EPHESIANS 1.4,5
Esteban Otero
oterofamily4 at msn.com
Sat Jan 11 21:19:30 EST 2003
4)KAQWS EXELEXATO hHMAS EN AUTW PRO KATABOLHS KOSMOU EINAI hHMAS hAGIOUS KAI
AMWMOUS KATENWPION AUTOU EN AGAPH 5)PROORISAS hHMAS EIS UIOQESIONDIA IHSOU
CRISTOU EIS AUTON KATA THN EUDOKIANTOU QELHMATOS AUTOU
My questions are in regards to the EINAI clause and its relationship between
EXELEXATO and PROORISAS.
First, is the EINAI clause a (1)purpose/intended result clause (somewhat
epexegetical) or (2)the continued object of EXELEXATO (viewing PRO KATABOLHS
KOSMOU as parenthetical? Let me give a couple of translations to illustrate
in case my question isn't clear.
1) even as he selected us for himself before the foundation of the world, in
order that/for the purpose of we might be/us being holy and blameless in his
presence
2) even as he selected us for himself, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and blameless in his presence
The reasons for my confusion are these:
1) if the first hHMAS is the primary object of EXELEXATO and the EINAI
clause is a purpose/intended result/epexegetical clause then PROORISAS hHMAS
seems to make the first hHMAS redundant as the primary object. The hHMAS of
PROORISAS seems to be the primary deictic indicator of person, i.e. object
of the whole thought clause, since PROORISAS is an aorist participle
antecedent in time to EXELEXATO (I think). If PRO KATABOLHS KOSMOU is taken
parenthetically, can the hHMAS of the EINAI clause be taken as an expressed
resumptive indicicator (basically serving to connect EXELEXATO hHMAS with
EINAI hHMAS ...)? This would make the object of God's selection our being
holy and blameless as opposed to us being something else. I don't know if
that is valid.
2) On the other hand, all the works I have consulted (including Louw &
Nida's offered translations) as well as every translation I've looked at
take the EINAI clause as purpose, etc. If I am wrong about the relationship
of PROORISAS with EXELEXATO, and verse 4 can be taken "absolutely", then it
makes good sense to view the EINAI clause as purpose.
Lastly, I think it makes good sense to take EN AUTW to mean "for himself"
almost as a way of further expressing the middle of EXELEXATO. Robertson
discusses this a bit. Also, a while back Mike Sangrey offered the
possibility of reading IN CRISTW as "with respect to Christ" due to seeing
EN as merely highlighting the personal aspect of the dative form. Is this a
valid translation.
Sorry for the length. Any help is greatly appreciated.
Esteban Otero
Tampa, FL
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