[B-Greek] FW: 2 Peter 1:1 EN as "by" or "in"

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Sat Sep 27 02:42:35 EDT 2008


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Nicholas Lamme" <nlamme at midamerica.edu>
To: "B-Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 27. september 2008 02:43
Subject: [B-Greek] FW: 2 Peter 1:1 EN as "by" or "in"
>
> Elizabeth,
>
>     I certainly think you are right to take into account the different
> authorial styles.  I know I am venturing off the strictly grammatical here,
> but my overall reading of the book obviously influences my interpretations
> of its parts, even these grammatical questions.  I promise that the
> following will have a point.  My understanding of 2 Peter revolves around
> the supposed antagonists of chapter 2, who appear to be incipient Gnostics,
> who by their teaching have denied two principle presuppositions upon which
> the Christian faith rests: 1) a personal and imminent God who is actively at
> work in the lives of his people as well as in the affairs of pagan nations;
> 2) the historicity of the scriptural witness.  Even in his first two verses,
> he seems to be attacking (albeit indirectly) the very core of the
> destructive teachings of the false teachers in chapter 2.
>
> Now to the point:
>
>    2 Peter is not primarily concerned with the ethical.  I think that he
> labors to show how ones life flows form ones doctrine.  A faulty foundation
> issues forth in a weak and ultimately fallen structure.  I do not think that
> Peter has in mind forensic justification in the way Paul would.  If he does,
> he certainly does not express himself like Paul.  But is it not possible
> that by the DIKAIOSUNH...IHSOU CRISTOU he has in mind the whole work of God
> on behalf of his people?  Thus, their faith is of equal value or like
> preciousness because the faith of the Apostle and the faith of the reader
> share the same object.  By this reading, DIKAIOSUNH is a synecdoche for the
> whole work of Jesus Christ.
>
>    I hope that I have been clear about my thought process.  If EN is in
> fact a marker of means or agency, and the thrust is primarily ethical, then
> what does he mean by the "justice" of our God and Savior Jesus Christ?  And
> how does the justice of God issue forth in faith?  In other words, how have
> these believers come to obtain faith "by means of" God's justice?  It seems
> hard to square this with the overall teaching of the NT.  I'd appreciate any
> thoughts or critique of my process if I seem to be failing at some point.
> Thanks.
>
> Nicholas Lamme
> CLIR
> Guadalupe, Costa Rica

Thanks for a good question.

As George has clarified, EN can have a wide range of meanings in different contexts. Having just 
gone
through Ephesians again, I remember the phrase EN CRISTWi which is so predominant in that letter.
The meaning is usually "by means of", "by way of" or - to spell it out more: "on the basis of and by 
means of what X has done."

You are right that DIKAIOSUNH does not mean "justice". I am dismayed to see how poorly standard
English translations have handled this verse. They are either so literal that the meaning is
obscure, or if they try to be clearer, they only make their misunderstandings clear. Well, I suppose 
they are just echoing the commentaries which all seem to flounder. This puts me in the awkward 
position to claim that pretty much all commentators and translations have misunderstood the word. At 
least all those I have been able to check.

Louw and Nida explains DIKAIOSUNH as follows: "the act of doing what God requires - 'righteousness, 
doing what God requires, doing what is right,'" or you could say "doing the will of God." This is 
the sense of the word in all 6 occurrences in 1 and 2 Peter.

In 2 Peter 1:1, we are reminded that Jesus did the will of God through giving his life as a ransom
for us, and our acceptance of and faith in this fact is precious.

In a sense, then, the word does point to the work of Christ, but the focus is on the the work he did
to save us as indicated by the description of Jesus as "our Saviour".

Iver Larsen
SIL Bible Translation Consultant




More information about the B-Greek mailing list