[B-Greek] KOSMOS
Webb
webb at selftest.net
Wed Sep 6 18:42:22 EDT 2006
My Webster's Unabridged gives as synonyms of "gloss" as a verb, "explain",
"interpret". The first definition of "gloss" as a noun is "an explanation or
translation, by means of a marginal or interlinear note, of a technical or
unusual expression in a manuscript text".
So when I, in my own writing, use a technical term that I suspect some in my
readership might not understand, I may gloss (interpret) it for my readers.
You can see a gloss in that looser sense in the previous sentence. I suppose
that's about how most scholars use the word (not just biblical scholars,
btw) when talking about what modern writers do with word processors, as
opposed to what ancient translators or copyists did with mss. If they say
that such-and-such a copyist glossed a word in a New Testament manuscript,
they mean it in the narrow sense that Webster has. They mean that the person
put a physical explanatory note above the word, in the margin, or wherever
it would fit.
Webb Mealy
-----Original Message-----
From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of William Ross
Sent: Wednesday, September 06, 2006 12:04 PM
To: B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] KOSMOS
Sparked by your comments, I decided to see what the dictionary had to
say about what a "gloss" was. It appears that I did not really
understand it at all. It seems to me that I have heard the word used
to refer to "a word or phrase that maps pretty well to an origin
word." In reality, according to the dictionary definition below, it
seems, a "gloss" is an "explanation of a meaning" and what we are
seeking is a word to "stand in the place of a gloss." Is this how the
word is used in NT translation jargon? Or does is the translation word
also considered a "gloss" in this jargon?
http://m-w.com/dictionary/gloss
Thanks,
William Ross
VGB, Argentina
On 9/1/06, cwestf5155 at aol.com <cwestf5155 at aol.com> wrote:
>
> William,
>
> There is some good stuff out and lexicography and theory that could shed
> some light on this thread, including the introduction to L&N. But a good
> book has come out recently by J.A.L. Lee called "A History of NT
> Lexicography" (2003).
>
> Your comments seem to reflect a good understanding of "meaning/definition"
> and "gloss".
>
> But allow me to set the table with just a few things off the top of my
head:
> 1. There can be multiple definitions of a word: an economic clear and
> succint statement of the area of meaning covered by a word. According to
> Lee, it usually involves one or more phrases that could/should be
> interchangeable with a gloss--I'm thinking about that one.
> 2. There can be multiple glosses of a word for any given
definition--maybe
> "habitat" could be a good gloss for KOSMOS in some contexts.
>
> However, I therefore would qualify "one one would be hard pressed to find
a
> more suitable gloss for KOSMOS than "world". The most suitable gloss
> depends on the context, and words have no meaning apart from context. Lee
> talks about one of the major problems with traditional NT lexicography
(and
> Biblical studies) is the focus on a particular gloss (and consequent
> arguments), even when translation is not an issue.
>
> An additional comment from linguistics and relevance theory: John and any
> other writer can take a word and use it in a special way, give it a
special
> definition or refine its meaning, which is "constraint". Any time an
author
> uses a word repeatedly, the meaning of the word is interpreted both in the
> context of its previous occurrences and in its current context--so it
> doesn't have to have the same meaning every time if there are clear
signals
> otherwise in the close context.
>
> So lexical theory does not support the theory that words have their own
> theology in NT study (a kind of scary assumption behind some of our best
> works that contain word studies), but does recognize the authors such as
> John "play" with words.
>
> Cindy Westfall
> Assistant Professor
> McMaster Divinity College
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: woundedegomusic at gmail.com
> To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> Sent: Fri, 1 Sep 2006 7:21 AM
> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] KOSMOS
>
>
> I didn't mean to suggest that "habitat" was "the meaning" of KOSMOS, or
> even
that it would make a suitable gloss. I just said that they had a lot
> in
common. I do note that BDAG 5b bears this out:
b. the world as the
> habitation of humanity
7a seems to relate to my idea of a "stage":
a. as
> scene of earthly joys, possessions, cares, sufferings
I think we would, as
> you say, be hard pressed to find a more suitable gloss
for KOSMOS than
> "world" but I think that it does not perfectly convey KOSMOS
and it has been
> helpful to me to consider those differences.
Thanks to all,
William
> Ross
VGB, Argentina
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl W. Conrad
> [mailto:cwconrad2 at mac.com]
Sent: Friday, September 01, 2006 9:17 AM
To:
> Wounded Ego
Cc: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] KOSMOS
I
> honestly don't think "habitat" will do. While it is true
that KOSMOS does
> in some instances correlate to "world" as
the inhabited world, the standard
> ancient Greek term for
"the inhabited world" is OIKOUMENH (e.g. Lk 2:1, for
> which see
BDAG. That word is used 15x in the GNT. The sense of KOMOS, on
>
the other hand, does correspond in its breadth of idiomatic usage
to
> "world" in English, "monde" in French. As with many other Greek
words used
> in the NT, it is appropriate to convey its sense as
it appears in its
> context. Where it refers to "people generally"
or "humanity" then it might
> be preferable to use one of those
words/phrases as a gloss for KOSMOS in a
> specific passage. I think,
however, that "world" is a standard English gloss
> for KOSMOS in
Bible versions in English is that "world" covers much the
> same
RANGE of denotations and connotations as the Biblical Greek
> word
KOSMOS.
There have occasionally been discussions about the
> inadequacies of
BDAG or L&N with regard to treatment of a particular word,
> but I
don't see the word KOSMOS as a word mishandled by them.
E.g., here's
> BDAG's entry on KOSMOS -- just a listing of headings
and sub-headings,
> without the examples cited for each usage:
KOSMOS, OU, hO (Hom.+)
1. that
> which serves to beautify through decoration, adornment, adorning
2.
> condition of orderliness, orderly arrangement, order
3. the sum total of
> everything here and now, the world, the (orderly)
universe, in philosophical
> usage
4. the sum total of all beings above the level of the animals, the
> world
5. planet earth as a place of inhabitation, the world
a. generally
> b. the world as the habitation of humanity
c. earth, world in contrast to
> heaven
6. humanity in general, the world
a. generally
b. of all humanity,
> but especially of believers, as the object of
God?s love
7. the system of
> human existence in its many aspects, the world
a. as scene of earthly joys,
> possessions, cares, sufferings
b. the world, and everything that belongs to
> it, appears as that
which is hostile to God, i.e. lost in sin, wholly at
> odds w. anything
divine, ruined and depraved
8. collective aspect of an
> entity, totality, sum total
On Friday, September 01, 2006, at 07:52AM,
> William Ross
<woundedegomusic at gmail.com> wrote:
>I think KOSMOS has a lot
> in common with the word "habitat." I am beginning
>to get some images in my
> head, such as an aquarium. If fish in an aquarium
>used the word KOSMOS then
> they would never be referring to the tank itself
>(which was their
> "Universe") because they had no conception of that.
Rather,
>they would
> think of the picture on the back of the tank (their "sky") and
>the
> arrangement of coral and the treasure chest and rocks, along with the
>fish
> in the habitat. If, someone were to remove the picture from the back
>and
> destroy the treasure chest and such and kill the fish, then the world
>would
> be no more because the order was destroyed. If there were a new
>pictu e and
> the treasure chest was remade as a pier, then that would be a
>new world.
> Also, if a fish were first removed from the tank in a plastic
bag
>full of
> water, then replaced after the renewal, then he would live in a new
>world -
> even though he is once again in the same tank, with largely the
same
>props.
> This is because it is a different habitat - a different life system.
>
>We
> see just this thing in 2 Peter 3:6
>
>4 And saying, Where is the promise of
> his coming? for since the fathers
>fell asleep, all things continue as they
> were from the beginning of the
>creation.
>5 For this they willingly are
> ignorant of, that by the word of God the
>heavens were of old, and the earth
> standing out of the water and in the
>water:
>6 Whereby the world [KOSMOS]
> that then was, being overflowed with water,
>perished:
>7 But the heavens
> and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept
>in store, reserved
> unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of
>ungodly men.
>
>The
> KOSMOS is also like a theatrical stage set. As Shakespeare said, "All
>the
> world is a stage." One could tear down the set and then create a new
>world.
> Believers are on the stage but not part of the set - not part of
> the
>play.
>
>We also speak of "in my world" or "in his own world." Even in
> English there
>is this sense of arrangement that is different from "humanity
> in general"
>and the anachronistic "universe."
>
>In John and Paul, the
> "habitat" is primarily characterized by the "moral
>climate" and the ones
> who dictate the "rules" of the society.
>
>William Ross
>VGB,
> Argentina
>
>
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From:
> b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
>[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org]
> On Behalf Of Craig J
>Sent: Thursday, August 31, 2006 10:18 PM
>To:
> b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: Re: [B-Greek] KOSMOS
>
>Carlton Winbery
> wrote:
>> John 1:10 seems to me to be three distinct uses of KOSMOS.
>>
>>
> EN TWi KOSMWi HN, KAI hO KOSMOS DI' AUTOU EGENETO, KAI hO KOSMOS
>> AUTON
> OUK EGNW.
>>
>> 1) alludes to him being part of humanity.
>> 2) the
> universe
>> 3) humanity apart from God
>
>I don't think such a strong and
> overly technical distinction is necessary.
A
>straight forward reading could
> make them all the same, as in the following
>slight paraphrase:
>
>"He was
> in the world, and that world was made through him, and that world
>did not
> know him"
>
>I guess KOSMOS would then equate to something like 'the mass of
> humanity'.
>I'm not sure why you have 'humanity' for 1 & 3, but need to
> change it to
>'the universe' for 2 in between..?
>
>--
>Craig
> Johnson
>Brisbane, Australia
>Blog Experiment:
> http://bloggledegook.blogspot.com/
>
>---
>B-Greek home
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>
Carl
> W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989
> Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW:
> http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
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--
William Ross
VGB, Argentina
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