2. If the external testimony is not as decisive as we might wish, the internal evidence is peculiarly strong. JMill has pointed out that of the thirteen verses which compose the 2d Epistle, eight are to be found in the 1st Epistle. Either, then, the 2d Epistle proceeded from the same author as the 1st, or from a conscious fabri- cator who desired to pass off something of his own as the production of the apostle ; but, if the latter alterna- tive had been true, the fabricator in question would as- suredly have assumed the title of John the apostle in- stead of merely designating himself as John the elder, and he would have introduced some doctrine which it would have been his object to make popular. The title and contents of the Epistle are strong arguments against a fabricator, whereas they would account for its non- universal reception in earlj^ times; and if not the work of a fabricator, it must, from style, diction, and tone of thought, be the work of the author of the 1st Epistle, and, we may add, of the Gospel. The private nature of their contents removes also the suspicion that they could have been forged, since it w^ould be difficult to discover any purpose which could have led to such a forgery.
The reason why John designates himself as Trptajiv- Tipoq rather than rtTToffroXoc (2 Epist. 1 ; 3 Epist. 1) is no doubt the same as that which made Peter designate himself by the same title (1 Pet. v, 1), and which caused James and Jude to give themselves no other title than "the servant of (iod and of the Lord Jesus Christ" (James i, 1), " the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James" (Jude 1). Paul had a special object in de- claring himself an apostle. Those who belonged to the original Twelve had no such necessity imposed upon them. 'With them it was a matter of indifference whether they employed the name of apostle, like Peter (1 Pet. i, 1 ; 2 Pet. i. 1), or adopted an appellation which they shared with others, like John, and James, and Jude. See Eluek.
JOHN"
955
JOHN
II. The second Epistle is addressed to one whom the writer calls t/cXtKr/) Kvpici. This has been differently understood. By some it has been regarded as desig- nating the Church collectively, by others as designating a particular congregation, and by others as denoting an individual. This expression cannot mean the Church (Jerome), nor a particular church (Cassiodorus),nor the elect Church which comes together on Sundays (Micha- elis), nor the Church of Philadelphia (Whiston), nor the Church of Jerusalem (Whitby). These opinions are rendered improbable partly by the reference in verse 11 to the children, and in verse 13 to the si^te?- of the party addressed, partly by the want of any authority for such a usage of the term Kvpia as would thus be imputed to the apostle. By those who understand this of an indi- vidual there are three renderings : according to one in- teqirctation she is " the ladj' Electa ;" to another, " the elect Kyria ;" to a third, " the elect lady." The first in- terpretation is that of Clement of Alexandria (if the passage above referred to in the AdumhruHones be his), Wetstein,Grotius,Middleton; the second is that of Ben- son, Carpzov, Schleusner, Heumann, Bengel, Kosenmlll- ler, De Wette, Llickc, Neander, Davidson ; the third is the rendering of the English version. Mill, Wall, Wolf, Le Clerc, Lardner, Beza, Eichhorn, Newcome, Wakefield, Macknight. For the rendering " the lady Electa" to be right, the word Kvpicf. must have preceded (as in modern Greek) the word iKXiKry, not followed it ; and, further, the last verse of the Epistle, in which her sister is also spoken of as ticAficr//, is fatal to the hypothesis. The rendering "the elect lady" is probably wrong, because there is no article before the adjective tKXiKTJj. It re- mains that the rendering " the elect Kyria" is probabh' right, though here too we should have expected the ar- ticle— as, indeed, we should under any of the three ren- derings (though the rendering "an elect lad_y" is not demanded ; see Alford, G?: Test. vol. v, prolep;g.). The choice, therefore, being between the last two of these renderings, two circumstances seem to be decisive in fa- vor of the former : Kyria occurs elsewhere as a proper name [see Cvkia]-, and that iVAtfcr/j is to be taken in its usual signification is rendered probable bj' its being applied in verse 13 to the sister of the party addressed. See Electa.
At the time of writing this Epistle the apostle was with the sister of the lady addressed, but expresses a hope ere long to see the latter, and converse with her on matters of which he could not then write. From this we maj^ infer either that the apostle was at the time on a journey from which he expected ere long to return, or that the lady in question resided not very far from his usual residence, and that he intended soon to pay her a visit. Adopting the latter hypothesis as the more probable, and viewing it in connection with the apostle's styling himself Trpiafivrepog, we may infer that the Epistle was written at a late period of the apostle's life.