[B-Greek] meaning of DAIMONIZOMENOS
Raymond Regalado
fwgk5942 at mb.infoweb.ne.jp
Wed May 5 09:42:10 EDT 2004
On 2004.5.5, at 10:01 PM, Morgan Powell wrote:
> In verses such as matthew 4:24, 8:16,28,33 and others, the participle
> DAIMONIZOMENOS is usually translated as demon-possessed (or sometimes
> demoniac as in NASB). Is there any justification for translating the
> word
> as demon-possessed. Could not the word best be defined as demonized.
The lexicons define DAIMONIZOMAI as "be possessed by a hostile spirit"
(BDAG). I guess the "justification" for translating the participle as
"demon-possessed" is *general English usage*. One's *theology* of
"demon-possession" is a separate matter, though. One may want to say
things like "of course only infidels -- and not true Christians -- can
be 'possessed' in the sense of 'owned', by devils, but anyone can be
'demonized' in the sense of 'tormented' -- including Christians."
My two cents,
Raymond Regalado
Tokyo, Japan
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