From: Mark Goodacre (goodacms@m4-arts.bham.ac.uk)
Date: Tue Jul 15 1997 - 05:00:58 EDT
Dear all
I enjoyed, and now rather miss, the thread on PEIRASMOS (though 
perhaps we will return to it as we digest Jeffrey Gibson's recent 
concluding statement?), and perhaps we might turn to one of the other 
intriguing mysteries of the Lord's Prayer, the petition: 
TON ARTON hHMWN TON EPIOUSION DOS hHMIN SHMEION (Matt. 6.11 and par.)
I have no strong opinion on this and would be most interested to hear 
how people unravel it.  The difficulty is the lack of occurrence 
anywhere else of the word EPIOUSION - except in the later fathers who 
were puzzling over what it might mean.  I note from BAGD that Origen, 
Chrysostom, Jerome, etc. all attempted to derive it from EPI + OUSIA, 
hence 'necessary for existence'.
Of course the most famous interpretation is 'Give us this day 
[SHMEION, cf. Luke KAQ'  hHMERAN] our daily [TON EPIOUSION] bread', 
derived, according to BAGD from the notion that it is a 
substantivizing of EPI THN OUSIAN, sc. hHMERAN.  I would have thought 
that this is pretty unlikely, particularly given the fact that KAQ 
hHMERAN (Luke) and SHMEION (Matt.) are supplied.  What would 'for the 
current day' add to the petition?
The third possibility, often found in the margin, is 'our bread for 
the morrow', derived according to BAGD from hH EPIOUSA, sc. hHMERA.
Given that so many people pray this prayer KAQ' hHMERAN it is amazing 
that the question so rarely gets asked about this rather mystifying 
petition.
Good wishes
Mark
------------------------
Dr Mark Goodacre
Department of Theology
University of Birmingham
Edgbaston
Birmingham   B15 2TT
Tel.: 0121 414 7512         Email: M.S.Goodacre@Bham.ac.uk
Fax.: 0121 414 6866         http://www.bham.ac.uk/theology/goodacre.htm
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