Acts 13:48 multiple choice question
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Sun Dec 15 11:02:50 EST 2002
Richard van den Hengel wrote:
> Acts 13:48 runs as follows: AKOUONTA DE TA EQNH EXAIRON KAI EDOCAZON TON
> LOGON TOU QEOU KAI EPISTEUSAN hOSOI HSAN TETAGMENOI EIS ZWHN AIWNION.
>
> How would you translate this verse?
> A. 'And when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the
> word of God; and as many as were ordained to eternal life believed' (RSV).
> B. 'The Gentiles were glad when they heard (this) and praised the Lord and
> all who were aimed at eternal life believed' (Theodor Zahn: Kommentar zum
> Neuen Testament). In German: 'Die Heiden freuten sich, da sie (dies)
> hörten und priesen Gott und es wurden gläubig alle, die auf ewiges Leben
> gerichtet waren'.
> C. 'When the gentiles heard this they were glad and praised the word of
> God and as many as were (present) believed, having been placed in position
> towards (or: 'having been directed towards') eternal life' (My own
> translation).
> D.
. (Your alternative translation)
My alternative:
When the non-Jews heard this, they started rejoicing and praising God for
his message, and all those who were appointed to receive eternal life,
believed.
> Arguments:
>
> Translation A:
> 1. The words HSAN and TETAGMENOI form the verbal phrase, like HSAN and
> similar participles do in other places (see Matthew 9:36, Luke 8:2, 9:32,
> Acts 12:12). HSAN is an auxiliary verb and has no meaning of itself.
That HSAN is an auxiliary verb does not mean that it has no meaning or
function. Notice how the preceding verbs are in imperfect tense. This tense
is often used to describe a situation that lasts for some time. The
auxiliary plus perfect participle similarly describes the state some of them
were in, that is, they were appointed to receive eternal life.
> 2. The best translation of TASSW is "to ordain", for most English
> translations choose for this meaning of TASSW.
Not necessarily the best. "Ordain" has obtained a religious and limited
connotation in modern English that no longer fits the Greek. "Destined"
might be used, but that word again leads to theological controversy.
"Appointed" is more natural English, but there are other options, like "set
apart".
>
> Translation B:
> 1. The idea of predestination to eternal life does not follow from Acts
> 13:48, for if Luke would have had this intention, the addition hUPO (TOU)
> QEOU to HSAN TETAGMENOI would have been indispensable (see Romans 13:1:
> hAI DE OUSAI hUPO QEOU TETAGMENAI EISIN).
This is false argumentation, because you let your theological
presuppositions override what the Greek text says. Whether or not a hUPO
phrase is present, the agent for the middle-passive TETAGMENOI is God.
> 2. Luke didn't intend to say "ordained themselves", for in that case he
> would have used the appropriate mode as Paul does in 1 Corinthians 16:15:
> KAI EIS DIAKONIAN TOIS hAGIOIS ETACAN hEAUTOUS.
Yes, that is right. Luke did not intend to say "ordained themselves"
whatever that might mean.
The active verb in 1 Cor 16:15 means "put themselves into" or "invested
themselves in." An active sense does not fit the Luke passage at all.
> 3. Luke didn't intend to mention who caused the action, just as we do not
> wonder who dressed the president when we say: "the president was dressed".
> Luke only talks about Gentiles who were unhappy in their thinking and
> striving with their religion and who were aimed at/looking for eternal
> life. They wanted to know more about eternal life. Therefore they had
> invited Paul and Barnabas to speak to them (verses 42 and 44). With the
> words KAI EPISTEUSAN hOSOI HSAN TETAGMENOI EIS ZWHN AIWNION Luke simply
> means that those who were aimed at/looking for eternal life, believed.
There is no way TETAGMENOI can possibly mean "looking for", and "aimed at"
makes little sense. People are not "aimed at" anything.
> Translation C:
> 1. The phrase hOSOI HSAN should be translated as "as many as were
> (present)". The phrase hOSOI HSAN occurs only twice in the NT: in Acts
> 13:48 and in Acts 4:6. The ASV and the AV translate Acts 4:6 (KAI hOSOI
> HSAN EK GENOUS ARXIERATIKOU) as "and as many as were of the kindred of the
> high priest". In both phrases hOSOI HSAN the word HSAN has its own
> meaning. It is not used as an auxiliary verb. In Acts 4:6 the word HSAN
> indicates presence (EK GENOUS ARXIERATIKOU indicates descent) and in Acts
> 13:46 HSAN also indicates presence.
> 2. Verbs should only be translated as auxiliary verbs if it is clear that
> they cannot have any meaning at all, for degrading verbs to auxiliary
> verbs, robs these words of their meaning.
There is no doubt whatsoever that HSAN here is an auxiliary verb to be taken
together with the perfect participle. It is not permissible to twist the
Greek text to say what you want it to say, and it is not permissible to add
"present" to the translation.
> 3. The translation "and as many as were there believed" corresponds with
> the fact that the gentiles EXAIRON KAI EDOCAZON TON LOGON TOU QEOU. To
> them the gospel was really a joyful message, for they heard that the Lord
> had commanded Paul and Barnabas: I have set you to be a light for the
> Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the uttermost parts of the
> earth'. Just like in Joppa all who were present believed (Acts 10:19-48).
> In both cases none of the believers were Jews, in accordance with the
> composition of the book of Acts. The overwhelming acceptance of the Gospel
> by the Gentiles is in accordance with the triumph of the Gospel expressed
> by the following verse: DIEFERETO DE hO LOGOS TOU KURIOU DI hOLHS THS
> XWRAS.
Are you saying that every non-Jew who heard the Good News believed it? If
so, this is not what the text is saying, nor what Luke could possibly have
meant.
> 4. Luke does not describe coming to faith as a one-sided act of God, as if
> belief is the irresistible result of an eternal decree. The words KAI
> EPISTEUSAN simply mean that belief is a human act. Moreover, Luke
> contrasts the praising of the word of God by the gentiles (EXAIRON KAI
> EDOCAZON TON LOGON TOU QEOU: verse 48) with the rejection of the word of
> God by the Jews (verse 46) and he also contrasts the joyful belief of the
> gentiles in eternal life (ZWHN AIWNION: verse 48) with the bitter
> rejection of eternal life by the Jews (verse 46) to illustrate that belief
> and unbelief are two sides of the same coin: human freedom and
> responsibility. According to Luke God has a good purpose with everyone,
> nevertheless some reject His good purpose (Luke 7:30: hOI DE FARISAIOI KAI
> hOI NOMIKOI THN BOULHN TOU QEOU HQETHSAN EIS hEAUTOUS).
Even with the translation ordained or appointed, there is no reason to take
that to the theological or philosophical extreme of an "irresistible result
of an eternal decree."
> 5. Translating the participle TETAGMENOI with "were ordained" is rather
> arbitrary, for this translation associates the participle with a specific
> theological concept, whereas TASSW is never used with such a meaning in
> the NT (see TASSW in Matthew 28:16, Luke 7:8, Acts 13:48, 15:2, 22:10,
> 28:23, Romans 13:1 and 1 Corinthians 16:15). Moreover, if Luke had really
> intended to communicate such a theological concept, more explanation would
> have been necessary to be understood.
It seems that you are letting your theology drive your understanding of the
text, instead of the other way round.
> However, my translation 'to placed in position' is mentioned in most
> lexicons as the main meaning of TASSW (see: A Greek-English Lexicon of the
> New Testament, Walter Bauer, TASSW, 1, Thayers Greek-English Lexicon of
> the New Testament, Joseph H. Thayer, TASSW, 1 and 1a, Greek English
> Lexicon, Liddell-Scott, TASSW, I.1., Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New
> Testament, Timothy and Barbara Friberg, TASSW (1)). The gentiles were put
> in position towards eternal life, like soldiers who are placed in position
> to move towards the enemy (see for this military origin of TASSW: Greek
> English Lexicon, Liddell-Scott, TASSW, I.1. and Luke 7:8), or like pieces
> on a chessboard which are placed in position to move towards the other
> side.
> The perfect time of the participle TETAGMENOI indicates that Paul first
> revealed that salvation and eternal life were also meant for the gentiles
> (verse 47) - placing them in position towards (or: directing them towards)
> eternal life - and after hearing this revelation the gentiles believed.
So, you are saying that Paul is the implied agent for TETAGMENOI? That is a
highly unusual interpretation, and it certainly cannot be derived from the
perfect tense form.
> The verb TASSW in combination with the preposition EIS is used in this
> sense of 'to direct to' in Matthew 28:16: EIS TO OROS OU ETACATO AUTOIS hO
> IHSOUS (RSV: to the mountain to which Jesus had directed them).
No, it is not permissible to take words out of their context to try to prove
a preconceived idea. The phrase EIS TO OROS depends on the preceding word
EPOREUQHSAN and it is parallel to another destination mentioned: EIS THN
GALILAIAN. The disciples went to Galilee, more specifically to the mountain
where Jesus had appointed for them to go and meet him.
See also
> KAI EIS DIAKONIAN TOIS AGIOIS ETACAN hEAUTOUS in 1 Corinthians 16:15.
> Taking in consideration the above mentioned arguments I think the
> translation "to be placed in position towards" or "to be directed towards"
> is to be preferred above the translation "to be ordained".
>
> Which translation do you prefer and why? Maybe you even have an
> alternative translation. I am interested in your views.
I am afraid that your preferred translation of this verse is too far removed
from the intended meaning of the Greek text.
>
> Kind regards
> Richard van den Hengel
> The Netherlands
Best wishes,
Iver Larsen
SIL Translation consultant
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