[B-Greek] hUPOSTASIS in Heb 11.1

Maurice A. O'Sullivan mauros at iol.ie
Thu Oct 16 19:57:00 EDT 2003


At 20:52 16/10/2003, Kevin Smith wrote:

>Regarding hUPOSTASIS here BAGD (1979, s.v. 2) says, "the sense 'confidence',
>'assurance' must be eliminated, since examples of it cannot be found. It
>cannot therefore play a role in Heb 11:1, where it has enjoyed much favor
>since Luther. Among the meanings that can be authenticated the one that
>seems to fit best here is 'realization'." Nevertheless, many translators
>render "faith is the assurance of things hoped for" (or similar).

But have you consulted BDAG (2000)?

where s.1b reads:
 >> of things: among the meanings that can be authenticated for Hb 11:1 a 
strong claim can be made for realization (Diod. S. 1, 3, 2 of the 
realization of a plan; Cornutus 9 p. 9, 3 of the realization of humanity; 
Jos., C. Ap. 1, 1 that of the Jewish people, both by a divine act; Tat. 5, 
1 of God ):
in faith things hoped for become realized, or things hoped for take on (but 
s. 3 and 4 below) reality <<

s.3 repeats the " must be eliminated " passage you quoted from BADG, but 
OTOH, s. 4 reads:
 >>guarantee of ownership/entitlement, title deed (Sb 9086 III, 1–11 [104 
a.d.]; Spicq III 423 n. 14; cp. M-M s.v.) Hb 11:1 (cp. 2 above for 
commercial use of .). <<

I would recommend reading the full article by Spicq [ Spicq, Ceslas. 
Theological Lexicon of the New Testament. 3 vols. Peabody, Mass: 
Hendrickson, 1996.] but I will just quote the end of his article in the 
light of s.4 of BDAG, above.

Spicq writes: >> According to the edict of Mettius Rufus, all owners of 
building and Iand have to have deeds on record establishing their property 
rights.Thus _hypostasis_ is a collection of documents establishing 
ownership. deposited in the archives and proving the owner's rights; hence 
it is a guarantee for the future. Moulton-Milligan are right to translate 
Heb 11:1  "Faith is the title-deed of things hoped for", This was also the 
interpretation of the Peshitta: _pyso_, "guarantee, proof.,' Faith is a 
title of ownership on property that is in the future. <<


There is also the approach of the Translator's Handbook [ Ellingworth, P., 
& Nida, E. A. (1994], c1983). A handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews. 
Originally published: Translator's handbook on the Letter to the Hebrews. 
c1983. ]

To be sure: the Greek word which RSV translates “ assurance” has been 
understood in three ways:

(a) From early times, some translators and commentators have thought it had 
the meaning “substance” or “underlying reality” which it has in 1.3 (God’s 
own being). This interpretation is chosen by KJV “substance”; Knox and NEB 
text “gives substance to our hopes.”

(b) Most translations understand the word as “ assurance” or “conviction”: 
RSV and NEB footnote “assurance”; Phps “full confidence”; NAB “confident 
assurance”; or verbal expressions like to be sure; Mft “we are confident.”

(c) Some French translations have “guarantee,” perhaps because “the word 
was often used in legal documents of the time for the title-deeds of a 
piece of property” (TNT note); Seg, BJ; TOB “faith is a way of already 
possessing what one hopes for”; JB “Only faith can guarantee the blessings 
that we hope for.”



Regards,

Maurice




Maurice A. O'Sullivan
mauros at iol.ie
[ Bray, Ireland ]

"God does a lot of things in the Psalms
that He can't get away with in systematic theology."



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