[b-greek] Re: BDAG at Rv 3:14 - Christ was the first creation now probable

From: Iver Larsen (alice-iver_larsen@wycliffe.org)
Date: Tue Jan 23 2001 - 13:35:02 EST


To Wes and others,

After having sent off my earlier post, I happened to notice a parallel text to

Rv 3:14 which I thought it was important enough to bring into the picture,
especially since I am convinced of the importance of levels of context. By this
I mean, that bringing contexts into play has to be in ever widening circles
beginning from the word in question to the sentence it occurs in to the
paragraph to the same discourse etc. Too many people have the habit of jumping
to some obscure verse in the OT without first exhausting the inner circles of
context. (And I am not immune to that temptation.)

The text I am referring to is Rv. 1:5. Both describe Jesus Christ in terms
characteristic of the style of Revelation.

Let me quote from the two passages:

Rv 1:5 KAI APO IHSOU CRISTOU hO MARTUS hO PISTOS hO PRWTOTOKOS TWN NEKRWN KAI hO
ARCWN TWN BASILEWN THS GHS. (From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first
one (to be raised) from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.)
Rv 3:14 TADE LEGEI hO AMHN Ho MARTUS Ho PISTOS KAI ALHQINOS Hh ARCH THS KTISEWS
TOU QEOU. (These (words) come from/says the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the ? of God's creation.

There is a slight difference between ARCWN "ruler" and ARCH "rule, authority".
However, in both Greek and English it is possible to refer to a person by an
abstract noun like "authority." So, even though "ruler" is not a common meaning
of ARCH it is a possible meaning, and this parallel context IMO carries a lot of
weight.

One final comment. If ARCH should be understood as beginning or source, the
added genitive TOU QEOU seems out of place, because when creation is combined
with God it seems likely that the meaning is that God is the creator, or the
source/beginning of all creation. How Christ may have taken part in this
creation is beyond the present text.

Iver Larsen
Kolding, Denmark
alice-iver_larsen@wycliffe.org




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