The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Timothy — Section 81

lltul'ar,[...,. But then the ole.nee, "havin!i Col. II. 16, 21, 28. (For a fall list of their ooneoienoe eeared with a hot iron,• e.uthorities on the asceticism of the Jewish doee not suit "devila." It is therefore, sects, see Bishop Lightfoot, • Introduction perhaps, best to tre.nsle.te the clause as the to the Epistle to the Colose.,' pp. 83, 84.) R.V. does, and to explain, with Ilishop The chief passages relating to it are those Ellicott, that the preposition iv, which pre- referred to above from ,Josephus: fclµ,ou cedes /nro,rp[u.,, defines the ineln-1tment hy &;rfpot$,(:! "',ap' alrrois, ," '!he~ despise ~r- which they were led to give heed to serluc- nage ; Et1t1a.!C11v ou6fts a-yfTa, -yvvauca, ing spirits, viz. the hypocritical prelences " None of the Eseenee marry " (Fhiln. of the men who spake lice, and whose con- • Fragm.,' p. 633); "Gens sine ullil. femini. sciences were seared. If tj,,vooll.6-ywv agrees venere abdice.ti\ ,._.. A people without a with 11,.,µ,ovlwv, we must conceive that St. single woman, for they renounce man-iage" Paul pe.ssee insensibly from "the devils" (Plin., 'Nat. Hiet.,' v. 15). As regards to the fe.lee teachers who spake as they tl,eir food, Bishop Lightfoot says, "ThP, taught them. In the Goepel~, the sp<'ecli Essene drank no wine ; he did not touch of the devils, e.nd of those possessed by animal food. His meal consisted of a piece devils, is often interche.nged, e.s e.g. Luke of bread, and a single mess of vegetables " iv. 33, 34, 41 ; Mark i. ~3, 24. Men that (' Introd.,' p. 86). Professor Burton (in speak lies (tj,,voo,\o-ywv); only found here in Kitto's 'Cyclopiedia,' a.rt. "Gnosticism") the New Teete.ment, but occasionally in so.ye of the later Gnostics that. from their cle.ssice.l Greek. Bre.nded (1m,,.v-r71p1auµ,,- principle of the utter me.lignity of matter vwv); here only in the New Teste.ment, but and the elevating nature of -yvwuu, two very used in Greek medice.l e.nd other writers opposite resnlts ensued-one that many for "to brand," or " cauterize;" 1<av-rf,p e.nd Gnostics led very profligate lives; the other ,,,.,,,,.f,p,ov, a bre.nding-iron. The e.pplica- the.I many practised great austerities in tion of the image is somewhat unce1tain. order to mortify the body and its sensual If the idee. is that of "a brand," e. mark appetites (p. 770). Some of Olll modern burnt in upon the forehee.d of a sle.ve or Encratites, in their language concerning- crimine.l, then the mee.ning is the.t these the nse of wine and beer, approach men he.ve their own info.my stamped upon Gnosticism very closely. To be received their own consciences. It is not patent (,,, µ,e-r&ll.71,/,,v) ;, a ols.ssicsl word, but only only to others, but to themselves e.leo. But found here in the New Testament, not used if the metaphor is from the cauterizing e. by the LXX. With thanksgiving. Observe wound, as the A.V. takes it, then the idea the identity of thought with Rmn. xiv. 6. is tbe.t the8e men's consciences a.re become These passages, together with our Lor,1', e.s insensible to the touch e.s the skin that e.ction e.t the last Supper (Lnke xxii. 17. he.s been cauterized is. The mete.phor, in 19), e.t the multiplice.tion of the loaves and this case, is somewhat simile.r to that of fishes (Luke ix.. 16), e.nd St. Paul's on board 11wp6w, 11wpwuu (Mark iii. 5; vi. 52; John ship (Acts xxvii. 35), are conclusive as to xii. 40, etc.). The le.tier interpretation the Christian duty of giving thanks, com- seems to suit the general context best, and monly called "se.ying grace" at meals. the medico.I use of the term, which St. Paul The truth ( see eh. iii. 15 ; John xv iii. 37 ; might he.ve learnt from Luke. The emphasis Eph. iv. 21, etc.). of -r>i• ili(as, " their own conscience,•· implies Ver. 4.-I, to b6 rejected for to be re/wed, that they were not merely deceivers of A.V. Nothing is to be rejected.. The A. V., others, but were self-<lecei ved. "nothing to be refused," manifestly uses Ver. 3.-Created for hath created, A.V.; "nothing" in its e.dverbio.l sense (" in no by for of, A.V.; that for whfrh, A.V. For- degree,'' "not at all,'' Johnson's 'Diet.'), as bidding to me.rry. This is mentioned as oi,6,iv in Greek is also common Iv used showing itself first among the Esse11es and (Liddell and Scott). In fact, it ·is very There.peul.m by Josephus (' Bell. Jud.,' ii. difficult to construe the passage as the R.V. viii. 2, and 'Ant. Jud.,' xviii. i. 5). It does. To say "nothing is to be rejected became le.ter a special tenet of the Gnostics, if it is received," is scarcely sense. But lo &11 stated by Clem. Alex., ' Strom.,' iii. 6; se.y that every creo.ture of God is good (a.nd Irenreus, ' Hrer.,' i. 22, etc. (quoted by on that account not to be rejected) if it is Ellicott). See other quote.tions in Pole's received with thanksgiving, is very good Synopsis. Commanding to &beta.in from and edifying sense. Creo.t1Ue (K-r111µa). The meata j f3pwµ.d-rwv (1 Cor. viii. 8; Heb. iI. form commonly used by St. Paul is ,, ... ,,,.., 10; comp. f3p,I,,,..,, Col. ii.16; Rom. xiv. 17). (B.om. viii. 20, 21, 22; 2 Cor. v. 17, etc.). The word "commanding" has to be sup• But 1<-rluµ,a stands by the ei,Ie of 1<-r/11.,, plied fro'm the preceding Kw,\v&v-rwv, "com- like /3pwµ,a J;,y the side of /3pw11is, opaµa by me.nding not." Some of the sects prohibited lhe side of 3p:iuis, ,r&µa by the side of the use of animal fuod. A trace of this ,,.&,,... , and many more. The form K-ri11µa is e.scetioism in regard to food is found in folllld in Ja& i. 18; and twice in Bevelatiroi.  70 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [OH. IV, 1-18.