hOMIOWQH: Says who?

Mike Adams (adtech@sprynet.com)
Sun, 13 Apr 1997 22:54:44 -0600

A friend of mine is doing his thesis on parables.
He noticed the instances in Matthew where the word hOMIOWQH is in the
aorist passive. Literally, wouldn't that mean "was compared to" (aorist
passive indicative)? Most translations do not treat it this way, but say
"may be compared to" or "is likened unto". My friend has been taught, and
firmly believes that the aorist indicative passive is to be interpreted as
a simple past, and wonders if Jesus might be citing some oral traditions,
say that "the kingdom of heaven was compared to...." If so, whom was he
citing? Was it common for him to cite principles from sources other than
scripture. (I think of a recent posting where "Seek and ye shall find" was
said to be a secular quotation.)

Is this an idiomatic expression, or perhaps an instance where the aorist
depicts aspect, not time. If that's the case, what might I tell him to
support this view?

Here are the scriptures in Matthew, (sorry they're not caps, I just cut and
pasted them.)

Matt 13:24 allhn parabolhn pareqhken autois legwn wmoiwqh h basileia twn
ouranwn anqrwpw speiranti kalon sperma en tw agrw autou
Matt 18:23 dia touto wmoiwqh h basileia twn ouranwn anqrwpw basilei os
hqelhsen sunarai logon meta twn doulwn autou
Matt 22:2 wmoiwqh h basileia twn ouranwn anqrwpw basilei ostis epoihsen
gamous tw uiw autou

(This word in the aorist passive indicative is only found elsewhere in the
new testament in some variants in Romans 9:29: kai kaqws proeirhken hsaias
ei mh kurios sabawq egkatelipen hmin sperma ws sodoma an egenhqhmen kai ws
gomorra an wmoiwqhmen. It is also found in the aorist subjunctive, which
allows broader interpretation than the indicative.)

I really appreciate your help in this. I'm really hoping my friend can get
his thesis finished so he can join our study group. (Ulterior motive here,
you see.) Thanks in advance.

Ellen Adams
Wellspring Fellowship
Sheridan Colorado