if they continue) Namely, the women. A Syllepsis1 of the number. For sobriety, which is presently praised, is competent for (a grace peculiarly becoming in) women : comp. ver. 9. Let them remain within these bounds. — irfaret xai ay any, in faith and love) General divisions. — aytaff/Ap perb g&xppoffbwn) in holiness with sobriety. A special part of sanctification is modesty or modera tion, a grace which regulates man in respect of himself, as faith in respect of God, love in respect of our neighbour: ay/a<r,a&c, holiness, especially chastity: tfwpforfuvfy moderation, self-control, ver. 9, 11
1. n/cro; o \6yog, this is a faithful saying) This preface is used, because it does not seem so to the world. — opsysrai — faidv/At?) There is here great propriety in the words : opsyu, to stretch out, thence opeyo^ai, to ask eagerly with outstretched hand, to grasp :
of the mind, seeking rb x.a\bv, a good thing, produces ; again opsfys indicates evi&vfAiav : opsy tadat, tpevysiv, are opposed to each other : see Arist. 1, Rhet. 10, n. 12. In human affairs, those things are more agreeable, which a man confers or performs of his own accord, than when he is asked : how much more in the affairs of religion? 1 Cor. xvi. 15, at the end. But away with sacrilegious solicitation of favour and interest. There were not wanting persons who wished to obtain it, James iii. 1. Paul does not altogether reject their desire, but he reduces it to order. — xaXoD) an honourable good, excellent, demanding noble virtues. To this is to be referred the then or therefore (ovv) in the follow ing verse. — spyov, work) It is a work, a business, not ease ; Acts xv. 38 ; Phil. ii. 30.
2. AfT; must) Paul shows what Timothy ought to look to in the appointment of bishops, ver. 15 ; wherefore he so in parti cular describes the virtues as they meet the eye. — olv, therefore)
1 A figure whereby vj yvvy, the singular, is here expressed, whilst the plural is meant. And accordingly the plural verb ptivuaiv is put, agreeing with ywalKts, women, understood. — ED.