[B-Greek] Col. 1:5-6
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Oct 18 06:31:42 EDT 2004
At 11:23 PM -0400 10/17/04, Jeremiah McGowan wrote:
>Col. 1:5-6
>(5) DIA THN ELPIDA THN APOKEIMENHN hUMIN EN TOIS OUPANOIS, hHN
>PROHKOUSATE EN TWi LOGWi THS ALHQEIAS TOU EUAGGELIOU (6) TOU PARONTOS
>EIS hUMAS, KAQWS KAI EN PANTI TWi KOSMWi ESTIN KARPOFOROUMENON KAI
>AUXANOMENON KAQWS KAI EN hUMIN, AF' hHS hHMERAS HKOUSATE KAI EPEGNWTE
>THN CARIN TOU QEOU EN ALHQEIA
>(please feel free to correct any of my transliteration!)
>
>I have a couple of questions about this passage. First, the ESTIN in
>verse 6 is usually translated as referring to the ALHQEIAS TOU
>EUAGGELIOU or it is left uninterpreted in the translations I've checked.
>However, to me it seems possible (and I think likely) that it refers to
>the ELPIDA mentioned previously. I am considering this based on the fact
>that the "truth of the gospel" is included as the place where the
>Colossians heard about the "hope that is stored up for them." This makes
>it seem as though the hope is the central point of the sentence, not the
>truth of the gospel. However, this isn't really based on grammar and I
>wasn't sure if the grammar supports this thought or denies it. I've been
>wondering this because if the hope is the central point of the
>paragraph, then the passage is stressing hope, which is a product of
>faith. However, if the truth of the gospel is the central point which is
>causing all of the things mentioned in this passage, then it is
>stressing understanding and knowledge of the Word. At least it seems
>that way to me.
In verse 6 I think that ESTIN should be understood as the auxiliary verb to
a periphrastic present tense: ESTIN KARPOFOROUMENON = KARPOFOREI -- note
that it must also apply to AUXANOMENON so that ESTIN AUXANOMENON =
AUXANOMEITAI.
> My second question was whether verse 6 could be translated as "which
>is present in you. Just as it is growing and bearing fruit in the entire
>world, it has also been bearing fruit and growing in you since the day
>you heard and understood the grace of God in truth" or "which is present
>in you just as it is present in all the world. It is bearing fruit and
>growing, just as it has been bearing fruit and growing in you since the
>day..." or would both translations be possible. The first translation
>seems to emphasize that whatever "ESTIN" refers to is growing and
>bearing fruit in all the world, while the second translation seems to
>emphasize that it is also present in all the world. I'm not sure that
>it's a big difference, but it's made me curious.
No, it can't be "is present in you" because the prepositional phrase EIS
hUMAS implies usage with a verb of motion; in fact PAREIMI does function as
a verb of motion because it bears the idiomatic sense of "arrive" or
"reach"; it is indeed an intransitive verb, which is why it must be
completed with the EIS hUMAS phrase.
> Any help is much appreciated. Sorry the post is a bit long but I
>couldn't think of a way to word my questions more simply.
No problem; better to be clear if wordy than to be concise and unclear.
--
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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