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The word ‘buffet’ is used in Authorized Version as the translation of êïëáößæù (lit. [Note: literally, literature.] ‘to give one blows with the fists, or slaps on the ear’), which means ‘to treat with violence and contempt.’ The verb is found only in the NT and later ecclesiastical writers, and is probably colloquial. In the exhortation to slaves in 1Pe_2:20 it is used to describe the rough usage to which such persons were subjected by heathen masters as a punishment for their offences. The fact that it is so used, is probably the reason why it is preferred to other terms of similar import in 1Co_4:11 (‘we are buffeted’), where it is vividly descriptive of the ill usage which St. Paul constantly experienced in pursuit of his apostolic mission, especially when contrasted with the happier fortune of his Corinthian converts (‘ye reigned as kings’), 1Co_9:27 Revised Version gives ‘buffet’ as the rendering also of ὑðùðéÜæù (from ὑðü and ὤø , ‘to hit under the eye,’ and then ‘to beat black and blue’), a word admirably fitted to express the hardships and sufferings endured by St. Paul in the course of his ministry, and patiently submitted to as a salutary means of spiritual discipline. The fact that the Apostle speaks of himself as the agent in producing the discipline (‘I buffet my body’) need not be taken as evidence that ascetic practices, or bodily mortifications, are intended. He regarded his body as an antagonist to be subdued by the willing acceptance of adverse circumstances fitted to promote his personal sanctification.
W. S. Montgomery.