3. τὸμηδένασαίνεσθαικτλ.] ‘ to wit, that no one be led astray in the midst of these afflictions.’ Ms. evidence is decisive in favour of τό (not τῷ) which introduces a statement in apposition to the whole foregoing clause, cf. 4:6. Blass (p. 234) regards the art. as quite superfluous in both passages, but it may be taken as lending more weight to the inf. by making it substantival (cf. 4:1 and see WM. p. 402 f.). Σαίνεσθαι (ἅπ. λεγ. N.T.) is generally understood in the sense of ‘ be moved,’ ‘ be shaken’ (Hesych.: κινεῖσθαι, σαλεύεσθαι, ταράττεσθαι), but this is to lose sight unnecessarily of the original meaning of the word. Properly it is used of dogs in the sense of ‘ wag the tail,’ ‘ fawn’ (e.g. Od. 10:217 ὅτʼ ἂνἀμφὶἄνακτακύνες ... σαίνωσιν), and hence came to be applied metaphorically to persons, ‘ fawn upon,’ ‘ beguile’ (e.g. Aesch. Choeph. 186 σαίνομαιδʼ ὑπʼ ἐλπίδος). What the Apostles evidently dreaded regarding the Thessalonians was that they would allow themselves to be ‘ drawn aside,’ ‘ allured’ from the right path in the midst of (ἐν) the afflictions (φλίψεσιν, 1:6 note) which were then (ταύταις) falling upon them (cf. Zahn Einl. 1. p. 159 f.). For an entirely different rendering see Severianus (apud Cramer Cat. 6., p. 353) ‘σαίνεσθαι’ εἰπὼντὸμηδέναξενίζεσθαι. Lachmann reads μηδὲνἀσαίνεσθαι. For the reading of FG σιένεσθαι i.e. σιαίνεσθαι ‘ to be disturbed, troubled,’ which has much to recommend it, see Soph. Lex. (s.v.), and cf. Nestle Z.N.T.W. 7. p. 361 f., and Exp. T. 18. p. 479. κείμεθα] ‘ we are appointed.’ For κεῖμαι (practically perf. pass. of τίθημι for the rarely used τέθεμαι) in this sense cf. Luke 2:34, Philippians 1:16, Joshua 4:6, and for the general thought see Mark 8:34, of which we may here have a reminiscence. The plur., while referring in the first instance to St Paul and his companions along with their Thessalonian converts, embodies a perfectly general statement. Calv.: ‘in hoc sumus constituti, tantundem valet ac si dixisset hac lege nos esse Christianos.’