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Re: Eph.4/Jeff Warner
Jeff, two articles by Henry P. Hamann ("Church and Ministry: An Exegesis
of Ephesians 4:1-16," _Lutheran Theological Journal_ 16 (1982): 121-28 and
"The Translation of Ephesians 4:12--A Necessary Revision," _Condordia
Journal_ 14 (1988): 42-29), together with a consideration of the use of
the body metaphor in Eph. 4:11-16 have convinced me that the common
collation of the first two prepositional phrases of Eph. 4:12 (e.g. RSV,
NRSV, NIV, REB) is wrong. I do not agree with every aspect of Hamann's
argumentation, but do believe that he is essentially correct. Of the
available ways to understand the relationship of the three phrases, the
one represented so widely today seems to me to be the least defensible.
To link the _pros_ phrase with the first _eis_ phrase, leaving the last
_eis_ phrase independent seems an unlikely choice. With regard to the
body metaphor in the passage, I would hold that "head," "parts," and
"ligaments" are all submetaphors of the body imagery and that the passage
represents a heightened appreciation for "ministers," the gifted
individuals mentioned in v. 11. They are the "ligaments" which mediate
cohesion and growth to the "parts" (Schnackenburg's commentary advocates
such a view, although somewhat hesitantly; Ralph Martin's commentary in
the Interpretation series does so more forcefully).
I hope this helps . . .
John McVay
Pacific Union College
jmcvay@puc.edu