[B-Greek] abide in Jn 15:9-11

Pastor Mark Eddy markeddy at adams.net
Mon May 26 12:05:42 EDT 2003


To add a bit to Dr. Conrad's answer, it seems that your question applies not so much to the Greek word
MENW but to the English translation of it. In English the verb "abide" naturally goes with the noun
"abode" or "a dwelling place" (as in John 14). In John 15 the picture is of the relationship between a
vine and its branches. We do not speak of branches abiding or dwelling in a vine. Instead we say that
branches "stay" conncected to a vine or that they "remain" attached to the vine.

The English term "abide" would seem to fit better in the context of Luke 24:29, where the Emmaus disciples
ask Jesus "abide with us," because they want Him to stay overnight in their house, or abode. This story
led to the famous hymn "Abide with me," so the the KJV terminology has become beloved by many in the
English speaking world. But today most of us would ask a guest "stay with us" rather than "abide with us,"
if we wanted the guest to spend the night at our house. The choice of English translation "abide" or
"stay" or "remain" is more a matter of English taste than a difference in the meaning of the Greek word
MENW.

Mark Eddy
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>


> At 8:02 PM -0400 5/24/03, Rbsads at aol.com wrote:
> >When a word such as MENW is understood as meaning "abide" rather than simply
> >as "stay" or "remain," is that word being understood in one of its Koine Greek
> >nuances, is it receiving a special nuance by the early Christian writers, or
> >is it receiving a special nuance by later Christian hermeneutics influencing
> >translation?
> >
> >This is of course a huge question.  I suppose I am asking first for comments
> >on the use of MENW in John 15. Second, and perhaps, more importantly are there
> >resources for a beginning GNT reader to discern how any particular word has
> >changed from standard Koine usage for the purposes of the early Christian
> >writers.
>
> In fact MENW is a word of key interest in John's gospel and you would do
> well to look carefully at every instance of Johannine usage of the verb (as
> also of its nominal cognate MONH ("in my father's house are many MONAI).
> The information about early Christian usage is something you should be
> looking at BDAG for. But in John's gospel MENW is a word of major
> importance; although I no longer have a copy of Raymond Brown's commentary,
> my recollection is that there is an account of Johannine usage of MENW in
> one of the appendixes where he deals with Johannine verbs.
>
> Carl W. Conrad




More information about the B-Greek mailing list