5-9.
iva! μὴ " ὑπεραίρωμαι.
, - Ἐπ πὰς Φλ Ee δ ‘ ” , s? a ε κάλεσα, ἵνα "ἀποστῇ ἀπ᾽ ἐμοῦ" 9. καὶ εἴρηκέ μοι, "᾿Αρκεῖ σοι ἢ
’ ἜΣ ἐν δύ Η 4 é > 0 , λ a Χχᾶρις μου" η yap ὀυναµις μου ν ἀσῦύενειᾳ τελειουται.
8. ὑπὲρ 3 τούτου τρὶς ὃ τὸν Κύριον mape-r Luke iv.
13;1 Tim. Vi. 5. s John xiv.
4 8; 1 Tim.
ἥδιστα
3 ἀλλ , > a > , 6 9 δέ. ΄ vi. 8. οὖν μᾶλλον καυχήσομαι ἐν ταις ἀσθενείαις μου," Wa ΄“ἐπισκηνώσῃ | Here only.
1 The second wa µη υπεραιρ. is omitted by $*ADEG 17 and the Latin vss.; but is found in °¢BKLP, the Syriac and Bohairic vss., and is printed by Tisch. and W.H.
ΣΑ has και υπερ.
8 D*E, d, = and the Bohairic give τον Kup. τρις.
4 ScA*DbcEKLP, the Syriac and Behairic vss. support pov after Suv. ; better om. with §*A*BD*G and the Latins, but the sense is not affected.
5 τελειουται, NCDcEKLP ; better reXerrar with N*ABD*G. 5 B 67**, the Harclean and Bohairic vss. om. pov after ασθ.; ins. NADEGKLP,
the Latin, Peshitto and Sahidic vss,
LXX (see Num. xxxiii. 55, Hosea ii. 8, Ecclus, xliii. το) σκόλοψ undoubtedly means ‘thorn,’ not “stake” (Ezek. xxviii. 24 is, perhaps, doubtful). Illus- trations of its use in this sense also occur in Artemidorus, Babrius and the medical writers (see Field in loc. and Hermathena, xix., p. 390); ¢.g., of the pain of cutting a tooth itis said ὅταν ἐμπεπαρ- μένος ἦ σκόλοψ σαρκί (Comm. in aph. Hippocr., 25). We hold, then, that σκόλοψ here certainly means “thorn,” and that St. Paul’s trial is compared to the vexatious irritation of a thorn rather than to the agonising and fatal torture of impalement on a stake. We have no knowledge as to what this trial was. It is a mere fancy, and not a happy one (probably suggested by the Latin stimulus carnis), that it consisted in violence of sensual passions (cf. contra 1 Cor. vii. 7-9 and ver. 9 below). That the σκόλοψ is an individual opponent who was a “thorn in his side”’ (cf. x. 7, xi. 14) was held by Chrysostom; Ephraim Syrus identifies him with Alexander the coppersmith (2 Tim. iv. 14)! But this guess hardly ex- plains σαρκί; the trial was not of the spirit, but im the flesh. It seems likely on the whole that it was a bodily infirmity, probably the ἀσθένεια τῆς σαρκός of Gal. iv. 13. Jerome (Gal., iv., 13) and Ter- tullian (de Pudic., 13) mention the tradition that it was headache ; this was probably (if there be any truth in the tradition) only a symptom. Another view (supported by the Celtic name for the disease) is εβί- lepsy, a disease to which “visionaries” are said to be prone, but which afflicted two such strong men as Napoleon and Peter the Great. Those who hold this view generally point to the circumstances of St. Paul’s conversion as illustrating an attack of the disorder. But this at least
is excluded by the Apostle’s own words; the “thorn in the flesh” was “given” him after the “vision” of fourteen years before ; {.6., this infirmity came upon him after the year 41. Another plausible con- jecture (see Farrar, S¢. Paul, Excurs. xi., but cf. Ramsay, St. Paul the Traveller, Ρ. 39) is that the Apostle suffered from ophthalmia (cf. Acts ix. 9, Gal. iv. 15, vi. II), a very common disease in the East. Prof. Ramsay (loc. cit., p. 94 ff.) thinks it was chronic malarial fever. Whatever his infirmity was, it apparently affected the dignity of his outward appear- ance (Gal. iv. 14), and was evident to the eye. Fora full discussion of the various theories on the subject see Lightfoot, Galatians, p. 186 ff.
Ver, 8. ὑπὲρ τούτου τρὶς κ.τ.λ.: con- cerning this thing (or ‘‘this angel”’; for ὑπέρ = “concerning” see on i. 8) I be- sought the Lord, i.e., Christ (see ver. 9), thrice that it (or “he”’) might depart from me. “Thrice” seems to point to three special occasions, when his prayers for the removal of his trial were specially urgent. Like Another who prayed thrice that the cup of suffering might pass from Him (Matt. xxvi. 44), St. Paul did not receive the answer his spirit longed for. But he did receive an answer abundantly sufficient to strengthen and to console.