KATA IHSOUN XHRISTON

Clwinbery at aol.com Clwinbery at aol.com
Sun Jul 14 23:59:05 EDT 2002



In a message dated 7/14/02 7:27:21 PM, behrman at email.unc.edu writes:

>   One of those curious nuggets in Ignatius, who asks his Ephesian readers
>that they love their bishop Onesimus:
>
>   hON EUXOMAI KATA IHSOUN XRISTON UMAS AGAPAN.
>
>   Any ideas on the KATA here?  Is Ignatius asking/wishing "by Jesus
>Christ" (what would that mean?) that they love Onesimus?  Or is he asking
>"in accordance with Jesus Christ" (meaning what?)?  Or is he asking that
>they love him "in accordance with Jesus Christ?  Or "like Jesus Christ"?
>Or "in the same manner as Jesus Christ"?  something else?  
>
>   Two issues, I guess. Is the KATA phrase going with EUXOMAI OR
>AGAPAN?  And what's the most natural construal?
>
>-- Bart Ehrman
>   University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Bart, I think that this use of KATA plus the accusative is in that broad 
category called "reference" which is often in the GNT ambiguous. The 
ambiguity here is compounded by the question of whether it is related to hON 
EUXOMAI or UMAS AGAPAN. Perhaps that ambiguity should be left in the 
translation for it is possible the author is thinking that both the asking 
and the loving are done with reference to IHSOUN XRISTON. What the idea of 
reference indicates here could be one of several possibilities.

It could be like Matt. 9:29, KATA THN PISTIN hUMWN GENHQHTW hUMIN  perhaps 
"because of your faith let it happen for you."

or it could be like the question put to Jesus, EI EXESTIN ANQRWPWi APOLUSAI 
THN GUNAIKA AUTOU KATA PASAN AITIAN;   "Is it lawful for a man to divorce his 
wife for any reason?"

Could the writer be asking that you love because of Christ Jesus, i.e., 
because Christ has shown love to you, you love . . .

Maybe,

Carlton Winbery
Louisiana College



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