[B-Greek] 2 Tim 2.11-13
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Wed Aug 8 10:30:56 EDT 2007
The following question was submitted by Donald Morris
<baldwinmediacenter at mac.com>. I have slightly reformatted it to
conform to B-Greek usage and shall offer my own response.
Date: August 8, 2007 8:56:08 AM EDT
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: 2 Tim 2.11-13
As a novice of Biblical Greek, I pose the following two questions
based upon 2Tim 2.11-13
2Tim. 2:11 πιστὸς ὁ λόγος
εἰ γὰρ συναπεθάνομεν, καὶ
συζήσομεν·
12 εἰ ὑπομένομεν, καὶ
συμβασιλεύσομεν·
εἰ ἀρνησόμεθα, κἀκεῖνος
ἀρνήσεται ἡμᾶς·
13 εἰ ἀπιστοῦμεν, ἐκεῖνος πιστὸς
μένει,
ἀρνήσασθαι γὰρ ἑαυτὸν οὐ δύναται.
2:11 PISTOS hO LOGOS:
EI GAR SUNAPEQANOMEN, KAI SUZHSOMEN;
12 EI hUPOMENOMEN, KAI SUMBASILEUSOMEN;
EI ARNHSOMEQA, KA'KEINOS ARNHSETAI hHMAS;
13 EI APISTOUMEN, EKEINOS PISTOS MENEI
ARNHSASQAI GAR hEAUTON OU DUNATAI.
I have been told and have read that this portion of scripture is
actually an early hymn.
Question 1: What in the Greek identifies it as a hymn? How do we know?
I see the Greek as (verse 11 only)
PISTOS hO LOGOS: EI GAR SUNAPEQANOMEN, KAI SUZHSOMEN ...
I read this as:
This is a faithful teaching: for if together we die, then together
we live
--------
CWC response:
Actually it should be "This formula (LOGOS) is one to be trusted:
"If, after all, we've died together (with Him), we shall also live
together (with Him) ... " PISTOS is the predicate, hO LOGOS the
subject of the clause.
I've cited the whole of the section above because it must be seen
and understood as a whole. In both UBS4 and NA27 the text of these
verses is printed as a hymn; the introduction (PISTOS hO LOGOS)
indicates that it is the LOGOS which follows that should be
considered PISTOS.
So: the introduction points to the whole sequence (EI GAR
SUNAPEQANOMEN ... OU DUNATAI) as a LOGOS which is PISTOS. The
structure of this sequence is clearly parallel, with successive EI
clauses answered by future indicative responses preceded by KAI.
In my judgment, then, without looking at further commentary, the
structure of the text itself reveals a hymnic formulation -- and one
might also see that in the omission of the clearly implicit SUN AUTWi
in 11b.
----------
Question 2: Where does the "Him" come from in these verses?
This would seem at first glance as a statement of "all for one, one
for all" rather than a fellowship with Christ's suffering and death.
-------
CWC response: It seems to me that such a first glance would ignore
the context altogether, particularly verses 8-10 that immediately
precede the text in question: the talk is of endurance in suffering
and of expectation of gaining SWTHRIAS THS IN CRISTWi IHSOU. And
then, the SUN- prefix of SUNAPEQANOMEN and SUZHSOMEN clearly implies
that there is one WITH WHOM one has shared death and will share life.
---------
Can anyone enlighten me?
Thanks,
Don Morris
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