Re: KAI EC hOLHJ THJ DIANOIAJ SOU in Mk 12:30

Mark O'Brien (markus@upnaway.com)
Thu, 06 Nov 1997 13:55:36

Brian--

At 06:26 PM 11/5/97 +0000, you wrote:
>Mark O'Brien appended the following quotation to his recent posting -
>
>>So far as I can remember, there is not one word in the Gospels in
>>praise of intelligence.
>> -- Bertrand Russell
>

I grabbed this quote from somewhere (don't recall where) because it seemed
to be a typically "Russellian" provocative statement, and sort of humourous
in its own way.

>Mk 12:30 reads - AGAPHSEIJ KURION TON QEON SOU EC hOLHJ THJ KARDIAJ SOU
>KAI EC hOLHJ THJ YUXHJ SOU KAI EC hOLHJ THJ DIANOIAJ SOU KAI EC hOLHJ
>THJ ISXUOJ SOU
>
>Two things strike me about these words. For one thing, my printed Greek
>NT uses bold type for Old Testament quotations. It indicates that
>Deuteronomy 6:5 does not include the words KAI EC hOLHJ THJ DIANOIAJ
>SOU. Jesus dared to improve on what Moses said, and inserted an extra
>phrase. Where Moses has three phrases each beginning "with the whole
>of...", Jesus has four.
>
>The second thing is that the words Jesus added might well be translated
>- ** and with the whole of your intelligence **. If so, then for
>Jesus, using not just your intelligence, but using the whole of your
>intelligence, is part of the most important commandment of all.
>
>I would be interested to hear the views of others on the translation of
>KAI EC hOLHJ THJ DIANOIAJ SOU in Mk 12:30.

Since somebody else actually recently mentioned my use of this quote in a
private note, let me raise the following point that I have been pondering.
It has been suggested that certain passages that praise wisdom or shewdness
contradict Russell's comments, but I really wonder whether
wisdom/shrewdness (especially given the OT background to such concepts)
really equates to intelligence in the way that we normally define it our
Western thinking. This is really beyond our GNT scope, but worth pondering.

With regards to Mk 12:30, certainly both LSJ and BAGD suggest that
"intellect" is a possible (and perhaps quite good) translation here.
However, the focus is on *loving* God with all of your intellect, and
should not necessarily be seen as a promotion of intelligence, per se.

Some humble thoughts,

M.

PS: Let's see if my Eco quote will get me in as much of a debate! ;-)

-----
"When we consider a book, we mustn't ask ourselves what it says but what it
means."
-- Brother William of Baskerville (Eco, "The Name of the
Rose")
-----
Rev. Mark B. O'Brien
Assoc. Pastor, Subiaco Church of Christ, Western Australia
Lecturer, South Perth Christian College, Western Australia

markus@upnaway.com