[B-Greek] OSFUI

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon May 31 07:31:43 EDT 2004


At 12:31 AM -0400 5/31/04, George F. Somsel wrote:
>Genitals

That's hardly very surprising, George, considering what you did with SKEUOS
in 1 Thess; but I think Eddie's onto something here; this is more like
"That was back when [or before] you were no more than a gleam in your
father's eye." It is the sense that there's a genetic chain interwoven into
which are the threads of what is to transpire hereafter in the lives of
those as yet unborn.

The text in question concerns Levi, and by extension, all priests descended
from Levi: Heb 7:10 ETI GAR EN THi OSFUI TOU PATROS HN hOTE SUNHNTHSEN
AUTWi MELCISEDEK.

There is indeed something here of "ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny" here:
a notion that the genetic constitution and personal history of an heir or a
progenitor, however near or distant, somehow is implicated in the forebear
or in the scion. A somewhat different but not altogether unrelated notion
finds expression in Jeremiah 1:5 (LXX) PRO TOU ME PLASAI SE EN KOILIAi
EPISTAMAI SE KAI PRO TOU SE EXELQEIN EK MHTRAS hHGIAKA SE PROFHTHN EIS EQNH
TEQEIKA SE: in this instance what is destined has been implanted into the
genetic code that will constitute Jeremiah's selfhood and mission.

When Eddie first raised this suggestion I was somewhat skeptical; I
suggested that he take it to the b-translation list and I continue to be
curious what those people would do with it, inasmuch as here the question
is only partly understanding what the Greek text says and means but how
what it means can be conveyed in current terms in the target language of a
version.
>________
>
>On Mon, 31 May 2004 15:14:37 +1200 "Eddie" <vangent at xtra.co.nz> writes:
>> Greetings,
>>
>> I understand OSFUI metonymically as 'genes' in its Hebrews 7:10
>> occurrence.
>> The reason for this is that the Bible in my opinion looks at the
>> whole picture, past, present and future and
>> sees things as they are..things in this case that modern forensic
>> science has only been using for the past 20 years, if that!
>> The old 'loins' translation used even in modern English translations
>> seems to be a euphemism of sorts,
>> or the translators may have buried the word a little because more
>> modern explicit renderings might drive a lot of readers in the wrong
>> direction.
>> I think that if a survey were done of what people thought 'loins'
>> were many would more that likely think of associations with loin
>> chops on
>> the dinner table!
>>
>> Now, what do others think would be a good modern rendition of OSFUI
>> as in the context of Hebrews 7:10?
>>
>> Regards
>> Eddie Van Gent
>> New Zealand
>>
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>>
>
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-- 

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/



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