forensic law of Moses are not entirely excluded from the polity of the Church of Christ.
17. Uapaxouffr), do not obey) disregarding the reproof. — vy exKXrifftcx,, the church) i.e., which is in that place where thou and thy brother dwell. The church is opposed to two or three in about the same proportion as two or three are to one. Amongst the Jews, ten men are considered to constitute my, a church,1 or public assembly for the decision of private disputes. See Rhenferd Opera philologica,2 p. 729 ; Buxtorf,3 Synagoga Judaica, ch. xxv., where the same things are prescribed to the offender which our Lord prescribes here to the injured party. — 'Iffru, x.r.'k., let him be, etc.) Cf. Rom. xvi. 17 ; 1 Cor. v. 11 ; 2 Thess. iii. 14; 2 Tim. ii. 21 ; Tit. iii. 10 ; 2 John ver. 10.— ffol, to thee) Although, perhaps, not to the witnesses and the church. Therefore no one should be considered as a stranger before he has been reproved, and disregarded the reproof. — o eQvixbs, THE heathen) (sing.) We take this opportunity of mak ing some observations on the Greek Article.4 B. Stolberg rightly remarks, in his manuscript collection on the particles, that " there is scarcely an instance in the Scriptures where the article is redundant." It is nowhere clearly useless ; it is never added without an object, although philologists frequently attri bute to it a wrong force and meaning. It is equivalent to the German der (the), and denotes less than hie (this), more than quidam (some, a certain one, or thing). It has, therefore, a de terminating value ; and it determines either (1) the universality
1 See Bloomfidd and Kitto in loc., and Trench's New Testament Synonyms in voc. — (I. B.)
He is not here speaking of the Catholic or universal Church. — V. g. a For RHENFERD, see p. 82, f.n. 2. — (I. B.)
3 JOHN BUXTORF, the elder, one of the greatest Hebrew scholars of modern times. He was born at Camen in 1564, and died in 1629. lie devoted himself to the study of Hebrew and Chaldee literature, and became Professor of those languages at Basle. The great Scaliger declared that he was the only person who understood Hebrew thoroughly. The work cited by Bengel is, " Synagoga Judaica, de Jud aeorum fide, ritibus, ceremoniis, tarn publicis et sacris quam privatis ;" a third and enlarged edition of which was published by his no less celebrated son, at Basle, in 1661. — (I. B.)
4 I have, in the disquisition which follows, inserted in extenso the passages referred to by Bengel. For a full consideration of this important subject, see that inestimably valuable work, Middleton on the Greek Article. — (I. B.)