III. 19–22]
← ἐν Κυρίῳ. 19Οἱ ἄνδρες, ἀγαπᾶτε τὰς γυναῖκας καὶ μὴ πικραίνεσθε πρὸς αὐτάς. 20Τὰ τέκνα, ὑπακούετε τοῖς γονεῦσιν κατὰ πάντα· τοῦτο γὰρ εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν ἐν Κυρίῳ. 21Οἱ πατέρες, μὴ ἐρεθίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν, ἵνα μὴ ἀθυμῶσιν. 22Οἱ δοῦλοι, ὑπακούετε κατὰ πάντα →
ἀνῆκεν] The imperfect, as Ephes. v. 4 ἃ οὐκ ἀνῆκεν (the correct reading); comp. Clem. Hom. Contest. 3 τοῦδε μὴ μεταδοῦναι χάριν, ὡς οὐ προσῆκεν, Xen. de Re Equestr. xii. 14 ἃ ἱππάρχῳ προσῆκεν εἰδέναι τε καὶ πράττειν; and see D’Orville on Charito viii. 2 (p. 699 sq.). The common uses of the imperfect ἔδει, ἔπρεπεν, etc., in classical writers do not present a very exact parallel; for they imply that the thing which ought to have been done has been left undone. And so we might interpret Acts xxii. 22 οὐ γὰρ καθῆκεν αὐτὸν ζῆν (the correct reading). Here however there can hardly be any such reference; and the best illustration is the English past tense ‘ought’ (= ‘owed’), which is used in the same way. The past tense perhaps implies an essential à priori obligation. The use of χρῆν, ἔχρην, occasionally approximates to this; e.g. Eur. Andr. 423.
The idea of ‘propriety’ is the link which connects the primary meaning of such words as ἀνήκειν, προσήκειν, καθήκειν, ‘aiming at or pertaining to’, with their ultimate meaning of moral obligation. The word ἀνήκειν occurs in the New Testament only here and in the contemporary epistles, Ephes. v. 4, Philem. 8.
ἐν Κυρίῳ] probably to be connected with ὡς ἀνῆκεν, rather than with ὑποτάσσεσθε; comp. ver. 20 εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν ἐν Κυρίῳ.
19. μὴ πικραίνεσθε κ.τ.λ.] ‘show no bitterness, behave not harshly’; comp. Lynceus in Athen. vi. p. 242 C πικρανθείη πρός τινα τῶν συζώντων, Joseph. Ant. v. 7. I δεινῶς πρὸς τοὺς τοῦ δικαίου προϊσταμένους ἐκπικραινόμενος, Plut. Mor. p. 457 A πρὸς γύναια διαπικραίνονται. So also πικραίνεσθαι ἐπί τινα in the LXX, Jerem. xliv (xxxvii). 15, 3 Esdr. iv. 31. This verb πικραίνεσθαι and its compounds occur frequently in classical writers.
20. κατὰ πάντα] as ver. 22. The rule is stated absolutely, because the exceptions are so few that they may be disregarded.
εὐάρεστόν ἐστιν] ‘is well pleasing, commendable’. The received text supplies this adjective with a dative of reference τῷ Κυρίῳ (from Ephes. v. 10), but ἐν Κυρίῳ is unquestionably the right reading. With the reading thus corrected εὐάρεστον, like ἀνῆκεν ver. 18, must be taken absolutely, as perhaps in Rom. xii. 2 τὸ θέλημα τοῦ Θἑοῦ τὸ ἀγαθὸν καὶ εὐάρεστον καὶ τέλειον: comp. Phil. iv. 8 ὅσα σεμνά ... ὅσα προσφιλῆ. The qualification ἐν Κυρίῳ implies ‘as judged by a Christian standard’, ‘as judged by those who are members of Christ’s body.’
21. ἐρεθίζετε] ‘provoke, irritate’. The other reading παροργίζετε has higher support, but is doubtless taken from the parallel passage, Ephes. vi. 4. ‘Irritation’ is the first consequence of being too exacting with children, and irritation leads to moroseness (ἀθυμία). In 2 Cor. IX. 2 ἐρεθίζειν is used in a good sense and produces the opposite result, not despondency but energy.
ἀθυμῶσιν] ‘lose heart, become spiritless’, i.e. ‘go about their task in a listless, moody, sullen frame of mind’. ‘Fractus animus’, says Bengel, ‘pestis juventutis’. In Xen. Cyr. i. 6. 13 ἀθυμία is opposed to προθυμία, and in Thuc. ii. 88 and elsewhere ἀθυμεῖν is opposed to θαρσεῖν.
← τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις, μὴ ἐν ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ ὡς ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι, ἀλλ’ ἐν ἁπλότητι καρδίας, φοβούμενοι τὸν Κύριον. 23ὃ ἐὰν ποιῆτε, ἐκ ψυχῆς ἐργάζεσθε ὡς →
22.–iv. 1. ‘Ye slaves, be obedient in all things to the masters set over you in the flesh, not rendering them service only when their eyes are upon you, as aiming merely to please men, but serving in all sincerity of heart, as living in the sight of God and standing in awe of Him. And in every thing that ye do, work faithfully and with all your soul, as labouring not for men, but for the great Lord and Master Himself; knowing that ye have a Master, from whom ye will receive the glorious inheritance as your recompense, whether or not ye may be defrauded of your due by men. Yes, Christ is your Master and ye are his slaves. He that does a wrong shall be requited for his wrong-doing. I say not this of slaves only, but of masters also. There is no partiality, no respect of persons, in God’s distribution of rewards and punishments. Therefore, ye masters, do ye also on your part deal justly and equitably by your slaves, knowing that ye too have a Master in heaven’.
22. Οἱ δοῦλοι] The relations of masters and slaves, both here and in the companion epistle (Ephes. vi. 5–9), are treated at greater length than is usual with St Paul. Here especially the expansion of this topic, compared with the brief space assigned to the duties of wives and husbands (vv. 18, 19), or of children and parents (vv. 20, 21), deserves to be noticed. The fact is explained by a contemporary incident in the Apostle’s private life. His intercourse with Onesimus had turned his thoughts in this direction. See above, p. 33, and the introduction to the Epistle to Philemon: comp. also the note on ver. 11.
ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ] ‘eye-service’, as Ephes. vi. 6: comp. Apost. Const. iv. 12 μὴ ὡς ὀφθαλμόδουλος ἀλλ’ ὡς φιλοδέσποτος. This happy expression would seem to be the Apostle’s own coinage. At least there are no traces of it earlier. Compare ἐθελοθρησκεία ii. 23. The reading ὀφθαλμοδουλείᾳ is better supported than ὀφθαλμοδουλείαις, though the plural is rendered slightly more probable in itself by its greater difficulty.
ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι] again in Ephes. vi. 6. It is a LXX word, Ps. lii. 6, where the Greek entirely departs from the Hebrew: comp. also ἀνθρωπαρεσκεῖν Ign. Rom. 2, ἀνθρωπαρέσκεια Justin Apol. i. 2 (p. 53 E). So ὀχλοαρέσκης or ὀχλόαρεσκος, Timo Phlias. in Diog. Laert. iv. 42 (vv. 11.).
ἁπλότητι καρδίας] as in Ephes. vi. 5, i.e. ‘with undivided service’; a LXX expression, 1 Chron. xxix. 17, Wisd. i. 1.
τὸν Κύριον] ‘the one Lord and Master’, as contrasted with τοῖς κατὰ σάρκα κυρίοις: the idea being carried out in the following verses. The received text, by substituting τὸν Θεόν, blunts the edge of the contrast.
23. ἐργάζεσθε] i.e. ‘do it diligently’, an advance upon ποιητε.
οὐκ ἀνθρώποις] For the use of οὐ rather than μὴ in antitheses, see Winer § lv. p. 601 sq. The negative here is wholly unconnected with the imperative, and refers solely to τῷ Κυρίῳ.
← τῷ Κυρίῳ, καὶ οὐκ ἀνθρώποις,] 24εἰδότες ὅτι ἀπὸ Κυρίου ἀπολήμψεσθε τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν τῆς κληρονομίας· τῷ Κυρίῳ Χριστῷ δουλεύετε· 25ὁ γὰρ ἀδικῶν κομίσεται ὃ →
24. ἀπὸ Κυρίου ‘However you may be treated by your earthly masters, you have still a Master who will recompense you.’ The absence of the definite article here (comp. iv. 1) is the more remarkable, because it is studiously inserted in the context, vv. 22–24, τὸν Κύριον, τῷ Κυρίῳ, τῷ Κυρίῳ. In the parallel passage Ephes. vi. 8 it is παρὰ Κυρίου: for the difference between the two see Gal. i. 12.
τὴν ἀνταπόδοσιν] ‘the just recompense’, a common word both in the lxx and in classical writers, though not occurring elsewhere in the New Testament; comp. ἀνταπόδομα Luke xiv. 12, Rom. xi. 9. The double compound involves the idea of ‘exact requital’.
τῆς κληρονομίας] ‘which consists in the inheritance’, the genitive of apposition: see the note on τὴν μερίδα τοῦ κλήρου, i. 12. There is a paradox involved in this word: elsewhere the δοῦλος and the κληρονόμος are contrasted (Matt. xxi. 35–38, etc., Rom. viii. 15–17, Gal. iv. 1, 7), but here the δοῦλος is the κληρονόμος. This he is because, though δοῦλος ἀνθρώπων, he is ἀπελεύθερος Κυρίου (1 Cor. vii. 22) and thus κληρονόμος διὰ Θεοῦ (Gal. iv. 7); comp. Hermas Sim. v. 2 ἵνα συγκληρονόμος γένηται ὁ δοῦλος τῷ ὑιῷ (with the context).
τῷ Κυρίῳ κ.τ.λ.] i.e. ‘you serve as your master the great Master Christ.’ This clause is added to explain who is meant by the preceding ἀπὸ Κυρίου. For this application of Κύριος compare (besides the parallel passage, Ephes. vi. 6–9) 1 Cor. vii. 22 ὁ γὰρ ἐν Κυρίῳ κληθὲις δοῦλος ἀπελεύθερος Κυρίου ἐστίν κ.τ.λ. It seems best to take δουλεύετε here as an indicative, rather than as an imperative; for (1) The indicative is wanted to explain the previous ἀπὸ Κυρίου; (2) The imperative would seem to require ὡς τῷ Κυρίῳ, as in Ephes. vi. 7 (the correct text). On the other hand see Rom. xii. 11.
25. ὁ γὰρ ἀδικῶν κ.τ.λ.] Who is this unrighteous person ? The slave who defrauds his master of his service, or the master who defrauds his slave of his reward? Some interpreters confine it exclusively to the former; others to the latter. It seems best to suppose that both are included. The connexion of the sentence ὁ γὰρ ἀδικῶν (where γάρ, not δέ, is certainly the right reading) points to the slave. On the other hand the expression which follows, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα κ.τ.λ., suggests the master. Thus there seems to be a twofold reference; the warning is suggested by the case of the slave, but it is extended to the case of the master; and this accords with the parallel passage, Ephes. vi. 8 ἕκαστος ὃ ἂν ποίησῃ ἀγαθὸν τοῦτο κομίσεται παρὰ Κυρίου, εἴτε δοῦλος εἴτε ἐλεύθερος.
The recent fault of Onesimus would make the Apostle doubly anxious to emphasize the duties of the slave towards the master, lest in his love for the offender he should seem to condone the offence. This same word ἠδίκησεν is used by St Paul to describe the crime of Onesimus in Philem. 18. But on the other hand it is the Apostle’s business to show that justice has a double edge. There must be a reciprocity between the master and the slave. The philosophers of Greece taught, and the laws of Rome assumed, that the slave was a chattel. But a chattel could have no rights. It would be absurd to talk of treating a chattel with justice. St Paul places the relations of the master and the slave in a wholly different light. Justice and equity are the expression of the Divine mind: and with God there is no προσωπολημψία. With Him the claims of the slave are as real as the claims of the master.
κομίσεται] For this sense of the middle, ‘to recover’, ‘to get back’, and so (with an accusative of the thing to be recompensed), ‘to be requited for’, see e.g. Lev. xx. 17 ἁμαρτίαν κομιοῦνται, 2 Cor. v. 10 κομίσηται ἕκαστος τὰ διὰ τοῦ σώματος; comp. Barnab.
← ἠδίκησεν, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν προσωπολημψία. IV. 1Οἱ κύριοι, τὸ δίκαιον καὶ τὴν ἰσότητα τοῖς δούλοις παρέχεσθε, εἰδότες ὅτι καὶ ὑμεῖς ἔχετε Κύριον ἐν οὐρανῷ. →
§ 4 ὁ Κύριος ἀπροσωπολήμπτως κρινεῖ τὸν κόσμου· ἕκαστος, καθὼς ἐποίησεν, κομιεῖται. In the parallel passage Ephes. vi. 8, the form is certainly κομίσεται: here it is more doubtful, the authorities being more equally divided between κομιεῖται and κομίσεται. See however the note on γνωρίσουσιν iv. 9.
προσωπολημψία] On this word see the note Gal. ii. 6. This προσωπολημψία, though generally found on the side of rank and power, may also be exercised in favour of the opposite; Levit. xix. 15 οὐ λήψῃ πρόσωπον πτωχοῦ οὐδὲ μὴ θαυμάσῃς πρόσωπον δυνάστου. There would be a tendency in the mind of the slave to assume that, because the προσωπολημψία of man was on the side of the master, there must be a corresponding προσωπολημψία of God on the side of the slave. This assumption is corrected by St Paul.
IV. 1. τὴν ἰσότητα] ‘equity’, ‘fairness’; comp. Plut. Sol. et Popl. Comp. 3 νόμων ἰσότητα παρεχόντων. Somewhat similarly Lysias Or. Fun. 77 (speaking of death) οὔτε γὰρ τοὺς πονηροὺς ὑπερορᾷ οὔτε τοὺς ἀγαθοὺς θαυμάζει, ἀλλ’ ἴσον ἑαυτὸν παρέχει πᾶσιν. It seems a mistake to suppose that ἰσότης here has anything to do with the treatment of slaves as equals (comp. Philem. 16). When connected with τὸ δίκαιον, the word naturally suggests an even-handed, impartial treatment, and is equivalent to the Latin æquitas: comp. Arist. Top. vi. 5 (p. 143) ὁ τὴν δικαιοσύνην (λέγων) ἕξιν ἰσότητος ποιητικὴν ἢ διανεμητικὴν τοῦ ἴσου, Philo de Creat. Princ. 14 (II. p. 373) ἔστι γὰρ ἰσότης ... μήτηρ δικαιοσύνης, Clem. Alex. Strom. vi. 6 (p. 764) μετὰ δικαιοσύνης καὶ ἰσότητος τῆς πρὸς τοὺς επιστρέφοντας. Thus in Arist. Eth. Nic. v. 1 τὸ δίκαιον and τὸ ἴσον are regarded as synonymes, and in Plut. Mor. p. 719 the relation of ἰσότης to δικαίοτης is discussed. The word here is used in the same sense in which the adjective occurs in the common expressions ἴσος δικαστής, ἴσος ἀκροατής, etc. Philo, describing the Essene condemnation of slavery, says, Omn. prob. lib. 12 (II. p. 457) καταγινώσκουσί τε τῶν δεσποτῶν, οὐ μόνον ὡς ἀδίκων, ἰσότητα λυμαινομένων, ἀλλὰ καὶ ὡς ἀσεβῶν κ.τ.λ., but he possibly does mean ‘equality’ rather than ‘equity.’
παρέχεσθε] ‘exhibit on your part.’ The middle παρέχεσθαι, ‘to afford from oneself,’ will take different shades of meaning according to the context, as ‘to furnish one’s quota’ (e.g. Herod. viii. 1, 2) or ‘to put forward one’s representative’ (esp. of witnesses, e.g. Plato Apol. 19 D). Here the idea is ‘reciprocation’, the master’s duty as corresponding to the slave’s.
ἔχετε Κύριον] as Ephes. vi. 9; comp. 1 Cor. vii. 22 ὁ ἐλεύθερος κληθὲις δοῦλός ἐστιν Χριστοῦ.
← 2Τῇ προσευχῇ προσκαρτερεῖτε, γρηγοροῦντες ἐν αὐτῇ ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ· 3προσευχόμενοι ἅμα καὶ περὶ ἡμῶν, ἵνα ὁ Θεὸς ἀνοίξῃ ἡμῖν θύραν τοῦ λόγου, λαλῆσαι τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ Χριστοῦ, δι’ ὃ καὶ δέδεμαι· 4ἵνα φανερώσω →
2–6. ‘Be earnest and unceasing in prayer; keep your hearts and minds awake while praying: remember also (as I have so often told you) that thanksgiving is the goal and crown of prayer. Meanwhile in your petitions forget not us—myself Paul—my fellow-labourer Timothy—your evangelist Epaphras—all the teachers of the Gospel; but pray that God may open a door for the preaching of the word, to the end that we may proclaim the free offer of grace to the Gentiles—that great mystery of Christ for which I am now a prisoner in bonds. So shall I declare it fearlessly, as I am bound to proclaim it. Walk wisely and discreetly in all your dealings with unbelievers; allow no opportunity to slip through your hands, but buy up every passing moment. Let your language be always pervaded with grace and seasoned with salt. So will you know how to give a fit answer to each man, as the occasion demands.’
2. προσκαρτερεῖτε] ‘cling closely to’, ‘remain constant to’ (comp. Mark iii. 9, Acts viii. 13, x. 7), and so ‘continue stedfast in’. This word occurs again with τῇ προσευχῇ, ταῖς προσευχαῖς, Acts i. 14, ii. 42, vi. 4, Rom. xii. 12. The construction is with a simple dative both in the New Testament (ll. cc.) and in classical writers, except where it stands absolutely (Acts ii. 46, Rom. xiii. 6). The injunction here corresponds to the ἀδιαλέιπτως προσεύχεσθε of 1 Thess. v. 17.
γρηγοροῦντες] Long continuance in prayer is apt to produce listlessness. Hence the additional charge that the heart must be awake, if the prayer is to have any value. The word is not to be taken literally here, but metaphorically. In Matt. xxvi. 41 etc., γρηγορεῖτε καὶ προσεύχεσθε, the idea is not quite the same.
ἐν εὐχαριστίᾳ] as the crown of all prayer; see the notes on i. 12, ii. 7.
3. ἡμῶν] ‘us’, ‘the Apostles and preachers of the Gospel’, with reference more especially to Timothy (i. 1) and Epaphras (iv. 12, 13). Where the Apostle speaks of himself alone, he uses the singular (ver. 3, 4 δέδεμαι, φανερώσω). Indeed there is no reason to think that St Paul ever uses an ‘epistolary’ plural, referring to himself solely: see the note on 1 Thess. iii. 1.
ἵνα κ.τ.λ.] On the sense of ἵνα after προσεύχεσθαι etc., see the note on i. 9.
θύραν τοῦ λόγου] ‘a door of admission for the word’, i.e. ‘an opportunity of preaching the Gospel’, as 1 Cor. xvi. 9 θύρα γάρ μοι ἀνέῳγεν μεγάλη καὶ ἐνεργής, 2 Cor. ii. 12 θύρας μοι ἀνεῳγμένης ἐν Κυρίῳ: comp. Plut. Mor. p. 674 D ὥσπερ πύλης ἀνοιχθέισης, οὐκ ἀντέσχον ... συνεισιοῦσι παντοδαποῖς ἀκρόαμασιν. Similarly )έισοδος is used in 1 Thess. i. 9, ii. 1. The converse application of the metaphor appears in Acts xiv. 27 ἤνοιξεν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν θύραν πίστεως, where the door is opened not to the teachers, but to the recipients of the Gospel. According to another interpretation (suggested by Ephes. vi. 19 ἵνα μοι δοθῇ λόγος ἐν ἀνοίζει τοῦ στόματος μου) it is explained ‘the door of our speech’, i.e. ‘our mouth’: comp. Ps. cxli (cxl). 3, Mic. vii. 5, Ecclus. xxviii. 25. But the parallel passages do not favour this sense, nor will the words themselves admit it. In that case for ἡμῖν θύραν τοῦ λόγου we should require τὴν θύραν τῶν λόγωυ [ἡμῶν]. ‘The word’ here is ‘the Gospel’, as frequently.
λαλῆσαι ‘so as to speak’, the infinitive of the consequence, like εἰδέναι ver. 6 ; see Winer § xliv, p. 400.
τὸ μυστήριον κ.τ.λ. i.e. the doctrine of the free admission of the Gentiles. For the leading idea which St Paul in these epistles attaches to ‘the mystery’ of the Gospel, see the note on i. 26.
δι’ ὅ St Paul might have been still at large, if he had been content to preach a Judaic Gospel. It was because he contended for Gentile liberty, and thus offended Jewish prejudices, that he found himself a prisoner. See Acts xxi. 28, xxii. 21, 22, xxiv. 5, 6, xxv. 6, 8. The other reading, δι’ ὅν, destroys the point of the sentence.
καὶ δέδεμαι 2 Tim. ii. 9 μέχρι δεσμῶν, Philem. 9 νυνὶ δὲ καὶ δέσμιος.
4. ἵνα φανερώσω κ.τ.λ. This is best taken as dependent on the previous clause ἵνα ὁ Θεός ... τοῦ Χριστοῦ. For instances of a double ἵνα, where the second is not coordinated with, but subordinated to, the first, see the note on Gal. iii. 14. The immediate purport of the Colossians’ prayers must be that the Apostle should have all opportunities of preaching the Gospel: the ulterior object, that he should use these opportunities boldly.
← αὐτό, ὡς δεῖ με λαλῆσαι. 5ἐν σοφίᾳ περιπατεῖτε πρὸς τοὺς ἔξω, τὸν καιρὸν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι· 6ὁ λόγος →
5. ἐν σοφίᾳ] Matt. x. 16 γίνεσθε οὖν φρόνιμοι ὡς οἱ ὄφεις.
τοὺς ἔξω] ‘those without the pale’ of the Church, the unbelievers; as in 1 Cor. v. 12, 13, 1 Thess. iv. 12. So οἱ ἔξωθεν, 1 Tim. iii. 7. The believers on the other hand are οἱ ἔσω, 1 Cor. v. 12. This mode of speaking was derived from the Jews, who called the heathen החיצונים (Schöttgen on 1 Cor. l.c.), translated οἱ ἐκτός Ecclus. Prol. and οἱ ἔξωθεν Joseph. Ant. xv. 9. 2.
ἐξαγοραζόμενοι κ.τ.λ. ‘buying up the opportunity for yourselves, letting no opportunity slip you, of saying and doing what may further the cause of God’: comp. Ephes. v. 16. The expression occurs also in Dan. ii. 8 οἶδα ὅτι καιρὸν ὑμεῖς ἐξαγοράζετε, i.e. ‘are eager to gain time’. Somewhat similar are the phrases τὸν χρόνον κερδαίνειν, τὸ παρὸν κερδαίνειν. In much the same sense Ignatius says, Polyc. 3 τοὺς καιρὸυς καταμάνθανε. For this sense of ἐξαγοράζω ‘coemo’ (closely allied in meaning to συναγοράζω), see Polyb. iii. 42. 2 ἐξηγόρασε παρ’ αὐτῶν τά τε μονόξυλα πλοῖα πάντα κ.τ.λ., Plut. Vit. Crass. 2. More commonly the word signifies ‘to redeem’ (see the note on Gal. iii. 13), and some would assign this sense to it here; but no appropriate meaning is thus obtained. In Mart. Polyc. 2 διὰ μιᾶς ὥρας τὴν αἴωνιον κόλασιν ἐξαγοραζόμενοι it means ‘buying off’, a sense in which ἐξωνεῖσθαι occurs several times. The reason for the injunction is added in Ephes. v. 16, ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσιν: the prevailing evil of the times makes the opportunities for good more precious.
6. ἐν χάριτι] ‘with grace, favour’, i.e. ‘acceptableness’, ‘pleasingness’; comp. Eccles. x. 12 λόγοι στόματος σοφοῦ χάρις, Ps. xliv (xlv). 3 ἐξεχύθη χάρις ἐν χέιλεσί σου, Eccles. xxi. 16 ἐπὶ χέιλους συνετοῦ ἑυρεθήσεται χάρις. In classical writers χάρις λόγων is a still more common connexion; e.g. Demosth. c. Phil. i. 38, Dionys. Hal. de Lys. §§ 10, 11, Plut. Vit. Mar. 44.
← ὑμῶν πάντοτε ἐν χάριτι, ἅλατι ἠρτυμένος, εἰδέναι, ὑμᾶς πῶς δεῖ ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ ἀποκρίνεσθαι.
7Τὰ κατ ἐμὲ πάντα γνωρίσει ὑμῖν Τύχικος ὁ ἀγαπητὸς →
ἅλατι] comp. Mark ix. 50 ἐὰν δὲ τὸ ἅλας ἄναλον γένηται, ἐν τίνι αὐτὸ )αρτυσετε· ἔχετε ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἅλα. The salt has a twofold purpose. (1) It gives a flavour to the discourse and recommends it to the palate: comp. Job vi. 6 εἰ βρωθήσεται ἄρτος ἄνευ ἁλός· εἰ δὲ καὶ ἔστι γεῦμα ἐν ῥήμασι κενοῖς; in which passage the first clause was rendered by Symmachus μήτι βρωθήσεται ἀνάρτυτον τῷ μὴ ἔχειν ἅλα; This is the primary idea of the metaphor here, as the word ἠρτυμένος seems to show. (2) It preserves from corruption and renders wholesome; Ign. Magn. 10 ἁλίσθητε ἐν αὐτῷ ἵνα μὴ διαφθαρῇ τις ἐν ὑμῖν, ἐπὲι ἀπὸ τῆς ὀσμῆς ἐλεγχθήσεσθε. Hence the Pythagorean saying, Diog. Laert. viii. I. 35 οἱ ἅλες πᾶν σώζουσιν ὅ τι καὶ παραλάβωσι. It may be inferred that this secondary application of the metaphor was present to the Apostle’s mind here, because in the parallel epistle, Ephes. iv. 29, he says πᾶς λόγος σαπρὸς ἐκ τοῦ στόματος ὑμῶν μὴ ἐκπορεύεσθω κ.τ.λ. In the first application the opposite to ἅλατι ἠρτυμένος would be μωρός ‘insipid’ (Luke xiv. 34); in the second, σαπρός ‘corrupt’.
Heathen writers also insisted that discourse should be ‘seasoned with salt’; e.g. Cic. de Orat. i. 34 ‘facetiarum quidam lepos quo, tanquam sale, perspergatur omnis oratio’. They likewise dwelt on the connexion between χάρις and ἅλες; e.g. Plut. Mor. p. 514 F χάριν τινὰ παρασκευάζοντες ἀλλήλοις, ὥσπερ ἁλσὶ τοῖς λόγοις ἐφηδύνουσι τὴν διατριβήν, p. 697 D (comp. p. 685 A) οἱ πολλοὶ χάριτας καλοῦσιν [τὸν ἅλα], ὅτι ἐπὶ τὰ πλεῖστα μιγνύμενος εὐάρμοστα τῇ γεύσει καὶ προσφιλῆ ποιεῖ καὶ κεχαρισμένα, p. 669 A ἡ δὲ τῶν ἁλῶν δύναμις ... χάριν αὐτῷ καὶ ἡδονὴν προστίθησι, Dion. Chrys. Or. xviii. § 13. Their notion of ‘salt’ however was wit, and generally the kind of wit which degenerated into the εὐτραπελία denounced by St Paul in Ephes. v. 4 (see the note there).
The form ἅλας is common in the LXX and Greek Testament. Otherwise it is rare: see Buttmann Gramm. I. p. 220, and comp. Plut. Mor. 668 F.
εἰδέναι] ‘so as to know’; see the note on λαλῆσαι ver. 3.
ἑνὶ ἑκάστῳ] ‘Not only must your conversation be opportune as regards the time; it must also be appropriate as regards the person’. The Apostle’s precept was enforced by his own example, for he made it a rule to become τοῖς πᾶσιν πάντα, ἵνα πάντως τινὰς σώσῃ (1 Cor. ix. 22).
7–9. ‘You will learn everything about me from Tychicus, the beloved brother who has ministered to me and served with me faithfully in the Lord. This indeed was my purpose in sending him to you: that you might be informed how matters stand with me, and that he might cheer your hearts and strengthen your resolves by the tidings. Onesimus will accompany him—a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of yourselves, a Colossian. These two will inform you of all that is going on here.’
7. Τὰ κατ’ ἐμὲ πάντα] ‘all that relates to me’; see the note on Phil. i. 12, and comp. Bion in Diog. Laert. iv. 47. So Acts xxv. 14 τὰ κατὰ τὸν Παῦλον.
γνωρίσει] On this word see the note Phil. i. 22.
Τύχικος] Tychicus was charged by St Paul at this same time with a more extended mission. He was entrusted with copies of the circular letter, which he was enjoined to deliver in the principal churches of proconsular Asia (see above, p. 37, and the introduction to the Epistle to the Ephesians). This mission would bring him to Laodicea, which was one of these great centres of Christianity (see p. 8); and, as Colossæ was only a few miles distant, the Apostle would naturally engage him to pay a visit to the Colossians. At the same time the presence of an authorised delegate of St Paul, as Tychicus was known to be, would serve to recommend Onesimus, who owing to his former conduct stood in every need of such a recommendation. The two names Τύχικος and Ὀνήσιμος occur in proximity in Phrygian inscriptions found at Altentash (Bennisoa?) Boeckh 3857r sqq. appx.
Tychicus was a native of proconsular Asia (Acts xx. 4) and perhaps of Ephesus (2 Tim. iv. 12: see Philippians p. 11). He is found with St Paul at three different epochs in his life. (1) He accompanied him when on his way eastward at the close of the third missionary journey A.D. 58 (Acts xx. 4), and probably like Trophimus (Acts xxi. 29) went with him to Jerusalem (for the words ἄχρι τῆς Ἀσίας must be struck out in Acts xx. 4). It is probable indeed that Tychicus, together with others mentioned among the Apostle’s numerous retinue on this occasion, was a delegate appointed by his own church according to the Apostle’s injunctions (1 Cor. xvi. 3, 4) to bear the contributions of his brethren to the poor Christians of Judæa; and if so, he may possibly be the person commended as the brother οὗ ὁ ἔπαινος ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ διὰ πασῶν τῶν ἐκκλησιῶν (2 Cor. viii. 18): but this will depend on the interpretation of the best supported reading in Acts xx. 5 οὗτοι δὲ προσελθόντες ἔμενον ἡμᾶς ἐν Τρωάδι. (2) We find Tychicus again in St Paul’s company at the time with which we are immediately concerned, when this epistle was written, probably towards the end of the first Roman captivity A.D. 62, 63 (see Philippians p. 31 sq.). (3) Once more, at the close of St Paul’s life (about A.D. 67), he appears again to have associated himself with the Apostle, when his name is mentioned in connexion with a mission to Crete (Tit. iii. 12) and another to Ephesus (2 Tim. iv. 12). For the legends respecting him, which are slight and insignificant, see Act. Sanct. Boll. April. 29 (III. p. 619).
Tychicus is not so common a name as some others which occur in the New Testament, e.g. Onesimus, Trophimus; but it is found occasionally in inscriptions belonging to Asia Minor, e.g. Boeckh C. I. 2918, 3665, [3857 c], 3857 r, (comp. 3865 i, etc.); and persons bearing it are commemorated on the coins of both Magnesia ad Mæandrum (Mionnet III. p. 153 sq., Suppl. VI. p. 236) and Magnesia ad Sipylum (ib. IV. p. 70). The name occurs also in Roman inscriptions; e.g. Muratori, pp. DCCCCXVII, MCCCXCIV, MMLV. Along with several other proper names similarly formed, this word is commonly accentuated Τυχικός (Chandler Greek Accentuation § 255), and so it stands in all the critical Seditions, though according to rule (Winer § vi. p. 58) it should be Τύχικος.