Bible Lexicons

(1) With σπουδή = ";haste,"; ";speed,"; as in Mark 6:25, Luke 1:39, cf. P Ryl II. 231.13 (A.D. 40) κατὰ σπουδὴν δέ σοι ἔγραψα, P Tebt II. 315.8 (ii/A.D.) μετὰ σ ]π [ο ]υδῆς γράφω ὅπως [μὴ μερ ]ιμνῇς, ";I am writing in haste that you may not be over-anxious"; and P Oxy I. 63.5 (ii/iii A.D.) (amended Archiv i. p. 128) προνόησον σὺν πάσῃ σπουδῇ ἐνβαλέσθαι αὐτοῦ τὸν γόμον, ";please to see that his freight is embarked with all despatch"; (Edd.).

(2) The word passes readily into the meaning ";zeal,"; ";earnestness,"; as in 2 Corinthians 7:11-12, cf. P Par 63.131 (B.C. 164) (= P Petr III. p. 28) πεῖραν λαμβάνειν λαμβάνειν τῶν ἐξακολουθούντων ἐπιτ ̣ι ̣μ ̣ων ̣ τοῖς παρακούουσί τινος τῶν μετὰ σπουδῆς [ἐ ]νθυμουμένων, ";to experience the penalties which are inflicted on those who wilfully misinterpret any of the regulations which have been carefully conceived"; (Mahaffy), ib..148 τὴν πᾶσαν προσενεγκάμενοι σπουδὴν κ [αὶ ] προθυμίαν, ";making use of the greatest zeal and forethought,"; P Tebt I. 33.19 (B.C. 112) (= Selections, p. 31) τὴν πᾶσαν προσενέγκαι σπουδή [ν, ";display the utmost zeal,"; in preparations for a Roman visitor, BGU IV. 1209.7 (B.C. 23) οὐδὲν σπουδῆς οὐδὲ κακοπαθίας παρέλιπον.

(3) The further meaning ";goodwill"; may be illustrated by P Tebt II. 314.9 (ii/A.D.) τῆς δὲ τῶν φίλων σπουδῆς τυχόντος ἐπετύχαμ ̣ε ̣ν ̣, ";by means of the good offices of our friends we attained it"; (Edd.), P Oxy VI. 963 (ii/iii A.D.) χάριν δέ σοι οἶδα, μῆτερ, ἐπὶ τῇ σπουδῇ τοῦ καθεδραρίου, a woman thanking her mother for sending a stool, and ib. VII. 1068.18 (iii/A.D.) παρακαλῶ οὖν, κύριέ μου, ὑπάρξε (= αι) αὐτοῖς καὶ τὰ τῆς σῆς σπουδῆς, ";so I urge you, my lord, to supply them with the marks of your good will"; (Ed.).

(4) The way for the religious connotation of the word, as in 2 Corinthians 8:7, cf. Romans 12:8; Romans 12:11, Hebrews 6:11, may be said to be prepared by such passages from the inscrr. as Magn 53.61 (iii/B.C.) ἀπόδειξιν ποιούμενος τῆς περὶ τὰ μέγιστα σπουδῆς, and ib. 85.12 (ii/B.C.) ὅπ [ω ]ς οὖν κα ̣ὶ ἡ τοῦ [δή ]μου πρός τε τ [ὴ ]ν θεὰν ὁσιότης τε καὶ σπουδὴ ἔγδηλ [ος γένηται (cited by Thieme, p. 31).

(5) For the phrase πᾶσαν σπουδὴν ποιεῖσθαι, as in Judges 1:3, cf. P Hib I. 44.7 (B.C. 253) οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἔτυχεν περὶ τούτων τὴν σπουδὴν ποιεῖται ὁ διοικητής, ";for the dioecetes is showing no ordinary anxiety with regard to this"; (Edd.), PSI VI. 584.27 (iii/B.C.) περὶ τῆς κυνὸς πᾶσαν σπουδὴν ποίησαι · οὐ γάρ ἐστιν ἐμή, ib. IV. 340.19 (B.C. 257–6) δεόμεθα πᾶσαν σπουδὴν ποιήσασθαι περὶ Πτολεμαίου, and P Hib I. 71.9 (B.C. 245) ὡς ἂν οὖν λάβηις τὰ γράμμ [ατα ] τὴν πᾶσαν σπουδὴν ποίησαι ὅπ [ως ἀνα ]ζητηθέντες ἀποσταλῶσι πρὸς [ἡμᾶς ] μετὰ φυλακῆς, ";as soon as you receive this letter use every effort to search for them (runaway slaves), and send them to me under guard"; (Edd.). From the inscrr. Rouffiac (p. 53) cites Priene 53.10 (ii/B.C.) πᾶσαν σπουδὴν ποιούμενος, ἵνα. . ., and, in illustration of 2 Peter 1:5, ib. 118.7 (i/B.C.) πᾶσαν εἰσφερόμενος σπ ̣[ου ]δὴν καὶ φιλοτιμίαν.