Vv. 41-46. A question by Peter and a reply (Mt. xxiv. 45-51). Some look on Peter’s question as a literary device of
42. Εἶπε 8€1 ὁ Κύριος, “Tis dpa ἐστὶν ὁ πιστὸς οἰκονόμος καὶ 1 Φρόνιµος, ὃν καταστήσει 6 κύριος ἐπὶ τῆς θεραπείας αὐτοῦ, τοῦ Ἱ 43. µακάριος ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος, 44. ἀληθῶς
διδόναι ἐν καιρῷ τὸ 8 σιτοµέτριον ; ὃν ἐλθὼν ὁ κύριος αὐτοῦ εὑρήσει ποιοῦντα οὕτως. λέγω ὑμῖν, ὅτι ἐπὶ πᾶσι τοῖς ὑπάρχουσιν αὐτοῦ καταστήσει αὐτόν. re > PX 45. ᾿Εὰν δὲ εἴπῃ ὁ δοῦλος ἐκεῖνος ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ, Χρονίζει 6 κύριός µου ἔρχεσθαι: καὶ ἄρξηται τύπτειν τοὺς παῖδας καὶ τὰς παιδίσκας, ἐσθίειν τε καὶ πίνειν καὶ µεθύσκεσθαι’ 46. ἥξει 6 κύριος τοῦ δούλου ἐκείνου ἐν ἡμέρᾳ 1 οὗ προσδοκᾶ, καὶ ἐν Spa ᾗ οὐ γινώσκει΄ καὶ διχοτοµήσει αὐτόν, καὶ τὸ µέρος αὐτοῦ μετὰ τῶν ἀπίστων θήσει. 47. ᾿Ἐκεῖνος δὲ 6 δοῦλος ὁ γνοὺς τὸ θέλημα τοῦ / ς a4 λ AY s δὲ 5 / ‘ Ν θέἐλ κυρίου ἑαυτοῦ," καὶ μὴ ἑτοιμάσας μηδὲ ὃ ποιήσας πρὸς τὸ θέληµα
1 και ειπεν in NBDL 1, 13, 33, 69 al. * For και (NL, etc.) read ο with BD, ete.
σόι
3 BD 69 omit το (W.H. brackets). * αντου in NBDL.
the evangelist either to connect his material (Weiss in Meyer; x. 29, xi. 45 cited as similar instances), or to give what follows a special relation to the Apostles and to Peter as their head (Holtzmann, H. C., the passage thus becoming in his view a substitute for Mt. xvi. 18, 19).—Ver. 41. Peter’s question reminds us of Mk. xiii. 37: “What I say unto you, I say unto all, watch ’”’.—Ver. 42. 6 Κύριος, the Lord, in narrative.—rtis dpa, etc.: in Mt. this is connected immediately with the thought in ver. 40, so that Peter’s inter- pellation appears as an interruption of a continuous discourse. Some variations from Mt.’s text are noticeable in Lk.’s version: οἰκονόμος for δοῦλος, κατα- στήσει (future) for κατέστησεν (aorist), θεραπείας for οἰκετείας, σιτοµέτριον for τροφὴν. These changes, according to Weiss and Holtzmann (H. C.), are due to the parable being connected with the Apostles, and one can see some plausibility in the hypothesis so far as the first two variations are concerned. The question: who then, etc., is sup- posed to answer itself: who but each of you apostles, who especially but you Peter ?—Ver. 42. σιτοµέτριον, the due portion of food; a word of late Greek. Phryn., p. 383, forbids the use of σιτομετρεῖσθαι, and enjoins separation of the compound into its elements: σίτον, μετρεῖσθαι. The noun occurs here only; the verb in Gen. xlvii. 12 and occasionally in late Greek authors.—Ver. 44. ἀληθῶς
5 For pyde NB 33 have η.
here, as usual, for ἁμὴν (ver. 37 an ex- ception).—Ver. 45. ἐὰν δὲ: introducing supposition of an abuse of power, con- ceived possible even in the case of an apostle, of a Peter. Let no proud ecclesiastic therefore say, Is thy servant a dog ?—xpoviler: a delayed παρονσία, a prominent thought in our Lord’s later utterances, The delay may possibly be long enough to allow time for the utter demoralisation of even the higher officials. Vide on Mt.—rots παῖδας, etc., the men- and maidservants, instead of συνδούλους in Μ{.- διχοτοµήσει: the retention of this strong word by Lk., who seems to have it for one of his aims to soften harsh expressions, is noticeable, especially when he understands it as referring to the Apostles, and even to Peter. It makes for the hypothesis that the word means not to cut into two as with a saw, but either to lash unmerci- fully, to cut to pieces in popular parlance, or to separate from the household establishment (Beza, Grotius, etc.).— μετὰ τῶν ἀπίστων points to degradation from the confidential position οΓοϊκονόμος to a place among the unfaithful; dis- missed, or imprisoned, or set to drudging service.