8. τοιγαροῦνὁἀθετῶνκτλ.] ‘ Wherefore then the rejecter rejects not man but (the) God’— the compound ποιγαροῦν (class., elsewhere in N.T. only Hebrews 12:1) introducing the conclusion ‘ with some special emphasis or formality’ (Grimm-Thayer s.v.). Ἀθετεῖν literally = ‘ make ἄθετον, ’ or ‘ do away with what has been laid down,’ refers here to the action of the man who of his own will ‘ rejects’ or ‘ sets aside’ the calling just mentioned (v. 7): cf. especially Luke 10:16 of which we may here have a reminiscence. The verb, which is not approved by the Atticists (frequent in Polyb. e.g. 8:2. 5 ἀθ. τ. πίστιν, 15:1. 9 ἀθ. τ. ὅρκουςκαὶτ. συνθήκας), occurs other four times in the Pauline writings, always however with reference to things, not persons—τ. σύνεσιν (1 Corinthians 1:19), τ. χάριν (Galatians 2:21), διαθήκην (Galatians 3:15), π. πίστιν (1 Timothy 5:12). In the LXX. it represents no fewer than seventeen Heb. originals. For its use in the papyri see P.Tebt. 74, 59 f. (2./b.c.) ἐμβρόχουτῆςἐντῆιἠθετημένηιἱερᾷ (cf. 61 (b), 207 note), and in the inscriptions see O.G.I.S. 444, 18 ἐὰνδέτινεςτῶνπόλεωνἀθετ[ῶσι] τὸσύμφωνον. The absence of the art. before ἄνθρωπον followed as it is by τὸνθεόν deserves notice (cf. Galatians 1:10), while the contrast is further heightened by the use of the absolute negative in the first conception, not to annul it, but rhetorically to direct undivided attention to the second (cf. Mark 9:37, Acts 5:4, 1 Corinthians 1:17; WM. p. 622 f.). τὸνδίδοντακτλ.] The reading here is somewhat uncertain, but the weight of the ms. evidence is in favour of the pres. part. (à*BDG as against AKL for δόντα), the aor. having probably arisen from its occurrence elsewhere in the same connexion (e.g. 2 Corinthians 1:22; 2 Corinthians 5:5). As regards the meaning, the pres. may be taken as pointing to the ever ‘ fresh accessions of the Holy Spirit’ (Lft.) which God imparts, or perhaps better as along with the art. constituting another subst. part. ‘ the giver of His Holy Spirit.’For the emphatic τὸπν. τὸἅγ. where the repeated art. lays stress on the ἅγ. in keeping with the main thought of the whole passage cf. Mark 3:29; Mark 13:11, Ephesians 4:30; while if any weight can be attached to εἰςὑμᾶς instead of ὐμῖν (cf. 1:5 note) it brings out more pointedly the entrance of the Spirit into the heart and life: cf. Galatians 4:6, Ephesians 3:16, Ezekiel 37:14 δώσωτὸπνεῦμάμουεἰςὑμᾶςκαὶζήσεσθε, also the interesting reading of D in Mark 1:10 and parallels, where it is stated that at the Baptism the dove entered into Jesus (εἰςαὐτόν), and did not merely rest upon Him (ἐπʼ αὐτόν), (Nestle Exp. T. 17. p. 522 n.1).