The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 230

senl!el! of the verb (11>-oiiv, those of" envy," and eminent gifts of these eimplo-miude,l "emule.te," "strive e.fter," are plainly uu- believers; the charisms which had been suit.e.ble in this verse e.nd the one which bestowed upon them (eh.iii. 2); their virtues, follows. So Riso are the senses "to be zee.- in contl"ast especially with theil· ho11the11 lous on one's behnlf," "to be jealous of one," neighbours; their spiritual enlightenment. which in Hellenistic use.ge crept into it, No doubt o.11 this was said with the view of apparently from its hanng been in other courting their favour; but (71>.oG'TE can hardly senses adopter!. to represent the Hebrew verb itself mean "court favour,'' and no instance qi,,ni, nn<l borrowing these from this Hebre,v of its occurring in this sense he.a been ad- verb. The only phase of its meaning which duced; and this ren<l.eriug of the verb breaks suits the present pasMge is that which it down utterly in ver.18. The persons referred perhaps by far the most frequently presents to must, of course, be understood as those in ordinary Greek, though not so commonly who were busy in instilling at once Judaiz- in the Septuagint and in the New Testa- ing sentiments nnd also feelings of antipathy ment, nnmely," to admire," " deem and pro- to the apostle himself, ns if he were their nounce highly fortunate and blessed." When enemy (ver. 16). The Epistle furnishes no used in this sense, it has properly for its indication whatever that these persons were object a person ; but with a suitable qualifi- strangers coming among them from without, cation of meaning it may have for its object answering, for example, to those spoken of something inanimate. Very often is the in eh. ii. 12 as disturbing the Antiochian accusative of the person accompanied with Church. It ie quite supposable that the the genitive of the ground of gratulation, as wa.rning which, not long after the writing of Aristnphane~' Acb.,' 972, Z11>.oi <T< •Tiis d,/3011- this Epistle, the apostle addressed to the >.!a.s, '· I congutulate, admire, you for your Ephesian elders at Miletus (Acts :u. 29, 30), cleverness;" see also 'Equit.,' 834; 'Thes- when putting them on their guard against moph ..' 175; 'Vesp.,' 1450; but not always; those who "from among their own selves tlms Demosthenes, 'Fals. Legat.,' p. 424. should rise up speaking perverse things to "(®a"µ.cf(ovu, Ka.I (11:>u>iiu,) they admire and draw away disciples after them," was founded congratulate and would each one be himself in part upon this experience of hie in the the like;" 'Adv. Lept.,' p. 500 (respecting Galatian Churches. Gala.tian Churchmen it public funeral orations), " This is the custom may well have been, and no other, who now of men admiring ((11>.ovVTwv) virtue, not of (as the apostle had just been apprised) were men looking grudgingly upon those who employing that xp11u-ro>.o-yia 1eal ,b>.o-yla, that on its account are being honoured ; " Xeno- '' kind suave speech" and that "speech of phon, ' Mem.,' ii. 1, 19, "Thinking highly of compliment and laudation," which in Rom. themselves, 1md praised and admired ((11>.ov- xvi. 18 he describes as a favourite device of µ.evovs) hy others;" Josephus,' C. Ap.,' i. 25, this class of deceivers, to win the ear of their "((11>.ovµ.evovs) admired by many,'' It thus unwary brethren. "In no good way; " for seems to be often just equivalent to o>./3/(w they did it insincerely and with the purpose or µ.a,ca.pl(w, with the sense of which latter of drawing them into courses which, though verb it is brought into close neighbourhood tliese men themselves knew it not, were in Aristophanes, 'Nnbes,' ll88, "' Blessed nevertheless frauglit with r1,lin to .their spiri- (µ.cfKap ), i,; trepsiades, are yon, both for being tual welfare. Yea, they wonld exolndeyou; so wise yourself and for having such a son or, us (<iMa. lKKAiiu,u 6µ.a.s 8,>.ovu,v); 'TlaY, as you have,'-thus will my friends and rallier, to shut you out is their wish. The fellow-wardsmen say, in admiration of me reading " us,'' noticed in the margin of the ((11 >.oiivns)." Probably this is the sense in Authorized Version, is probably a merely which the apostle uses the verb in 2 Cor. conjectural emendation made in the Greok :ri. 2, Z11>.fii -yap {,µ.as e,oii (11>-ri, "I rejoice in text by Beza, wholly unsupported by manu- your felicity with e.n infinite joy;" referring script authority. 'fhe <ill.>.a. is adversa.tive to the intense admiration which he felt of to the oJ Ka.>.fiis, the secondary thought of their present felicity, in their having been the preceding clause. in the same way as the betrothed a chaste maiden to Christ; not &11.>.?. in 1 Cor. ii. 7 is e.dverse.tive to the till the next verse introducing the mention secondary negative clauses of ver. 6. The of his fear lest this paradisaical happiness verb "shut out," with no determinative might be darkened by the wiles of Satan. It qualification annexed, must have it supplied is in e. modified shade of the same sense that from the unexpressed ground for the " ad- the word ie employed-where it is rendered miration" denoted by the verb (11>-ouuw. 'fhe "covet earnestly" in our Authorized Ver- high eminence of spiritual condition and sion-in 1 Cor. xii 31 ; xiv. 1, 39. In the happiness on the possession of which these passage now before us, then, (1111.oiiuw 6µiu men were congratule.ting their brethren, probo.bly means " they admire you,'' that is, they would be certainly excluded frolD if they tell you so. They were expressing strong they listened to them. Compare the phrase. admiration of the high Chriijtian character "who at«i un~ettling you," driving you 01.1~ OH, IV, 1-31.] THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 197