of man, so far as it is good, is wrought in fellowship with God.
22.
parakalw' dev
...]
But I exhort you, brethren, bear with the word of exhortation
.... The words come as a postscript after the close of the letter,
when the writer has reviewed what he has said. As he looks back he feels that the very brevity of his argument on such themes as he has touched upon pleads for consideration.
parakalw'
...
paraklhvsew"
] Comp. Heb. 13:19; 3:13; 10:25; 6:18 note; 12:5.
ajnevcesqe ] bear with that which makes demands on your self-control and your endurance. 2 Tim. 4:3 uJgiainouvsh" didaskaliva" oujk ajnevxontai .
The word is frequently used in regard to persons: Matt. 17:17; 2 Cor. 11:1; & c.
t. lovg. t. parakl.
]
the word of exhortation
(Vulg.
verbum solacii
) with which the writer had encouraged them to face their trials. Acts 13:15
eij e[stin lovgo" ejn uJmi'n paraklhvsew", levgete
.
Ouj levgei parakalw' uJma'" ajnevcesqe tou' lovgou th'" parainevsew", ajlla; tou' lovgou th'" paraklhvsew"
:
toutevsti, th'" paramuqiva", th'" protpoph'"
(Chrys.).
kai; gavr
...] Heb. 4:2 note. I ask for patient attention, for in fact (Vulg.
etenim
...) I have written little when I might have extended my arguments to far greater length if I had not feared to weary you. This appears to be the natural sense of the words. It is less likely that the writer wishes to apologise for any obscurity or harshness in what he has written on the ground of his brevity.
ejpevsteila
]
I have written
, Vulg.
scripsi.
The word
ejpistevllein
is used in a similar connexion in Clem. 1
ad Cor.
62
peri; tw'n ajnhkovntwn th'/ qrhskeiva/ hJmw'n
...
iJkanw'" ejpesteivlamen uJmi'n, a[ndre" ajdelfoiv
. Compare also cc. 7; 47;
Ign. Mart.
c. 4. Iren. 3.3, 3
ejpevsteilen hJ ejn JPwvmh/ ejkklhsiva iJkanwtavthn grafh;n toi'" Korinqivoi"
.
The verb occurs again Acts 15:20 (and v. l. in 21:25) where the sense is somewhat uncertain ( write or enjoin ). For the aor. comp. 1 John 2:12 ff.
( gravfw, e[graya ) note. dia; bracevwn ] in few words (Vulg. perpaucis ), that is, relatively to the vastness of the subject. Compare 1 Pet. 5:12 dij ojlivgwn e[graya .
Heb. 13:23.
ginwvskete
] The order, no less than the general scope of the verse, seems to shew that the verb is imperative:
Know ye, that our brother Timothy has been discharged
(
ajpolelumevnon
, Vulg.
dimissum
), that is discharged from confinement (Acts 16:35 f.), or more generally set free from the charge laid against him (Acts 3:13; 26:32). It can cause no surprise that the details of this fact are wholly unknown.
to;n ajd. hJm. Tim.
] The order which St Paul adopts invariably is [
Tim.
]
oJ ajdelfov"
. Rom. 16:23; (1 Cor. 1:1); 1 Cor. 16:12; (2 Cor. 1:1); 2:13; Phil. 2:25; (Col. 1:1); 4:7; 1 Thess. 3:2; (Philem. 1).
eja;n tavceion
...] Vulg.
si celerius
.... The comparative suggests the
occurrence of hindrances which the Apostle could not distinctly foresee. Compare Heb. 13:19.
o[yomai uJma'"
] Rom. 1:11; 1 Thess. 2:17; 3:6, 10; 2 Tim. 1:4; 3 John 14. Heb. 13:24.
ajspavsasqe
...] A general salutation of this kind is found in most of the Epistles of the N. T. (Rom., 1, 2 Cor., Phil., Col., 1 Thess., Tit., 1 Pet., 3 Joh.); but the form of this is unique; and there appears to be an