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1Th_2:8. Ὁμείρεσθαι ] occurs, besides LXX. Job_3:21, and Symmachus, Psa_62:2 (yet even in these two places MSS. differ), only in the glossaries. Hesychius, Phavorinus, and Photius explain it by ἐπιθυμεῖν . Theophylact derives it from ὁμοῦ and εἴρειν ; and corresponding to this, Photius explains it by ὁμοῦ ἡρμόσθαι . Accordingly, ὁμειρόμενοι ὑμῶν would denote bound with you, attached to you. Fritzsche, ad Marc. p. 792 f., Schott, and others agree. But this is questionable—(1) Because the verb is here construed with the genitive, and not with the dative; (2) because there is no instance of a similar verb compounded with ὁμοῦ or ὁμός ; see Winer, p. 92 [E. T. 125]. Now, as in Nicander (Theriaca, ver. 2:402) the simple form μείρεσθαι occurs in the sense of ἱμείρεσθαι , it can hardly be doubted that μείρεσθαι is the original root to which ἱμείρεσθαι and ὁμείρεσθαι (having the same meaning) are related, having a syllable prefixed for euphony. Compare the analogous forms of κέλλω and ὀκέλλω , δύρομαι and ὀδύρομαι , φλέω and ὀφλέω , αὔω and ἰαύω , and see Kühner, I. p. 27. Accordingly, as ἱμείρεσθαι τινός denotes primarily the yearning love, the yearning desire for union with an absent friend, and secondarily is, according to the testimony of Hesychius, synonymous with ἐρᾶν , ὁμειρόμενοι ὑμῶν receives here the suitable meaning of filled with love to you. Beza unnecessarily, and against the context (because the word is a verbum ἐρωτικόν ), supplies: videlicet vos ad Christum tanquam sponsam ad sponsum adducendi.
οὕτως ] belongs not to ὁμειρόμενοι (Schrader), but to εὐδοκοῦμεν ; thus it is not intensifying so much, but a simple particle of comparison: thus, in this manner.
εὐδοκοῦμεν ] not present, but imperfect with the augment omitted. See Winer, p. 66 [E. T. 83]. εὐδοκεῖν , to esteem good, here, to be willing, denotes that what took place was from a free determination of will. Thus it is used both of the eternal, gracious, and free counsels of God (Col_1:19; Gal_1:15; 1Co_1:21), and of the free determination of men (Rom_15:26; 2Co_5:8).
τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς ] not a Hebraism in the sense of nosmet ipsos (Koppe, Flatt), but our lives (Hom. Od. iii. 74; Aristoph. Plut. 524); the plural ψυχάς proves that Paul thinks not of himself only, but also of Silvanus and Timotheus.
On ἑαυτῶν , comp. Bernhardy, Syntax, p. 272; Winer, p. 136 [E. T. 187], However, the verb μεταδοῦναι does not strictly apply to τὰς ἑαυτῶν ψυχάς , as the idea of imparting is here transformed into that of offering up, devoting. (Erroneously Bengel: anima nostra cupiebat quasi immeare in animam vestram. Hofmann: In the word preached, which Paul and his companions imparted to the Thessalonians even to the exhaustion of their vital power, this as it were passed over to them, just as the vital power of the mother passes over to the child, whom she is not content with nourishing generally, but, from the longings of love to it, desires to nourish it by suckling.) From the compound verb μεταδοῦναι the idea of the simple verb δοῦναι is accordingly to be extracted (a zeugma; see Kühner, II. 606).
The thought contained in ὡς … οὕτως is accordingly: As a mother not only nourishes her new-born child with her milk, but also cherishes and shelters it, yea, is ready to sacrifice her life for its preservation, so has the apostle not merely nourished his spiritual child, the Thessalonian church, with the milk of the gospel, but has been also ready, in order to preserve it in the newly begun life, to sacrifice his own life.
The inducement to such a conduct was love, which the apostle, although he had already mentioned it, again definitely states in the words διότι ἀγαπητοὶ ἡμῖν ἐγενήθητε , because ye were dear and valuable to us.