[B-Greek] 2 Thessalonians 3:17

Paul E.Baronowsky pbaronow at insightbb.com
Thu Dec 29 15:19:30 EST 2005


On Thu, 29 Dec 2005 11:26:52 -0800, Zack Hubert wrote:

>While making my way through Paul's letters, I've come upon this
>passage which has left me just scratching my head:
>
>2 Thess 3:17
>hO ASPASMOS THi EMHi CEIRI PAULOU hO ESTIN SHMEION EN PASHi EPISTOLHi
>hOUTWS GRAFW
>
>The NASB renders it such:
>I, Paul, write this greeting with my own hand, and this is a
>distinguishing mark in every letter; this is the way I write. (NASB)
>
>My first cut...
>[The greeting in my hand, Paul's, that is a sign in every letter just
>as I write]
>
>A few of my questions...
>
>1) why is PAULOU genitive, seems a bit repetitive, why not instead use
>a nominative absolute?
>2) why isn't there a demonstrative pronoun somewhere in this sentence,
>the articles seem a bit wooden...
>3) overall...how is this meant to be understood directly, without
>paraphrasing it to make an easier to read sentence?

As a starter from a tyro, how about:

[This is] Paul's greeting [written in] my own hand, which is a sign
[of authenticity] in every letter; thus do I write.

The beginning justifies the genitive PAULOU. If one omits "[This is]",
the opening becomes a nominative absolute, without changing the need
for the genitive of PAULOS. I take THi EMHi CEIRI as dative of agent
following the verbal meaning of "greeting".

I welcome constructive criticism of my thought.

Best Wishes for a Happy and Safe New Year to all from a long-time
lurker on B-Greek,

Paul E. Baronowsky
Lafayette, IN
pbaronow at insightbb.com 





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