Ver. 20. 6 δὲ θεὸς τῆς εἰρήνης: used here with special reference to at διχο- στασίαι. Cf. 1 Cor. xiv. 33. συντρίψει τὸν Σατανᾶν: divisions in the Church are Satan’s work, and the suppression of them by the God of peace is a victory over Satan. Cf. 2 Cor. xi. 14 f. There is an allusion to Gen iii. 15, though it is
18— 23.
Χάρις τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν “Incod Χριστοῦ μεθ) ὑμῶν.
725
ἁμήν. 21.
᾽Ασπάζονται 2 ὑμᾶς Τιμόθεος ὁ συνεργός µου, καὶ Λούκιος καὶ ᾿Ιάσων
καὶ Σωσίπατρος οἱ συγγενεῖς µου. <
Τέρτιος 6
γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολὴν ἐν Κυρίῳ. Γάϊος ὁ ξένος µου καὶ τῆς ἐκκλησίας ὅλης.
22. ἀσπάῖομαι ὑμᾶς ἐγὼ 23. ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς ἀσπάζεται ὑμᾶς Ἔρασ-
τος ὁ οἰκονόμος τῆς πόλεως, καὶ Κούαρτος 6 ἀδελφός.
1 Χριστου om. NB, edd.
2 For ασπαζονται read ασπαζεται SABCD'F. Om, first pow B 67; W. and H.
bracket.
doubtful whether Paul found anything there answering to συντρίψει. The LXX has τηρήσει. ἐν τάχει: cf. Ez. xxix. 5; Deut. xxviii. 20. The false teachers may come and cause dissension, but it will not be long till peace is restored. 4 Χάρις Κιτλ. This benediction can hardly be supposed to belong only to vv. 17-20. It rather suggests that some copies of the epistle ended here; pos- sibly that vv. 1-20 (for there is another benediction at xiv. 33) were originally an independent epistle.
Vv. 21-23. Greetings of Paul’s com- panions,
Ver. 21. Τιμόθεος. In many of the epistles Timothy’s name is associated with Paul’s in the opening salutation (t and 2 Thess., 2 Cor., Phil., Col., Philemon). Perhaps when Paul began this letter he was absent, but had come back in time to send his greeting at the close. He was with Paul (Acts xx. 4 f.) when he started on the journey to Jeru- salem mentioned in xv. 25. Lucius, Jason and Sosipater are all Jews, but none of them can be identified. For the names (which may or may not be those of the same persons) see Acts xiii. 1, KWL 6, Χχ. 1.
Ver. 22. ἐγὼ Τέρτιος ὁ γράψας τὴν ἐπιστολήν: the use of the first person is a striking indication of Paul’s courtesy. To have sent the greeting of his amanu- ensis in the third person would have been to treat him as a mere machine (Godet). ἐν Κυρίῳ goes with ἀσπάζομαι: it is as a Christian, not in virtue of any other re- lation he has to the Romans, that Tertius salutes them.
Ver. 23. Γάϊος ὁ ξένος µου κ. ὅλης τῆς ἐκκλησίας: As the Epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth this hospitable Christian is probably the same who is mentioned in 1 Cor. i. 14. Three other persons (apparently) of the same name are mentioned in Acts xix. 29, xx. 4, and 3 John. By 6 ξένος µου
is meant that Gaius was Paul’s host in Corinth; 6 ξένος ὅλης τῆς ἐκκλησίας might either mean that the whole Chris- tian community met in his house (cf. vv. 5, 14, 15), or that he made all Christians who came to Corinth welcome. Ἔραστος 6 οἰκονόμος τῆς πόλεως. We cannot be sure that this is the Erastus of Acts xix. 22, 2 Tim. iv. 20: the latter seems to have been at Paul’s disposal in connec- tion with his work. But they may be the same, and Paul may here be desig- nating Erastus by an office which he had once held, but held no longer. The city treasurer (arcarius civitatis) would be an important person in a poor community (x Cor. i. 26 ff.), and he and Gaius (whose boundless hospitality implies means) are probably mentioned here as representing the Corinthian Church. Κούαρτος 6 ἀδελφός: Quartus, known to Paul only as a Christian, had perhaps some connection with Rome which en- titled him to have his salutation inserted.
Ver. 24. The attestat.on of this verse is quite insufficient, and it is omitted by all critical editors.