[B-Greek] Reference of the demonstrative in 2 Pet. 1:4

Yancy Smith yancywsmith at yahoo.com
Tue May 1 17:41:16 EDT 2007


Webb,
    Other than old the saw that the antecedent is either the most prominent or the most recently mentioned matter (both of which can lead to ambiguity such as in the present case), I am unaware of any iron clad rule. In this case, of course, gender marking is of no help: the feminine and neuter endings are not differentiated. 
    Most interpreters including AB (Bo Reicke), Exposistor's GT (Strachan), Hb (Hiebert), HNTC (J.N.D. Kelly) , ICC (Bigg) , NTC (Kistemacker), TG (Bratcher), TH (Arichea) , WBC (Baucham) ; NET Bible, NLT, REB, TEV, TNT assume that the antecedent is TA EPANGELMATA.
    The minority opinion, on the other hand, of Lenski and the TNTC (M. Green) takes TOUTWN as a resuming reference to DI hWN, which in turn refers probably to IDIAi DOXHi KAI ARETHi.
    Since 2 Peter had a rocky entry into the canon, commentaries on 2 Peter do not show up early. But scattered comments and allusions are not rare. Origen, In Rufinus' Latin translation of the Peri Archon, may have assumed IDIAi DOXHi KAI ARETHi as the antecedent. He urges believers to follow the example of Christ, so that 'by this means we may as far as is possible become, through our imitation of him, partakers of the divine nature' (ut si forte per hoc in quantum fieri potest per imitationem eius participes efficiamur divinae naturae.) 2Pet 1:4 became controversial text in Christological discussion as well as a foundational text in "eastern" soteriology. The western "Hippolytus" of Rome (author of the Refutatio) seems to understand this text in the same vein as Origen (or vice-versa) (if 2 Pet 1:4 lies behind the closing words of book 10.30 (TLG 33), "For Christ is God above all (cf Rom 9:5), and He has arranged to wash away sin from human beings,  rendering regenerate
 the old man. And God called man His 'image' from the beginning, and has evinced in a 'likeness' His love towards you. And provided you obey His solemn injunctions, and become a faithful follower of Him who is good, you will resemble Him, inasmuch as you will have honor (TIMHQEIS) conferred upon you by Him. For the Deity, (by condescension,) does not diminish aught of the divinity of His divine  perfection; he will make you God as well unto His glory (KAI SE QEON POIHSEI EIS DOXAN AUTOU)! 

An excellent discussion of 2 Pet 1:4 text in the later patristic tradition can be found in Norman Russell "Partakers of the Divine Nature" (2 Peter 1:4) in the Byzantine Tradition http://www.myriobiblos.gr/texts/english/Russell_partakers.html#6_top

Yancy W. Smith
Brite Divinity School
World Bible Translation Center

Webb  <webb at selftest.net> wrote: 3 hWS PANTA hHMIN THS QEIAS DUNAMEWS AUTOU TA PROS ZWHN KAI EUSEBEIAN
DEDWRHMENHS 
DIA THS EPIGNWSEWS TOU KALESANTOS hHMAS IDIAi DOXHi KAI ARETHi 
4 DI hWN TA TIMIA KAI MEGISTA hHMIN EPAGGELMATA DEDWRHTAI 
hINA DIA TOUTWN GENHSQE QEIAS KOINWNOI FUSEWS (2 Pet. 1:3-4)

My question is, is it dictated by the principles of Greek grammar that the
TOUTWN in the last line of v. 4 should be understood as referring to TA
EPAGGELMATA ("the promises"), and not further back to Christ's DOXH KAI
ARETH (glory and virtue/goodness")? 

Webb Mealy

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Yancy and Lanette Smith
5636 Wedgworth Rd.
Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-361-7565  (home) 

Yancy and Lanette Smith
5636 Wedgworth Rd.
Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-361-7565  (home) 



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