αὐτῷ. 6. " αἰτείτω δὲ ἐν πίστει, μηδὲν διακρινόµενος" ὁ yap) ® Mark ai, 24;1Tim
διακρινόμενος ἔοικεν " κλύδωνι 2 θαλάσσης ὃ ἀνεμιζομένω καὶ ῥιπιζο- it, B; of.
μένῳ. 1. μὴ γὰρ οἰέσθω ὁ ἄνθρωπος ἐκεῖνος ὅτι Ajppetai* τι 22. 6). Ἡ- ἃ AS ἃ Matt. xxi 21. u Luke viii. 24; Eph. iv. 14; cf. Matt. xi. 7; Isa. lvii. 20.
1 Autem, ff, VulgrF. 4Xnwerar KLP, curss.
teresting parallel to this thought in the opening treatise of the Talmud, Bera- choth, 58 δ: ““ Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the universe, Who hast imparted of Thy wisdom to flesh and blood”; the point of the words “ flesh and blood” is that the reference is to Gentiles as well as Jews, corresponding thus to the πᾶσιν in the words before us. The force of ἁπλῶς lies in its sense of “‘singleness of aim,” the aim being the imparting of benefit without réquiring anything in return; the thought is the same as that which underlies Isa. lv. 1, Ho, every one that thirsteth . . . come, buy wine and milk without money and without price, {.ε., it is to be had tor the asking._p} ὀνειδίζοντος : the addi- tion of this is very striking ; it is intended to encourage boldness in making petition to God; many might be deterred, owing toa sense of unworthiness, from approach- ing God, fearing lest He should resent presumption, The three words which express the method of Divine giving— πᾶσιν, ἁπλῶς, μὴ dverdifovros—must take away all scruple and fear; cf. Heb. iv. 16, Let us therefore draw near with boldness unto the throne of grace. . καὶ δοθήσεται αὐτῷ: Cf. Matt. vii.7.
Ψετ. 6. ἐν πίστει: πίστις, as used in this Epistle, refers to the state of mind in which a man not only believes in the existence of God, but in which His ethical character is apprehended and the evidence of His good-will towards man is acknowledged; it is a belief in the beneficent activity, as well as in the per- sonality, of God; it includes reliance on God and the expectation that what is asked for will be granted by Him. The word here does not connote faith in the sense. of a body of doctrine. This idea οἱ faith is not specifically Christian ; it was, and is, precisely that of the Jews; with
these ΓΝ (Emiinah) is just that perfect trust in God which is expressed in what is called the “ Creed of Maimon- ides,’ or the “Thirteen principles of faith”; it is there said: “I believe with perfect faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is the Author and Guide of everything that has been created, and that
2 Add εἰ». 5 Om. Na, 36, s.
ee ransps, Lesh.
He alone has made, does make, and will make all things”. In Talmudical litera- ture, which, in this as in so much else, embodies much ancient material, the Rabbis constantly insist on the need of faith as being that which is “ perfect trust in God”; the méchisaré ’amanah, {.έ., “those who are lacking in faith,” (cf. Matt. vi. 30, ὀλιγόπιστοι -- ΓΝ ΙΑ) are held up to rebuke; it is saidin Sozah, ix, 12 that the disappear- ance of ‘‘men of faith” will bring about the downfall of the world. Faith there- fore, in the sense in which it ts~used, in this Eptstle;-was the characteristic mark of the Jew as well as ofthe Christian. In τεβετεποξ τὸ αἰτείτω “δὲ ἐν πίστε: Knowling draws attention to Hermas, Mand., ix. 6, 7; Sim., v. 4, 3.—pySév διακρινόµενος: διακρίνεσθαι means to be in a critical state of mind, which is obviously the antithesis to that of him who has faith ; it excludes faith ipso facto ; Cf. Matt. xxi. 21, If ye have faith and doubt not (μὴ διακριθῆτε) . . .; Aphra- ates quotes as a saying of our Lord’s: ‘Doubt not, that ye sink not into the world, as Simon, when he doubted, began to sink into the sea”.—ouKxev κλύ- δωνι θαλάσσης: a very vivid pic- ture ; the instability of a billow, changing from moment to moment, is a wonder- fully apt symbol of a mind that cannot fix itself in belief. ἔοικεν occurs only here and in ver. 23 in the N.T., κλύδων only elsewhere in Luke vili. 24.—ave- μιζομένῳ : a number of verbs are used in this Epistle ending in -ιζω, viz., ὀνειδίζω, ῥιπίζω, παραλογίζομαι, φλογ- ίζω, ἐγγίζω, καθαρίζω, ἁγνίζω, ἀφανίζω, θησαυρίζω, θερίζω, στηρίζω, μακαρίζω ; the word before us is one of the six- teen used in the Epistle which do not occur elsewhere in the N.T., nor in the Septuagint—primwtlopéve : from ῥιπίς a “ fan”’; it occurs here only in the N.T., but cf. Dan. ii. 35 (Septuagint), καὶ ἐρρίπισεν αὐτὰ 6 ἄνεμος ; the word is not used in Theodotion’s version. With the verse before us cf, Eph. iv. 14. . κλυδωνιζόμενοι καὶ περιφερόμενοι παντὶ ἀνέμῳ τῆς διδασκαλίας.