2 John 1:1 Adam Clarke Commentary

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Chronological Notes relative to this Epistle.

-Year of the Constantinopolitan era of the world, or that used by the Byzantine historians, and other eastern writers, 5593.

-Year of the Alexandrian era of the world, 5587.

-Year of the Antiochian era of the world, 5577.

-Year of the world, according to Archbishop Usher, 4089.

-Year of the world, according to Eusebius, in his Chronicon, 4311.

-Year of the minor Jewish era of the world, or that in common use, 3845.

-Year of the Greater Rabbinical era of the world, 4444.

-Year from the Flood, according to Archbishop Usher, and the English Bible, 2433.

-Year of the Cali yuga, or Indian era of the Deluge, 3187.

-Year of the era of Iphitus, or since the first commencement of the Olympic games, 1025.

-Year of the era of Nabonassar, king of Babylon, 834.

-Year of the CCXVIth Olympiad, 1.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, 832.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Frontinus, 836.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to the Fasti Capitolini, 837.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Varro, which was that most generally used, 838.

-Year of the era of the Seleucidae, 397.

-Year of the Caesarean era of Antioch, 133.

-Year of the Julian era, 130.

-Year of the Spanish era, 123.

-Year from the birth of Jesus Christ, according to Archbishop Usher, 89.

-Year of the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 85.

-Year of Artabanus IV., king of the Parthians, 4.

-Year of the Dionysian period, or Easter Cycle, 86.

-Year of the Grecian Cycle of nineteen years, or Common Golden Number, 10; or the year before the fourth embolismic.

-Year of the Jewish Cycle of nineteen years, 7; or the year before the third embolismic.

-Year of the Solar Cycle, 10.

-Dominical Letter, it being the first year after the Bissextile, or Leap Year, B.

-Day of the Jewish Passover, the twenty-seventh of March, which happened in this year on the Jewish Sabbath.

-Easter Sunday, the third of April.

-Epact, or age of the moon on the 22d of March, (the day of the earliest Easter Sunday possible,) 9.

-Epact, according to the present mode of computation, or the moon's age on New Year's day, or the Calends of January, 17.

-Monthly Epacts, or age of the moon on the Calends of each month respectively, (beginning with January,) 17, 19, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 24, 24, 25, 27, 27.

-Number of Direction, or the number of days from the twenty-first of March to the Jewish Passover, 6.

-Year of the Emperor Flavius Domitianus Caesar, the last of those usually styled the Twelve Caesars, 5.

-Roman Consuls, Domitianus Augustus Caesar, the eleventh time, and T. Aurelius Fulvus or Fulvius.

-The years in which Domitian had been consul before were, A. D. 71, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 80, 82, 83, and 84.

It should be observed that the date of this epistle is very uncertain. The above is only upon the supposition that it was written about A. D. 85. See the preface.

II JOHN.

The apostle's address to a Christian matron and her children, 1-3.

He rejoices to find that certain of her family had received, and continued to adorn, the truth; and he exhorts them to continue to love one another according to the commandment of Christ, 4-6,

And particularly cautions them against deceivers, and to so watch, that they might not lose the benefit of what they had received, 7, 8.

The necessity of abiding in the doctrine of Christ, 9. He cautions them against receiving, or in any way forwarding, those who did not bring the true doctrine of Christ, 10, 11.

Excuses himself from writing more largely, and purposes to pay her and family a visit shortly, 12, 13.

NOTES ON II. JOHN.

Verse 2 John 1:1. The elder — John the apostle, who was now a very old man, generally supposed to be about ninety, and therefore he uses the term ο πρεσβυτερος, presbyter or elder, not as the name of an office, but as designating his advanced age. He is allowed to have been the oldest of all the apostles, and to have been the only one who died a natural death.

This title led some of the ancients to attribute this epistle to a person called John the Presbyter, a member of the Church at Ephesus; and not to John the apostle. But this is a groundless supposition.

The elect lady — εκλεκτη κυρια. As κυρια, kuria, may be the feminine of κυριος, kurios, lord, therefore it may signify lady; and so several, both ancients and moderns, have understood it. But others have considered it the proper name of a woman, Kyria; and that this is a very ancient opinion is evident from the Peshito Syriac, the oldest version we have, which uses it as a proper name [Syriac] koureea, as does also the Arabic [Arabic] kooreea.

Some have thought that Eclecta was the name of this matron, from the word εκλεκτη, which we translate elect, and which here signifies the same as excellent, eminent, honourable, or the like. Others think that a particular Church is intended, which some suppose to be the Church at Jerusalem, and that the elect sister, 2 John 1:13, means the Church at Ephesus; but these are conjectures which appear to me to have no good ground. I am satisfied that no metaphor is here intended; that the epistle was sent to some eminent Christian matron, not far from Ephesus, who was probably deaconess of the Church, who, it is likely, had a Church at her house, or at whose house the apostles and travelling evangelists frequently preached, and were entertained. This will appear more probable in the course of the notes.

Whom I love in the truth — Whom I love as the Christian religion requires us to love one another.

And not I only — She was well known in the Churches; many had witnessed or heard of her fidelity, and partook of her hospitality; so that she had a good report of all Christians in that quarter.

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