hIASTHRION in Rom 3/25
Thomas Kopecek (kopecekt@central.edu)
Wed, 05 Nov 1997 20:19:21 +0000
B-Greekers. It has been about 15 years since I've taught any NT Greek,
and I'm very rusty. I wonder if someone might be able to help me out
with a problem. I've a student who is working on a paper and bugging me
about a key theological and exegetical problem (for the student, at
least). And I can't seem to find my copy of Sanday and Headlam in the
ICC series--boxed up somewhere probably. As I try to jog my memory, I
think S and H say something about hLASTHRION in Rom 3:25 as meaning the
top of the ark or mercy seat, as in the LXX, taking it as a noun rather
than an adjective (so also BAG). But they've a problem with the
substantive, for a reason I simply can't recover from my memory, even
though that is the way the Fathers normally read it (say, Origen) and
the way it appears even in ancient liturgies. So I vaguely recall that S
and H want to go back to an adjectival reading, apparently reading it as
a masculine, but throughout associating the passage with the Jewish
sacrifices on the Day of Atonement.
So, my questions are:
1. Does anyone happen to have S and H at hand so that s/he can set me
straight on what they claim, and how they end up
translating/interpreting the verse.
2. What makes more sense here, neuter substantive or masculine
adjective?
3. As I recall--again most vaguely--there was a discussion somewhere
about hLASTHRION in this Romans passage, and somebody or other claimed
that it did not refer to Yom Kippur in any way. Was that on B-Greek,
and if so, was there a linguistic reason given? Perhaps someone can tell
me how I can search the Archives to find out about whether such a
discussion ever took place.
My apologies if this set of questions may stray beyond the normal
boundaries of B-Greek. And thanks in advance for whatever help anyone
can give.
Tom Kopecek