From: Paul S. Dixon (dixonps@juno.com)
Date: Fri Jan 16 1998 - 02:34:45 EST
Thanks, Carl, for all the interesting research and analysis on the hOTE
construct in the NT. Your findings do favor taking hOTE with the
immediately preceding APEIQHSASIN POTE. This, of course, does not mean
the preaching does not take place at that time too, just that we are not
likely to prove that it does by a supposed KHRUXEN - hOTE connection.
This leads to the next observation. It is interesting to note that most
translations treat APEIQHSASIN as an adjectival participle, "who once
were disobedient" (NASB), "who disobeyed long ago" (NIV), "who formerly
did not obey" (RSV), etc. Yet, the participle is anarthrous. BDF(sec
270) says, "An attributive adjective (participle) ... placed in the
postposition ... must have its own article."
We could certainly render it adverbially as "when they formerly obeyed."
If so, then the time of the preaching is set in Noah's day. Grudem cites
the following fairly close examples: Mk 16:10, Jn 1:36, Acts 7:2, Acts
7:26, Acts 8:12; 11:17; 2 Cor 5;14, Heb 7:1.
At any rate, read Grudem's discussion on this. He concludes, "Christ
preached to the spirits who are now in prison but he did so 'when they
formerly disobeyed.'
Paul Dixon
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