[B-Greek] Is PALIN in Heb 1:6 ambiguous?

Kimmo Huovila kimmo.huovila at helsinki.fi
Mon Dec 11 07:45:17 EST 2006


Heb. 1:6
hOTAN DE PALIN EISAGAGHi TON PRWTOTOKON EIS THN OIKOUMENEN, LEGEI;

It seems that many commentators and translators consider that PALIN in Heb 1:6 
is ambiguous and could be used either to indicate that there is one more 
quotation to the series or to mark the coming specifically not the first 
coming. Is this supposed ambiguity real? The word order places PALIN within 
the subordinate clause (hOTAN DE PALIN, not PALIN DE hOTAN). Does this allow 
PALIN to be taken as a sentence connector instead of an adverbial to 
EISAGAGHi? Are there any parallels where PALIN refers to the whole sentence, 
but is placed within a subordinate clause? Or does the phrase refer 
unambiguously to the second (or not first) coming of the firstborn?

Kimmo Huovila



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