Il.
IT. 1. ΘΕΛΩ γὰρ ὑμᾶς εἰδέναι " ἡλίκον ἀγῶνα ἔχω ὑπὲρ ὑμῶν καὶ τῶν ἐν Λαοδικίᾳ καὶ ὅσοι οὐχ ἑόρακαν τὸ πρόσωπόν μου ἐν σαρκί, 2. ἵνα παρακληθῶσιν ai καρδίαι αὐτῶν, συνβιβασθέντες ἐν ἀγάπῃ 1 Thess.i. καὶ εἰς πᾶν πλοῦτος τῆς " πληροφορίας τῆς συνέσεως, εἰς ἐπίγνωσιν
ἐν σαρκί: to be taken with τὸ πρ. pov, not with ἑόρ.
Ver. 2. παρακληθῶσιν. It is disputed what meaning should be attached to this. Meyer, Ellicott and others translate ‘“may be comforted’’. This seems to be the more usual sense in Paul, and is sup-
ed by the addition “‘ knit together in love,’ which favours an emotional refer- ence. It is more probable, however, that we should translate ‘‘may be strength- ened” (De W., Alf., ΚΙ., OL, Sod.), for this was more needed than consolation in face of heresy. Oltramare quotes Rom. i. 12 (where, however, συμπαρ, is used), 1 Thess. iii. 2, 2 Thess. ii. 17, where this verb is joined to στηρίζειν to show that this sense is Pauline, and in the latter we have παρακαλέσαι ὑμῶν τ. καρδίας καὶ στηρίξαι. Haupt, following Luther, thinks it means “ may be warned,” but this does not suit καρδίαι, especially in iv. 8.—al « αὐτῶν. We might have expected ὑμῶν, but καὶ ὅσοι, while not excluding the Colossians, includes other Churches as well. καρδία implies more than our word “ heart,” it embraces also the intellect and the will.—ovvBi- βασϑέντες agrees with αὐτοί, understood as the equivalent of αἱ κ. αὐτῶν. In the LXX the word means “ to instruct ᾿ (soin 1 Cor. ii. 16, which is a quotation from Isa. xl. 14). But joined to ἐν dy. it must have its usual sense, “ knit together,” as in ver. 19 and Eph. iv. 16. There may be a reference to the divisive tendencies of the false teaching. —xal εἰς πᾶν πλοῦ- τος τῆς WH ρίας τῆς συνέσεως: “and unto riches of the fulness of understanding”. καὶ εἰς is to be taken with σννβιβ., “ knit together in order to attain”. συνβιβ, is a verb implying motion, and therefore is followed my els. It is usual to take πληροφ. as “ assurance,” but the expression ‘‘all the riches of full assurance of understand- ing” has a strange redundance, which seems scarcely to be met, as Klépper thinks, by De Wette’s remark that πλοῦτ. is a quantitative but πληρ. a qualitative expression. Accordingly it seems better, with Grimm and Haupt, to translate “fulness,” a sense which is possible everywhere in N.T. except 1 Thess. i. 5.