[B-Greek] Didache 4:10 TO PNEUMA (Robert Schut)

Harold Holmyard hholmyard3 at earthlink.net
Thu May 31 16:18:47 EDT 2007


Bob Schut wrote:
> Hi Everyone
>
> I am having a little trouble understanding verse 4:10 of the Didache.  The translation that I have was translated by Maxwell Stanforth for "Early Christian Writings", Penguin Books.  My difficulty is with this part of the verse:
>
> OU GAR ERCETAI KATA PROSWPON KALESAI, ALL' EF' hOUS TO PNEUMA hNTOIMASEN.
>
> The book translates this as:
> "(He has not come to call men according to their rank) but those for whom he has prepared the Spirit.
>
> It seems better translated as:
>
> "(He has not come to call men according to their rank) but for those whom the Spirit prepared."
>
> The question is why the translator chose "He" (referring to God) as a pronoun for the subject, when he could have chosen "the Spirit?"  Since TO PNEUMA is neuter it can be either nominative or accussative depending upon the context.  Can someone let me know if this is grammatically correct or if there are circumstances that I am not seeing?
>
>   

HH: I can't say why the translator chose as he did, but you are not 
alone in your view. I have the Loeb Classical Library edition of 
Didache, and the translator, Kirsopp lake, took the verse as follows:

Thou shalt not command in thy bitterness thy slave or thine handmaid, 
who hope in the same God, lest they cease to fear the God who is over 
you both; for he comes not to call men with respect of persons, but 
those whom the Spirit has prepared.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard




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