[B-Greek] Mark 10.15: Like a child
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Thu Feb 24 02:24:37 EST 2011
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark Hoffman" <markgvh at gmail.com>
To: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 23. februar 2011 19:01
Subject: [B-Greek] Mark 10.15: Like a child
> I'm reviving an old discussion (
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/pipermail/b-greek/2002-November/023410.html), but
> I'm coming up with a different solution.
> Mark 10.15: AMHN LEGW hUMIN, hOS AN MH DEXHTAI THN BASILEIAN TOU QEOU hWS
> PAIDION, OU MH EISELQHi EIS AUTHN.
> ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν, ὃς ἂν μὴ δέξηται τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ θεοῦ ὡς παιδίον, οὐ μὴ ε
> ἰσέλθῃ εἰς αὐτήν.
>
> The earlier discussion basically involved the rendering of hWS PAIDION and
> whether it meant "like a child" or "child-like." With Carl W. Conrad, I
> really don't see much of a difference...
> BUT I came across this old thread as I was looking for info on this verse
> because I'm wondering whether it would not be better to take PAIDION as an
> accusative rather than a nominative. (The person who started the original
> thread mentioned this but did not pursue this line.)
> As a nominative, the idea is: Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as
> a child [would receive the kingdom] will never enter it.
> As an accusative: Whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as [one would
> receive] a child will never enter it.
>
> I'm thinking the accusative is preferable because:
>
> a) The context is that of Jesus receiving/welcoming children. It makes
> better sense if Jesus receives children and then says that is how one is to
> receive the kingdom. Verse 15 would then be read in complete coherence with
> the previous verse: "Let the little children come to me; do not stop them;
> for it is to such as these that the kingdom of God belongs." >> Ie, if the
> kingdom belongs to children, then just as one receives children one is
> receiving the kingdom of God.
The context is a bit wider. In v. 13, children were brought to Jesus for him to
bless them. The disciples following their culture did not think that a rabbi
should be bothered with small children. In v. 14, Jesus became angry with the
disciples and corrected their misconception. He said: "Let them come to me.
After all, the Kingdom of God is for such people." This then introduces a
different topic: What kind of people is the Kingdom of God for? Verse 15
clarifies that question: "Whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a
child, that person shall never enter it."
This is not addressed primarily to the disciples, since they are already in the
Kingdom. It is much more general. Any person whoever, who wants to enter the
kingdom must be like a child. If this was talking about the disciples, who had
not received the children, the implication would be that they have not received
the Kingdom. But that is not the topic here.
The most natural reading of the ellipsis is to supply "as a child receives the
kingdom" from the previous clause, and that calls for the nominative.
> b) 10.15 now is read in the same way as is explicitly stated in the similar
> scene just prior in 9.37: "Whoever receives/welcomes one such child in my
> name welcomes me..."
That is quite different, since the topic here is receiving a child or Jesus or
the Father, not receiving the Kingdom. The more general topic here is that of
servanthood and humility, not that of entering the Kingdom.
>
> c) Grammatically, I note parallels in Mark w/ passages like:
>
> 1.10: He saw the heavens splitting and the spirit descending LIKE A DOVE
> (and the idea is that he saw a spirit/dove, not that "Jesus,
> dove-like, saw the heavens...")
Here we have two coordinated clauses. Jesus first saw the heaven opening, and
then he saw the spirit descending in the manner that a dove would descend and
sit on the shoulder and apparently also in the form of a dove. The Spirit/dove
is descending like the children are receiving. Both are subject for the verb.
> 8.24: I see people that I see walking LIKE TREES
Both the trees and the people are the subject of walking. It looked to him as if
trees were walking, but it was people.
> 12.31: You will love your neighbor AS YOURSELF
It is the same kind of ellipsis, where you supply the whol of the previous
clause in the new clause: You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself.
>
> That is, in each of these instances, the WS clause is related to the object
> of the main clause.
I cannot see that. In itself, a WS clause is only a comparison, and it is the
different grammatical constructions it is part of that determine how it is used.
>
> d) We can avoid all the foolish speculation about what constitutes proper
> child-like acceptance of the kingdom... Of course, we now have a new issue
> of describing how one "receives" a child. This is a bit easier to understand
> given the explicit demonstrations of Jesus in 9.36-37 and here in 10.13ff.
I would consider this much harder to understand. Receiving a child is about
humility, a child receiving the Kingdom is about trust.
> I think the main reason why the nominative reading has been so dominant is
> because of Matthew 18.3: "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become
> like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." This verse,
> however, should not be the primary key for reading Mark 10.15.
I do not agree that this is the main reason, but it is certainly worth
considering and comparing parallel sections of the gospels.
Iver Larsen
> Mark V Hoffman
> www.CrossMarks.com <http://www.crossmarks.com/>
> bibleandtech.blogspot.com | scrollandscreen.com
> www.gettysburgseminary.org/mhoffman
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