From: dalmatia@eburg.com
Date: Tue Mar 17 1998 - 10:52:40 EST
hOPWS hN KOINWNIA THS PISTEWS SOU ENERGHS GENHTAI EN EPIGNWSEI PANTOOS
AGAQOU TOU EN hHMIN EIS KRISTON IHSOUN
I looked at this sentence for the first time ever yesterday ~ I've
only been reading Paul at all for a month ~ [I'm a VERY new arrivee to
the NT except for John] ~ and I really don't know why it is giving
anyone any translational difficulties at all. It seems to my old
myopic eyes to be rope-a-dope dirt simple Greek construction ~ No
ambiguities, no problems, no lack of clarity ~ There MUST be something
wrong with me!!! Perhaps it is the fact that my 25 year dormant and
inadequate Greek education has only been dusted off [with a BIG dust
shovel!] in the last year, as a result of my angst over trying to read
John in translation. [I tried 13 English 'versions' before giving up
in disgust] So perhaps someone can help me with my blindness to
difficulties with this snippit of text ~ I have not read any other of
the letter, in English or Greek, so I will probably be weak in
crafting English words in a way that keeps context with the whole.
This one almost translates in simple English word substitution: "In
that the fellowship of your faith strengthened might become in
increased knowledge of all [things] good, the [good] in us into Christ
Jesus."
That is the 'word substitution' translation, and it is not bad.
Better English would then read "In that the fellowship of your faith
might become strengthened in increased knowledge of all things good,
especially the good that is within us and that is growing into Christ
Jesus." Paul is simply telling Philemon that by fellowship with
Christians growing in Christ [us], he will reap the reward of
strengthening his faith in that he will gain in knowledge upon what he
already knows [EPI-GNWSEI] about all that is good.
So what's the big deal with this passage? Am I just DENSE??
George Blaisdell
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