δόγμασιν, ὃ ἦν ὑπεναντίον ἡμῖν· καὶ αὐτὸ ἦρκεν ἐκ
ὃ ἦν κ.τ.λ.] ‘_which was directly opposed to us_’. The former
expression, τὸ καθ’ ἡμῶν, referred to the _validity_ of the bond; the
present, ὃ ἦν ὑπεναντίον ἡμῖν, describes its _active hostility_. It is
quite a mistake to suppose that the first preposition in ὑπεναντίος
mitigates its force, as in ὑποδήλωσις, ὑπόλευκος, ὑπομαίνομαι,
ὑποσημαίνειν, etc. Neither in classical writers nor in the LXX has the
word any shade of this meaning. It is very commonly used for instance,
of things which are directly antagonistic and mutually exclusive: e.g.
Aristot. _de Gen. et Corr._ i. 7 (p. 323) Δημόκριτος ... φησὶ ... τὸ
αὐτὸ καὶ ὅμοιον εἶναι τό τε ποιοῦν καὶ τὸ πάσχον ... ἐοίκασι δὲ οἱ
τοῦτον τὸν τρόπον λέγοντες ὑπεναντία (i.e. self-contradictory) φαίνεσθαι
λέγειν· αἴτιον δὲ τῆς ἐναντιολογίας κ.τ.λ., [Plato] _Alcib. Sec._ 138 C
ΣΩ. Τὸ μαίνεσθαι ἆρα ὑπεναντίον σοι δοκεῖ τῷ φρονεῖν; ΑΛ. Πάνυ μὲν
οὖν.... 139 B ΣΩ. Καὶ μὴν δύο γε ὑπεναντία ἑνὶ πράγματι πῶς ἂν εἴη;
(i.e. how can one thing have two direct opposites?), where the whole
argument depends on this sense of ὑπεναντίος. In compounds with ὑπὸ the
force of the preposition will generally be determined by the meaning of
the other element in the compound; and, as ἐναντίος (ἔναντι) implies
locality, a local sense is communicated to ὑπό. Thus ὑπεναντίος may be
compared with ὑπαλλάσσειν, ὑπαντᾶν, ὑπαντιάζειν, ὑποτρέχειν (Xen.
_Cyrop._ i. 2. 12 ληστὰς ὑποδραμεῖν, ‘to hunt down’), ὑπελάυνειν (Xen.
_Anab._ i. 8. 15 ὑπελάσας ὡς συναντῆσαι, ‘riding up’), ὑφιστάναι (Polyb.
i. 50. 6 ὑπέστησε τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ναῦν ἀντίπρωρον τοῖς πολεμίοις, ‘he brought
up’ his own ship). With this meaning, ‘over against,’ ‘close in upon,’
the preposition does not weaken but enhance the force of ἐναντίος, so
that the compound will denote ‘direct,’ ‘close,’ or ‘persistent
opposition.’
καὶ αὐτὸ ἦρκεν κ.τ.λ.] ‘_and He_, i.e. Christ, _hath taken it away_’.
There is a double change in this clause: (1) The participles
(χαρισάμενος, ἐξαλέιψας) are replaced by a finite verb. (2) The aorists
(συνεζωοποίησεν, χαρισάμενος, ἐξαλέιψας) are replaced by a perfect. The
substitution of ᾖρεν for ἦρκεν in some copies betrays a consciousness on
the part of the scribes of the dislocation produced by the new tense. As
a new subject, ὁ Χριστός, must be introduced somewhere (see the note on
ver. 13), the severance thus created suggests this as the best point of
transition. The perfect ἦρκεν, ‘He hath removed it’, is suggested by the
feeling of relief and thanksgiving, which rises up in the Apostle’s mind
at this point. For the strong expression ἄιρειν ἐκ [τοῦ] μέσου, ‘to
remove and put out of sight’, comp. LXX Is. lvii. 2, Epictet. iii. 3.
15, Plut. _Mor._ p. 519 D; so 2 Thess. ii. 7 ἐκ μέσου γένηται.
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