[B-Greek] TO DE SWMA TOU CRISTOU--can the traditionaltranslation be sustained?
Elizabeth Kline
kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Sun Feb 28 14:18:48 EST 2010
On Feb 27, 2010, at 9:29 PM, Iver Larsen wrote:
> As far as SWMA is concerned, I also prefer the extended "substance, reality"
> sense. Actually, I think this sense is more common than normally recognized in
> English renderings. For instance, Rom 6:6 says:
>
> ἵνα καταργηθῇ τὸ σῶμα τῆς ἁμαρτίας
> hINA KATARGHQH TO SWMA THS hAMARTIAS
>
> So that the substance/reality/power of sin was put out of operation.
>
>
Col. 2:9 ὅτι ἐν αὐτῷ κατοικεῖ πᾶν τὸ πλήρωμα τῆς θεότητος σωματικῶς, 10 καὶ ἐστὲ ἐν αὐτῷ πεπληρωμένοι, ὅς ἐστιν ἡ κεφαλὴ πάσης ἀρχῆς καὶ ἐξουσίας.
Col. 2:16 Μὴ οὖν τις ὑμᾶς κρινέτω ἐν βρώσει καὶ ἐν πόσει ἢ ἐν μέρει ἑορτῆς ἢ νεομηνίας ἢ σαββάτων· 17 ἅ ἐστιν σκιὰ τῶν μελλόντων, τὸ δὲ σῶμα τοῦ Χριστοῦ.
Col. 2:9 hOTI EN AUTWi KATOIKEI PAN TO PLHRWMA THS QEOTHTOS SWMATIKWS, 10 KAI ESTE EN AUTWi PEPLHRWMENOI, hOS ESTIN hH KEFALH PASHS ARCHS KAI EXOUSIAS.
Col. 2:16 MH OUN TIS hUMAS KRINETW EN BRWSEI KAI EN POSEI H EN MEREI hEORTHS H NEOMHNIAS H SABBATWN· 17 hA ESTIN SKIA TWN MELLONTWN, TO DE SWMA TOU CRISTOU.
The exegetical tradition on SWMATIKWS in v.9 is divided. Several of the church fathers, Theophylact, Oecumenius, Isidore the Pelusiot, of the reformers, Calvin, Beza, Melancthon understood SWMATIKWS as "really, in substance" or in the same sense as SWMA in v17. Commenting on Col. 2:9, H.A.W Meyer cites "... in the term SWMATIKWS the contrast of v.17 was already present to the apostle's mind" but then proceeds to disagree with it. Meyer is not alone, see Lightfoot, Alford, F.F.Bruce, J.D.G.Dunn, E.Lohse. A synopsis of the major views can be found in EDNT v.3 p325 under SWMATIKWS.
On the one hand some attempts to reconstruct the "philosophy" that was threatening the EKKLHSIAN at Colossae would read EN AUTWi KATOIKEI ... SWMATIKWS as a polemic statement, with SWMATIKWS the focus element placed clause final to give it extra rhetorical force. On the other hand, the readings of the fathers and the reformers suggest a semantic connection between SWMATIKWS and SWMA which would add some cohesion to the discourse.
Elizabeth Kline
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