19---2ο.
391
20. ὑπὲρ οὗ "πρεσβεύω ἐν " ἁλύσει, ἵνα "ἐν αὐτῷ 4 παῤῥησιάσωμαια 2 Cor. v.
" ὡς δεῖ µε λαλῆσαι.
(Paul); 2 Tim. i. 16. c See note.
e Col. iv. 4.
mystery contained in the Gospel or be- longing toit. On μυστήριον see under i. g above.—The connection of the several clauses in this verse is variously under- stood. Some connect ἐν ἀνοίξει τοῦ στό- ματός pov with the following ἐν παρρησίᾳ. So Grotius, who explains it thus—“ ut ab hac custodia militari liber per omnem urbem perferre possem sermonem”; but παρρησία does not apply to freedom of movement, and here it has a sense in har- mony with the following παῤῥησιάσωμαι. Others attach the ἐν ἀνοίξει closely with the λόγος as a definition of it, = ‘that utterance may be given me by the open- ing of my mouth” (Cornel. 4 Lap., Harl., Olsh., Von Soden, Abb., etc.). This makes the ‘‘opening of the mouth” the act of God ; in support of which interpretation appeal is made to the terms in Ezek, iii. ο σοας. SE ποσα. 5ο. ΕΒ. Ἡ, τὸν Che absence of the article, and the analogous passage in Col. iv. 3 are also thought to favour this. But the terms in Col. iv. 3 are different—iva Θεὸς ἀνοίξῃ ἡμῖν θύραν τοῦ λόγον, and the construction makes the δοθῇ and the ἄνοιξις τοῦ στόματος practically one and the samething. The simplest constructions are these two—(r) to connect ἐν παρρησίᾳ with what pre- cedes, and with the λόγος not the ἄνοιξις, = “that utterance, and that with bold- ness, may be given to me when I under- take to open my mouth with a view to make known the mystery of the Gospel”’ ; and (2) to connect ἐν παρρησίᾳ with what follows, to wit, the γνωρίσαι, = “that to me utterance may be given when I open my mouth, that with bold- ness I may make known the mystery of the Gospel”. The latter is preferred by Meyer, Ell., WH, etc. It is followed by the RV text, “in opening my mouth, to make known with boldness,” etc.; while the RV margin gives ‘‘in opening my mouth with boldness, to make known the mystery,” etc. The former construction gives a good sense for each particular term and a simple connection, if the év παρρησίᾳ is taken to define not the opfen- ing of the mouth, but the utterance, the λόγος, which is the main thought. On the whole the latter is perhaps to be pre- ferred, the need of utterance, power of speech, when occasion offers itself to preach, being first mentioned, and this gift of utterance being next defined in
20 only. - b Acts XXViii. 20;
ἃ Acts ix. 26 al.; 1 Thess, ii. 2 only; Prov. xx. ο al.
respect of its object, viz., to give fearless confidence in making the Gospel known.
Ver. 20. ὑπὲρ ot πρεσβεύω ἐν ἁλύσει: in behalf of which I am an ambassador in achain. The οὗ is best referred, not to τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, but to τὸ μυστήριον, the mystery contained in the Gospel being the thing that Paul desired to make known (γνωρίσαι). So in Col. iv. 3 it is this μυστήριον that the writer is to utter (λαλῆσαι) and on account of which he is bound (δέδεµαι). πρεσβεύω = ‘I act as ambassador,” only here and in 2 Cor. v. 20. The ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ of the latter pas- sage is left to be understood here. The legation or embassage in Christ’s cause, which Paul here ascribes to himself, is not to be limited to the Roman Court (Mich.), but is to be understood as to the whole Gentile world, in the wide sense of the commission given (Acts ix. 15, xvii. 15); the debt professed (Rom. i. 14); the office claimed (Rom. xi. 13), and recog- nised (Gal. ii. 9). The noun ἅλυσις, which is not of frequent occurrence in classical Greek, means there a chain (Herod., ix., 74; Eurip., ΟΥ., 984); also a woman’s ornament, a bracelet (Aristoph., Frag., Mem., ii., p. 1079). Itis taken by some to be a word of general application, denoting a chain or bond by which any part of the body may be bound, and it is questioned (e.g., by Mey.), whether it is distinguished from πέδη as hand-fetter from foot-fetter. But, while in such pas- sages as Rev. xx. 1 the specific sense may not be required, it seems clear that the distinction between manacle and fetter does obtain (cf. Polyb., iii., 82, 8); that this distinction is made in Mark ν. 4; and that ἅλυσις is used of the “ hand- cuff” by which a prisoner was attached to his guard (Joseph., Antiq., xviii., 6, 7, 10: Acts xii. 6, xxi. 33, etc. ; cf. Light., Phil., p. 8). This may be its meaning here, and there will be no necessity for taking it to be a collective sing. = bonds; of which use indeed, though possible (cf. Bernh., Synt., ii., 1, p. 58), there does not appear to be any clear example in the NT itself. And such phrases as εἰς τὴν ἅλυσιν ἐμπίπτειν (Polyb., iv., 76, 5, xxi., 3, 3) are inconclusive, the article giving the word the generic sense. It has been thought that the expression points to the custodia militaris endured by Paul in Rome (Acts xxviii. 16, 20; cf, 2 Tim. i.