Meaning of PAS

Aaron Hunyady ahunyady at ucsd.edu
Sun Dec 10 17:52:43 EST 2000


I have recently stumbled upon some people who insist that all
knowledgeable scholars agree that the word PAS always means "all" in an
all-encompassing sense.  They are using this to support the doctrine of
universal salvation.  An example is: 1 Ti. 4:10 "...the living God, who is
the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe."

[[Moderator's note: members will please ignore the theological aspect 
of the question and restrict on-list responses to the lexicographical 
question raised here. CWC]]

Their theory about PAS seems to be false, because of the meanings of the
word in verses such as 3 Jo. 1:12, Lu. 11:42, Mat. 10:22, and others.

My question: Am I correct in believing that PAS doesn't have to mean all
men who've ever existed, but instead can mean "some of every kind" or a
particular subset of "all" or something like that.  Thanks in advance!

Cheers,
Aaron Hunyady



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