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Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 20th, 2011, 10:27 am
by dgoepfrich
Hi all,

I'm trying to find a word for "volunteer" / "volunteering" in the NT (or ancient Greek). Via Perseus, the best I can find is ἀπαράκλητος, LSJ, "unsummoned, volunteering" and ἐθελοντήρ "volunteer".

Neither of these appear in the NT, so I am working on the assumption that 1) the volunteer concept is not in the NT or 2) I just haven't found the right word(s) yet.

Any thoughts on where else I might look? Thanks

Daniel

Re: Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 20th, 2011, 11:29 am
by Mark Lightman
χαῖρε Δανιελ,
I'm trying to find a word for "volunteer" / "volunteering" in the NT (or ancient Greek).
ἐργάτης ἄμισθος.
πονεῖν δωρεάν.

...so I am working on the assumption that...the volunteer concept is not in the NT...
You mean, besides Jesus and Paul? :mrgreen:

Re: Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 20th, 2011, 11:31 am
by cwconrad
dgoepfrich wrote:Hi all,

I'm trying to find a word for "volunteer" / "volunteering" in the NT (or ancient Greek). Via Perseus, the best I can find is ἀπαράκλητος, LSJ, "unsummoned, volunteering" and ἐθελοντήρ "volunteer".

Neither of these appear in the NT, so I am working on the assumption that 1) the volunteer concept is not in the NT or 2) I just haven't found the right word(s) yet.

Any thoughts on where else I might look? Thanks

Daniel
You might use ἐθελόντης: LSJ offers the following entry:
ἐθελοντ-ήρ, ῆρος, ὁ,
volunteer, Od.2.292.

ἐθελοντ-ής, οῦ, ὁ, Prose form of foreg.[i.e. ἐθελοντήρ] (used by S.Aj.24), Hdt.5.104,110,IG12.97.15, Th.1.60, And.1.3: as Adj.,
ἐ. φίλος X.An.1.6.9. (dub.); τῶν ἐ. τριηράρχων D.18.99.
= δεικηλιστής, Eust.884.27.

Re: Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 20th, 2011, 12:37 pm
by cwconrad
If you're averse to using ἐθελόντης because it isn't found in the GNT, I think you're limiting your resouces; the question is: could NT authors have known or discerned the intended sense of the word. A key would be whether the word is used by other Hellenistic authors. To be sure, the authors cited by LSJ are of the classical period and include Herodotus. I don't have access to TLG, but I would expect it to be found later.

An alternative that does appear in the GNT is ἕκων, found in Rom, 8:20 and 1 Cor 9:17; it would be used in the appropriate case along with a verb, e.g. ἕκων ταῦτα πράττω, "I am doing this of my own accord."
ἑκών, οῦσα, όν (Hom. et al.; ins, pap, LXX, Philo; Jos., Vi. 347; 351; Just, D. 5, 5) pert. to being favorably disposed to do someth. without pressure, willing(ly), glad(ly) Dg 2:9; IRo 4:1. Opp. force 5:2; MPol 4:1; of one’s own free will (cp. Epict. 3, 5, 9; 4, 3, 9; Lucian, Herm. 77; SIG 1176, 4) ἑ. τοῦτο πράσσω 1 Cor 9:17 (w. ἄκων, extension of the usual pairing ἑκών . . . ἄκων, s. Reader, Polemo p. 337; cp. GRickert, ΕΚΩΝ and ΑΚΩΝ in Early Gk. Thought [American Classical Studies 20] ’89). ὑπετάγη οὐχ ἑκοῦσα it was subjected against its own will (v.l. οὐ θέλουσα) Ro 8:20 (cp. Philo, Ebr. 122).—DELG. M-M. TW.

Re: Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 20th, 2011, 12:44 pm
by dgoepfrich
If you're averse to using ἐθελόντης because it isn't found in the GNT, I think you're limiting your resouces; the question is: could NT authors have known or discerned the intended sense of the word.
That's really what I'm after here. I see Jesus and Paul (Thanks, Mark! :lol: ) as driven by an obedience to a holy calling, not so much a "volunteer" in the sense of the word as we use it. This is really why I'm trying to limit it to the GNT in this case. Is this concept taught there?
An alternative that does appear in the GNT is ἕκων, found in Rom, 8:20 and 1 Cor 9:17; it would be used in the appropriate case along with a verb, e.g. ἕκων ταῦτα πράττω, "I am doing this of my own accord."
I will chase down this track. Thanks!

Daniel

Re: Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 22nd, 2011, 6:01 pm
by refe
There is also αὐθαίρετος, which occurs in 2 Cor 8:3,17:

αὐθαίρετος, ον (s. αὐτός and αἱρέω; Trag., Thu. et al.; OGI 583, 8; pap; Sym. Ex 35:5, 22; Philo, Mos. 1, 50 v.l.; Jos., Bell. 6, 310; Ath. 24, 4) pert. to being self-chosen, of one’s own accord 2 Cor 8:3, 17.—DELG s.v. αὐτός 2. M-M. (BDAG).

Its adverb, αὐθαιρέτως, occurs in the Letter of Ignatius to the Magnesians 5:2.

αὐθαιρέτως adv. of αὐθαίρετος (Plut., Pel. 290 [24, 8]; Philostrat., Vi. Apoll. 8, 7 p. 306, 22; IMagnMai 163, 15ff; PLond II, 280, 8 p. 193 [55A.D.], restored; BGU 581, 6 et al.; 2 Macc 6:19; 3 Macc 6:6; 7:10) voluntarily ἀποθανεῖν IMg 5:2. (BDAG).

Not sure if that helps, but there you go!

Re: Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 22nd, 2011, 9:17 pm
by Louis L Sorenson
Some form of ἐθελοντη_ / ἐθελοντου is found circa 317 times in Greek literature. Here are a few quotes from Plutarch and Philo.

Plutarchus Biogr., Phil., Cato Minor (0007: 050)
“Plutarchi vitae parallelae, vol. 2.1, 2nd edn.”, Ed. Ziegler, K.
Leipzig: Teubner, 1964.
Chapter 8, section 1, line 2

Τοῦ δὲ δουλικοῦ πολέμου συνεστῶτος, ὃν Σπαρτάκειον ἐκάλουν,
Γέλλιος μὲν ἐστρατήγει, Κάτων δὲ τῆς στρατείας μετεῖχεν ἐθελοντὴς διὰ
τὸν ἀδελφόν· ἐχιλιάρχει γὰρ ὁ ἀδελφὸς αὐτοῦ Καιπίων.

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Plutarchus Biogr., Phil., Brutus (0007: 061)
“Plutarchi vitae parallelae, vol. 2.1, 2nd edn.”, Ed. Ziegler, K.
Leipzig: Teubner, 1964.
Chapter 4, section 5, line 1

ὡς δ' ἐκεῖ πράττειν οὐδὲν ἦν μέγα,
καὶ συνῄεσαν εἰς ταὐτὸ ἤδη Πομπήϊος καὶ Καῖσαρ, ἀγωνιζόμενοι περὶ
τῶν ὅλων, ἧκεν εἰς Μακεδονίαν, ἐθελοντὴς τοῦ κινδύνου μεθέξων· ὅτε
καί φασι Πομπήϊον ἡσθέντα καὶ θαυμάσαντα προσιόντος αὐτοῦ καθεζόμε-
νον ἐξαναστῆναι καὶ περιβαλεῖν ὡς κρείττονα πάντων ὁρώντων.

Philo Judaeus Phil., De posteritate Caini (0018: 006)
“Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt, vol. 2”, Ed. Wendland, P.
Berlin: Reimer, 1897, Repr. 1962.
Section 10, line 2

| τὸν μὲν οὖν Ἀδὰμ ὁ θεὸς ἐκβάλλει, ὁ δὲ Κάιν ἐθελον-
τὴς ἐξέρχεται, δηλοῦντος ἡμῖν Μωυσέως ἑκατέρου τρόπου εἶδος, ἑκούσιόν
τε καὶ ἀκούσιον.

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Philo Judaeus Phil., De Josepho (0018: 021)
“Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt, vol. 4”, Ed. Cohn, L.
Berlin: Reimer, 1902, Repr. 1962.
Section 228, line 2

δώσω δ' ἐθελοντὴς ἐγώ· δοῦλον ἀπὸ ταύτης ἀνάγραφε
τῆς ἡμέρας, ἄσμενος ὑπομενῶ τὰ τῶν νεωνήτων, ἐὰν τὸ παιδίον
ἐθελήσῃς ἐᾶσαι.

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Philo Judaeus Phil., De Josepho
Section 240, line 1

καταπλαγέντων δ' αὐτῶν παρ' ἐλπίδα καὶ διεπτοημένων καὶ
ὥσπερ ὁλκῇ τινι βιαίῳ τὰς ὄψεις ἐπὶ γῆν καταβεβληκότων καὶ πεπη-
γότων ἀφώνων καὶ ἀχανῶν, “μὴ κατηφεῖτε” | εἶπεν, “ἀμνηστίαν ἁπάν-
των παρέχω τῶν εἰς ἐμὲ πεπραγμένων, μηδενὸς ἑτέρου δεῖσθε παρα-
κλήτου· αὐτοκελεύστῳ καὶ ἑκουσίῳ γνώμῃ πρὸς συμβάσεις ἐθελοντὴς
ἀφῖγμαι συμβούλοις χρησάμενος δυσί, τῇ τε πρὸς τὸν πατέρα εὐσεβείᾳ,
ᾧ τὸ πλεῖστον τῆς χάριτος ἀνατίθημι, καὶ τῇ φυσικῇ φιλανθρωπίᾳ, ᾗ
πρὸς ἅπαντας διαφερόντως δὲ πρὸς τοὺς ἀφ' αἵματος χρῶμαι.

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Philo Judaeus Phil., De virtutibus (0018: 025)
“Philonis Alexandrini opera quae supersunt, vol. 5”, Ed. Cohn, L.
Berlin: Reimer, 1906, Repr. 1962.
Section 63, line 3

τὴν γοῦν ἐπιμέλειαν καὶ προστασίαν
τῶν κοινῶν οὔτ' αὐτὸς ἐθελοντὴς εἱλόμην οὔθ' ὑπ' ἄλλου τινὸς ἀνθρώπων
χειροτονηθεὶς ἔλαβον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τοῦ θεοῦ χρησμοῖς ἐναργέσι καὶ λογίοις
ἀριδήλοις ἐμφανῶς θεσπίζοντος καὶ προστάττοντος ἄρχειν ἀνεδυόμην
ἱκετεύων καὶ ποτνιώμενος, εἰς τὸ μέγεθος ἀφορῶν τοῦ πράγματος, ἕως,
ἐπειδὴ πολλάκις ἐκέλευε, δείσας ἐπειθάρχησα.

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Philo Judaeus Phil., De virtutibus
Section 94, line 6

οὕς, ἐπειδὴ
γνώμαις ἑκουσίοις ἀρετὴν οὐ διεπόνησαν, ἄκοντας νουθετεῖ καὶ σωφρο-
νίζει νόμοις ἱεροῖς, οἷς ὁ μὲν σπουδαῖος ἐθελοντής, ὁ δὲ μοχθηρὸς ἄκων
πειθαρχεῖ.

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Re: Volunteering in the NT

Posted: August 23rd, 2011, 8:00 pm
by dgoepfrich
Thank you Refe and Louis!

I find it interesting that the concept is widely used outside the GNT, but only a half a dozen uses by NT writers (mainly Paul). Does that seem more significant than just interesting to anyone else?