Lk 4:1 EN THi ERHMWi (Luke in Codex Bezae issue)
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Oct 7 05:28:26 EDT 2002
Forwarded for: George Somsel <Polycarp66 at aol.com>
Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 22:41:37 EDT
In a message dated 10/4/2002 7:55:17 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu writes:
That is a fact; but BAGD has gathered under the same heading all uses of EN
with a verb of motion where EIS is expected. Don't you think it would have
been appropriate to make a distinction between what is purely metaphorical
and what is not? Apart from the metaphorical aspect, the nuance that EN can
bring to a verb of motion would need to be specified.
BAGD also gives other examples from Luke that also are comparable with a
metaphor. Lk 1:17, 7:17; 9:46. When he used a verb of movement + EN to
indicate a figurative sense, Luke did not create a category since this one
is attested by 1 Th 1:8 and Rev 11:11.
Jesus' 40-days in the deser, while he was tempted by the devil, is the
painting of a surrealist artist. When he put it into his Gospel, Luke was
probably aware that it was a true metaphor. Since he wished to compose an
exact and trustworthy work (Lk 1:3-4), need one be surprised that he sought
to warn his reader of the figurative sense taken on by the episode?
____________
No, I don't think it would be particularly appropriate for BAGD to have
distinguished between the figurative usage and the literal. That is
something I think is best left to the reader unless something makes it
abundantly clear that there is a literal or a figurative use. I would
prefer to not have the lexicographer doing my exegesis for me.
Your citation of 1 Thess 1.8 as a metaphorical use is not quite correct in
my view. I think Paul was thinking of a literal propagation of the gospel
with Thessalonica as the source. It is only figurative in the sense that
it does not get up and walk to another location by itself but requires the
agency of people for its accomplishment. That is to an extent metaphorical
I would suppose, but not what I would strictly classify in the category.
What I would classify as metaphorical or figurative is mention of a
movement of a person or a thing when this is only perceived by the person
reporting the occurence but which does not literally occur in a way which
could be verified by another person had they been present.
Rev 11.11 might be considered to be metaphorical or figurative in one sense
due to the fact that this was presumably part of a vision of the writer
which is introduced by KAI EIDON in Rev 10.1. This is the Greek equivalent
of the introduction of a prophetic vision report in the OT which was
introduced by [Heb] Wf)":ReH -- cf. Is 6.1 and Ezek 1.4 in BHS/LXX. WITHIN
THE LIMITS OF THE VISION, however, it is not metaphorical. For it to be
considered truly figurative, it would need to be something which deals with
the writer himself rather than with events within a vision. See Ezek 40.2
where Ezekiel explicitly states that
[Heb] (2) B.:MaR:)oWT ):aLoHiYM H:aBiY)aNiY )eL_)eReC Yi&:Rf)"L
[Gk] . . . KAI HGAGEN ME (2) EN hORASEI QEOU EIS THN GHN TOU ISRAHL
Note that here EN is used to refer to the manner while EIS is used to refer
to the journey itself.
As regards the perceived surrealism of Jesus' temptation in the desert, I
think many of us today are influence by the portrayal of this by Nikos
Kazanzakis in _The Last Temptation of Christ_ which gained so much
notoriety in the film version. I remember reading this shortly after it
was first published.
Upon further consideration, you may be correct in considering that Jesus'
temptation in the wilderness is to be understood as a visionary journey.
Note that in Ezek 40.1/2 [LXX] the same verb is used to describe the
journey as is used to describe Jesus' being led into the wilderness. This
would be a very real precedent to any reader familiar with the OT account
of Ezekiel. In many cases it takes only a word or two to establish a link
to an OT passage in the mind of the reader. In Ezek he is "led" by God to
the land of Israel while in Lk Jesus is led by the Holy Spirit. I think
the two are quite comparable. While I'm not prepared to say that it is
DEFINITELY presented as a vision journey, I am prepared to state that it
MAY be such.
gfsomsel
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