Re: James 1:13 - two families

Steven Cox (scox@ns1.chinaonline.com.cn.net)
Thu, 10 Jul 1997 23:49:00 +0800

Thanks Carl, James
Hi this is one of the clearest examples of personification
in the NT isn't it? And there are three persons, or should
we say "three generations" in this family:

hH EPIQUMIA (being a female) SULLABOUSA
TIKTEI (as a mother) hAMARTIAN (a son),
hH DE hAMARTIA APOTELESQEISA (becomes a
grown man) APOKEUEI (fathers) THANATON
(a grandson)

Why is James making such a play on grammatical gender...?
...as a stagesetter for 3 generations in the alternative
family:
BOULHQEIS (Grandfather) APEKUHSHN hHMAS
(grandchildren) LOGWi ALEQEIAS (Son)

A shame that all this is concealed in English translations
by use of "it gives birth" not "she gives birth", "when it is
full grown" not "when he is full grown" ... and "word" not
"Word"

Or is my imagination running wild again?
Steven

>> From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu>
>> this hUPO is odd with EPIQUMIAS; I would expect not a Personal agent but
>> rather an instrumental. Is EPIQUMIA here personified, as Paul does with
>> hAMARTIA?

At 10:40 97/07/10 EDT, James H. Vellenga wrote:
>Hmmm, that's probably exactly what's going on. After the longing(s)
>drag us away and seduce us (I have chosen the translation of
>DELEAZOMENOS because of the personified context), the longing
>conceives and gives birth to "a sin," and the sin then grows
>up and produces death. James seems to creating an elaborate
>metaphor here with both "longing" and "sin" personified.