[B-Greek] Luke 2:11 and Cristoj
Kenneth Litwak
javajedi2 at yahoo.com
Wed Aug 20 01:58:54 EDT 2008
In Luke 2:11, we read SWTHR (OS ESTIN CRISTOS KURIOS. BDAG says that cristos is an adjective in some texts, including the LXX, but only a noun "in our lit." (which makes me wonder what literature is encompassed by "our" but I digress). I am wondering about how this should be translated. Is there any established principle in Greek grammar that would lead one to try to take cristos as a noun or an adjective? Would it be customary to see two titles in a row like this, Messiah Lord, wiht no articles? I know that a noun can be definite without an article in Greek but I don't see a reason that this could not be "a savior who is the Messiah, the Lord" o "a savior who is the anointed Lord" among other choices. What rule would lead to the typical translation, "Christ the Lord," leaving aside the issue that no first-century person would have understood Cristos as "Christ." Thanks.
Ken Litwak
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