[B-Greek] 2nd Corinthians 5:10

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Wed Dec 10 13:58:01 EST 2003


At 12:44 PM -0400 12/10/03, Granby at SAFe-mail.net wrote:
>TOUS GAR PANTAS hHMAS FANERWQHNAI DEI EMPROSQEN TOU BHMATOS TOU XRISTOU,
>hINA KOMISHTAI hEKASTOS *TA DIA TOU SWMATOS* PROS hA EPRAXEN
>
>I have two questions about his passage.
>
>TA DIA TOU SWMATOS
>
>How does DIA TOU SWMATOS fit in?
>I seems to me that it means the location where we will receive, making the
>whole thing something like 'we will recieve things throughout the body for
>what we have done'. This differs significantly from most translations
>which take DIA TOU SWMATOS as a descriptive phrase for where the things we
>did occurred rather than a description of the location of the receiving.
>
>Any insight on this would be appreciated, is there a correct way to read
>it one way or the other?

I think rather that KOMISHTAI TA DIA TOU SWMATOS means "receive recompense
for deeds done in bodily existence." The word order may seem a bit
strained, as we might expect KOMISHTAI PROS TA hA EPRAXEN DIA TOU SWMATOS;
I do think that TA here is not simply the article but a demonstrative =
TAUTA.

KOMIZOMAI like KTAOMAI and perhaps one or two other Greek verbs is peculiar
in meaning not only "acquire for oneself" what one is currently receiving
but often enough "acquire" what is the consequence of something which one
has done; and the object of these verbs may be the reward/punishment
received or it may be the original deed now being recompensed. BDAG s.v.
KOMIZW 3 has this passage
--------
KOMISHTAI TA DIA TOU SWMATOS PROS hA EPRAXEN receive a recompense for what
(each one) has done during life in the body  2 Cor 5:10 (cp. the judgment
scenes Pla., Phd. 113 and 114; s. also Diod. S. 8, 15)
-----------

>My second question- Is there any thing in the greek in this passage that
>makes the sense of the whole statement a future event rather than an
>ongoing present occurrence - something along the lines of a present
>ongoing judgement which effects us in the present in the body, rather than
>a future grand judgement event ?

Well, with the aorist infinitive FANERWQHNAI rather than the present
FAINESQAI one would hardly think of a present ongoing judgment; it looks
rather like a single appearance before the tribunal of Christ is envisioned.
-- 

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/



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