From: Steven Cox (scox@ns1.chinaonline.com.cn.net)
Date: Thu Jan 01 1998 - 11:16:59 EST
Hi Michael
I was just looking back in LXX to see the context of
Peter's reference;
Ps108/9:8
GENHQHTWSAN AI hHMERAI AUTOU OLIGAI KAI THN EPISKOPHN AUTOU LABOI hETEROS
Acts1:20
THN EPISKOPHN AUTOU LABETW hETEROS
..but can't tell from the Psalm exactly what kind of
EPISKOPH is being talked of - the office of a judge
perhaps as in Proverbs 29:13??
As regards EPISKOPOS itself, this is a good LXX word :-)
Eleazar first appears as an EPISKOPOS in Num 4:16 but
then in Num 31:13 (with Eleazar present) the EPISKOPOI
seem to be a military rank in which he is not included.
Other LXX usage seems to follow this beginning, that
the term is used as freely as "overseer" in English.
The only crumb of meaningful information I think that
that exercise gleaned was that EPISKOPH seems to be
a loose office that several individuals could hold
simultaneously in the Mosaic community.
That fits nicely with the earliest NT occurence of
EPISKOPOI (Ephesus in Acts 20:28). These men are also
told to POIMAINW (pastor) the flock, and described
as PRESBUTEROI in 20:17.
Bishoping, presbytering and pastoring are all merrily
confused in 1Peter5:2 as well:
PRESBUTROUS OUN EN UMIN (implies several in one church)
I appeal as a SUM-PRESBUTEROS
POIMANATE TO EN hUMIN POIMNION ..EPISKOPOUNTES
It seems to me, without having studied it in enormous
depth, that the Jerusalem model 12 elders + 7 deacons
was probably imitated in at least Ephesus (judging from
Acts20 and 1Tim3) though maybe without any fixed number.
As a footnote I've just spotted that Titus confuses
PRESBUTEROS and EPISKOPOS in 1:6~7, so it looks like
the same system worked on Crete? (but without deacons??)
Is this any use at all? What was the question? :-)`
Steven
At 10:17 98/01/01 -0500, Michael S. Olszta wrote:
>> >I am wondering if someone would expound the word "episkope" as it is
>> >found in 1 Timothy 3:1 et al and how he/she thinks this word relates to
the "position" and/or "function" that Paul is speaking about. The
>> >dispute between my friend and myself is in essence the idea of
>> >"episkope" being a "position" in the church versus the idea of it just
applying to everyone "elder" in general.
>>
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:38:44 EDT