Re: Is Christ declared to be God in Romans 9:5?

Wes.Williams@twcable.com
Tue, 03 Dec 96 15:45:37 MST

A detailed study of the construction of Romans 9:5 is found in "The
Authorship of the Fourth Gospel and Other Critical Essays," by Ezra
Abbot, Boston, 1888, pp. 332-438. You may wish to note pp. 345, 346,
and 432 regarding your question.

Sincerely,
Wes Williams

______________________________ Reply Separator _________________________________
Subject: Re. Is Christ declared to be God in Romans 9:5!
Author: "Paul F. Evans" <evans@mail.gld.com> at SMTP-PO
Date: 12/3/96 3:14 PM

List,

Please comment on the following:

wJn oiJ patere", kai ex wJn oJ Cristo" to kata: oJ wn epi pantwn qeo"
In who are the fathers, and out of whom is Christ according to the flesh...

euloghto" ei" tou" aiwna, amhn.

The NIV seems to take this hO CHRISTOS... hO... QEOS... as a predicate,
equivalent to "Christ is God." Am I even close here with the rationale?
The NASB avoids directly asserting this, but indirectly ascribes deity with
"who is over all...," taking the hO as a substantive reference to Christ.
Does the separation between hO and QEOS mean that they are not connected
and that the QEOS is therefore anarthrous? Or is the QEOS articular, in
which case we are back with the NIV, it would seem to me. How can we deal
with the phrase hO WN EPI PANTWN QEOS EULOGHTOS EIS TOUS...? How are we to
understand EULOGHTOS, which in my simplistic understanding would be a key
to unlock the phrase. If it is subjective of the blessedness Christ
receives from God, then the NASB must be nearer the mark, if it is
objective of the praise ascribed to Christ then the NIV is closer.

It troubles me that the NASB seems to have divorced this phrase from what
has gone before it so that it stands alone. However, something about the
NIV just doesn't "click." I know that "clicking" is not a very scienticfic
method, but believe me it about all I have to go on here with my pitiful
understanding of Koine.

How does the WV function? The nearest I can come in finding help is that
it is an adverb, (present, part. of EIMI) meaning something like truly, in
truth, really. Does it function in a way that reenforces the deity of
Christ, so that it means something like, " who is really God...?"There is
no hint of its force in either translations that I can detect, almost
untranslated.

This is a very difficult piece!!! I hope that this e-mail doesn't show off
my ignorance too much.

Paul F. Evans
Thunder Swamp Pentecostal Holiness Church
MT. Olive, NC

"Endeavouring to make use of New Testament Greek in a real live ministry!"