[B-Greek] 2 Peter 1:20 and context
George F Somsel
gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Wed May 26 11:46:45 EDT 2010
While I would not disagree with your analysis that v 21 gives the explanation for v 20, I think you are incorrect to state that the best procedure is to look at v 21 first. It is always best to take the passage as it is presented. Besides, how do you justify taking v 21 first when v 20 specifically states τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες TOUTO PRWTON GINWSKONTES ? The statement precedes the explanation (or elaboration) of the statement. My guess is that the cause of this role reversal lies in a desire to conform to the target language in Englishing it.
george
gfsomsel
… search for truth, hear truth,
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth,
defend the truth till death.
- Jan Hus
_________
________________________________
From: Iver Larsen <iver_larsen at sil.org>
To: Carl Conrad <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
Cc: B-Greek Lists <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tue, May 25, 2010 8:52:33 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] 2 Peter 1:20 and context
This verse has been discussed before, but it may be worth revisiting it.
While I agree with the importance of context, I think we also should prioritize
context so that the immediate context carries most weight. In the case of v. 20,
v. 21 gives the explanation of anything that might be unclear in v. 20, and this
is marked by the explanatory discourse particle GAR.
20 τοῦτο πρῶτον γινώσκοντες ὅτι πᾶσα προφητεία γραφῆς ἰδίας ἐπιλύσεως οὐ
γίνεται· 21 οὐ γὰρ θελήματι ἀνθρώπου ἠνέχθη προφητεία ποτέ, ἀλλὰ ὑπὸ πνεύματος
ἁγίου φερόμενοι ἐλάλησαν ἀπὸ θεοῦ ἄνθρωποι.
20 TOUTO PRWTON GINWSKONTES hOTI PASA PROFHTEIA GRAFHS IDIAS EPILUSEWS OU
GINETAI
21 OU GAR QELHMATI ANQRWPOU HNECQH PROFHTEIA POTE, ALLA hUPO PNEUMATOS hAGIOU
FEROMENOI ELALHSAN APO QEOU ANQRWPOI.
Because of the GAR, the best procedure is to look at v. 21 first. The first
clause is framed as a negative: Never is a prophecy brought forth (given,
spoken, written) by a person's (own) will. The second gives the positive side:
People/prophets speak words from God as they are being carried along (inspired)
by the Holy Spirit.
So, if we look at v. 20, IDIAS most likely refers to the person/prophet at any
unspecified time, since these are the people that occur in v. 21.
The GINETAI refers to a prophecy "happening" or "coming into being" in parallel
to FERW and LALEW.
Because of these parallels, EPILUSIS must have its basic meaning of "releasing",
i.e. the prophet releases (speaks out or writes) the prophetic words he or she
has received from God through the Holy Spirit.
In terms of translations, NET did fairly well and NLT is not too bad, but NIV
and several others seem to be stuck in the old KJV tradition (which goes further
back to Wycliffe and probably to the Vulgate.)
Iver Larsen
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl Conrad" <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
To: "Robert George" <4examp at gmail.com>
Cc: "B-Greek Lists" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 25. maj 2010 16:35
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] The Utility/Worth of B-Greek (was "Top 3Enlightenment")
Bill Mounce in his latest "Mondays with Mounce" blog entry has a nice note
on the importance of context in interpreting a Greek text which is open to
multiple legitimate interpretations:
(http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/typepad/pQHu/~3/iCPRxmkgHfw/can-an-individual-interpret-scripture-2-pet-120.html)
"As is so often in Greek, the original language gives us the range of
interpretive options, but usually it is context that makes the final decision.
Greek is not a magic key that reveals the one and only possible interpretation;
otherwise we wouldn’t have endless supplies of Greek commentaries."
---
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