Phil. 2:10, 11

Ted Mann theomann at earthlink.net
Sat Dec 15 12:58:27 EST 2001


Greetings friends:
    In Phil. 2:10 and 11 the NASB has ".. at the name of Jesus every knee
will bow.. and.. every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.. "
The NIV and NRSV have "should" instead of "will."  However, the use of the
subjunctive in Phil. 2:10 and 11 makes me wonder if "should" (or perhaps
"might?") is to be preferred over "will."  I know this is a quote of Isaiah
45:23, and I assume the Hebrew is best translated "will" or "shall."  I
don't have the LXX to hand, so I don't know what is written there.  Does
Paul quote the LXX here?  If so, does the LXX use the subjunctive?
    Here is my main question:  Is it possible that Paul deliberately used
(what has come to be called) the subjunctive here in order to soften the
meaning of this OT passage so as to imply that men "should" bow and confess,
rather than "will"?  (I also note in one of my versions that the beginning
of this statement is translated "in the name of Jesus.. "  I guess EN can
mean either "in" or "at.")

Thanks.

Ted
Dr. Theodore H. Mann
theomann at earthlink.net
http://home.earthlink.net/~theomann





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