[B-Greek] Hebrews 9:9 - past or present tense

Schmuel schmuel at nyc.rr.com
Mon Aug 8 06:25:58 EDT 2005


Hi Folks,

Greetings to all, here is a perfect tense verb question that I do not believe has been addressed.

KJB
Hebrews 9:9
Which was a figure for the time then present, 
in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, 
that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; 

There is a small difference between the Received Text and the Nestle-Aland  as in 
the TR hostis and kairos ('in which' and time) are both neuter, while hostis is feminine
in the NA text, agreeing with parabole 'figure' or 'parable'.  Yet this does not seem to be
a primary difference, as texts of both types are translated two different ways.  

A good example of the translation difference can be seen between the NetBible (Daniel Wallace)
and the NASB.

NetBible
This was a symbol for the time then present, 
when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper. 

NASB
which is a symbol for the present time. 
Accordingly both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make the worshiper perfect in conscience, 

Other than doctrinal viewpoints, (which of course are not our base issue here in translation) are there
any grammatical elements that would make one translation superior, or correct, and the other inferior, or incorrect ?  Although doctrine should not be the base, my understanding is that it would be proper to 
look at the tenses of verses in a similar context in Hebrews, so I do not mean to rule out analyzing in 
a broader context. 

If you can help in sharing, please indicate if the thoughts you give apply to both the Textus Receptus and Nestle-Aland underlying texts.

Thanks.

Shalom,
Steven Avery 
Queens, NY
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Messianic_Apologetic/  




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