The Pulpit Commentary — 1 Timothy — Section 127

whiob be oweil. him e.e hie maeter. And IIO It. There ia possibly an indication in the St. Paul e.<ldreeses e. word of specie.I advice word that the masters actively and willingly to euoh. Let them not despise them. Let accept it-they stretch out their hand to not their spiritual equality with their take it. Tl,ere does not seem to be any masters lee.cl them to nnderrate the worldly sense of reciprocity, as some think, in the difference that separates them ; or to think use of dv-r,. 'fbe sense of the whole passage slightly of the authority of e. master rele.- seems to be clcitrly, "Let not those who ti vely to hie slaves ( comp. 2 Pet. ii. 10). have believing masters think slightly of But let them serve them the rather, because their authority because they are brethren; they that partake of the benefit are believing but let them do them extra service, beyond and beloved. Thora is a good deal of what they are obliged to do, for the very obscurity in this sentence, but it may be reason that those whom they will thus observed first that the grammatical render- benefit are believing and beloved brethren." ing of the R.V. is clearly riµ;ht, and that of Teach (6,6ao-1e,). Observe the connection of the A.V. clearly wrong. "They that par- this word with the T/ 6,BCZ0'1<11.,\,a of vers. 1, 3, take of the benefit" is beyond all doubt the and elsewhere. subject, and not the predicate. Then the Ver. 3.-Teacheth for teach, A.V.; a construction of the two sentences (this an.I d;fferent doctrine for othenoise, A.V.; mn- the preceding one) makes it certain that the senieth for consent, A. V.; sound for who1,e- subject in this sentence (ol -riis •uep-yeo-la.s some, A. V. Tee.cheth a different doctrine dvn/1.aµfJav&µevo,) are the same persons as (<npo6,6ao-1<a>..,i); see a.hove, eh. i. 3, note. the B,u.,..o-ra, in the preceding sentence, Consenteth (1rpoo-•px,-rcz,); very common in because it is predicated of them both that the New Testament, in the literal sense of they are mu-rol, e.nd of both that they a.re, "coming to" or "approaching," but only in convertible terms, trycz'll"7J-rol and l&Be/1.~ol, 1 here in the metaphorical sense of" assenting And thiM leads ne, with nearly certainty, to to." The steps seem to he,jiTtrt, approaching the further conclusion that the eb,neula., a subject with the mind with a view of tbe beneficium, or "benefit," spoken of is considering it; and then consenting to it- that especial service-that service of love and ooming over to it. The term 1rpo0'1JAvros, a good will running e.hee.d of necessary duty, convert to Judaism, and the phrase from which the Christian slave gives to the Irenmne (' Fragm.,' ii.), quoted by Ellicott, Ou 1 Christie.n master; a sense which the very 'Toi.s TCdv lou8cz.[e&1v 8&-yµatT, 1rpouEpxoY"ra1, remarkable passage quoted by Alford from " They do not fall in with, or agree to, the • Seneca strikingly confirms.' The· only re- doctrines of the J ewe," sufficiently illustrate maining difficulty, then, is the meaning the usage of the word here. Sotllld ( {ry,a.J- "partake of" e.eoribed to mvn/1.czµfJczv&µevo,. Pouu,); see eh. i. 10, note. Godliness But this is scarcely a difficulty. It is true ( wue/9,(cz); see eh. ii. 2, note. that in the only two other passages in the Ver. 4.-Puffed up for proud, A.V.; New Testament where this verb occurs, and questioning, for questions, A. Y. ; disputea for in its frequent use in the LXX., it has the 11.rifes, A.V. He ill puffed np (-rm,<1>0,-ra.,); sense of "helping" (Luke i. 54; Aots :u. see eh. iii. 6, note. Doting (vou&v); here 35) ; but there is nothing strange in this. only in the New Testament, but found occe.- The verb in the middle voioe means to "le.y sionally in the LXX. Applied in classical hold of." You may lay hold of for the pur- Greek to the mind e.nd body, " to be iu an pose of helping, supporting, clinging to, unsound state." Here it means "having a laying claim to, holding in oheck, eto. (see morbid love of II or " going mad about." In Liddell and Scott). Here the masters lay this morbid love of questionings and disputes hold of the benefit for the purpose of enjoying of words, they Jose sight of all wholesome words and a.II godly doctrine. Questionings 1 Of the sixty-two times which d-y«1MJ-r&s i.; ((11-rfium); see eh. i. 6, note. It corresponds used in the New Testament, excluding those ne11rly to our word " cont.roversies." Dis- in wbioh it is applied to Jesus Christ as putes of words (/1.o-yoµaxias); found only God's beloved Bon (ten times), it is applied here. The verb /1.rryoµczx,., is used in 2 thrice to the love of God to man, e.nd /<nty- Tim. ii. 14. Would that the Church had 11ine times to the love of brother to brother. always reP1embered St. Paul's pithy cou- • "Quauitur o. quibusde.m an beneficium demnation of unfruitful controversies about ,!are servus domino possit," e.nd he words I Surnrisings (tl.,..&Po,cz,); only here in rcsol ves the inquiry by saying, " Quicq uid the New Testament. In classical Greek it est quodon ex imperio eed ex voluntate means "suspicion," or any under-thought. priestatur, beneficium est 11 (Seneca, • De The verb tl-,,.ovo,., ocours three times in the Benefioiis,' iii. 18). Thie similarity of Acts-" to deem, think, or suppose." Hero thought is undoubtedly very strong evidenoe the "surmisings" are those uuoharitable in-• that Bt. P&11l wu acquainted with Ben-•• Binuations in which angry oontrovenialiat■ writiDp. indulge toward1 one another.  120 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [oe, VI. 1-21,