mystery is said to have been concealed ἀπὸ τῶν αἰώνων). But we have no evi- dence that yeveal was ever used in this way, and no parallel for this use of αἰῶνες in N.T. Without identifying the terms with personal existences, we may with Haupt (cf. also Soden) take αἰῶνες of the ages before the world, and γενεαί of the generations of human history, This will be practically the same as saying that the mystery was concealed from angels and men. This is probably the meaning of Bengel’s note: ‘ Aeones referuntur ad angelos; generationes, ad homines”’. ἐν oret, followed by Klépper, thinks that there is a polemical reference here to the antiquity of the Gospel and its con- sequent superiority to the Law. Abbott thinks the point of the reference to the long concealment and recent disclosure is that the acceptance of the false teach- ing is thus explained. But the non- polemical character of parallel passages makes these suggestions very uncertain. —viv δὲ ἐφανερώθη. The construction here changes, and the perfect participle is continwed by the aorist indicative (Winer-Moulton, p. 717). The anaco- luthon is caused by Paul's intense joy that the long silence has been broken; he is.content with nothing short of a definite statement of the glorious fact. νῦν is equally appropriate whether ἀπὸ is temporal or not, for the antithesis of past and present lies in the nature of the case.—tots ἁγίοις αὐτοῦ: {.ε., to Chris- tians generally, not to the Jewish Chris- tians ‘epec yy who certainly were not specially enlightened on this matter, nor the Apostles and prophets of the New Covenant, even though in the parallel Eph. iii. 5 they are chosen for mention, nor the angels, in spite of Eph. iii. το, The words must be taken in their obvious sense,
Ver. 27. Cf. for apartial parallel Eph. i, 18.—ols ἠθέλ' ὁ Θεὸς : “ inasmuch as to them God willed"; ἠθέλ. is chosen to express the idea that the revelation had its source solely in God’s will.—ti τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς δόξης. : cf. Rom. ix. 23, Phil. iv. 19, Eph. 1. 18, iii. 16. The expression does not mean the glorious riches, but rather how rich is the glory. The use of ‘‘glory”’ immediately after