[B-Greek] 1 TIm 3:11 gunaikas
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Tue May 3 01:01:35 EDT 2011
----- Original Message -----
From: "Blue Meeksbay" <bluemeeksbay at yahoo.com>
To: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 3. maj 2011 03:58
Subject: [B-Greek] 1 TIm 3:11 gunaikas
>1 TIMOTHY 3:10-11 KAI hOUTOI DE DOKIMAZESQWSAN PRWTON, EITA DIAKONEITWSAN
> ANEGKLHTOI ONTES. GUNAIKAS hWSAUTWS SEMNAS, MH DIABOLOUS, NHFALIOUS, PISTAS EN
> PASIN.
>
> I wonder, even though GUNAIKAS is in the accusative case and not in the
> nominative case (as one would expect, if one looks at the way I am
> suggesting),
> is there any way hWSAUTWS could be construed with DIAKONEITWSAN rather than
> DEI
> and EINAI? Or if it is still construed with DEI and EINAI could it still, at
> the same time, still loosely be construed with DIAKONEITWSAN so that it might
> be
> understood as follows –
>
> And let them be proved first, then let them minister, being above reproach. In
> the same way, it is neccessary that their wives be serious, [serving], not as
> slanderers, but as ones temperate, faithful in all things.
Well, I don't think that is a serious possibility. Remember that verse 8 had:
DIAKONOUS hWSAUTWS SEMNOUS as a complete sentence with DEI supplied from
context.
This is strikingly parallel to
GUNAIKAS hWSAUTWS SEMNAS.
This suggests that these two much be looked at together with a similar meaning.
I accept that in both of these the concept of "serving" is present. In the
first, it is directly implied by the noun DIAKONOS, in the second it is implied
by context: The (serving) women must likewise be respected/respectable. (They
don't have to be serious with a long grave face. :-)) We don't know much about
women serving in the NT church, but I think it is possible that at least some of
them would be widows. I also think it is likely that the churches then as now
have more women than men, willing to serve.
By the way, I do not think "minister" is a good translation of DIAKONOS. This
Greek word is a standard word for "servant". The modern English "minister" does
not fit the semantic range of DIAKONOS.
Iver Larsen
>
> In this way, the wives of deacons would be encouraged to serve with their
> husbands, especially as the duties of their husbands, might bring them into
> situations where the service of women would be more appropriate. For example,
> such things as assisting women who are going to be baptized, or ministering to
> women in labour, or, perhaps, helping younger women with their families.
>
> Because of this, the wives of deacons became known as deaconesses. Granted,
> they
> never seemed to hold an official title in the GNT as did their husbands,
> nevertheless because they assisted their husbands in their duties they held a
> semi-official title of deaconesses (cf. Rom 16:1).
>
>
> Blue Harris
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