Acts 15:20 and πορνείας

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mikeatnip
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Acts 15:20 and πορνείας

Post by mikeatnip »

For years I have wondered why πορνείας is listed in Acts 15:20 as something to be avoided, when the context is that of not offending the Jews. Meaning, πορνείας should have been something that even new believers would have known to avoid, not because of Jews, but because of its sinfulness. As I read this today, I am wondering if πορνείας could modify ἀλισγημάτων the same as εἰδώλων.
20 ἀλλὰ ἐπιστεῖλαι αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀπέχεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλισγημάτων τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τοῦ πνικτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος.
In other words, could this possibly be read (in English) as "refrain from ceremonial defilements caused by idols, fornication, strangled things, and blood." In other words, refrain from the things defiled by fornication (ect.), not refrain from fornication (etc.) itself? A dynamic summary could read, "avoid things that are defiled by pagan cultic practices."
I am posting this in Beginners Forum because I may be missing something very fundamental and exposing my ignorance once again! :-)
Mike Atnip
May I not debate presumptuously; may I not be silent impudently. May I learn beneficial speech; may I acquire discerning silence. -Ephrem the Syrian
Stephen Carlson
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Re: Acts 15:20 and πορνείας

Post by Stephen Carlson »

mikeatnip wrote: September 9th, 2021, 7:55 pm
20 ἀλλὰ ἐπιστεῖλαι αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀπέχεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλισγημάτων τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τοῦ πνικτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος.
In other words, could this possibly be read (in English) as "refrain from ceremonial defilements caused by idols, fornication, strangled things, and blood." In other words, refrain from the things defiled by fornication (ect.), not refrain from fornication (etc.) itself? A dynamic summary could read, "avoid things that are defiled by pagan cultic practices."
I would expect it to read τῶν τῆς πορνείας instead to get what you want, but I'm not sure I understand the proposal: what are things defiled by fornication that are different from fornication itself? What fornication defiles is a person, isn't it?

My initial impression is that τῶν ἀλισγημάτων is being characterized by a string of epexegetical genitives, τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τοῦ πνικτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος, that illustrate the kinds of pollution James has in mind. There is indeed a structural ambiguity, whether καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τοῦ πνικτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος coordinates with τῶν εἰδώλων or with τῶν ἀλισγημάτων, but I'm not sure it makes a practical difference as they are all polluting under the Torah.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
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Jonathan Robie
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Re: Acts 15:20 and πορνείας

Post by Jonathan Robie »

mikeatnip wrote: September 9th, 2021, 7:55 pm For years I have wondered why πορνείας is listed in Acts 15:20 as something to be avoided, when the context is that of not offending the Jews. Meaning, πορνείας should have been something that even new believers would have known to avoid, not because of Jews, but because of its sinfulness.
Wouldn't even new believers know that they should avoid idols?

I don't think the answer to your question is found in the grammar. This set of rules rhymes with the Seven Laws of Noah, the things Jews believed were required for all human beings, as descendants of Noah. For instance, in Genesis 9, you see the admonition about blood, not just for Jews, but for all of Noah's descendants:
Everything that creeps on the ground and all the fish of the sea. Into your hand they are delivered. 3 Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. 5 And for your lifeblood I will require a reckoning: from every beast I will require it and from man. From his fellow man I will require a reckoning for the life of man.

6
“Whoever sheds the blood of man,
by man shall his blood be shed,
for God made man in his own image.

7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”
You also see this kind of admonition for how Gentiles should live in the Book of Jubilees 7:20-25:
And in the twenty-eighth jubilee Noah began to enjoin upon his sons' sons the ordinances and commandments, and all the judgments that he knew, and he exhorted his sons to observe righteousness, and to cover the shame of their flesh, and to bless their Creator, and honour father and mother, and love their neighbour, and guard their souls from fornication and uncleanness and all iniquity. For owing to these three things came the flood upon the earth ... For whoso sheddeth man's blood, and whoso eateth the blood of any flesh, shall all be destroyed from the earth.
And in some places in the Talmud, e.g. in Sanhedrin 56a-b
תנו רבנן שבע מצות נצטוו בני נח דינין וברכת השם ע"ז גילוי עריות ושפיכות דמים וגזל ואבר מן החי

§ Since the halakhot of the descendants of Noah have been mentioned, a full discussion of the Noahide mitzvot is presented. The Sages taught in a baraita: The descendants of Noah, i.e., all of humanity, were commanded to observe seven mitzvot: The mitzva of establishing courts of judgment; and the prohibition against blessing, i.e., cursing, the name of God; and the prohibition of idol worship; and the prohibition against forbidden sexual relations; and the prohibition of bloodshed; and the prohibition of robbery; and the prohibition against eating a limb from a living animal.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
mikeatnip
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Re: Acts 15:20 and πορνείας

Post by mikeatnip »

Stephen Carlson wrote: September 9th, 2021, 9:45 pm
mikeatnip wrote: September 9th, 2021, 7:55 pm
20 ἀλλὰ ἐπιστεῖλαι αὐτοῖς τοῦ ἀπέχεσθαι ἀπὸ τῶν ἀλισγημάτων τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τοῦ πνικτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος.
In other words, could this possibly be read (in English) as "refrain from ceremonial defilements caused by idols, fornication, strangled things, and blood." In other words, refrain from the things defiled by fornication (ect.), not refrain from fornication (etc.) itself? A dynamic summary could read, "avoid things that are defiled by pagan cultic practices."
I would expect it to read τῶν τῆς πορνείας instead to get what you want, but I'm not sure I understand the proposal: what are things defiled by fornication that are different from fornication itself? What fornication defiles is a person, isn't it?

My initial impression is that τῶν ἀλισγημάτων is being characterized by a string of epexegetical genitives, τῶν εἰδώλων καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τοῦ πνικτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος, that illustrate the kinds of pollution James has in mind. There is indeed a structural ambiguity, whether καὶ τῆς πορνείας καὶ τοῦ πνικτοῦ καὶ τοῦ αἵματος coordinates with τῶν εἰδώλων or with τῶν ἀλισγημάτων, but I'm not sure it makes a practical difference as they are all polluting under the Torah.
Perhaps what I am thinking could be summarized this way: the list of "pollutions/defilements" is an overview of the types of things that are happening within pagan worship, which is why one should not eat food that has been offered there. The four things listed may not even be an exhaustive list of defiling activities, but enough of a sample to make a clear case that the food would be "polluted" in the eyes of any Jew, and therefore should be avoided so as to not cause offense. I am referencing "food offered to idols," but food would not have necessarily been the only thing to avoid. Just going to watch/enjoy the festivities, for example, would fall into the avoidance category. As I was reading in Peter Brown's The Rise of Western Christendom: Triumph and Diversity yesterday, Christians up into the 3rd and 4thy centuries were still attending Kalends of January festivities, despite the likes of Augustine giving them a 2.5 hour sermon on why they should not be supporting such things by their mere presence.
I am not trying to promote a certain reading here in Acts 15; just trying to figure out my own. Thanks for the replies.
Mike Atnip
May I not debate presumptuously; may I not be silent impudently. May I learn beneficial speech; may I acquire discerning silence. -Ephrem the Syrian
S Walch
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Re: Acts 15:20 and πορνείας

Post by S Walch »

FWIW, P (Papyrus) 45 actually omits καὶ τῆς πορνείας, along with the Ethiopic. There are several variants for just this list (Ä = Ethiopic):

https://ntvmr.uni-muenster.de/ecm?verse ... ment=22-36

Evidently either the verse was expanded at different points, or the variants above are due to errors of haplography & homoeoteleuton (repeated καὶ τ is easy enough to skip over :) ). if expanded, then possibly to the Noahide laws as J. Robbie has mentioned.
Tony Pope
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Re: Acts 15:20 and πορνείας

Post by Tony Pope »

In addition to Jonathan Robie's references, there is discussion of a restricted meaning for πορνεία in this context in an article in The Bible Translator by Roger Omanson.

R. L. Omanson, 'How Does It All Fit Together? Thoughts on Translating Acts 1.15-22 and 15.19-21' BT Vol. 41.4 Oct. 1990.

The relevant pages are 419-421. http://www.ubs-translations.org/tbt/199 ... tml?seq=23
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