DIANOIA SOU

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Wed Oct 2 08:23:10 EDT 2002


> Hi Folks,
>
> Presumably Matt. 22:37, Mk. 12:30,
> and Lk. 10:27 are quoting Deu 6:5 when
> giving the "greatest commandment."  From where does "your
> mind" _DIANOIA SOU_
> come?  In Matt _DIANOIA SOU_ seems like it could be a
> substitute for "your might" (Hb) _ME'ODEKA_; (Gk) _DUNAMEWS
> SOU_.  In the other two Gospels, _DIANOIA SOU_ appears like
> an addition to
> the sense of Deu.
>
> Thanx, Bryan

I think this is a translation or communication question related to cultural
differences. The first part of Deut 6:6 says "Love God with all your heart".
Now, in Hebrew thought pattern, the heart was the seat of both the will,
(most) feelings and the thoughts. One can think of expressions like those
found in Matt 15:19 or Luke 1:51 (DIANOIAi KARDIAS AUTWN). In Greek and
generally speaking Western thought patterns, the thoughts are not in the
heart, but in the head or mind. So, in order to faithfully communicate the
various senses included in the Hebrew "heart", one really needs to employ
both the "heart" and "mind" in Greek (and English).

It does seem strange to me that Matthew 22:37 expressed the Hebrew
"strength/might" by using DIANOIA, and a number of manuscripts have the
variant reading ISCUI. The LXX has DUNAMIS here, so it is not a direct quote
from LXX (unless from a different version of LXX than I have.) Maybe the
strength idea is connected to the will as an enforcement of good intentions,
and this is why the Greek translator of Matthew chose DIANOIA? I don't know.

In the other two, as you say, the DIANOIA is added so the three original
items become four. As Clay has mentioned we find in Josh 22:5 that the
Hebrew word "heart" was translated in the LXX by DIANOIA. Was the translator
of Joshua more idiomatic than most other LXX translators?

Iver Larsen




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