Re: Luke 2:14: en uyistois qew, en anqrwpois eudokias

Jonathan Robie (jwrobie@mindspring.com)
Wed, 20 Nov 1996 08:13:42 -0500

At 06:15 AM 11/20/96 -0600, Carl W. Conrad wrote:
>At 5:49 AM -0600 11/20/96, Jonathan Robie wrote:
>>OK, I thought I could parse this, and then someone pointed out that UYISTOIS
>>is plural. Why plural?

>Here's a couple stabs at it:
>
>(1) It's a neuter plural generalizing phrase, of a sort well-exemplified
>elsewhere in the NT: TA EPOURANIA, TA EPIGAIA.
>
>(2) Semitic (Hebrew at least) has a plural (dual?) for Heaven: ha
>Shamayim,which seems to be represented at some points in the NT with the
>plural hOI OURANOI.
>
>There may be five or six other reasons too. Maybe they will rise to
>consciousness and come back to us. ;-)

Thanks, Carl. Are you ever at a loss?

In either case, then, I assume that the meaning is "glory to God in the
heavens", not "glory to the most high God", as I originally parsed it.

Jonathan

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