111
> c , > ο) Δ 3 / ral 8 ἐν ἁγίαις dvactpopais καὶ εὐσεβείαις, 12. προσδοκῶντας καὶ
, ‘ , na a a vate’) Jae > a 3 ‘ σπεύδοντας τὴν παρουσίαν τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἡμέρας, δι ἣν οὐρανοὶ
: ν πυρούµενοι λυθήσονται καὶ στοιχεῖα καυσούµενα τήκεται.
13.
‘ A > ‘ Ν a“ ‘ x x > , > aA καινοὺς δὲ οὐρανοὺς καὶ γῆν Kawhy κατὰ τὸ ἐπάγγελμα αὐτοῦ
προσδοκῶμεν, ἐν οἷς δικαιοσύνη κατοικεῖ. σπουδάσατε ἄσπιλοι καὶ ἀμώμητοι
h efor xii ταῦτα προσδοκῶντες
14. Awd, ἀγαπητοί,
E αὐτῷ
εὑρεθῆναι ἐν εἰρήνη, 15. καὶ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν µακροθυµίαν
σωτηρίαν ἡγεῖσθε, καθὼς καὶ 6 ἀγαπητὸς ἡμῶν ἀδελφὸς Παῦλος
κατὰ τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ σοφίαν ἔγραψεν ὑμῖν, 16. ὡς καὶ ἐν πάσαις!
1πασαις ταις SKLP, Ti.; om. ταις ABC, Treg., WH, Weiss.
of the plural in cases of abstract nouns is peculiar to the writer andto1 Peter. He emphasises once more the close connexion between morality and religion.
Ver. 12. σπεύδοντας. Either (1) “‘earnestly desiring,” cf. Isa. xvi. 5, σπεύδων δικαιοσύνην, or (2) preferably, “hastening the coming ’’. “‘ The Church may be said to bring the day nearer when it prays, ‘Thy kingdom come’ ” (Bigg). The writer is here referring to the Jewish idea that the sins of men prevented Messiah from appearing. ‘‘ Si Judaei poenitentiam facerent una die, statim veniret Messias, filius David.”
The words are capable of a still more spiritual meaning, which, however, is rather beyond the consciousness of this writer. The kingdom of God is ‘‘ with- in’’ us, and Christians may be said to hasten this coming by holiness of life. Christian conduct is itself both a rebuke to vice and a realisation of the presence of Christ in the hearts of His disciples.
τήκεται. Again present for future. The phrases in this verse are repeated from ver. 10 in order to introduce the more impressively the idea in ver. 13.
Ver. 13. καινοὺς δὲ οὐρανοὺς .. . προσδοκῶμεν. Cf. Isa. Ixv. 17. ἔσται γὰρ © οὐρανὸς καινὸς καὶ 7 YH καινή. Enoch και. 16. "See mote ου ver: 7-
οὐρανός might appropriately be trans- lated ‘‘sky”’. ἐν ots δικαιοσύνη κατοι- «ket; ‘wherein righteousness dwells,” or ‘“‘has its home”. In the word there is both the sense of permanence and of persuasive influence. Both in the hearts of men, and the new environment, there will be nothing that militates against righteousness. The Parousia is both judgment on the wicked and triumph for the kingdom. Cf. v. 7.
Ver. 14. ἄσπιλοι καὶ ἀμώμητοι αὐτῷ. αὐτῷ is dative = “in relation to Him,” or “in His sight”. Cf. Rom. vii. το. εὑρέθη por ἡ ἐγτολὴ ἡ εἰς Conv αὕτη
εἰς θάνατον; Ephes. i. 4, εἶναι ἀμώμους κατενγώπιον αὐτοῦ. For ἄσπιλοι καὶ ἀμώμητοι, cf. note ON v.13. ἁἀμώμητος occursin Epistle of Aristeas (ed. Wend- land), with reference to sacrificial victims. ἐν εἰρήνῃ. Peace and righteousness are one. Cf. Ps. lxxxv. το. The “‘well- doers ’’ will be able to meet the Parousia with calm expectation.
Ver. 15. καὶ τὴν τοῦ κυρίου... ἡγεῖσθε. Cf. ν. 9. The Divine long- suffering is capable of interpretation as ‘“* slackness,”’ or as opportunity for license instead of as σωτηρίαν, an opportunity for repentance. Kaos καὶ 6 ἀγαπητὸς . «+ ἔγραψεν ὑμῖν. The interpretation here largely depends oh (1) whether the reference of καθὼς is confined to the idea in the first clause of the verse, or (2) is to be extended to include ἄσπιλοι καὶ ἀμώμητοι . . . εἰρήνῃ in νετ. 14, or (3) is still further extended to include the whole treatment of moral disorder aris- ing from delayed Parousia. In the case of (1) Romans would be the most ap- propriate among the known canonical epistles. In that epistle the idea of God’s long-suffering is most prominent (Gf. 11.4, 11. 25, 26, ix. 22,29) πι ορ ολ). (2) Almost any of St. Paul’s epistles might be meant. (3) If the question of moral disorder arising from difficulties about the παρουσία is placed in the foreground, ‘none of the existing Pau- line Epistles can be in question except 1 Corinthians (in this Church there were very similar extravagances, and the Resurrection was by some denied) and Thessalonians” (Bigg). A decision on this point involves the discussion on the destination of the epistle, for which see Introduction, pp. 205 f. (¢f. Zahn., Introd. Π,, pp. 211-2). ὁ ἀγαπητὸς . . . Παῦλος need not imply that Paul ννας alive. κατὰ τὴν δοθεῖσαν αὐτῷ σοφίαν. Cf. 1 Cor. iii. το, Gal. ii. 9, 1 Cor. ili. 66, Col. i. 28.