Review of the Paraphrase of the New Testament, Galatians
On the EPISTLE to the GALATIANS.
CHap. II. Note c. To the examples of neglect of Syntaxis in the ſacred writers, foreign.Adde, So Theophylact on occaſion of a reading in his Copy Hebr. 10.1. foreign, in the plural, they could not, which we read foreign in the ſingular, he acknowledgeth that ſo it muſt be read, as we read, foreign, as far as concernes the conſequence of Grammatical exactneſs, i. e. in reſpect of the Syntaxis, foreign that there may be no ſoleciſme in it (for ſuch it muſt be,foreign. in an high manner, if with his Copy we read foreign in the plural, and underſtand foreign, as he doth, for the nominative caſe to govern it) foreign, ſaith he, foreign, but becauſe the Scripture ſtyle takes no care of technical, i. e. Grammatical, exactneſs, foreign, we may ſo underſtand it as the copies have it, i. e. ſo as the words will yeeld a very good ſenſe, if onelyonly the Grammatical exactneſs be diſpenſed with, viz. that the offerers, i. e. the Levitical prieſts cannot perfect thoſe that come (i. e. bring their ſacrifices) unto them. In which words his opinion and teſtimony is clear, viz. that the ſacred writers ſtood not upon ſuch niceties, as other authors do, bound not themſelves to the obſervation of Grammatical rules; And ſo frequently in S. Hierome; On the Epheſ. c. 3. Quotieſcunque ſoloeciſmos aut tale quid annotamus, ſpeaking of the Apoſtles writings, and ſo Ep. c. 1. qu. 10. 2dly That copies were not to be diſturbed, or any change attempted in them upon this one ſcore, the avoiding of a ſoloeciſme in the period. So the Learned Mr. Bois on Act. 27.10. Laudandi mihi videntur, quibus in ſacris Literis, vel ſoloeciſmos manifeſtos, modò veritati nihil detraherent, religio eſſet emendare, they are to be commended that would not in the Scripture, mend manifeſt ſoloeciſmes, ſo they do not hurt the truth of the matter. And the ſame was the account of Dr. Reynolds a very learned man among us, when he was by Sir Henry Savile conſulted in a like matter. For when in preparing the Edition of S. Chryſoſtome, there were ſome expreſſions obſerved, unvaried in all copies, which yet were not allowable by any rules of Greek Syntaxis, and from thence a neceſſity appeared of either receding from all copies or elſe admitting of falſe Greek, the queſtion was propoſed to that Doctor, whether it would be derogatory to that divine writer and learned Orator S. Chryſoſtome, to acknowledge, that he wrote falſe Greek, and his anſwer was, *Viros magn…s foreign inieutos emendatam verborum ſtructuram ſaepe negligere. See Note in Gen. p. 5. & 27. where after mention of the many foreign and foreign, he addes, nè quis ſperet haec omnia ad Grammaticae n… inam dirigi.that ſuch writers were more carefull of the ſenſe than of the Syntaxis, and, ſo the former were perſpicuous, oft neglected the latter, eſpecially when the falſe Greek was moſt promptly intelligible (as in the inſtances produced it generally was) adding, that indeed S. Paul himſelf was guilty of the like, out of whom he ſet down two places (for a foreign) which were not reconcileable with the rules of Grammatical Syntaxis; The places have already been taken notice of in the Epiſtles to the Coloſſians, c. 3.16. and Epheſians, c. 4.2. To this I adde the obſervation of Maimonides, More Nev. l. 2. c. 29. Ʋnumquemque prophetam eâ linguâ, eâque loquendi ratione, quae ipſi eſt familiaris & conſueta, impelli à prophetia ſua ad loquendum ei qui ipſum intelligit, that every prophet is by his prophecy impelled to ſpeak in that language and manner of ſpeaking which is familiar and cuſtomary to him, i. e. (ſaith Buxtorfe out of the Rabbins Commentaries) ſi propheta eſt Hebraeus, impellit eum prophetia ut loquatur Hebraicè, ſi purum & ornatum ſermonem habet, eodem modo prophetiam ſuam eloquitur, ſi minùs ornatum, minùs ornatè quoque prophetiam ſuam profert, ſi Ephraimita Ephraimiticè, ſi Galilaeus Galilaicè; If the prophet be an Hebrew, his prophecy impells him to ſpeak Hebrew, &c. if he have pure language he delivers his prophecy after that manner, if his language be leſs pure or eloquent, he doth deliver his prophecy leſs eloquently, if he be an Ephraimite, Ephraimitically, if a Galilean, he ſpeakes in that dialect.
Ibid. ver. 6.
[c In conference added nothing to me.]
When they underſtood what I had done, they gave me no advice to alter any thing, nor ſaid any more to me than what I knew before.
Ibid. Note cc.foreign. What is the full meaning of foreign, they added nothing to me, is, I think, exactly ſet down by S. Chryſoſtome, in [foreign, they oppoſed me not, but conſpired and accorded with me, foreign, they added no more to me than I knew before, foreign when they had knowledge of my affaires, they neither added nor altered any thing in my courſe: and this as a farther explication of what went before, that they gave no appointment for the circumciſing of Titus, that went along with Paul, and never had been circumciſed. And ſo in proportion to this ſenſe, followes his notion, foreign,foreign. but contrariwiſe,] not that they were taught by Paul, for they needed not that, but that they were too far from blaming, or altering any thing in his practice, that they not onelyonly approved, but commended his whole courſe.
Ibid. ver. 9.
[Perceived the grace that was given unto me.]
Approved and commended all that we did, or had done.
Ibid. ver. 10.
[The poor.]
The Chriſtians in Judea, who were ſadly ſpoiled and waſted by their unbeleeving countreymen, 1 Theſſ. 11.14. Heb. 10.34. (ſee Chryſoſtome.)
Ibid. ver. 12.
[Fearing them, &c.
Out of fear of ſcandalizing the Jewiſh Chriſtians, &c. (ſee Theophylact and Chryſoſtome interpreting it by a like phraſe, c. 4.11. I am afraid of you leaſt I have beſtowed on you labour in vain.)
foreign.Chap. III. Note a. Read, If the time would agree, 'tis not improbable that foreign] ſhould refer to ſome beginnings of the hereſie of the Ebionites. To the deſcription of them, in Euſebius. Adde, that they taught moreover, foreign, &c. that Chriſtians had need of legal obſervations, and not onelyonly of Faith and Chriſtian life to ſalvation. Of the folly of following ſuch teachers as theſe, Adde, To this agrees the ſtyle, which he gives theſe legal obſervances, calling them foreign c. 4.9. weak and poor elements, foreign.in relation, as it ſeems probable, to that name of Ebion ſignifying poor.
Chap. IV. ver. 1.
[The heir, as long as he is a child.]
The heir, which although his father is dead, is yet but a minor.
Ibid. ver. 15.
[*What therefore is or was your happineſſe? Where is then the bleſſedneſſe?]
And then how happy did you think your ſelves, &c. Or what is now become of all that, for which you were ſo taken notice of, and magnified among men, as the kindeſt and lovingeſt of any to your teachers, ſo kind, that I am able to bear you witneſs, that nothing was ſo pretious to you, but you would have parted with it for my ſake (Theophylact.)
Ibid. Note c. Read,foreign. foreign is by Theophylact interpreted foreign, mount Sinai being not far from Jeruſalem, but as he acknowledgeth alſo, it ſignifies originally to walk along with, &c.
Chap. V. ver. 21.
[Revellings.]
Night-revels in impure purſuits (ſee Note on Rom. 13. e.)
Chap. VI. ver. 1.
[Reſtore ſuch an one in the ſpirit of meekneſs.]
Either regaine him by friendly advice, or elſe in caſe of cenſures inflicted, upon ſight of his contrition reſtore him to the peace of the Church again.
Note a. Of the ſpirit of meekneſs, Read,foreign ▪ It is here this milder part of the Apoſtolical office, which is to paercede the more ſevere and, if it be poſſible, to prevent it. 1. Admonition and Reprehenſion, which if they prevaile, there is no need of proceeding any farther, and 2. An eaſie Admiſſion to penitence, &c.foreign. To this 2d the word foreign may incline, which we render reſtore, but ſignifies properly to put in joynt, &c. and ſo fitly belongs to the reſtoring an excommunicate perſon to the ſociety and peace of the Church; but yet not onelyonly ſo, but ſignifies alſo to recover the offender to a ſenſe, and reformation, be it by admonition, reprehenſion, or any ſuch milder means.
Ibid. ver. 2.
[Bear ye one anothers burthens.]
Eaſe one another, as much as ye can, as in a building every ſtone aſſiſts the next, helps to bear the weight that lyes upon it, and contributes its part to the ſupport of the whole fabrick, &c.
Ibid. ver. 3.
[Deceiveth himſelf.]
Cheats himſelf, and perſwades no man elſe, but becomes ridiculous by his vanity.
Ibid. ver. 4.
[In himſelf alone.]
Looking on himſelf abſolutely, and diſcerning how he is a better Chriſtian to day, than he was yeſterday.
Ibid. ver. 11.
[*With what kind of letters. How b large a letter.]
foreign.Ibid. Note b. What foreign ſignifies Theophylact hath expreſs'd his opinion. S. Paul, ſaith he, was accuſed to preach in other places for the obſervation of the Moſaical Law, contrary to what this Epiſtle contains. This forced him to teſtifie, what here he ſaith, under his own hand, that he did no where preach for the Law, c. 5. 2. and c. 6.14. And therefore, whereas his other Epiſtles were oft written by an Amanuenſis, and onelyonly the ſalutation with his own hand, yet here, ſaith he, he was forced to write all himſelf, and that, as he will conjecture, though he was not very well skilled in writing, foreign, ſaith he: And this, as he thinks, is noted by foreign, is by Heſychius rendred foreign, not how long, or how great, but of what manner, what ſort, noting the quality rather than quantity. And foreign are letters, foreign.meaning the letters of the Alphabet, and not ſo properly an Epiſtle. And accordingly, ſaith Theophylact, foreign, it is not to denote the length, or magnitude, but the deformity of the letters, or characters, in which this Epiſtle was written, S. Paul being neceſſitated to write it all with his own hand. But now, granting, as we have reaſon, this to be the right notion of the ſingle words, yet there is no neceſſity, either that this ſhould be thus applyed to the illneſs of the character, or inlarged to the writing the whole Epiſtle with his own hand; That is not ſo much as intimated in any other place, or in any antient record, and this one place cannot conclude it, for foreign notes the ſort or kind of the hand indefinitely, not defining what it was, ſave onelyonly that it was ſuch as was known to be his. For ſo 2 Theſſ. 3.17. the writing the ſalutation (ſome few words in the cloſe) with his own hand, was, ſaith he, foreign, the token in every Epiſtle, that by which it was known to be his. And ſo if here it be ſuppoſed, that the whole Epiſtle were written by an Amanuenſis, as far as to c. 6. v. 11. and then the pen taken into the Apoſtles own hand, and uſed by him to the end of the Epiſtle, he may well begin thus, foreign you ſee and know with what kind of letters I have written, you know the character, that it is my own hand, under which it is, that I teſtifie all that is before written in the Epiſtle, particularly that which is in anſwer to the calumnie againſt me, as if I preached circumciſion, &c. in other places, which I have aſſured you, and demonſtrated by my perſecutions from the Jewes, that I do not; and to this purpoſe I here adde again, under my own hand, a character of your Gnoſtick ſeducers, v. 12, 13. and the profeſſion of my own opinion and practice, v. 16.18. and again an evidence of my doctrine and practice from my ſufferings, v. 17. And thus the whole difficulty is ſufficiently explicated without imagining any more.foreign. Or if the foreign I have written] be thought to conclude, that he had written that which went before, and ſo the whole Epiſtle, I anſwer that it is poſſible he might, but not neceſſarily to be concluded by that for me of that word, becauſe if we ſtill reſtrain it to theſe laſt verſes, this will have perfect truth in it. For when he ſaith,foreign. foreign ye ſee] he muſt needs refer to that point of time, wherein his Epiſtle ſhould be received, and read by the Galatians, and then 'tis certain, that foreign I have written] will be as true of the laſt verſes, as of the former part of the Epiſtle; And ſo that difficulty is removed alſo.