1 Corinthians 1:2 - ἐπικαλουμένοις

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S Walch
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1 Corinthians 1:2 - ἐπικαλουμένοις

Post by S Walch »

τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις, σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ, αὐτῶν καὶ ἡμῶν

Is there anything that can determine whether ἐπικαλουμένοις is to be considered "who are called by" over and above "who call upon"? I recently began reading a commentary by Kenneth E. Bailey, and he argues for the former rather than the latter. He appeals to BADG's discussion of the passive with regards to ἐπικαλέω, despite the fact that BADG itself places 1 Cor 1:2 as under the latter meaning.
cwconrad
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Re: 1 Corinthians 1:2 - ἐπικαλουμένοις

Post by cwconrad »

S Walch wrote:τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ θεοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ, ἡγιασμένοις ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, κλητοῖς ἁγίοις, σὺν πᾶσιν τοῖς ἐπικαλουμένοις τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ ἐν παντὶ τόπῳ, αὐτῶν καὶ ἡμῶν

Is there anything that can determine whether ἐπικαλουμένοις is to be considered "who are called by" over and above "who call upon"? I recently began reading a commentary by Kenneth E. Bailey, and he argues for the former rather than the latter. He appeals to BADG's discussion of the passive with regards to ἐπικαλέω, despite the fact that BADG itself places 1 Cor 1:2 as under the latter meaning.
One pretty clear indication is that ἐπικαλουμένοις takes a direct object in the accusative, namely τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. The verb is middle, not passive.
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
Stephen Carlson
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Re: 1 Corinthians 1:2 - ἐπικαλουμένοις

Post by Stephen Carlson »

Bailey seems to arguing for some kind of LXX idiom, based on this section in BDAG:
BDAG 373 ἐπικαλέω 2 wrote:. . . The pass. is used w. ὄνομα, as in the OT, in ἐπικαλεῖται τὸ ὄνομά τινος ἐπί τινα someone's name is called over someone to designate the latter as the property of the former (KGalling, TLZ 81, '56, 65-70; of God's name 2 Km 6:2; 3 Km 8:43; Jer 7:30; 14:9 and oft.) Ac 15:17 (Am 9:12, also 2 Ch 7:14). . . .
But I think the syntax of these examples differ from 1 Cor 1:2. In these examples τὸ ὄνομα is the subject of the middle, whereas in 1 Cor 1:2 it is not the subject but the object. Plus, the construction in 1 Cor 1:2 does not have the preposition phrase with ἐπί.

ETA: BDAG and BAGD have the same wording.
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
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S Walch
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Re: 1 Corinthians 1:2 - ἐπικαλουμένοις

Post by S Walch »

The problem really is that KEB does indeed specifically state that ἐπικαλουμένοις is passive (no less than four times, I may add); contrary to what I thought (and which was confirmed by C. Conrad) that ἐπικαλουμένοις was in fact, middle - not passive.

It must also be said that KEB appeals more to "proof-texts" that are more theologically minded, rather than linguistically minded (Isa 43:7; Jer 7:11).

I was just making sure I wasn't just seeing things when I was looking at the Greek text itself.



(For those interested, the book in Question is Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes. Plus my apologies: it isn't right to call it a "commentary" as such.)
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