Note 131 — Quest. IX., X., XI. (continued 3)

Whitby is very particular in laying down this sense of the text, with the defence thereof, in his annotations on this scripture, from Heliodorus, where he finds the words, ἁρπαγμα ποιειν, which he renders, to snatch at; and ἁρπαγμα ἡγεισθαι, which, he supposes, signifies to pursue, or covet, a thing that is desirable, but, however, the words going before, or following, in that author, may determine that to be his sense thereof, as the sense of particular words is oftentimes greatly varied thereby; yet this will not justify the rendering them in the same sense, in other instances, very foreign thereunto, as certainly the text we are explaining must be reckoned to be; besides, the word is not the same, for it is ἁρπαγμα, which properly signifies a prey, or the thing stolen; and therefore though ἁρπαγμα ποιειν ξυντυχιαν may signify, to catch an opportunity, as a person catches at what he thinks for his advantage, yet if the word ἁρπαγμον had been used instead of it, it would very much have altered the sense thereof; also though ἁρπαγμα ἡγεισθαι signifies, to esteem a thing worthy to be pursued, or catched at, as a prey, yet ἁρπαγμον ἡγεισθαι, which are the words in the text we are considering, signify no such thing, but rather to reckon a thing unlawful to be pursued, as what he has no right to; and that is the sense thereof in our text, q. d. He did not think it unlawful to pursue, or lay claim to that divine honour, of being equal with God, or, as we render it, thought it not robbery, &c. For the justifying of this sense, every one, that observes the acceptation of the Greek words, will find that ἁρπαγμος signifies, the action of robbing, and ἁρπαγμα the thing stolen, as may be observed in many other words, where the former construction signifies the act; the latter the effect: as in λογισμος and λογισμα, κομπασμος, and κομπασμα, κολασμος and κολασμα, ὁρισμος and ὁρισμα, ὁπλισμος and ὁπλισμα, στοχασμος and στοχασμα; and, in the New Testament, βαπτισμος signifies the action of baptizing, and βαπτισμα the ordinance in which it is performed. See Mark vii. 8. compared with Matt. iii. 7. and chap. xxi. 25. Multitudes of instances might have been given, but these are sufficient.