2 Corinthians 9:5 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
2 Corinthians 9:5
Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren, that they would go before unto you, and make up beforehand your bounty, whereof ye had notice before, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty, and not as of covetousness.
a brother (literally or figuratively) near or remote (m… · noun — accusative plural masculine
that
ἵναina
G2443
compare G3588 (ὁ)) · conjunction
before
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Genesis 33:11 Take, I pray thee, my blessing that is brought to thee; because God hath dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough. And he urged h…
1 Samuel 25:27 And now this blessing which thine handmaid hath brought unto my lord, let it even be given unto the young men that follow my lord.
Philippians 4:17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
Judges 1:15 And she said unto him, Give me a blessing: for thou hast given me a south land; give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper…
1 Samuel 30:26 And when David came to Ziklag, he sent of the spoil unto the elders of Judah, even to his friends, saying, Behold a present for you of the s…
2 Kings 5:15 And he returned to the man of God, he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said, Behold, now I know that there is no…
1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
2 Corinthians 8:6 Insomuch that we desired Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also finish in you the same grace also.
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 9:1-5
In these verses the apostle speaks very respectfully to the Corinthians, and with great skill; and, while he seems to excuse his urging them so earnestly to charity, still presses them thereto, and shows how much his heart was set upon this matter.
I. He tells them it was needless to press them with further arguments to afford relief to their poor brethren (Co2 9:1), being satisfied he had said enough already to prevail with those of whom he had so good an opinion. For, 1. He knew their forwardness to every good work, and how they had begun this good work a year ago, insomuch that, 2. He had boasted of their zeal to the Macedonians, and this had provoked many of them to do as they had done.…
that they would go before--Translate, "that they should," &c.
whereof ye had notice before--rather, "promised before"; "long announced by me to the Macedonians" (Co2 9:2) [BENGEL]. "Your promised bounty" [ELLICOTT and others].
not as of covetousness--Translate, "not as matter of covetousness," which it would be, if you gave niggardly.
Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 9:5
Whereof ye had notice before - Instead of προκατηγγελμενην, spoken of before, BCDEFG, several others, with the Coptic, Vulgate, Itala, and several of the fathers, have προεπηγγελμενην, what was promised before. The sense is not very different; probably the latter reading was intended to explain the former. See the margin.
Bounty, and not as of covetousness - Had they been backward, strangers might have attributed this to a covetous principle; as it would appear that they were loth to give up their money, and that they parted with it only when they could not for shame keep it any longer. This is the property of a covetous heart; whereas readiness to give is the characteristic of a liberal min…
Therefore I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren,.... Titus, and the other two, on whom he did not lay his commands, or apostolical injunctions, according to the authority and dignity of his office; only exhorted or besought them, and which was judged by him very needful and proper at this time:
that they would go before hand unto you; before him, and the Macedonian brethren that might probably come with him:
and make up before hand your bounty; or blessing; for any present sent, or delivered, by one person to another, as a token of their friendship, favour, and good will, whether in a necessitous case or not, was by the Jews called "a blessing"; see Genesis 33:11 and especially wh…
The Church Fathers
Paul was not asking Titus and his colleagues to go to Corinth as if they were not willing to do so, but in order to prove his love for them. Titus and his friends wanted to go, and Paul is urging them to do so without delay.
"I thought it necessary therefore to entreat the brethren, that they would make up beforehand this your bounty, that the same might be ready, as a matter of bounty and not of extortion." Again, he resumed the subject in a different manner: and that he may not seem to be saying these things without object, he asserts that the sole reason for this journey was, that they might not be put to shame. Seest thou how his words, "It is superfluous for me to write," were the beginning of advising? You see, at least, how many things he discourses concerning this ministering. And along with this, one may further remark that, (lest he should seem to contradict himself as having said, "It is superfluous," yet discoursing at length about it,) he passed on unto discourse of quickness and largeness and forwardness in contributing, by this means securing that point also. For these three things he requires. He begins first with that which is pleasantest and lighter; namely, the 'not of necessity,' for, it is "bounty" he says. Observe how in the form of his exhortation he represents at once the fruit as springing up, and the givers as filled with blessing. And by the term employed he won them over, for no one gives a blessing with pain. Yet neither was he content with this; but added, "not as of extortion." 'Think not,' he says, 'that we take it as extortioners, but that we may be the cause of a blessing unto you.' For extortion belongs to the unwilling, so that whoso giveth alms unwillingly giveth of extortion.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Alms · 14:28,29;15:7-11; — 14:28,29;15:7-11;
Beneficence · 18:5,7-9; — 18:5,7-9;
Emulation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
προέλθωσιν
proelthōsin
G4281
to go onward · verb — second aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
unto
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
you
ὑμᾶςhymâs
G5209
you (as the objective of a verb or preposition)
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
beforehand
προκαταρτίσωσινprokatartisōsin
G4294
to prepare in advance · verb — aorist active subjunctive, 3rd person plural
your
ὑμῶνhymōn
G5216
of (from or concerning) you
bounty
εὐλογίανeulogian
G2129
fine speaking · noun — accusative singular feminine
before
προκαταγγέλλωprokatangéllō
G4293
to anounce beforehand
same
ταύτηνtautēn
G3778
the he (she or it) · demonstrative pronoun — accusative singular feminine
2 Corinthians 9:1-5
1. For as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you:
1. Nam de subministratione quae fit in sanctos, supervacuum mihi est scribere vobis.
2. For I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a year ago; and your zeal hath provoked very many.
2. Novi enim promptitudinem animi vestri, de qua pro vobis gloriatus sum apud Macedones: quod Achaia parata sit ab anno superiori: et aemulatio vestri excitavit complures.
3. Yet have I sent the brethren, lest our boasting of you should be in vain in this behalf; that, as I said, ye may be ready:
3. Misi autem fratres, ut ne glori…
Two motives reinforce the spirit of love in giving: (1) to emulate the Macedonians, who in their poverty had been forthcoming in their generosity (9:2); and (2) not to shame Paul or themselves, since he had boasted about the Corinthians’ generosity to the Macedonians (9:3-5). To ensure the timely gathering of the collection at Corinth, Paul would send the delegates (8:16-24) in advance to make sure the gift you promised is ready.
