[B-Greek] Hebrews 11:11 & KATABOLHN SPERMATOS
Polycarp66 at aol.com
Polycarp66 at aol.com
Mon Nov 24 08:03:17 EST 2003
In a message dated 11/24/2003 7:00:52 AM Eastern Standard Time,
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu writes:
PISTEI KAI AUTH SARRA DUNAMIN EIS KATABOLHN SPERMATOS ELABEN KAI KAIRON
HLIKIAS EPEI PISTON HGHSATO TON EPAGGEILAMENON
Some translations (NET, NIV, et al)* see EIS KATABOLHN SPERMATOS ELABEN
and EPEI PISTON HGHSATO TON EPAGGEILAMENON as refering back to Abraham in
verse 8, while others (NASB, RSV, et al) to Sarah in the present verse. I
have two questions:
1. Is the Greek here ambiguous (as it would seem from the totally diffent
readings of various translations)? If so, what is the most reasonable way
of understanding who the subjects of KATABOLHN SPERMATOS ELABEN and EPEI
PISTON HGHSATO TON EPAGGEILAMENONare? If it is not ambiguous, what does
the Greek text say in this passage as far as whether the reference to
Abraham as in many translations is warranted or not? Is anything pertinent
to Abraham to be found in Hebrews 11:11?
2. The meaning of KATABOLHN SPERMATOS ELABEN is also debated. Does it refer
to the male or female role in reproduction
What strikes me is that the NET, et al. most likely were puzzled by the
phrase KATABOLHN SPERMATOS ELABEN therefore we must begin with your second
question. In regard to this, Yes, it generally refers to the male. It is likely
that earlier translations, which did not share the ancient view that conception
was like the planting of seed in the ground in that the ground simply provides
a medium for its development while the genetic information is already within
the seed.
It would be natural to take
PISTEI KAI AUTH SARRA STEIRA DUNAMIN EIS KATABOLHN SPERMATOS ELABEN . . .
as referring to Sarah as the nearest antecedent. The phrase regarding Sarah
(KAI AUTH SARRA STEIRA) could, however, also be a parenthetic nominative
(Wallace, p. 53) and simply indicate attendent circumstances. I would try to give
you references to Robertson, et al., but I'm in the process of moving and
therefore limited to what is in electronic form on my computer.
gfsomsel
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