Nielsen’s Nook

Commentary

[1] ἐπιλαμβάνομαι to take hold of, grasp, catch. When followed by a genitive, as is the case here, it can entail the idea of taking hold violently of something or someone, in order to make the object of the grasping one’s own (BAGD, 295). If Hebrews 2:16 is taken out of context it is somewhat vague; however, Hebrews 2:17 gives a context of the Incarnation that sheds light on how this verse should be understood. Hence, the KJV, “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham.” From this writer’s vantage, verse 16 speaks to the nature of the Incarnation, which includes Crucifixion and Resurrection, not as something that Christ took on reluctantly; rather, he lay hold of it with even the vibrant tenacity that a husband has for his wife after having been separated for a lengthy time. This is reciprocated in St. Paul’s charge to Timothy, ἐπιλαβοῦ τῆς αἰωνίου ζωῆς! Take hold of Eternal Life! For the Christian, Eternal Life is not a status obtained but a Person pursued, loved and cherished. As Christ has laid hold of Timothy to make him His own, St. Paul exhorts him to the same with Christ Jesus to which he was called and had given good confession.

Translation

2 So, when he was brought before him, the proconsul was inquiring whether he was the man.

When Polycarp [a] confessed that he was the man, the proconsul began appealing to repudiate the Christian faith [b] saying, “Have some regard [c] for old age,” and so forth [d] (as they are accustomed to say), [e] “Swear an oath to the providence [f] of Caesar, repent, say, ‘Sweep [g] the atheists [h] away!’”

But Polycarp, with dignified countenance, fixed his eyes upon the whole crowd of lawless pagans [i] which filled the stadium and he incited [j] them with his hand, sighed and then after he looked up to heaven, he said, “Sweep the atheists away!” [k]

[a] In the flurry of pronouns, we inserted the pronominal referent here (St. Polycarp) to make the prose more clear.

[b] The substance of what St. Polycarp is being asked to deny or disown is the Christian faith; we have inserted the concept that is assumed though not spelled out in our text. ἀρνεῖσθαι (ἀρνέομαι) to deny or repudiate Christ is the word’s most common usage. 1 Timothy 5:8 reminds us εἰ δέ τις τῶν ἰδίων καὶ μάλιστα οἰκείων οὐ προνοεῖ, τὴν πίστιν ἤρνηται καὶ ἔστιν ἀπίστου χείρων. And if someone does not care for his own - especially for his household, he has repudiated the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (author’s translation).

[c] αἰδέσθητί (αἰδέομαι) respect or regard. See 4 Macc 5:7, “…for I respect your age and your gray hairs,” (NRSV).

[d] τούτοις ἀκόλουθα also in §8.2.

[e] ὡς ἔθος αὐτοῖς λέγειν, see BAGD 218.

[f] τύχην (τύχη) LSJ gives us the semantic field of fortune, fate or providence. Middle Liddell gives us “the good which man obtains (τυγχάνει) by the favour of the gods.” Cited from Perseus Digital Library. Ὄμοσον τὴν Καίσαρος τύχην also in §10.1.

[g] αἶρε (αἴρω) see note on §3.2.

[h] ἀθέους see not on §3.2 regarding the usage of the term atheist to ironically refer to Christians.

[i] i.e., ἔθνοι.

[j] ἐπισείσας (ἐπισείω) to shake one’s hand in a threatening gesture (BAGD, 298); to start a riot, urge on, incite (DBL GGK2167, see Acts 14:19).

[k] This is the same phrase (Αἶρε τοὺς ἀθέους) the proconsul asked him to say. St. Polycarp notably has omitted the oath to Caesar.