C. H. Watkins.
OBEDIENCE The principal word which calls
for notice under this head in the apostolic writings is the noun inraKoi), with the corresponding verb, uTraitouM, and .adjective, Otttikoos. uiraxo^ is unknown in classical Greek. It occurs once in the LXX — 2 S 2'2'^ ; in the NT it is common. Its general meaning is ' obedience ' (Ro 6'" ; cf. the verb in Eph 6'- ^ Col 3-'»- ", 1 P 38, and Ro 6'- /«) ; but it has also the special sense of submission to the Divine will, and is thus found of the obedience of Christ (Ri> 5'", He 5»; cf. Ph 2», vtt-^koos]. In regard to Christians it comes to have the still more special sense of subjection to the saving will of God, as revealed in Christ, and is thus brought into close connexion with the idea of faith (cf. 1 P 1^, inraKori rrji d^rjOeias ; Ro 1° 16°', inraKOr) irlarcws ; 2 Co 10^, CiraKOT] roO Xpitrrou. Cf., in the same sense, the usage of inraKovu in Ac 6', 2 Th 1' 3'^). Finally we find inraKor) standing alone, as a mode of manifestation of Christian faith (Ro 15'* 16'», 2 Co 7"* 10^ Philem ^\ 1 P 1-- " ; cf. the verb, Ph 2'2, 2 Co 7'^ and the adjective, 2 Co 2').
The other words signifying ' obedience ' in the NT are the noun Inrorayri, properly 'subjection,' and the verb {nroTiaaeuBai.. These are sometimes used as synonyms for viraKo-f), etc. (cf., for the noun, 2 Co 9", Gal 2», 1 Ti 2" 3^ ; and for the verb, Ro 10^ Ja4', 1 P2>3 5», He 12S).
In the sub-apostolic writings both series of words are found in much the same senses as in the NT. The particular circumstances of 1 Clem., an Epistle written to deal with a state of disorder in Corinth occasioned by the insurrection of some of the younger men of the Church against the
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ODES OF SOLOMON
elders, l)i'in<; it about that the virtue of obedience and subjection is iiiirtieuhirly fonimended in this Epistle (cf. ix. 3, x. 2, 7, xix. 1, Ixiii. 1, etc.). The keynote of the wliole Ejnstle is struck in xiv. 1, when it is said : ' It is just and ri^'ht, brethren, that we should rather become obedient unto God than follow tliose who in vainglory and sedition have become the leaders of a detestable emuhition ' (cf. also Ign. Eph. ii. 2, where subjection [inro- Tay>;] to Christ is the same thing as subjection to the bishop and the presbytery).
In conclusion, reference may be made to a pas- sage in which Thomas Aquinas endeavours to detine the special virtue of obedience {Humma Theologim, II. ii. qua>st. 104, art. 2).
'To all prood works, which have a special ground of praise- worthiness, a special virtue is assij^ned. For this is what properly belongs to a virtue, that it renders a good work. But to obey ones superior is a det)t we owe in accordance with the Divine order immanent in tilings ; and as a consequence is good. . . . The act we are considering has, however, a special ground of praiseworthiness on account of its special object. For while inferiors have many duties towards their superiors, amongst the rest there is one duty in particular, that they are required to obey their commandments. Wherefore obedience is a special virtue, and its special object is the commandment, whether implicit or explicit. For the will of the superior how. ever mad^ known is in a way an implicit command ; and obedi- ence appears bo much the more ready, in proportion as it anticipates an explicit command by obeying, when the will of the superior is perceived.'
It is this obedience not merely to the express commands of God, but to whatever is understood to be His will, which constitutes true Christian obedience, which is an obedience from the heart (Ro 6"), an obedience even of the thoughts (2 Co 10=).
LiTERATTTRE. — H. Cremer, Bibl.-Theol, Lexicon ofNTGreek^t 1880; H. E. Manning, Sermons, 1S44, pp. 117, r29, 287 ; R. Whately, The Use and Abtiye of Party Feeling in Matters of Religion, 1859, pp. 167, 196 ; J. H. Newman, Parochial mid Plain Sermons, 1868, i. 228, viii. 201 ; F. W. Robertson, Sennons, 2nd ser., 1875, p. 94 ; J. Martineau, Hours of Thought, 1879, ii. 79 ; P. Brooks, The Light of the World, 1891, p. 340 ; W. R. Inge, All Saints' Sermons, 190", p. 172 ; B. P. Browne, The Essence of Religion, 1911, p. 209; A. B. D. Alexander, Christianity and Ethics, 1914, p. 164.
Robert S. Franks. OCCUPATION.— See Labour, Work.
ODES OF SOLOMON. — It was in 1909 that Rendel Harris, whose researches in the domain of Christian antiquities have been so fruitful, en- riched the learned world by the discovery of a collection of forty-two old Syriac hymns known as 'The Odes' of Solomon.' Since their publication many useful es.says by eminent scholars have been written to elucidate the difficult questions attach- ing to a composition which reflects the state of mind of communities belonging to so early a period as the first centuries of the Christian era. The result of these discussions has unfortunately not been such as to lead to unanimity of judgment. We shall try to anallyze the principal theories, and examine which of them seems to be most in accord- ance with the original text and with the general course of ecclesiastical history.