The Meaning of LOGIZOMAI
Richard Ghilardi
qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
Mon Apr 29 09:35:12 EDT 2002
Dear b-greekers,
I feel the need to revisit this thread initiated by David Thiele because
although I agree with what others have posted I think something more
needs to be said. I will quote David Thiele's original message below but
omit the comments of others since I already agree with them.
David Thiele wrote:
>> I recently received a posting on an another forum
>> which is dedicated to more theological discussion.
>> The issue at hand was the nature of justification. I
>> am raising this here, not to import theology to this
>> forum, but to get clarification of an argument based
>> on the meaning of the Greek word LOGIZOMAI.
>>
>> The post I received contained an extract from the Blue
>> Letter Bible (whatever that may be) which concluded
>> with the following statement: "This word deals with
>> reality. If I 'LOGIZOMAI' or reckon that my bank book
>> has $25 in it, it has $25 in it. Otherwise I am
>> deceiving myself. This word refers to facts not
>> suppositions."
>>
>> Does this statement accurately reflect the meaning of
>> LOGIZOMAI. It certainly does not seem to agree with
>> the what I have always understood about the word.
Now it is true, as others have pointed out, that the lexicons and the
concordance reveal a variety nuances for this word. But when LOGIZOMAI is
used with reference to hH DIKAIOSUNH DIA PISTEWS (this was the context of
Thiele's discussion with someone on another list) it always carries with
it the nuance of factuality. Indeed, this nuance is not intrinsic to the
meaning of the word itself but rather derives from KURIOS or QEOS or yhvh
being the explicit agent of the verb's action or the implied agent in the
case of a "divine passive". And God doesn't make errors of calculation.
This nuance may be most abundantly seen in Rom 4 where LOGIZOMAI is used
11 times, more than any other place in the Bible. But it is used
elsewhere with this meaning as well. Check out first and foremost Gen
15:6 where yhvh is the explicit subject and agent of the active verb
chashab taken from the previous clause. See also Rom 2:26; Gal 3:6; and
even Jas 2:23! In these vss as well as the 11 in Rom 4 God is the agent
and I take the meaning of LOGIZOMAI to be something like "to regard as
fact". I would not use this as a way to english the greek because it
proves to be awkward in English. Yet Rom 4:3 might be paraphrased like
this: "Abraham believed God and God regarded his faith as a
fact-implying-righteousness." Facts imply other facts not unrealities or
mere possibilities. Therefore Abraham IS righteous in God's sight. The
other 13 vss above may be likewise paraphrased. In fact, (no pun
intended) even in many places where God is not the subject of LOGIZOMAI
the above definition holds true. Among them are Lk 22:37; Jn 11:50; Ac
19:27; Rom 6:11; 8:18; 8:36; 1Co 4:1; 2Co 10:11; 11:5: Php 3:13; Heb
11:19. Hmm... Maybe factuality is intrinsic to the meaning of LOGIZOMAI
after all, at least in the above instances.
Yours in His grace,
Richard Ghilardi -- qodeshlayhvh at juno.com
New Haven, CT USA
Nibai kaurno hwaiteis gadriusando in airtha gaswiltith,
silbo ainata aflifnith: ith jabai gaswiltith, manag akran bairith.
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