Mt. 8:6

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Wed Oct 23 23:45:53 EDT 2002


Forwarded for George Somsel <Polycarp66 at aol.com>
Date: Wed, 23 Oct 2002 20:48:29 EDT

In a message dated 10/23/2002 8:10:42 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
billj at planetsos.com writes:

>
>What is the significance of PAIS in Mt. 8:6 as the centurion asked Jesus to
>heal his servant?  Does it refer to the servant's age--he was a young
>servant--or does it refer to the relationship--the servant was like a child
>to him?  Luke uses DOULOS in the parallel passage in Luke 7:2,3.
>


PAIS was used of a child or a slave -- see BDAG or BGAD s.v., PAIS.  Lk
appears to resolve any possible ambiguity that this might have been his
son.  Note in Jn 8.35 the contrast is between DOULOS and hUIOS, not between
DOULOS and PAIS even though the son would have at one time have been a
PAIS.  My recollection of the relationship is that the Johannine passage is
somewhat significant though not in the way which you might think.  Rather
than the "servant being like a child", the situation seems to have been
rather that "the child (son) was like a servant" until he came of age.

gfsomsel



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