Rev 1,18 and 22,3 -> two distinct referents or not?

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Peter Streitenberger
Posts: 224
Joined: June 3rd, 2011, 10:45 am

Rev 1,18 and 22,3 -> two distinct referents or not?

Post by Peter Streitenberger »

Dear friends and Colleagues,

while going through the Syntax of Rev 1,18, which states:
καὶ ὁ ζῶν καὶ ἐγενόμην νεκρὸς καὶ ἰδοὺ ζῶν εἰμι εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων καὶ ἔχω τὰς κλεῖς τοῦ θανάτου καὶ τοῦ ᾅδου
and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

and considering the same Syntax in Rev 22,3:
καὶ πᾶν κατάθεμα οὐκ ἔσται ἔτι καὶ ὁ θρόνος τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ ἀρνίου ἐν αὐτῇ ἔσται καὶ οἱ δοῦλοι αὐτοῦ λατρεύσουσιν αὐτῷ
No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him.

I wandered, if the Syntax is able to determine, if the combination of the two connected Genitivs in the phrases "the keys of Death and Hades" and "the throne of God and of the Lamb" point to one and the same or two different referents. In other words: are there two keys: one for Death, one for Hades and are there two thrones: one for God and one for the Lamb?

The Syntax is one and the same and I've listed this pattern throughout the whole NT with a Logos-Search. Here are the results:

Lk 12,56
ὑποκριταί τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γῆς καὶ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ οἴδατε δοκιμάζειν τὸν δὲ καιρὸν τοῦτον πῶς οὐκ οἴδατε δοκιμάζειν
You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?

Rom 2,4
ἢ τοῦ πλούτου τῆς χρηστότητος αὐτοῦ καὶ τῆς ἀνοχῆς καὶ τῆς μακροθυμίας καταφρονεῖς ἀγνοῶν ὅτι τὸ χρηστὸν τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς μετάνοιάν σε ἄγει
Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance?

Rom 2,20
παιδευτὴν ἀφρόνων διδάσκαλον νηπίων ἔχοντα τὴν μόρφωσιν τῆς γνώσεως καὶ τῆς ἀληθείας ἐν τῷ νόμῳ
an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of children, having in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth—

Rom 15,5
ὁ δὲ θεὸς τῆς ὑπομονῆς καὶ τῆς παρακλήσεως δῴη ὑμῖν τὸ αὐτὸ φρονεῖν ἐν ἀλλήλοις κατὰ Χριστὸν Ἰησοῦν
May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus,

1.Cor 13,1
Ἐὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω γέγονα χαλκὸς ἠχῶν ἢ κύμβαλον ἀλαλάζον
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

Epheser 2,3
ἐν οἷς καὶ ἡμεῖς πάντες ἀνεστράφημέν ποτε ἐν ταῖς ἐπιθυμίαις τῆς σαρκὸς ἡμῶν ποιοῦντες τὰ θελήματα τῆς σαρκὸς καὶ τῶν διανοιῶν καὶ ἤμεθα τέκνα φύσει ὀργῆς ὡς καὶ οἱ λοιποί
among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

My impression is that 1Cor 13,1 shows two distinct referents: once the tongues of men and once the tongues of angels, which could open the direction of two separate referents.
But the Nomen regens is plural. A counter example is Rom 15,5 as there are surely no two different Gods, on of endurance and one of encouragement.

My first idea is the following:
"the keys of Death and Hades" -> two keys, as the Nomen regens is plural.
and
"the throne of God and of the Lamb" -> one throne, as throne is singular.

And comments are highly appreciated!
Yours
Peter
http://www.streitenberger.info
Stirling Bartholomew
Posts: 1141
Joined: August 9th, 2012, 4:19 pm

Re: Rev 1,18 and 22,3 -> two distinct referents or not?

Post by Stirling Bartholomew »

Peter Streitenberger wrote: My first idea is the following:
"the keys of Death and Hades" -> two keys, as the Nomen regens is plural.
and
"the throne of God and of the Lamb" -> one throne, as throne is singular.

http://www.streitenberger.info
That looks right. The question is focused on syntax. If the two genitives were gathered under one article then we might think of them as having a single referent but you are not asking about the reference of the two genitives.

My inclination is to look at the semantic issues of the scenario and think about what is being pictured. Two or more persons on one throne apparently isn't a problem.

Rev. 3:21 Ὁ νικῶν δώσω αὐτῷ καθίσαι μετ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ μου, ὡς κἀγὼ ἐνίκησα καὶ ἐκάθισα μετὰ τοῦ πατρός μου ἐν τῷ θρόνῳ αὐτοῦ.

Ethiopian Enoch has several references to the "chosen one sitting on my throne" e.g., 1Enoch 51.3 (R.H. Charles, ICC).
C. Stirling Bartholomew
Peter Streitenberger
Posts: 224
Joined: June 3rd, 2011, 10:45 am

Re: Rev 1,18 and 22,3 -> two distinct referents or not?

Post by Peter Streitenberger »

Dear Strirling,

Rev 3,21 is convincing, that the Lord Jesus and the Father are sitting on one and the same throne. I did not consider this verse, but it makes it clear, that Rev 22,3 must be the same case. And Rev 1,18 seem to speak of two keys, as death and hades are clearly distinct in Revelation, maybe referring to the physical death and the realm of the dead, namely Hades. But the Plural of key makes it clear as it is the case in all other instances of this syntactic pattern.
Yours Peter
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