[B-Greek] Col. 2:11 Going beyond grammar?
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Sat Aug 15 03:12:18 EDT 2009
----- Original Message -----
From: "Yancy W Smith" <yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net>
To: "greek B-Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 15. august 2009 00:53
Subject: [B-Greek] Col. 2:11 Going beyond grammar?
> However, it is not at all clear how, on this reading, how "APEKDUSEI
> TOU SWMATOS THS SARKOS" refers to the believer's circumcision at all.
> Rather, the verse appears to refer to two metaphorical circumcisions:
> that of Christ and that of believers and this phrase refers to the
> first non literal "circumcision," i. e., the death and resurrection of
> Christ himself in which his weak, human body was violently "stripped
> off" and he was reclothed with spiritual power, with a tranformed
> body. The implication of such a total transformation contrasts
> unfavorably with the partial, bit of flesh removed in literal
> circumcision. That this is accomplished "in union with Christ" and not
> performed by Christ makes sense of the connection with baptism in the
> succeeding verse. In this case the image of Christ is similar to what
> Paul describes as "a live giving Spirit" in Romans. So, "in union with
> Christ" here makes much more sense of the phrase, an classic instance
> of Paul's Christ mysticism. The translation as given in the NLT is a
> midrashic transformation with very little connection to what the text
> actually says. Unfortunately, it goes so far beyond grammar that it
> invents an intrusive image of Christ like a Rabbi (?) performing
> circumcisions. How does that fit in with the imagery of death, burial
> and resurrection?
This is a very unusual exegesis of APEKDUSEI TOU SWMATOS THS SARKOS, different
from anything I have ever heard or seen. Without arguments you cannot expect us
to accept such a novel idea as correct.
I agree that there is a close connection to baptism through the imagery of
death, burial and resurrection as in Romans 6 and verse 12. I won't go into the
relationship between regeneration and baptism in Paul's thought.
You seem to take the genitive in EN THi PERITOMHi TOU CRISTOU as an objective
genitive as if it Christ who was undergoing a metaphorical circumcision. I can
find no support for such an idea either here or in the NT as a whole. You also
object to a subjective genitive. Of course, we do agree that the circumcision of
the believer is metaphorical and therefore has several strands of meaning. One
is the change from a spiritually "uncircumcised state" described by sin and
death to a state of forgiveness and life in v. 13. Another is the change of
state from being outside the people of God to being inside the people of God
just as the literal circumcision was a sign of the inclusion in God's people of
the old covenant.
APEKDUSIS is an uncommon word, but it is clearly related to the verb APEKDUOMAI
in Col 3:9 where the context is the same, talking about removing/stripping off
the old "person" and putting on the new "person". This refers to a believer, not
to Christ.
Iver Larsen
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list