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b-greek-digest V1 #719




b-greek-digest             Wednesday, 24 May 1995       Volume 01 : Number 719

In this issue:

        bloopers
        Re: Jn. 1:1
        Re: Colwell rule
        Re: Revelation and worship
        Re: Colwell rule
        Re: Let's make a critical apparatus.
        Re: Let's make a critical apparatus.
        Re Gal 3.16--seed or seeds? 
        Re: New Metzger Festschrift 
        Re: Gal 3.16--seed or seeds?
        Re: Jn. 1:1
        Fulbright Deadline Reminder
        Re: Let's make a critical apparatus 
        Re: Let's make a critical apparatus.
        Re: Let's make a critical apparatus
        Luke's Use of KARDIA
        Signatures, anonymity, and subject matter
        Re: Colwell's rule
        Information?
        Re: anarthrous pred. nouns
        Re: anarthrous pred. nouns
        Signatures, anonymity, and subject matter

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: fuzzy <fuzzy@prairie.lakes.com>
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 21:34:35 -0500
Subject: bloopers

>For cat-lovers: Archipuss, as mentioned in the letter to Philemon
>Roman Emperor Dominion (Domitian) 
>and one of the Fathers: Turtleon (Tertullian)

        What?????

>More seriously, is anyone out there particularly interested in the Book of 
>Revelation, with special attention to its worship materials?

        What do you mean by "worship materials"?


------------------------------

From: David Moore <dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 21:16:06 -0700
Subject: Re: Jn. 1:1

Tim Staker (Timster132@aol.com) wrote:

>Mr. Moffatt translated John 1:1 here with the qualitative
>sense:  "and the Word was divine."

	"Divine" has a pretty wide semantic range, and Moffatt's 
translation is weak here.  The quality expressed by QEOS in Jn. 1:1c 
has the word QEON in 1b as its referent, the former (QEOS in 1c) being 
a *qualitative* expression of the latter (QEON in 1b).

    David L. Moore                    Director of Education
    Miami, FL, USA                Southeastern Spanish District
Dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com               of the Assemblies of God

------------------------------

From: Paul Dixon - Ladd Hill Bible Church <pauld@iclnet93.iclnet.org>
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 23:52:30 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: Re: Colwell rule

	In my thesis I demonstrated that theos in Jn 1:1c is qualitative 
(versus definite or indefinite) for the following reasons:
	1) a comparison of all similar constructions in the Gospel 
reflected a 94% probability of qualitativeness,
	2)  a comparison with the first two clauses in 1:1 showed that 
two qualities of the logos (preexistence and distinct personality) had 
already been described, therefore we might expect in parallel a third 
quality,
	3)  the contrasting parallel with 1:14, "and the Word became 
flesh," not "the flesh" or "a flesh",
	4)  if theos in 1:1c were definite, then it would naturally refer 
back to the ton theon of 1:1b identifying the logos as God the Father.

	In Jn 4:24 "God is spirit" certainly is preferrable over "God is 
the Spirit" or "God is a spirit."  Here the construction is parallel with 
1:1c except the verb is not stated.

	Paul Dixon



On Tue, 23 May 1995 Timster132@aol.com wrote:

> TO: B-GREEK@VIRGINIA.EDU
> cc: jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu
> 
> Greg Jordon [jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu] 
> on 5/21/95 noted...
> 
> >Grammatically, "a god" is indefinite, not definite.  
> >Also, how does one distinguish between the substantive 
> >use of an anarthrous noun & the "qualitative" use of one?
> > Some non-controversial examples would be helpful - 
> >I used to have a list of them but I can't find it.  As I
> >remember, many "qualitative" nouns could just as 
> >easily be read as figurative uses of nouns in their 
> >substantive sense.
> 
> Mr. Moffatt translated John 1:1 here with the qualitative
> sense:  "and the Word was divine."
> 
> Tim Staker
> Timster132@aol.com
> 
> 
> 

------------------------------

From: David Moore <dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 21:33:30 -0700
Subject: Re: Revelation and worship

Marilyn Parry (marilyn@noc4.u-net.com) wrote:

>More seriously, is anyone out there particularly interested in the 
Book of
>Revelation, with special attention to its worship materials?

	Much of Revelation does have definite implications for a biblical 
picture of worship.  Are there any passages in particular you had in 
mind?

    David L. Moore                    Director of Education
    Miami, FL, USA                Southeastern Spanish District
Dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com               of the Assemblies of God

------------------------------

From: "Gregory Jordan (ENG)" <jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu>
Date: Tue, 23 May 1995 18:23:21 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Colwell rule

What I meant was what criteria does one use to determine whether a noun 
is qualitative or not - "divine" _theos_ as opposed to "a/the god" 
_theos_?  Someone once referred me to 1 John 4:8 as an example of a 
qualitative use of a noun:

...ho theos agapE estin.

That is, they would have rendered it "God is loving" rather than "God is 
love."  But it seems to me the word "agapE" (even indefinite) is used as 
a fully substantive noun, since it is used interchangeably with the noun 
(?) _theos_ (God), e.g.

1 John 4:16 ...ho theos agapE estin, kai ho menOn en tEi agapEi en tOi 
theOi menei kai ho theos en autOi menei.

"En tEi agapEi" can't be meaning _agapE_ qualitatively, as far as I can 
see.  It seems to me much easier to see this as just a figurative use of 
a substantive.

Greg Jordan
jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu

------------------------------

From: J.D.F.=van=Halsema%BW_KG%TheoFilos@esau.th.vu.nl
Date: Wed, 24 May 95 09:57:24 EET
Subject: Re: Let's make a critical apparatus.

[I did not receive yesterday's digest; it is possible that someone else has 
already made the suggestion I will make at the end of this message]

Two days ago Vincent Broman <broman@np.nosc.mil> wrote:
Subject: Re: Let's make a critical apparatus

>> Kurt and Barbara Aland think it 
>> impossible to PRINT all available information.
>
>Irrelevant.  Full texts of all MSS of all NT books could be put
>on one CD-ROM by my rough estimate.  What they cannot do with
>all that material is analyze and comprehend it.
>
>I think the INTTF people have made their intentions known:
>that they want to publish an editio critica maior which presents
>a new critical text, supported by a large apparatus of material selected
>for its 'relevance', with no machine-readable publication of the base data,
>perhaps ever.  LIKE THE CUSTODIANS OF THE QUMRAN MATERIALS,
>THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THEY MAKE THE EFFORT OF TRANSCRIBING IT,
>THEY WANT FIRST [AND SECOND] CHANCE AT PUBLISHING THE GOOD STUFF.
>
>EITHER THEY DON'T YET REALIZE THAT ONCE THEIR LIVE ELECTRONIC TEXTS
>ARE FIXED IN INK ON PAPER THEY ARE DEAD, OR ELSE THEY REALIZE IT ALL
>TOO WELL BUT WANT TO SIT ON THE GOODS FOR PROPERTARIAN REASONS.
>
>Vincent Broman,  code 572 Bayside                        Email:
>broman@nosc.mil
>Naval Command Control and Ocean Surveillance Center, RDT&E Div.
>San Diego, CA  92152-6147,  USA Phone: +1 619 553 1641

(Capital letters mine)

I think it only fair to give Barbara Aland the opportunity to react to this
accusations. I would like to hear her point of view.
If the group agrees I will send the complete discussion so far to Barbara
Aland by mail.

(this is posted separately to Vincent Broman).

Greetings,

Erik van Halsema

- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Erik van Halsema                 |Research Assistant Free University Amsterdam
j.d.f.van_halsema@esau.th.vu.nl  |Faculty of Theology
jdfvh@dds.nl                     |De Boelelaan 1105,  1081 HV  Amsterdam,  NL
- -----------------------------------------------------------------------------


------------------------------

From: Hans-Christoph Meier <hmeier@aixterm1.urz.uni-heidelberg.de>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 14:39:32 +0200 (METDST)
Subject: Re: Let's make a critical apparatus.

On Wed, 24 May 1995 J.D.F.=van=Halsema%BW_KG%TheoFilos@esau.th.vu.nl wrote:

> >> Kurt and Barbara Aland think it 
> >> impossible to PRINT all available information.
> >
> >I think the INTTF people have made their intentions known:
> >that they want to publish an editio critica maior which presents
> >a new critical text, supported by a large apparatus of material selected
> >for its 'relevance', with no machine-readable publication of the base data,
> >perhaps ever.  LIKE THE CUSTODIANS OF THE QUMRAN MATERIALS,
> >THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IF THEY MAKE THE EFFORT OF TRANSCRIBING IT,
> >THEY WANT FIRST [AND SECOND] CHANCE AT PUBLISHING THE GOOD STUFF.
> >
> >EITHER THEY DON'T YET REALIZE THAT ONCE THEIR LIVE ELECTRONIC TEXTS
> >ARE FIXED IN INK ON PAPER THEY ARE DEAD, OR ELSE THEY REALIZE IT ALL
> >TOO WELL BUT WANT TO SIT ON THE GOODS FOR PROPERTARIAN REASONS.
> >
> 
> I think it only fair to give Barbara Aland the opportunity to react to this
> accusations. I would like to hear her point of view.
> If the group agrees I will send the complete discussion so far to Barbara
> Aland by mail.
> 
Excellent idea,
Hans-Christoph


------------------------------

From: Melchizedk@aol.com
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 09:31:03 -0400
Subject: Re Gal 3.16--seed or seeds? 

GALATIANS 3:16

Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring; it does not say,
"And to offsprings," as of many; but it says, "And to your offspring," that
is, to one person, who is Christ." (NRSV)

- -----------------------------------
Perry Stepp writes:

"In Gal 3.16, Paul makes a great deal of the fact that the OT (Gen 13.15,
17.8,
24.7) specifies that Abraham's promises are to one *seed* (singular), not
many
*seeds* (plural).  I've read *somewhere* that there are questions regarding
this point, that grammatically Paul is making some kind of error or fudging
the
facts, etc.  But I can't remember where I've read this, and with the end of
the
semester, I have no access to a research library to check it out."


Here is some information which others may wish to supplement:

1)  Paul is probably quoting the Septuagint (LXX), the greek translation of
the Old Testament.  The LXX has the greek word for seed ("sperm"), which is
singular in number but collective in meaning.  Thus, the greek word itself
could refer to either a descendant or to many descendants.  Two examples of
the former are Gen 4:25, "God has appointed for me another child [gk:
"another seed"] instead of Abel" and Gen 21:13, where the same phrase refers
to the one person Ishmael.

2)  In Jewish exegesis, to my understanding, it was a common and recognized
practice to base arguments on the smallest grammatical point of the text,
without necessarily either a) exhausting the meaning of that text or b)
comparing it with other texts.  In other words, Paul can a) argue that
Genesis 12:7 et al. refers to one offspring, which it indeed *can*, without
worrying about the fact that it can also refer to many, and b) Paul can argue
from Gen 12:7 alone without considering what other texts say on the matter
(in other words he is guilty of "proof texting").

Thus, Paul is engaging in biblical exegesis in a manner typical to his times
and culture.  He is neither "making an error" or "fudging the facts,"
according to the recognized procedures of his times.  Note that does *not*
mean that all his Jewish readers would agree with Paul's argument: they might
have used the same verse(s) in Genesis to argue against a single descendant.
 It is, after all, only an argument that Paul is making here, and it is not
the only possible one to make concerning the Genesis verse(s).  Elsewhere,
both Paul and James argue from the same verse (Gen 15:6) with opposite
conclusions!

         

------------------------------

From: Melchizedk@aol.com
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 09:31:02 -0400
Subject: Re: New Metzger Festschrift 

Paul Moser,

Thanks for the tips about the two books.  Does the Metzger festschrift
contain anything which his 3rd edition "Texts of the NT" doesn't?

As far as the other book, it would not take much careful or sober historical
reconstruction to challenge Crossnan's Jesus!



------------------------------

From: Hans-Christoph Meier <hmeier@aixterm1.urz.uni-heidelberg.de>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 15:26:41 +0200 (METDST)
Subject: Re: Gal 3.16--seed or seeds?

On Tue, 23 May 1995 perry.stepp@chrysalis.org wrote:

> In Gal 3.16, Paul makes a great deal of the fact that the OT (Gen 13.15, 17.8,
> 24.7) specifies that Abraham's promises are to one *seed* (singular), not many
> *seeds* (plural).  I've read *somewhere* that there are questions regarding

In Gen 13,15 etc. the hebrew text reads _zera"_ which is grammatically 
singular. But the meaning may be singular as well as collective.  That's 
why the Hebrew Bible provides only one passage, where _zera"_ is used in 
a plural (1 Sam. 8,15). Gen certainly intends the collective meaning 
("descendents"). It would be absurde if God promised the possession of
'the whole country/the whole world' to Isaac only--in which case you 
could hardly explain the later development of Israel.
The Septuagint translates _zera"_ by _sperma_, which may include 
the collective meaning as well (cf. Luc 1,55; Acts 7,5-6; Rom 4,13 etc. For 
Septuagint see Quell/Schulz _sperma ktl._ ThWNT 7.538-41). 
So, in understanding _sperma_ as a singular Paul uses--as many theologians 
did ever since--grammatical evidence to change the sense of a given 
passage. Clever?

hans-christoph, heidelberg




------------------------------

From: David Moore <dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 07:01:27 -0700
Subject: Re: Jn. 1:1

Tim McLay (nstn1533@fox.nstn.ca) quoted and wrote:

>David Moore wrote:
>
>>>Mr. Moffatt translated John 1:1 here with the qualitative
>>>sense:  "and the Word was divine."
>>
>>	"Divine" has a pretty wide semantic range, and Moffatt's 
>>translation is weak here.  The quality expressed by QEOS in Jn. 1:1c 
>>has the word QEON in 1b as its referent, the former (QEOS in 1c) 
being 
>>a *qualitative* expression of the latter (QEON in 1b).
>
>I remember writing a paper on this years ago and struggling to come up 
with 
>an appropriate word.  In the end, I chose divine.  What would you 
suggest 
>as an alternative?

    "And the word was God" is pretty much the standard translation, 
and, IMHO, not too bad.  It takes some understanding on the part of the 
reader, however, not to take the expression as referring to a simply 
*personal* correspondence between God and the Logos.  There is also the 
dynamic equivalence translation "what God was, the Word was" (NEB).  
This does get the meaning across fairly well.  But finally, one needs 
to keep in mind that any translation is just that, a translation; and 
it is not always possible to exactly render the meaning of the original 
into another language.  The kilobytes of text that have zoomed from 
computer to computer over the past several months dealing with the very 
question we are discussing here are testimony to the difficulty of 
rendering the Greek here into English.

Regards,

    David L. Moore                    Director of Education
    Miami, FL, USA                Southeastern Spanish District
Dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com               of the Assemblies of God

------------------------------

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Date: 24 May 95 10:08:04 EDT
Subject: Fulbright Deadline Reminder

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         August 1 Deadline Approaching for the 1996-97 Competition

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------------------------------

From: John Calvin Hall <johnhall@gulf.net>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 09:42:07 -0300
Subject: Re: Let's make a critical apparatus 

At 10:59 AM 5/22/95 +0800, you wrote:
>Jeff Kloha pointed out that we won't have a comprehensive critical 
>apparatus until someone transcribes all of the manuscripts and releases 
>them to the world. I completely agree.
>
>There are about 5000 Greek NT manuscripts. But not all of these are as
>important as others. 

Developing a more comprehensive Critical Apparatus is a good idea, but the
BIG problem lies in your last statement that I quoted. A _GOOD_ Critical
Apparatus is one that is totally OBJECTIVE; to make a statement as the
above, is (whether intentionally or not) subjective. Just because I
personally believe that Aleph and B are products of heresy should not sway
me from tossing them _IF_ I were to make an objective Critical Apparatus.

Thanks,

John Calvin Hall - doulos tou Kuriou 'Ihsou Xristou
Pensacola, Florida
johnhall@gulf.net

- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  The Bible does NOT contain the Word of God,
                            It IS the Word of God
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                             *** Isaiah 66:5 ***



------------------------------

From: Vincent Broman <broman@np.nosc.mil>
Date: Wed, 24 May 95 08:31:41 PDT
Subject: Re: Let's make a critical apparatus.

J.D.F.=van=Halsema%BW_KG%TheoFilos@esau.th.vu.nl suggested:
> I think it only fair to give Barbara Aland the opportunity to react...

Fine, if you clarify my phrase "...they are dead" to say less ambiguously
"...the texts are dead", then you might ask her to comment on it.
But what could she possibly say in response?

We already know that enough materials exist in machine-readable form
that people like Mink are doing statistical analysis on it.
The INTTF people have already rebuffed my inquiries (and others' I think)
about M.R. texts and apparatuses.  The material is not on the internet now.
Even the NA26 apparatus is not available after these many years.

Possible responses?
1) Gee, we never thought anyone would be interested in M.R.T.s!  We'll
make them available next month for the time/materials cost of copying.
2) We decided to keep them private because other people might misuse
the materials, not properly understanding text criticism.
3) I love freedom of information, but the sharks in the University
administration want to profiteer on the material.
4) The M.R. transcriptions are valuable and we want first rights to use them.
5) A polite non-answer.

Forget 1.  No one would believe 2.  3 and 4 are nearly equivalent.
What you'll get is 4 or 5.  I got 5.

Oh, I forgot the other possibility:
"Well, everything is stored in EBCDIC on a room-full of 8-inch floppies,
the software is in IBM 360 assembler, and the guy who really understood
the code just graduated."                              :-) :-) :-)


Vincent Broman,  code 572 Bayside                        Email: broman@nosc.mil
Naval Command Control and Ocean Surveillance Center, RDT&E Div.
San Diego, CA  92152-6147,  USA                          Phone: +1 619 553 1641

------------------------------

From: Carl W Conrad <cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 12:44:13 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Re: Let's make a critical apparatus

John Calvin Hall <johnhall@gulf.net>, Wed, 24 May 1995 09:42:07, writes: 

" Just because I personally believe that Aleph and B are products of
heresy should not sway me from tossing them _IF_ I were to make an
objective Critical Apparatus."

Is this what you REALLY meant to say? that you WOULD dismiss Aleph and
B because you believe that they are products of heresy IF you were to
make an objective Critical Apparatus? Or did you really mean that you
WOULD NOT dismiss them? I think there's a flaw in the logic here,
unless the statement was mis-formulated. Am I missing something here?

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu  OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/


------------------------------

From: HSTMLS%HST045%UTLVAX@yvax.byu.edu
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 11:45:25 -0600 (MDT)
Subject: Luke's Use of KARDIA

A friend asked me what Luke meant by his reference to KARDIA in Luke 16:15.
I remember once being told the KARDIA was seen as the seat of intellectual
capacity, something akin to how we see the brain.  Was this a commonly 
understood meaning and is there another meaning that would explain
Luke's use of the word in 24:32?

Mark Staker

------------------------------

From: Carl W Conrad <cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 12:58:43 -0500 (CDT)
Subject: Signatures, anonymity, and subject matter

Lynn Cooley has stated that she doesn't think signatures really tell us 
anything and that the blurb sent out to new list-members doesn't say 
anything about signatures. While that is true, it's generally viewed as a 
matter of "netiquette." When I can identify the author of a note solely 
as "Melchizedek," all I can do is chime in, "Who IS this King of 
Righteousness?" And as for "Fuzzy," this just happens to be the pet name 
by which my wife was called as a child and is still called by her 
brothers and sisters. It's certainly true that we know more about people 
who post frequently from the manner of what they have to say as well as 
from the matter, but--to repeat what I said about a month ago--even 
though we don't need an academic site-identification or some indication 
of credentials, it would be nice to have a little more idea of where 
someone is posting FROM than the equivalent of <anon@aol.com>.

And with regard to subject matter, of course we'll be dealing with more 
than what relates DIRECTLY to the Greek text of the NT, and we'll 
undoubtedly be "exposing" our theological biases whether or not we intend 
to. My fundamental intention in my long-ago posting was to try to keep 
this forum free both of evangelizing and of sectarian infighting. And 
PLEASE, the LAST thing I want to do with this message is to start a 
time-wasting thread on protocol.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu  OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/


------------------------------

From: "Gregory Jordan (ENG)" <jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 14:45:53 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: Colwell's rule

On Tue, 23 May 1995, Paul Dixon - Ladd Hill Bible Church wrote:

> 	1) a comparison of all similar constructions in the Gospel 
> reflected a 94% probability of qualitativeness,

Are there really enough definite & close examples to create a valid 
percentage of probability?

> 	2)  a comparison with the first two clauses in 1:1 showed that 
> two qualities of the logos (preexistence and distinct personality) had 
> already been described, therefore we might expect in parallel a third 
> quality,

A good conjecture.  But not the kind of thing that would constitute 
definitive proof.

> 	3)  the contrasting parallel with 1:14, "and the Word became 
> flesh," not "the flesh" or "a flesh",

I'm not sure how this is "contrasting."  Is this an example of 
qualitativeness? Do you mean it should be understood as "fleshly"?

> 	4)  if theos in 1:1c were definite, then it would naturally refer 
> back to the ton theon of 1:1b identifying the logos as God the Father.

No, there are many alternative possibilities even if it is definite.

> 	In Jn 4:24 "God is spirit" certainly is preferrable over "God is 
> the Spirit" or "God is a spirit."  Here the construction is parallel with 
> 1:1c except the verb is not stated.

"Certainly is preferable" - thereby begging the question. Is this another 
example of a qualitative use of a noun? _Pneuma_ is a major Johannine 
metaphor which depends on its literal base: "wind" (as in John 3:8 etc.).  
Cf. "God is wind, God is a wind, God is the wind, God is windy."  All are 
closely related, but distinct usages.  What kind of contextual clues can 
help us decide which is which in Greek?  I'm not satisfied by appeals to 
orthodoxy or previous translations.  I don't really have any investment 
against qualitative usages, even in John 1:1, I'm just in search of 
clarification on the whole issue.

Greg Jordan
jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu

------------------------------

From: KBARRON@dscc.cc.tn.us
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 14:40:37 -0600 (CST)
Subject: Information?

A day or two ago, someone posted to this list (I believe) that was
affiliated with Wesleyan Scholars in Religion or some such group.  If
you're out there, could you contact me at kbarron@dscc.cc.tn.us?  Thanks!
Kevin Barron    Dyersburg, TN

------------------------------

From: David Moore <dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 13:05:33 -0700
Subject: Re: anarthrous pred. nouns

Greg Jordan (jordan@chuma.cas.usf.edu) wrote:

>Someone once referred me to 1 John 4:8 as an example of a
>qualitative use of a noun:

>...ho theos agapE estin.

>That is, they would have rendered it "God is loving" rather than "God 
is
>love."  But it seems to me the word "agapE" (even indefinite) is used 
as
>a fully substantive noun, since it is used interchangeably with the 
noun
>(?) _theos_ (God), e.g.

	The qualitative use of AGAPH should probably not be translated 
"loving" here.  It remains a noun, not a gerund; but its qualitative 
sense is emphasized.  So, one could not translate it to mean "God is 
love" including the idea that "love is God" which is the meaning we 
would have if the clause were hO QEOS hO AGAPH ESTIN.  The expression 
hO QEOS AGAPH ESTIN may be something more on the order of "What God is, 
is an expression of love," which conveys something more than that God 
is "loving."

	It is precisely the anarthrous AGAPH that indicates that the 
terms QEOS and AGAPH are not interchangeable.

>1 John 4:16 ...ho theos agapE estin, kai ho menOn en tEi agapEi en tOi
>theOi menei kai ho theos en autOi menei.

>"En tEi agapEi" can't be meaning _agapE_ qualitatively, as far as I 
can
>see.  It seems to me much easier to see this as just a figurative use 
of
>a substantive.

	The article you quote with AGAPH in 4:16 is an article of 
reference pointing to the mention of AGAPH in the previous phrase, 
which quotes 4:8, and should be understood as taking into account the 
discussion of love in vv. 7-12.  A possible translation of this part of 
4:16 would be, "God is love, and whoever abides in this love abides in 
God and God abides in him."  Although I wasn't able to find any of the 
major translations that so render it, R. C. H. Lenski does translate it 
this way and cites the same reasons mentioned above (Lenski, _The 
Interpretation of St. Peter, St. John and St. Jude_ [Minneapolis: 
Augsburg, 1966] p. 509).

	Welcome back to the discussion, Greg.  I was beginning to wonder 
if you'd signed off the list.

Regards,

    David L. Moore                    Director of Education
    Miami, FL, USA                Southeastern Spanish District
Dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com               of the Assemblies of God

------------------------------

From: David Moore <dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 16:39:28 -0700
Subject: Re: anarthrous pred. nouns

Carlton Winbery has pointed out:
>
>David,
>If the clause were "if the clause were hO QEOS hO AGAPH ESTIN,"  it 
would
>have to be hO QEOS hH AGAPH" since AGAPH is feminine.
>

    You are right, of course, Carlton.  I wrote hastily and didn't 
catch that one.  Thanks for pointing it out.

David Moore

------------------------------

From: fuzzy <fuzzy@prairie.lakes.com>
Date: Wed, 24 May 1995 21:49:51 -0500
Subject: Signatures, anonymity, and subject matter

>Lynn Cooley has stated that she doesn't think signatures really tell us 
>anything 

Depends on who's signature it is, and what it says.  Does this mailing list 
have formal posting requirements?

>And as for "Fuzzy," this just happens to be the pet name 
>by which my wife was called as a child and is still called by her 
>brothers and sisters. 

It's short for "Fuzzy Logic", as opposed to "Boolean Logic", which I've been 
interested in for various reasons.

>And with regard to subject matter, of course we'll be dealing with more 
>than what relates DIRECTLY to the Greek text of the NT, and we'll 
>undoubtedly be "exposing" our theological biases whether or not we intend 
>to. 

I've noticed, as a "new guy", that much of the post material is not directly 
related to the language itself.   I wish that were less true (in a fuzzy sense!)


------------------------------

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