[B-Greek] TO DE SWMA TOU CRISTOU--can the traditional translation be sustained?

David Stuart m7feettall at yahoo.com
Fri Feb 26 22:58:42 EST 2010



I recently came across the following article from the Journal of Biblical Literature:

http://www.jstor.org/pss/3266938

I have been trying to evaluate his argument, but I lack the expertise to critique some of his points, so I thought I would run it by you fine folks. 

The article looks at the phrase:

TO DE SWMA TOU CRISTOU

τὸ δὲ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ

and its relation to the larger passage. It contends that the reading that relates the body to the shadow such as the KJV and most other versions, has a couple of grammatical problems. 

Here is the KJV: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.

The two problems he cites are:

1. He states that DE cannot be used to connect two clauses that are not grammatically equivalent. More specifically he states that the clause 

hA ESTI SKIA TWN MELLONTWN 
ἅ ἐστι σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων

is a subordinate relative clause (connected to verse 16) and that this cannot be linked with DE to TO DE SWMA TOU CRISTOU if TO DE SWMA TOU CRISTOU is taken to be an independent clause, a "nominal clause with an ellipsed ESTIN."


2. If ESTIN is supplied then TOU CHRISTOU should be in the nominative.

What do you all think of his arguments? Are there uses of the genetive that could support the traditional reading? 

Is it true that DE cannot be used in this way? 

Is there a better reading? The author himself examines one other historical reading and his own novel reading, but I am not sure which fit best with the grammar. 

I read some of the archives but did not see these particular grammar issues addressed. 

Thanks for any feedback! 


David Stuart
Gardner, KS 


      



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