[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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