[B-Greek] "episemoi en tois apostolois"

George F. Somsel gfsomsel at juno.com
Sun Aug 29 07:28:11 EDT 2004


On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 02:11:27 EDT CWestf5155 at aol.com writes:
> <<In a message dated 8/28/2004 8:06:47 PM Mountain Standard Time, 
> slovullo at mac.com writes:
> On Aug 28, 2004, at 11:15 AM, CWestf5155 at aol.com wrote:
> 
> > Yes, I heard a paper given at ETS supporting this reading, where 
> > Wallace was
> > one of the co-authors (but not the reader).  I did't find it 
> > convincing, since
> > in Bencancon-Spencer's paper it was shown with repeated citations 
> that
> > occurrences of EN + dative do support "among" rather than "in the 
> 
> > presence of,
> > particularly when the research included Hellenistic literature 
> beyond 
> > the NT and
> > LXX.  There were at least several clear examples of the same 
> > construction that
> > meant "among". This must be the basis of any decision rather 
> > concluding than EN
> > + genetive meaning "among" in one occurence precludes the 
> possibility 
> > of EN +
> > dative meaning "among" in any occurrence.
> >
> > I'd like to have both papers in my hands, but when the reader was 
> 
> > questioned,
> > the position seemed more based on how the naked dative functions 
> than 
> > how EN
> > + dative functioned.
> >
> > The distinct impression left was that the research and the call in 
> the 
> > Net
> > Bible was results-driven.  I'd like to see that further tested.
> 
> This is a good point, Cindy. I think, though, that just as important 
> as 
> the syntactic question is the semantic question: What does APOSTOLOS 
> 
> mean here? Is it to be taken more strictly, as Paul seems to take 
> the 
> term APOSTOLOS in, say, 1 Cor 15.7 and 9, or more loosely, as he 
> seems 
> to take it in, say, 2 Cor 8.23 and Phil  2.25? Surely he does not 
> mean 
> the term in the same way in 2 Cor 8.23 and Phil 2.25 as he does 
> elsewhere when he asserts his special authority. There seems to be a 
> 
> degree of authority in one use that does not coincide with the 
> other. 
> Indeed, it seems at that any authority on the part of the one is 
> dependent on the other. I think that other evidence of this sort 
> from 
> other parts of the NT could be proffered. BDAG brings this 
> distinction 
> out well in definitions 1 and 2, s.v., APOSTOLOS:
> 
> 1. of messengers without extraordinary status *delegate, envoy, 
> messenger*
> 
> 2. of messengers with extraordinary status, esp. of God's 
> *messenger, 
> envoy*
> 
> It is not hard for me to see a distinction between authoritative 
> spokesmen for God on the one hand, and an identifiable cadre of 
> messengers to the widespread churches on the other. In recent years 
> 
> there has been an acknowledgment that the early church, though 
> separated geographically, was much more mobile and interconnected 
> than 
> previously thought. In this context these "messengers" would have 
> served an important role--to keep the wider church informed of plans 
> 
> and developments crucial to the spiritual good and geographic spread 
> of 
> the faith.
> ============>>
> Steve, greetings!
> 
> OK, now we're looking at Paul's usage of the term APOSTOLOS. So 
> let's 
> concentrate first on the usage in 1 Corinthians.
> 
> Coming from a discourse analysis mindset,  the semantic content of 
> APOSTOLOS 
> in 1 Cor 15:7, 9 is constrained by the occurrences of APOSTOLOS in 
> chs. 9 and 
> 12.  I hope that the discussion of semantic constraint of a word by 
> its 
> co-text is not beyond the purpose of the list.
> 
> 1 Cor 9 is concerned with the rights of an apostle, and Paul and 
> Barnabas' 
> choice not to exercise their rights. 1 Cor 9:5-6 indicate the Paul 
> believes that 
> Barnabas also has an apostle's rights: MH OUK EXOMEN EXOUSIAN...hWS 
> KAI hOI 
> LOIPOI APOSTOLOI...H MONOS EGW KAI BARNABAS;  That is, the first 
> person plural 
> refers to Paul and Barnabaas.
> 
> In I Cor 12:28-29, the term APOSTLE refers to a 
> messenger/authoritative link 
> between churches with a kind of first rung underpinning ministry   
> It is 
> considered by Paul to be a spiritual gift distributed sovereignly by 
> the Spirit. It 
> is comparable to PROPHETHS, which is on the second rung.  APOSTOLOS 
> is not 
> excluded when Paul tells the Corinthians to eagerly desire spiritual 
> gifts 
> (14:1).
> 
> At the point of Christ's resurrection (1 Cor 15:7), there were at 
> least 11 
> APOSTOLOS.  And is James necesarily excluded from this list?  
> Possibly the 
> phrases EPEITA WFQH IAKWBW EITA TOIS APOSTOLOIS PASIN can infer that 
> James was the 
> first apostle that Jesus appeared to, and then he appeared to all of 
> them.
> 
> There is no reason to conclude that, in Paul's use of the term, 
> there were no 
> more people who received that gift--certainly the gift of prophecy 
> was still 
> open (1 Cor 14).  I Cor 12-14 seems to indicate that it is not a 
> closed set.  
> 
> If APOSTOLOS is not a closed set for Paul, I have no trouble at all 
> seeing 
> Titus and Epaphraditus in that role (2 Cor 8:23; Phil 2:25), 
> particularly since 
> Barnabas had the role also.  And in the follow-up letter (2 Cor) we 
> have the 
> "super apostles" hUPERLIAN APOSTOLWN (11:5)  who are really Satan's 
> servants; 
> Paul's argument against them is not that apostle is a closed set. 
> 
> Granted, Luke's use of the term APOSTOLOS seems restricted to the 
> 12, and it 
> is possible that the two may use the term differently.  There should 
> be no 
> compulsion to harmonize Luke and Paul's terminology.
> 
> Cindy Westfall
> Denver Seminary
> ---

I'm glad you mentioned that, Cindy.  Although I knew that there was a
restrictive use of APOSTOLOS and a looser usage, I had forgotten about
that particular passage and would have considered Paul to have used it in
the restrictive sense.  Perhaps there is need to examine whether there is
truly a restrictive sense outside of Luke.  

Also, I plan to take a closer look at the use of EN + dat pl.  You could
be right on that, but, since I am relying of what I considered to be a
reasonably reliable source, I didn't actually examine it myself. When I
get a little time I'll do so.

george
gfsomsel



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