[B-Greek] Hebrews 1:3
Maurice A. O'Sullivan
mauros at iol.ie
Thu Aug 19 10:36:24 EDT 2004
At 03:45 19/08/2004, Ron Macy wrote:
>I am trying to find any discussion on the word used for brightness
>(apaugasma) in Hebrews 1:3.
Ron:
Here is an excerpt from:
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. UBS handbook series; Helps for translators (Page 8).
New York: United Bible Societies.
In particular, I would urge you to take to heart the third paragraph ---
Western artists down the centuries have solved their technical problems of
displaying the " glory of God " and its "wonderfulness" in one particular
way which has saturated our language ( and our subconscious )
>> This verse is full of picture language. Here, as in similar passages,
the translator needs to ask a number of important questions: (a) How far
was each metaphor still live for the writer (b) What is its literal
meaning (c) Does our language use the same metaphor with the same meaning
(d) If not, does it have a different metaphor with the same meaning (e) If
not, how can I translate the metaphor literally
The brightness of Gods glory was probably a live metaphor for the writer:
glory is often associated with light and less often with weight. The word
translated brightness may mean either radiance (Knox, Phps, Brc; compare
KJV brightness; JB, NAB radiant light; NEB effulgence; Translators
New Testament [TNT] radiates) or reflection (NAB; compare RSV). FrCL
includes both meanings: He reflects the splendor of the divine glory. The
same word is used in Wisdom 7.26, where the same meanings are also possible
(see NEB text and note).
In a number of languages it is difficult to speak about reflecting the
brightness of Gods glory. In the first place glory is often related to
wonderfulness and not to the concept of being shiny or of brightness.
As a result it is very difficult to use some term which is based upon the
concept of light being reflected. Therefore, it may be best to translate
'He reflects the brightness of Gods glory' as He shows how wonderful God
is or How wonderful God is can be seen in how wonderful he is.<<
As regards >> glory is often associated with light and less often with
weigh <<, this marks a contrast between the NT and the OT ( you will have
noticed that in the LXX APAUGASMA occurs only in one book,Wisdom, written
in Greek. In the OT ? ), weight is what counts -- such words as "kavaed" [
the verb with meanings of "be heavy, weighty, honoured " ] of which the
Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament remarks:
>> Over against the transience of human and earthly glory stands the
unchanging beauty of the manifest God (Ps 145:5). In this sense the noun
k'bôd takes on its most unusual and distinctive meaning. Forty-five times
this form of the root relates to a visible manifestation of God and
whenever 'the glory of God' is mentioned this usage must be taken account
of. Its force is so compelling that it remolds the meaning of DOXA from an
opinion of men in the Greek classics to something absolutely objective in
the LXX and NT.
P.S
Have you consulted the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament on
APAUGASMA ?
That gives three synonyms:
a) "effulgence",
b) "reflection",
c)"image"
and adds:
>> The word is a later one. In the LXX it is used of the relation of
wisdom to the eternal light (a), in Philo of its relation to the world (b),
of that of man to God (a), and of the human spirit to the divine logos (a).
We read of Christ in Hb. 1:3: [ Greek snipped ] Both meanings would be
possible according to usage and context, yet patristic consensus favours
the interpretation that Christ is the effulgence of the divine doxa, as
sunshine is of the sun or light of light.<<
So maybe it's not entirely the fault of the artists <g>
Hope this is of help.
Maurice A. O'Sullivan
[Bray, Ireland]
"Apply yourself wholly to the text; apply the text wholly to yourself."
- Johann Albrecht Bengel
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