[B-Greek] SUGKEKERASMENOUS in Hebrews 4:2‏

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Wed Sep 3 00:55:04 EDT 2008


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Leonard Jayawardena" <leonardj at live.com>
To: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 3. september 2008 06:34
Subject: [B-Greek] SUGKEKERASMENOUS in Hebrews 4:2‏


 C.W.C.: Now it may be that THi PISTEI could construe as well with TOIS AKOUSASIN: "those who heard 
(the message) in faith." That is, in fact, the way NET Englishes the verse, otherwise along the same 
lines as my interpretation of SUGKEKERASMENOIS as middle: "2 For we had good news proclaimed to us 
just as they did. But the message they heard did them no good, since they did not join in with those 
who heard it in faith."Whether one construes THi PISTEI with SUGKEKERASMENOIS or with AKOUSASIN is 
perhaps not really so significant, since it must be understood with both (APO KOINOU): "those who 
joined with the ones having heard in faith" -- i.e. the ones who responded to the message with 
faith, the ones who believed the proclamation -- joined IN BELIEF the ones who had heard.LJ: You are 
right in saying that, whichever THi PISTEI is construed with, ultimately the idea is a joining in 
belief, though I think THi PISTEI TOIS AKOUSASIN as understood as "the ones having heard in faith" 
provides a direct match to hOI PISTEUSANTES in the immediately following verse. As I explained, hOI 
PISTEUSANTES of v. 3 are the NT antitype of THi PISTEI TOIS AKOUSASIN of the Israelites of Moses's 
day. Additionally, in the vast majority of cases of its use in the NT, AKOUW is used in its basic 
sense of "to hear"--including all other occurrences of this word in Hebrews itself--therefore the 
statistical probability too favours the construction of TOIS AKOUSASIN with THi PISTEI.
>
> Leonard Jayawardena
> Sri Lanka

As far as BAGD is concerned, it is ambivalent. When discussing the singular participle, they take 
THi PISTEI with the participle: "the word which they heard did not benefit them, because it was not 
united by faith (dat. of instrum.; cf. Bl-D. §202 app.) with the hearers."

My guess is that the NET combines "in faith" with "heard", because the word "heard" in English 
cannot by itself refer to responding in faith like the Greek AKOUW can. It is always difficult to 
know how a translator has analyzed the Greek grammar based on how it is rendered in idiomatic 
English.
Both from the word order and from the semantics, it seems most likely that THi PISTEI qualifies the 
participle. Being joined is rather broad, and the focus of these verses is "faith" or lack thereof, 
so the word clarifies in what way they these people did not get joined with the hearers/believers, 
i.e. they lacked faith (which the others had). This fits nicely with the following hOI PISTEUSANTES. 
These believers are contrasted to those who did not have faith. I could not find any example in the 
GNT of the verb AKOUW being combined with PISTIS. It doesn't need that kind of qualification. I 
think the main problem is when we think in English and assume that AKOUW corresponds to "hear".

Iver Larsen




More information about the B-Greek mailing list