Bible Dictionary
By
In the expression “by myself” in 1 Corinthians 4:4, “by” has the obsolete sense of “against.” Paul means that his conscience does not acquit him, even though he is not aware of wrongdoing.
Definition
In the expression “by myself” in the King James Version of 1 Corinthians 4:4, “by” has the obsolete sense “against.” The phrase therefore means “against myself,” not “beside myself” or “by my own authority.”
Biblical Usage
Paul says that his conscience is not aware of wrongdoing against himself, yet this does not make him finally justified. The supplied translations render the expression “against myself.”
Historical Background
This use preserves an older English meaning of “by.” The underlying Greek construction expresses being conscious or cognizant of something with the dative.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
In the expression “by myself” (A.V., 1 Cor. 4:4), means, as rendered in the Revised Version, “against myself.”
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>In the sense of "against" which survives only in dialectal English (compare Wright, Dialect Dict., I, 470, for examples) is the King James Version rendering of the dative emauto of 1Co 4:4 (the American Standard Revised Version renders this "against"). In classical Greek the same idiom sunoida with dative = "be conscious" or "be cognizant of" a thing.</p>