Re: Jn 2:4, TI EMOI KAI SOI, GUNAI;

Jonathan Robie (jwrobie@mindspring.com)
Tue, 14 Oct 1997 11:58:12 -0400

At 11:40 AM 10/14/97 EDT, Paul S. Dixon wrote:
>
>Does anybody have any helpful insights as to the meaning of these words
>spoken by Christ to His mother in Jn 2:4, TI EMOI KAI SOI, GUNAI?
>
>Anything like this in other Koine, Septuagintal or Classical literature?
>
>Paul Dixon

A.T.Robertson's "Word Pictures" comments on both GUNAI and the use of the
dative:

"Woman (gunai). Vocative case of gun, and with no idea of censure as is
plain from its use by Jesus in 19:26. But the use of gunai instead of mter
(Mother) does show her she can no longer exercise maternal authority and not
at all in his Messianic work. That is always a difficult lesson for mothers
and fathers to learn, when to let go.

"What have I to do with thee? (Ti emoi kai soi;). There are a number of
examples of this ethical dative in the LXX (Jud 11:12; 2Sa 16:10; 1Ki 17:18;
2Ki 3:13; 2Ch 35:21) and in the N.T. (Mk 1:24; 5:7; Mt 8:29; 27:19; Lu
8:28). Some divergence of thought is usually indicated. Literally the phrase
means, "What is it to me and to thee?" In this instance F.C. Burkitt
(Journal of Theol. Studies, July, 1912) interprets it to mean, "What is it
to us?" That is certainly possible and suits the next clause also.

"Mine hour is not yet come (oup hkei h hra mou). This phrase marks a
crisis whenever it occurs, especially of his death (7:30; 8:20; 12:23; 13:1;
17:1). Here apparently it means the hour for public manifestation of the
Messiahship, though a narrower sense would be for Christ's intervention
about the failure of the wine. The Fourth Gospel is written on the plane of
eternity (W. M. Ramsay) and that standpoint exists here in this first sign
of the Messiah."

Jonathan

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