[B-Greek] Phil 2:17 genitive PISTEWS

Jeffrey B. Gibson jgibson000 at comcast.net
Wed Mar 1 13:12:23 EST 2006



RRedden604 at aol.com wrote:

> Ivers says
>
> NIV talks about the sacrificial service "coming from your faith". If anyone
> can explain to me what that is supposed to
> mean, I'll be grateful.
> Most  versions keep the unclear genitive "sacrifice and service of your
> faith", even  though an English genitive does not
> work here.
> TEV says "an offering on  the sacrifice that your faith offers to God." I
> have no idea what that is  intended to mean.
>
> UBS Handbook seems to grasp the connection and possible meaning of these
> translations.
>
> "The identification of the subject of the offering depends on the analysis
> of the genitive construction "offering of your faith." The ambiguity of this
> construction is reflected in the various translations. It is interpreted by
> some  as "the offering is your faith"; thus JB has "offering—which is your faith"
> (cf.  NEB "that sacrifice which is the offering up of your faith"). Mft
> provides a  variation of this interpretation by identifying the agent as "you,"
> thus "the  sacred sacrifice of faith you are offering to God." These renderings
> regard  "faith" as the thing offered. Another possibility, adopted by TEV, is
> to take  the construction in the sense of "your faith offers something
> (sacrifice). The  context makes it clear that it is not Paul who is offering the
> sacrifice, but  the Philippians. Furthermore, what the Philippians offer is not
> their faith;  rather their new-found faith is the source or the impulse for that
> offering. The  sacrifice which their faith offers is probably their gifts to
> Paul, for these  constitute a sacrifice on their part (cf. Phil 2:30 and
> especially  4:18)"   (UBS Translator Handbook Series)
>

Does regarding/ translating PISTEWS as "faithfulness"  help to solve the problem?

Jeffrey Gibson
--
Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon)
1500 W. Pratt Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois
e-mail jgibson000 at comcast.net





More information about the B-Greek mailing list