2. Colossae. The form of the name appears to have been both olossai and Kolassai, the former being probably the earlier.
The city was in Phrygia, in the valley of the Lycus, about ten or twelve miles beyond Laodicaea and Hierapolis. The region is voleanic, and the earthquakes common to large portions of Asia Minor are here peculiarly severe. The tributaries of the Lycus carried calcareous matter which formed everywhere de- posits of travertine, said to be among the most remarkable formations of this character in the world. ‘ Ancient monu- ments are buried, fertile lands overlaid, river-beds choked up, and streams diverted, fantastic grottos and cascades and arches of stone formed by this strange, capricious power, at once de- structive and creative, working silently and relentlessly through long ages. Fatal to vegetation, these incrustations spread like a stony shroud over the ground. Gleaming like glaciers on the hillside, they attract the eye of the traveller at a distance of twenty miles, and form a singularly striking feature in scenery of more than common beauty and impressiveness ” (Lightfoot).
The fertility of the region was nevertheless great. The fine sheep, and the chemical qualities of the streams which made the waters valuable for dyeing purposes, fostered a lively trade in dyed woollen goods. All the three cities were renowned for the brilliancy of their dyes.
Colossae stood at the junction of the Lycus with two other
462 WORD STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT. [Cu. L
streams, on a highway between eastern and western Asia, and commanding the approaches to a pass in the Cadmus moun- tains. Both Herodotus and Xenophon speak of it as a prosper- ous and great city; but in Paul’s time its glory had waned. Its site was at last completely lost, and was nut identified until the present century. Its ruins are insignificant. Paul never visited either of the three cities. The church at Colossae was the least important of any to which Paul’s epistles were ad- dressed.
To the saints. A mode of address which characterizes Paul’s later epistles. The word is to be taken as a noun, and not construed as an adjective with facthful brethren : to the holy and faithful brethren.
And faithful brethren in Christ. Or believing brethren. Compare Eph. i. 1. There is no singling out of the faithful brethren from among others who are less faithful.
Our Father. The only instance in which the name of the Father stands in the opening benediction of an epistle without the addition and Jesus Christ.
3. And the Father. Some of the best texts omit and. So Rev. The form with and is the more common. Compare ch. slg
Praying always for you. Rather connect always with we gue thanks, and render we give thanks for you always, pray- ing, or in our prayers. According to the Greek order, praying
Jor you (as Rev. and A. V.), would make for you unduly em- phatie.
5. For the hope (8a tv érmida). The A. V. connects with we gwe thanks (ver. 3). But the two are too far apart, and Paul’s introductory thanksgiving is habitually grounded on the spiritual condition of his readers, not on something objective. See Rom. i. 8; 1 Cor. i.4; Eph. i. 15. Better connect with what immediately precedes, love which ye have, and render as Rev., because of the. hope, ete. Faith works by love, and the ground of their love is found in the hope set before them. Compare Rom. viii. 24. The motive is subordinate, but legiti-
Cu. 1] THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 463
mate. ‘The hope laid up in heaven is not the deepest reason or motive for faith and love, but both are made more vivid when it is strong. It is not the light at which their lamps are lit, but it is the odorous oil which feeds their flame” (Maclaren). Hope. See on 1 Pet. i.3. In the New Testament the word signifies both the sentiment of hope and the thing hoped for. Here the latter. Compare Tit. ii. 13; Gal. v.5; Heb. vi. 18; also Rom. viii. 24, where both meanings appear. Lightfoot observes that the sense oscillates between the subjective feeling and the objective realization. The combination of faith, hope, and love is a favorite one with Paul. See 1 Thess. i. 3; 1 Cor. xiii. 18; Rom. v. 1-5; xii. 6-12.