RE: Romans 5:12 DIA TOUTO

From: Bill Ross (wross@farmerstel.com)
Date: Mon Feb 22 1999 - 12:36:00 EST


{Carl}
You are indeed fishing. It's quite normal for a neuter pronoun to refer to
a whole idea expressed in the immediately preceding sentence. I do think
that the pronouns often are the most elusive elements in Greek and even
more so than the verbs, but it isn't really always the case.

{Bill}
But it isn't normal to say "Through this, just as..." without finishing the
thought, eh?

As to DIA TOUTO appearing at the end of a phrase, Hebrews 1:2 has a TOUTWN
that has an antecedent at the end of a phrase, presumably because it had one
at the front of the same phrase, no? Is this relevant?

But maybe this all argues for EF hW serving as working differently than it
does in the KJV and others:

12
NIV
Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through
sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned--
RSV
Therefore as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin,
and so death spread to all men because all men sinned--
KJV
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and
so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
DBY
For this [cause], even as by one man sin entered into the world, and by sin
death; and thus death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:
YLT
because of this, even as through one man the sin did enter into the world,
and through the sin the death; and thus to all men the death did pass
through, for that all did sin;

Since these constructions do not complete the "Wherefore, as by" by
interpreting EF hO as "inasmuch as" or the like, then perhaps EF hW must be
read differently. Perhaps it should read as:

12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin;
and so death passed upon all men, *on account of* all have sinned:

So there is a logical, grammatical construct:

"As sin caused all to die,
so also
death was the ocassion that all sinned"

Does the *grammar* forbid this *construction*?

By the way, the aorist of hHMARTON in 5:12 seems to indicate to me that all
have sinned "at one point or another." Is that a fair way to represent the
aorist here? Or would it give a better sense to say "all sinned at a certain
point in time"?

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