[B-Greek] John 2:4 TI EMOI KAI SOI
Ben Crick
ben.crick at argonet.co.uk
Sat Feb 20 07:13:30 EST 2010
On Fri 19 Feb 2010 (17:06:07), patrick at narkinsky.com wrote:
> Which sort of leads into my question about this verse. I've heard
> people express concern about how "rude" this phrase seems, coming from
> Jesus to his mother. In this thread, I've heard proposals that ranged
> from quite abrupt ("what's that got to do with me") to the very gentle
> (Oun Kwon's rendering)
>
> Do we have any good basis in the literature on which to judge the
> emotional connotation of this phrase?
I've written to this thread before (see archives).
Jesus never called Mary "mother". Mary was not the mother of God; she was
the Bearer of God (QEOFORUS). Jesus never addressed Mary as "Mother". In Luke
2:49 Jesus did not apologize for causing such distress to his parents, nor did
he address Mary as "mother". When a Jewish boy had his Bar-Mitzvah, he became
an adult, and was apprenticed to his father's business. So he stayed in the
Temple "his Father's Business", which he was now "about". Joseph and Mary
should have realised this! but he returned with them to Nazareth and was
subject unto them. In Matthew 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35 and Luke 8:20-21 he
refused to acknowledge Mary as his mother. At the Cross in John 19:26-27 he
commended Mary to John's care as "your mother"; but addresses Mary only as
"Woman" as in John 2:4. This is not disrespectful. We men refer to our fiancee
as our "young lady"; our wife as our "ex-young lady"; our mother as our
"old lady".
TI EMOI KAI SOI is a literal Greek translation of the Old Covenant watchword
MaH LiY WaLaK, "what to me and to thee?". It is found in Judges 11:12; 2 Samuel
16:10, 19:22; 1 Kings 17:18; 2 Kings 3:13; 2 Chronicles 35:31; Mark 5:7;
Luke 8:28; and John 2:4. Variations occur in Joshua 22:24 and 2 Kings 9:18-19.
There were covenants made by God with man (e.g. Noah, Abraham, Moses). See
Genesis 15:9-21 for the Covenant with Abram, where full details are given.
There were also "covenants" made between equals: human being to human being.
David and Jonathan solemnly agreed to befriend each other for life.
They would have cut a sacrificial animal in half, laid out the pieces, and
walked between them, saying "Thus shall the LORD do to me, and more also, if
I break this Covenant": i.e., the penalty for not keeping the Covenant is to
have your body bisected. When one party wished to invoke the Covenant, he
would say the formula "MaH LiY WaLaKh", literally "What to me and to thee?"
or "What have we in common?". Much indeed; "We have a covenant, you and I".
The phrase for "to make a covenant" is KaRaTh B:RiYTh, "to cut a covenant".
The "cutting" is the Sanction for non-compliance; like the "cuts" sign in
Freemasonry (? I'm not a mason). KoH Ya`a:&eH-LiY 'e:LoHiYM W:KoH YoSiYP
KiY.... "May God do so to me and more also if [I break this covenant...]"
When Laban chased after Jacob after Rachel had stolen her father's teraphim
(title deeds to his land), Laban would not leave Jacob until he had made
a Covenant with him (Genesis 31:44). They sacrificed the Covenant animal
and then ate it, sitting upon a memorial cairn of stones (verse 46). Jegar
Sahadutha means "heap of witness" in Aramaic; Gale`ed the same in Hebrew.
When Hannah brought young Samuel to "lend him to the LORD", a formal Covenant
was entered into. Eli appealed to this when Samuel was reluctant to share
God's heavy message with him. "God do so to thee, and more also, if thou shalt
hide..." (1 Samuel 3:17). This formula also occurs at Ruth 1:17, 2 Samuel 3:9,
and 1 Kings 2:23. When Elijah stayed with the widow of Zarephath, he entered
into a covenant with her (1 Kings 17:18). Pharaoh Necho of Egypt had a
non-aggression covenant with Josiah (2 Chronicles 35:21). Josiah broke it, and
he died at Megiddo (verses 22-24). YHWH will enforce the Covenant Sanction.
When Jesus went to cast out demons, they claimed a "contract" from God. The
man with the Legion cried "TI EMOI KAI SOI, Jesus, thou Son of the Most High
God?" (Mark 5:7). The demons feared he had come to destroy them "before the
time" (Matthew 8:29).
The Family is a natural Covenant relationship. Jesus invoked the covenant
cry when Mary asked him to do something about the wine shortage at Cana in
Galilee. "TI EMOI KAI SOI, GUNAI;" he said; "My hour is not yet come" (John
2:4). Mary would have understood that Jesus is the Mediator of the New
Covenant. She as the "Handmaid of the Lord" knew her foundational role in
this. The Messianic Secret must not be revealed until the time is ripe.
ERRWSQE
Ben
--
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