[b-greek] Re: 1 Corinthians 2:13 — PNEUMATIKOS vs. PNEUMATIKA

From: Ben Crick (ben.crick@argonet.co.uk)
Date: Wed Apr 11 2001 - 12:04:12 EDT


On Tue 10 Apr 2001 (17:12:35), jdevine@familyconnect.com wrote:
> I have a question regarding the apparent differentiation between the two
> forms of PNEUMATIKOS in this verse. It seems that, in the context of
> Paul's discourse on how mankind gets spiritual wisdom, he refers to
> some differentiation between PNEUMATIKOS and PNEUMATIKA. (Otherwise,
> why would he use the mechanistic term SUGKRINW to link the two?)
> Apparently he uses
> the picture of SUGKRINONTES (SUG- with KRINONTES) as the relationship
> between the two, explaining how God effects communication of spiritual
> truths to mankind. The whole of the two appear very mechanistic an
> analogy would be two gears enmeshed together with the source & force of
> energy/content coming from one, being transferred thru the other.

 Dear Joe,

 hA KAI LALOUMEN OUK EN DIDAKTOIS ANQRWPINHS SOFIAS LOGOIS ALL' EN
 DIDAKTOIS PNEUMATOS, PNEUMATIKOIS PNEUMATIKA SUGKRINONTES.

 PNEUMATIKOIS can be masculine plural, or neuter plural; people, or things.
 If things, what things? Spiritual matters? or spiritual words?

 You ask about PNEUMATI-KOIS, -KA but the crux is the meaning of SUGKRINONTES.

 Historically, the LXX uses it to mean "interpreting (of dreams)" in Genesis
 40, 41, and Daniel 2, 4, 5 and 7; and in Polybius. So the RV Margin 2nd
 alternative has "interpreting spiritual things to spiritual men". The RSV and
 the NEB have "interpreting spiritual truths to those who have the Spirit".
 The RSV margin 1st alternative is "interpreting spiritual truths in spiritual
 language". hO DE PNEUMATIKOS (verse 15) comes after our verse; indeed some
 versions start a new paragraph after verse 13. So PN' PN' SUG' refers to what
 has gone before, in verse 12, ELABOMEN ALLA TO PNEUMA TO EK TOU QEOU. We now
 have the Spirit of God, not merely the spirit of man. The anarthrous use of
 PNEUMATIKOI does not easily connect with hO DE PNEUMATIKOS in verse 15.

 Jerome in the Vulgate translates it as "comparing" /conparantes/. This is
 the Pauline usage in 2 Corinthians 10:12, after all. The RSV margin 2nd
 alternative has "comparing spiritual things with spiritual". Spiritual
 conclusions coming from spiritual premisses. The KJV has 'comparing spiritual
 things with spiritual'. TC Edwards writes "The higher Christian training
 resembles Plato's criterion of dialectical power, the faculty to see the
 relation of the sciences to one another and to true being (cf. Rep.VII.
 p.457). With SUGKRINONTES compare Plato's SUNOPTIKOS. The words are a clear
 atatement of the necessity for an objective teaching, and its spirit is
 opposed to the theory of the Clementine Homilies (xiii.6) that men require
 only an inward revelation. It is this objectiveness of the revelation that
 saves the Apostle's conception of the province of the spiritual man from
 the Gnostic intellectualism, which deprived Christianity of its foundation in
 historical fact and reduced it to a philosophical speculation." (TC Edwards,
 /A Commentary on First Corinthians/, London, 1885, p62f).

 JB Lightfoot translates "'combining the spiritual with the spiritual', i.e.
 applying spiritual methods to explain spiritual truths". He quotes Theodore
 of Mopsuestia DIA TWN TOU PNEUMATOS APODEIXEWN THN TOU PNEUMATOS DIDASKALIAN
 PISTOUMEQA. This is the proper meaning of SUGKRINEIN 'to combine', as
 DIAKRINEIN is 'to separate'. SUGKRINEIN, it is true, sometimes gets the
 sense of 'comparing', as in 2 Cor 10:12; but it does not suit the context
 here, whether explained, as by Chrysostom and others, of comparing the
 types of the Old Testament with the tidings of the New, or more generally.
 Others again, taking PNEUMATIKOIS to be masculine, translate it 'explaining
 spiritual things to spiritual men'. Against this it may be urged, (1) that
 though SUGKRINEIN is frequently used of interpreting dreams (cf. Gen xl.8,
 22, xli.12, Dan v.12), yet the leading notion which it involves is 'finding
 out', 'comparing' the phenomena of the dream with the phenomena of common
 life (so KRINEIN, EGKRINEIN are used of dreams), whixh notion is out of
 place here; (2) the combination PNEUMATIKOIS PNEUMATIKA points to the
 neuter gender, as otherwise we should rather expect PNEUMATIKA TOIS
 PNEUMATIKOIS; (3) the dative is naturally governed by the SUN of SUGKRINONTES,
 and (4) the qualifications of the recipient seem to be introduced first in
 the following verse by YUCIKOS DE." (JB Lightfoot, /Notes on the Epistles of
 St Paul/, MacMillan, London, 1895, reprinted Zondervan, 1957, p 180f).

 The RV Margin 1st alternative follows Lightfoot; so does the ASV. The late
 John Wenham commented to the present writer "Weiss and Bousset say 'Combining
 spiritual things with spiritual words', or 'giving spiritual truth a
 spiritual form'. This seems to summarise very pithily the substance of the
 preceding verse. 'Combine' is a common use of SUGKRINW." (from my notes of a
 lecture he gave in 1963).

> My main concern is if there is any historical evidence of the usage of
> PNEUMATIKA in ancient Greek & how it was used together with PNEUMATIKOS.
> Thank you for your responses.

 Sorry I can't come up with anything more specific on PNEUMATI-KA, -KOIS.

 ERRWSQE

 Ben

-- 
 Revd Ben Crick, BA CF
 <ben.crick@argonet.co.uk>
 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)
 http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm

--- B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [jwrobie@mindspring.com] To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-327Q@franklin.oit.unc.edu To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Mon Feb 11 2002 - 18:40:24 EST