Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Corinthians 7:38
So then he that giveth [her] in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth [her] not in marriage doeth better.
Doeth well – Does right; violates no law in it, and is not to be blamed for it.
Doeth better – Does that which is on the whole to be preferred, if it can be done. He more certainly, in the present circumstances, consults her happiness by withholding her from the marriage connection than he could by allowing her to enter it.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well: there is no general rule for all parents in this case, where the duty or sin of parents may arise from their or their childrens different circumstances. But supposing that a parent, having duly weighed all circumstances, be fully resolved, and he finds the childs will concurring, that she can forbear, and is willing to do in the case what her parent desires; in such a case as this, if the parent disposeth her in marriage, I cannot say he sinneth, but he doth what he may do.
But he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better; but with reference to the present state of things in the church and in the world, and with reference to the young womans liberty for the service of God, he doth better, if he doth not so dispose her. The thing is in itself indifferent, and Christians must be in it ruled and inclined one way or another from circumstances.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
38. her Theoldest manuscripts have “his own virgin daughter.”
butThe oldestmanuscripts have “and.”
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
So then he that giveth [her] in marriage doth well,…. Does that which is in its own nature good; that which is agreeable to the will of God, is of his institution and appointment, and therefore must be good, and answer many good ends and purposes. Such an one that marries his daughter, he seeing a necessity for it, and a propriety in it, does a very good thing; secures her chastity, and his own credit; prevents fornication, and other evils that might follow; consults the good of mankind, and the honour of religion.
But he that giveth [her] not in marriage doth better; not a better action in itself, simply considered; but more profitable and advantageous under such and such circumstances, with such and such conditions and consequences; since hereby a single person is more fit to encounter with and endure persecutions, is freer from the cares of life, and more at liberty to wait upon the Lord, and give up himself to his service.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Doeth well ( ). So Paul commends the father who gives his daughter in marriage (). This verb has not been found outside the N.T. See on Mt 22:30.
Shall do better ( ). In view of the present distress (7:26) and the shortened time (7:29). And yet, when all is said, Paul leaves the whole problem of getting married an open question to be settled by each individual case.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well. (hoste kai ho gamizon ten heautou parthenon kalos poiei) So then the (father) giving the marrying virgin does (outwardly) well, a good thing – For he that findeth a wife findeth a good thing. Psa 18:22; Psa 19:14.
2) But he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better. (kai ho me gamizon kreisson poiesei) and the one (father) not marrying (her off) will do better. Pauls advice, in the spirit of the Lord, regarding the holy state of matrimony and the liberty of the Christian to serve God wholly, or with restrictions of the flesh, were given to avoid coercion of the Christian conscience of any, but to call each to the highest possible use of his life to honor God, both within and without the holy bonds of wedlock.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
38. Therefore he that giveth in marriage. Here we have the conclusion from both parts of the statement, in which he states, in a few words, that parents are free from blame if they give away their daughters in marriage, while he at the same time declares that they do better if they keep them at home unmarried. You are not, however, to understand that celibacy is here preferred to marriage, otherwise than under the exception which was a little before expressed. For if power be wanting on the part of the daughter, (451) the father acts an exceedingly bad part if he endeavors to keep her back from marriage, and would be no longer a father to her, but a cruel tyrant. The sum of the whole discussion amounts to this — that celibacy is better than marriage, because it has more liberty, so that persons can serve God with greater freedom; but at the same time, that no necessity ought to be imposed, so as to make it unlawful for individuals to marry, if they think proper; and farther, that marriage itself is a remedy appointed by God for our infirmity, (452) which all ought to use that are not endowed with the gift of continency. Every person of sound judgment will join with me in acknowledging and confessing, that the whole of Paul’s doctrine on this point is comprehended in these three articles.
(451) “ Car quand la puissance defaudra a la fille de s’abstenir de mariage;” — “For when the daughter has not power to abstain from marriage.”
(452) “ Pour subuenir a nostre infirmite;” — “To help our infirmity.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(38) So then . . .Better, So then he that gives his daughter in marriage does well, and (not but) he that giveth her not shall do better. It is worth noticing how, in the case of the one who gives his daughter in marriage, we have the present tense does wellas if the good he did began and ended there; and, in the other case, the future shall do (in 1Co. 7:37 also)the good result of his action continuing while the girl remains with her parent. This passage clearly shows how St. Paul has not been contrasting right and wrong: but comparative degrees of what is expedient.
All throughout this passage the Apostle takes for granted the absolute control of the parent over the child, in accordance with the principles of both Greek and Jewish jurisprudence. Hence, no advice is given to the young maiden herself, but only to her father.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
38. Doeth well For he avoids the evils of celibacy, though he incurs the evils of matrimony.
Doeth better For he is secure from the evils both of celibacy and matrimony.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘So then both he who gives his own virgin daughter in marriage does well, and he who gives her not in marriage will do better.’
‘Gives in marriage.’ The verb is gamizo which is an intensive form of gameo – ‘to marry’ – and means ‘give in marriage’, but can also mean ‘to marry’. It could thus be translated, ‘he who marries his own virgin does well and he who does not marry her does better.’ However Paul’s change of verb suggest the translation above is correct. But whichever we use the principle remains. It is good for her to be married, it is even better if, through her full dedication to the Lord, she freely of her own choice decides not to marry so that she can devote her life totally to his service. No pressure must be put on her, either by companion or father. They must behave nobly and honourably towards her. For it to be good the choice must be hers. In the end for both men and women marriage is good but the ability to live a life of total dedication to the Lord in order to serve Him faithfully is better, conditionally of course on it being maintainable without sin directly resulting.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
1Co 7:38. So then, he that giveth her in marriage, &c. If the word be taken in the sense proposed in the lastnote, it is necessary in this verse to follow those copies which read , marriage, for , giving in marriage,So then, he that marrieth, doth well; but he that marrieth not, doth better. See Locke, Mill, and Wetstein.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
1Co 7:38 . Result of 1Co 7:36-37 , , as well as also . Paul had thought of saying in the second clause also, but thereupon strengthens his expression ( ) so as to correspond with the relations of the two predicates, . in 1Co 7:36 , and in 1Co 7:37 .
.] he who marries her (his virgin, 1Co 7:37 ) out (gives her out of his family in marriage). This going “ out ” is not taken into account in the second clause.
] for see 1Co 7:34 . Regarding ., comp Mat 24:38 ; it is not preserved in Greek writers.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
38 So then he that giveth her in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth her not in marriage doeth better.
Ver. 38. Doth better ] 1. For the better waiting upon God’s work without distraction. 2. For the better bearing of persecution.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
38 .] The latter has been altered to because a contrast seemed to be required between and . One account might be (as M [35] and De W.) that Paul had intended to write . twice, but currente calamo , intensified the expression to . Perhaps a better one will be found by referring the to that which and have in common: ‘ both he who gives in marriage does well, and he who gives not in marriage shall do well, even in a higher degree .’ I need hardly remind the tiro that ‘both and’ here does not, as Bloomf. objects, represent , each subject being accompanied by its own predicate. Observe the ; the pres., of the mere act itself, the fut., of its enduring results.
[35]. Marcion, 130; fragments in Epiph. (Mcion-e) and Tert. (Mcion-t)
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
1Co 7:38 , the sum of the matter: either to marry one’s daughter or refuse her in marriage is, abstractly viewed, an honourable course; the latter, in Paul’s judgment, and for Christians in the present posture of things, is better . “Ce bien et mieux rsument tout le chapitre” (Gd [1213] ).
[1213] F. Godet’s Commentaire sur la prem. p. aux Corinthiens (Eng. Trans.).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
giveth . . . in marriage. Greek. ekgamizo. Elsewhere, Mat 22:30; Mat 24:38. Luk 17:27.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
38.] The latter has been altered to because a contrast seemed to be required between and . One account might be (as M[35] and De W.) that Paul had intended to write . twice, but currente calamo, intensified the expression to . Perhaps a better one will be found by referring the – to that which and have in common: both he who gives in marriage does well, and he who gives not in marriage shall do well, even in a higher degree. I need hardly remind the tiro that both-and here does not, as Bloomf. objects, represent ,-each subject being accompanied by its own predicate. Observe the –; the pres., of the mere act itself, the fut., of its enduring results.
[35]. Marcion, 130; fragments in Epiph. (Mcion-e) and Tert. (Mcion-t)
Fuente: The Greek Testament
1Co 7:38. , therefore) We must observe, with how great earnestness, fidelity, and fulness, Paul dwells on this passage.-) also.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
1Co 7:38
1Co 7:38
So then both he that giveth his own virgin daughter in marriage doeth well;-He violates no law in so doing, and is not to be censured for it.
and he that giveth her not in marriage shall do better.-He more certainly under the trying circumstances considered her happiness by holding her from entering into the married state than he would by allowing her to enter into it. [And yet, when all is said, Paul leaves the whole problem of getting married an open question to be settled by each individual case.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
then: 1Co 7:28
doeth well: 1Co 7:2, Heb 13:4
doeth better: 1Co 7:1, 1Co 7:8, 1Co 7:26, 1Co 7:32-34, 1Co 7:37
Reciprocal: Gen 21:21 – a wife Act 21:9 – virgins
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1Co 7:38. The pronoun her is in italics in both sentences and is not justified by the original. The phrase giveth in marriage means to give himself in marriage to another. He that becomes married doeth well because he avoids the guilt of immorality, but he that is able to remain unmarried doeth better because he not only maintains his moral chastity, but avoids the burdens of married life.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Vv. 38. So then he that giveth in marriage doeth well, but he that giveth not in marriage will do better.
We again find here one of those , so that, with which Paul, in this Epistle, loves to formulate his final judgment on a question which he has finished treating.
There is in Greek, before the words he that giveth in marriage, , both, which serves to coordinate the subjects of the two parallel propositions: both…and… This particle was suggested to Paul, on beginning his sentence, by his feeling of the equality of the two subjects in their doing well, their . But as he proceeds in the expression of his thought, the idea of equality gives place to that of superiority in the second father, and he substitutes at the head of the second proposition, as we have it in the received reading, the , but, which expresses a contrast or a gradation, for the , and, which was in his original intention. It is easy to see how the reading of the Byz., notwithstanding its apparent incorrectness, corresponds better with the movement of the apostle’s thought than the Alex. and Greco-Latin reading.
There is room for hesitation between the received reading, , and the Alex. reading, . But there can be little doubt that the words ( A) or (B D), his virgin, which are omitted by the T. R., are a gloss. It was easy to add them to fill in the ellipsis of the object, but there was not the slightest reason for rejecting them, if they had existed in the text. Meyer therefore rightly judges that here again the Alex. text is corrupt. There is thus room for supposing that is the true reading. In any case, it better expresses the feeling of self-deprivation on the part of the father.
The reading of the Vatic. alone, , will do, in the first proposition, is certainly a mistake. On the other hand, the future may well be held to be the true reading in the second proposition, since two other Alex. here agree with the Vatic. It was, no doubt, to complete the parallelism that the future was introduced into this MS. in the preceding member of the sentence, and even by some into 1Co 7:37. The present was preferable in 1Co 7:37, which contained a general maxim. But here there is something prophetic, and consequently encouraging, in the future: This father will see that he has taken the better course.
This well and better sum up the whole chapter. The well proves that in the eyes of Paul there is neither defilement nor even inferiority of holiness in marriage, and that the better is uttered by him from the prudential point of view, either as to the sufferings avoided or as to the more complete personal liberty for the service of Christ. St. Paul could speak of this position from experience. What would have become of his ministry among the Gentiles on the day when he should have exchanged his independence as a celibate for the duties and troubles of family life? It may be objected, no doubt, that if Paul’s principle became a generally observed maxim, the existence of the race would be compromised. But the apostle knew well that Christians will always be a minority in human society, and that among Christians themselves there will not be more than a minority possessing the special gift of which he spoke in 1Co 7:7.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
So then both he that giveth his own virgin daughter in marriage doeth well; and he that giveth her not in marriage shall do better. [Marriages in the East were then, as now, arranged by the parents. If a parent saw fit to marry his daughter he had a perfect right to do so and was guilty of no sin, but if he heeded the apostle’s warning as to the coming trials and kept his daughter free from alliances he acted more wisely. Fourth question: Should widows remarry? is answered thus:]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
38. So both he that marries his virgin does well, and he that marries her not will do better. This verse covers the ground of the two contrastive cases in the two preceding verses. The father in 1Co 7:36 gives his daughter in wedlock, while the father in 1Co 7:37 retains his in celibacy for the Lords work. Paul decides that the former, marrying his daughter to a good man, does well, but the latter not marrying his daughter to a man will do better. Why? Because the single woman will be the more efficient preacher of the two, and win more souls for God.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
1Co 7:38. Paul’s last word about maidens. It is evidently limited by the reason placed in front (1Co 7:26) of the whole section, the present distress. The peculiar circumstances of the early Christians made change in social position undesirable: and the shortness of time made it unimportant. Marriage would add greatly to their anxieties. Therefore, where no special circumstances determined otherwise, Paul advises that the maidens of the church remain such.
Well, better: not a matter of strict right or wrong, but of less or greater advantage. Not that it would be better for him who gives his daughter in marriage not to do so, but that circumstances prevent the more advantageous course. Taking all into account, it is sometimes (e.g. 1Co 7:9) better to marry.
Fuente: Beet’s Commentary on Selected Books of the New Testament
7:38 So then he that giveth [her] in marriage doeth well; but he that giveth [her] not in marriage doeth {l} better.
(l) Provides better for his children, and that not in just any way, but by reason of such conditions as are mentioned before.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
The decision in view is one involving the good and the better rather than the right and the wrong or not sinning and sinning. This is a good example of an amoral (non-moral) situation. Paul addressed other amoral situations later in this epistle (cf. 1Co 8:1 to 1Co 11:1).
"So at the end Paul has agreed, and disagreed, with the Corinthians in their letter. They prefer celibacy for ’spiritual’ reasons; he prefers it for pastoral and eschatological ones. But quite in contrast to them, he also affirms marriage; indeed, he does so strongly: Such a man ’does well.’ But there is one final word. These verses are addressed to the man; but in keeping with his response throughout, there is a final word for married women as well." [Note: Fee, The First . . ., p. 355.]