From: James H. Vellenga (jhv0@viewlogic.com)
Date: Fri Mar 29 1996 - 10:10:16 EST
It seems to me that perhaps the wisest thing to do is to
preserve the ambiguity that (I gather) even the best scholars
face when translating this passage. For example, why not just
translate it as "a one-woman man" and leave the interpretation
up to the hearer?
By and large, if I want to understand what the NT culture as
a whole is saying, I need to be familiar with the wider scope
of the NT. The rest of the NT does hold marriage in high
esteem. So I think that the persistent student (in English
or Greek) of the NT will eventually come to the conclusion that
this has something to do with marriage.
As for the "man" vs. "person" question, since the Gk has both
the male (ANER) and person (ANQROPOS), I think one has to stick
with "man" here in order really to understand the NT milieu.
But I don't think that this inherently excludes female
presbyters in our own time; the emphasis appears to be on
monogamy and/or fidelity rather than on gender.
Regards,
j.v.
James H. Vellenga | jvellenga@viewlogic.com
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