Another question probably already dealt with by now. I rather think that
every language has oodles of words that have lost their original concrete
referents in usage as they have taken on generalized metaphorical senses,
and that is the case with these words. I think "filth" and "offscouring"
are about as good as you'll get for PERIKAQARMATA and PERIPSEMA inasmuch as
they derive from verbs KAQAIRW, "cleanse" and YAW, "scrape,
rub"--PERIKAQARMATA is rather like "dirty bath water" and PERIPSEMA
probably (I'm guessing) referred to the sweat mixed with olive oil rubbed
off their bodies by athletes using a strigil after heavy exercise. I think
"rubbish," "dirty bathwater," "offscourings" all express the idea, but an
added element in the ancient conception is the notion of ritual pollution
attaching to many such words--and the notion of ritual purity in Judaism is
not significantly different: what is "unclean" is abominable and accursed.
In the current context, however, I think Paul is not using these words in a
ritual sense but simply is referring to himself and (implicitly) to other
missionaries as despised and outcast in their larger social context.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Summer: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(704) 675-4243
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/