1 Cor 11: 10 ECHEIN EXOUSIAN EPI KRFALHS

Philip Graber Philip.Graber at alum.emory.edu
Thu Oct 24 18:08:14 EDT 2002


At 9:51 PM +0000 10/24/02, jerker karlsson wrote:
>The passage 1 Cor. 11: 10 is famous, if not infamous, when it comes 
>to the phrase “EXOUSIAN ECHEIN EPI THS KEFALHS”. Two main ways have 
>been suggested along which the phrase should be interpreted. The 
>first way, and the traditional, is that EXOUSIAN is understood as a 
>metonym bearing the meaning of head covering. The other way, 
>suggested by Gordon Fee et.al., is that the phrase is read as the 
>fixed expression “EXOUSIAN ECHEIN EPI”. Now, I have some questions, 
>or objections, regarding the interpretation suggested by among 
>others Fee.

I will not copy the remainder of this message.  I only want to say 
here that I think the weight of Fee's argument rests on the very good 
point he makes about how Paul uses the word EXOUSIA in 1 Corinthians, 
especially in the preceding arguments about eating meat offered to 
idols that occur in close proximity.  For example, in 8:9 and 9:12, 
18, EXOUSIA is commonly translated using English words such as 
"rights" and "liberty".  Taken in this context, along with the other 
evidence Fee gives in this passage (including the mere existance of 
11:11-12, perhaps the clearest statements in 11:2-16, making it clear 
that "authority" or "power" is not really the point he is pushing), 
it makes it much more likely that Fee's understanding of the passage 
is plausible, although he admits that the specific issue being 
addressed is far from clear in any case.
-- 
Philip Graber
Ronceverte, West Virginia USA



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