[B-Greek] Construing 1 Peter 3:7 (was "ASQENESTERWi SKEUEI in 1 Peter 3:7")
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Mon Jul 27 21:43:50 EDT 2009
On Jul 27, 2009, at 7:00 PM, Yancy Smith wrote:
> I would like to suggest some further reasons why (1) σκεύει
> τῷ γυναικείῳ SKEUEI TWi GUNAIKEIWi should be construed
> with both συνοικοῦντες SUNOIKOUNTES or
> ἀπονέμοντες APONEMONTES, and (2) that the meaning of
> ὡς ἀσθενεστέρῳ σκεύει τῷ
> γυναικείῳ hWS TWi GUNAIKEIWi, is rhetorically complex,
> indeed subversive. While it has a negative connotation (beyond
> doubt), yet it implies what was understood as a dangerous factor
> communicable to the man, or at least a factor which places the male
> in jeapardy. In this case the "weakness" of the "womanly vessel"
> actually puts the husband in a precarious position before God. If he
> does not give her appropriate honor as a fellow heir of the gift of
> life, God will not hear his prayers.
>
> On (1) there is not a problem with σκεύει τῷ
> γυναικείῳ SKEUEI TWi GUNAIKEIWi fulfilling two different
> dative roles, because the indirect object of ἀπονέμοντες
> is simply a result of ellipsis, which is common enough. Understood
> this way, the problem Harold adduces simply vanishes, as does the
> phrase itself, due to economy of style.
>
> On two, I think that some cultural background can help. This use of
> the GUNAIKEIOS "power or 'virtue'" of a woman as a feature of
> females that place men in danger or disadvantage is found in the
> language of Euripides, representing a feature of Medea, who was a
> prominent theme in Roman domestic wall art (See _Roman domestic art
> and early house churches_ By David L Balch). The visualization of
> Medea brought the tragic figure into the world of the first century,
> even though the texts of Euripides plays were written centuries
> earlier. (The plays continued to be performed and remembered in the
> popular oral culture as well). Medea, a deeply tragic Georgian (from
> Cholchis) sacrifices her ancestral homeland for the man she loves
> only to have that man marry another woman. The motif of the tragic
> female also comes up in the frequent portrayal of Ariadne on Greco-
> Roman walls. But more to the point, GUNAIKEIOS 'virtue,' though of
> the weaker sex, has a liminal, potentially dangerous quality:
>
> Examples:
> Euripides Trag., Fragmenta
> Fragment 502, line 5
> πλοῦτος δ' ἐπακτὸς ἐκ γυναικείων
> γάμων
> ἀνόνητος· αἱ γὰρ διαλύσεις <οὐ>
> ῥᾴδιαι.
> PLOUTOS D' EPAKTOS EK GUNAIKEIWN GAMWN
> ANONHTOS; hAI GAR DIALUSEIS <OU> RAiDIAI.
> Wealth acquired from womanly bonds of matrimony
> Is unprofitable, getting free from them is not easy
>
>
> Euripides Trag., Fragmenta
> Fragment 653, line 1
>
> ὦ παῖδες οἷον φίλτρον ἀνθρώποις
> φρενός
> κοινὸν γὰρ εἶναι χρῆν γυναικεῖον
> λέχος.
> O children! The desire men have is a charm
> For it is common to feel a strong need of the womanly bed.
> (YWS trans.)
> In the case of Medea, the chorus sings the reversal of the common,
> natural order that takes place as she seeks her tragic revenge.
>
> Euripides Trag., Medea
> Line 417
>
> {Chorus}: ἄνω ποταμῶν ἱερῶν χωροῦσι
> παγαί,
> καὶ δίκα καὶ πάντα πάλιν στρέφεται·
> ἀνδράσι μὲν δόλιαι βουλαί, θεῶν δ'
> οὐκέτι πίστις ἄραρεν.
> τὰν δ' ἐμὰν εὔκλειαν ἔχειν βιοτὰν
> στρέψουσι φᾶμαι·
> ἔρχεται τιμὰ γυναικείωι γένει·
> οὐκέτι δυσκέλαδος φάμα γυναῖκας
> ἕξει.
> ANW POTAMWN hIERWN XWROUSI PAGAI,
> KAI DIKA PANTA PALIN STREFETAI;
> ANDRASI MEN DOLIAI BOULAI, QEWN D'
> OUKETI PISTIS ARAREN.
> TAN D'EMAN EUKLEIAN ECEIN BIOTAN STREYOUSI FAMAI;
> ERCETAI TIMA GUNAIKEIWN GENEI;
> OUKETI DUSKELADOS FAMA GUNAIKAS hEXEI.
> The waters in the sacred rivers
> are flowing in reverse.
> And all well-ordered things
> are once more turning on themselves.
> Men's plans are now deceitful,
> their firm trust in the gods is gone.
> My life is changing—common talk
> is giving me a better reputation.
> Honor is coming to the female sex.
> Slander will no longer injure women.
> (Ian Johnston, trans.)
>
> I think it could be that such a potential reversal is being alluded
> to in 1 Peter, a common domestic theme, that serves as a warning to
> abusive males. Give appropriate honor to the woman, if not you will
> have to reckon with God.
This discussion seems to assume that TWi GUNAIKEIWi is adjectival and
attributive to SKEUEI rather than a substantive. That's the way I took
it originally and I still think that may be right, but I'm not fully
satisfied with either way of taking it.
As little as I think that ASQENESTERWi involves a positive notion,
just so little do I believe that something sinister is implied by use
of the adjective -- perhaps substantival -- GUNAIKEIWi. I hardly think
that the author of 1 Peter had Euripides' Medea in mind when speaking
of how men should treat their wives -- the Jason upon whom Medea
avenges herself there has abandoned her in favor of a young princess
and cannot understand why she is upset with him. There are dangerous
women in Greek literature, such as Medea and Clytemnestra, and there
are the heroines such as Penelope and Antigone. I really don't believe
that sinister connotations have been indelibly imprinted on the
adjective GUNAIKEIOS/A/ON by Euripides.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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