John Bengel Commentary - 1 Corinthians 15:47 - 15:47

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John Bengel Commentary - 1 Corinthians 15:47 - 15:47


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1Co 15:47. Ὁ πρῶτος ἄνθρωπος, ἐκ γῆς, χοϊκος· ὁ δεύτερος, ὁ Κύριος ἐξ οὐρανοῦ, the first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven) We have here an exact antithesis. The first man, ἐκ γῆς, viz. ὢν, since he is of the earth, is χοϊκὸς, earthy, affected in the same way as a heap of earth (χοῦς) χυτὴ, accumulated, and then scattered: the reason of this is, because he is sprung from the earth. This is the protasis; the apodosis follows, in which it would not have been appropriate to say, the second man, from [of] heaven, heavenly; for man owes to the earth his obligations for this, that he is earthy; but the Lord does not owe His glory to heaven, inasmuch as it was He Himself who made heaven what it is, and by descending from heaven, presented Himself to us as the Lord. Therefore the order of the words is now changed, the Lord, from heaven [Lord coming before from heaven; whereas earthy, the antithesis to Lord, comes after of earth]. The word Lord signifies the same thing in the concrete, as glory does in the abstract (Germ. Herr, Herrlichkeit, Lord, Lordship), whence it is properly opposed to earthy, 1Co 15:43; Php 3:20, etc.: and from this glory is derived the incorruptibility of Christ’s flesh, Act 2:24; Act 2:31. In this way the received reading is defended, and the various readings, although ancient, which are mentioned in the Apparatus, are withdrawn.[144]

[144] BCD corr. later, G Vulg. g (these last three add οὐράνιος) f omit ὁ Κύριος. Rec. Text retains the words, with A (according to Tisch., but Lachm. quotes A against the words), Marcion (according to Tertullian) both Syr. Versions. Origen, 2,559d supports them. But in 4,302d he rejects them.-ED.