περισσεύητε intr. or trans. in 1Cor. 14:12 ?

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Stephen Hughes
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περισσεύητε intr. or trans. in 1Cor. 14:12 ?

Post by Stephen Hughes »

Sorry, I can't quote the verse.

Is περισσεύητε intransitive or transitive in 1 Corinthians 14:12? Why?

If it is intransitive it could mean the ones seeking the spiritual things (gifts?) would personally abound and be better off.

If it is transitive and either the the edification of the Church or more likely the Chuch per se is caused to increase or abound.

I prefer to read it as that the one seeking spiritual things could cause the Church to prosper, because the general theme is moving from personal edification to Church edification.

Are any of those three more likely? Is one of them clearly wrong?
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
Thomas Dolhanty
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Re: περισσεύητε intr. or trans. in 1Cor. 14:12 ?

Post by Thomas Dolhanty »

1 Corinthians 14:12 wrote: οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ἐπεὶ ζηλωταί ἐστε πνευμάτων, πρὸς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ζητεῖτε ἵνα περισσεύητε.
To me the immediate context strongly suggests transitive, and the implied object of the verb is "πνευμάτα" - or more particularly, "τὰ πνευματικά". 'Just as you are zealous for the manifestation of the spirit, seek to abound in the gifts of the spirit FOR THE BUILDING UP OF THE CHURCH.

Again, the immediate context including the preceding and following verses seem to require this reading in my understanding of the passage. Paul is saying, "You're zealous for the gifts of the Spirit. That's a good thing. Abound in those gifts - and make sure that they are used to build up the Church.'
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Stephen Hughes
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Re: περισσεύητε intr. or trans. in 1Cor. 14:12 ?

Post by Stephen Hughes »

Thomas Dolhanty wrote:
1 Corinthians 14:12 wrote: οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ἐπεὶ ζηλωταί ἐστε πνευμάτων, πρὸς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ζητεῖτε ἵνα περισσεύητε.
To me the immediate context strongly suggests transitive, and the implied object of the verb is "πνευμάτα" - or more particularly, "τὰ πνευματικά". 'Just as you are zealous for the manifestation of the spirit, seek to abound in the gifts of the spirit FOR THE BUILDING UP OF THE CHURCH.

Again, the immediate context including the preceding and following verses seem to require this reading in my understanding of the passage. Paul is saying, "You're zealous for the gifts of the Spirit. That's a good thing. Abound in those gifts - and make sure that they are used to build up the Church.'
I don't find any of the words for "gift" in this chapter - it needs to be brought from 11:31 χαρίσματα, and the only mention of "giving" is the idiom of instruments giving (off) sounds. Is there another way to read τά πνευματικά of verse 1 that doesn't require such an extended interval over which to bring a concept?
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
Thomas Dolhanty
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Re: περισσεύητε intr. or trans. in 1Cor. 14:12 ?

Post by Thomas Dolhanty »

Stephen Hughes wrote:I don't find any of the words for "gift" in this chapter - it needs to be brought from 11:31 χαρίσματα, and the only mention of "giving" is the idiom of instruments giving (off) sounds. Is there another way to read τά πνευματικά of verse 1 that doesn't require such an extended interval over which to bring a concept?
GNT & ESV & NASB - 1Cor 14:12'NAU 1 Corinthians 14:12 wrote:οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ἐπεὶ ζηλωταί ἐστε πνευμάτων, πρὸς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ζητεῖτε ἵνα περισσεύητε.

NASB So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.

ESV So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church]
The two versions cited read πνευμάτων as a reference to spiritual gifts (or 'manifestations') which has been the discussion through chapter 12 and chapter 14. In both verse 11 and verse 13 of this chapter there is discussion of the gift of tongues. The very first sentence in chapter 12 refers to πνευματικῶν which is taken by most, I think, as a reference to spiritual gifts. Certainly the versions read it that way (ESV, NASB, KJV, NIV, etc.). And, in fact, the whole of chapter 12 is about gifts of the spirit, whether or not the particular word χαρίσματα is employed or not.
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cwconrad
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Re: περισσεύητε intr. or trans. in 1Cor. 14:12 ?

Post by cwconrad »

Thomas Dolhanty wrote:
Stephen Hughes wrote:I don't find any of the words for "gift" in this chapter - it needs to be brought from 11:31 χαρίσματα, and the only mention of "giving" is the idiom of instruments giving (off) sounds. Is there another way to read τά πνευματικά of verse 1 that doesn't require such an extended interval over which to bring a concept?
GNT & ESV & NASB - 1Cor 14:12'NAU 1 Corinthians 14:12 wrote:οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ἐπεὶ ζηλωταί ἐστε πνευμάτων, πρὸς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ζητεῖτε ἵνα περισσεύητε.

NASB So also you, since you are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek to abound for the edification of the church.

ESV So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church]
The two versions cited read πνευμάτων as a reference to spiritual gifts (or 'manifestations') which has been the discussion through chapter 12 and chapter 14. In both verse 11 and verse 13 of this chapter there is discussion of the gift of tongues. The very first sentence in chapter 12 refers to πνευματικῶν which is taken by most, I think, as a reference to spiritual gifts. Certainly the versions read it that way (ESV, NASB, KJV, NIV, etc.). And, in fact, the whole of chapter 12 is about gifts of the spirit, whether or not the particular word χαρίσματα is employed or not.
I'm more inclined to think that περισσεύητε here (οὕτως καὶ ὑμεῖς, ἐπεὶ ζηλωταί ἐστε πνευμάτων, πρὸς τὴν οἰκοδομὴν τῆς ἐκκλησίας ζητεῖτε ἵνα περισσεύητε) is intransitive: "endeavor to go beyond far enough"; I don't see any causative impact on any particular object here. The addressees are asked to make an extraordinary effort, to "go overboard." I remember years ago marveling at the words ἄρτιος and περισσός, the former emphasizing perfect matching of elements or the compactness of the configuration, the latter emphasizing rather their excessive or "outstanding" character. Seems that with περισσεύειν, whether it's used in a positive or a pejorative sense, there's always a notion of "above and beyond", "going overboard," or "going too far."
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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