[B-Greek] Ephesians 1:3-4

Joe Hightower boeinguy2 at yahoo.com
Fri Jul 28 12:47:05 EDT 2006


I am wrestling with an issue involving the word kathos (KAQWS for those who use the B-Greek system). There are several definitions for this including 'just as', according to' or 'basis', which can be applied. Wallace describes the use as either showing correlation or cause. BAGD uses this as an example of cause. 

Given these definitions, the idea of election is related to the idea of blessing as: 

1) we are blessed in the same way that we are chosen 
2) we are blessed based on the fact that we are chosen 
3) we are blessed based according to the fact that we are chosen 

Now for the issue. Several commentators (Hoehner, O'Brien, Hendrikson, and Bob Diffenbaugh's write up at Bible .org) take the election to be not just related to the blessing but one of the blessings. Two commentators (Salmond and Martin-Lloyd Jones) take the idea to be the basis of the blessing, making the blessings undefined in this passage. 

I am stumped. It seems that the 'plain reading' makes the blessing dependent on the election, but to be undefined in this context. How do those who take the other position justify seeing both cause of and definition of in the same phrase? 

Help Please!
 
Joe Hightower


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