Re: MALLON DE (Galatians 4:9)

Jonathan Robie (jwrobie@mindspring.com)
Sun, 19 Jan 1997 20:02:08 -0500

At 3:23 AM -0600 1/19/97, Eric Weiss wrote:
>Galatians 4:9
>
>...NUN DE GNONTES QEON, MALLON DE GNWSQENTES hUPO QEOU...
>
>The usual translation "but now that you have come to know God, or rather
>to be known by God" (NASB, similar to others) bothers me. It's like Paul
>is saying that the Galatians had never really known God (his choices of
>GINWSKW vs. OIDA in this letter seem to be deliberate) - yet that would
>seem to be contrary to the points he makes about them being sons, and
>encouraging them to walk in the Spirit.

I'm not a big enough Greek to give an authoritative answer, but I'd like to
toss out a possibility, and see what others think.

I read this recently, and felt that MALLON DE could be translated "or more
to the point," as in "or more to the point, have been known by God." In some
ways, it is like the statement in 1 John that "we love him because he first
loved us." Of course we love God, and know God, but his love and his knowing
is the power that is at work, and his love and knowing are perfect, not the
weaker reflections of his love and knowing that he inspires in us.

I wonder to what extent GINIWSKW implies intimacy here. I'm reading it as
though it does imply intimacy.

Jonathan

***************************************************************************
Jonathan Robie
POET Software, 3207 Gibson Road, Durham, N.C., 27703
Ph: 919.598.5728 Fax: 919.598.6728
email: jwrobie@mindspring.com, jonathan@poet.com
http://www.poet.com <--- shockwave enabled!
***************************************************************************