From: Phillip J. Long (plong@gbcol.edu)
Date: Fri Dec 11 1998 - 08:48:10 EST
On Thu, 10 Dec 1998 10:39:55, you wrote:
>Hi. This is Bill Ross. I have been away for many months ("stumbling on the
>sides of seven misty mountains").
I know how you feel, I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a
graveyard. (but I think I should point out that it's 12 misty
mountians, it's seven sad foress.)
>* is the fact that the first phrase is in the positive a choice? Could it
>have been said, as in the KJV, "no prophecy", instead of "every
>prophecy...is not", or is that pretty much how you say it?
What translation uses "every" for this verse? I checked several (NIV,
KJV, RSV, ASV, New Century, New Living Trans. NASB) and none had
"every prophecy," all had "no prophecy."
I don't think that you could translate it as a positive statement
because PASA is negated, Ck out BAG, I am on page 631 inthe 2nd ed.,
I-A-a, OU + PAS = nothing, rather than not everything.
>* shouldn't GINETAI be translated "is becoming", as opposed to "has come"?
Present Middle Indicative, 3S GINOMAI can mean something like come to
be, become, originate (to quote BAG.)
>* would anyone suggest a translation of the hapax EPILUSEWS other than
>interpretation? How about "unloosing"? What about
>"resolving-the-interpretation-of"? What about "unknotting-the-meaning-of"?
This seems to me to be an example of trying to take a meanig from
classical Greek and read it forward in time to the NT. I did a quick
check on Perseus, L&S only cite Aeschylus, a search through his
writings find only two occurances, both in Seven Against Thebes, 132,
it refers to a request to Posidon to releasr the speaker from his
fears by some decisive action.
There are other cognates of EPILUSEWS, they all tend to fall around
the same meaning of release. EPILUW, for example, appears in Plato's
Crito 43c, with the meaning of "prevent" (release them from smthg.)
But Aeschylus died in 456 B.C., 500+ years before Peter was writing.
A better source for the meaning of this word is Hermas Similitude, for
references ck BAG on PARABOLH, there are a ton of occurances of the
word, all meaning "interpretation or meaning," in this case of a
parable.
>The present tense of GINETAI makes me wonder if Peter is referring to a
>present activity of receiving revelation by meditation, allowing the Holy
>Spirit to "unknot the meaning of" the prophecies of Scripture, since he has
>just told them that they would do well to listen until the day star
>arises...
I think that you are right about this verse apply to the scriptures,
but you might want to check how GRAFH is used in the NT, I think that
it refers to the scriptures in general, I don't know if this can mean
only "prophetic" scriptures.
I think there is a contrast between the present day (to Peter) prophet
that claims to have come by their revelation through personal
reflection, and the "prophets of old" who were moved by the Spirit to
prophesy.
Phillip J. Long
Asst. Prof. Bible & Greek
Grace Bible College
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