2 Thess 1:9, APO

Arto Hoikkala hoikkala at myy.helia.fi
Fri Dec 25 17:30:21 EST 1998



Dear B-GREEKers,

While studying the word DIKH I started to wonder APO preposition in
2 Thess 1:9. Greek text reads

hOITINES DIKHN TISOUSIN OLEQRON AIWNION APO PROSWPOU TOU KURIOU
KAI APO THS DOCHS THS ISXUOS AUTOU

Finnish translations (very much like RSV and NIV) interpret APO as
"away from". So the punishment is defined as 1) eternal
destruction/death *and* separation from the presence of the Lord
or as 2) eternal destruction/death *which is* separation from the
presence of the Lord. However, after reading the context and some
related verses in the OT (Isa 2:10,19,21) I started to wonder
whether APO actually communicates the presence of the Lord as the
*cause* of eternal destruction/death. This interpretation defines
punishment as 3) eternal destruction/death *by* the presence of
the Lord and *by* the glory of his might (something like deaths
of Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu).

We may have different interpretations of the meaning of OLEQRON
AIWNION, but leaving those aside is this third interpretation
grammatically possible? What do you think about it otherwise?

Arto Hoikkala




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