Aorist participle in Eph. 1:9

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ronsnider1
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Aorist participle in Eph. 1:9

Post by ronsnider1 »

Ephesians 1:8-9a reads as follows:

ἧς ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς ἡμᾶς, ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει, γνωρίσας ἡμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ,

Perhaps this has been addressed but how is one to understand the relationship between the aorist participle γνωρίσας
and the main aorist verb ἐπερίσσευσεν

Given what is said in these verses, I am tempted to see this as an aorist participle denoting the purpose for the wisdom and insight that was lavished on the believer. In other words, believers received wisdom and insight for the purpose of making know to us His will.

However, I am not sure I can remember another aorist participle being used to denote purpose.

Any insight is appreciated.
Ron Snider
Pastor-teacher,
Makarios Bible Church of Sarasota
Stirling Bartholomew
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Re: Aorist participle in Eph. 1:9

Post by Stirling Bartholomew »

Eph. 1:17 Ἐν ᾧ ἔχομεν τὴν ἀπολύτρωσιν διὰ τοῦ αἵματος αὐτοῦ, τὴν ἄφεσιν τῶν παραπτωμάτων, κατὰ τὸ πλοῦτος τῆς χάριτος αὐτοῦ 8 ἧς ἐπερίσσευσεν εἰς ἡμᾶς, ἐν πάσῃ σοφίᾳ καὶ φρονήσει, 9 γνωρίσας ἡμῖν τὸ μυστήριον τοῦ θελήματος αὐτοῦ, κατὰ τὴν εὐδοκίαν αὐτοῦ ἣν προέθετο ἐν αὐτῷ
The problem commenting on this passage is to limit the scope of the question. I hauled out my pristine (virtually unused) commentary by Harold Hoehner because I don't believe in reinventing the wheel. Hoehner was recommended by the guy I climbed Little Tahoma with in '77. He was a DTS graduate.

Hoehner says that the action of the participle γνωρίσας is contemporaneous with the finite verb in verse 8 ἐπερίσσευσεν. Who is the subject? I suspect: ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ is the subject. Establishing the precise logical connection of γνωρίσας to the argument is probably beyond my exegetical skills. It qualifies something but exactly what is not obvious. I can see how purpose might be suggested but it isn't a function of the participle to mark purpose.

Hoehner thinks γνωρίσας indicates the manner in which grace is bestowed.

Not much help, but someone else will have the "correct" answer.
C. Stirling Bartholomew
timothy_p_mcmahon
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Re: Aorist participle in Eph. 1:9

Post by timothy_p_mcmahon »

Perhaps it indicates means: "which he abundantly bestowed on us by making known the secret of his will..."
Barry Hofstetter
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Re: Aorist participle in Eph. 1:9

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Ah, the problem with Eph 1:3-14, or "Who stole the main verb?" Taken as a whole, the sentence makes a great impact, but when you start trying to figure out how each part is related to the other parts, it becomes problematic, a sentence diagrammer's nightmare.

Hoehner's commentary on Ephesians is magnificent (really, everybody needs a copy), but that doesn't mean that he is right in all details.
Larkin wrote:γνωρίσας. Aor act ptc masc sg γνωρίζω (attendant circumstance). As opposed to modifying ἐπερίσσευσεν (Hoehner, 214), this participle should be tied to ἐξελέξατο (1:4), as part of a “threefold link emphasizing the unity of the discourse, and also pointing to the fact that the total sentence (vv. 3–14) is a continuous repetition, with expansions, of the same content introduced by v. 3 and elaborated on by vv. 4–14” (Louw, 313).
Larkin, W. J. (2009). Ephesians: A Handbook on the Greek Text (p. 11). Waco, TX: Baylor University Press.

The NET Bible agrees with Hoehner:
NET Bible wrote:Or “He did this by revealing”; Grk “making known, revealing.” Verse 9 begins with a participle dependent on “lavished” in v. 8; the adverbial participle could be understood as temporal (“when he revealed”), which would be contemporaneous to the action of the finite verb “lavished,” or as means (“by revealing”). The participle has been translated here with the temporal nuance to allow for means to also be a possible interpretation. If the translation focused instead upon means, the temporal nuance would be lost as the time frame for the action of the participle would become indistinct.
Biblical Studies Press. (2006). The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Eph 1:8–9). Biblical Studies Press.

Structurally, it has always seemed to me that it is the participles that carry the main weight of the discourse here, emphasizing in a descriptive fashion the actions of ὁ θεὸς καὶ πατήρ. They seem only loosely related to the clauses in which they are found. This is where actual usage of the language seems to defy the neat categories our beginning textbooks like to use.

Future participles are used of purpose (we find a few in Acts), but not the aorist.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Stirling Bartholomew
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Re: Aorist participle in Eph. 1:9

Post by Stirling Bartholomew »

Future participles are used of purpose (we find a few in Acts), but not the aorist.
Future participles are (sometimes) used in contexts where purpose is implied. Rare as hen's teeth in the NT.

The Future Participle in the Greek New Testament
GORDON H LOVIK Calvary Baptist Theological Seminary
1986

https://biblicalstudies.org.uk/pdf/cbtj/02-2_029.pdf
C. Stirling Bartholomew
ronsnider1
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Re: Aorist participle in Eph. 1:9

Post by ronsnider1 »

Thanks for the replies...I also have the electronic edition of Hoehner as well as several others. I did like Barry's response...I feel much the same way...diagrammer's nightmare but loaded with theological grandeur.
Ron Snider
Pastor-teacher,
Makarios Bible Church of Sarasota
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