[B-Greek] Re: Romans 1:17 EK PISTEWS EIS PISTIN

Paul Toseland toseland at blueyonder.co.uk
Thu Apr 29 11:37:47 EDT 2004


Lawrence Schnell wrote:

>I think there is a cultural issue involved that we in
>the modern western mindset don't understand the way
>Paul did. The idea of covenant was central to Hebraic
>thought and religion. As a rabbi, Paul would have
>understood words like "faith/faithfulness" and
>"righteous" in the context of covenant.
>Faith/faithfulness would have been what he understood
>as the requirement of walking in covenant with God.
>The "righteous" would be the one who obligates himself
>to and does live within the boundaries of a covenant
>relationship.

I couldn't agree more. The notion of the covenant, 
IMHO, lies at the core of Paul's theology, and more to
the point, at the core of the theology of Romans. 

Lawrence continues,

>I should like to add that Paul would
>seem to mean that faith/faithfulness is the mode in
>which a covenant-keeping righteous person will live.
>This faithfulness arises out of God's faithfulness.
>But Paul may be deliberately vague as to whose
>faithfulness is in view, because in covenant both
>parties obligate themselves to faithfulness, even if
>it originates first with God. His faithfulness leads
>to the faithfulness of those who truly believe; and
>they live their lives out of His faithfulness.

Harold Holmyard replied:

>First, the lexicons give "faith, trust" as the basic
>meanings of the word (LSJ, BAGD).

Well, BDAG now gives two basic senses of PISTIS,
first 'that which evokes trust and faith'; here is
most of Danker's entry under 1a:

a. the state of being someone in whom confidence can
be placed, faithfulness, reliability, fidelity, 
commitment (X., An. 1, 6, 3; 3, 3, 4; Aristot., Eth.
Eud, 7, 2, 1237b, 12; Polyb. 7, 12, 9; 38, 1, 8 al.;
Herodian 2, 14, 4 al.; SIG 675, 22; OGI 557, 16; 
PTebt 27, 6; 51 [II BC]; POxy 494, 9; 705, 32; other
pap M-M. s.v.; Ps 32:4; Pr 12:22; Jos., Ant. 2, 61;
TestAsh 7:7) w. KRISIS and ELEOS Mt 23:23.  (Opp.
APISTIA,a as Hes., Op. 370) THN PISTIN TOU QEOU 
KATARGEIN nullify the faithfulness/commitment of 
God (cp. Ps 32:4; Hos 2:22) Ro 3:3. PASAN P. 
ENDEIKNUSQAI AGAPHN show all good faith(fulness) 
Tit 2:10 (cp. BGU 314, 19 META PISTEWS AGAQHS). 
W. other virtues Gal 5:22 (on PISTIS, PRAUTHS cp. 
Sir 45:4; 1:27). W. hUPOMENH, 2 Th 1:4. THN PISTIN
TETHRHKA I have remained faithful or loyal (PISTIN
THREIN as Polyb. 6, 56, 13; 10, 37, 5; Jos., Bell. 
2, 121; 6, 345; OGI 339, 46f; IBM III, 587b, 5f 
[Dssm., LO 262=LAE 309, esp. note 3]).

In a post of Tue Aug  6 19:15:25 EDT 2002 I drew 
attention to a paper on Rom 1:17 in The Bible 
Translator, July 2000, by Prof. Wilbur Benware, 
University of California, Linguistics). For 
convenience I will quote part of that post here:

==========

Benware has studied the construction EK noun 
phrase EIS noun phrase, and reports that the 
following points hold good 'throughout Greek 
literature':

(1) NOUN PHRASE encompasses all types of 
nouns.
(2) Anarthrous noun phrases are by far the most 
common, but demonstratives in anaphoric reference 
are not uncommon, e.g. EK TINOS EIS TI ('from 
this to that').
(3) The construction occurs with different noun 
phrases, as well as dientical ones. 

And in the case where the two noun phrases are
identical,

(4) The verb with which the expression occurs is 
always non-telic.
(5) When the nouns are concrete, the verb 
expresses movement from one liocation to another.
(6) The idom maintains 'the exact conceptual 
identity' of the two nouns.

Examples include EK TOPOU EIS TOPON ('from 
Place  to place'), EX ALOGOU EIS ALOGON ('from 
absurdity to absurdity'), and from biblical 
literature, EK DUNAMEWS EIS DUNAMIN (Ps 83:8 LXX),
EK KAKWN EIS KAKA (Jer 9:3 LXX), and EK QANATOU 
EIS QANATON, EK ZWHS EIS ZWHN (2 Cor 2:16).

Arguing from Cognitive Grammar (he says the 
principles of this field relating to prepositions are 
generally agreed among practitioners; I won’t try to
summarize his reasoning here), he argues that
‘‘the idiom simply underscores immutability, 
unchangeableness’. 

Hence, it seems, Rom 1:17 may be rendered as follows:

'In the gospel, right relationship with God is being 
revealed: It is a path which begins in faith(fulness)
and ends in faith(faithfulness); as it is written, 
The righteous shall live by faith(fulness).'

[By faith(fulness) I mean, of course, to express the
ambiguity that Lawrence has rightly suggestsed may be
intended in Paul's Greek.]

If this is right, then Rom 1:17 states the theme of the whole letter.

Best regards
Paul Toseland
Bristol, England



More information about the B-Greek mailing list