[B-Greek] 1 Cor 6:16
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Wed Mar 10 13:16:04 EST 2004
> My question is why Paul uses SWMA and SARX or SARKA in the same
> sentence. Exactly what distinction is meant by 'one body' and
> 'one flesh'.
<snip>
> Doug McEachern
hO KOLLWMENOS THi PORNHi hEN SWMA ESTIN (he who joins with a prostitute
forms a bodily union with her)
ESONTAI GAR, FHSIN, hOI DUO EIS SARKA MIAN (for, as it says, the two shall
become one flesh)
Paul is quoting the LXX of Gen 2:24 (ESONTAI hOI DUO EIS SARKA MIAN) which
is a very literal translation of the Hebrew text. According to Holladay, the
Hebrew word "basar" in addition to the basic meaning of "meat, flesh, body"
has the meaning "relationship." For this sense they quote Gen 2:23, 24 and
37:27 (he is our brother, our own flesh). This extended sense is stretching
the normal sense of SARX (just as "become one flesh" is stretching the
English language beyond its normal boundaries), and it seems that Paul
prefers to use SWMA for that extended sense of forming a union, when he is
free to use his own word rather than being bound by a quotation.
Another aspect is the contrast between the bodily union in v. 16 and the
spiritual union in v. 17:
hO DE KOLLWMENOS TWi KURIWi hEN PNEUMA ESTIN (he who joins with the Lord
forms a spiritual union with him).
So, maybe Paul uses SWMA in v. 16 to stress the bodily union in contrast to
the spiritual union, whereas the union intended in Gen 2:24 is one of
intimate human (SARX) relationship, not just a bodily (SWMA) union.
Iver Larsen
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