[B-Greek] 2 Cor 6:7 right hand weapon

Iver Larsen iver at larsen.dk
Sun Feb 26 10:54:52 EST 2006


In 2 Cor 7, Paul is describing his attitude and behavior when confronted with attacks and when going through other
hardships.
In v. 7 we read:

DIA TWN hOPLWN THS DIKAIOSUNHS TWN DEXIWN KAI ARISTERWN
through the instruments of righteousness (or righteous equipment/armor) of the right (hands) and left (hands)

I have not been able to find a parallel for this in the GNT or the LXX.
In Ezk 39:3 the bow is held in the left hand and the arrows in the right hand, but I doubt that this is what Paul has in
mind.

Is there any parallel from other contemporary Greek literature?

I assume that what is held in the left hand is a shield and what is held in the right hand is a sword. Is that supported
by other evidence?
Comparing this with Ef 6:16-17, the shield could be the shield of faith and the sword the word of God.

What bothers me is the assumption that the right hand instrument is considered to be for offense or attack, whereas it
seems better in the context of this passage, of Paul and of the whole NT to talk about the sword used as a defensive
weapon to ward off any sword blows from the enemy. This is how Jesus used the word of God in his defense against Satan
in Matt 4. It was Satan who attacked by using the word of God, but Jesus only defended himself and warded off the attack
by the same means, the word of God. He did not strike back.

BAGD says:
"weapons used w. the right hand, and those used w. the left=weapons for offense and defense (cf. Plut, Mor. 201d;
Polyaenus 8, 16, 4 ARISTERA and DEXIA of weapons for defense and offense) 2 Cor 6:7"

Do the references mentioned clearly refer to an offensive attack or just to a sword being used?

A sword can in theory be used for either attack or defense, so why is it assumed to be an offense weapon here?

The translation of hOPLON as "weapon" can be misleading, because the word is broader and means an instrument or tool or
some kind of equipment. The word "weapon" normally connotates an attack unless qualified.

KJV: by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left.

JBP: Our sole defence, our only weapon, is a life of integrity

NCV: We use our right living to defend ourselves against everything.

If we look at the PANOPLION (whole armor) in Eph 6, the attack weapons like spears, arrows and stones are conspicuously
absent which would suggest that this whole armor is for protection rather than attack.

Can the interpretation of an offensive attack weapon be defended for the right hand of 2 Cor 6:7?

Iver Larsen






More information about the B-Greek mailing list