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ekenwsen



Philippians 2:7 is usually translated "he emptied himself."  Yet, kenow
generally means "to deprive of power, to cause to be emptied of power,
to make powerless."  This is the usage in 1 Cor. 1:17, "lest the cross of
Christ be emptied of its power," often translated "emptied of its meaning"
or "made pointless."  The idea in Philippians seems to be that Jesus
deprived himself during his earthly life of divine power.  This would be
consistent with christology in that Christ never said, "I heal you," but
rather "you are healed," implying that God the Father was doing the work.
Yet, my New Jerusalem Bible notes say that this traditionally meant Jesus
deprived himself of the divine glory, which was inconsistent with later
christology.  NJB says, "But this interpretation is not only less
scriptural but also anachronistic for the development of christology at 
this moment of Paul's thinking."

 My Louw & Nida says, "to completely remove or elminate elements of
high status or rank by eliminating all privileges or prerogatives
associated with such status or rank -- 'to empty oneself, to divest
oneself of position.'"  then references Philippians 2:7.

 So, is Christ emptied of divine power or just emptied of his royal
status as Son of David and divine status as Son of God?

 Is this at all related to the Hebrew word salah, meaning "to forgive,"
but whose original meaning was "to sprinkle, to pour out, to empty."
In the Septuagint, this is usually translated, "hileos einai" (to be
gracious, merciful), hisaskesthai (to propitiate, expiate), and
apienai "to forgive, pardon."  Is this there any instance where the
Septuagint translates salah kenow?

Cindy Smith
cms@dragon.com