[B-Greek] GENNAW
Mike Sangrey
MSangrey at BlueFeltHat.org
Fri May 27 12:43:34 EDT 2005
On Fri, 2005-05-27 at 08:52 -0700, william zeitler wrote:
> On Friday 27 May 2005 07:37 am, George F Somsel wrote:
> > _____________________
> >
> > Perhaps it has something to do with Nicodemus' question in v. 4?
> >
> > LEGEI PROS AUTON [hO] NIKODHMOS, PWS DUNATAI ANQRWPOS GENNHQHNAI GERWN
> > WN?
> > *** MH DUNATAI EIS KOILIAN THS MHTROS AUTOU DEUTERON EISELQEIN KAI
> > GENNHQHNAI? ***
> >
> > george
> > gfsomsel
> > ___________
>
> It just occured to me:
>
> The problem with relying on Nicodemus' question in v.4 is that I'm guessing
> we're interested in what JESUS understood his statements to mean, not what
> Nicodemus MISUNDERSTOOD Jesus' statements to mean.
>
> In v.10 Jesus makes it clear that Nicodemus simply wasn't 'getting it':
>
> SU EI O DIDASKALOS TOU ISRAHL KAI TAUTA OU KNOSKEIS;
>
> Which makes me reluctant to rely on Nicodemus' "clue-free question(s)" as the
> basis for understanding of Jesus' entire narrative in this chapter.
Ahhhhh...but Nicodemus' misunderstanding gives US clues regarding the
meaning of the Greek words in their context. And this context needs to
be thought of as "the original socio-linguistic environment" and not
just constrained to the text as we have it before us. In other words,
the use of the words in that context is sufficiently ambiguous to the
original language group so that it generates two meanings: the one
Jesus meant and the one Nicodemus understood. If we want to get AT the
Greek, we have to fully engage BOTH meanings. What this ends up doing,
thankfully, is sharpening OUR understanding of what the original words
really meant.
--
Mike Sangrey
msangrey AT BlueFeltHat.org
Landisburg, Pa.
"The first one last wins."
"A net of highly cohesive details reveals the truth."
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