Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

2 Timothy 4:17

παρέστη : The Lord was my “patronus,” cf. Romans 16:2. But the word is used in a purely local sense of the felt presence of a Divine Being in reff. in Acts.

ἐνεδυνάμωσεν : See note on 1 Timothy 1:12.

πληροφορηθῇ : impleatur (Vulg.). As long as there had been no public proclamation of the gospel by Paul himself in Rome, the function of κῆρυξ had not been completely fulfilled by him.

ἐρύσθην ἐκ στόματος λέοντος : This is most naturally understood as an echo of Psalms 21 (22):22, σῶσόν με ἐκ στόματος λέοντος λέοντος. ῥῦσαι occurs in the verse preceding. And what follows in the LXX seems to point to the most satisfactory explanation of the apostle's meaning, καὶ ἀπὸ κεράτων μονοκερώτων τὴν ταπείνωσίν μου. διηγήσομαι τὸ ὄνομα σον τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου, κ. τ. λ. If St. Paul had not been strengthened to complete his κήρυγμα, his failure would have been his ταπείνωσις. As it was, he was delivered from that calamity, and enabled to declare God's name to the Gentiles. It is impossible, in view of ἤδη σπένδομαι (2 Timothy 4:6), to suppose that delivery from death is implied. πρώτῃ (2 Timothy 4:16) proves that the apostle was aware that a second trial was awaiting him, the issue of which he knew would be his execution. It is still more impossible to suppose that literal wild beasts are meant. Paul's Roman citizenship secured him from that degradation. The Greek commentators take “the lion” to mean Nero, “from his ferocity” (Chrys.). Cf. Esth. 14:13, of Ahasuerus; Joseph. Antiq. xviii. 6, 10, of Tiberius. It is no objection to this exegesis that the article is omitted before λέοντος, since, as we have seen, there is none in the Psalm. But deliverance from that lion's mouth would be equivalent to acquittal by the Roman government; and it is evident that St. Paul was well aware that his sentence had been only deferred.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

2 Timothy 4:17

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