Re: Eph. 2:8-9

Russ Patrick Reeves (russ-reeves@uiowa.edu)
Sun, 6 Oct 1996 01:33:29 -0500

At 06:34 AM 10/5/96 -0500, Carl W. Conrad wrote:

>While I can think of or find no other examples of this in the NT, I would
>understand this TOUTO as referring back to the preceding clause, THi GAR
>XARITI SESWiSMENOI ESTE, and picking it up as the subject of OUK (ESTIN) EX
>hUMWN: i.e.: "This (the fact that you have been saved) (is) not from you,
>(it is) a gift of God.

Possibly related to this in Phillipians 1:28 - DE SOTHARIAS KAI TOUTO APO
THOU. Would TOUTO refer to the feminine noun SOTHARIAS, or to the whole
previous phrase?

I checked the online Liddell Scott Lexicon for hOUTOS (the search result url
was http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/lexindex?entry=ou(\=tos) which stated:

II. though houtos usu. agrees with the Noun that serves as Predicate,
it is not rare to find it in the neut., mania de kai tout' esti Eur. Ba.
305; touto gar eisi . . euthunai Dem. 19.82, etc.: and in pl., ouk esti
tauta arch Aeschin. 3.13; taut' estin ho prodots IDEM=Aeschin. 2.166: so
with an explanatory clause added, touto gar estin ho sukophants, aitiasthai
men panta exelenxai de mden Dem. 57.34.

(snip)
>> 3. the neut. also may refer to a masc. or fem. Noun, karpon
phoreei kuam™i ison: touto epean gentai pepon ktl. Hdt. 4.23, cf. Xen.
Anab. 1.5.10, etc.

Could this be the solution for Eph 2:8?

____________
Russ P. Reeves
mailto:russ-reeves@uiowa.edu
mailto:russr@inav.net
University of Iowa
Ph.D. Student, History of Religion in the West