Subject of γράφειν in 1 Thess 4:9?
Posted: May 31st, 2012, 10:20 pm
The Critical Text for 1 Thess 4:9 reads:
What's going on here?
It should come to no surprise that there is much variation here in the textual history. An impressive set of MSS (D*FG 1739-Ψ-hark-1505) read ἔχομεν instead of ἔχετε, which is unproblematic ("we don't need to write you"). This apparently is the approach of the NIV. Codex Vaticanus (B) similarly reads the imperfect εἴχομεν ("we didn't need to write you"), which I interpret as indirect support for the Western-1739 agreement. A few MSS harmonize to 1 Thess 5:1 and have a middle-passive infinitive γραφέσθαι, which is a little better ("you don't need to be written to").
Many translations (NRSV, NASB, NET, etc.) supply "anyone" as if the text read: οὐ χρείαν ἔχετέ τινα γράφειν ὑμῖν. This sounds like a conjectural emendation by translation. If I were to emend the text, however, I'd prefer to supply ἡμᾶς instead οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ἡμᾶς γράφειν ὑμῖν ("you don't need us to write you"), not τινά.
At any rate, the question isn't about the text-critical aspects (except to help substantiate the harshness of the NA27 reading), but about understanding the syntax of the Critical Text. What is the implied subject of this infinitive? Is the text corrupt?
Normally the unexpressed subject of an infinitive is that of its controlling finite verb, but that does just not make sense in this context: "Now concerning brotherly love, you don't need to write you, etc."1 Thess 4:9 wrote:Περὶ δὲ τῆς φιλαδελφίας οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε γράφειν ὑμῖν, αὐτοὶ γὰρ ὑμεῖς θεοδίδακτοί ἐστε εἰς τὸ ἀγαπᾶν ἀλλήλους,
What's going on here?
It should come to no surprise that there is much variation here in the textual history. An impressive set of MSS (D*FG 1739-Ψ-hark-1505) read ἔχομεν instead of ἔχετε, which is unproblematic ("we don't need to write you"). This apparently is the approach of the NIV. Codex Vaticanus (B) similarly reads the imperfect εἴχομεν ("we didn't need to write you"), which I interpret as indirect support for the Western-1739 agreement. A few MSS harmonize to 1 Thess 5:1 and have a middle-passive infinitive γραφέσθαι, which is a little better ("you don't need to be written to").
Many translations (NRSV, NASB, NET, etc.) supply "anyone" as if the text read: οὐ χρείαν ἔχετέ τινα γράφειν ὑμῖν. This sounds like a conjectural emendation by translation. If I were to emend the text, however, I'd prefer to supply ἡμᾶς instead οὐ χρείαν ἔχετε ἡμᾶς γράφειν ὑμῖν ("you don't need us to write you"), not τινά.
At any rate, the question isn't about the text-critical aspects (except to help substantiate the harshness of the NA27 reading), but about understanding the syntax of the Critical Text. What is the implied subject of this infinitive? Is the text corrupt?