[B-Greek] 'on' and 'off' topic
William Zeitler
william at faithfulbible.com
Tue Dec 28 14:46:46 EST 2004
After my post I thought better of it and I've decided to just lurk. I don't
always expect a response, but I honestly felt my question was within the
parameters of the forum and certainly didn't expect to be put down.
There is a difference between understanding what the Greek Text is really
saying (which I thought was the point of this forum), and trying to
'interpret its theological significance' (which is off topic, agreed!). I
just think that understanding the Text takes more than 'is this a deponent
middle optative of the preceding participial adverb' (which is important) --
it's also thinking about culture, and Hebraisisms, and what Greek words
might mean in various contexts, and...
william zeitler
-----Original Message-----
From: cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu [mailto:cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu]
Sent: Tuesday, December 28, 2004 5:38 AM
To: William Zeitler
Cc: Biblical-Greek List
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] John 10:10
This message really isn't about Greek at all, is it, but about how to
understand
the Jesus-saying which is perfectly intelligible in the Greek; the question
is
really about the rhetoric of the content; please let's keep B-Greek
discussion
focused upon the Biblical Greek language or Biblical Greek text as Greek
text.
At 9:27 PM -0800 12/27/04, William Zeitler wrote:
>hO KLEPTHS OUK ERCETAI EI MH INA KLEYHi KAI QUSHi KAI APOLESHi.
>
>QUSHi seems clear enough: either 'sacrifice' or 'slaughter'. To kill an
>animal for a useful purpose, whether that be the dinner table or a temple
>sacrifice.
>
>One thought that occurs to me is that when Jesus says that the thief wants
>to "steal and SLAUGHTER and destroy" the sheep, that when Jesus says
>SLAUGHTER (QUSH) He's describing the thief killing us for his own selfish
>purposes; Jesus then goes on to say that the thief may also DESTROY
>(APOLESH) us for no particular reason.
>
>The construction 'steal and slaughter and destroy' is just striking to me.
>It's almost overkill. So I just keep thinking He's trying to make a deeper
>point here.
>
>Or maybe it's 'sequential': first the thief steals us, then he slaughters
>us, then he destroys us.
>
>Thots?
>
>william zeitler
Carl W. Conrad
Co-Chair, B-Greek
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