ENQUMEOMAI

Steven Craig Miller scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Sun Mar 5 11:59:18 EST 2000


Charles Skallerud,

SCM: << But as for Mt 1:20, depending on how one views the context, the 
translation "while he was upset about these things" appears to make more 
sense than the neutral translation "while he thought on these things" (KJV) 
as if Joseph was merely an unfeeling stoic. >>

CS: << I see what you mean but neither the word nor the context preclude 
the possibility that Joseph was serenely reflecting on the situation. He 
doesn't have to be an unfeeling stoic to be calm. >>

Of course, but on the other hand neither the word nor the context preclude 
the possibility that Joseph was upset over what had just happened. In fact, 
I would suggest that being "upset" is simply the only normal human emotion 
to have when being faced with a (soon to be ex-) girlfriend, who is 
(thought to be) pregnant by someone else, and so being faced with an 
unexpected breakup (divorce?) of one's engagement to be married. Joseph 
would not be human if he wasn't upset at his circumstances. Given Joseph's 
circumstances, as he understood them at that time, the translation "while 
he was upset about these things" appears to do the most justice to 
Matthew's text. How could it be possible that Joseph was not upset?

-Steven Craig Miller
Alton, Illinois (USA)
scmiller at www.plantnet.com
FWIW: I'm neither a clergy-person, nor an academic (and I have no post-grad 
degrees).




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