdau ocrwj rag d^zrdg s^ccyyi/Xrirs rou s/t ex.6rovg 6/xag xa- ASffuvrog ug ro '^avfj,affrov avrou (pug, Sedulo finem vocationis inculcat, (Calvin ; comp. Flacius). Christians are all, as Luther shows at large, priests ; but " it belongs to a priest to be the messenger of God, and of God he has received a command to declare his work. The virtues, says St. Peter, that is, the wonderful work, which God has done upon you, in that he has brought you out of darkness into his light, ye must proclaim by preach- ing, which is the highest office of a priest. And therefore must your preaching be so done, that one brother shall proclaim to another the mighty doing of God. So that you must also direct others, how they too may come to such light. And hence must it all be directed to your apprehending what God has done for you, and thereafter must it be taken for your most excellent work, to proclaim yourselves publicly to be such, and call every man to the light, >}ff-/v, £|«y Toiffr,! oczfcoXuits yiytvtifiivoi. 'riftzToiv\fis ya^, to x,a,r i|- atptrav iv ^n^iUffia, xx) XTtifACtri XiXoyifffiivov. 64 CHAP. 11. VERSES 6 10. to which ye have been called. Whenever ye see people, that know it not, these you must instruct and teach how you have learned," &c. The meaning of d^sTYj is not easily determined. Vocabulum dsirri, quam usitatum est apud philosophos, tam raro in scripturis occurrit (Hornejus). That it does not sig- nify virtue, or moral excellence, — in the modern sense, — hardly needs to be remarked. But just as little can the full idea of the old heathenish dpiTYi be admitted into its New Testament signification. There hence remains to us, as it appears, only the general signification of what is praiseworthy, glorious. So not only in profane authors are d^sr'h and do^a com- monly connected, (see L. Bos on 2 Pet. i. 3), but al- so in the LXX. it is thus used. Ubi de Deo dicitur, says Grotius, respondet voci iin ut Abac. III. 3. Sa. ch. vi. 13, aut voci nbnn ut Es. xlii. 8, 12 ; xliii. 21, (the very places which form the ground of ours), Ixiii. 7, in qiiibus locis est, ut hie pluraliter, dpird; in significatu potentiae. So it is understood also by the Syriac, Benson, Bolten, Hottinger, Stolz, Hens- ler : " Das Erhabne (of God)." But power also would often be particularly conjoined with this name as praiseworthy, which indeed appears to be the case in all those passages collected by Bos. Piiilo too (s. Krebs and Loesner), seems, under the doirai of God, to understand his inherent powers. Hesych. among others, gives the interpretation of ^s/a duvcc,u,ic, and ii\ 2 Pet. i. 3, this sense appears to be the most prominent (Alberti in lo.). But in the passage bo- fore us it is equally clear, that in being called from darkness to the wonderful light of God, power was CHAP. II. VERSES 6 10. 65 eminently displayed, and as an assistant, ought to be named and celebrated. At the same time, the good- ness of God was eminently displayed therein, and this property was also comprised under the word dosT'^ (s. Pott in Inc.) We are here, therefore, to consider goodness and power as included in the sig- nification of the divine a^sra/, i. e. that, for which God should be praised. — f^ayyeXXu = ra sVw ysyovora ToTg gjw uyysXXiiv (Hesych. s. v. s^dyysXog, Pott in lo.) is here used very properly of that which one has inwardly experienced, and now announces to those who do not know it. That the announcement itself is to be only done silently through our walk and conversation, is a catholicizing error of Theophylact and CEcumenius. The mention of what God has done to believers, has a double aim: 1. To express the ground on which they should preach grace to others, because they had themselves experienced grace, and hence had both the power and the obligation (that of grati- tude toward God), to proclaim it to others; 2. to prevent them from magnifying themselves above others, as they had once been in the same darkness, and only through divine help had come to the light, which they must henceforth preach to all ( — ha /m-/} TU) '^s^tTTui l-rah^ sxXvffyj avrovg — is a view rightly given by CEcum. and Theoph., from which, however, they believe that Peter here defended the grace of God against Jewish prejudices). It is easily perceiv- ed, that these are only t o modifications of one senti- ment, oKoroug, comp. Acts xxvi. 18 ; Luke i. 78 ; Matt, iv. 16, etc. " He calls by the name of darkness the VOL. II. F 66 CHAP. II. VERSES 6 10. kingdom of Satan, and that most wretched state and condition of man, in which all are naturally placed and live, before they come to Christ. Darkness, therefore, comprehends, first, ignorance of God, then the greatest unrighteousness and bondage oi Satan, and, finally, the manifold punishments, wrath and curse of God : but light, the reverse of all this." (Flacius).^ Comp. Eph. v. 8. " And here observe,*' says Luther, " that St. Peter plainly' declares, hovr that there is only one light, and concludes all our reason, however sagacious it may be, to be miserable darkness. For though reason can easily' reckon one, two, three, and can also perceive what is dark, or great, or small, and judge of other outward things; yet it cannot apprehend what faith is. There it is stark blind. For there reason gropes as one that is blind, stumbles from one thing to another, and knows not what it does. But if one mentions such a thing to the wise and learned of this world, they would not hear it, but would rise up and exclaim against it. Therefore is St. Peter a bold Apostle, in openly branding that with the name of darkness, which all the world calls light." ^av/Maffrov, what produces wonder, wonderful (of wonderful signs. Rev. xv. I : of the manifestation in Christ, Matt. xxi. 15). ai/7-oC (al- aOroO), only the light, (in a moral sense), is made ^ Tenebras vocat regnum Satanae tristissimamqiie illaiu conditionem statumque honiinis, in qua omnes naturaliter ex- istunt versauturque, autequam ad Christum perveniant. Coiu- plectuntur ergo tenebrae tuui inscitiam Dei turn summani in- justitiani servitutemque Satanae, turn denique omnigenas ])oeiias, iranique et maledictionem Dei : contra vero hix. CHAP. II. VERSES 6 — 10. 67 by God, not darkness, and on that account is said to be of God. (In Isa. xlv. 7, it is physical evil that is spoken of, the punishment of sin, not sin it- self, as is clear from the passage itself.) V. 10. 0/ rroTi ou Xahg, vvv dz Xahg (diov' o'l ohy. j^Xs- Tlfjjsvot^ v\Jv hi IXsrjdsvrsg. Predicates gi ven for elevating the feeling of gratitude and confidence ; from Hos. ii. 25. The LXX. (edd. Com- plut. et Romana) and after it the citation in Rom. ix. 23 have : dyait'/i^o) rr^v oux ^yaTTj/xsv^jv 7ial l^w rw ou XaoD ijjo-j' Xuog (loxj if )DX ah, so also Hos. i. 10; not my ( God' s ) -people. Hence Grotius supplies here from the following clause, ©sou, and that rightly, as appears. rikir,[jj. ex- presses the earlier condition, wherein they experience no compassion through its whole continuance ; lXiT,6, the historical fact, the act of divine compassion, as really experienced (hence the aorist ; Winer, Gr. s. 292, Anm.) CHAPTER II. II, 12. The Apostle, having represented the calling, the dignity, and commission of Christians, comes now to set forth separately their special obligation in con- duct, and makes a transition to it through means of the general principle, which he repeats from a pre- 68 CHAP. II. VERSES 11, 12. ceding part of the Epistle, but with reference to the relation of believers to unbelievers. Peter therefore admonishes here, as Flacius analyses the words: 1. To purification of soul, (a) because Christians are strangers upon the earth, and must not allow them- selves to be kept back in their endeavours through earthly lusts, and (b) because these lusts war against the salvation of the soul ; 2. To a pious walk among unbelievers, (a) so that they might cease to calum- niate Christians, and (b) might themselves be con- verted to Christ. V. 11. 'AyacDjTO/ cra^axaAo), wg 'zu^olxovg xai .. 'i^y. can be connected with s':ro'7tr. But the sense would not be clear, inasmuch as the Apostle did not express what he looked upon as the ground of those calumnies, while yet, according to the present view, he expounds the h w by sx tmv %uX. s^y. For the very works which must, on a more careful con- sideration, move the heathen to praise God, are at first the occasion of calumnies. Not Christianity in the abstraction of thought or feeling, but Chris- tianity exhibiting itself in Christian works, is ihe object of hatred, the butt of raillery. This is clearly proved by ch. iii. 16, where the same thought is re- peated with a change of words : " that in those very points or things, in which, (on account of which) they calumniate you, the enemies of your good conduct may be ashamed." It is, therefore, the most natural way to see in the w the xakm 'i-^ym^ and the object of sTO'TTT. the same thing in regard to sentiment, namely, the chief object of the whole admonition, the good walk. To it also does sTorr. expressly refer in ch. iii. 2, and we, therefore, take it here just as Wolf struck out its meaning : when they come to a better insight (into your walk, and the grounds of it.) IrroTrr. is perspicere, and in the mysteries was used of those who had received the more profound explanations, in opposition to novices, (s. Suidas s. v. stoVdjj, comp. 2 Pet. i. 16.) do'^d'C,eiv is very naturally construed with sx. (so (SXaa- ^Yi[jjeiv sz rhog, on account of somewhat. Rev. xvi. 11). It stands in opposition to the TiaraXaXetv, as the good 74 CHAP. II. VERSES 11, 12. works to the w$ ^axo-ro/wi/, (a word frequently used in this Epistle to denote external sins) but its object is different. " It intimates that we must not labour on our own account, that men should think and speak well concerning us, but that the glory of God must be sought,"^ (Calvin). The following words manifestly indicate the time when the heathen should glorify God. (Ecum. and Theoph., and after them Luther, Clarius, Raphelius, Wolf, Roslen, Wahl, understand smffx.o'xrig of the trying of the life of believers on the part of the world. But this was already expressed by Irro'Trr. and the r]fjt,sou seems quite unsuited to this idea. (Pott: as often as they have the opportunity of trying you). Just as little has Bede's interpretation: in the last da^, to support it. sTiffxo'rrj is the visitation of men on the part of God, and therefore vj^tMsocc k^i(S%. marks the time when his nearness is particularly felt. It may hence be understood of sufferings, in which God's govern^ ment of the world manifests itself: tempus afflictionis. So it is very often used in Scripture ; Isa. x. 3, xxiv. 22, xxix. 6; Jer. vi. 15, viii. 12, x. 15, xi. 22; Ez. xxxiv. 11 ; Hos. ix. 7 ; Sir. ii. 14, xxiii. 20, 23, and so also here the Syriac renders it by times of trial; and he is followed by Grotius (with a loose reference to the Jews), Zeger, Benson, Hammond, Carpzov. Only by this exposition, the most important thing is not clear, namely, how the heathen should be brought through sufferings to glorify God ? For this active expression : ha — ^oja^wc/ tov Qsbvy can hardly be un- » Significat non esse nostra causa laborandum, ut bene de nobis sentiant ac loquantur, sed quKrendam esse Dei gloriara. CHAP. II. VERSES 11, 12. 75 derstood of the glorifying of God's pskai^^ justice through the suffering of evil, and to this, besides, there was no need of the conviction of the good walk of Christians. There only remains, therefore, the expo- sition which takes i'Kicy.. in bonam partem, as in Scrip- ture usage it admits of both senses (comp yg'/jyo^s/V \it\ Tivif Jer. xxxi. 28, which is doubtful). So stands It/- (f/tsTTOficci, for ex. in Ps. Ixv. 9; Jer. xxxii. 41, and so also is it interpreted here bj'- most of the fathers (Sui- cer, s. V. ii. a.), the Schol. in Matthaei, Lyra, Erasmus, Vatable, Castellio, Calvin, Beza, Piscator, Hornejus, Calov, Clericus, and the recent interpreters except Bolten. Taken in this sense, it denotes the time of merciful visitation, in which sense it is also used by Luke xix. 44. This exposition is the more natural, as the Apostle justly foresaw the conversion of a great number of heathens whose minds should have been greatly opened to receive the truth through the irre- proachable walk of Christians. CHAPTER II. 13—17. The Apostle had given a general prescription con- cerning the conduct that should be maintained among heathens. Nunc ad particulares exhortationes de- scendit (Calvin). From the highest standing of Chris- tians, he goes straight to their commonest obligations, from the glorifying of their royal priesthood to their subjection to human authorities. Y. 13. ii-rordyriTi ovv rrdari dvd^Mmvyj zt'kjh bidrovKv^iov. The aor. pass, stands for the middle (Winer Gr. s. 76 CHAP. II. VERSES 13 17. 214), the ovv again follows. Because the Christian lives in the world, and this is full of unbelief, he must walk in such a way as to equal the best of unbelievers, and accommodate himself to the divine order of this world. But he himself is free. Hence the misun- derstanding and the reproach, as if this freedom were inconsistent with the subordination, which it is thought he must now factiously resist. (The same transition as in Rom. xiii. 1). — did rh kvpiov, see Rom. xiii. 5; because he so wishes it, and will require an account of it (the exposition of Grotius and Hottinger: Propter Christi praeceptum. Matt. xxii. 21, scarcely deserves to be mentioned). But if it is asked, why God de- sires this of us, there is no possible answer, but that he has founded this ordinance, and hence will have it respected. See Rom. xiii. 1. Kt/V/c as well as dv^pu- rrhri have received different interpretations. Theoph. and CEcum. understand thereby the government as chosen by men, of their institution. In scripture, xr/^w is often used for r/^>j/-c./, Eph. ii. 15. So also Didymus : Potestas, quae hominum dispositione con- sistit ; Luther : Quod creat et condit homo, all the ordinances and laws of men ; Zeger, Benson, Bcau- Bobre, Hottinger. A similar sense of the noun is admitted by other expositors, who render the dv^pwrr. differently. Thus Calvin interprets the former by ordinatio (Beza : Civilis gubernationis dispositio), and adds : " It is called a human ordinance, not because it is of human invention, but because it is a mode of life properly fitted and arranged for men,"* or as it " Et humana dicitur ordinatio, non quod humanitus inventa ftierit, sed quod propria hominum sit digesta et ordinata viven- di ratio. CHAP. II. VERSES 13 17. 77 has been excellently set forth by S. Bochart (0pp. II. p. 1003) ; " Because the authority is exercised of men, and towards men. So that is called a rod of man, by which God chastises men, 2 Sam. vii. 14, and that a human temptation, by which he tries them (or more correctly, which does not exceed the measure of human strength), 1 Cor. x. 13.'"^ So also Grotius and Hensler. This interpretation asserts its prefer- ence to the first, chiefly on the ground, that accord- ing to scripture the foundation of governments is de- rived, not from men, but from God. This, however, affects only the Neological view of that interpretation, which easily admits another, namely, that men appear merely as the means through whom God brings into existence a governing power (s. Didymus and Calov.) It is just in this that the distinction lies between the religious and the political, since in the latter, God's will does not make itself known, as in the former, by an immediate manifestation, but by history. Excel- lently Flacius : " It is called a human ordinance on this account, because the politics of the world are not framed on the express word of God, as true re- ligion, but are rather set up by the power and dili- gence of men, as appears to us, not seeing into the secret providence of God. Besides, they only speak of human affairs, and have an eye to human advan- tages.'"" Thus the only objection falls to the ground, * Quia principatiis ab hominibxis et in homines exercetur. Sic virga hominis dicitur, qua homines castigat Deus, 2 Sam. vii. 14, et tentatio humana, qua eos idem tentat, 1 Cor. x. 13. ^ Bicitur autem humana ordinatio, ideo quia politiae inur.di iion sunt speciali verbo Dei formatae, ut vera religio. 78 CHAP. II. VERSES 13 — 17. that could be brought against this interpretation, re- commended by its freedom from constraint, and un- derstood in this way, it receives a decisive ground of support. For now the words of the Apostle appear all in the highest significance toward each other. " As Christians (says he), ye must be subject not only to that which God immediately ordains through his word, but also to every ordinance, which is appointed by men, and that not from fear of their indignation (comp. Rom. xiii. 5), but out of regard to God, for this institution, though apparently devised by men, has also taken its rise with him, and is of divine ap- pointment." So the ground becomes clear, why Peter uses the general expression dv&^c>js^. con- sequently marks the peculiarity of the first class. On the other hand, says Calvin : Non est compara- tio Caesaris cum aliis magistratibus — Paulus xiii. ad Rom. cap. ad omnes magistratus extendit. Against which we remark, that Paul certainly speaks in the plural of lt,ou6iaig b-rsos^ovffaig, but not otherwise than as in 1 Tim. ii. 1, of all kings, for whom the Christian must pray. That, therefore, cannot prove, that '^tj^s;/. marks a dignity which belongs to others beside kings. Didymus expounds it with grammatical correctness : regibus quidem tanquam egregium culmen habenti- bus : (comp. Grotius, Hornejus) ; but Bengel lays the sense most profoundly, in a contrast to what follows. The Tjysfj.oisg are but the ambassadors and deputies of the king, (so Pilate and Felix are named. Vox ge- neralis est et nunc procuratorem, nuc legatum Caesaris denotat; Wolf), and their specific character is also clearly enough expressed. Indeed Calvin, Est, Gerhard, refer the avrov back to God, in order to avoid com- ing too near the divine dignity of the pro-consul, but entirely against the context ; for then it would seem as if they were sent only by God, but not by the king, while properly they were sent by God through the king, (comp. John xix. 11). But now the official standing of these subordinate magistrates is derived from the king; and the circumstance that their standing is derived, is, at the same time, the distinction between this and that of the king, from which it clearly follows, 80 CHAP. II. VERSES 13 17. that with '^-TTSPi^. au office is ascribed to the king, which is not derived from men. Bengel, therefore, interprets this correctly ; Supereminens, Gallis : souverain, (Stolz : as to the highest possessor of power ; Bol- ten, with an improper subordinate idea: as to the highest landesherrn ) . The king is then an authority, which has to be obeyed immediately for God's sake, because it projects over all others and depends upon none. Under /Satf/Xs/'the Roman emperor is natural- ly to be understood, whom the Jews, as well as the Greeks, unconsciously often named king, (Jos. de B. J. 1. V. c. 13, § 6, &c.), consequently, the same per- son who then, in point of fact, was in possession of the highest authority. From this it does not follow, that everywhere the supreme power ought to be lodged in the hands of one person, an opinion main- tained in the face of history, which has nothing to do with the doctrine of the church and the Apostles.* But it does follow from hence, that the opposite axiom of the people's sovereignty, which has been just as absolutely and loudly asserted, can carry no weight with the Christian, although all the natural politicians of our day concur in it, along with the old Jesuit Bel- larmin and his pack.^ On the contrary, the Apostle ■ See the Conf. Gallica, i. 39 : Credimiis Deum — constituisse Regna, Respublicas et reliquas principatuum species, sive haere- ditario jure obveniant, sive minus ; comp. the Apol. Art. XVI. quod regnum Christi — sinat nos uti pohticis ordinationibus le- gitimis quarumcnnque gentium, inter quas vivimus. Nee fert evang. noves legas de statu civili, sed pra^cipit, ut prrnsentibus Jegibus obtemperemus, etc. ** Cf. Bellarm. recognit. libr. de Laicis : Popuhis nunquaui CHAP. II. VERSES 13 — 17. 81 here manifestly derives the power and authority of the emperor from no one, notwithstanding that he himself had formerly spoken of a /triGig dvdoM-rivr,. For though one may arrive at power in a human way, (through conquest, birth or suffrage), the highest authority in the government, nevertheless, comes solely from God, (comp. Calov), for v/hose sake the Apostle commanded the emperor to be obeyed, and with him the governors of provinces, (an equally his- torical appointment), tanquam a Csesare missis, i. e. suam potestatem ducentibus, (Grotius). From this it is, at the same time, manifest that those in office are to be obeyed only so long as they act in subordination to the supreme power. " Therefore, if the pro-con- sul should command one thing, and the emperor another, we ought rather to obey the superior, as Augustin says. For which reason the Christians would not adhere to Furius Camillus Scribonius against Claudius. They who teach the people otherwise, both contradict the doctrine of the Apostles, and dis- turb governments."^ (Grotius). It is of the highest practical importance clearly to understand, that Scripture prescribes nothing upon the form of government, but binds the conscience of ita suam potestatem in regem transfert, quin illam sibi in ha- bitu retineat, ut in certis casibus etiam actu ad se recipere possit. ^ Itaque si proconsul aliqtiid jubeat, et aliud imperator, eli- gere debemus majori servire, ut ait Augustinus. Quare Christian! Furio Camillo Scriboniano contra Claudium non erant adhaesuri. Qui populum aliter instituunt, et apostolorum doctrinae repugnant, et imperia turbant. VOL. II. G 82 CHAP. II. VERSES 13 — 17. Christians to that everywhere subsisting, and conse- quently subjects them to the governors, " because these have not been raised to the honour by chance, but by the providence of God. For many are accus- tomed to inquire too scrupulously by what right any one acquired the government : whereas we ought to be satisfied with this one consideration, that we see them exercising the powers of government. There- fore Paul cuts off the handle from superfluous objec- tions by delaring, that there is no power but from God. And on this account it is that Scripture so often affirms it to be God, who girds kings with the sword of power, who raises them aloft, and transfers kingdoms wherever he will. (Pro v. viii. 15, s.) Es- pecially when Peter was going to treat of the Roman emperor, it was necessary to add this admonition. For it is unquestionable, that the Romans penetrat- ed into Asia, and brought those regions under tiieir sway, through wicked measures, rather than anj' jus- tifiable cause. And, besides, the emperors who then held the reins of government had, with tyrannical force, seized the monarchy. Peter, therefore, for- bids all these things from being made matter of dis- putation ; on the ground, that subjects ought unques- tionably to obe}'' their governors, because it is only the hand of God which has raised them into power."" (Calvin.) ^ Quia non fortuito evecti sunt ad honorem, sed Dei provi- dentia. Solent enim pleri«jue nimium scrujiulose inquirere, quoquisque jiire adeptus sit iniperium ; atque hoc solo conten- tos nos esse decet, quod videmus eos pro'sideie. Ideo Paulus ausam supervacuis ol»j(.ctioiiibus praescidit, duni proniintiat. CHAP. II. VERSES 13 17. 83 If we put the whole together, we plainly obtain the following as the doctrine of holy Scripture: 1. That the subject, as such, has simply to obey, and, consequently, 2. That the governor alone, has to consult for the welfare of the state ; 3. And further, that who is the subject, and who the governor, is to be determined solely by history. Now, if we take the guidance of the last principle, and make by it an explanatory appHcation of the first, there arises, first of all, a broad distinction be- tween the situation of a Christian in a military em- pire, such as the Roman, or any other absolute mon- archy, and his situation in a Germanic state of the west, as a historical distinction, and consequently sanctioned by the Bible. Under an Oriental despo- tism, a conscientious man has nothing to do but to obey ; he is purely passive, (active only in what is lion esse potestatera nisi a Deo. Et hac ratione scriptura toties commemorat, Deum esse qui reges accingit baltheo, qui erigit ipsos in sublime, qui regna transfert quocunque voluit, (Prov. viii. 15, s.) Praesertim quum de imperatore Komano ageret Petrus, hanc admonitionem addi necesse fuit. Certum enim est, Romanos malis artibus potius quam legitima causa penetrasse in Asiam et sibi regiones illas subegisse. Deinde Caesares, qui tunc rerum potiebantur, monarchiam vi tyiaunica ad se rapuerant. Petrus itaque hsec omnia in disceptationem vocari prohibet ; quoniam subditi absque controversia, obedire prfpfectis suis debeant, quia non eminent, nisi Dei manu in sulu lime evecti. 84 CHAP. II. VERSES 13 17. commanded), because he is only a subject. There- fore, what government he is under, can never be a matter of doubt to him, for he never has to exercise any discrimination upon it. It is the unconditional government of those, who hold all the power and offices of the state unconditionall3\ But very differ- ent is the right of citizenship in the Germanic states, in which, from the times of Tacitus, the sovereign power has not been absolutely concentrated into one point, but, like the life-blood, which diffuses itself through the whole organization, in various propor- tions, so does it apportion itself through the people, into numberless degrees and modifications, each hav- ing its own proper boundaries, but culminating in the heart or head of the system.* In this compact system there is a great number placed by God, not only as subjects, but also as fellow-citizens, and pro- vided with a certain share in the governing power, exactly defined and limited through their several re- lationships — in the different corporations — for the ex- ercise of which, to the good of the whole, they have themselves to give an account unto God. So, as a relative part of the government — members of corpo- rations, electors, city-magistrates, etc. — they have also a direct obligation to maintain the existing establish- ment through a directly active participation, and to give a resolute opposition, within their sphere, to every illegal attempt made to change it, even if this attempt at a revolution should proceed from the ^ Comp. Jarche upon the Trench Revolution of 1830, \>. 40, ^8. CHAP. II. VERSES 13 17. 85 higher against the lower branches of the government. For thereby would the usurper throw himself out of his highest sphere, and come down as a rebel into that of the lower, though legitimate part of the govern- ment, so that this could not for a moment doubt its obligation to employ the legal power vested in it for the protection of its rights, and the interests confided to its charge. In the very same condition would even a successful plunderer of thrones find himself in such a state, everywhere striking upon a perfectly lawful and hence invincible opposition, so that, to accom- plish his design, nothing remains for him but to lay violent hands upon the whole framework of the em- pire, in all its bands and ligatures, and consequently to challenge the flower of the people, as being wrong- ed in their just rights of government, to stand out in their defence. In the East, however, a change of dynasty is much more common ; but there the suc- cessful competitor does not encroach so deeply upon the vitals, and excepting to the dethroned prince and his officials, tramples upon no rights which any one is called upon to defend, because in truth there are none. (Corap. Heidegger, Corpus Theol. t. ii. p. 622 : " That governments are of different kinds, as to the manner of holding these things, that some have been granted upon equitable laws, that some are merely despotic, and that the latter permit more wrongs to be done to the subjects than the former, is clear and on all hands admitted. But it is possible also that a power may belong to the inferior magistrates against the head, which is never granted to mere subjects. For there are some not wholly subjects, such as nobles, 86 CHAP. II. VERSES 13 17. ephori, orders and states of the kingdom, who are themselves magistrates."^ And still better Gerhard, loci, De Magistr. polit. 437, sqq. 485 sqq.) The Scripture doctrine of the impropriety of all resistance, against whatever form of government it may be, has always been maintained in the most decided terms by the whole evangelical church, partly in opposition to the Jesuitico-papal doctrine, accord- ing to which every bad ruler is a tyrant, every tyrant a heretic, who consequently is to be deposed — (that the first Christians did not lay violent hands on the Roman emperor, arose from their weakness, declares Bellarm. De Rom. pontif. 1. v. c. 7.) And in further proof of this, see the Protestant Doctrine of the Sa- cred Dignity of Worldly Government, by E. Sartorius, (Marburg 1822), and the Conf Helvet. post. '' We therefore condemn all despisers of magistrates, rebels, enemies of thestate, and seditious villains, all, in short, who refuse either openly or by deceitful cunning to discharge whatsoever duties are incumbent on them."^ One exception from this obligation of obedience is recognized as obligatory by the whole Christian church, ^ Irnperia, quoad modum ilia habendi, diversi generis esse, alia certis legibus concessa, alia mere despotica, et plura his «iwam illis adversus siibditos impune licere, apertiim et omnium confessione receptum est. Sed et inferioribus magistratibus adversus superiorem licere potest, quod meris subditis nunquam licet. Sunt enim quidam non absolute subditi velut proceres, ephori, ordines, status regni, qui et ipsi magistratus sunt. *' Damnamus itaque omnes magisti-atus contemptores, rebelles, reip. hostes et seditiosos nebulones, denique omnes quotquot officia debita praestare, vel palam, vcl arte, renuunt (cap. 30. extr.comp. Gal. conf. § 40.) CHA.P. II. VERSES 13 — 17. 87 on the warrant of the Bible. And on this account it is necessay that we have here, as always with (apparent) exceptions, a broad line of demarkation. The observation of GEcum. and Theoph. appears at the first glance quite futile. " But Peter also has pointed out what and what sort of rulers it is necessary to obey, those, namely, that execute justice."^ This limitation, which (even though not abused), like the current maxim of our day : that one is bound only to obey in that, which does not offend his own con- science, strikes at the root of all civil obedience, and would change it into mere compliance with one's own convictions, is not at all contained in the following words. fe/'s hxhiZYiCtv K. r. X. It does not in any way refer to the v'7rordj,ouvrig), so that the sense is : They now judge of things of which they have no know- ledge, even because they are a(p^ovsg, i. e. (unbelieving and consequently) incapable of judging, bereft of un- derstanding (bn3) ; in this incapacity of considering your course of life from its true point of view, they mistake it and calumniate you (v. 12) ; therefore sus- tain such an appearance of goodness, that they must at least acknowledge your civil morality, and cease to suspect your walk (whereby the}'- become ready for their own conversion, v. 12). Quite similar is the ex- hortation of Paul in Rom. xii. 21 : iJ.ri vrA,^j v'rb rov za- zovj d7^Xa vl/ta sv rui dya^OJ to zu-aov, upon which, in like manner, immediately follows the admonition to civil obedience. V. 16. ojg sXrokpoi, nat ijjY^ C^g i^r/MX'oiLij.u. h/jyjng rr,g xax/ag rr^v sKuj^ioiaVj dX'A Cjg dovXoi Qiov. This verse can scarcely be connected with ver. 13 ; neither is it necessary to consider it as abrupt, since we can very well regard it, with Lachmann, * Joseph, de B. J. 1. VI. c. 4 : (pif/^oufuvoi Ti rd yi crei&fi tm a(nkstoi rriv Ti/x,yiv, — ; o yxp tU "^ov Qtcv (po[oov \nxu.v oi^i aeu rnv 100 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 25. Grotius to take it as synonymous with dovXoi. The expression dsff'-r. = xv^ioi is also used by Paul, (Tit. ii. 9. 1 Tim. vi. 1.) On v'^roruffff, (medium) Bengal remarks justly : Part, pro imp., pendens ab u^roray^jrg, ver. 13. Unde imperativi forma per zeugma repeti debet. Hottinger, on the other hand, finds the im- perative, on which v'Troragg. depends, in ver. 1 7 ( rrdv- rag rifMriffars) ; the best way is to reckon, that Peter, in ver. 1 1, 12, gave the general exhortation, then in ver. 13, through means of the words : v'roTdyr,Ts ouv 'zdffp dvd^. xuffsj, d. r. %. passed on to the first particular, which he closed with a repetition of the general pre- cept, ver. 16, s., and now begins the second particu- lar, which at once depends upon that general precept and that transition, as also upon this repetition. That the use of the form of the participle is not without sig- nification, is rendered clearly manifest from this, that Peter constantly uses it in the following correspond- ing sections, ch. iii. 7, 8 (where even adjectives stand so), and 9. He considers these obligations as having been all already comprised in the exhortation to a good conduct, and to the observance of subsisting relations, so that it did not need a separate command, but only a putting in remembrance, and the meaning is simply this : Accordingly let your servants be subject to their masters, without anything further ; in like man- ner, your women to their husbands, etc. O/' oiy/sra/ may then be regarded as an address of command (Winer, Gr. p. 154), yet it seems better to consider the expression of the third person, as in ch. iii. I, where it must be so, on account of M'hat follows. Verse 19 is then the address direct, and adds thereby to the liveli- CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 23. 101 iiess of the style. The -racr/ has suffered many an inter- pretation ; under which Cornel, a Lapide understands the threefold fear of punishment, guilt and vexation. We take it more correctly as designed to strengthen the ip6(^og, which the moderns particularly endeavour to weaken as much as possible (Hensler : reverence.) But Paul enjoins the same thing in Eph. vi. 5, /-osra ^o'/So'j xa/ r^oiMo-j, for this fear may be exercised without any (updaXfj^odovXsia^ without the design of pleasing, in- asmuch as one thereby obeys the will of God, which subjects slaves to their masters, who therefore are acted by fear toward God, and not toward men (Matt. x. 28) ; comp. Eph. vi. 5 — 8. Col. iii. 22, ss., below on ver. 19. — dyadhg denotes, as well that one is good in one's self, as kind towards others, like our word gut (good.) sV/g/x. expresses this latter idea still more particularly, as it was the most important for slaves. But here the Apostle expressly directs, that fidelity to the obligation is not to be determined by the question, whether the master is good and gentle or GxoXiog ? This latter word stands in opposition to those two others, and as nothing is more common, than for a contrast to two ideas to be expressed by one word, when this is suf- ficient, so it is quite unnecessary for some expositors (Grotius, Bolten, Hott.) to read bvaytokoig x,ai ffxoXioTg, an alteration, which was introduced by the Vulg. ren- dering the expression of the text by the similar Greek word dyscolis, and the Syriac, which very correctly unfolds the meaning of the word in its two parts. '^.KoXihg z= rib3 (ilpy) is used primarily of crooked ways, Isa. xl. 4. Luke iii. 5, and thence metaphori- cally of the ways, in which the ungodly M^alk, Pro v. 102 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. ii. 15 (of nb, cxo/jdZ^iiv, Prov. xiv. 2) ; then of a cros?, perverse disposition, for ex. Prov. iv. 24 : ffxoXiov cro- [Men. (a mouthful of crooked motions), xat adixa ^ii>.ri. So in Hesiod (see Wolf in lo.) : 'Pua ol ]6vvu ffxoXtovy xai ayrtvepu xeip(pit Ztvs v-^vp>^ifiiTyis. It, therefore, denotes perverseness, as well in its own disposition, as in the treatment of others; the Syriac, Pott, Hottinger: perversi et asperi (= ^s- GT^afj^iMsm xai dvffxoXoi), by which it appears as a per- fect contrast to dyad, xai It/s/x. ; Hensler exactly, perverse. — There arises, from this passage, the im- portant moral precept, that he, who has to obey, must make the design and disposition of his master just as little as the behaviour of the latter toward him, the measure of the fulfilment which he gives to his obligations ; and what we said above of the condition of subjects in countries, where they are in a state of vas- salage to the prince, receives here a new confirmation. The slave has no right to elevate his condition other- wise than by the consent of his proprietor, and to have this done is not a matter of necessity, although freedom is better, (Philem. 1 Cor. vii. 26, s.) The idea of an absolute human right to bodily freedom, is entirely foreign to Scripture and contrary to it. V. 19. TouTO ydp^d^ig, s; did Cjn'thridiv 0£oD -J-ro^s^e* rig XuTag, fTrdcyoiv ddixoog. As concerning the first words, intcrpretes alii sic explicant : Hoc vobis Doi favorem conciliat; alii: Hoc gratum est Deo. The first exposition is pre- CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. 103 ferred by Pott, which he supports by referring to the 'xmv yao yCkioc,^ that follows in ver. 20, but without any one being able to discover what this can prove in its favour. The metonymy is without example, and the sense, which this exposition gives, contrary to Scripture. It was hence better expounded by (Ecum. and Theoph. : " This also obtains acceptance with God,"^ so that the sense is the same as in 1 Tim. ii. 3 ; v. 4. Col. iii. 20. So Luther, Calvin, Vata- ble, Grotius, Wolf, Hottinger, etc. Xctp/g is in con- sequence commonly taken for = yaohv^ an object of God's favourable regard. In this exposition there is just one thing striking, that here, where the expres- sion occurs for the first time, the o-aga ©sp is awant- ing, which belongs to it in ver. 20 for ex., and in some copies, and the Syriac, is also supplied here. We might hence strike out the interpretations : This is grace = to be regarded as grace, if one for God's sake can suffer, — and then ver. 20 : This is real grace, also in God's sight, Deo judice. — On Xutkc, see above, on ch. i. ver. 6. — uto^s^s/v is not simply pati, sed pa- tienter preferre^ ut uTo^asvs/v vs. prox. (Hott), comp. gT/rsXs/i', chap. v. 9. — ha 6vvsidrt(jiv ©sou Hornejus and Heinsius understand of God's consciousness; Wolf of our conscience, of which God testifies, that it is good (comp. Rom. ix. 1, Sim. Bengel, Stolz : " con- scientiousness before God !") ; Corn, a Lapide rightly indeed, but with a false reference, of the apprehen- sion of God, for whose sake Christians suffer; against which Est and Calov properly object, that the suffer- 104 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. ings of Christians, on account of their faith, is not here the subject of discourse. ^vnihriGig is not at all in its primary signification, as it has been often taken, and as Wahl interprets it, " the consciousness of the relation of my manner of feeling and acting to the moral law," which latter idea also is not in the re- motest manner contained in that of the word. It signifies, originally, joint knowledge about any thing whatever. Then (as (rufM-ov v'ifAovffa, where, however, it is immediately added, /avt i'jrtXd.6ou. CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. 121 tern ut auferret; Vitringa on Isa. liii. 11); but for this we must either change the accus. re guXov into the dative, which cannot be admitted, or consider the construction as a zeugma, and explain thus : upon the cross he bore up and (so) away -zz by bear- ing upon the cross he made away with, abolished ; so that, according to both explanations, the same thing is denoted, only in the one the sense of bear- ing, in the other the sense of destroying, is predo- minant, and its subordinate idea involved in it. We therefore apply ourselves, in the first instance, to the consideration of a/^a^r/a. The idea conveyed by this may be viewed according to four different fun- damental relations: 1. In relation to the sinner him- self as an act (actus), or in his reflection upon it as a state (habitus) ; 2. In relation to God (as contra- riety to law), either as a departure from the law (dvofMia), or in reflection upon it as deserving of blame (therefore in reference to the reatus.) Now, here it is at once clear, that the first signification of the second class could give no sense : he bore or took away our sins, in so far as they are departures from the law of God. But this also is the case, when we apply here the first signification of the se- cond class ; both on the ground, that no one can bear or take away the sins of another in their imme- diate nature, but only in their relations to something else. Sin begins to exist as an act, and as the act of departure from the law of God. To take it away as existing in this form, means to take it away in its first movements, i. e. not to let it come into exist- ence at all. When it exists in such a way, that 122 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 25. another can interest himself in it, it must have already existed in its relation to the sinner, as a state, into which he has brought himself, and in relation to the law, as a positive crime against it, as an offence to the law- giver. Nevertheless, let us try to understand sin here as an act, and then the words of Peter must mean, that Christ's death has morally improved us, and in this sense, annihilated our sins. But 1st. It is impos- sible to understand how the words can signify this ; for the Apostle must then at once have broken out into poetical metaphors and unmeaning hyperboles, such as any wretched panegyrist, or still worse pulpit orator would permit himself to use. Grotius says : " He slew our sins, just as those who are nailed to a cross, are wont to be slain," of which, however, there is nothing in the text ; farther : " But there is a/xsra- y.rj-^ig. For Christ did not properly take away our sins, when he was crucified," — now he abandons the thought he had shoved in, and returns back to that of the Apostle, but only to declare it improper, and so to change it into that proper one : — " But he provid- ed grounds, through which they might be taken away." Therefore " Christ took up and away our sins upon the cross," must mean : " As he allowed himself to be crucified, he gave to us arguments of moral suasion, to make us lay aside our sins." And how that ? " For the cross of Christ is the foundation of preaching ; and preaching, of repentance ; and repentance takes away sins, etc."^ True, only the cross is still left » Vitia nostra ita interfecit, sicut qui cruci affi^intur, inter- fici Solent. Est autem fitrdXn^^is. Non enim proprie Christus, quum crucifigeretur, vitia nostra abstulit, sed caussas dedit; per CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. 123 standing, with which rationalism torments itself in vain. For we have no less a question to ask, than how the cross of Christ could then be the ground of preaching, of the message of peace ? Of this, that it is the symbol of reconcihation, there stands here, at least, not a word, as there does not generally in our epistle (nor according to our view in the whole Bible), and whosoever would help himself with this idea, com- mits the very fault, with which he so freely reproaches others — the fault of bringing an idea, which he per- haps thinks he has found somewhere else in the Bible, into "the doctrinal system of Peter," while he entirely overlooks the idea, which can be certainly shown to have been held by Peter, of a redemption from the power of sin (ch. i. 18, s.) (Clericus does not express himself in a positive way more definitely upon the passage.) But if we should even admit the possibility of this explanation, there is still a vicious hyperbole in the expression, in that the words would hence intimate, that Christ had at once (in his death) taken away all sms, while the sense should merely be, as interpreted by history : Some men have since that occurrence gradually improved themselves, as many also before Christ had done, although not always in so high a degree as now. But this explanation has, 2d, The connection with what follows against it, for the same thing, which, according to it, is declared by these words, is first declared by those which follow, and declared in such a way, that they describe the quas auferrentur. Nam crux Christi fundamentum est prae- dicationis ; praedicatio vero poenitentiae ; poenitentia vero au- fert vitia, etc. 124 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. gradual improvement in question as an effect of that, which is expressed in the clause before us.* And Bretschneider grants, that here, as in all the aposto- lical writings, it is affirmed of Christ's death, " that the manner it procures forgivenness, is not that it im- proves us, and that we obtain forgivenness through the improvement. Rather is the obligation to improve a consequence of the pardon of sins obtained through Christ. 1 Pet. ii. 24. 1 Cor. vi. 20, comp. Gal. iii. 13. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19," and so forth (Dogmatik, § 155, p. 270, s. 2d Ed.) A third argument against it we derive from the common use of the words, which shall presently be advanced against the following in- terpretation. We may often, especially in the Epistle to the Ro- mans, understand a/^a^r/a of a state or condition, = sinfulness^ and so arises, for the passage before us, the explanation of Menken and Stier : Christ, in that he entered into sinful humanity, did thereby take up its sinfulness into his body, and destroy it through the destruction of his body. He, therefore, took up and carried away our sinfulness, with and in his body on the tree.*' But even viewed apart from the sup- position, which we need not at present characterize, (comp. against Nitzsch. System, § 128), that Christ entered into the status of our sinfulness, it is yet clear, 1. That the sinfulness is nothing corporeal, nothing, which in such a sort has its seat in the body, as that it can remain therein without defiling the soul, and which, therefore, might of itself vanish with the de- » Comp. Bengel below, Knapp's Dogm. B. II. p. 262. ^ Menken, Anleitung, 2d ed. p. 232, ss. Stier, Andentungen, B. 2. p. 5i), 97. CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. 125 struction of the body ;* so that it cannot be under- stood how Christ could take up our sinfulness into himself without defilement to his soul, nor how he could put it away sv rw (jJjfMari aurov. But were such a taking up possible, it would, 2d. avail us nothing, for in order to be a perfectly real taking, it must consist in this, that sinfulness would actually belong to Christ; in that case, however, he could not have abo- lished rag afMOi^Tiag tj/xuv, but only his own, i. e. the general sinfulness, in so far as he, and not in so far as we, had any share in it. But granted, that Christ had abolished all sinfulness immediately in himself (however little this can be imagined), let it be that he did actually transfer it in its entire fulness from humanity into his own self, let it be that he partook in it merely as an individual (as a single member of humanity), and that whatever failure there was of reality in the matter, was compensated by the worth of his conflict and suffering, as being that of a Son of God, (which would, however, be admitting as true the church's doctrine of a vicarious satisfaction and of imputation) ; still, 3d. no one cherishes the notion, which must flow from it, that sin has ceased as a state of humanity, and along therewith every kind of sinful deeds, which proceed out of this habit. 4th. 'A/Aagr/a might well denote sinfulness, which is only one thing, but never a^aaor/a/. And finally, 5th, it is opposed by the common use of the expression CIIJ.C10. uvaj.asria.ig aTToyivoijjivoi^ Tfj dizaioffur/] ^/jffoj/jjiv. *' This ha indicates, that the expiation of sins, pro- perly so called, was made upon the cross of Christ, 134 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. since we now enjoy as the fruit of it deliverance from the slavery of sin."* (Bengel). (Only Baumgarten- Crusius, Principles of Bibl. Theol. p. 416, still con- siders this passage without distinction between re- demption and its consequence, sanctification ; and L. Usteri, Paulin Lehrbegriff, p. 72, s. finds nothing doctrinal here, but only a comparison with sacrifices). «' Peter joins together both the benefits of Christ's death, because by it our sins were expiated, (that they might be pardoned in justification) ; and, because, through its virtue sin is mortified in us, etc."^ (Calov), namely, in that degree, in which the power of the death of Christ gradually becomes efficacious in be- lievers, (see on ch. i. 18). cciroyivoiMvoi, the same with what is elsewhere denoted by dTro&vyjgx.uv rfj a/x. (see Wetstein in lo.) The interpretation of Grotius: longefacti a peccatis, has against it the common form of expression, and the contrast with ^vjv, (Rom. vi. 2). This dying, even to particular sins, through the power of Christ, begets an always deeper and more perfect life to that righteousness, which has been acquired for us by him, and appropriated by faith, a life in the service of 6/xo4/oo'Ji'>j instead of the former service of sin. Bengel remarks upon the singular : Justitia tota una est, peccatum mutiplex. The sense is : That we, in like manner, may die to the sins, whose collected ' Hoc ui indicat, expiationem peccatonim, proprie dictam, lactam esse in cruce Christi, quippe cujus demum fructus est liberatio a servitute peccati. *' Conjungit Petrus utrumque mortis Christi beneficiimi, quod per eandem peccata nostra expiata sint (ad eorum condo- nationem in justificatione) : et quod per illius virtutem pecca- tum in nobis mortificatum sit, etc. CHAP. II. VERSES 18 25. 135 guilt Christ carried away in his death, and so live to the righteousness, the new gracious relation to God, which he has brought in. o5 rw fiojXojTi avrov /ddrjTS. Isa. liii. 5 : rou /awXwt/ aurou iddrj/j^sv. The Apostle spoke from the beginning of this verse in the first person, ne solos id servos concernere videretur, (Calov). Now, departing from the LXX., he sudden- ly returns back to the second person. Thereby he makes a pointed application of the general statement, as is further manifest from his using the past time IddyjTs and S'7rsffr^d(pyirs : Ye Christian slaves have al- ready actually experienced the salutary fruit of his atoning death, for ye were alienated from God, but are now brought back to him through Christ ; hence it is your calling to follow the example of Jesus your Saviour, (see on the next verse). But the pronoun of the persons addressed the Apostle does not put in the place of ri/J^sTg, that it might not seem as if he made any distinction between them and other Chris- tians, (all have the same calling), although he here particularly speaks to them. However, he retains, according to the reading, which we are inclined to prefer, the emphatic avrov, notwithstanding that the relative is used before (see above II. p. 129). The manner in which Christ suffered, is that in which slaves sujffer, so similar, that these unfortunate persons could not allege, that their master demanded more of them, than he had himself borne. Comp. above the 7toXa(pi'[^6/j^ivoi, then the '^vXov, (the well-known punish- ment of slaves ;) lastly here : //.wXw-vp. This does not 136 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 25. refer, generally, to Christ's wounds, but, as was noticed by (Ecum. and Ambrosius, who translates vulnere plagiarum, (de Sp. s. 1. i. c. 8), to the bloody scars which were inflicted by the stripes he received. In regard to the sense it naturally stands as a part of the whole, but the well chosen word (in the Hebrew, nninn), specially expresses that. UXrjyrj fxaffrh/uv Toii7 ij.ui\'jii:ac„ (Sirach xxviii. 17). Arrian distinguishes from these the sax?], the festering sores, which arise from renewed stripes, (see Raphel. in lo.) ; upon HL see the following ver. V. 25. '^rs yao ug cr^o/Sara rfka.MUiii.iva^ aXX' I'ffSSToa- g^riTZ viiv srI rov rroiijAva zai st/Vxotov rcov -vj^u^wi/ v'xuv. The Apostle gives here, as the ycc^ shows, the ground on which they are said to be healed : 1st. Be- cause they actually needed healing, 2d. but now were brought back to their original state. 'Id&rjTz, in the preceding verse, was, therefore, a figure occasioned by the expression /awXwt/, but a figure, which not less corresponds to the reality, than the corporeal state generally to the spiritual. How that healing was wrought, is now declared in this verse under another image ; it was done through conversion to God. Here we have given the means, or the way, by which the restoring power of Christ's death (a consequence of its atoning one, ver. 24) comes to be experienced in particular persons. The atonement was made beforehand, and thereby a foundation laid for the restoration of individuals, which is realized in the course of time. It is only, therefore, to the con- verted that it can be said : Ye have been healed CHAP. 11. VERSES 18 25. 137 through the wounds of Jesus, while it is true of all (1 John ii. 2) that he is the atonement for their sins. The expression is again from Is. liii. and the verse which immediately follows the one just quoted ; LXX. : cravng wg <7r^6(Sa.Ta h'xXar/^&r^iMiv^ (ver. 6). The same figure occurs often in the Old Testament (Numb, xxvii. 17. 1 Kings xxii. 17. Ps. cxix. 176. Ez. xxxiv. 5, 11), and is also frequently used by Christ, (Luke XV. 4, ss. John x. 15, ss. ; xxi. 15, ss.) In cr^o/3a. people have often sought for more than is really expressed by it ; the only tertium coinpara- tionis is, that sheep peculiarly need a shepherd, with- out whom they wander, sustain harm and run great danger, (see Matt. ix. 36. Jer. xii. 3, comp. Aristot. Hist. Anim. ix. 3). So Maximus Tyrius (see Palairet, in lo.) compares the Athenian youth ^^s/x/^atr/ crXa- vw/xsi-o/c, whose shepherd, at that time, was Socrates. The variation 'r^Xavw^asvo/ makes no sense. — As the WiS/.o'rTog of men God is represented in Job xx. 29 by the LXX., which renders bNn by cra^a ro\J sV/- ey-O'-jTov, with nicest adaptation to the work of recom- pense. But there again we discover that twofold mean- ing, which we have already pointed out on Jcr/o'xo's-Ji in ver. 12. In this expression he is represented quite generally, onl}' as a judge, as in the LXX., generally it is used of superintendants and leaders (see Tit- mann's Meletemata, p. 381), and among the Greeks of Pallas Athenae, and the Areopagus (comp. Al- berti), and in what sense the gods are commonly named JTOTra/, in the Sybilline verses (in Theophi- lus, ad Autol. 1. II. p. 112, ed. Col. 1686) God him- self is represented : 138 CHAP. II. VERSES 18 — 23. "Av^^woi Sv>!T«/ xa) ffci^xivoi, oudlv lovn;, Uus radius v^poZo-h, (iiou TsXaj ovk liro^uvTis ; Oy t^e^et' ovhi ^o(ii7ff6i 0£ov, tov Iv'tffxo'^ov vfMv, "Typiff70v, yvuffTTjv •ravTotrnv, /ud^Tv^a Tccvrav, k, t. X.* Here, where the discourse is of the relation of sheep to their shepherd (comp. Acts xx. 28, and below eh. V. 2, the connection of the words : 'xotfLdva.n — hvi- Gy.o oIk'io, Iv f 'Ta.vTCX, 'T^uriusi yuvh OUK iffrtV, ^rti TTM'TOT OUK ocTTuXiro, Never can they attempt through means of the word, to lord it over men (comp. on ver. 2.) ha, Kai s7 nvsg d-rrsihvgi rui y^oy^jj, did Trig f^^^ ywu.i%Z)v dvacr^u(py\g avsu Xoyd-o %iohrfir\(3ovraj. Quoniam plus coloris ad excutiendum jugura habere a But we must judge this, that as we are women, it is not for us to fight with men. ^ But the house, in which a woman governs everything, is iiot one, for which no destruction is appointed. 144 CHAP. III. VERSES 1 7. videntur, quae viris infidelibus conjunctae sunt : no- minatim eas admonet officii, etc. (Calvin.) The Apostle wishes, or rather manifestly supposes, that most husbands of Christian women do also themselves receive the faith of the gospel (on acrs/^sw, s. on ch. ii. 7, 8), but yet he cannot overlook the fact, that some (clementer loquitur, Bengel), are not believers, and therefore commands all women so to walk, that they endeavour not through the word to rule over the man, but through a quiet behaviour to win him (comp. 1 Tim. ii. 12, where the ayj&ivTil^ dvd^og, is considered as of the same kind with teaching in public, and to both is opposed the zJvai sv yiduyjcc as what becomes a Chris- tian woman.) The an\j Xoyou is very easily explain- ed, though it has been a stumbling block to many, since, without the word no one can be saved. (The Syriac translates as if he had read avsv kotov). On this account Calvin, Beza, Flacius, for ex. understand xs^d7jdy)CiovTC(,i, of preparation for faith ; Huss and Calov refer Xoyov to the public proclamation of the gospel ; Bengel and Hottinger, suppose here an antanaclasis. But Hornejus at once solves the difficultj^, by remark- ing, " that the Apostle does not speak of husbands, who had never heard the word of the gospel (for it could not easily happen, that the one spouse should be entirely ignorant of that, by which the other had been converted), but of those, who hitherto had not submitted themselves to that word."* This then is * Apostolum non loqui de mantis, qui sermonem evangelii nunquam audierant (nee enim facile fieri poterat, ut quo unus conjugum coiiversus fuerat, huuc alter i)rorsus ignoraret), sed do iis, qui sermoni illi hactemis non auscultabant. CHAP. III. VERSES 1 — 7. 145 the thought expressed : That an impression should be made by the conduct upon those, whom the word has not won.^ Besides, it was, and e«^ is a general obligation upon Christians, both men and women, to profess their faith in their respective spheres, and to give an account of it to their superiors (below ver. 15.) It is therefore excellently said by Clemens of Alex. (Strom. 1. iv. p. 224): " Let a prudent woman en- deavour, first of all, to persuade her husband to be- come a partaker with her in those things, which lead to blessedness. But if this should be impossible, let her then apply with all diligence to a virtuous life, in every- thing yielding obedience to her husband, and doing nothing contrary to his will, excepting in such things as are reckoned essential to virtue and salvation."^ Upon xsod. as conjunct, fut. comp. Winer, Gr. p. 96, Fischer, ad Weller, p. 174, sq. A weak variation has the indicative (comp. on the indie, after hoc, Winer, Gr. p. 238.) To win, namely for the word, for the kingdom of heaven (and so for themselves too as citi- zens of this kingdom), is syn. with cdo^siv, 1 Cor. vii. 16, comp. 1 Cor. ix. 19, 22, and the var. there. The design for which subjection is imposed on Christian women — (apart from the circumstance of its being in a "Av, 'Xguiro') fjiXv, tuSuv tov oivhpa xoivcavoi aurn ylyiaSat ruv ^rgos ihoatfjboviuv (pt^ovTuv' ti §£ a^vvairais '^X"'^ f/'Ovv) ff-^nvhiTca Itt d^irhv, -rtUvra, ^ev tm uv^^i riv dvagr^ofriv ■J/MUV. Convertit sermonem ad mulieres, ut ex modo lo- quendi, qui magis familiaris est, alliciat eas ad bonum (Huss.) A kind of turn common to a lively writer (comp. on ch. ii. 20.) l7To-7rr. is used here also not of a superficial look, but of the fuller insight (acquired through daily observation.) Comp. on ch. ii. 12. Upon dmdr^. see on ch. i. 13. dyvri most, for ex. Erasmus, Valla, Calvin, Flacius, Grotius, Benson, would take in too special a sense: puram, castam. More correctly, Beza, Hensler, Stolz, Hott. : Sancta, pura in a general sense. The close connection of this, both with the preceding clause and with h (r/a rroXXa iy^ouccc zai ///ar/a xaXa, for more see Kype). The worth- lessness of such things, as compared with moral qua- lities and a becoming walk, was acknowledged by the ancients. Plato, de Rep. 1, says : — " seeking for in- tegrity, a thing more precious than many ornaments of gold."* And of woman in particular, it is said in one of the smaller poets: " Behaviour and not gold, is the ornament of a woman :"^ Melissa : " For to courtezans these things are advantageous to their catching the more admirers, (comp. Chrysost. in Ep. ad Hebr. homil. 38, and above) ; but for a woman that wishes to enjoy the favour of one man, good be- haviour is the proper ornament, and not dresses. And you should have the blush upon your countenance, which is the sign of modesty, instead of paint ; and worth and sobriety, (see the following,) instead of gold and emeralds."^ Plutarch, who is quoted by Is. Capellus, relates in his Praec. Nupt. : " The Sici- lian tyrant sent to the daughters of Lysander costly ^ ^ixaiotrvvyivTs ^nrodvns, zfpx.yf/.a -sjoXXuv p^pvffiuv rifitico-i^ov. ' TvvoiiKt KOfffjiOi b rp'ozsoi xov ^^vam. '■ Iciii iTaipccii ya,^ rahi y^p'htriiJi.ce, -ziroTThv ("Sf^oi rrivj ruv -ziTXiiovuti ^ripa,y, tu; ^t jraS-' 'ivtx, tov i'^/aw iva^i^'Ovra; yuvaiKOS o t^o-^o? TiXei KOfffio;, Ko.) ou^) a,l ^oXa'i. 'ix,"'^ ^'oiv Iz^r) Tcis o-^ios l^v^TifAct f/,iv ffu.- tru xcci cfJt.a,Q^a.yhu). 150 CHAP. III. VERSES 1 7. garments and chains. But Lysander did not receive them, declaring that these ornaments made him a- shamed, rather than adorned his daughters,"^ (comp- the passage there from Sophocles). And at the same place : *' For, as Crates said, an ornament is that which adorns; but that adorns a woman which makes her more becoming; and this is not done ei- ther by gold, or emerald, or purple, but by those things which surround her with the expression of dignity, orderliness, and modesty."^ Another imme- diately follows. But the Apostle goes still deeper in his positive clause, v. 4. As after dXX' we do not supply 6 xoV/Aog eVrw, but take KovTrrog civO^. as the true subject of sWw in v. 3, the whole passage is easily understood, r^g xa^diag is here likewise the gen. essential, the hidde?i man, which is the heart, that is, the man, in so far as he is not external and visible to others, the body, but in- ternal and concealed, the heart, (Rom. ii. 29 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 25). So 6 sffCA) dvdPM'TTog, Rom. vii. 22; 2 Cor. iv. 16; Eph. iii. 16; comp. Koppe on these places, H. Stephani, Schediasmata, and Knapp, Scrr. p. 392, not., Tholuck on Rom. vii. 22; where examples are produced ; for ex. Plato de Rep. L. IX. : rov dv- Qoui'TTou 6 Evrbg civO^w^og serai syxparsOTCCTog. Plotimus, ^ Tccts tvuffdv^pou BvyaT^acjiv o rvpetvvo; o 'XixiXiKos iftartK xa.) vXo- Toc. rk xafffiia xaraiffp^uvu fiH /ttaXXov »i xoirfir,(rit rocs ^uywripas. '* Kofffios yoi^ Wi*, ^s 'iXiyi KpuT*is, to xoirju,vv' xofffAei Ti to xotr/uLi- / - - ~ ^v / , \ i; / \ u uTipecv yvvaixcc towuv ^aiet oi rauTtiv ou ^pviroi, ovti (rf>r,Kpxyooi, ovn xoxxoi, akX^ 'o