[B-Greek] Rom 14:21 aorist infinitives

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Wed Jun 13 07:34:45 EDT 2007


On Jun 12, 2007, at 9:45 PM, Scott Wells wrote:

> KALON TO MH FAGEIN KREA MHDE PIEIN OINON MHDE EN hWi hO ADELFOS SOU
> PROSKOPTEI.
>
> BDF 338(1) [note] remarks regarding this verse "Also in Rom  
> 14:21.the aorist
> is to be taken strictly: 'it is good not to eat meat for once (in a  
> specific
> instance) if it might cause offence'; it is not a question of  
> continuous
> abstinence."  Yet Schreiner (BECNT, 729, n.7) says it is to "read  
> too much
> into the aorist infinitives.in suggesting that abstention from meat  
> and wine
> is required only in particular situations."
>
> Possibly someone could help me understand which view is more accurate?
>
> Scott Wells

I guess it's a matter of how one interprets EN hWi hO ADELFOS SOU  
PROSKOPTEI: is it understood as an equivalent of hOS AN PROSKOPTHi or  
EAN PROSKOPTHi? That is, does it refer to any potential occasion  
where eating meat or drinking wine might bring about a crisis of  
conscience in another believer? If so, then these aorist infinitives  
(FAGEIN and PIEIN) might be seen as abstentions on hypothetical   
occasions rather than as patterns of behavior to observe at all  
times. For myself I have to say that I'm inclined to read it that  
way, and to think that permanent abstention might more likely be  
indicated by TO MH ESQIEIN MHDE PINEIN OINON. It certainly seems to  
me that the relative clause sets a conditional factor governing  
whether or not abstinence "is a good thing."


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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