[B-Greek] 1 Timothy 5:20

A. J. Birch AJBIRCH at terra.es
Sun Jun 26 03:00:16 EDT 2005


Dear 'B-Greekers',

'Adam' asked about the word "sin" ("hAMARTANONTAS") in 1st Timothy 5:20. Three quick thoughts:

(1) The tense of the participle (i. e. present) would seem to favour the interpretation that only those elders who are still sinning, or who continue to sin, etc., should be rebuked in public. If it had been the aorist participle, for example, it would have changed the meaning somewhat. (The Spanish Reina-Valera 1960 translation has: "...those who persist in sinning...")

(2) Maybe the word-order is significant, too; with TOUS hAMARTANONTAS coming first, it could be understood that Paul is making it clear WHICH elders should be rebuked in public.

(3) Am I right in thinking that there is a minor textual doubt here?

Andrew J. Birch
Palma de Mallorca, Spain


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