[B-Greek] AGGELOS in 2 Cor 12:7

Harold R. Holmyard III hholmyard at ont.com
Sun May 23 20:56:22 EDT 2004


Dear Ann,

>Person or spirit - both are allowed by the Greek. There is nothing in the
>Greek to suggest a sickness, and I have not come across a Greek inscription
>where a sickness is spoken of in such terms - this is particularly
>signifiant, as the NT healing words are used very much in the manner of
>traditional Greek healing words, right from Homer. I would say theological
>considerations have been the basis for the traditional translation
>(sickness) of this verse. It could have been anything.

HH: It might be that you have not come across a 
Greek inscription where a sickness is spoken of 
like that because this may have been an 
especially Israelite idiom. The LXX uses SKOLOY 
in these verses:

Num. 33:55 ¶ "'But if you do not drive out the 
inhabitants of the land, those you allow to 
remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns 
in your sides. They will give you trouble in the 
land where you will live.
Hos. 2:6 Therefore I will block her path with 
thornbushes; I will wall her in so that she 
cannot find her way.
Ezek. 28:24 ¶ "'No longer will the people of 
Israel have malicious neighbors who are painful 
briers and sharp thorns. Then they will know that 
I am the Sovereign LORD. d them; and they shall 
know that I am the Lord GOD.

HH: It probably relates to Genesis 3:

Gen. 3:18 It will produce thorns and thistles for 
you, and you will eat the plants of the field.

HH: As you say, the Israelites could associate 
almost anything bad as a thorn. But this seems 
like a condition Paul had. He describes it as an 
ASQENEIA in 2 Cor 12:9-10, which often describes 
a sickness, disease, or bodily ailment:

2Cor. 12:8 Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me.
2Cor. 12:9 But he said to me,  "My grace is 
sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect 
in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more 
gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's 
power may rest on me.
2Cor. 12:10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I 
delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, 
in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am 
weak, then I am strong.

HH: Some connect this ASQENEIA with the ASQENEIA 
that Paul mentions in Galatians 4:13f.:

Gal. 4:13 As you know, it was because of an 
*illness* that I first preached the gospel to you.
Gal. 4:14 Even though my illness was a trial to 
you, you did not treat me with contempt or scorn. 
Instead, you welcomed me as if I were an angel of 
God, as if I were Christ Jesus himself. 

HH: The large handwriting that he had to use suggested an eye ailment:

Gal. 6:11 ¶ See what large letters I use as I write to you with my own hand!

HH: So did his comment that the Galatians would 
gladly have torn out their eyes and given them to 
Paul if they could:

Gal. 4:15 What has happened to all your joy? I 
can testify that, if you could have done so, you 
would have torn out your eyes and given them to 
me.

HH: The eye hypothesis may not be provable, but 
it is not unreasonable for Galatians and may 
relate to 2 Corinthians. If it is his eyes, it 
seems a lengthy condition, since it seems to have 
affected his writing some time after the visit to 
Galatia.

				Yours,
				Harold Holmyard







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