[B-Greek] Luke 24: 49; Acts 2: 33; Acts 2: 38

Larry K. Henry lkhenry at dtccom.net
Thu Feb 22 19:48:18 EST 2007


Greetings,

 

In reading Luke 24: 49; Acts 2: 33 and Acts 2: 38, I was struck with the
fact that "promise" and "gift" are noun feminine in form.  I have been
struggling with the significance of this grammatical structure and how it
influences the interpretation of these passages.  If the Spirit is the
object of the promise in Luke 24: 49 and Acts 2: 33, I would expect these
nouns to be masculine or neuter in gender if the Spirit is the intended
"promise" or "gift."  Since these nouns are feminine, is something other
than the Spirit the object of the promise?  Could the object of the
"promise" be the Abrahamic promise discussed so often in the book of Luke?

 

The correct translation of gender nouns can determine how a translation
reads.  Compare, for example Acts 2: 33 in KJV, NKJV, ASV, NASV with NIV or
ISV, NLT, CEV.

 

Feminine nouns are used in other passages we are already familiar with, so
we should not be surprised at the presence of feminine nouns in scripture.
For example, we are familiar with the feminine nouns in Matthew 16: 18,
"...petra oikodomhsw mou thn ekklhsian...."  Both "rock" and "church" are
noun feminine.  

 

Why do some cultures make some nouns to possess gender when they do not
specifically refer to a male or female, i.e. gift, promise, rock, church
(Luke 24: 24: Acts 2: 33, 38; Matthew 16: 16).  Do these gender references
influence the interpretation of the passage where they are found?  Could it
be that certain words are intended to reflect actions or duties normally
associated with specific genders, i.e. women?  For example, "rock" could be
seen as something born of the earth and "church" is intended to be the
"bride" of Christ, both of which would be feminine actions.  Are nouns made
to be feminine when there is an implied action that is customarily feminine
in nature, i.e. the birth of an idea; the birth of an action; the birth of a
nation.  This thinking would make "promise" an action "born" or "gift" an
action "born."  Is this a correct thinking?

 

In His Service,

 

-Larry K. Henry

http://www.smithvillechurch.org <http://www.smithvillechurch.org/> 

 




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