[B-Greek] The force of ὡς ἂν in 1 Corinthians 12:2

Mark Lightman lightmanmark at yahoo.com
Thu Feb 24 21:48:44 EST 2011


<As I'm translating 1 Corinthians 12:2, I'm struggling with what the exact sense 
of the phrase ὡς ἂν has in the sentence.>

Hi, Kevin,

I would like to help you with your struggle, but if you want semantic 
exactitude, you've got the wrong language, the wrong author, the wrong passage 
and the wrong two words.  And the wrong list. 


The APPROXIMATE sense, on the other hand, is something like:

"You know that you were led away to dumb idols in whatever arbitrary manner your 
habitual paganism led you."  The point is that the PNEUMATIKA, while appearing 
to be similarly sporadic and arbitrary and contingent, when done decently and in 
order (14:40), lead to Jesus and love. 


cf. Amplified "as impulse directed and whenever the occasion might arise."





Mark L



FWSFOROS MARKOS




________________________________
From: Carl Conrad <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
To: Kevin W. Woodruff <cierpke at prodigy.net>
Cc: Biblical  Greek List <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Thu, February 24, 2011 10:13:39 AM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] The force of ὡς ἂν in 1 Corinthians 12:2


On Feb 24, 2011, at 12:01 PM, Kevin W. Woodruff wrote:

> As I'm translating 1 Corinthians 12:2, I'm struggling with what the exact sense 
>of the phrase ὡς ἂν has in the sentence. 
>
> 
> BDAG says, "marker indicating perspective or point of view, with component of 
>cautious statement, as if, as it were, so to speak" in one place (under ὡς ) but 
>in another place (under ἂν), "denoting repeated action in past time, but only 
>under certain given conditions." Both references cite 1 Cornithians 12:2 as a 
>reference.
> 
> Other translations have, 
> 
> "however"
> "somehow or other"
> "used to be"
> "every time"
> "somehow "
> "even as "
> "whenever"
> 
> Any thoughts?
> 
> Kevin

Text (and context): 1Cor. 12:1     Περὶ δὲ τῶν πνευματικῶν, ἀδελφοί, οὐ θέλω 
ὑμᾶς  ἀγνοεῖν.  2 Οἴδατε ὅτι ὅτε ἔθνη ἦτε πρὸς τὰ εἴδωλα τὰ ἄφωνα ὡς ἂν ἤγεσθε 
ἀπαγόμενοι.  3 διὸ γνωρίζω ὑμῖν ὅτι οὐδεὶς ἐν πνεύματι θεοῦ λαλῶν λέγει· Ἀνάθεμα 
Ἰησοῦς, καὶ οὐδεὶς δύναται εἰπεῖν· Κύριος Ἰησοῦς, εἰ μὴ ἐν πνεύματι ἁγίῳ.
[1Cor. 12:1 PERI DE TWN PNEUMATIKWN, ADELFOI, OU QELW hUMAS AGNOEIN.  2 OIDATE 
hOTI hOTE EQNH HTE PROS TA EIDWLA TA AFWNA hWS AN HGESQE APAGOMENOI.  3 DIO 
GNWRIZW hUMIN hOTI OUDEIS EN PNEUMATI QEOU LALWN LEGEI· ANAQEMA IHSOUS, KAI 
OUDEIS DUNATAI EIPEIN· KURIOS IHSOUS, EI MH EN PNEUMATI hAGIWi.]

I take the sense of hWS AN HGESQE APAGOMENOI as "how you used to/would get 
carried away (in ecstasy) before inanimate idols." I think Paul is acknowledging 
that there is a pagan religious  experience and here seeks to distinguish a 
Christian believer's religious experience as different in kind from that of a 
pagan; it is unthinkable to Paul that a Christian believer can fail to 
acknowledge the Lordship of Jesus. 


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



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