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Verse Commentaries:
Chapter Level Commentary: THE superscription is shortest in B and à : ἰωάννου β .; in some codd. καθολική is added to ἐπιστολή ; in some τοῦ ἐπὶ στηθοῦς comes after Ἰωάννου ; in G it runs: τοῦ ἁγίου ἀποστόλου Ἰωάννου τοῦ θεολόγου . In the Elz. ed. the superscription runs: Ἰωάννου τοῦ ἀποστόλου ἐπιστολὴ καθολικὴ δευτέρα ; the Rec. is: ἐπιστολὴ Ἰωάννου δευτέρα .
2Jn_1:1. καὶ οὐκ ἐγώ ] Rec. The reading οὐκ ἐγὼ δέ in A, 73, Syr. Thph. owes its origin to the desire to mark the antithesis more sharply (Düsterdieck); Ebrard regards the Rec. as a correction, made in order to make the Second and the First Epistles conformable in style. Scarcely credible. G reads: καὶ οὐκ ἐγὼ δέ .—2Jn_1:2. The reading in A: ἐνοικοῦσαν , instead of μένουσαν , is too feebly attested for us to regard it, with Ebrard, as the correct one; it has probably arisen in order to avoid the tautology which μένουσαν appears to form with the following.—2Jn_1:3. The Elz. ed. reads: ἔσται μεθʼ ὑμῶν , which is attested by B G à , etc., several versions, etc. It is possible that ἡμῶν arose from the immediately preceding (so Braune), but just as likely that ἡμῶν was changed to ὑ̔ μῶν , because the former did not seem appropriate for the greeting; the weight of authorities is in favour of ἡ̔ μῶν .
Instead of παρά , à * reads ἀπό (sol.).
Before Ἰησοῦ Χρ . the Rec. has κυρίου , which is found in G K à . In A B, etc., κυρίου is wanting (Lachm. Tisch.); Bengel, Brückner, Sander are in favour of the genuineness of κυρίου ; yet the later insertion of it seems more probable than the omission.
The αὐτοῦ of à between τοῦ υἱοῦ and τοῦ πατρός must be regarded as a clerical error.—2Jn_1:4. à (sol.) has instead of ἐλάβομεν the third person: ἔλαβον .
B omits τοῦ before πατρός .—2Jn_1:5. Instead of the Rec. γράφω , we must read γράφων , according to A B G K à , etc.
Lachm. has καινήν before γράφων , which is not adequately attested by A à Vulg.—2Jn_1:6. In the second part the succession of the words varies; in G à , most of the min. etc., αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἐντολή (Rec.) is found; in A B K, etc., on the other hand, αὕτη ἡ ἐντολή ἑστιν (Lachm. Tisch.); it is possible that the Rec. has been formed in accordance with the preceding αὕτη ἐστὶν ἡ ἀγάπη . It is to be noticed that à has before αὕτη a καί , and after ἐντολή an αὐτοῦ , and also that in the same cod. “ ἴνα ” is found before καθώς , so that an epanalepsis occurs here.
Instead of περιπατῆτε , à reads περιπατήσητε .—2Jn_1:7. The most probable reading is ἐξῆλθον , according to A ( ἐξῆλθαν ; Tisch.) B à (Lachm.); the Rec. εἰσῆλθον , according to G K, etc., is a correction; comp. 1Jn_2:19; 1Jn_4:1, and 3Jn_1:7.—2Jn_1:8. The Rec., according to G K, has: ἀπολέσωμεν … εἰργασάμεθα … ἀπολάβομεν . Cod. A and à read: ἀπολέσητε ( à *: ἀπολῆσθε ) … εἰργάσασθε … ἀπολάβητε ; this reading, accepted by Lachm. and Tisch., is regarded as the original reading by Lücke, de Wette, Reiche. Cod. B reads: ἀπολέσητε (according to Bentley’s collation; Griesb. gives ἀπολέσηται , which is also given by Tisch., bracketed, however) … εἰργασάμεθα … ἀπολάβετε ; de Wette regards this reading as a combination of the reading of A with the Rec.; Düsterdieck, Brückner, Braune (also the 2d ed. of this comm.) regard the reading in B as the original. It is certainly the one by which the origin of the various readings can be easily explained; yet the circumstance that it is almost only found in B (Reiche: lectio codicis B in nullis aliis subsidiis inventa est, nisi quod Syr. p. in m. et Sahid. ejus sensum expressit) must render it doubtful. Of the two others, that of A and à , at any rate, deserve the preference. Bengel would arbitrarily read: ἀπολέσητε … εἰργάσασθε … ἀπολάβομεν , which is only found in Cod. 34.—2Jn_1:9. παραβαίνων ] Rec., according to G K, etc., Syr. Thph. Oec. (Reiche). Lachm. and Tisch. read instead of it: προάγων , which is attested by A B à , etc., and the readings: praecedit and procedit in several codd. of the Vulg. (against which, in the printed Vulg. and Lucif., is: recedit). The opinion of Matthaei and Lücke, that προάγων arose out of the paraphrase which appears in the scholia: ἀπάγων ἑαυτόν , which also occurs in Oecumenius, is unfounded; this explanation rather points to προάγων as the original reading.
The Rec. (according to G K, etc., several vss. Thph. Oec.) has, both after the first and after the second ἐν τῇ διδαχῇ , the addition: τοῦ Χριστοῦ ; Lachm. and Tisch. have the addition only after the first; so in A B à , several min. Vulg. etc.; this is to be regarded as the correct reading.
It is doubtful whether νἱόν or πατέρα comes first in the following sentence; the Rec., retained by Lachm., is: τὸν πατέρα καὶ τὸν υἱόν ; this is found in B G K à , etc., several vss. Thph. Oec.; Tisch., on the other hand, following A and several vss., has accepted: τὸν υἱὸν καὶ τὸν πατέρα ; but this appears to be a change effected on account of ἐν τῇ διδ . τοῦ Χριστοῦ .—2Jn_1:11. ὁ γὰρ λέγων ] Rec., according to G K, almost all min. Thph. Oec. (Tisch. 2); instead of it Tisch. 7 (similarly Lachm.), according to A B à , reads: ὁ λέγων γάρ , which, as unusual, might be preferable. Tisch. 7 remarks: γάρ tertio loco positum fere ubique a plerisque testibus in secundum locum translatum.
Tisch. has omitted γάρ after αὐτῷ , although it is wanting only in K, several min. and Oec.—2Jn_1:12. à * has ἔχω ; à 1, however, ἔχων .
Instead of ἐλπίζω γάρ , Rec. (Lachm.), according to A, some min. and vss., Tisch., following B G K à , many min. etc., reads: ἀλλὰ ἐλπίζω ; this reading is the original one; the context might easily lead to the change of ἀλλά into γάρ .
γενέσθαι ] This reading, recommended by Griesbach, has been accepted also by Lachm. and Tisch. The Rec. ἐλθεῖν (according to G K, etc.) is a correction. Instead of στόμα πρ . στ ., à * reads: στόματι πρὸς στόμα .
ἡ χαρὰ ἡμῶν ] Rec., according to G K à , etc., Tisch.; instead of it Lachm., following A B, etc., Vulg. etc., reads: ἡ χαρὰ ὑμῶν ; ὑμῶν perhaps is preferable; the preceding ἡμᾶς might easily lead to the change into ἡμῶν .
Instead of ᾖ πεπληρωμένη , Rec., according to A G K, all min. etc. (Tisch.), the reading of B à , Vulg. is: πεπληρ . ᾖ (Lachm.).
The Rec., following G K, etc., adds for conclusion: ἀμήν , a later addition.
In various codd. a subscription is found which runs most briefly in A B à thus: Ἰωάννου β . The Cod. 62 adds the words: πρὸς Πάρθους (comp. on 1 John).