Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Ephesians 5:33
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.
33. Nevertheless ] The word recalls the reader from the Divine but incidental “mystery” of the mystical Union to the holy relationship which is at once a type of it and sanctified and glorified by it.
of you ] Add, with the Gr., also: “you Christian husbands, as well as the heavenly Husband.”
his wife ] His own wife, as above, Eph 5:28.
reverence ] Lit., “fear,” and so R.V. The fear of respect, of reverence, is obviously meant, and we prefer the expression of this as in A.V. The word “fear” is indeed continually used in Scripture of the holy and happy reverence of man for God, and so has lost all necessary connexion with painful ideas. But just because we have here a precept for a human mutual relation, the word which best keeps painful ideas out seems to be not only the most beautiful, but the most true to the import of the Greek, in such a context.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Nevertheless – The apostle here resumes the subject which he had been discussing in Eph 5:21-29, and says that it was the duty of every man to love his wife as he did himself. This was the main topic, from which he had been diverted by the discussion respecting the love which the Redeemer had shown for his church.
And the wife see that she reverence her husband – The word see is supplied by our translators. The meaning is, that it was the special duty of the wife to show respect for her husband as the head of the family, and as set over her in the Lord; see on Eph 5:22, note 28, note. The word rendered reverence, is that which usually denotes fear – phobetai. She is to fear; i. e., to honor, respect, obey the will of her husband. It is, of course, not implied that it is not also her duty to love her husband, but that there should be no usurping of authority; no disregard of the arrangement which God has made; and that order and peace should be secured in a family by regarding the husband as the source of law.
From what is here said of the duties of husband and wife we may remark:
(1) That the happiness of society depends on just views of the marriage relation. It is true the world over, that the views which prevail in regard to this relation, determine everything in reference to all other relations of life, and to all other sources of enjoyment.
(2) God designed that woman should occupy a subordinate, though an important place in the relations of social life. This arrangement is never disregarded without evils which cannot be corrected until the original intention is secured. No imaginary good that can come out of the violation of the original design; no benefits which females, individual or associated, can confer on mankind by disregarding this arrangement, can be a compensation for the evil that is done, nor can the evil be remedied unless woman occupies the place which God designed she should fill. There nothing else can supply her place; and when she is absent from that situation – no matter what good she may be doing elsewhere – there is a silent evil reigning, which can be removed only by her return. It is not hers to fight battles, or to command armies and navies, or to control kingdoms, or to make laws. Nor is it hers to go forward as a public leader even in enterprises of benevolence, or in associations designed to act on the public mind. Her empire is the domestic circle; her first influence is there; and in connection with that, in such scenes as she can engage in without trenching on the prerogative of man, or neglecting the duty which she owes to her own family.
(3) It is not best that there should be the open exercise of authority in a family. When commands begin in the relation of husband and wife, happiness flies; and the moment a husband is disposed to command his wife, or is under a necessity of doing it, that moment he may bid adieu to domestic peace and joy.
(4) A wife, therefore, should never give her husband occasion to command her to do anything, or forbid anything. His known wish, except in cases of conscience, should be law to her. The moment she can ascertain what his will is, that moment ought to settle her mind as to what is to be done.
(5) A husband should never wish or expect anything that it may not be perfectly proper for a wife to render. He, too, should consult her wishes; and when he understands what they are, he should regard what she prefers as the very thing which he would command. The known wish and preference of a wife, unless there be something wrong in it, should be allowed to influence his mind, and be that which he directs in the family.
(6) There is no danger that a husband will love a wife too much, provides his love be subordinate to the love of God. The command is, to love her as Christ loved the church. What love has ever been like that? How can a husband exceed it? What did not Christ endure to redeem the church? So should a husband be willing to deny himself to promote the happiness of his wife; to watch by her in sickness, and, if need be, to peril health and life to promote her welfare. Doing this, he will not go beyond what Christ did for the church. He should remember that she has a special claim of justice on him. For him she has left her fathers home, forsaken the friends of her youth, endowed him with whatever property she may have, sunk her name in his, confided her honor, her character, and her happiness, to his virtue; and the least that he can do for her is to love her, and strive to make her happy. This was what she asked when she consented to become his; and a husbands love is what she still asks to sustain and cheer her in the trials of life. If she has not this, whither shall she go for comfort?
(7) We may see, then, the guilt of those husbands who withhold their affections from their wives, and forsake those to whom they had solemnly pledged themselves at the altar; those who neglect to provide for their needs, or to minister to them in sickness; and those who become the victims of intemperance, and leave their wives to tears. There is much, much guilt of this kind on earth. There are many, many broken vows. There are many, many hearts made to bleed. There is many a pure and virtuous woman who was once the object of tender affection, now, by no fault of hers, forsaken, abused, broken-hearted, by the brutal conduct of a husband,
(8) Wives should manifest such a character as to be worthy of love. They owe this to their husbands. They demand the confidence and affection of man; and they should show that they are worthy of that confidence and affection. It is not possible to love that which is unlovely, nor to force affection where it is undeserved; and, as a wife expects that a husband will love her more than he does any other earthly being, it is but right that she should evince such a spirit as shall make that proper. A wife may easily alienate the affections of her partner in life. If she is irritable and fault-finding; if none of his ways please her; if she takes no interest in his plans, and in what he does; if she forsakes her home when she should he there, and seeks happiness abroad; or if, at home, she never greets him with a smile; if she is wasteful of his earnings, and extravagant in her habits, it will be impossible to prevent the effects of such a course of life on his mind. And when a wife perceives the slightest evidence of alienated affection in her husband, she should inquire at once whether she has not given occasion for it, and exhibited such a spirit as tended inevitably to produce such a result.
(9) To secure mutual love, therefore, it is necessary that there should be mutual kindness, and mutual loveliness of character. Whatever is seen to be offensive or painful, should be at once abandoned. All the little peculiarities of temper and modes of speech that are observed to give pain, should be forsaken; and, while one party should endeavor to tolerate them, and not to be offended, the other should make it a matter of conscience to remove them.
(10) the great secret of conjugal happiness is in the cultivation of a proper temper. It is not so much in the great and trying scenes of life that the strength of virtue is tested; it is in the events that are constantly occurring; the manifestation of kindness in the things that are happening every moment; the gentleness that flows along every day, like the stream that winds through the meadow and around the farm-house, noiseless but useful, diffusing fertility by day and by night. Great deeds rarely occur. The happiness of life depends little on them, but mainly on the little acts of kindness in life. We need them everywhere; we need them always. And eminently in the marriage relation there is need of gentleness and love, returning each morning, beaming in the eye, and dwelling in the heart through the livelong day.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 33. Nevertheless] . Moreover, or therefore, on the consideration of God’s design in the institution of marriage, let every one of you love his wife as himself, because she is both naturally and by a Divine ordinance a part of himself.
That she reverence her husband.] Let the wife ever consider the husband as her head, and this he is, not only by nature, but also by the ordinance of God. These are very important matters, and on them the apostle lays great stress. See the following observations.
THERE is one subject in the preceding verse on which I could not enlarge sufficiently in the notes, and which I have reserved for this place; viz. what the apostle says concerning the mystery of marriage, which certainly has a deeper meaning than what is generally apprehended. Dr. Macknight has some good observations on this part of the subject, which I shall beg leave to lay before my readers.
1. “The apostle calls the formation of Eve from Adam’s body, his marriage with her; and the intimate union established between them by that marriage, a great mystery, because it contained an important emblematical meaning concerning the regeneration of believers, and their union with Christ, which hitherto had been kept secret, but which he had discovered in the 30th verse. Eph 5:30 For there, in allusion to what Adam said concerning Eve, ‘This now is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh,’ the apostle says, concerning Christ and believers: We are bone of his bones, and flesh of his flesh: that is, we are parts of his body, the Church. And by this application of Adam’s words concerning Eve to Christ and to his Church, he intimates, First, That the formation of Eve of a rib taken out of Adam’s body was a figure of the regeneration of believers by the breaking of Christ’s body, mentioned Eph 5:25. Secondly, That Adam’s love to Eve, on account of her being formed of his body, was a figure of Christ’s love to believers because they are become his body, Eph 5:30. Thirdly, That Adam’s marriage with Eve was a figure of the eternal union of Christ with believers in heaven, mentioned Eph 5:27. For he left his Father to be united to his Church.
2. “In giving this emblematical representation of these ancient facts, the apostle has not exceeded the bounds of probability. In the first age, neither the art of writing, nor any permanent method of conveying instruction, being invented, it was necessary to make such striking actions and events as could not easily be forgotten emblems of the instruction meant to be perpetuated. On this supposition, Adam, in whom the human race began, was a natural image of Christ, in whom the human race was to be restored; and his deep sleep, the opening of his side, and the formation of Eve of a rib taken out of his side, were fit emblems of Christ’s death, of the opening of his side on the cross, and of the regeneration of believers by his death. The love which Adam expressed towards Eve, and his union with her by marriage, were lively images of Christ’s love to believers, and of his eternal union with them in one society after their resurrection; and Eve herself, who was formed of a rib taken from Adam’s side, was a natural image of believers, who are regenerated, both in their body and in their mind, by the breaking of Christ’s side on the cross. Thus, the circumstances which accompanied the formation of Eve being fit emblems of the formation of the Church, we may suppose they were brought to pass to prefigure that great event; and, by prefiguring it, to show that it was decreed of God from the very beginning.
3. “The aptness, however, of these images is not the only reason for supposing that the formation of Eve, and her marriage with Adam in paradise, were emblems of the regeneration of believers by the death of Christ, and of their eternal union with him in heaven. The singular manner in which Eve was formed, and the declaration at her marriage with Adam, ‘Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh,’ strongly lead to that conclusion. Eve was not formed of the dust of the earth, as all other living things were made, (not excepting Adam himself,) but of a rib taken from Adam’s side while he was in a deep sleep. Now, for this diversity, what reason can be assigned, if that which the apostle hath suggested is not admitted? Farther: unless some deep instruction were couched under the formation of Eve, what occasion was there for Adam, at his marriage with her, to declare, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called woman, because she was taken out of man: therefore shall a man leave,’ c.? For although the taking of Eve out of Adam might be a reason for Adam’s affection towards her, it was no reason for the affection of his posterity towards their wives, who were not so formed. The reason of their love to their wives is their being creatures of the same species with themselves. This Eve might have been, though, like Adam, she had been formed of the dust of the earth. Wherefore Adam’s declaration concerning Eve being taken out of his body, and concerning his love to her on that account, was intended for some purpose peculiar to himself namely, as he was a type of Him who was to restore the human race by the breaking of his body on the cross, and who on that account loves them, and will unite them to himself for ever. Upon the whole, the formation of Eve and her marriage with Adam, and his love to and union with her because she was taken out of his side, and the declaration that, on that account, all his posterity should love their wives, and continue united to them through life, (a union which does not subsist among other animals,) are events so singular, that I do not see what account can be given of them, unless, with the Apostle Paul, we suppose that, agreeably to the most ancient method of instruction, God intended these things as figurative representations of the regeneration of believers by the death of Christ, and of his eternal union with them in heaven; and that Adam and Eve were taught by God himself to consider them as such.
4. “It is no small confirmation of the apostle’s emblematical interpretation of the formation and marriage of Eve, that in Scripture we find a variety of images and expressions founded on that interpretation. For example, Ro 5:14, Adam is expressly called a type of him who was to come, on which account, 1Co 15:45, Christ is called the last Adam. Next, the catholic Church, consisting of believers of all nations, is called the body of Christ, and the members thereof are said to be members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones; in allusion to the formation of Eve, the emblem of the Church. For, as Eve was formed of a rib taken out of Adam’s body during his deep sleep, so believers are regenerated both in mind and body, and formed into one great society, and united to Christ as their head and governor, by the breaking of his body on the cross. Thirdly, to this emblematical meaning of the formation of Eve, our Lord, I think, alluded when he instituted his supper. For instead of appointing one symbol only of his death, he appointed two; and, in explaining the first of them, he expressed himself in such a manner as to show that he had his eye on what happened to Adam when Eve was formed: This is my body which is broken for you-for your regeneration. Fourthly, the eternal union of the regenerated with Christ after the resurrection is called a marriage, Re 19:7; and the new Jerusalem, that is, the inhabitants of the new Jerusalem, the society of the redeemed, is termed the bride, the Lamb’s wife; and the preparing of men for that happy union, by introducing them into the Church upon earth through faith, and by sanctifying them through the word, is called, 2Co 11:2, A fitting them for one husband, that at the resurrection they may be presented a chaste virgin to Christ; in allusion, I suppose, to the presenting of Eve to Adam, in order to her marriage with him; and to show that, in this expression, the apostle had the figurative meaning of Eve’s marriage in his mind, he mentions, 2Co 11:3, the subtlety of the devil in deceiving Eve. Finally, the union of the Jewish Church with God, as the figure of the catholic Church, consisting of the regenerated of all nations, is by God himself termed a marriage, Jer 3:14; Eze 16:8-32; and God is called the husband of that people, Isa 54:5; and their union to him by the law of Moses is termed, The day of their espousals, Jer 2:2.”
1. A truly Christian marriage has an excellence, holiness, and unity in it, that cannot be easily described; and let it be observed that, while it prefigures the union of Christ with his Church, it is one means of giving children to the Church, and members to the mystical body of Christ. It is an ordinance of God, and, cannot be too highly honoured; endless volumes might be written on its utility to man: without marriage, by which every man is assigned his own wife, and every woman her own husband, even the multitude of spurious births which would take place would fail to keep up the population of the earth; and natural, moral, and political wretchedness would be the consequence of promiscuous, fortuitous, and transitory connections. For without that ascertainment of peculiar property which marriage gives to every man in his wife, and to every woman in her husband, the human progeny would be unnoticed, unclaimed, uneducated, and totally neglected. This would continually increase the wretchedness, and in process of time bring about the total depopulation of the world.
2. The husband is to love his wife, the wife to obey and venerate her husband; love and protection on the one hand, affectionate subjection and fidelity on the other. The husband should provide for his wife without encouraging profuseness; watch over her conduct without giving her vexation; keep her in subjection without making her a slave; love her without jealousy; oblige her without flattery; honour her without making her proud; and be hers entirely, without becoming either her footman or her slave. In short, they have equal rights and equal claims; but superior strength gives the man dominion, affection and subjection entitle the woman to love and protection. Without the woman, man is but half a human being; in union with the man, the woman finds her safety and perfection.
In the above remarks there are many things solid and useful; there are others which rest more on fancy than judgment.
3. Of marriage the Church of Rome has made a sacrament, and it is one of the seven which that Church acknowledges. That it is an ordinance of God is sufficiently evident; that he has not made it a sacrament is not less so. Though the minister of religion celebrates it, yet the regulation of it, in reference to inheritance, c., is assumed by the state. This is of great moment, as by it many evils are prevented, and many political and domestic advantages secured. If a man enter hastily into this state it is at his own risk after he has once entered it, the seal of the legislature is imposed upon it, and with his engagements, he cannot trifle. A consideration of this has prevented many hasty and disproportionate alliances. Though they might hope to trifle with the Church, they dare not do it with the state.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Nevertheless; q.d. Setting aside this mystery; or, to return to my former exhortation.
Love his wife even as himself; as her that is one flesh with him.
Reverence her husband; or fear, yet not with a servile, but ingenuous fear, and such as proceeds from love.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
33. Neverthelessnot to pursuefurther the mystical meaning of marriage. Translate, as Greek,“Do ye also (as Christ does) severally each one so love,”&c. The words, “severally each one,” refer to them intheir individual capacity, contrasted with the previouscollective view of the members of the Church as the bride ofChrist.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Nevertheless, let everyone of you in particular,…. The apostle returns to his former subject, and recapitulates the mutual duties of husband and wife, after he had enforced them from the instance and example of Christ, and his church; and would have every married person in particular take the directions and instructions given, to themselves: as that the husband
so love his wife even as himself; since they two are one flesh:
and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband; since he leaves father and mother for her, and is the head of her;
[See comments on Eph 5:22].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Nevertheless (). “Howbeit,” not to dwell unduly (Abbott) on the matter of Christ and the church.
Do ye also severally love ( ‘ ). An unusual idiom. The verb (present active imperative) agrees with and so is third singular instead of (second plural) like . The use of ‘ after = ” ye one by one ” and then takes up (individualizes) the “one” in partitive apposition and in the third person.
Let the wife see that she fear ( ). There is no verb in the Greek for “let see” (). For this use of with the subjunctive as a practical imperative without a principal verb (an elliptical imperative) see Mark 5:23; Matt 20:32; 1Cor 7:29; 2Cor 8:7; Eph 4:29; Eph 5:33 (Robertson, Grammar, p. 994). “Fear” (, present middle subjunctive) here is “reverence.”
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Nevertheless. Not to dwell longer on the mystical aspect of the subject.
Even as himself. Not as much as he loves himself, but as being his very self.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Nevertheless let every one of you in particular” (plen kai humeis hoi kath’ hena hekastos) “Nevertheless you all also, one by one in particular,” or each individual husband, not to speak further of that higher union.
2) “So love his wife even as himself” (ten heautou gunaika houtos agapato hos heauton) “Let him love his wife just as himself,” or fulfill the obligation of love to his wife, as to himself, a Christian duty of conjugal love from which no husband is exempt, Eph 4:28.
3) “And the wife see that she reverence her husband” (he de gune hina phobetai ton andra) “Then the wife let her fear (with reverence) her husband,” with chaste conversation, connected with or linked with reverential fear or an obedient regard for her husband as head of their marital relations, 1Pe 3:1-2.
QUALITIES OF A GOOD WIFE
An old author says, “A good wife should be like three things: which three things she should not be like. First she should be like a snail, to keep within her own house; but she should not be like the snail, to carry all she has upon her back. Secondly, she should be like an echo, to speak when spoken to; but she should not be like an echo, always to have the last word. Thirdly, she should be like a town-clock, always to keep time and regularity; but she should not be like a town-clock, speak so loud that all the town may hear her.”
–(Anon.)
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
33. Nevertheless, let every one. Having digressed a little from this subject, though the very digression aided his design, he adopts the method usually followed in short precepts, by giving a brief summary of duties. Husbands are required to love their wives, and wives to fear ( φοβὢται) their husbands, understanding by fear that reverence which will lead them to be submissive. Where reverence does not exist, there will be no willing subjection. (166)
(166) “One peculiarity in this injunction has been usually overlooked. What is instructive on either side is not enforced, but what is necessary to direct and hallow such an instinct is inculcated. The woman loves in deep, undying sympathy; but, to teach her how this fondness should know and fill its appropriate sphere, she is commanded to obey and honor. The man, on the other hand, feels that his position is to govern; but, to shew him what should be the essence and means of his government, he is enjoined to love.” — Eadie.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(33) Nevertheless.Although, i.e., the primary and perfect application is to Christ alone, let the teaching be so far applied to marriage as that practically the husband love his wife as himself, and the wife reverence (properly, fear) the husband. This return to homely, practical duty after high and mysterious teaching is characteristic of St. Paul. (See, for example, 1Co. 15:58.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
33. Nevertheless Although the marital is the subordinate mystery.
Let every one of you Husband or wife faithfully perform the duties herein illustrated.
As himself In accordance with this conceptual oneness.
Reverence husband Just as it is her husband’s duty to be worthy to be revered, it is one of “woman’s rights” not, unhappily, always attained to have “a husband to whom she can look up.” But an effeminate man and a masculine woman are equally abnormal and unattractive beings.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Nevertheless do you also severally love each one his own wife even as himself, and let the wife see that she fear her husband.’
Paul does not want the practical lesson to be lost, and applies it at the end. Each husband must love his wife as he loves himself, and each wife must hold her husband in godly reverence.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Eph 5:33 . ] is usually explained to the effect, that it leads back to the proper theme after the digression of Eph 5:30-32 , or merely Eph 5:32 (Olshausen). “Paulus prae nobilitate digressionis quasi oblitus propositae rei nunc ad rem revertitur,” Bengel. A digression, however, has certainly not taken place, but Eph 5:30-31 essentially belong to the description of the love of Christ to the church, and Eph 5:32 was a brief gloss pertaining to the right understanding of Eph 5:31 , and not a digression. And is used by way doubtless of breaking off (Luk 19:27 , al. ), but not of resuming. So also here: Yet not further to enter upon the subject of this ye also ought (as Christ the church), each one individually, in such manner ( , i.e. in keeping with the ideal of Christ contained in this ) to love his own wife as himself . With the persons appealed to, and with the mode of what they are to do, are placed in a parallel with Christ.
] ye one by one, vos singuli, man by man . See Matthiae, p. 1357. The following verb, however, has taken its regimen from , not from the proper subject , as often also in classical writers. See Matthiae, p. 765; Stallbaum, ad Gorg. p. 503 E; Bornemann, ad Cyrop. iii. 1. 8.
The twofold designation strengthens the conception, that each one without exception , etc.
] as himself , so that the love issues from, and is determined by, the point of view: , Eph 5:28 .
] is with emphasis absolutely (Winer, p. 506 [E. T. 722]) prefixed, not yet dependent on the notion of volo (see on 2Co 8:7 ) to be supplied in thought before . Hence: but the wife she ought to fear her husband . In this brief stern closing utterance, the apostle, while stating the obligation of the husband to love the wife , yet secures as concerns the wife the relation of subordination, namely, the duty of reverence for the husband a duty, which is not done away with by that obligation on the part of the husband. “Optime cohaerebit concordia, si utrimque constabunt officia,” Erasmus, Paraphr . Rightly, we may add, in accordance with the context Oecumenius defines the notion of : , . See Eph 5:22-24 .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
REFLECTIONS
AMIDST numberless blessed things, for raising reflection of a sweet, and spiritual nature, contained in this Chapter; I would beg of God the Holy Ghost, for grace, to fix my mind upon God the Father’s love, in that, the Church is called by him dear children! Oh! for grace to consider the blessedness of such a name, and the proof, that all his redeemed are, indeed, dear children in his Almighty view. For He hath chosen them in his dear Son, given them to his dear Son, and given his dear Son for them, and chosen them to himself, as his adopted children in Christ. Oh! who that is enabled by grace, to enter into an apprehension of the unspeakable, mercy contained in such a relationship, but must cry out, with the Apostle: Behold ! what manner of love the Father hath bestowed on us, that we should be called sons of God!
In like manner would I beg of God the Holy Ghost, to fix my mind upon God the Son’s love, who hath so loved his Church, as to give himself, an offering, and a sacrifice, to God, for a sweet smelling savor. Oh! thou dear Emanuel! let the rich savor of thy blood, which hath perfumed heaven forever, sweetly cleanse my soul, from the savor of all uncleanliness!
And no less would I beg of God the Holy Ghost, to fix my mind upon his own glorious Person, and Godhead; and that, in the fruit of the Spirit, in all goodness, and righteousness, and truth, I may be a follower of God, as one of his dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved me, and given himself for me ! Oh! for grace, to be walking in the light, as children of the light, and as the members of Christ’s body, his flesh, and his bones. Shortly, Jesus will bring home his Church; and all the great purposes of his mystery, will be accomplished. His people shall then see him as he is, and know even as they are known !
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband.
Ver. 33. Nevertheless ] q.d. But that I may return to my former discourse, from the which I have somewhat digressed for your satisfaction.
See that she reverence ] 1. In heart, as Sarah did Abraham, and she is crowned and chronicled for it, 1Pe 3:6 ; 1Pe 2:1-25 . In her speeches both to him, and of him, as the spouse in the Son 3:1-11 . In all her gestures and deportments; for she may scold with her looks, &c. Vultu saepe laeditur pietas. By looks often is goodness offended. God hath a barren womb for mocking Michal.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
33 .] Nevertheless (not to go further into the mystical bearings of the subject so Meyer) you also (as well as Christ) every one (see reff. and 1Co 14:27 ; Act 15:21 ; Heb 9:25 ), let each (the construction is changed and the verb put into concord with instead of : so Plato, Gorg. p. 503, . . . .; Rep. p. 346, ( ) , . . . Cic. de Off. i. 41, ‘poet suum quisque opus a vulgo considerari vult’) so love his own wife as himself, and the wife (best taken as a nominative absolute, as Mey. Otherwise we should rather expect . . . It is no objection to this (Eadie) that in the resolution of the idiom a verb must be supplied: but the wife, for her part, ‘ I order ,’ or, ‘ let her see ,’ cf. note on 2Co 8:7 ), that she fear ( , , c.) her husband .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Eph 5:33 . : nevertheless ye also severally . , connected probably with and meaning primarily further, besides , is used both for unfolding (= moreover); and for restricting (= howbeit, nevertheless; cf. Thayer-Grimm, ut sup. , p. 517; Donaldson, Greek Gram. , 548). Here probably it has the latter application, = “nevertheless, not to say more of that higher union, see that ye, all of you, fulfil the obligation of love to your wives”. The distributive phrase , “ye one by one,” individualises the , and excludes all exceptions. The conjoins the with Christ, = “in you also, as in Christ, love is to be fulfilled”. : let each one of you love his own wife as himself . The sentence, which has begun with the plural , when it reaches its verb follows the nearest , and gives instead of . The expresses still more emphatically the absoluteness and universality of the Christian duty of conjugal love a duty from which no single husband is exempt. As in Eph 5:28 the means not merely that each husband is to love his wife as he loves himself, but that he is to love her as being himself, part and parcel of himself according to the Divine idea of the marriage union. : and the wife let her see that she fear her husband . is a nom. absol. of a simple kind and emphatic; the is metabatic and slightly adversative; = “so much has been said of the husband, and as to the wife now, reverence is her part”. The change in the construction from the usual imperative to the form is explained by some by supplying , as stands in Eph 5:15 . But with the conj. is used elsewhere in the NT (Mar 5:23 ; 2Co 8:7 ) as an imperative formula, originally no doubt an elliptical form for “I bid you that you do,” or “see you that you do”. It occurs also in later Greek prose ( e.g. , Arrian, Epict. , iv., 1, 41), as the corresponding formula is used in the same way in classical Greek with the fut. indic. (Aristoph., Nubes , 823), and more occasionally with the conj. (Xen., Cyr. , i, 3, 18). So in Latin, ibi ut sint omnia parata , Cic., Fam. , xiv., 20 ( cf. Donaldson, Greek Gram. , p. 602; Win.-Moult., p. 396). , fear , in the sense of reverence , spontaneous, obedient regard; cf. the frequent application of the verb to the fear of God (Luk 1:50 ; Luk 18:2 ; Luk 18:4 ; Act 10:2 ; Act 10:22 ; Act 10:35 , etc.); and its use in the case of Herod (Mar 6:20 ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
every one = each.
in particular. Greek. kath (App-104.) hena.
reverence = fear (as her “head”). Greek. phobeo. Occurs ninety-three times; always rendered “fear” or “be afraid”, except here.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
33.] Nevertheless (not to go further into the mystical bearings of the subject-so Meyer) you also (as well as Christ) every one (see reff. and 1Co 14:27; Act 15:21; Heb 9:25), let each (the construction is changed and the verb put into concord with instead of : so Plato, Gorg. p. 503, . …; Rep. p. 346, () , … Cic. de Off. i. 41, poet suum quisque opus a vulgo considerari vult) so love his own wife as himself, and the wife (best taken as a nominative absolute, as Mey. Otherwise we should rather expect … It is no objection to this (Eadie) that in the resolution of the idiom a verb must be supplied:-but the wife, for her part,-I order, or, let her see, cf. note on 2Co 8:7), that she fear ( , , c.) her husband.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Eph 5:33. , nevertheless) Paul, as it were forgetful of the matter in hand by reason of the noble character of the digression, returns now to his subject.-, that) Supply I will, or I wish, or something similar; comp. 1Co 4:2, note, 1Co 7:29; 2Co 8:13. The particle gives force; the ellipsis, in a feeling of courtesy, restrains that force.
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Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Eph 5:33
Eph 5:33
Nevertheless do ye also severally love each one his own wife even as himself;-Notwithstanding he speaks of Christ and the church, let every man so love his wife as he loves himself-make her a part of himself, in his thoughts, feelings, purposes, and regard her comfort and happiness as he does his own, and do for her as he does for himself.
and let the wife see that she fear her husband.-Let the wife see that she respects and honors her husband. [Reverence consists of love and esteem which produce a care to please, and a fear which awakens caution lest just offense be given. There should be such a mutual love and confidence that the known wish of the husband should be a law to the wife; and that the known desires of the wife should be the rule which the husband would approve.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
let: Eph 5:25, Eph 5:28, Eph 5:29, Col 3:19, 1Pe 3:7
reverence: Eph 5:22, 1Ki 1:31, Est 1:20, Heb 12:9, 1Pe 3:2-6
Reciprocal: Gen 18:12 – my Est 1:17 – despise Rom 13:7 – fear to 1Co 7:2 – let 1Co 14:34 – they are Eph 5:15 – See Eph 5:24 – in Col 3:18 – submit 1Th 5:15 – See Tit 2:5 – obedient 1Pe 3:1 – ye Rev 19:10 – See
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
(Eph 5:33.) , -Nevertheless also as to every one of you, let each love his wife as himself. The word does not indicate, as Bengel, Harless, and Olshausen wrongly suppose, any return from a digression. The preceding verses are no digression, but an interlinked and extended illustration. As Meyer insists, means, yet apart from this; that is, apart from this illustration of the conjugal relationship of Christ to His church. The term, therefore, does not indicate a return from a formal digression, but rather a return to the starting thought. The contains an allusion to the leading idea of the preceding illustration-the love of Christ to His spiritual spouse. As He loves His spouse, do you also, every one of you, love his wife. . 1Co 14:27-31; Jelf, 629; Winer, 49, d. The verb is singular, agreeing with and not -a mode of construction which individualizes and intensifies the injunction.
-as being himself one flesh with him. (Eph 5:31; Eph 5:28.) Not that he is to idolize her, as if, among all his other bones, Adam’s extracted rib alone had been of ivory.
-and the wife that she reverence her husband. The construction of this clause is idiomatic, as in Gal 2:10; 2Co 8:7; Mar 5:23; Winer, 63, II.1. In such an idiom , in effect, is the nominative absolute, though in the resolution of the idiom a verb must be supplied; or as Ellicott, who objects to our statement, admits-it is not so definitely unsyntactic as Act 7:40, and that is all we meant to say. may be slightly adversative, the conjugal duties being in contrast. The verb to be supplied, and on which, in the mind of the writer, depends, is furnished by the context (Meyer on 2Co 8:7, and Osiander on the same place), as, I command, or let her see. In such a case is used by the classical writers. Raphelius, Annotat. 488. The wife is to reverence her husband-numquam enim erit voluntaria subjectio nisi proecedat reverentia. Calvin. One peculiarity in this injunction has been usually overlooked. What is instinctive on either side is not enforced, but what is necessary to direct and hallow such an instinct is inculcated. The woman loves, but to teach her how this fondness should know and fill its appropriate sphere, she is commanded to obey- . OEcumenius. The man, on the other hand, feels that his position is to govern; but to show him what should be the essence and means of his government, he is enjoined to love. He rules her by authority, and she rules him by love: she ought by all means to please him, and he must by no means displease her. Sermon on the Marriage Ring, by Jeremy Taylor; Works, vol. xv. When this balance of power is unsettled, happiness is lost, and mutual recriminations ensue. A masterly wife, as Gataker says, is as much despised and derided for taking rule over her husband as he for yielding to it.
In fine, the apostle, by the language he has employed in reference to Christ and His church, has given marriage its highest honour. No ascetic condemnation of it occurs in the New Testament. Single life makes men in one instance to be like angels, but marriage in very many things makes the chaste pair to be like Christ. Sermon on the Marriage Ring, by Jeremy Taylor; Works, vol. xv.
Fuente: Commentary on the Greek Text of Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians and Phillipians
Eph 5:33. Nevertheless. Because of his statement as to why he was referring to the great mystery of the marriage relation, some people might conclude that what the apostle said on that subject was of minor importance. He here avoids such an error by direct instructions on the duties of a husband to his wife, repeating what he said in several preceding verses on that subject. He then adds instructions for the wife in her proper attitude toward her husband. Reverence is from PHOBEO, which Thayer defines at this place, “To reverence, venerate [regard with respect], to treat with deference [courteous regard] or reverential obedience.” It does not have the sense of regarding her husband as a superhuman or divine being, as the word “reverend” generally (but erroneously) is thought to mean.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Eph 5:33. Nevertheless. Not to enter further upon this greater mystery; enough has been said. This is preferable to explaining: to return to the subject of marriage, to finding a contrast between I say and ye also. Whether more of the mystery be known or not, the analogy has been sufficiently set forth to enforce this exhortation.
Ye, all of you, also, as in the case of Christ toward His Church, severally, as individuals the exhortation applies to you, let each one so, in this manner, namely, like Christ, love his own wife as himself; not love his wife as he loves himself, but love her as being part of himself (comp. Eph 5:28) thus furnishing a motive corresponding with the previous statements.
And let the wife see. The construction of the original is peculiar, but the sense is expressed by supplying let and see. Ellicott: and the wife I bid that, etc.
Reverence, lit, fear, in the sense which the word has in the Old Testament. The exhortation implies that the husband is the head of the wife (Eph 5:23), and it is a question whether a woman who cannot reverence her husband despises her-self or him the more; that both are the objects of derision to others is notorious. To reverse the duties of this verse and section is as much a folly as it is a crime. But the duties become a privilege only when rendered in the Lord, The section may be thus summed up: To the husband one command is given, and in this three requirements: Love even unto self-sacrifice, with the consequence and purpose of sanctification (Eph 5:25-27), and this with such energy, purity, and constancy, that more is required of the husband than of the wife. The wife should love the husband, as the Church loves Christ, in entire, exclusive, indissoluble, and ministering love; and the husband should love the wife, as Christ the Churchy in entire, exclusive, indissoluble, and protecting love (Braune).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Eph 5:33. Nevertheless As if he said, But though there be such a mystical sense in the marriage of Adam and Eve, or in the union subsisting between a man and his wife; though it be a striking emblem of the union between Christ and his church, yet the plain, literal sense especially now concerns you. Let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself That is, with a sincere, peculiar, cordial, and prevailing affection, like that which he bears to himself: and let the wife see that she reverence her husband That she entertain a high esteem for him, be desirous of pleasing him in all things lawful, reasonable, and proper, and fear to give him unnecessarily any just offence in any thing, persuaded that it is the will of God, and the law of the relation in which she stands to him, that she should thus conduct herself toward him.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.
It is of note that the husband is to love the wife, but the text does not tell the wife to love the man. She is to submit and she is to reverence him and that is where Scripture stops. It is of note in Tit 2:4 that this distinction is mentioned. The older women are to teach the younger women to love their husbands. “That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,”
I might submit that if you want to teach a woman to love her husband teach her to submit to him and to reverence him. It would seem that the love will follow. How else, might the young woman be taught to learn to love her husband? I might mention this love is not the goofy, fuzzy love of today, it is the true love that should be in every marriage.
a. Seeing what he really is within. Understanding how he feels, how he loves, how he functions day to day.
b. Listening to him, taking an interest in him, and being one flesh.
c. Supporting him in his desire to care for you, to cherish you. It is hard to cherish one that is always in his face about something that he hasn’t done, or that he should have done. I am appalled at the attitude of some women in our day.
I have seen many women on television making fun of the presents their husbands have purchased for them. Example, a new appliance. The man sees it as something that will make life nicer for his wife, but she derides it as extra work and not appropriate when she was expecting jewelry or perfume.
A gift is usually something the giver has thought out and has decided on as something they really want to do for the other and to see the other deride you for his choice leads to less cherish.
d. Understand and enjoy this relationship that God has set forth for the marriage. The husband is charged with the care and nurture of the wife, so there is much to be gained by the wife if she allows her spouse to do so.
For further on the wife, see Peter’s comments. 1Pe 3:1 “Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 5 For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:” Note that he mentions the “own husband” idea as well.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
5:33 {16} Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife [see] that she reverence [her] husband.
(16) The conclusion both of the husband’s duty toward his wife, and of the wife’s toward her husband.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Even if Paul’s original readers did not grasp the significance of Christ’s intimate relationship to the church fully, every individual (Gr. humeis hoi kath’ hena) Christian husband, one by one, was responsible to love his wife as himself. Likewise every (the same Greek phrase) Christian wife should, one by one, respect (phobetai, fear, reverence) her husband (Eph 5:21-22). Paul did not instruct wives to respect their husbands because submission is the primary expression of love that God requires. If the husband loves his wife as Christ loved the church, the wife will respect (fear) and so love her husband.
Respecting means voluntarily lifting up another person for special consideration, treatment, and obedience. It involves having consideration for his responsibilities and needs and praying for him. Words of encouragement that have a positive focus and build him up show respect for a husband, as does doing things that please him. Probably most men have a poor self-image. [Note: See Walter Trobisch, All a Man Can Be & What a Woman Should Know.] A man must have the respect of his wife to feel successful as a man. [Note: See Emerson Eggerichs, Love and Respect.]