22. ἀπὸπαντὸςεἴδουςκτλ.] ‘ from every form of evil abstain.’ This rendering may be criticized on two grounds— (1) it takes εἶδος in its quasi-philosophical sense of ‘ kind,’ ‘ species,’ which though frequent in class. writers and more especially in Plato, is not found elsewhere in the N.T., and (2) it treats πονηροῦ, though anarthrous, as a subst. But as regards (1), apart from such passages as Jos. Antt. 7. 80 (4. 2), 10. 37 (3. 1) εἶδοςμέλους, πονηρίας, we have now confirmation of this more popular use of εἶδος from the papyri as when in P.Tebt. 58, 20 f. (2./b.c.) a taxgatherer undertakes to collect a wheat-tax ἀπὸπαντὸςεἴδους ‘ from every class’ ; cf. P.Oxy. 237. 8:42 f. (2./a.d.) κατὰκώμηνκαὶκατʼ εἶδος ‘ under villages and classes,’ and see P.Fay. 34, 6 f. (2./a.d.) where ἄλλαεἴδη may be used not of ‘ other taxes’ but of ‘ other kinds’ of produce on which a certain tax (μονοδεσμία) was levied (see editors’ note ad loc.). While with reference to (2), the anarthrous use of the neut. sing. to denote abstract ideas is too frequent to cause any real difficulty, e.g. Genesis 2:9 τὸξύλοντοῦεἰδέναιγνωστὸνκαλοῦκ. πονηροῦ, Hebrews 5:14 πρὸςδιάκρισινκαλοῦτεκαὶκακοῦ, and cf. Didache 3:1, apparently a reminiscence of the present passage, φεῦγεἀπὸπαντὸςπονηροῦκ. ἀπὸπαντὸςὁμοίουαὐτοῦ. The alternative rendering ‘ abstain from every appearance of evil’ (R.V. marg.) has the advantage of taking εἶδος in the same sense as elsewhere in the N.T. (Luke 3:22; Luke 9:29, John 5:37, 2 Corinthians 5:7), but, if it is preferred, care must be taken not to impart into the word the idea of ‘ semblance’ as opposed to ‘ reality’ : it is rather ‘ appearance’ in the sense of ‘ outward show,’ ‘ visible form.’ On ἀπέχεσθαιἀπό see 4:3 note, and on the more active idea of evil in πονηρός ‘ malignant’ as compared with κακός ‘ base’ see Trench Syn. § 84. Commentators generally draw attention to the change from τὸκαλόν to παντὸςεἴδουςπονηροῦ, for while the good is one, evil has many forms; cf. Arist. Eth. Nic. 2:5. 14 ἔτιτὸμὲνἁμαρτάνεινπολλαχῶςἐστίν, ... τὸδὲκατορθοῦνμοναχῶς. It is also of interest to notice that vv. 21, 22 are frequently connected by early Christian writers with the agraphon ascribed to our Lord γίνεσθεδόκιμοιτραπεζῖται (for reff. see Suicer Thesaurus s.v. τραπεζίτης), and it is at least possible that the writers of our Ep. had this saying of Jesus in mind here: see further Resch Agrapha pp. 116 ff., 233 ff., Paulinismus p. 408 f., Ropes Sprüche p. 142 f.