259
34. ᾿Ανοίξας δὲ Πέτρος τὸ στόµα εἶπεν, Ἐπ᾽ ἀληθείας καταλαμβά- νοµαι, ὅτι οὐκ ἔστι προσωπολήπτης 6 Θεός, 35. GAN’ ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει
ὁ φοβούμενος αὐτὸν καὶ ἐργαζόμενος δικαιοσύνην δεκτὸς αὐτῷ ἐστι.
36. τὸν λόγον ὃν] ἀπέστειλε τοῖς υἱοῖς Ισραήλ, εὐαγγελιζόμενος
εἰρήνην διὰ ᾿Ιησοῦ Χριστοῦ, (οὗτός ἐστι πάντων Κύριος;) 37. ὑμεῖς
οἴδατε τὸ γενόµενον ῥῆμα Ka’ ὅλης τῆς Ἰουδαίας, ἀρξάμενον 2 ἀπὸ
lov Ν ΟΡΕΗΙ.Ρ, Syr. Chrys., Weiss; but wanting in ΝΔΑΑΒ 61, W.H., R.V. marg. Blass rejects Κυριος: the word which God sent, this (word) applies to, appertains to, all men. But it has been not unfairly said that almost as good result follows by omitting ov on good authority, as by omitting K. on no authority. Blass parallels for his explanation xxvii. 23, Luke iv. 7, but it may be questioned whether
these are quite exact.
See also below. Clemen (p. 108) regards the whole verse as
marg. note of his R. Antijud., which crept into the text by mistake with 37a, 2 apgapevov LP 31, 61, and so Weiss, Wendt; αρξαµενος SABCDEH 40, so
Lach., Tisch., W.H., R.V., see below.
Blass regards apg. . . . Γαλ, as interpolated
after Luke xxiii. 5, and brackets in B. See also Wendt, note edit. 1899. Clemen,
p. 108, refers the whole of 37> to his R. Antijud.; cf. i. 22.
After αρξ. DA, Par.,
Vulg., Iren, add γαρ, so Hilg.; Blass rejects.
ii. 1, πρόσωπον-λαμβάνειν. The actual word is not found in LXX (or in classical Greek), but for the thought of God as no respecter of persons see Deut. x. 17, Lev. xix. 15, Mal. ii. 9, etc., etc., and Luke xx. 21, Gal. ii. 16 (so too προσωποληµψία in N.T. three times). The expression πρόσ. λαµμβ. is Hebraistic, not necessarily in a bad sense, and in the O.T. more often in a good one, but in the Ν.Τ. always in a bad sense, since πρόσωπον acquired the meaning of what was simply external (through its secondary significa- tion α mask) in contrast to a man’s real intrinsic character, but the noun and adj. always imply favouritism: see Lightfoot on Gal. ii. 6 and Plummer on Luke xx. 21. Even the enemies acknowledged our Lord’s God-likeness at least in thisrespect, Matt. xxii. 16, Mark xii. 14, Luke xx. 21.
Ver. 35. GAN ἐν παντὶ ἔθνει κ.τ.λ. The words are taken by Ramsay to mean that Cornelius was regarded as a proselyte by Peter, and that only on that condition could he be admitted to the Christian Church, z.e., through Judaism; so ap- parently St. Paul, pp. 42, 43. On the other hand the general expression ἐργαζ. δικαι. inclines Weiss to refer all the words to the piety attainable by a heathen, who need not be a proselyte. Bengel’s words should always be borne in mind: ‘non indifferentissimus religi- onum sed indifferentia nationum hic asseritur,”’ see also below, and Knaben- bauer, p. 193.—Sexros: “' acceptable to him,” R.V., and this is best, becausemit better expresses the thought that fearing God and working righteousness place a
man in a state preparatory for the salva- tion received through Christ, a reception no longer conditioned by nationality, but by the disposition of the heart. St. Peter does not speak of each and every religion, but of each and every nation, and ver. 43 plainly shows that he by no means loses sight of the higher blessedness of the man whose sin is forgiven through conscious belief in Christ; cf. the language of St. Paul, Rom. x. 9-14. δεκτὸς only in Luke and Paul in N.T., in LXX frequently, and once in the recently discovered Sayings of Fesus, No. 6, which agrees remarkably with St. Luke iv. 24.
Ver. 36. For readings see critical notes; translate: ‘‘the word he sent unto” R.V., cf. Ps. cvii. 29.---λόγον, cf. for use of the word as a divine message iv. 31, Vili. 14, 25, xiii. 26, xiv. 3, xvi. 32 ; here it may mean the Gospel message sent to Israel as distinct from the τὸ ῥῆμα, {.ε., the previous teaching of John the Baptist (see Rendall); but R.V. like A.V. regards ῥῆμα and Ἰ]. τὸν ἀπὸ N. as in apposition toAéyev, but Rendall and Weiss place a full stop after Κύριος, and begin a new sentence with tpets.—evayyed. εἰρήνην with the accusative as signifying the contents of the glad tidings, cf. v. 42. —ottés ἐστι πάντων K.: the paren- thetical turn given to the words seem to, express the way in which the speaker would guard against the thought that Jesus of Nazareth was simply on a level with those who were spoken of as ἀπόσ- τολοι, as the ἀπέστειλε might perhaps suggest to his hearers (see Nésgen). The words are simply the natural ex-