[B-Greek] The meaning of "theopneustos" in 2 Timothy 3:16
Leonard Jayawardena
leonardj at sltnet.lk
Thu Jul 27 04:21:46 EDT 2006
Message: 22
Date: Tue, 25 Jul 2006 07:25:12 -0400
From: "Barry" <nebarry at verizon.net>
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] The meaning of "theopneustos" in 2 Timothy 3:16
To: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
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> From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
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> On Behalf Of Leonard Jayawardena
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> Subject: [B-Greek] The meaning of "theopneustos" in 2 Timothy 3:16
> Importance: High
> Therefore "breathing the breath of God" means to speak or declare the word
of
> God. Paul says in vs.15, "...from childhood you [Timothy] have been
acquainted
> with the sacred writings [OT] which are able to instruct you for salvation
through
> faith in Christ Jesus." I think what Paul probably means is "Every
scripture which
> declares the word of God is profitable, just as the Old Testament is, for
doctrine,
> reproof, etc." On this interpretation "every scripture" refers to
scripture other
> than the Old Testament which is equally "God-breathing" and profitable
with the
> Old Testament. The Scriptures are "God-breathing" by virtue of the fact
that they
> contain the word of God and so declare it. By "word of God" I mean any
message
> in the Scriptures which has God as the ultimate source, e.g. the ten
> commandments, the prophecies of Daniel, the Christian gospel, but not, for
> example, pure historical narratives of the OT.
>
> Is it possible to understand "theopneustos" in this way, i.e. "speaking or
declaring
> the word of God"?
Probably not.
1) QEOPNEUSTOS -- the -TOS ending is a passive morpheme (cf. BDF 65.3, 112),
so your translation of it as active won't work.
2) You translate it as an attributive rather than a predicate, which the
syntax will not allow.
3) I think the considerations above preclude your interpretation, but
another aspect is the extent of PASA GRAFH. What did that mean for the
writer of the epistle? In general, the NT authors quote nearly the complete
range of the canonical OT as authoritative, which would suggest that for
this writer at least that collection would be considered as included in
PASA.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter
Adjunct Faculty & IT Support
The Center for Urban Theological Studies
http://www.cuts.edu
Classics Instructor, The American Academy
http://www.theamericanacademy.net
1. According to two articles I have read, Professor Hermann Cremer, though advocating a passive sense for QEOPNEUSTOS at first, in later stages had argued for an active meaning for it ("Biblico-Theological Lexicon of NT Greek," 4th edition). He had understood the word as meaning "breathing the Spirit of God" or "spirit-filled." If the full article of Prof. Cremer is available on the Web, I would greatly appreciate a link to it as unfortunately I don't have access to his "Lexicon." I would greatly benefit from a discussion among the list members on how the Professor defended an active meaning for QEOPNEUSTOS (i.e. "God-breathing" rather than "God-breathed"). As my knowledge of Greek is rather basic, I would find it helpful if such a discussion began with a detailed explanation of how QEOPNEUSTOS is derived from QEOS and PNEO.
2. The American Standard Version and the New English Bible take QEOPNEUSTOS as an attributive adjective.
3. In my first post I wrote what I think Paul probably meant in 2 Timothy 3:16-17: "Every God-breathing scripture is profitable, just as the Old Testament is, for doctrine, reproof, etc." On this interpretation, it is implied that the OT is "God-breathing," which I understand, with Professor Cremer, as meaning "breathing the spirit of God." On the strength of Psalm 33:6 and other passages, I equate "the spirit of God" with the word of God, which results in the construction I have placed on QEOPNEUSTOS: "speaking or declaring the word of God."
Leonard Jayawardena
Colombo, Sri Lanka
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