From: David L. Moore (dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com)
Date: Wed Dec 31 1997 - 13:26:30 EST
At 07:59 AM 12/31/97 +0800, Steven Cox wrote:
>>> I wonder if the use of the verb TARTAROW in 2P. 2:4 doesn't have
>>something to do with punishment in reference to the special rank of angels
>>here. In the Greek spiritual cosmology, Tartarus was a place of prison and
>>torment for gods and demi-gods who had offended the more powerful of the
>>gods. It was not a place for the departed souls of mere men (cf. hADHS).
>>So TARTAROW is used here, and not in reference to the place of torment for
>>men who have offended God.
>>
>> Peter's (or his interpreter's) use of the verb is apparently in
>>reference to the *action* rather than the *place* of Tartarus; since the
>>angels (mighty in their own right) who sinned have been imprisoned in
>>darkness by the Almighty in an action similar to that of the mythical gods
>>in consigning those who offended them to Tartarus. Peter gives the
>>expression a specifically Christian twist in saying that these angels' are
>>kept for (the day of) judgement.
> Hello again David
> I have wondered whether the use of the verb TARTAROW
> was part of the (I perceive) generally negative way
> Peter refers to Enoch 1. TARTAROW doesn't appear to
> be a normal vocabulary item.
>
> Unfortunately I do not have access to the Greek text,
> (though I note it is scheduled for TLG E) but looking
> at Enoch 20:3 "Uriel who is over Tartarus" it looks
> unlikely that TARTAROW is being used. Though of course
> an Aramaic version or verbal tradition may have been
> what Peter was referencing.
I think that the general consensus on 2 Pet. relative to 1 Enoch is
that there is no formal dependence, but the two do treat certain themes
similarly. As far as I know, no MS of the Hebrew or Aramaic original is
extant. Complete MSS in Ethiopic have been discovered, but these only
supplement the available Greek texts, being translations of the latter.
> This makes me wonder how many of the other dozen or
> so references in 1/2Peter/Jude to Enoch-ism are slanted
> in their quoting.
>
> i.e "seventh from Adam" looks like a verbatim quote
> of the Book of Noah section, but is it?
The formal quote of 1 Enoch in Jude 14 does suggest that the
teaching of at least some portions of the former were well regarded in
apostolic circles.
David L. Moore
Miami, Florida, USA
Southeastern Spanish District of the A/G Dept. of Education
E-mail: dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com
Home Page: http://members.aol.com/dvdmoore
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