[B-Greek] 1 cor 3:9

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Sat Apr 16 06:19:25 EDT 2005


At 11:15 AM +0900 4/16/05, Rion Reece wrote:
>>At 9:59 AM +0900 4/16/05, Rion Reece wrote:
>> >QEOU GAR ESMEN SUNERGOI, QEOU GEWRGION, QEOU OIKODOMH ESTE.
>
>Rion wrote:
>> >In this verse, the middle phrase 'QEOU GEWRGION'  is generally construed
>> >with the second verb.  Why?  Is there a rule that governs this?  The
>>context
>> >would seem to allow it to go with either the ESMEN or the ESTE.
>
>Carl Conrad wrote:
>>The logical context doesn't allow it: Paul here distinguishes the
>>evangelists as farmers and builders from the congregation that is the sown
>>field and the building. Yes, theoretically QEOU GEWRGION could be the
>>predicate of ESMEN, but that would confound the metaphorical contrasts that
>>Paul is developing here.
>
>
>Would it?  The building is a fruit of men's (God's?) labor, while a farm
>field is something that God uses to produce fruit.  If Paul is making his
>cadre the field, he could be toning down his (arrogant-seeming?) assertion
>of being God's fellow worker, while maintaining a difference between his
>group and that of his recipients.  It could be much the same as in Romans
>1:11,12 where Paul plainly states that he wants to impart something to them
>an then in a seeming concilliatory gesture says, "or rather so that we may
>be mutually encouraged..."

Yes, but in Romans he's addressing a congregation he's never met; here's
he's addressing a congregation which he has chastised as SARKINOI, NHPIOI
EN CRISTWi; look at the context in the earlier verses of 1 Cor 3 where he
distinguishes the works of himself (who sowed the community), of Apollo
(who watered it) and of God (who made it grow). For my part, I'm convinced
that this context supports the standard understanding of QEOU GEWRGION as
well as QEOU OIKODOMH as predicate phrases to ESTE referring to the members
of the Corinthian congregation.
-- 

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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