[B-Greek] John 3:3-4 (was Ambiguity)
Yancy Smith
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Fri Feb 5 17:44:07 EST 2010
The Syriac Peshitta has two different constructions ܡܶܬ݂ܺܝܠܶܕ݂ ܡܶܢ ܕ݁ܪܺܝܫ MeTiYLeD MeN DRiYSH "born from above/head" and ܬ݁ܽܘܒ݂ TWB, again. But, as Don says, the focus here is not on a transparent ambiguity in ANWQEN, but on Nick's use of playing "born" in reductio ad absurdum and Jesus' reposte playing off the word "enter." For "born" Nick also uses another, a crass reversal of birth "enter his mother's womb for a second time and be born." Then Jesus' counter reposte picks up on the word "enter" as a rhetorical check-mate: "no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit" (whatever that means). So, the problem does not hinge on the ambiguity of ANWQEN, but on the plasticity of the image of birth and entering the world to come.
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