godliness, abstinence if it = self-control), in three of the five items in the four cardinal virtues (although not in the same words), and in at least four items with Philo’s more extensive list. His language, then, belongs to the Hellenistic world rather than to the Hebrew/Aramaic world. The importance of these virtues is clearly underlined by 2 Peter. “Make every effort” is unusual language (the verb occurs only here in the NT and is rare elsewhere in Greek literature), but the meaning is clear.
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