From: Ben Crick (ben.crick@argonet.co.uk)
Date: Tue Jun 30 1998 - 14:07:03 EDT
On Mon 29 Jun 98 (23:28:47), web3943@charweb.org wrote:
> (Gal 4:19 KJV) My little children, of whom I travail in birth again
> until Christ be formed in you,
>
> Does this refer to gestation - the nine months a baby is in it's
> mother's womb?
No; it's a metaphor; compare Nicodemus' misunderstanding of Jesus saying
he must be born again. He did NOT mean enter a second time into his
mother's womb and be born (John 3:4).
Paul is labouring, travailing (as a woman in labour) to bring his converts
whom he has "begotten" in Christ to "new birth", not the natural birth as
misunderstood by Nicodemus. Paul is afraid that his "foolish bewitched
Galatian converts" have relapsed into Judaism, and he will have to go
through another period of "labour" to restore them to their "new born
(GENNHQHNAI ANWQEN)" status.
IMHO, that is.
Ben
-- Revd Ben Crick, BA CF <ben.crick@argonet.co.uk> 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK) http://www.cnetwork.co.uk/crick.htm--- b-greek home page: http://sunsite.unc.edu/bgreek To post a message to the list, mailto:b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu To subscribe, mailto:subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu To unsubscribe, mailto:unsubscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu?subject=[cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu]
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