Philippians 2:6

Ilvgrammta at aol.com Ilvgrammta at aol.com
Thu Dec 23 11:18:44 EST 1999


In a message dated 99-12-22 21:56:33 EST, alexali at surf.net.au writes:

<< Then, besides the sense of EN MORFHi QEOU, there is the sense of the 
participle, hUPARCWN. I wonder if some translators have understood this as 
having a causal force (because he was / through being), and others as having 
a concessive force (although he was / despite being).  (I do not mean to 
imply by the terms 'causal' or 'concessive' anything more than that these are 
useful for this discussion in English of the Greek text;  see Smyth #2060, 
and Carl's comments a couple of days ago on the the term "connective" or 
"pertinentive" with reference to the genitive.) >>

Professor Gerald Hawthorne understands hUPARCWN in a causal sense. His 
translation is, "precisely because he was in the form of God he reckoned 
equality with God not as a matter of getting but giving" (Hawthorne [1983] ). 

Richard R. Melick Jr. (NA Commentary) critiques Hawthorne's idea as follows: 
"Hawthorne, Philippians, 85, takes the participle causally: "Precisely 
because he was in the form of God." The idea is attractive, but the text 
speaks of giving up what one has, and the concessive emphasizes that more" 
(Melick [1991] ). 

Moises Silva also construes the participle concessively, writing: "The NASB 
is justified in bringing out the concessive force of the participle (contra 
Meyer, Hwth.), and that in turn sheds light on the second part of v. 6" 
(Silva [1988] ).

Lastly, Richard A. Young also construes hUPARCWN in a concessive manner. See 
his intermediate grammar.

Edgar Foster




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