[B-Greek] 1John1:7a MET' ALLHLWN
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Tue Nov 16 10:09:06 EST 2004
At 7:02 AM -0800 11/16/04, Mitch Larramore wrote:
>Dr. Conrad:
>
>Can you be more precise with this. Are you saying that
>MET' ALLHLWN, which must be translated "with each
>other," refers to
>
>1. fellow-believers with each other ONLY
This is what I think it means; I think that "fellowship with God" would
ordinarily be expressed by META TOU QEOU or MET' AUTOU separately. What I
have said below is that I think that the author of 1 John does seem to
indicate that those believers who have fellowship with God must also have
it with each other, but I don't believe he expresses that with the phrase
here--MET' ALLHLWN.
As I see it, the author of 1 John is asserting throughout the letter, as
emphatically as possible, that one cannot legitimately claim to love God
(and so have fellowship with him) without also loving his fellow-believers
(and so having fellowship with them)--but I don't see him combining those
propositions into a single phrase that could conceivably be indicated by
MET' ALLHLWN: i.e. MET' ALLHLWN doesn't include God as one among the others
with whom one has KOINWNIA. I don't know how to state more unambiguously
what I think the phrase means.
>2. fellow-believers with God ONLY
>3. fellow-believers with each other AND fellow
>believers with God
>
>Thank you
>
>Mitch
>
>--- "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
>wrote:
>
>> At 1:54 PM -0800 11/15/04, Mitch Larramore wrote:
>> >1.7a
>> >EAN DE EN TWi FWTI PERIPATWMEN hWS AUTOS ESTIN EN
>> TWi
>> >FWTI, KOINWNIAN ECOMEN MET' ALLHLWN KAI...
>> >
>> >
>> >In verse 7, does MET' ALLHLWN refer to fellowship
>> with
>> >God as mentioned in verse 6 (EAN EIPWMEN hOTI
>> >KOINWNIAN ECOMEN MET' AUTOU), or does it refer all
>> the
>> >way back to verse 3 (hINA KAI hUMEIS KOINWNIAN
>> ECHTE
>> >MEQÌ hHMWN)?
>> >
>> >If it can refer to God, would the plural ALLHLWN
>> refer
>> >to those being addressed, ALL having fellowship
>> with
>> >God?
>>
>> MET' ALLHLWN can only mean "with each other"--but in
>> this letter there is
>> clearly an emphasis upon what I'd call "covenant
>> indwelling" as something
>> shared with fellow-believers and with God. The
>> author alternates between
>> emphasizing the relationship with fellow-believers,
>> emphasizing the
>> relationship with God, or emphasizing both
>> simultaneously.
>> --
>>
>> 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/
>>
>
>
>=====
>Mitch Larramore
>Spring Branch, Texas
>Student/Memorial High School
>
>
>
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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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