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CHAPTER 3

2 Thessalonians 3:3. Instead of the Receptus ὁ κύριος, A D* F G 71, Vulg. It. Copt. Arm. in marg. and some Latin Fathers have ὁ Θεός. Accepted by Lachm. But πιστὸς δέ ἐστιν ὁ κύριος does not elsewhere occur, whilst πιστὸς ὁ Θεός is a usual form. Comp. 1 Corinthians 1:9; 1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 1:13. Therefore the former might have been corrected according to the latter. ὁ κύριος is attested by B (e sil.) D*** E K L א, almost all min., most versions, many Greek Fathers, and Hier.—2 Thessalonians 3:5. τὴν ὑπομονήν] The Elz. reads ὑπομονήν. Against all uncial MSS. (also א), most min., and many Greek Fathers.—2 Thessalonians 3:6. Instead of παρέλαβον (D** D*** E K L א*** 23, 31, al., pl. edd. Aeth. Syr. p. Slav. Vulg. Clar. Germ. Bas. [alicubi] al., Cypr. [ter] Lucif. Aug. Ambrosiast. ed. Pelag. received by Matth. and Scholz, preferred also by Reiche), Elz. reads παρέλαβε (very weakly attested, namely, only by 3, 49, 57, 71, Syr.); Lachm. reads παρελάβετε (after B F G 43, al., Copt. Arm. Antonius, Theodoret [sem.], Ambrosiast. ed. Auct. de sing. cler.); Griesbach, Tisch. and Alford read παρελάβοσαν (after A א* Bas.; D* has for it the simple verb ἐλάβοσαν). παρέλαβε and παρελάβετε are corrections, and not so well attested as the third person plural. But the Alexandrian form παρελάβοσαν merits the preference before παρέλαβον, as the less usual form in the N. T., which on that account might easily have led to an alteration.—2 Thessalonians 3:8. Instead of the Receptus νύκτα καὶ ἡμέραν, B F G א 17, al., Chrys. ms. Damasc. (sem.) have νυκτὸς καὶ ἡμέρας. Received by Lachm. Against the preponderating authority of A D E K L, the great majority of min., and many Fathers, and the probable conformity to 1 Thessalonians 2:9; 1 Thessalonians 3:10.—2 Thessalonians 3:12. Elz. Tisch. 2 read διὰ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ʼΙησοῦ Χριστοῦ. Lachm. Tisch. 1 and 7, and Alford read ἐν κυρίῳ ʼΙησοῦ Χριστῷ. The latter is required by A B D* E* F G א* 17, 31, al., Vulg. It. Goth. Copt, al., Damasc. (sem.) Ambrosiast. Aug. Pel—2 Thessalonians 3:13. Elz. reads μὴ ἐκκακήσητε. Instead of this, Lachm. Schott, Tisch. and Alford have preferred μὴ ἐγκακήσητε, after A B D* א (Tisch. 7: μὴ ἐνκακήσητε). But the latter is a probable correction, as the writing ἐκκακεῖν, instead of ἐγκακεῖν, never elsewhere occurs with certainty in the N. T., and is authenticated by the Fathers. Comp. Meyer on 2 Corinthians 4:1.—2 Thessalonians 3:16. Elz. Tisch. 2 and 7 read τρόπῳ. Lachm. and Tisch. 1 read τόπῳ, after A* D* F G, 17, 49, Vulg. It. Goth. Chrys. Ambrosiast. Pel. Commended to attention by Griesb.; already preferred by Piscator, Beza, and Grotius. But τρόπῳ (attested by A** B [e sil.] D*** E K L א, almost all min. Syr. utr. Copt. al. m. Theodoret, Damasc. al.) decidedly merits the preference on account of the sense, and might, on account of the more frequent form ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ (1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 2:14; 1 Timothy 2:8), be easily transformed into τόπῳ. Also Bouman (Chartae theologicae, lib. I. p. 67) considers τρόπῳ as the original; but then he advances the following supposition for the origin of the false reading τόπῳ: “Proxime cum praecessisset διὰ παντός omni tempore, dictionis elegantiam ac concinnitatem hoc requirere putarunt librarii, ut nihil potius adjiceretur quam ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ omni loco; quippe qui temporis ac spatii notiones frequentissime conjungi, pro sua scilicet sapientia, optime novissent.”

2 Thessalonians 3:1. Τὸ λοιπόν] see on 1 Thessalonians 4:1.

περὶ ἡμῶν] on our behalf. But the apostle’s wish is completely unselfish, as he refers to the promotion of Christianity, and to himself only so far as he stands in connection with that object.

ἵνα] comp. on 2 Thessalonians 1:11.

ὁ λόγος τοῦ κυρίου] Genitivus subjectivus; see on 1 Thessalonians 1:8.

τρέχῃ] may run. A representation of quick and unimpeded advancing.

δοξάζηται] is passive: may he glorified. Pelt erroneously understands it as middle. But the gospel is only glorified when it is recognised as what it is, namely, as a δύναμις Θεοῦ εἰς σωτηρίαν παντὶ τῷ πιστεύοντι (Romans 1:16). Nicolas de Lyra arbitrarily limits the verb to the “miracula, veritatem ejus declarantia.”

καθὼς καὶ πρὸς ὑμᾶς] even as it is among you. A laudatory recognition of the eager desire for salvation, with which the Thessalonians surrendered themselves to the preaching of the gospel. Comp. 1 Thessalonians 1:6 ff. The words are closely connected with καὶ δοξάζηται. According to Hofmann, with whom Möller, although wavering, coincides, the words are to be united with τρέχῃ, passing over καὶ δοξάζηται. Incorrectly, because δοξάζηται is a higher idea than τρέχῃ, whilst it adduces that point by which the external act of τρέχειν can only receive its internal value. Accordingly καὶ δοξάζηται is too important to be considered only as a subsidiary point “appended” to τρέχῃ.

πρὸς ὑμᾶς] see on 1 Thessalonians 3:4.

2 Thessalonians 3:1-5. Paul requests the Thessalonians to pray that the gospel may be more widely diffused, and that he himself (and his companions) might be delivered from the persecutions to which he was exposed. He then expresses his trust that the Lord will assist the Thessalonians, and also declares his confidence that they will obey his (the apostle’s) commandments, and he unites therewith an additional benediction.

2 Thessalonians 3:2. In deliverance from his adversaries lay the condition that he, the apostle, could work the more effectively for the diffusion of the gospel. Theodoret: Διπλῆ μὲν ἡ αἴτησις εἶναι δοκεῖ, μία δὲ ὅμως ἐστίν· τῶν γὰρ πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων ἡττωμένων, ἀκωλύτως καὶ ὁ τοῦ κηρύγματος συντρέχει λόγος.

ἄτοπος] is used of that which is not in its right place. Used of persons, it denotes one who does or says that which is inappropriate under the circumstances. Thus it is equivalent to ineptus (Cic. de orat. ii. 4). From “propriety” it passes to its wider ethical meaning, and is used of men who act contrary to human or divine laws. Thus it receives the general signification of bad or godless. See examples in Kypke, Observ. II. p. 145 f.; Loesner, and Wetstein.

But the Thessalonian Jews are not to be understood by the ἄτοποι καὶ πονηροὶ ἄνθρωποι, from whose persecution the apostle had already, at an earlier period, frequently suffered (so, as it would seem, Pelt), for their influence hardly extended to Corinth. Persons must be meant who were then present in Corinth itself. But we are not to think on Christians who were only so in name (Zwingli, Musculus, Hemming, Flatt, Schrader, and others), and particularly on false teachers among the Jewish Christians (Schott), but on fanatical Jews.[70] Comp. Acts 18:6; Acts 18:12 ff. That the adversaries of the apostle could not have been already Christians, follows from the inferential clause setting forth the naturalness of the existence of such people, οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις, for faith is not an affair of all, i.e. it finds not a place among all, all have not a susceptible heart for it. On the form of the expression, compare the well-known proverb: Οὐ παντὸς ἀνδρὸς ἐς Κόρινθόν ἐσθʼ ὁ πλοῦς (Strabo, viii. 6. 20, ed. Siebenk.; Suidas, T. 2, p. 739.)

ἡ πίστις] on account of the article, can only denote the Christian faith simply and generally. To understand the expression of fidelity or honesty, with Schoettgen, Moldenhauer, Koppe, Bolten, Krause, Flatt, and others, is as incorrect as to interpret it of true faith, with Schott. For in the first case οὐ γὰρ πάντες πιστοί would require to have been written, and in the second case οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις ἀληθής.

[70] Hammond also finds here another reference to the Gnostics!

2 Thessalonians 3:3. A contrast to οὐ γὰρ πάντων ἡ πίστις, with a play upon the word πίστις, and a return to the statement in 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17.

ὁ κύριος] not a designation of God (Schott, Schrader, Olshausen, and Hilgenfeld, Ztschr. f. wiss. Theol., Halle 1862, p. 261), but of Christ. His faithfulness consists in this, that He, as Protector of the church, watches over the continuance of the faith, and effects its diffusion in spite of all ἄτοποι and πονηροί. Strikingly, Calvin: “Ceterum de aliis magis quam de se anxium fuisse Paulum, ostendunt haec ipsa verba. In eum maligni homines improbitatis suae aculeos dirigebant, in eum totus impetus irruebat: curam interea suam ad Thessalonicenses convertit.”

τοῦ πονηροῦ] is, by Calvin, Musculus, Estius, Piscator, Menochius, Nat. Alexander, Benson, Bengel, Baumgarten, Moldenhauer, Macknight, Olshausen, Hofmann, also Cornelius a Lapide, Er. Schmid, and Beza, though not decidedly held by the latter, understood as masculine, accordingly as a designation of the devil. In itself nothing can be objected against this interpretation, as in Matthew 13:19 and elsewhere frequently in the N. T., also with Paul in Ephesians 6:16, ὁ πονηρός is found in this sense. But here this interpretation is untenable, because ὃς στηρίξει ὑμᾶς καὶ φμλάξει ἀπὸ τοῦ πονηροῦ evidently resumes στηρίξαι ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ ἀγαθῷ, 2 Thessalonians 2:17, and only arranges it positively and negatively. But if τοῦ πονηροῦ corresponds to the negation of the position ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ καὶ λόγῳ ἀγαθῷ, it must be neuter, and denote moral evil generally. But it would be arbitrary to make this neuter equivalent to τῶν πονηρῶν ἀνθρώπων, to which Koppe and Flatt give their countenance.

2 Thessalonians 3:4. The apostle has confidence in Christ that He will come to the assistance of the Thessalonians, promoting their faith and protecting them; but he is likewise confident in them, that they on their part will not fail in obedience to the apostle’s commands. Thus the apostle paves the way for a suitable transition to the exhortation in 2 Thessalonians 3:6 ff.

ἐν κυρίῳ] a statement of the element of his confidence annexed to πεποίθαμεν ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς, in order to express that the apostle’s confidence in his readers was one founded on Christ, caused by the participation of Christianity. Comp. Galatians 5:10; Php 2:24; Romans 14:14.

ἐφʼ ὑμᾶς] see Meyer on 2 Corinthians 2:3.

καὶ ποιεῖτε] does not still belong to the protasis (see Erasmus on the passage), but begins the apodosis.

2 Thessalonians 3:5. A fresh involuntary effusion of piety on the part of the apostle, by means of which he calls down the divine blessing on every action of man as a condition of its success. Theodoret: ʼΑμφοτέρων ἡμῖν χρεία, καὶ προθέσεως ἀγαθῆς καὶ τῆς ἄνωθεν συνεργείας. To assume that 2 Thessalonians 3:5 was added by Paul, because he could not yet entirely trust the Thessalonians (de Wette), is without foundation.

ὁ κύριος] Christ, as in 2 Thessalonians 3:3-4.

κατευθύναι ὑμῶν τὰς καρδίας εἰς τὴν ἀγάπην τοῦ Θεοῦ] direct your hearts to the love of God, namely, in order to be filled and pervaded by it, not in order to remain contemplating it (Koppe, Olshausen).

ἡ ἀγάπη τοῦ Θεοῦ] is not “amor a deo praeceptus” (Clericus), or “amor, quem deus hominum quasi infundit animis” (Pelt), also not the love of God to men, which was to be the pattern for Christian brotherly love (Macknight, Koppe), or, more specially, the manifestation of the love of God in Christ and in His work of redemption (Olshausen, Riggenbach); but love toward God (Gen. object.). Paul wishes the Thessalonians to be inspired with it, because it is the centre uniting all commandments; comp. Matthew 22:37 ff.

καὶ εἰς τὴν ὑπομονὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ] Oecumenius, Ambrose, Faber Stapulensis, Erasmus, Vatablus, Cornelius a Lapide, Beza, Bernard a Piconio, and Benson, to whom recently Hofmann has attached himself, understand by this the patient waiting for Christ, that is, for His coming. Erroneous, because—(1) ἀναμονήν (comp. 1 Thessalonians 1:10) would require to be written instead of ὑπομονήν; and (2) the idea of patient waiting, by which addition the statement becomes only suitable, would require to be expressly brought forward by an additional clause. The stedfastness of Christ (Gen. possessiv.) is meant, inasmuch as the endurance which the Christian manifests in tribulation for the sake of the gospel is in its nature nothing else than the stedfastness which was peculiar to Christ Himself in His sufferings. Comp. the analogous expression τὰ παθήματα τοῦ Χριστοῦ, 2 Corinthians 1:5, and Meyer in loco. The simple genitive cannot express stedfastness for the sake of Christ, as it is usually explained.

2 Thessalonians 3:6. Παραγγέλλομεν δέ] An application of the general ἃ παραγγέλλομεν, 2 Thessalonians 3:4, to a special case.

ἐν ὀνόματι τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν ʼΙ. Χρ.] belongs to παραγγέλλομεν, not to what follows. A solemn reference to the high authority for this injunction. Comp. 1 Corinthians 5:4.

στέλλεσθαι ἀπό τινος] to withdraw himself from every one, to avoid his company. Comp. ὑποστέλλειν ἑαυτόν, Galatians 2:12, and ὑποστέλλεσθαι, Hebrews 10:38.

ἀτάκτως] see on 1 Thessalonians 5:14.

κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν, ἣν κ.τ.λ.] refers not to instruction by the example of the apostle (Chrysostom, Theodoret, Oecumenius, Theophylact, Hofmann), which is first mentioned in what follows, but to the definite instruction which the apostle had given to them orally, during his presence at Thessalonica (comp. 2 Thessalonians 3:10; 1 Thessalonians 4:11), and then confirmed by writing (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12).

παρελάβοσαν] A well-known constructio ad sensum adapted to the collective form ἀπὸ παντὸς ἀδελφοῦ. See Kühner, II. p. 42.

On the verbal form, comp. Sturz, de dial. Alex. p. 60; Lobeck, ad Phryn. p. 349.

2 Thessalonians 3:6-15. Dehortation from a disorderly and idle life in the church. Paul had already touched upon this subject in his First Epistle (1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, 1 Thessalonians 5:14). But here it is more expressly treated, and also with greater severity, because, without doubt, in the restless and fanatical excitement of spirits on account of the advent, this evil had greatly increased instead of diminishing. Paul represents the core of the church as free from this fault; he exhorts them to withdraw themselves from every Christian brother living disorderly, in order to bring him to shame and amendment. Only in 2 Thessalonians 3:12 does he direct his apostolic word to the erring brethren themselves.

2 Thessalonians 3:7. Confirmation of κατὰ τὴν παράδοσιν, ἣν παρελάβοσαν. The instruction imparted was sufficiently known to the readers: what Paul commanded, he practically exhibited by his own conduct.

αὐτοί] ye yourselves, without it being necessary for me to speak much about it.

πῶς δεῖ μιμεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς] a concise expression, meaning: What is your incumbent walk, and how, in consequence of it, ye will be my imitators.

ὅτι] for. Unnaturally, Hofmann: ὅτι is to be translated by that, and is added as a parallel expression to πῶς δεῖ μιμεῖσθαι ἡμᾶς, in which also 2 Thessalonians 3:9 is absorbed.

ἀτακτεῖν] equal to ἀτάκτως περιπατεῖν, 2 Thessalonians 3:6. Only here in the N. T.