[B-Greek] AIDIOS

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Thu Oct 9 07:59:10 EDT 2003


I forward to the list herewith a response from Robert Beecham sent to me
but probably intended for the entire list. I'd add a comment or two to
Robert's interesting speculations: (a) as I indicated in my original
response, I think that the association between AiDHS and AIDIOS was already
made in Greek antiquity, perhaps even long before Plato, who did a good
deal of etymological speculation (especially in the dialogued entitled
"Cratylus").

(a) Linkage between A + fID in hAiDHS is seen in one of the more common
epithets for the dead in Greek poetry: AISTOS, which appears to be a verbal
adjective derived from these same elements A-privative and fID: the dead
are "invisible." The verbal adjective AISTOS then seems to have generated a
causative verb AISTOW with the sense, "annihilate" or "blast into
invisibility/death."
(b) While I still don't think that there's any original etymological
association between AIDIOS and AiDHS (in older Greek one regularly uses the
proper name in the genitive AiDOU, "Hades' place" or "the house of Hades"),
I think that the two came at some point to be associated; that would
explain the usage that Robert points to in §2.a. below; on the other hand
the usage in §2.b. seems to me more directly associated with the adverb AEI.

=======================
From: Robee888 at aol.com
Date: Thu, 9 Oct 2003 05:05:34 EDT

Thanks for your help.

My reasoning on aidios is

1. it seems to resemble aidhs closely
2. the meaning invisible makes better sense that eternal in the 2 NT
occurences:
       a. the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but
abandoned their own home-these he has kept in darkness, in aidios chains
for judgment on the great Day
the chains cannot be eternal if they are there till the great day. they
could be invisible or belonging to the realm of Hades
       b or since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities-his
aidios power and divine nature-have been clearly seen, being understood
from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
Here invisible matches the context well
3. I would certainly not suggest that any Greek word was derived from
Hebrew olam. Rather that the thought of a hidden realm is present both in
the Hebrew olam and the Greek Hades

I have heard that Bullinger made the connection between aidios and aidhs

Regards

Robert Beecham

>
>
>This has gone for the better part of a week without an answer, so let me
>make a tentative response.
>
>I think I have seen somewhere (I can't remember where) in Greek literature
>a suggested etymological linkage between AiDHS ("Hades" interpreted as "the
>invisible one" from A- privative and fID "see") and AIDIOS, but I don't
>think that there's any valid connection. Rather AIDIOS derives from the
>adverb AEI "always." AIWN and AIWNIOS derive from the same element (AEI/AI
>+WN/ON {EIMI}), but of course, usage rather than etymology is ultimately
>what must govern our understanding of the meaning. Certainly the Greek word
>doesn't derive from the Hebrew, even if it is used in the LXX or in the GNT
>to represent the Hebrew word  "Olam."
>
>LSJ notes, at the bottom of its entry on AIDIOS, "AIDIOS is dist. fr.
>AIWNIOS as everlasting from timeless , Olymp. in Mete. 146.16; but dist.
>fr. AEIZWOS as eternal (without beginning or end) from everliving, Corp.
>Herm .8.2. :
>--
>
>Carl W. Conrad

-- 

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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