From: Garland H Shinn (ghshinn@home.com)
Date: Tue Aug 31 1999 - 10:50:30 EDT
I thought of the possibility of a participle here, but could find no
evidence for it. I would hate to think that the translation is based on a
mis-reading of the text. The evidence for the previous KAI is weak, and
found only in the TR. The co-relative idea it introduces makes the text
somewhat difficult to understand. One wonders in what sense the "calling" is
at the same time as the "confessing."
Garland Shinn
Professor
Southern California Bible College & Seminary
-----Original Message-----
From: Carl W. Conrad <cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu>
To: Biblical Greek <b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Cc: Biblical Greek <b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Date: Tuesday, August 31, 1999 6:42 AM
Subject: Re: Question on NIV of 1 Tim. 6:12
>At 4:30 AM -0700 8/31/99, Robert W Meyers wrote:
>>The NIV reads
>>
>> Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life
>> to which you were called when you made your good confession in
>> the presence of many witnesses (Gr. marturon---same meaning here
>> as in Heb. 12:1[?]). (1 Timothy 6:12 NIV)
>>
>>As far as I can see, the "when" is an unwarranted insertion by the
>>NIV, completely changing the meaning of the whole verse, and
>>turning it into a fascinating question: "Who, then, are the
>>'many witnesses?'
>>
>>Is there any justification in the Greek or from some texts for the
>>"when?"
>
>The text: AGWNIZOU TON KALON AGWNA THS PISTEWS, EPILABOU THS AIWNIOU ZWHS,
>EIS hHN EKLHQHS KAI hWMOLOGHSAS THN KALHN hOMOLOGIAN ENWPION POLLWN
>MARTURWN.
>
>I don't know whether the committee was looking at the same text, but in
>NA27 and UBS4 it reads as above, with hWMOLOGHSAS to be understood only as
>a finite verb (2 sg. aorist indicative active)--but, if one read that verb
>with an Omicron rather than an Omega as the initial vowel, hOMOLOGHSAS, it
>would be a masculine nominative singular aorist active participle, and it
>could indeed bear the sense given it in the NIV--although the participle
>would not have to bear a distinctly contemporaneous temporal sense ("when
>you made your good confession")--it could as easily be "after you made your
>good confession" or "because you made your good confession."
>
>Another possible ground for that interpretation might be that another KAI
>is attested in a couple MSS prior to EKLHQHS, which might suggest the two
>verbs EKLHQHS and hWMOLOGHSAS should be understood as closely linked.
>
>On the other hand, I don't quite see how the phrasing of Heb 12:1 is
related:
>
> TOSOUTON ECONTES PERIKEIMENON hHMIN NEFOS MARTURWN
>
>There the author is referring to the saints of faith of the entire
>tradition, whereas in 1 Tim 6:12 presumably the reference is to members of
>the congregation in the presence of whom Timothy made his public
>affirmation of faith.
>
>At any rate, it does NOT seem to me that what NIV has given is a "wildly
>improbable" interpretation of the text, but I would like to know exactly
>how they understood the text and whether they were reading a participle or
>finite verb form of hOMOLOGEW.
>
>
>
>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
>
>---
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