Annotations for 2 John
Annotations for 2 John
The elder. Because some older men came to be known for wisdom and maturity, select elders ruled OT villages and continued to fill a respected leadership role in this period. Some early Christian leaders adopted this title, rather than more prestigious ones, in their later years (; ). lady. Some think she refers to a prophetess/elder (compare v. with ); others that she refers to a local congregation (cf. ). Both Israel and the church were portrayed as women (cf., e.g., ; ; ).
Grace . . . peace. See note on .
not . . . a new command . . . love one another. Earlier Scripture already commanded love (), but Jesus offered a new model for it (). See note on .
walk in obedience. See notes on , .
Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. See note on .
do not take them into your house or welcome them. All ancient Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures emphasized hospitality to guests (cf. ). Travelers would stay in hosts’ homes, sometimes for up to three weeks; Christians were especially eager to supply such hospitality to their visiting workers (cf. ). Possibly the homes here also hosted churches. But just as Jewish people would not welcome those they considered impious (such as Samaritans), so Christians needed to show wisdom. The Didache, a noncanonical Christian work from this period, reveals that Christians needed to distinguish true visiting prophets and apostles from false ones (Didache 11–12).
welcomes. The Greek term (also in v. ) indicates greetings. Social custom mandated greetings; the conventional Jewish greeting (“Peace be with you”) was intended as a blessing or prayer to impart peace. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, whoever provided for an apostate from the community was deemed an apostate sympathizer and was expelled from the community, as the apostate was.
paper. Papyrus, made from reeds. ink. A compound of charcoal, vegetable gum and water. The pen itself was a reed pointed at the end. I hope to visit you. Written letters were considered an inferior substitute for personal presence or a speech, and writers sometimes concluded their letters with the promise to discuss matters further face to face.
The children of your sister . . . send their greetings. It was common to send greetings from those near the sender. sister. See note on “lady” in v. .