[B-Greek] TO PNEUMA KAI hH YUCH in 1 Thessalonians 5:23--Are they synonyms?

cwconrad2 cwconrad2 at mac.com
Sat Jun 19 06:45:28 EDT 2010


On 19 Jun, 2010,at 05:43 AM, Leonard Jayawardena <leonardj at live.com> wrote:

>
> 1 Thessalonians 5:23:
>
>
> hOLOKLHRON hUMWN TO PNEUMA KAI hH YUCH KAI TO SWMA AMEMPTWS ... THRHQEIH.
>
>
> Is there any grammatical objection to taking TO PNEUMA KAI hH YUCH above as synonyms? Specifically, does the presence of the article before each of the three words--PNEUMA, YUCH and SWMA--present an obstacle to taking the first two words as synonyms?
>
> There is biblical--and extra-biblical--warrant for taking these two words synonymously sometimes, e.g., Luke 1:47 (MEGALUNEI hH YUCH MOU TON KURION KAI HGALLIASEN TO PNEUMA MOU EPI TWi QEWi TWi SWTHRI MOU).


Well, it seems to me that, IF one thinks it proper to equate TO PNEUMA and hH YUCH here as synonymous, then there can hardly
be an objection to taking TO SWMA as well as synonymous with the other two nouns -- but I doubt that anyone would think that to
be a reasonable equation.

The parallel suggested in Luke 1:47 does not really apply because that's a pattern of poetic parallelism either derived from or imitative
of LXX style. On the other hand, I rather think that Paul's usage of PNEUMA and YUCH does not equate them. I think a more careful analysis of Pauline psychological and physiological terminology would be required to demonstrate any likelihood of your suggestion having validity. Probably that analysis has been done -- perhaps more than once, I'd guess -- and someone could point to the
relevant authority or authorities. Bultmann had a chapter on Pauline psychology in his Theology of the NT, but I think that his
study has been faulted on one or more grounds.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)



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