From: Stevens, Charles C (Charles.Stevens@unisys.com)
Date: Wed Dec 03 1997 - 12:12:44 EST
At 9:37 on 12/2/1997, Paul S. Dixon commented:
<<What does this mean, i.e., "DIAKONON means what it means?" Ok, what
does it mean? Are you saying there is no difference in how DIAKONOS is
used in Scripture, that it always means the same thing? >>
I believe it to be a cardinal rule of linguistics and of translation
that the number of words whose semantics in one language map exactly to
corresponding words in another language is vanishingly small, and
DIAKONOS does not fall into that tiny subset.
It is far from clear to me that a first-century Christian would have
asked, upon hearing DIAKONOS, whether the ecclesiastical office or the
material duty was being referred to, nor is it clear to me that there
would have been any ambiguity to such a native speaker.
As best we can reconstruct today, the basic meaning of DIAKONOS seems to
me to overlap large parts of the semantics of "servant", "minister",
"(de)legate" and "deacon". It does not correspond exactly to any one of
them, and any translation that presumes one over another may be unfairly
and incorrectly coloring the meaning. DIAKONOS means all of the above
things at the same time, I think, and the range of its meaning is
inaccurately and incompletely captured by any single common English
word, even in the most restrictive of contexts. DIAKONOS means DIAKONOS,
and "servant" and "deacon" are partial, but only partial, synonyms.
<<Yes, we should not draw dogmatic positions upon such tenuous evidence.
Frankly, I don't see Scripture forbidding a woman from being a
deaconess, but neither do I see Scripture specifically directing that
women should serve as such.>>
The point is, we don't know whether DIAKONOS as it applies to Phoebe in
context was intended by the author to imply that she held the office of
deaconess, or merely acted as a (paid?) servant, of the church at
Cenchrea. What I see in this passage is the strong possibility (at the
very least) of an example of a female deacon in scripture.
<<Now, female elders is another matter.>>
I agree, but Junia(s?)'s position/reputation among/within the *apostles*
as reported in Romans (TR: "ASPASASQE ANDRONIKON KAI IOUNIAN TOUS
SUGGENEIS MOU KAI SUNAIXMALWTOUS MOU hOITINES EISIN EPISHMOI EN TOIS
APOSTOLOIS, OI KAI PRO EMOU GEGONASIN EN XRISTW") has already been
discussed at length in this forum as being ambiguous.
The NAB (with UNrevised New Testament) has for 16:7: "and to Andronicus
and Junias, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners; they are outstanding
apostles, and were in Christ even before I was.", which masks the gender
of Junias to make clear his/her apostolic position.
The KJV uses the standard Latin name Junia while implying reputation
rather than position.
RSV and ASV both emphasizes reputation, uses "Junias", and the former
refers to the two mentioned as "men of note" to emphasize further
Junias' maleness (or to mask her femaleness).
The Vulgage seems to reflect the ambiguous Greek (Salutate Andronicum et
Iuniam cognatos et concaptivos meos qui sunt nobiles in apostolis qui et
ante me fuerunt in Christo).
While Paul is clear on the issue of female PRESBUTEROI, this passage
makes the question as to how Paul felt about APOSTOLOI rather less
clear!
-Chuck Stevens [SMTP: Charles.Stevens@unisys.com]
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