[B-Greek] Hebrews 1:6 and 2:5 (Was question)

Yancy Smith yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Tue Mar 9 17:12:45 EST 2010


Iver,

I admit that my understanding of OIKOUMENH as the "world" to come or the heavenly world is a minority position and an unusual use of the word. And that it has refers to that world in 2:5 with the qualifier "future." I also believe that 2:5 is a back-reference to what the author is discussing in the exordium 1:1-2:18 of his speech/composition. Besides Lane, this analysis has been accepted and cogently argued by Craig Koester in the Anchor Bible so I am not in bad company to take a position against BDAG. I referenced GH OIKOUMENH in Exodus as a possible background and mentioned its relevance to Hebrews 4:1-11 as a picture of the world to come (which, by the way does not refer to a world yet uncreated). David daSilva also argues for this meaning of OIKOUMENH in 1:6 saying "the author's terminology may well have been influenced by the use of terms GH and OIKOUMENH in the Psalms. There are numerous psalms in which the earth is shaken, but the OIKOUMENH in the Psalms is unshakable. Psalm 95(96):9-10 reads προσκυνήσατε τῷ κυρίῳ ἐν αὐλῇ ἁγίᾳ αὐτοῦ, σαλευθήτω ἀπὸ προσώπου αὐτοῦ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ. εἴπατε ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ῾Ο κύριος ἐβασίλευσεν, καὶ γὰρ κατώρθωσεν τὴν οἰκουμένην, ἥτις οὐ σαλευθήσεται, "Do obeisance to the Lord in his holy court, let all the earth (GH) shake from before him. Say among the nations, "The lord became king! Indeed, he set right the world (OIKOUMENH), which shall not be shaken." DaSilva remarks, "the psalmists are not consistent in their application of ... terminology and no doubt considered "earth" and "world" to be synonymous, [but] the author of Hebrews appears ot adopt the distinctions present in [1:6; 12:26-28; cf. 1:10-12] to create differentiation between the created world and the unshakable realm where the Son is enthroned and believers will enter at the last "shaking" of the created order." (DeSilva, _Perseverance in Gratitude: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary on the Epistle "to the Hebrews," 97).

Iver asked:

How will you defend the unprecedented translation of EISAGW EIS with "present 
to"?

[Yancy Smith] 
Well, you and I work in Bible translation and we know that, while precedent is good cover, it isn't as helpful in breaking out of ruts. As far as EISAGW or EISAGW EIS is concerned, I don't think "present" is outside its semantic range. For example in Lysia's speech Against Nikomachos 2.3-5 (Lys. 30.2) The Lysias is ginning up to make Nicky look as bad as possible: "Now, to tell how Nicomachus's father was a public slave, and what were the man's own occupations in his youth, *and at what age he was admitted to his clan,* would be a lengthy affair: but when he became a commissioner for transcribing the laws, it is common knowledge what outrages he committed on the city." The relevant portion of the text is *καὶ οἷα νέος ὢν οὗτος ἐπετήδευσε, καὶ ὅσα ἔτη γεγονὼς εἰς τοὺς φράτερας εἰσήχθη* KAI hOIA NEOS WN hOUTOS EPETHDEUSE, KAI hOSA ETH GEGONWS EIS TOUS FRATERAS and it refers to the formal presention or introduction of a child to the members of one's civic clan or tribe φρατρία as an adult worthy of the franchize of free citizenry. While that is near the meaning of Heb. 1:6,  more to the point are the multiple examples of EISAGW EIS in the LXX about bringing someone into one's house. The example in Ben Sirach (LXX) is interesting for its semantic value, Μὴ πάντα ἄνθρωπον εἴσαγε εἰς τὸν οἶκόν σου· πολλὰ γὰρ τὰ ἔνεδρα τοῦ δολίου. MH PANTA ANQRWPON EISAGE EIS TON OIKON SOU; POLLA GAR TA ENEDRA TOU DOLIOU. Where one's "house" is a metonym for one's family. One could be forgiven for translating EISAGW here "invite into your home" (NRSV) or even "present to" the members of your household. See v. 34  ἐνοίκισον ἀλλότριον, καὶ διαστρέψει σε ἐν ταραχαῖς καὶ ἀπαλλοτριώσει σε τῶν ἰδίων σου. ENOIKISON ALLOTRION, KAI DIASTREYEI SE EN TARACAIS KAI APALLOTRIWSEI SE TWN IDIWN SOU. The reason I think that the domestic shere is appropriate for the metaphor of presenting Jesus to the OIKOUMENH is the domestic imagery that runs all the way through from 1:6 to 2:5-11 (the thesis of the book) and 2:12-18 where Christ "presents" believers to the Father as "brothers" and 3:2 where Christ is compared with Moses, the faithful servant in the house OIKWi AUTOU.
	If these considerations are not sufficient to establish the appropriatness of some meanings of "present" as a within the semantic range of EISAGW, taking a gander at LSJ will probably do the trick.   

[Yancy Smith] 
> Here is the text and footnote we put in our English translation for 
> translators:
>
>
> And then, when God presents his first-born Son to the world,* he says,
>
> “Let all God’s angels worship him.”
>
> [*] Word This may mean the world into which Jesus was born (see Lk. 2:1-14) or 
> it may have the same meaning as in 2:5—the world to come, to which Christ is 
> presented as king after his resurrection (see Php. 2:9-11).
>
 



Yancy Smith
Yancy W. Smith, PhD
World Bible Translation Center
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Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.







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