[B-Greek] TRWGW = Chew?
Arie Dirkzwager
dirkzwager at pandora.be
Mon Feb 23 06:24:50 EST 2004
Dear James
Meanings of words can change.
Homer uses the word TRWGW only for animals. Since Herodot it is used also
for men.
Besides many words that originally had a specific meaning (bite, chew) can
later be used in a very common way (eat). That is certainly valid for Koine
Greek and for Vulgar and Later Latin. And Koine Greek did not start on a
certain day of a certain year.
So it depends of the context what to do with TRWGW. The dictionary gives
several instances where the word is used for the Lord's supper. In my
opinion that would mean that it generally does not mean anything more that
"eat". I cannot imagine that the writers of the NT would say that the
Christians chew or bite the bread on that occasion.
Arie
Dr. A. Dirkzwager
Hoeselt, Belgium
e-mail dirkzwager at pandora.be
----- Oorspronkelijk bericht -----
Van: "James Jackson" <jjkoine at insight.rr.com>
Aan: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Verzonden: maandag 23 februari 2004 11:13
Onderwerp: [B-Greek] TRWGW = Chew?
I am currently reading through the gospel of John and came across the word
"TRWGW" in chapter 6. I see where many English translations translate this
as "eat". I read in BDAG where this word can mean bite or chew. In my copy
of Zerwick's they make a distinction between classical = munch and later
Greek = ESQIW. In the context of this chapter is it possible that Jesus
meant the word as saying "chew my flesh"? I could see where this could be
distasteful (absolutely no pun intended) to some of His disciples. Since the
twelve disciples stated they would continue following Him they must have
known he wasn't talking about cannibalism but I could see where some of the
disciples who turned away might not have such an understanding.
James
Jackson
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http://www.iesouschristos.com- not politically correct but biblically
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