[B-Greek] 1 Cor. 13:10

John Fincher jcfincher at charter.net
Mon Dec 27 10:23:52 EST 2004


Yes, thank you.  I am new to the list, and I'm torn as to what should be and shouldn't be sent to everyone.  I only sent it to you because I had a specific question about your comment.  After I'd sent it, I thought that I should have copied the entire list.  Oh well, chalk it up to experience.

I would agree about your statement that one should not go back to the Greek and simply contradict the translation to make it agree with the preacher's message(just as some force alliteration), but back to my point.  I think that if you look at the shade of the meaning, it gives a good picture for the hearer/reader.  To your point about the reader/hearers probably did not having that specific meaning in mind, I do believe that the Holy Spirit picked that specific word for inclusion here for some reason.  I just thought it was just a good illustration on how English does not do justice to the Greek.  

I'm really enjoying the discourse!

John Fincher 

Fromm: "Barry Hofstetter" <nebarry at verizon.net>
> Date: 2004/12/27 Mon AM 09:51:13 EST
> To: "John Fincher" <jcfincher at charter.net>
> Subject: Re: Re: [B-Greek] 1 Cor. 13:10
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "John Fincher" <jcfincher at charter.net>
> To: "Barry Hofstetter" <nebarry at verizon.net>
> Sent: Monday, December 27, 2004 8:31 AM
> Subject: Re: Re: [B-Greek] 1 Cor. 13:10
> 
> 
Getting back to the fallacy you spoke of.  Are you really saying that some preachers who go to the Greek are wrong 95% of the time?  Are you saying this is true if they are stating a different meaning of the word or the SHADE of 
meaning.  I mean to say that English does not do justice to Greek.  Let me give you an example.
Romans 8:26a (KJV) states that "Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our nfirmities...".  The word translated "helpeth" is SUNANTILAMBANITAI. Robertson's Grammar of the Greek New Testament says that this means that the Spirit is like a person helping you carry a log, facing you.  While this does not change the MEANING of the word, it does give us a great PICTURE of how the Spirit helps us.  I just would like further clarification of what you mean.

John Fincher

Again, you sent this to me personally, and not the list (which is ok either way).

My impression referenced above is highly subjective: very often, I have heard preachers say something like "The Greek really says" or "The Greek really means..."  and then essentially contradict the English translation, and those I have heard do so are nearly always wrong.  Often, they have simply substituted a part of the semantic range which is inappropriate for the context, or fallen into the etymological fallacy.  I have also noticed that this vocabulary consideration usually manages to fit the theological conception that the preacher has of the passage.  This does not meant that there are necessarily 
preachers that are wrong 95 percent of the time!
 
Sometimes, like the log thing, the associated description can be a really good preaching illustration, but it's important to remember that this picture was probably not in the mind of the readers/hearers, anymore than when I say, "I think I'll hit the sack" the receptors of my communication think of the rucksack (sleeping bag) carried by troops during WWI, or that when I order my cake "a la 
mode" the waitress is aware that the phrase originally was French for "in fashion" and begins wondering how fashionably I want my cake served -- I simply 
want that scoop of ice cream!

N.E. Barry Hofstetter
B.A., Ancient Studies, Univ. of Maryland, 1981
M.A. Classics, Ohio State Univ. 1986
M.Div., Pastoral Emphasis, Westminster Theo. Sem., 1989
Th.M., NT Studies, WTS, 1991 Ph.D. F.E.




John Fincher
McDonough, GA




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