[B-Greek] Two men in one bed?

Iver Larsen iver at larsen.dk
Fri Jul 21 03:51:58 EDT 2006


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Fridolin Janzen" <fjanzen at gmx.net>

> Luke 17:34 says that two men shall be in one "bed" (KLINE). Could "O" (masculine) also refer to a woman?
> Since the meals were taken at a "KLINE", should this word not be translated as "couch" or a synonym, in
> order for people to understand the text properly? I used the word "divã" in my translation.
> Do you think I am on the right track?

> Pastor Fridolin Janzen

No, I don't think you are on the right track.

Why did you make the assumption that two men are being talked about? No English version is saying that, so it may be a 
Portuguese one?
The closest is KJV which says  "in that night there shall be two [men] in one bed" indicating that the word "men" is 
supplied, but "men" in those days meant people, not men.

The Greek says:
Lk 17:34 LEGW hUMIN, TAUTHi THi NUKTI ESONTAI DUO EPI KLINHS MIAS, [hO]
hEIS PARALHMFQHSETAI KAI hO hETEROS AFEQHSETAI

Since there is no noun connected to DUO, the implied noun must be ANQRWPOI (people). When a noun is to be supplied, it 
must come from the preceding context (not applicable here) or the most generic noun is to be chosen. ANQRWPOI (people) 
is more generic than ANDRES (men).

Both hO and hEIS are masculine, because they refer to the implied ANQRWPOS. The same applies to hO hETEROS. The text is 
not difficult and the hO is optional, just like in English you could say "One will be taken" or "The one will be taken". 
The presence of the article seems to add an emphasis on the contrast between the two people. "The one person" will be 
taken, "the other person" will be left.

The text does not tell us whether it refers to two men or a man and a woman. It is just two people. Therefore, the 
correct translation is "two people" like almost every English version says.

I am not sure of the specific challenges in Portuguese. If you don't distinguish between "men" and "people" as in old 
English, the translation may be more ambiguous than the original Greek is, and therefore lead to potentially wrong 
assumptions by the readers.

Also, it is unlikely to talk about lying down for dinner. Nowhere in the NT is KLINH used as a place to be reclining on 
for dinner. The verbs used for reclining for a meal are ANAKLINW, KATAKLINW, ANAPIPTW, KATAKEIMAI, (SUN)ANAKEIMAI.

Iver Larsen 




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