1Pe 3:1-6 | Clarke | STEP | The duty of wives to their husbands, how they are to be adorned, and be in subjection as Sarah was to Abraham, . The duty of husbands to their wives, . How to obtain happiness, and live a long and useful life, . God loves and succours them that do good; but his face is against the wicked, , . They should suffer persecution patiently, and be always ready to give a reason of the hope that is in them; and preserve a good conscience, though they suffered for righteousness, . Christ suffered for us, and was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, . How he preached to the old world, while Noah was preparing the ark, , . The salvation of Noah and his family a type of baptism, . Christ is ascended to heaven, all creatures being subject to him, . Verse 1 Ye wives, be in subjection - Consider that your husband is, by God's appointment, the head and ruler of the house; do not, therefore, attempt to usurp his government; for even though he obey not the word - is not a believer in the Christian doctrine, his rule is not thereby impaired; for Christianity never alters civil relations: and your affectionate, obedient conduct will be the most likely means of convincing him of the truth of the doctrine which you have received. Without the word - That your holy conduct may be the means of begetting in them a reverence for Christianity, the preaching of which they will not hear. See the notes on , and the other places referred to in the margin.

1 Peter 3:1-6

Introduction

The duty of wives to their husbands, how they are to be adorned, and be in subjection as Sarah was to Abraham, 1Pet 3:1-6. The duty of husbands to their wives, 1Pet 3:7. How to obtain happiness, and live a long and useful life, 1Pet 3:8-11. God loves and succours them that do good; but his face is against the wicked, 1Pet 3:12, 1Pet 3:13. They should suffer persecution patiently, and be always ready to give a reason of the hope that is in them; and preserve a good conscience, though they suffered for righteousness, 1Pet 3:14-17. Christ suffered for us, and was put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit, 1Pet 3:18. How he preached to the old world, while Noah was preparing the ark, 1Pet 3:19, 1Pet 3:20. The salvation of Noah and his family a type of baptism, 1Pet 3:21. Christ is ascended to heaven, all creatures being subject to him, 1Pet 3:22.

Verse 1

Ye wives, be in subjection - Consider that your husband is, by God's appointment, the head and ruler of the house; do not, therefore, attempt to usurp his government; for even though he obey not the word - is not a believer in the Christian doctrine, his rule is not thereby impaired; for Christianity never alters civil relations: and your affectionate, obedient conduct will be the most likely means of convincing him of the truth of the doctrine which you have received.

Without the word - That your holy conduct may be the means of begetting in them a reverence for Christianity, the preaching of which they will not hear. See the notes on 1Cor 14:34, and the other places referred to in the margin. Verse 2

Chaste conversation - with fear - While they see that ye join modesty, chastity, and the purest manners, to the fear of God. Or perhaps fear, φοβος, is taken, as in Eph 5:33, for the reverence due to the husband. Verse 3

Whose adorning - Κοσμος. See the note on Heb 9:1, where the word κοσμος, world or ornament, is defined; and also the note on Gen 2:1.

Plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold - Plaiting the hair, and variously folding it about the head, was the most ancient and most simple mode of disposing of this chief ornament of the female head. It was practised anciently in every part of the east, and is so to the present day in India, in China, and also in Barbary. It was also prevalent among the Greeks and Romans, as ancient gems, busts, and statues, still remaining, sufficiently declare. We have a remarkable instance of the plaiting of the hair in a statue of Agrippina, wife of Germanicus, an exact representation of which may be seen in a work of Andre Lens, entitled Le Costume de Peuple de I' Antiquite, pl. 33. Many plates in the same work show the different modes of dressing the hair which obtained among the Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, Persians, and other nations. Thin plates of gold were often mixed with the hair, to make it appear more ornamental by the reflection of light and of the solar rays. Small golden buckles were also used in different parts; and among the Roman ladies, pearls and precious stones of different colors. Pliny assures us, Hist. Nat., l. ix. c. 35, that these latter ornaments were not introduced among the Roman women till the time of Sylla, about 110 years before the Christian era. But it is evident, from many remaining monuments, that in numerous cases the hair differently plaited and curled was the only ornament of the head. Often a simple pin, sometimes of ivory, pointed with gold, seemed to connect the plaits. In monuments of antiquity the heads of the married and single women may be known, the former by the hair being parted from the forehead over the middle of the top of the head, the latter by being quite close, or being plaited and curled all in a general mass.

There is a remarkable passage in Plutarch, Conjugalia Praecept., c. xxvi., very like that in the text: Κοσμος γαρ εστιν, ὡς ελεγε Κρατης, το κοσμουν· κοσμει δε το κοσμιωτεραν γυναικα ποιουν· ποιει δε ταυτην ου χρυσος, ουτε σμαραγδος, ουτε κοκκος, αλλ' ὁσα σεμνοτητος, ευταξιας, αιδους εμφασιν περιτιθησιν· Opera a Wyttenb., vol. i., page 390. "An ornament, as Crates said, is that which adorns. The proper ornament of a woman is that which becomes her best. This is neither gold, nor pearls, nor scarlet; but those things which are an evident proof of gravity, regularity, and modesty." The wife of Phocion, a celebrated Athenian general, receiving a visit from a lady who was elegantly adorned with gold and jewels, and her hair with pearls, took occasion to call the attention of her guest to the elegance and costliness of her dress, remarking at the same time, "My ornament is my husband, now for the twentieth year general of the Athenians." Plut., in vit. Phoc. How few Christian women act this part! Women are in general at as much pains and cost in their dress, as if by it they were to be recommended both to God and man. It is, however, in every case, the argument either of a shallow mind, or of a vain and corrupted heart. Verse 4

The hidden man of the heart - Ὁ κρυπτος της καρδιας ανθρωπος. This phrase is of the same import with that of St. Paul, Rom 7:22, ὁ εσω ανθρωπος, the inner man; that is, the soul, with the whole system of affections and passions. Every part of the Scripture treats man as a compound being: the body is the outward or visible man; the soul, the inward, hidden, or invisible man. The term ανθρωπος, man, is derived, according to the best etymologists, from ανα τρεπων ωπα, turning the face upward. This derivation of the word is beautifully paraphrased by Ovid. The whole passage is beautiful; and, though well known, I shall insert it. After speaking of the creation and formation of all the irrational animals, he proceeds thus: - "Sanctius his animal, mentisque capacius altae

Deerat adhuc, et quod dominari in caetera posset.

Natus Homo est: sive hunc divino semine fecit

Ille opifex rerum, mundi melioris origo;

Sive recens tellus, seductaque nuper ab alto

Aethere, cognati retinebat semina coeli. -

Pronaque cum spectent animalia caetera terram,

Os Homini Sublime Dedit; Coelumque Tueri

Jussit, et erectos ad sidera tollere veltus."

Metam, lib. i. ver. 76. "A creature of a more exalted kind

Was wanting yet, and then was Man design'd;

Conscious of thought, of more capacious breast,

For empire form'd, and fit to rule the rest.

Whether with particles of heavenly fire

The God of nature did his soul inspire,

Or earth but new divided from the sky,

Which still retain'd th' ethereal energy. -

Thus, while the mute creation downward bend

Their sight, and to their earthly mother tend,

Man looks aloft, and with erected eyes

Beholds his own hereditary skies."

Dryden.

The word ανθρωπος, man, is frequently applied to the soul, but generally with some epithet. Thus ὁ εσω ανθρωπος, the inner man, Rom 7:22, to distinguish it from the body, which is called ὁ εξω ανθρωπος, the outer man, 2Cor 4:16; ὁ κρυπτος ανθρωπος, the hidden man, as in the text; ὁ καινος ανθρωπος, the new man, the soul renewed in righteousness, Eph 2:15, to distinguish him from ὁ παλαιος ανθρωπος, the old man, that is, man unregenerate or in a state of sin, Rom 6:6. And the soul is thus distinguished by the Greek philosophers.

A meek and quiet spirit - That is, a mind that will not give provocation to others, nor receive irritation by the provocation of others. Meekness will prevent the first; quietness will guard against the last.

Great price - All the ornaments placed on the head and body of the most illustrious female, are, in the sight of God, of no worth; but a meek and silent spirit are, in his sight, invaluable, because proceeding from and leading to himself, being incorruptible, surviving the ruins of the body and the ruins of time, and enduring eternally. Verse 5

For after this manner - Simplicity reigned in primitive times; natural ornaments alone were then in use. Trade and commerce brought in luxuries; and luxury brought pride, and all the excessive nonsense of Dress. No female head ever looks so well as when adorned with its own hair alone. This is the ornament appointed by God. To cut it off or to cover it is an unnatural practice; and to exchange the hair which God has given for hair of some other color, is an insult to the Creator. How the delicacy of the female character can stoop to the use of false hair, and especially when it is considered that the chief part of this kind of hair was once the natural property of some ruffian soldier, who fell in battle by many a ghastly wound, is more than I can possibly comprehend. See the notes on 1Cor 11:14-16 (note); and 1Tim 2:9 (note).

Who trusted in God - The women who trust Not in God are fond of dress and frippery; those who trust in God follow nature and common sense.

Being in subjection unto their own husbands - It will rarely be found that women who are fond of dress, and extravagant in it, have any subjection to their husbands but what comes from mere necessity. Indeed, their dress, which they intend as an attractive to the eyes of others, is a sufficient proof that they have neither love nor respect for their own husbands. Let them who are concerned refute the charge. Verse 6

Even as Sara obeyed - Almost the same words are in Rab. Tanchum, fol. 9, 3: "The wife of Abraham reverenced him, and called him lord, as it is written, Gen 18:12 : And my lord is old." The words of the apostle imply that she acknowledged his superiority, and her own subjection to him, in the order of God.

Whose daughters ye are - As Abraham is represented the father of all his male believing descendants, so Sara is represented as the mother of all her believing female posterity. A son of Abraham is a true believer; a daughter of Sarah is the same.

As long as ye do well - For you cannot maintain your relationship to her longer than ye believe; and ye cannot believe longer than ye continue to obey.

And are not afraid with any amazement - It is difficult to extract any sense out of this clause. The original is not very easy; Μη φοβουμεναι μηδεμιαν πτοησιν may be rendered, And not fearing with any terror. If ye do well, and act conscientiously your part as faithful wives, ye will at no time live under the distressing apprehension of being found out, or terrified at every appearance of the discovery of infidelities, or improper conduct. Being not guilty of these, you will not have occasion to fear detection. On this subject a learned man has quoted these words, which I have produced elsewhere, Eph 6:14 : - - hic murus aheneus esto,

Nil conscire sibi, nulla pallescere culpa. "Let this be my brazen wall, to be self-convicted of no private delinquency, nor to change color at being charged with a fault."

Happy is the wife, and happy is the husband, who can conscientiously adopt the saying.