1 Cor 7:12-16

Michael Haggett michael at michaelhaggett.freeserve.co.uk
Fri Oct 15 08:29:00 EDT 1999


Friday, October 15, 1999 9:03 AM
Trevor and Margaret Nicholls wrote

| This question is not about the (so called) Pauline privilege,
| before anyone tries to link it with the Matt 19 thread :-(
| 
| v12 (similar v13) "and she agrees to dwell with him"
|     KAI AUTH SUNEUDOKEI OIKEIN MET AUTOU
| "let him not leave her"
|     MH AFIETW AUTHN                  
| 
| Do these present tenses mean:
|  a. if she gives her agreement now to continue to live with him
|   he should not leave her?
|  b. if she continues to agree to live with him he should not
|   leave her (until and unless she no longer agrees)?
|   c.either of the above, with no preference?


Just of couple of points to make on this, 

1.  APISTOS might just as easily be a reference to "unfaithfulness" in the marriage, rather than "unbelief" in Christ.  If it does, that makes what we generally consider to be a Pauline "concession" very much more in line with what Jesus said.

2. Are we giving sufficient force to the SUN of SUNEUDOKEI?   If, as I would suggest, it refers to a MUTUAL agreement then neither of them would want to leave.  In this case the force of what Paul is saying surely must be that a couple should not think that they are OBLIGED to split because of marital infidelity.  The only thing that might make them think they were so obliged would be a particular understanding of what Jesus had said.  In other words Paul is clarifying some of the points of the discussion we have recently been having on the list.

I'm sorry to be seen as the one that tries to link it back.  In my defence I would say that my point is to do with the Greek words APISTOS and SUNEUDOKEI themselves.  I would make the same points even if we hadn't had the previous discussion.


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