[B-Greek] Heb. 1.7: PNEUMATA-FLOGA

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Feb 5 07:42:06 EST 2007


On Feb 5, 2007, at 2:42 AM, Tavi Baban wrote:

>
> Dear list members,
>
> I would like to consult you on translating Hebrews 1.7:
>
> KAI PROS MEN TOUS AGGELOUS LEGEI,
> O POION TOUS AGGELOUS AUTOU PNEUMATA
	(hO POIWN ...  {we indicate rough breathng and distinguish omega  
from omicron thus})
> KAI TOUS LEITOURGOUS AUTOU PUROS FLOGA
>
> Do you think that PNEUMATA here should be translated with "spirits"  
> or with "winds", due to the paralelism with PUROS FLOGA at the end  
> of the verse?
>
> I.e., the author had in mind to emphasize the fact that God is  
> making angels and servants out of winds and, respectively, fire  
> flames, or that he, God, is exercizing a creator-to-creature  
> authority over angels, turning them into winds or into fire, when  
> needed, or that he is making the angels so that they might be  
> either spirits or elements of nature, like fire, whilst the son of  
> God, is described in different terms, as an eternal, everlasting  
> ruler (vs. 8)?

I think that PNEUMATA here should be understood to refer to winds,  
rather than spirits (of course, translation will reflect how we  
understand the Greek, but our primary focus is on how the Greek is to  
be understood rather than on how to translate it).


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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