Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

James 1:23

οὗτος ἔοικεν ἀνδρὶ. ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ : With the thought here contained, cf. Pseudo-Cyprian in De duobus mont., chap. 13: “Ita me in vobis videte, quomodo quis vestrum se videt in aquam aut in speculum” (Resch., op. cit., P. 35), cf. 1Co 13:12; 2 Corinthians 3:18. τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ : Cf. Jude 1:12 :18, πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας τῆς γενέσεως, “all the days of the natural life,” γεν. being used of unenduring existence; if this is the meaning here, it is used “to contrast the reflexion in the mirror of the face which belongs to this transitory life, with the reflexion, as seen in the Word, of the character which is being here moulded for eternity” (Mayor). In James 1:24, “forgetteth what manner of man he was” makes it improbable that the reference is to the “natural face,” because a man would probably have some idea as to what his features were like. If πρόσωπον is here used in the sense of “personality” (as in Sir 4:22; Sir 4:27; Sir 7:6; Sir 10:5; Sir 42:1, etc.) then the reference would perhaps be to a man looking into his conscience, i.e., “the personality at its birth,” before he had become sin-stained; this being what he was originally meant to be. The Peshiṭtâ simplifies the matter by omitting τῆς γενέσεως, and is followed in this by some minor authorities. ἐσόπτρῳ : Cf. Sir 12:11 … καὶ ἔσῃ αὐτῷ ὡς ἐκμεμαχὼς ἔσοπτρον; and Wis 7:26.

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Expositor's Greek Testament (Nicoll)

James 1:23

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