Rev. 1.1,2

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Tue Feb 6 02:14:03 EST 2001


XAIRE, 

This could easily degenerate into a theological discussion, but I'll try to 
keep it to the Greek.  In several of the better commentaries [Swete, Charles, 
Aune] the authors maintain that the author does not claim to be the Apostle 
John.  In looking at vv. 1 & 2 of Cap. 1 I question that.  

1. APOKALUYIS IHSOU XRISTOU hHN EDWKEN AUTWi hO QEOS DEICEAI TOIS DOULOIS 
AUTWi A DEI GENESQAI EN TAXEI, KAI ESHMANEN APOSTEILAS DIA TOU AGGELOU AUTOU 
TWi DOULWi AUTOU IWANNHi 

2. hOS EMARTURHSEN TON LOGON TOU QEOU KAI THN MARTURIAN IHSOU XRISTOU hOSA 
EIDEN

I would tend to read this [Okay, Carl, I know you'll have questions regarding 
the translation of MARTURIAN in v. 2] 

1. The revelation of Jesus Christ [note that I'm avoiding specifying the type 
of genitive] which God gave him to reveal to his servants what must happen 
soon.  He sent [it] by his angel to his servant John

2. who witnessed the Word of God [I take this as a reference to Jn. 1.1] and 
the martyrdom of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw.

I therefore take this as a direct claim that he was, in fact, the Apostle 
John.  

Aune seems to me to be somewhat inconsistent since, although all the verbs 
(EDWKEN, ESHMANEN, EMARTURHSEN) are aorist indicatives translates

1This is a revelation from Jesus Christ which God granted him to show to his 
servants events which must quickly come to pass, which he made known by 
sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who now bears witness to all the 
visions he saw which is the message from God, that is, the witness borne by 
Jesus. 

He justifies his choice by resorting to the epistolary aorist.

"2.a. EMARTURHSEN is analogous to an epistolary aorist; i.e., what the author 
writes in the present will be a past event from the perspective of the 
readers and so must be translated as a present tense (Allo, 2). For a similar 
use of the aorist in a prologue, see Thucydides 1.1.1: “Thucydides, an 
Athenian, is writing [CUNEGRAYE] about the war which the Peloponnesians and 
the Athenians fought with one another.” Other examples: in a subscript from 
Trajan to the Smyrnaeans written ca. a.d. 100 (SEG 32:1202.5), EGRAYA is used 
to mean “I am writing.” For epistolary aorists in early Christian 
literature, such as EPEMYA, EGRAYA, EPESTEILA, cf. 2 Cor 8:18, 22; 9:3; Eph 
6:22; Phil 2:25, 28; Col 4:8; Philem 11; Heb 13:22; Pol. Phil. 13; Ign. Eph. 
9:1; Trall. 12:3." 

Comments?

gfsomsel            
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