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VIII. 1. ΓΝΩΡΙΖΟΜΕΝ δὲ ὑμῖν, ἀδελφοὶ, τὴν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ τὴν ἃ Rett i. ᾿
δεδομένην ἐν ταῖς ἐκκλησίαις τῆς Μακεδονίας: 2. ὅτι ἐν πολλῇ " δοκιμᾷ "θλίψεως ἡ “περισσεία τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτῶν καὶ ἡ κατὰ βάθους ἁπτωχεία αὐτῶν ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς tov! πλοῦτον τῆς ° ἁπλότητος 4 αὐτῶν : 3. ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν, ᾿ μαρτυρῶ, καὶ ὑπὲρ” δύναμιν 5 αὖθαί- ρετοι, 4. μετὰ πολλῆς παρακλήσεως δεόμενοι ἡμῶν, τὴν χάριν καὶ τὴν ἢ κοινωνίαν τῆς διακονίας τῆς εἰς τοὺς ᾿ ἁγίους δέξασθαι ὅ ἡμᾶς " 5. καὶ οὐ καθὼς ἠλπίσαμεν, ἢ ἀλλ᾽ ἑαυτοὺς ἔδωκαν πρῶτον τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ ἡμῖν " διὰ " θελήματος "Θεοῦ: 6. εἰς τὸ παρακαλέσαι ἡμᾶς
c Rom. v. 17; chap. X.15; Jas. i. 21 only. Ver 9; Rev. ti. 9 only.
e Rom. xii. 8; chaps. ἴχ πα, 153: ΧΙ. 5: Eph. vi. 5; Col. iii. 22 only.
« f Rom. x. 2;
; ε cal Titov, ἵνα, καθὼς ' προενήρξατο," οὕτω καὶ ™ ἐπιτελέσῃ εἰς ὑμᾶς καὶ Gal. iv.
iv. 13.
h Reff, vi. 14. πι Reff. vii. 1.
g Ver. 17 only.
15; Col.
i Reff. i. 1. k Reff. i. 1, 1 Ver. το only.
1 ΝΕΡΕΚΙ, support τον πλοντον; better τὸ πλουτος with *BCP 17 (cf. the same variant Eph. i. 7, ii. 7, iii. 8, 16, Phil. iv. 19, Col. ii. 2; in later Greek there is a tendency towards the neuter form; see crit. note on ix. 2).
2 KLP give υπερ Suv. ; better παρα with NBCDEG, 3 δεξασθαι ηµας is not found in the uncials and primary vss, ; it isa mere explana-
tory gloss. 4B 73 have ηλπικαμεν.
ality”? in giving (cf. ix. 7), and thus in many passages (see reff. and cf. Jas. i. 5) liberality is the best rendering. The whole of Greece, except the Roman colonies of Patrae and Corinth, was in a dire condition of poverty and distress at this period (see Arnold’s Roman Commonwealth, ii., 382, quoted by Stan- ley) ; and the contribution of the Mace- donian Christians was really comparable to the giving of the widow’s mite (Mark xii. 44). It is noteworthy that no warn- ings against the temptations of wealth occur in r and 2 Thess. or Phil. See, however, Lightfoot, Bibl. Essays, p. 247.
Ver. 3. ὅτι κατὰ δύναμιν κ.τελ.; for according to their power, I bear wit- ness, yea and beyond their power. Field quotes a good parallel from Josephus, Antt., iii., 6. 1, who has κατὰ δύναμιν... παρὰ δύναμιν as here.
Vy. 3,4. ᾿αὐθαίρετοι μετὰ πολλ. παρ- ak. κ.τ.λ.: of their own accord begging of us with much entreaty (the constr. is clumsy but perhaps unbroken; we should expect ἔδωκαν after αὐθαίρετοι, but the verb is found in ver. 5) the favour, sc., of giving (cf., for this sense of χάρις, Acts xxiv. 27, xxv. 3, Ecclus. xxx. 6), and the participation in the ministering to the saints, sc., the poor Christians in Judza. The Macedonian Christians did not wait to be asked to give; they asked to be allowed the privilege of giving (cf. Acts XX. 35). διακονία is the regular word for
5 B has ενηρξατο (cf. ver. το).
such charitable service (cf. Acts vi. 1, xi. 29, Rom. xv. 25, 31, chap. ix. 1, 12, etc.), a primary duty of the διάκονοι being the administration of alms.
Ver. 5. καὶ οὐ καθὼς κ.τ.λ.: and not (merely) as we hoped, i.e., beyond what we expected or hoped, but first (not only in order of time, but in order of importance ; as we say “‘first of all”) they gave them- selves to the Lord. This is not merely the consecration of self (cf. Rom. xii. 1), which is the condition of all acceptable almsgiving, for this would not have been beyond the Apostle’s expectations, but the devotion of personal service in the work of spreading the Gospel, such as was given by Sopater of Bercea, Aris- tarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica (Acts xx. 4), and Epaphroditus of Philippi (Phil. ii. 25). Other Macedonian Chris- tians who are named as helpers of St. Paul are Jason (Acts xvii. 5 1.) and Gaius Acts xix. 29); possibly Demas also (Philm. 24, 2 Tim. iv. 10) was of Thessalonica, and it has been argued that St. Luke was of Philippi. (see Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, p. 202).---καὶ ἡμῖν διὰ θελ. Θεοῦ: and to us (some of them were St. Paul’s companions in travel) by the will of |God. Everywhere in St. Paul’s writ- ings the impulse to faithful service is traced up to God’s grace.