Endure (4722) stego by Greek Word Studies

Endure (4722)(stego from steg = to cover, conceal, stege = roof) had a fairly broad range of meanings including to cover, to protect, to hold back, to hide, to bear, to endure or to persist. Stego means to protect by covering or to cover closely (so as to keep water out). Thus stego is found in secular Greek writings - "the camp protects men against the cold" (Plato); "a house protects men". Bruce explains that stego was used... originally of keeping out or keeping in water or another fluid (e.g. of a watertight house or of a vessel that does not leak), comes from the latter sense to mean generally “to contain” and then “to endure” (Bruce, F F: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated. 1982 or Logos) Stego can mean keep in in the sense of contain or conceal and may also be used as meaning to support that which is placed upon it, this latter sense being to hold out against or endure the pressure of circumstances. The Berkeley Translation thus renders it we could not "stand it any longer". In this verse stego is in the present tense, denoting linear action, which as Hiebert explains... indicates that they were unable to continue enduring the suspense that they felt because of the lack of personal communication with the Thessalonians. The continued separation from their beloved converts and the lack of information about their reaction under the pressure of persecution produced a strain of suspense that was unbearable. And there was ground for feeling anxious about their converts. If the unbelieving Jews were so relentless in their antagonism to the gospel as to hound the missionaries all the way to Berea, what might they be doing to their followers at home? The load of suspense was so heavy that they felt they had to take some action. (Hiebert, D. Edmond: 1 & 2 Thessalonians: BMH Book. 1996) The related word steganos meant covering or sheltering (think about this as you study the use of stego in 1Corinthians 13:7 below). Figuratively, stego derives it's meaning from the fact that by covering it keeps off something which threatens which then is taken to mean to bear up under. At the core of its meaning stego denotes an activity or state which blocks entry from without or exit from within. Hence to protect by covering, as with a tight ship or roof. The depth of the emotion expressed by the principal verb is illustrated in a papyrus that says For my father did many evil things to me, and I bore them until you came (Moulton and Milligan) Vine writes that stego... signifies either that of which it is predicated supports what is placed upon it or covers what is placed underneath it. The former idea is prominent here and in 1Thessalonians 3:5 (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos) TDNT has a somewhat more technical note based on use in secular and classic Greek literature... The tendency of Greek. towards linguistic ambivalence helps us to see why stego can have an outward as well as an inward reference and mean not only “to protect” but also “to ward off,” “to hold back.” Domos ala stegon is a structure which holds off the salt floods, namely, a ship... The sense “to hold back” leads to that of “make tight” of a ship; “to make something watertight,”; finally “to be watertight” (“ships which are not watertight”) and “to hold fast,” “to hold”. The sense “to ward off,” “to protect,” seems to be the starting point for the further meanings “to endure,” “to support,” “to bear.” A tower which has resisted the assault on a city has endured it (Aeschylus). How this can lead to “bear” in the technical sense may be seen from Josephus Ant., 5, 314: "pillars which endure the weight of the roof bear it... The figurative power of the word helps us to understand why even the oldest witnesses use it in a transferred sense. Thus it means “to cover, conceal” an intellectual matter, Eur. Phoen., 1214, “to hide,” Sophocles Trach..., “to withhold” a judgment, Polyb., 4, 8, 2 and then especially “to keep silent”: Phil., 136, cf. Oed. Tyr., 341; Eur. El., 273; Polyb., 8; 14, 5; Jos. Ant., 19, 48, and the one LXX ref. at Sir. 8:17: logon stegein = “to keep a confidence.” With the silence complex, the main transferred use of stego is "to bear" (eg, the stench of an ulcer)... At the core of its meaning stego denotes an activity or state which blocks entry from without or exit from within. It is not inwardly related to any particular subj. or obj. and refers to the hampering of ingress or egress, so that it may be used either of material or intellectual things: “to cover,” “to conceal,” with a ref. later to the function of that which separates: “to be compact, watertight,” “to bear,” “to sustain.”... (relating to the use in 1Thessalonians) Paul, impelled by his missionary task, can no longer bear not to have an influence on the development of the young church in Thessalonica. (Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W. Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Eerdmans) Aeschylus describes a ship... The wooden house with sails that keeps (stego) out the sea. In the present verse stego means to endure patiently, to forbear, to suffer. There are 4 uses of stego in the NT (none in the Septuagint - LXX)... 1 Corinthians 9:12 (Context = In the preceding 11 verses Paul emphasizes that he has the same right as other apostles to eat and drink, to take a wife with him, and to live by his missionary labours) If others share the right over you, do we not more? Nevertheless, we did not use this right, but we endure (stego - bear or suffer) all things, that we may cause no hindrance to the gospel of Christ. (Comment: Using the verb stego here Paul is saying in essence "we refrain from all that pertains to the legitimate private sphere of an apostle in order not to give an offense to the Gospel which belongs to Christ") 1 Corinthians 13:7 bears (Stego - Love endures without divulging to the world personal distress. Literally said of holding fast like a watertight vessel; so the charitable man contains himself in silence from giving vent to what selfishness would prompt under personal hardship. Moffatt translates it "slow to expose") all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (Comment: John MacArthur has an excellent note to help discern the meaning... Stego (to bear) basically means to cover or to support and therefore to protect. Love bears all things by protecting others from exposure, ridicule, or harm. Genuine love does not gossip or listen to gossip. Even when a sin is certain, love tries to correct it with the least possible hurt and harm to the guilty person. Love never protects sin but is anxious to protect the sinner. Fallen human nature has the opposite inclination. There is perverse pleasure in exposing someone’s faults and failures. As already mentioned, that is what makes gossip appealing. The Corinthians cared little for the feelings or welfare of fellow believers. It was every person for himself. Like the Pharisees, they paid little attention to others, except when those others were failing or sinning. Man’s depravity causes him to rejoice in the depravity of others. It is that depraved pleasure that sells magazines and newspapers that cater to exposes, “true confessions,” and the like. It is the same sort of pleasure that makes children tattle on brothers and sisters. Whether to feel self–righteous by exposing another’s sin or to enjoy that sin vicariously, we all are tempted to take a certain kind of pleasure in the sins of others. Love has no part in that. It does not expose or exploit, gloat or condemn. It bears; it does not bare. [He goes on to illustrate this covering, protecting aspect of stego] During Oliver Cromwell’s reign as lord protector of England a young soldier was sentenced to die. The girl to whom he was engaged pleaded with Cromwell to spare the life of her beloved, but to no avail. The young man was to be executed when the curfew bell sounded, but when the sexton repeatedly pulled the rope the bell made no sound. The girl had climbed into the belfry and wrapped herself around the clapper so that it could not strike the bell. Her body was smashed and bruised, but she did not let go until the clapper stopped swinging. She managed to climb down, bruised and bleeding, to meet those awaiting the execution. When she explained what she had done, Cromwell commuted the sentence. A poet beautifully recorded the story as follows: At his feet she told her story, showed her hands all bruised and torn, And her sweet young face still haggard with the anguish it had worn, Touched his heart with sudden pity, lit his eyes with misty light. "Go, your lover lives,” said Cromwell; "Curfew will not ring tonight." (MacArthur, J: 1Corinthians. Chicago: Moody Press or Logos) 1 Thessalonians 3:1 Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone 1Thessalonians 3:5 (note) For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor should be in vain. Vine feels that Paul's... mingled hope, 1Thessalonians 2:17 (note), and fear, 1Thessalonians 3:5 (note), imposed a strain in the mind of the apostle for which he sought relief in the manner described. (Vine, W. Collected writings of W. E. Vine. Nashville: Thomas Nelson or Logos) Thought best (considered it good, willingly determined, was well pleased) (2106)(eudokeo from eu = well + dokeo = think) means to think well of, be well pleased, to approve of or to take pleasure or delight in (As God does in His only Son Mt 3:17 This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased) Eudokeo denotes not merely to think good of something but also stresses free and deliberate choice, the freedom of a resolve in what is good. Eudokeo conveys a strong element of emotional satisfaction and delight. The aorist tense expresses a definitive determination made and adhered to. It was the free and deliberate choice for Paul to stay and Timothy to go. (“we were pleased and resolved”). Thus the plan was accepted with hearty goodwill. Paul considered it good and therefore worthy of choice to be left behind. He resolved or determined to be left behind. He says in essence... I was willing to suffer the inconvenience of parting with Timothy in order to show my concern for you. Keathley adds that... eudokeo means “to be well pleased, to willingly determine, to think it a good thing to do.” It stresses the willingness, the positive choice. Too often, ministry is performed out of a sense of, “Well, if I have to.” The option the missionary team chose was not done grudgingly. (1Thessalonians 3:1-13 ) Left behind (2641)(kataleipo from kata = intensifies meaning + leipo = leave behind) signifies to leave behind, to leave remaining, to forsake in the sense of abandoning. It means to cause to be left in a place. Paul use the passive voice in this verse which means to “be left alone or behind" or "to be forsaken.” The word kataleipo was used in secular Greek to describe the leaving of a loved one behind at death and clearly expresses how serious Paul took his separation from his coworkers. Hiebert adds that kataleipo... implies the feeling of loneliness and desolation that swept over him when left all alone in Athens. ((Hiebert, D. Edmond: 1 & 2 Thessalonians: BMH Book. 1996)) Paul's strong affection for the young church in Thessalonica is shown here by his selflessness and willingness to be left alone in Athens. Paul, Silvanus and Timothy did not love the church only when they were face to face with them. They carried these believers in their hearts (see note 1Thessalonians 2:17). Ray Stedman in a personal anecdote gives us a sense of how the apostle Paul may have felt as he was left alone... In 1960 I spent the summer in the Orient. In company with Dr. Dick Hillis I was scheduled to speak to six hundred Chinese pastors on the island of Taiwan. This was a difficult assignment as my messages were to be interpreted into two different languages, Mandarin and Taiwanese. It is hard enough speaking through one "interrupter," but with two, by the time one sentence has been interpreted you have forgotten what you just said. But I was comforted by the fact that Dick Hillis, a veteran missionary, was with me. The day before I was due to speak, however, he got a telegram saying that his mother was ill in California and he had to return home. I have never forgotten the depression and loneliness that came over me. I am sure that is how Paul must have felt as he was left alone in Corinth, that cultured, degraded center of Roman life. (1Thessalonians 3:1-3:13) Alone (3441) (monos) means without others or without companions. It indicates Paul was not just left behind but left behind by himself as emphasized by Luke's record that... those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed. (Acts 17:15) Athens (116)(athenai) is named after Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, arts, and industries and prudent warfare, identified by the Romans with Minerva. After the Roman conquest, Athens (pl.) became a federated city entirely independent of the governor of Achaia, who paid no taxes to Rome and had internal judicial autonomy. Athenians were said to possess the keenest minds among the Greeks, and the University of Athens was the most important school, ahead of those of Tarsus and Alexandria. The Athenians were religious but not spiritual and indulged in lasciviousness at the festival of Dionysus, the god of wine. They had great love of human slaughter in the gladiatorial games. Imagine Paul alone in a huge metropolis, in fact in the ancient world one of the major centers of blatant idolatry! Paul was a man on mission. He was not on a sight seeing trip, but was burdened for the "church plant" in Thessalonica. Paul continually viewed this present life through the lens of eternity. 1Thessalonians 3:2 and we sent Timothy, our brother and God's fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith (NASB: Lockman) Greek: kai epempsamen (1PAAI) Timotheon, ton adelphon hemon kai sunergon tou theou en to euaggelio tou Christou, eis to sterixai humas kai parakalesai (AAN) huper tes pisteos humon Amplified: And we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in [spreading] the good news (the Gospel) of Christ, to strengthen and establish and to exhort and comfort and encourage you in your faith, (Amplified Bible - Lockman) KJV: And sent Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellow labourer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith: (words in bold only in Textus Receptus not Nestle-Aland used by most modern translations like NAS, NIV) NLT: and we sent Timothy to visit you. He is our co-worker for God and our brother in proclaiming the Good News of Christ. We sent him to strengthen you, to encourage you in your faith, (NLT - Tyndale House) Phillips: while Timothy, our brother and fellow-worker in the Gospel of Christ, was sent to strengthen and encourage you in your faith. (Phillips: Touchstone) WBC: and sent Timothy, our brother and fellow worker with God in the gospel of Christ, to establish you firmly and encourage you for the sake of your faith (Bruce) Wuest: and we sent Timothy, our brother and a ministering servant of God in the good news of the Christ, with a view to stabilizing and encouraging you concerning your faith, (Eerdmans) Young's Literal: and did send Timotheus -- our brother, and a ministrant of God, and our fellow-workman in the good news of the Christ -- to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith, AND WE SENT TIMOTHY OUR BROTHER AND GOD'S FELLOW WORKER IN THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST: kai epempsamen (1PAAI) Timotheon, ton adelphon hemon kai sunergon tou theou en to euaggelio tou Christou: (Acts 16:1; 17:14,15; 18:5) (Romans 16:21; 1Corinthians 4:17; 12" class="scriptRef">16:10,11,12; 2Corinthians 1:19; 2:13; 8:23; Ephesians 6:21; Philippians 2:19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25; Colossians 1:7; 4:9,12) We sent - As discussed in verse 1 ("we") many commentaries explain this as a so-called "editorial we" but that may not be completely accurate. It is possible that Silvanus was involved in this decision to send Timothy. F F Bruce for example notes that in the other situations where Paul sent Timothy (1Cor 4:17, Phil 2;19), he uses the first person singular so that the natural inference from the plural epempsamen here is that Paul and Silvanus were jointly involved in sending Timothy back to Thessalonica (cf. Bengel: “ego et Silvanus”). In v 5, indeed, Paul takes personal responsibility for sending him. This was fitting, since Timothy was Paul’s aide-de-camp: the initiative was presumably Paul’s and Silvanus agreed that Timothy should go. (Bruce, F F: 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Word Biblical Commentary. Dallas: Word, Incorporated. 1982 or Logos) Sent (3992)(pempo) means to dispatch, send, thrust out. The verb is the general word for sending and means that Timothy was sent to do something. The fact that he was sent and not asked to go is consistent with the fact that his sending was under the authority of the apostle Paul. Paul subsequently sent Timothy on other missions to the churches in... Corinth... For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church. (1 Cor 4:17) Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without cause to be afraid; for he is doing the Lord's work, as I also am. Let no one therefore despise him. But send him on his way in peace, so that he may come to me; for I expect him with the brethren. (1Cor 16:10,11) Philippi... But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, so that I also may be encouraged when I learn of your condition. 20 For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. 21 For they all seek after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus. 22 But you know of his proven worth that he served with me in the furtherance of the gospel like a child serving his father. 23 Therefore I hope to send him immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me; 24 and I trust in the Lord that I myself also shall be coming shortly. 25 But I thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger and minister to my need (see note Phil 2:19; 20; 21; 22; 23; 24; 25) Ephesus... As I urged you upon my departure for Macedonia, remain on at Ephesus, in order that you may instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrines (1Ti 1.3). Timothy's missionary trip to Thessalonica was the first recorded ministry that Timothy carried out on his own. Gloag writes that the sending of Timothy... This was a great act of self-sacrifice on the part of Paul; because to be without an assistant and fellow-labourer in the gospel in such a city as Athens, the very centre and strong hold of heathenism, full of temples and idols, must necessarily have brought upon him many discomforts; and yet his anxiety for the Thessalonians overcame all motives of personal convenience. (The Pulpit Commentary: New Testament; Old Testament; Ages Software or Logos) Brother (80) (adelphos from collative a = denoting unity + delphús = womb) is literally one born from same womb and so a male having the same father and mother as reference person. Figuratively, adelphos here refers to a fellow believer in Christ. Timothy was Paul's spiritual child but here he refers to him as brother by virtue of the fact that they have both been born into the family of God by virtue of their faith in the Messiah. Swete remarks As the younger brother of their father in the faith, the Christians of Thessalonica would learn to regard him very highly. God's fellow worker - That is an truth that the creature could be a fellow worker with the Creator and that is the divine design. Our brother and God's fellow worker clearly indicate that Paul had not sent and unworthy substitute but a man who was fully capable of carrying out his mission. This small point is just another indication that Paul was deeply concerned about the spiritual welfare of his readers. Note that here the KJV reads "Timotheus, our brother, and minister of God, and our fellow labourer in the gospel of Christ". It should be noted however that minister (diakonos) is not an official title and does not connote an ordained minister in the modern sense of the term but instead designates one who renders a service of some kind to another. Diakonos speaks of the servant in relation to his work, stressing his activity of serving. In regard to the Greek word diakonos Morris writes that... Originally the word denoted the service of a table waiter, and from that it came to signify lowly service of any kind. It was often used by the early Christians to give expression to the service that they habitually were to render to both God and to man. Where a word like ‘slave,’ which is often used of Christians, puts the emphasis on the personal relation, this word draws attention to the act of service being rendered.”

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Endure (4722) stego

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