AFORIZO in Matthew

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Mon Apr 3 19:50:06 EDT 2000


In a message dated 3/30/2000 7:23:42 AM Central Standard Time, 
peter_clark47 at hotmail.com writes:

<< 
 AFORIZO appears 3 times in Matthew, at 13:49 and twice at 25:32. The 
 imagery clearly derives from Exekiel 34 (LXX) where Ezekiel's translator 
 uses DIAKRINO; Mtt substitutes for this "philosophical" or mental 
 distinction/judgement the more forceful or physical AFORIZO. Now since it 
 is highly likely that Mtt was written in or destined for Antioch (a 
 supposition at least partly confirmed by Ignatius to the Ephesians), and 
 accepting that there would have been a sizeable Zoroastrian community in 
 Antioch (as in Cappadocia, Parthia, Armenia and so on, see Strabo et al), 
 could Mtt have been using AFORIZO here to appeal to the Zoroastrians whose 
 eschatology, as laid out in the Gathas of Zarathustra,  was very much 
 concerned with physical seperation. I suggest that for Mtt the word AFORIZO 
 is used as an equivalent to the Gathic CI which also carried with it 
 connotations of physical separation, as in the Cinvat Bridge, or Bridge of 
 the Separator (cf Skt CI, to cut). There are, I maintain, other Zoroastrian 
 signposts in Mtt (aside from the obvious MAGOI pericope) which I would be 
 pleased to discuss.
  >>

I'm not aware of any Zoroastrian meaning for AFORIZW (which only means that I 
don't know of it, not that it doesn't exist). I can say that the word was 
used in classical Greek.  I give one example

[54] PERI DE TWN DNMOSIWN ADIKHMATWN PEIRASOMAI SAFESTERON EIPEIN. KAI GAR 
PUNQANOMAI MELLEIN DHMOSQENHN, EPEIDAN AUTOIS hO LOGOS APODOWHi, 
KATARIQMEISQAI PROS hUMAS, hWS ARA THi POLEI TETTARES HDH GEGENHNTAI KAIROI, 
EN hOIS AUTOS PEPOLITEUTAI hWN hENA MEN KAI PRWTON, hWS EGWGE AKOUW, 
KATALOGIZETAI EKEINON TON XRONON EN hWi PROS FILIPPON hUPER AMFIPOLEWS 
EPOLEMOUMEN. TOUTON D' 

AFORIZETAI 

THi GENOMENHi EIRHNHi KAI SUMMAXIAi hHN FILOKRATHS hO hAGNOUSIOS EGRAYE KAI 
AUTOS hOUTOS MET' EKEINOU, hWS EGW DEICW.

[54] But concerning the crimes of his public life I will try to speak more 
explicitly. For I understand that when the defence are given opportunity to 
speak, Demosthenes will enumerate to you four periods in the history of the 
city as the periods of his own political activity. One of them, and the 
first, as I hear, he reckons as the time of our war with Philip over 
Amphipolis. 

He marks this off 

by the peace and alliance that were made on motion of Philocrates of Hagnus, 
and with the cooperation of Demosthenes himself, as I shall show. 

Aeschines, Speeches 3.54.  Translation by Charles Darwin Adams.

I find 49 occurences of the word in 44 verses of the LXX

Ge 2:10
Ex 19:12
Ex 19:23
Ex 29:24
Ex 29:26
Ex 29:27
Ex 36:37
Le 10:14
Le 10:15
Le 13:4
Le 13:5
Le 13:11
Le 13:21
Le 13:26
Le 13:31
Le 13:33
Le 13:50
Le 13:54
Le 14:12
Le 14:38
Le 20:25
Le 20:26
Nu 8:11
Nu 12:14
Nu 15:19
Nu 15:20
Nu 18:24
Nu 35:3
Jos 16:9
Ps 67:10
Is 45:24
Is 52:11
Is 56:3
Eze 20:31
Eze 20:40
Eze 44:29
Eze 45:1
Eze 45:13
Eze 48:8
Eze 48:9
Eze 48:20
Hag 2:17
Mal 2:3
4 Mac 3:20

I'll leave it to you to compare the Hebrew word which it translates (unless 
you do not read Hebrew -- then I'll be glad to help).

gfsomsel




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