[B-Greek] ANTI in Heb. 12:2 = local metaphor?

Calvin Lindstrom pclindstrom at yahoo.com
Tue Jun 5 18:09:09 EDT 2007


I appreciated your question and thoughts. I wrestled with your same  
question about 1 month ago.

Daniel Wallace (p. 368-9) in his Greek grammar notes:

If 'ANTI means because of, then Jesus endured the cross in  
anticipation of the joy (i.e., glory, inheritance?) that would be his  
afterwards. If it means instead of, then Jesus forsook the joy that  
was his (cf. Phil. 2:6-7) that he might bring others into the kingdom  
of God.

In footnote 36 he gives the following references:

Note the following: (1) because of: P. E. Hughes, A Commentary on the  
Epistle to the Hebrews, 523-24; Waltke, “Theological Significations  
of 'Anti and hUPER 1.176-80. (2) instead of: BAGD, s.v. 'ANTI, 1 (p.  
73); Dana-Mantey, 100; Harris, “Prepositions and Theology,” 3.1180;  
Turner, Insights, 172.

Unfortunately I was not able to come up with any firm conclusion.

Calvin Lindstrom
Church of Christian Liberty
Arlington Heights, IL

On Jun 5, 2007, at 3:23 PM, Carl W. Conrad wrote:

>
> On Jun 5, 2007, at 3:56 PM, Webb wrote:
>
>> .IHSOUN, hOS ANTI THS PROKEIMENHS AUTWi CARAS hUPEMEINEN STAURON
>> (Heb. 12:2)
>>
>> I'm not very happy with "For the joy set before him", and the like,
>> because
>> it just doesn't seem to be what ANTI means. On the other hand,
>> "instead of
>> the joy that lay before him" seems peculiar for the author to say.
>> I have to
>> say that what comes to my imagination when I read this sentence is
>> something
>> to the effect that Jesus metaphorically stands on one side of the
>> cross, and
>> his joy lies opposite him on the other side, and to get there he
>> has to
>> cross (sic) the cross. Reading the sentence that way, the
>> implication would
>> be that Jesus, in order to get to the joy that lies on the opposite
>> side of
>> the cross from him, endures the cross.
>>
>> I see that HH made some comments on this verse recently, among
>> which is
>> this:
>>
>> The fact that Jesus is given as the supreme example [of endurance]
>> suggests
>> that he also ran a race with a goal set before him.
>>
>> I wonder if they had steeplechase-like races in the ancient
>> Mediterranean
>> world-in which case maybe the author could be seeing Jesus' joy
>> facing him
>> on the other side of the hazard of the cross in his race.
>>
>>
>>
>> Thoughts, anyone?
>
> I see nothing to fault in understanding ANTI here in sense 4 of the
> BDAG entry: "indicating the reason for someth., because of, for the
> purpose of, ANTI TOUTOU for this reason Eph 5:31. W. attraction of
> the rel.ANQ’ hWN  in return for which=because (Soph., Ant. 1068; X.,
> An. 1, 3, 4; OGI 90, 35 [196 BC]; PLeid D I, 21; LXX; AscIs 2:14;
> Jos., Ant. 17, 201; SibOr 5, 68; B-D-F §294, 4) Lk 1:20; 19:44; Ac
> 12:23; 2 Th 2:10."
>
> 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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