11-12.
Ver. 12. εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς εἰς ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ: to the end that we should be unto the praise of His glory. The art. τῆς is inserted by the TR before δόξης, but on slender authority. It is omitted by most of the primary uncials and other important documents. On the other hand, the αὐτοῦ after δόξης is omitted by a few ancient authorities, especially D'F. This clause states the ultimate end which God had in view in foreordaining us to be made His κλῆρος. It was not for our own privilege (as the Jews with their limited and exclusive ideas had misinterpreted the object of God in His election of them), but that through us His glory might be set forth. Cf. the prophetic declaration, ‘‘the people which I formed for myself, that they might set forth my praise” (Isa. xliii. 21); and such passages as Ps. cxliv. 12; Sirach πχ το ἘΠῚ τας ο δε Δ 7. ΤΒ6 sentence is best connected with the prin- cipal verb, not with the προορισθέντες which defines the ἐκληρώθημεν, but with the ἐκληρώθημεν itself. It is also to be taken as a whole, containing one idea, precisely as is the case with the other eis ἔπαινον sentences in vv. 6,14. Το break up the clause so as to take the εἰς τὸ εἶναι ἡμᾶς to express the end or object, further defined by the tots προηλπικό- τας, and to make eis ἔπαινον τῆς δόξης αὐτοῦ an incidental or parenthetical clause, is in the highest degree artificial and out, of harmony with the other sentences. The question remains as to the persons included in the ἡμᾶς —whether Christians generally, or Jews or Jewish Christians specially. In order to answer that question the force of the following clause must be determined.— τοὺς προηλπικότας ἐν τῷ Χριστῷ: we who had (RV marg., ‘‘have”) before trusted in Christ. Better, we, to wit, who have aforetime hoped in the Christ. The article defining the προηλπικότας is most naturally taken as placing the προηλπικότας in apposition to the ἡμᾶς and as explaining the ἡμᾶς now in view to be a particular class, and not the subjects of God’s grace generally. The attempt is made, indeed, in more than one way (¢.g., by Hofm., Harl., Abb., Haupt, etc.) to construe τοὺς προηλπι- κότας as the predicate, so that the sense should be, ‘‘to the end that we should be those who have before hoped (or believed) in Christ”. But this is not a construction naturally suggested by the simple form of the sentence. It has also the dis- advantage of not being in harmony with what is the prevalent, though not invyari-