852
h Rom. viii. 7, εἰ γὰρ " ἑκὼν τοῦτο πράσσω, | μισθὸν ‘exw: εἰ δὲ " ἄκων,
20; Exod. EXi. 13.
1 3 / m , Ay, κονοµιαν πε ευμαι | i See iii. 8. 4 µ στον
With εχω, ἵνα * εὐαγγελιζόμενος " ἀδάπανον "θήσω τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ ὃ Χριστοῦ,
Mt. vi. 1 Mas ος ο. 8. k N.T. 4.1.; Job xiv. 17. sa. xxii. το, 21. Cf. iv. 1 ff. Tit. i.3; Lk. xvi. 11; Jo. ii. 24. n Η.].
μ. p
1 Eph. i. το, iii. 2,9; Col. i.25; 1 Tim. i. 4; Lk. xvi. 2 ff.; m In this sense, Gal. ii. 7; Rom. iii.2; 1 Th. ii. 4; 1 Tim. i. 11; ο In this usage, Rom. iv. 17 (Gen. xvil. 5); Mt. xxii.
44 (Ps. cix. 1); Gen. xxxii. 12; Wisd.x. 21. Poetical in cl. Gr.
1μον, Ν΄ ΑΟΚ 17, 46, vg. syrsch. sah. cop., Cyr., Hier, μοι, BD*GLP, etc., Chr., Aug. Seemingly Western,
2 eorat por: D*G.
3 Om. του Χριστον SMABCD* 17, 46, vg. sah. cop.
cal analogy. (d) Lachmann also con- jectured ἀποθανεῖν νὴ for ἀποθανεῖν ἤ, Michelsen and Baljon adding the easy insertion of 6 before ovSets: “It is good for me rather to die! Yea, by my glory- ing (cf. xv. 31), which no one shall make void.” (e) Hf., Gd., and others, in de- spair fall back on the T.R.
Vv. 16-18. Paul goes on to explain, by two contrasted suppositions (in actual and conceivable matter), that this is a point of honour with him. Forced as he had been into the service of the Gospel, in a manner so diff. from the other App., unless he might serve gratuitously his position would be too humiliating.
Ver. 16. The fact of his preaching supplies in itself no καύχηµα: “For if I be preaching the good news (evayye- λίζωμαι), it is no (matter of) boasting to me; for necessity is imposed on me”’. For ἀνάγκη, see notes on vii. 26, 37; also Philem. 14, where it contrasts with κατὰ ἑκούσιον as with ἑκὼν here.—Enmlkemar is virtually pass. to ἐπιτίθημι (see paris.), “to lay”? a task, by authority, “upon” some one: P. was, in the Apostolic ranks, a pressed man, not a volunteer,—‘“ laid hold of” (Phil. ili. 12) against his previous will; he entered Christ’s service as a captive enemy (cf. xv. 8, 2 Cor. ii. 14). While a gift of Divine mercy (vii. 25, 2 Cor. iv. 1, etc.), his commission was a determination of the Divine sovereignty (i. 1., etc.). For service rendered upon this footing there can never be any boasting; cf. Luke xvii. 1o,—That all glorying in this direction was excluded, is sustained by the exclamation, ‘“ For woe is to me if I should not preach the Gospel!” ὅπου τὸ Oval παράκειται ἐὰν μὴ ποιῃ, οὐκ ἔχει καύχηµα (Or.). —éav μὴ εὐαγγελίσωμαι (contrast the pr. εὐαγγελίζωμαι, of former clause), aor. sbj., of comprehensive fut. ref., from the standpoint of the original “necessity imposed”; ¢f., for the con-
struction, vili. 8, xv. 36. The inter- jection ovat is here a quasi-substantive, as in Rey. ix. 12. Had P. disobeyed the call of God, his course from that time onwards must have been one of con- demnation and misery. To fight against “Necessity ’’ the Greeks conceived as ruin; their ᾽Ανάγκη was a blind, cruel Fate, Paul’s ἀνάγκη is the compulsion of Sovereign Grace. Ver. 17 completes a chain of four ex- planatory γάρς (cf. i. 17-21). To make his position clearer, Ῥ. puts two further con- trasted hypotheses, the former imaginary, the latter suggesting the fact: (a) ‘“ For if I am engaged on this (work) of my own free will (ἑκών), I have reward (mercedem habeo)”’—sc, the supposed καύχηµα of ver. 16, the right to credit his work to himself (cf. Rom. iv. 2, 4); not the future Messianic reward (so Mr. and others), for ἔχω implies attained possession (see parls.), much as ἀπέχω in Matt. vi. 2, etc. For πράσσω, see note ony. 2. (b) “But ”’—the contrasted matter of fact— “if against my will (ἄκων = ἀνάγκῃ, 16), with a stewardship I have been en- trusted”; cf. iv. rf, 1 Tim. i. 12, ete.— The οἰκονόμος (see note, iv. 1), however highly placed, is a slave whose work is chosen for him and whosg one merit is faithful obedience. In Paul’s conscious- ness of stewardship there mingled sub- mission to God, gratitude for the trust bestowed, and independence of human control (cf. το, iv. 3).—The use ο πιστεύω. in pass. with personal subject and acc, of thing (imitating vbs. of double acc.), is confined to Paul in N.T.; see Wr., pp. 287, 326. To οἰκονομίαν πεπίστευµαι one tacitly adds, from the contrasted clause, καὶ μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχω: “Christ's bondman, I claim no hire for my steward- ship; God’s trust is enough for me”. Ver. 18. Yet, after all, Paul has his reward: ‘“ What then (οὖν, things being so) is my reward?”—é μισθός, “the