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1Th_2:7. Paul begins in this verse the positive description of his appearance and conduct in Thessalonica.
ἀλλʼ ἐγενήθημεν ἤπιοι ] a contrast not to δυνάμενοι ἐν βάρει εἶναι (Heinsius, Turretin, and others), but to the principal idea of 1Th_2:6. The apostle’s conduct is not that of one δόξαν ἐξ ἀνθρώπων ζητῶν , but of one who was ἤπιος ; God had made him show himself ( ἐγενήθημεν ) not as master, but as servant. Oecumenius: ὡς εἴς ἐξ ὑμῶν ἐγενήθημεν .
ἤπιος ] mild, kindly, is used of an amiable disposition or conduct of a higher toward a lower, i.e. of a prince to his subjects, of a judge to the accused, of a father to his children. Comp. Hom. Od. ii. 47; Herodian, ii. 4, init.; Pausan. Eliac. ii. 18.
ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν ] in your midst, i.e. in intercourse with you. Erroneously Calovius, it denotes: erga omnes pariter. Non erga hos blandi, ergo illos morosi. There is, however, no emphasis on ὑμῶν ; the apostle does not indicate that he behaved otherwise in other places.
A colon is to be put after ἐν μέσῳ ὑμῶν , so that ὡς … οὕτως are connected as protasis and apodosis, and describe the intensity of Paul’s love to the Thessalonians; whilst in ἐγενήθημεν … ὑμῶν this love only in and for itself, or according to its general nature, was stated as a feature of the apostle’s behaviour.
τροφός ] a nurse ( îÅéðÆ÷Æú ) here, as is evident from τὰ ἑαυτῆς τέκνα , the suckling mother herself. Under the image of a mother Paul represents himself also, in Gal_4:19, as elsewhere, under the image of a father; see 1Th_2:11; 1Co_4:15; Phm_1:10.
θάλπειν ] originally to warm, of birds which cover and warm their young with their feathers: (see Deu_22:6); consequently an image of protecting love and anxious care generally, our cherishing; see Eph_5:29.