[B-Greek] Question about Acts 17:25

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Sat Feb 23 10:32:37 EST 2008


On Feb 23, 2008, at 8:56 AM, Carl Conrad wrote:

>
> On Feb 23, 2008, at 7:38 AM, Chad Bonawitz wrote:
>
>> I am just studying Greek on my own and ran into a question I can't
>> figure
>> out when studying Acts 17:25 where the word therapeuo is translated  
>> as
>> "worshiped" - I noticed that EVERY other place in the N.T. it is
>> translated
>> as "healing", "healed", "heal", "cure", "cured" except for this one
>> place -
>> Why is this? What is the meaning of this translation in this
>> passage? Thank
>> You - Chad
>
> Acts 17:25 οὐδὲ ὑπὸ χειρῶν ἀνθρωπίνων
> θεραπεύεται προσδεόμενός τινος,
> αὐτὸς διδοὺς πᾶσι ζωὴν καὶ πνοὴν
> καὶ τὰ πάντα·
> OUDE hUPO CEIRWN ANQRWPINWN QERAPEUETAI PROSDEOMENOS TINOS, AUTOS
> DIDOUS PASI ZWHN KAI PNOHN KAI TA PANTA;
>
> The word QERAPEUW means essentially "tend to the needs of, be of
> service to, take care of."
> I would question "worshipped" as a translation in Acts 17:25, where
> the sense seems not so much to be votive adoration but rather
> attendance to needs.


By way of clarification, it might be helpful to note that the notion  
that devotees of God or the gods in antiquity thought of piety in  
terms of SERVICE(S) performed by devotees to God or gods. That's  
reflected in Hebraic terms of Israel's AVODAH, of Israel as EVED-IHWH;  
it is reflected in the GNT terms of Paul's self description as DOULOS  
IHSOU CRISTOU.  Cultic burnt offerings on the altar were probably  
originally considered as satisfying the physical needs of God/the gods  
(e.g. "a pleasing fragrance" in the language of Phil 4:18 ὀσμὴν  
εὐωδίας, θυσίαν δεκτήν, εὐάρεστον  
τῷ θεῷ OSMHN EUWDIAS, QUSIAN DEKTHN EUARESTON TWi QEWi). In  
"Euthyrpho," one of the earliest Socratic dialogues of Plato, Socrates  
shows the inadequacy of defining "piety" (εὐσέβεια EUSEBEIA)  
as θεράπεια τῶν θεῶν (QERAPEIA TWN QEWN) for the  
reason that there is nothing that the gods have need of from human  
tendants but rather that they are themselves tendants of humanity.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)






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