2 John 1

[jmcclane]

Hello,

Can anyone offer any insight to 2 John 1 and who this Lady is? I have tried to look for any reference to this verse from the Church Fathers but found none. Was she simply a Parishioner in the parish of St. John?

Thank you and may God Bless you

Joe M

NH

 

[awfulthings9]

Scholars believe that “the elect lady” is a metaphor to refer to a particular church, and “her children” would be the parishioners. By using the generic metaphor instead of addressing the church by name, it allowed John’s letter to circulate among many churches beyond the initial recipient.

 

[StCsDavid]

Footnote from NAB on this passage.

[1] The chosen Lady: literally, “elected”; this could also be translated “Kyria (a woman’s name) chosen (by God)” or “the lady Electa” or “Electa Kyria.” The adjective “chosen” is applied to all Christians at the beginning of other New Testament letters (1 Peter 1:1; Titus 1:1). The description is of a specific community with “children” who are its members. The truth: the affirmation of Jesus in the flesh and in contrast to false teaching (1 John 1:7).

NAB
The elder to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth, and not only I but also all who know the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us for ever:

NRS
The Presbyter to the chosen Lady and to her children whom I love in truth–and not only I but also all who know the truth–because of the truth that dwells in us and will be with us forever.

I kind of like the NRS translation better myself as it seems like a clearer reference to the church.

 

[Todd_Easton]

In the 1859 edition of the Haydock Catholic commentary on 2 John 1:1 it says:To the lady Elect. Some conjecture that elect might be the name of a family, or of a particular church; but the common opinion is, that it was the proper name of a virtuous lady.

In the 1953 edition of A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture, edited by Bernard Orchard, page 1189, it says:
The Second Epistle is inscribed: ‘To the lady Elect and her children’, 1:1. This inscription has puzzled exegetes from the earliest times. Is it addressed to a mother and her family or to a particular church, symbolically called ‘a lady Elect’? The reasons for preferring the latter interpretation are chiefly, the saluation of 13, ‘of thy sister Elect’, and the assurance in 1 that her children are loved by ‘all that have known the truth’. While not apodictic arguments, these two phrases do seem more applicalbe to a local church than to a private family.