[B-Greek] Greek terms for "bad"
Perry L. Stepp
plstepp at kcu.edu
Mon Jan 30 16:24:15 EST 2006
The description of the assignment reminds me of the idea that in Hebrew
wisdom, "bad" or "evil" are not primarily moral judgments but rather
indications that a person has no interest in Yahweh or things spiritual.
So: "not so the wicked, they are like chaff; . . . the way of the wicked
will perish" (from Ps 1) is primarily aimed at people who have no concern
for God or the things of God, and not primarily at people who act this way
or that.
???
Perry L. Stepp, Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Biblical Studies and Theology
Kentucky Christian University
http://theophiluspunk.typepad.com
One naturally assumes musicians will sound like imbeciles when they talk
about nuclear proliferation, just as politicians sound like rutting musk
oxen when they attempt to commit music. It would be irresponsible and cruel
to judge either group by their avocations.
--Tony Snow
-----Original Message-----
From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Jeffrey B. Gibson
Sent: Monday, January 30, 2006 3:41 PM
To: Biblical Greek
Subject: [B-Greek] Greek terms for "bad"
For reasons somewhat unknown to me, I have been given the assignment to
write the article on "Bad, to be" for the _New Interpreter's Dictionary
of the Bible_. When I asked for clarification on what exactly it was
that the editors wanted me to discuss within this article, I received
the following:
> I would advise you to start with occurrences of "bad"
> from the NRSV concordance and discuss how the term is used while
> listing examples from the text. If there are various Hebrew and Greek
> terms that have been translated as "bad," you could spend time
> explaining the nuances. After a quick glance through, I see that "bad"
> is often paired with "good" in moral sayings, so you might decide to
> treat it rhetorically.
So if I understand the above correctly, I am being asked to write not
just on what the biblical writers thought a **person's** "being bad"
involved, but on what the Greek and Hebrew terms translated with "bad"
signified.
So what are these Greek (and Hebrew) terms? And what do people here
think they convey?
Yours,
Jeffrey
--
Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon)
1500 W. Pratt Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois
e-mail jgibson000 at comcast.net
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