Paul's Fight with the Beasts at Ephesus.
1 Cor. xv, 32. If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage hath it me, if the dead rise not? let us eat and drink; for to-morrow we die. A correspondent inquires, Did Paul literally fight with beasts, or does he, by the term beasts, mean wicked men with whom he had contention at Ephesus in behalf of the truth. On this question there is a difference of opinion among critics. The arguments on both sides are well set forth by Dr. Clarke's comment on this passage which we herewith present:— Verse 32. If after the manner of men, &c.] Much learned criticism has been employed on this verse, to ascertain whether it is to be understood literally or metaphorically. Does the apostle mean to say that he had literally fought with wild beasts at Ephesus? or, that he had met with brutish, savage men, from whom he was in danger of his life? That St. Paul did not fight with wild beasts at Ephesus, may be argued, 1. From his own silence on this subject, when enumerating his various sufferings, 2 Cor. xi, 23, &c. 2. From the silence of his historian, Luke, who, in the acts of this apostle, gives no intimation of this kind; and it certainly was too remarkable a circumstance to be passed over, either by Paul in the catalogue of his own sufferings, or by Luke in his history. 3. From similar modes of speech, which are employed metaphorically, and are so understood. 4. From the improbability that a Roman citizen, as Paul was, should be condemned to such a punishment, when in other cases, by pleading his privilege, he was exempted from being scourged, &c. And 5. From the positive testimony of Tertullian and Chrysostom, who deny the literal interpretation. On the other hand it is strongly argued that the apostle is to be literally understood; and that he did, at some particular time, contend with the wild beasts at Ephesus, from which he was miraculously delivered. 1. That the phrase κατὰ ἄνθρωπον signifies as men used to do, and never means according to the manner of men, as implying their purpose, or, to use their forms of speech, &c. 2. From the circumstances of the case in Ephesus usually referred to, viz., the insurrection by Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen; where, though Paul would have been in danger had he gone into the theater, he was in little or none, as he did not adventure himself. 3. From his having endured much greater conflicts at Lystra and at Philippi than at Ephesus, at the former of which he was stoned to death, and again miraculously raised to life: see the notes on Acts xiv, 19, &c. And yet he calls not those greater dangers by this name. 4. That it cannot refer to the insurrection of Demetrius and his fellows, for St. Paul had no contention with them, and was scarcely in any danger, though Gaius and Aristarchus were: see the whole of Acts xix. And 5. As we do not read of any other imminent danger to which he was exposed, at Ephesus, and that already mentioned is not sufficient to justify the expression, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, therefore we must conclude that he was at some time, not directly mentioned by his historian or himself, actually exposed to wild beasts at Ephesus. 6. That this is the case he refers to, 2 Cor. i, 8, 9, 10: For we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, inasmuch that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raiseth the dead; who delivered us from so great a death: for these expressions refer to some excessive and unprecedented danger, from which nothing less than a miraculous interference could have saved him; and that it might have been an actual exposure to wild beasts, or any other danger equally great, or even greater.” Olshausen thinks it is not to be taken literally, offering the reason that “Paul's privilege as a Roman citizen secured him from the arena;” while Barnes, on the other hand, argues at length for its literal interpretation in his notes on the passage. Again, Bishop Horne contends for a metaphorical application of the language in some arguments which we deem it proper to introduce here: “If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus. Not that the apostle appears to have been actually condemned by his enemies to combat with wild beasts in the theater: he seems only to have employed this strong phraseology, to denote the violence and ferocity of his adversaries, which resembled the rage and fury of brutes, and to compare his contention with these fierce pagan zealots and fanatics to the common theatrical conflict of men with wild beasts. Note. The same metaphors are of frequent occurrence in the New Testament. Herod is called a fox: Go and tell that fox. (Luke xiii, 32.) Hypocrites are called wolves in sheep's clothing. (Matt. vii, 15.) Rapacious and mercenary preachers are styled wolves, that will enter and ravage the fold: There will enter among you grievous wolves, not sparing the flock. (Acts xx, 29.) The apostle uses a harsher metaphor to denote the malice and rage of his adversaries: Beware of dogs. (Phil. iii, 2.) Had St. Paul been thus engaged, says Dr. Ward, it is difficult to apprehend how he could have escaped without a miracle. For those who conquered the beasts, were afterward obliged to fight with men till they were killed themselves. It seems most reasonable, therefore, to understand the expression [ἐθηριομάχησα] as metaphorical, and that he alludes to the tumult raised by Demetrius. The very same word which the apostle here employs to denote the violence and fury of his adversaries is used by Ignatius in the like metaphorical sense. All the way from Syria to Rome, by sea and by land, by night and by day, do I FIGHT WITH WILD BEASTS. Ignatii Epist. ad Rom. p. 94. edit. Oxon. 1708. I advise you to beware of beasts in the shape of men, p. 22. So also the Psalmist, My soul is among lions, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows. Ps. lvii, 4. Break their teeth, O God, in their mouths. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, O Lord. (Ps. lviii, 6.) See also Lakemacher's Observationes Sacræ, part ii, pp. 194–196.”—Horne iii, 484, note. From these various authorities and arguments the reader must take that ground which to him seems most tenable.