Ephesians 4:18

ἐσκοτισμένοι τῇ διανοίᾳ ὄντες : being darkened in their understanding. For ἐσκοτισμένοι of the TR, with [435] [436] [437] [438] [439], etc., the more classical form ἐσκοτωμένοι is given in [440] [441] [442], etc., and is preferred by LTTrWH. The ὄντες is more appropriately attached (with LTTrWHRV, Theod., Beng., Harl., de Wette, Alf., Ell., Abb., Mey., etc.) to this clause than to the following ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι, (Beza, Rück., etc.). The parallelism of the two clauses is better kept in this way, while the emphasis is thrown first on the ἐσκοτωμένοι and then on the ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι. The sentence is a further description of the walk of the Gentiles and an explanation of its vanity. Their walk is what it is because of the condition of moral darkness into which they fell and in which they continue. With ἐσκοτωμένοι compare the ἐσκοτίσθη, κ. τ. λ. of Romans 1:21, and contrast the πεφωτισμένοι as the note of the new condition in Ephesians 1:18. The τῇ διανοίᾳ is not to be taken as if this clause referred only to the intellectual condition. διάνοια covers the ideas not only of understandings, but also of feeling and desiring. It is the faculty or seat of thinking and feeling (Matthew 22:37; Luke 1:51; Luke 10:27; Colossians 1:21; 2 Peter 3:1). The dat. is that known as the dat. of sphere or reference (cf. Bernh., Synt., p. 84; Win.-Moult., pp. 263, 270), or the “local dat. ethically used” (Ell. on Galatians 1:22; Donald., Greek Gram., p. 488). ἀπηλλοτριωμένοι : alienated. Being in a state of moral darkness they also become alienated from the true life. The word is used of those who have estranged themselves from God, here and in Ephesians 2:12; Colossians 1:21 (cf. the OT זוּר in Psalms 58:3; Ezekiel 14:5; Ezekiel 14:7. τῆς ζωῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ : from the life of God. This cannot mean the godly life, the way of life approved by God. For ζωή in the NT seems never to mean the course of life, but life itself, the principle of life as opposed to death. The two things are distinguished, e.g., in Galatians 5:25. Nor is there any reference here to the life of the Logos (John 1:3) in the pre-Christian world (Harl.). For it is the ἔθνη as they were known to him that Paul has in view here. The Θεοῦ, therefore, is best taken as the gen. of origin (as in δικαιοσύνη Θεοῦ, Romans 1:17; ἡ εἰρήνη τοῦ Θεοῦ, Philippians 4:7; cf. Win.-Moult., p. 233), = “the life that comes from God,” the spiritual life communicated by God. Some (Ell., Abb., etc.) think that the phrase means more than this, and indicates that the life thus imparted to us by God is His own life, the very life possessed by Himself, in the profoundest and most real sense “the life of God” in us. διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν τὴν οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς : because of the ignorance that is in them. Explicit statement of the cause of their estrangement, which was implicitly given in the ἐσκοτωμένοι. The term ἄγνοια again is not a term merely of intellect. It denotes an ignorance of Divine things, a want of knowledge that is inexcusable and involves moral blindness (Acts 3:17; Acts 17:30; 1 Peter 1:14). It is further defined here not simply as αὐτῶν “ their ignorance,” but as an ignorance οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς surely a phrase that is neither tautological nor without a purpose, but one that describes their ignorance in respect of its seat. Their alienation had its cause not in something external, casual, or superficial, but in themselves in a culpable ignorance in their own nature or heart (cf. the ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία in Romans 1:21). διὰ τὴν πώρωσιν τῆς καρδίας αὐτῶν : because of the hardening of their heart. This clause, introduced by διά, as the former also is, is taken by most (Harl., Olsh., de Wette, Ell., Alf., etc.) to be an independent statement, coordinate with the διὰ τὴν ἄγνοιαν, and giving a further explanation of the alienation. Such coordination of clauses is somewhat frequent with Paul (cf. Galatians 4:4, etc.). Others (Mey., Abb., etc.) attach it to the former clause, and take it to be a statement of the cause of the ἄγνοια. Thus their alienation would be due to their ignorance, and this ignorance would be caused by the hardening of their hearts. The τὴν οὖσαν ἐν αὐτοῖς thus loses its significance, and we should have to regard it as adopted instead of the simple αὐτῶν merely with a view to clearness of connection between the ἄγνοιαν and the διὰ τὴν πώρωσιν. The noun πώρωσις means hardness, not blindness. Formed from πῶρος = hard skin or induration, it means literally the covering with a callus, and in its three occurrences in the NT (here and Mark 3:5; Romans 11:25) it is used of mental or moral hardening; as is also the verb πωρόω (Mark 6:52; Mark 8:17; John 12:40; Romans 11:7; 2 Corinthians 3:4).

[435] Codex Claromontanus (sæc. vi.), a Græco-Latin MS. at Paris, edited by Tischendorf in 1852.

[436] Codex Boernerianus (sæc. ix.), a Græco-Latin MS., at Dresden, edited by Matthæi in 1791. Written by an Irish scribe, it once formed part of the same volume as Codex Sangallensis (δ) of the Gospels. The Latin text, g, is based on the O.L. translation.

[437] Codex Mosquensis (sæc. ix.), edited by Matthæi in 1782.

[438] Codex Angelicus (sæc. ix.), at Rome, collated by Tischendorf and others.

[439] Codex Porphyrianus (sæc. ix.), at St. Petersburg, collated by Tischendorf. Its text is deficient for chap. Ephesians 2:13-16.

[440] Codex Vaticanus (sæc. iv.), published in photographic facsimile in 1889 under the care of the Abbate Cozza-Luzi.

[441] Codex Sinaiticus (sæc. iv.), now at St. Petersburg, published in facsimile type by its discoverer, Tischendorf, in 1862.

[442] Codex Alexandrinus (sæc. v.), at the British Museum, published in photographic facsimile by Sir E. M. Thompson (1879).