From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Mon Jan 26 1998 - 15:16:50 EST
At 1:51 PM -0600 1/26/98, Paul S. Dixon wrote:
>>At 11:20 AM -0600 1/26/98, Jim West wrote:
>>>At 11:04 AM 1/26/98 -0500, you wrote:
>>>
>>>Carl may well be right- but I would argue that the passive verb is used
>>>because, in the Palestine of Jesus' day, the woman was a victim of any
>>>illicit action. In Roman and Greek law women had rights of their own-
>but
>>>in Judaism women were granted rights only through their husbands.
>Thus, if
>>>a woman were abandoned, divorced, or childless, her only forms of
>support
>>>were to return home in shame to the family (not likely) or become the
>wife
>>>of another (again, not likely) or become a prostitute. In the case
>Jesus
>>>cites the woman has been divorced by her husband for no cause and thus
>is
>>>forced into an adulterous situation merely to survive. She is
>adulterated!
>>
>>This is true, and by no means insignificant, but it ignores the
>>context of the passage that's being asked about as well as the fact that
>the
>>participle is in the present tense: The woman has been caught actively
>>engaging in adultery (KATEILHPTAI EP' AUTOFWRWi MOICEUMENH). It's not
>>a matter of the woman being cited--in fact, the passage tells what those
>
>>who bring the woman to Jesus are saying to him as they prepare to stone
>>her. In 8:3 it's AGOUSIN ... GUNAIKA EPI MOICEIAi KATEILHMMENHN, but
>>8:4 with the present participle MOICEUOMENH puts her in the act when
>>caught, not just in the act of being divorced by her husband.
>
>In Mt 5:32, where the only unequivocally passive form exists (of the
>above cited passages: Mt 5:32, Mt 19:9, Mk 10:11-12, Jn 8:4), does
>MOICEUQHNAI require, or even suggest, that the woman is not guilty of
>adultery? I think not.
>
>We certainly have examples in scripture where others are made or caused
>to sin by the deeds of others (e.g., causing the brother to stumble, 1
>Cor 8, or the severe warning of Christ against causing a little one to
>sin, Mt 18:6 ff). In none of these cases, however, is the one made to
>sin considered not guilty.
>
>Rather, the point seems to be that the one who causes such things to
>happen will be guilty and will receive the greater judgement. That seems
>to be the case in Mt 5:32 where the passive is used to communicate that
>the burden of causing the woman to commit adultery falls upon the man
>who has divorced his wife PAREKTOS LOGOU PORNEIAS. It does not say, nor
>imply, however, that the woman who so remarries is not guilty of
>adultery.
I'm not sure what's being argued by whom here (except for what I am myself
arguing). But is the point of the story in John's gospel concerned in any
way with who is more or who is less guilty for the situation in which the
woman caught MOICEUOMENH? It's always seemed to me that the story's point
is that nobody has a right to condemn her unless that person is morally
perfect. Jesus himself says that he doesn't condemn her, and he tells her
that BEFORE he tells her "go and sin no more."
But I still don't understand Jim West's point here with reference to the
present tense MOICEUOMENH: are you arguing, Jim, that at the point at which
she is caught, she is being made an adulteress by her husband--and that's
why the verb is passive, as you interpret it? If it were, then it seems to
me that the we would have MEMOICEUMENH or MOICEUQEISAN; the present tense
is what makes it seem to me much more likely to be middle rather than
passive. And I really can't see that this story bears any particular
relationship to the Jesus-saying about adultery. Most people seem to think
that it must be an authentic Jesus tradition although it seems very strange
in its context in John's gospel
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cconrad@yancey.main.nc.us
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:39:00 EDT