ὁράω, ἀκούω in Philippians

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Jonathan Robie
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ὁράω, ἀκούω in Philippians

Post by Jonathan Robie »

In Philippians, Paul seems to use the words ὁράω and ἀκούω to contrast face to face witness (ὁράω) and hearing from afar (ἀκούω) twice in the following passage:
Philippians 1:27-30 wrote:27 Μόνον ἀξίως τοῦ εὐαγγελίου τοῦ Χριστοῦ πολιτεύεσθε, ἵνα εἴτε ἐλθὼν καὶ ἰδὼν ὑμᾶς εἴτε ἀπὼν ἀκούω τὰ περὶ ὑμῶν, ὅτι στήκετε ἐν ἑνὶ πνεύματι, μιᾷ ψυχῇ συναθλοῦντες τῇ πίστει τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, 28 καὶ μὴ πτυρόμενοι ἐν μηδενὶ ὑπὸ τῶν ἀντικειμένων (ἥτις ἐστὶν αὐτοῖς ἔνδειξις ἀπωλείας, ὑμῶν δὲ σωτηρίας, καὶ τοῦτο ἀπὸ θεοῦ, 29 ὅτι ὑμῖν ἐχαρίσθη τὸ ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ, οὐ μόνον τὸ εἰς αὐτὸν πιστεύειν ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸ ὑπὲρ αὐτοῦ πάσχειν), 30 τὸν αὐτὸν ἀγῶνα ἔχοντες οἷον εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοὶ καὶ νῦν ἀκούετε ἐν ἐμοί.
That also fits this passage:
Philippians 2:25-26 wrote:25 Ἀναγκαῖον δὲ ἡγησάμην Ἐπαφρόδιτον τὸν ἀδελφὸν καὶ συνεργὸν καὶ συστρατιώτην μου, ὑμῶν δὲ ἀπόστολον καὶ λειτουργὸν τῆς χρείας μου, πέμψαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς, 26 ἐπειδὴ ἐπιποθῶν ἦν πάντας ὑμᾶς, καὶ ἀδημονῶν διότι ἠκούσατε ὅτι ἠσθένησεν.
Should I assume he is making the same distinction here?
Philippians 4:9 wrote:ἃ καὶ ἐμάθετε καὶ παρελάβετε καὶ ἠκούσατε καὶ εἴδετε ἐν ἐμοί
Is this a common usage of ὁράω and ἀκούω?
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
cwconrad
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Re: ὁράω, ἀκούω in Philippians

Post by cwconrad »

It's a matter here of learning by observation (βλέπειν, ὁρᾶν, ἰδεῖν) or acquiring information by the grapevin (ἀκούειν).
For the latter, see L&N, §35.212:
33.212 ἀκούωc: to receive information about something, normally by word of mouth — ‘to receive news, to hear.’ ἀκούσαντες οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ ἦλθον καὶ ἦραν τὸ πτῶμα αὐτοῦ ‘when his disciples received news about this, they came and got his body’ Mk 6:29. In Mk 6:29 ἀκούω clearly implies more than mere physiological hearing, for the content of the message is included as a significant element in the meaning of ἀκούωc. Compare also ἀκοήd (33.213).
For the former, see L&N §27.5
27.5 ὁράωf; συνοράωa: to acquire information, with focus upon the event of perception — ‘to learn about, to find out about.’
ὁράωf: ἐραύνησον καὶ ἴδε ὅτι ἐκ τῆς Γαλιλαίας προφήτης οὐκ ἐγείρεται ‘search and learn that from Galilee no prophet ever arises’ Jn 7:52.
συνοράωa: συνιδόντες κατέφυγον εἰς τὰς πόλεις τῆς Λυκαονίας ‘when they learned about it, they fled to cities in Lycaonia’ Ac 14:6.
Louw & Nida is really a very good resource for matters like this; one tends to forget about it because it's more like a thesaurus than a dictionary. But that's the function of a thesaurus, to clarify the nuances and precise usages of worrds that are similar. Beginners may not find L&N very useful, but anyone seeking to move to a better grasp of the Koine of the GNT will find this a very valuable resource.
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
Jonathan Robie
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Re: ὁράω, ἀκούω in Philippians

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Very helpful - thanks!
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
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