Nearly all the translations take the datives in this verse as a
coordinate series of four items. (They differ among themselves,
though, about whether "of the apostles" should be construed with both
"teaching" and "fellowship" or with "teaching" only.) The absence of
a conjunction between "fellowship" and "breaking," though, makes me
wonder whether there is a better way to construe the relationship
among these datives.
Is it possible to see a series of two ("teaching" and "fellowship"),
with "fellowship" further described by another series of two items:
"fellowship in the breaking of bread and the prayers." The one
translation I have found so far that does just this is the BIBLE IN
BASIC ENGLISH. I know little about this version and
The two issues I see are whether KOINWNIA can be used with the dative
this way (the genitive seems to be the usual case for expressing the
sphere within which the fellowship takes place) and how much
importance to attach to the asyndeton (i.e., absence of the
conjunction). Are there extra-biblical examples of KOINWNIA with the
dative rather than genitive? Is asyndeton just a way of avoiding
monotony in a long list of coordinate items, or does it signify some
sort of sub-grouping? If the absence of the conjunction between the
second and third items is supposed to separate the four items into
two groups of two, it's hard for me to see why (is it that the last
two are considered more ceremonial than the first two?)
I am inclined to read the verse as describing two primary apostolic
activities: teaching and fellowship (I am construing TWN APOSTOLWN
with both.) The fellowship is more fully described as taking place in
the spheres of the common meal and of established times of prayer
(THE prayers). But my questions keep me from being confident about
this. Does anyone have any answers?
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In Love to God and Neighbor,
Randy Leedy
Bob Jones University
Greenville, SC
RLeedy@wpo.bju.edu
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