From: Carl William Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Wed Dec 03 1997 - 11:56:04 EST
On Wed, 3 Dec 1997, John M. Sweigart wrote:
> Carl William Conrad wrote:
> >
> > I would guess that the only reason anybody suggests assuming a future
> > perfect (a rare enough tense in the first place; I think I've only noted
> > three or four in over 35 years of reading Greek--and there is no future
> > perfect for EIMI--perhaps GENHSOMEQA is assumed?)--to begin again, the
> > only reason anybody would suggest a future or future perfect would be
> > because they understand TELEIOI to mean "perfect." While there are
> > contexts where the word can carry that meaning, it probably has the sense
> > "mature" here--"grown-up" as opposed to 'still childish in one's
> > thinking." So I think the point of Paul's statement is rather that, if we
> > are mature, or those of us who are mature, ought to take this attitude ...
> Carl;
> Any chance that TELEOI is related to OT TAMIM meaning blameless, i.e.
> God's command to Abraham "Walk before me and be blameless" with its ANE
> covenantal and treaty implications?
> --
I certainly wouldn't want to rule it out altogether, but the context
really seems to me to be talking about a pattern of growth toward
righteousness that will not be complete until the Day of Christ (cf. Phil
1:9-11). So I rather think that the contrast here is like that which Paul
suggests early in 1 Cor between infants that haven't yet been weaned and
mature believers.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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