Luk 11:8 ἀναίδεια
Posted: September 30th, 2011, 1:34 am
The meaning of the phrase τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ in Luk 11:8 is disputed for two reasons. It is not clear who the αὐτοῦ refers to and the exact meaning of ἀναίδειαν here is disputed.
Let me quote the whole of verse 8: λέγω ὑμῖν, εἰ καὶ οὐ δώσει αὐτῷ ἀναστὰς διὰ τὸ εἶναι φίλον αὐτοῦ, διά γε τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ ἐγερθεὶς δώσει αὐτῷ ὅσων χρῄζει.
Jesus tells a hypothetical story that starts in verse 5: Suppose one of you have a friend and you go to that friend at midnight asking to borrow some bread because an unexpected visitor has arrived from a long journey and you have no food to give him. Then suppose your friend inside refuses to do it because it is late, his children and he has already gone to bed and he has bolted the door. It is too much bother to get up in the middle of the night. Jesus stops the story there and continues in v. 8: I tell you: even if he does not get up and give him because of being a friend to him, at least then he will get up and give him what he needs because of his ἀναίδεια. So, Jesus gives the next step of the story in an indirect way. The man inside will eventually get up and give him some bread, not because they are friends, but because of something else.
Does the grammar indicate whether the αὐτοῦ in τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ refers to the man outside or inside?
ἀναίδεια is sometimes translated "shamelessness", but I don't think that is the most helpful gloss. LSJ has: "lack of proper restraint or consideration, intemperateness." The noun form is rare in the Bible, since the only other occurrence is in Sir 25:22. The adjective ἀναιδής is found several times in the LXX. LSJ has: "lacking in restraint, intemperate" or when describing things "unstoppable." The word is basically the opposite of αἰδώς, which refers to awe, reverence, respect, regard for others.. It seems to me that ἀναίδεια refers to a lack of respect or regard for others, inconsiderateness, and therefore most naturally refers to the man outside who did not respect the friend's wish not to be disturbed in the mdidle of the night.
However, others have argued that it would be shameful in the cultural context for the man in bed not to get up and give to his friend. This is demanded both by the social laws of friendship and laws of hospitality. In this view, it is the man inside who does not want to be known as a shameless person and therefore because of "his shamelessness" finally gets up and gives the bread.
Is there sufficient grammatical, lexical and contextual support for this second option?
Iver Larsen
Let me quote the whole of verse 8: λέγω ὑμῖν, εἰ καὶ οὐ δώσει αὐτῷ ἀναστὰς διὰ τὸ εἶναι φίλον αὐτοῦ, διά γε τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ ἐγερθεὶς δώσει αὐτῷ ὅσων χρῄζει.
Jesus tells a hypothetical story that starts in verse 5: Suppose one of you have a friend and you go to that friend at midnight asking to borrow some bread because an unexpected visitor has arrived from a long journey and you have no food to give him. Then suppose your friend inside refuses to do it because it is late, his children and he has already gone to bed and he has bolted the door. It is too much bother to get up in the middle of the night. Jesus stops the story there and continues in v. 8: I tell you: even if he does not get up and give him because of being a friend to him, at least then he will get up and give him what he needs because of his ἀναίδεια. So, Jesus gives the next step of the story in an indirect way. The man inside will eventually get up and give him some bread, not because they are friends, but because of something else.
Does the grammar indicate whether the αὐτοῦ in τὴν ἀναίδειαν αὐτοῦ refers to the man outside or inside?
ἀναίδεια is sometimes translated "shamelessness", but I don't think that is the most helpful gloss. LSJ has: "lack of proper restraint or consideration, intemperateness." The noun form is rare in the Bible, since the only other occurrence is in Sir 25:22. The adjective ἀναιδής is found several times in the LXX. LSJ has: "lacking in restraint, intemperate" or when describing things "unstoppable." The word is basically the opposite of αἰδώς, which refers to awe, reverence, respect, regard for others.. It seems to me that ἀναίδεια refers to a lack of respect or regard for others, inconsiderateness, and therefore most naturally refers to the man outside who did not respect the friend's wish not to be disturbed in the mdidle of the night.
However, others have argued that it would be shameful in the cultural context for the man in bed not to get up and give to his friend. This is demanded both by the social laws of friendship and laws of hospitality. In this view, it is the man inside who does not want to be known as a shameless person and therefore because of "his shamelessness" finally gets up and gives the bread.
Is there sufficient grammatical, lexical and contextual support for this second option?
Iver Larsen