MT 14:27 QARSEITE,EGW EIMI

Steven Craig Miller scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Mon Jan 10 08:30:42 EST 2000


To: Joseph Brian Tucker,

<< EUQUS DE ELALHSEN [hO IHSOUS] AUTOIS LEGWN, QARSEITE, EGW EIMI MH 
FOBEISQE. Does a translation of "take courage, it is I" obscure a better 
translation of "Fear not, I am"? >>

The NRSV gives: << But immediately Jesus spoke to them and said, "Take 
heart, it is I; do not be afraid." >>

IMO "it is I" sounds a little too formal. A more colloquial way of saying 
this would be "it's me."

The translation "I am" here sounds absurd, for it sounds as if Jesus was 
giving the conclusion to Descartes dictum "I think, therefor I am." I 
seriously doubt that Jesus was trying to interject a metaphysical statement 
in order to comfort his scared disciples. Of course, I guess the popular 
idea here is that somehow "I am" alludes to Ex 3:14 and somehow the common 
Greek words EGW EIMI are supposed to call to mind the divine name. This 
seems to me to be based more on wishful thinking than on solid grammatical 
(or even exegetical) analysis. It seems to me that it is a linguistic 
fallacy to try to find a obscure "deeper meaning" when a simpler 
explanation is all ready at hand.

-Steven Craig Miller
Alton, Illinois (USA)
scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Disclaimer: "I'm just a simple house-husband (with no post-grad degree), 
what do I know?"




More information about the B-Greek mailing list