6. "Ecrs/ra, after that ) advancing to a greater number. — iirdvu 'revraxoff/ois, mure than five hundred) A remarkable appearance. Paul puts himself behind all these.— oi nXe/oug, the greater part) About 300 at least ; oi kXs iovg, the majority were providentially preserved in life so long for the very purpose of bearing testi- mony [as they had obtained an authority akin to that of the apostles. — Y. g.] ; comp. Jos. xxiv. 31. — /Asvovffiv, remain) in life. The opportunity of thoroughly sifting these witnesses remained unimpaired [undiminished.] Andronicus and Junius may be presumed to have been of that number, Pom. xvi. 7. — xa/, also) It was not of less importance to bring forward these as witnesses. They had died in this belief. — hoifiijdriffuv, have fallen asleep) as those, who are to rise again.
17. nS <r/y, by all) More seem here to be called Apostles than the twelve, ver. 5 ; and yet the term is used in a stricter sense than at Rom. xvi. 7.
8. ”E ayjzTov 8e nuvruv) and last of all, or rather, after them all , in order to exclude himself. Also after Stephen, Deut. xxxi. 27, 29. — ’Uyccrov rou Octv&rov /xov, x.r.X., after my death. [ The appearances , that afterwards followed are not excluded by this ex- pression, Acts xxiii. 11. — Y. g.] — ixsrfiptl ru> lnrpu[Auri, as by the abortion [ one born out of due time]) The lxx., &%rpu)t aa, Num. xii. 12. The article is emphatic. Paul applies to himself alone this denomination in reference to the circumstances of the ap- pearance, and in reference to the present time of writing. What sxrpu/j, a, an abortion , is among children, he says, I am among the apostles ; and by this one word he sinks himself lower than in any other way. As an abortion is not worthy of the name of man, so the apostle declares that he is not worthy of the name of apostle. The metaphor, is drawn from the same idea from which the term regeneration is used, 1 Pet. i, 3 [ Begotten again — by the resurrection of Jesus, etc.] ; si in uffxepsi somewhat softens the phrase : as if ; he shows that this ought not to be pressed too far. — xce/xo/, by me also) This word is elegantly placed at the end of the period.
9. ’EKdyjtrog) in Latin Paulus , minimus. — oc, who) The lan-
PhotiuSj and Jerome, read suhxx. But AB Orig. I, 434e read Balkxet. — Ed.
1 loiKafiu, James ) the Less. — V. g.