The Pulpit Commentary — John — Volume 1 — Section 485

mny be tnkon lnterrogntivcly: ,.~v &px~v "What I nnw speak fa in arrnrrlanre with regnrrlod ndv01·binlly in tho senso of "nt nil," the conditionA m,i,Jo in nll s:sc·~' from the be- nurl ~T, in the senso of "why?" which is ginning:.'" So Delitz,ch, Hebrew verainn ol perhnp!! jnstiOocl by 11-lnrk ix. JI, 28. Bo NewTcat11mcnt. Luthardtseem, to n,pproaeh thnt it might mel\n, Why du I even •peak this view, which he makes more dillicult h_v with ynu lll all? 'l'his is the iutorprcta- insisting tho.t -ri,v c!px,l• d,,ea nnt mean tion of the o.ncicnt Greek Fo.thers, Cyril "from" but" at the beginnin,!?.'.'' Tha view o.ncl Chrysc,stom ; is preferred by Liieko of Winer, Grimm, Alford, Stier, Gorlet, (' Comm.,' ii. 301-319); o.n<l with slight Thoma, a.nd Plummer, is suhst[lntially the moditiclltions is n<lopted by Ewa.Id (who same, giving to ·n}.v cipx,}v thP- sense or mnnfrw. gi\'cs it rnoro the form of an exclamation, Essentially, wholly, altogether (I am) that "How is it that I should ho.ve to speak which even I am saying to you. The gram- to you o.t o.11 I" [this rendering is put in matical objection that this use of T~v dpxnv the margin of R.T.]), Westcott clllcl 11-loulton demands a negative sentence in classic Greek, (see note to ,viuer,' Gmmmar of New Testa- is not conclusive. This is the only place in ment,' pp. 581, 5S2), Matthai, and oth~rs. the New Testament where tbe word is nsed !IIeyer has differed somewhat in succes,ivo adverbially, and it is in reply to a mocking editions, but ( Hu edit.) tran•lates, "What I question which ha3 much virtual negative from the beginning nm also speaking to you in it. Green (' Critical Notes') urges thnt (do ye ask)?" Can you still be asking the sense of" a.ltogetber" (omnino) was pre- concerning that w!,ich I have been from the server! in all kinds of sentences withon t t,eginning saying to you, viz. "Who I am"? distinction. He does not prove it, but it is 'l'his iutcrpreta.tion is singularly obscure. entirely probable that it might have this It turns ou the fact thut, except in some force in New 'Testament Greek. The great virtually negative Eeutcnccs, dpx-,Jv cannot advantage of the rendering is that it brings have the force of "at all," and fu.lls back the o.nswer in to relation with the entire ou the conclusion that it must, when used previous discourse, in which Christ's teEti- adverbially, have the force of •• from the mony to himself bad been disputed because first." Liicke devotes great space to the (in tile opinion of those who were debating proof from classical Greek that J.px-,Jv never with him) that testimony had nut been means 6)1.ws, or omnino, ezcept in association arleqnately suppnrted. "I o.m rhe Revelo.tiou with a negative sentence, and he discnsses of the F:i.tber, the Messenger from heaven, the four exceptions to this supposed rule the Bread of God, the Light of tbe wurlrl which some grammarians have discovered --essentially that which I am saying to in secular Greek (Lennep, • Ap. Pho.lo.rid.,' you." Believe my own testimony thus for. pp. 82, 55, and 92), and thereupon, in e. and that will answer tbe qnery, " Who art different wo.y from 1\1:eyer, endeavours to thou?" There is no great d;stinction supply the negative conception. In reply between this view and that of De W ette : to Meyer, it is fa.ir to any that Christ haJ "Von vorne herein (vor alien Dingen) not been constantly announcing in ea te- bin ieh was ich auch zu ench rede,'' as gorical terms who he was and is: and further, Briickner put it-·· From the beginning, that the rendering practically introduces a from the first, (I o.m) wilat I am also saying cl11use, "do ye ask,'' whicl:. is not iu the text: to you." Winer's vi~w seems to rue the best. moreover, it~ rendering tro.nsforms }I.a).Ji, into Grimm thus translates: "Ornuino, hoe est ]\.f}l.a.}1.-f,,ra., (2) Many have advocated an siue ulfa exceptione sum, quod etiam vobis aftirmo.tive rendering. Augustine (with eloquor, non solnm sum, sed etiam vobis, Lampe and Fritzsche) takes r,}v cipx-,Jv o.s prmdico id quod sum." the •Apx-fi of the universe, the principium Ver. :26.-1 have many things to speo.k (ns Rev. xxi. 6), and translates," Believe that and to judge concerning you. Hitherto. I am the Principium (tho Logos), because when the Lord uttered his great words of I am also speaking with you (because, self-revelation, which always had an ethical humbled on your account, I have descended end and were meant for the udvantage of to such words o.s these)." Chrysostom and his hearers, they interrupted his speech and Nonnus (who lurueJ the Gospel into Greek disputecl !,is claims. They refused those hexameters) associnte the sentence with testimonies to himself which, if true, woulrl what follows; thus: "I, the 'Apx-fi, who also necessitate their instantaneous submission. speak to you, have mauy tiliugs to suy o.ud He seems to have gathered a.II his self-wit- judge of you." The o.cousa.ti\'e form is thus ness together in tile word, "I am,'' verily set a.t nought. C11h-in takes ,-,iv dpx,l• o.s altogether, absolutely, from the beginning equnl to I! dpxns, "from the beginning" (so onwards, just what my words coaTey; but I thut tho meaning would be," I dill not o.rise have much moro ta say concernillg yo", even suddenly, but as I was forme~ly promised, if I should hnve nothi!1~ mnre to say con- BO now I cowe forth publicly"), " because cerning myself. '.l'he testimonies and th~ I alao speak with uou," In othor words, judgmcuts may he profoundly distasteful to  358 'l'HE G-OSPEL ACCORDING TO 81'. JOHN. [on. vm. 1-69,