[B-Greek] Would "legitimate" be a better translation of DIKAIOS?

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri May 5 10:45:05 EDT 2006


I'm abbreviating the lengthy original post because I'm really  
responding primarily to George, and the original of Jeff Miller is  
readily accessible in the archives.

I can't buy the sense "legitimate" for DIKAIOS in the GNT; it might  
more readily be argued for usage of the word in Classical Attic, but  
even there I don't think it's really quite right. DIKAIOS EIMI + inf.  
is standard forensic language for "I have a right to x" or "I am  
justified in doing x" -- and the claim is generally explained in what  
follows this assertion. "Legitimate" seems to me to overlap some of  
the senses of DIKAIOS, In terms of legal sanction it seems to me that  
"legitimate" is more appropriate in a context of "sanctioned  
authority" than in a forensic context of justified behavior.

On May 5, 2006, at 9:25 AM, gfsomsel at juno.com wrote:

> No, hAMARTWLOS and DIKAIOS as contrasting pairs shows precisely why  
> I am skeptical regarding a translation of DIKAIOS as "legitimate."   
> As opposed to the hAMARTWLOS the DIKAIOS is pious, i.e. observant  
> of God's law.  This is what the hAMARTWLOS fails to do and which  
> makes him what he is.  It carries the connotation of a moral  
> rightness or a lack thereof.  "Legitimate" is simply "according to  
> the law."  This is what the gospels portray the Pharisees as  
> representing
> <!--StartFragment-->
> 11. hUMEIS DE LEGETE, "EAN EIPHi ANQRWPOS TWi PATRI H THi MHTRI,  
> 'KORBAN, hO ESTI DWRON, hO EAN EC EMOU WFELHQHiS, 12 OUKETI AFIETE  
> AUTON OUDEN POIHSAI TWi PATRI H THi MHTRI,13 AKUROUNTES TON LOGON  
> TOU QEOU THi PARADOSEI hUMWN hHi PAREDWKATE; KAI PAROMOIA TOIAUTA  
> POLLA POIEITE. Just noting v.13 "voiding the word of God by your  
> tradition which you propagate . . ."  Legally right according to  
> the custom depicted as passed on by the Pharisees but contrary  to  
> what is morally correct. george
> gfsomsel
> _________
>
> -- jam at surfing.net wrote:
> Dear list,
> Thank you for your response, both on-list and off.
> Dear Monk James,
> I see that there will be some cross over between NOMIKOS and  
> DIKAIOS, and
> I tend to think of their relationship as being similar to that of the
> English "legal" and "legitimate," as well as their antonyms  
> "illegal" and
> "illegitimate."
>
> Dear George,
> I appreciate your skepticism and inclination.  Perhaps I should say  
> that I
> have found the alternative translation “legitimate” particularly  
> helpful
> in capturing the more subtle aspects of a theme in Luke-Acts.  
> Notice that
> DIKAIOS and AMARTWLOS are important titles or categories in Luke  
> and Acts.
>  They are types of people that, in the cultural language of the  
> day, were
> set in contrast one against the other as in this passage.


Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/





More information about the B-Greek mailing list