[B-Greek] Heb 5:8 KAIPER etc

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Sep 11 16:06:54 EDT 2006


On Sep 11, 2006, at 3:46 PM, Craig J wrote:

> Heb 5:8
> KAIPER WN hUIOS EMAQEN AF hWN EPAQEN THN hUPAKOHN
>
> In most translations I've looked at, this has the sense of "despite  
> being a
> son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered".
>
> I am wondering if it could instead be translated like this:  
> "nevertheless,
> being a son, he learned obedience from the things he suffered".  Or
> "nevertheless, since he was a son, he learned obedience from the  
> things he
> suffered". What do y'all think? Is that reasonable?
>
> IOW the contrast is not the surprise that he should suffer even  
> though he is
> a son, but rather that as well as being a priest, he is also a son  
> and so
> suffering had a positive result, in learning obedience, just as  
> usually
> happens with sons. Cf. Heb 12:5-11 where sons are chastened and  
> suffer for
> their benefit at the hands of a loving father. Given the context in  
> Hebrews
> of the prospect of suffering for Christ, 5:9 may also be alluding  
> to Christ
> as a son being a pattern of obedience through suffering.

That seems problematic to me; ever since Homer KAIPER as a heightened
form of the enclitic particle -PER has a concessive semantic force.  
All 5
instances of KAIPER in the GNT are with participles. I think then  
that this
KAIPER in Heb 5:8 must also be taken with the participial phrase WN
hUIOS rather than with EMAQEN; you can't understand the participial
phrase as simply circumstantial.


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/





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