Re: Eph 5:19b

Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Tue, 23 Sep 1997 05:20:16 -0500

At 10:47 AM -0500 9/23/97, Rick Strelan wrote:
>How to understand the dative in Eph 5:19b: PSALLONTES THi KARDIAi HYMWN.
>Locative: "in your heart(s)"
>Manner: "with your heart(s)"
>Advantage: "to/for your heart(s)"?
>
>Note also 5:19a: LALOUNTES hEAUTOIS and Col 3:16: AiDONTES EN TAIS KARDIAIS
>(note the preposition + the plural)

I'm not sure that Col 3:16 helps definitively, as it could be eiher
instrumental ("Manner" or "Means") or locative; 5:19a is pretty clearly
true dative and reciprocal-- "to each other." I think Eph 5:19b and Col
3:16 are probably both instrumental; (a) if Eph 19b were locative, it
really OUGHT to have an EN; and (b) there doesn't really seem to be any
place here for THi KARDIAi to mean, as it sometimes does, "silently." So I
would think the instrumental--"manner"--or even "means" ("with your
hearts") would be the preferable interpretation here.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/