Philippians 3:3 PNEUMATI

Ben Crick ben.crick at argonet.co.uk
Mon Sep 28 18:36:17 EDT 1998


On Mon 28 Sep 98 (14:14:36 +1100), tduke at westpac.com.au wrote:
> 'hOI PNEUMATI QEOU LATREUONTES'
> 
> Should this verse be translated:
>     '(we) worship by the Spirit of God'
> or 'we worship the Spirit of God' ?
> or indeed, something else!

 Tim:

 The Bauer-Arndt-Gingrich Lexicon comes to our aid here. It cites:
 "hOI PNEUMATI QEOU LATROUONTES /those who worship by the Spirit of God/
 Phil 3:3" (s.v. LATREUW, page 468).

 LATREUW is one of those verbs which govern the Dative; it means not so
 much "to worship" but "to render service to", hence the dative case of
 the One to Whom the service is rendered. LATREUW without the Dative object
 implies worship to /God/ (understood).

 So it's hHMEIS GAR ESMEN... hOI PNEUMATI QEOU LATREUONTES...
         For we are ...  those who worship by the Spirit of God...
 where PNEUMATI QEOU is the Instrumental use of the Dative, not the object
 of LATREUW in the dative. Some MSS have QEWi, and some have PNEUMATI alone;
 but PNEUMATI QEOU is best attested.

 ERRWSQE

 Ben
-- 
 Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
 <ben.crick at argonet.co.uk>
 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
 http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm






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