From: Ben Crick (ben.crick@argonet.co.uk)
Date: Thu Apr 06 2000 - 13:58:46 EDT
On Tue 4 Apr 2000 (15:41:37 +0200), kgs@iafrica.com wrote:
> Greetings
>
> Two questions.
>
> 1. Would anyone care to speculate concerning more or less what age to
> draw the line between older and younger men/women in Titus 2:2-6? The
> words I have in mind are PRESBUTAS and PRESUTIDAS for older people,
> NEAS and NEWTEROUS for younger.
Dear Kevin,
Sometime in 1999 I downloaded a post from Christopher Hutson who had
done a paper on the names used by various peer groups in Greece. He
quoted the following from Aristophanes:
<<<<<<TEXT OF ARISTOPHANES<<<<<<<<<
BREFOS: that which is newly born.
PAIDION: that which is fed by a nurse.
PAIDARION: that which is walking around and beginning to grasp vocabulary.
PAIDISKOS: the one in the next stage.
PAIS: one who is able to go through the common educational curriculum.
And the next age some call pallax (PALLAX), others an ox-child (BOUPAIS);
others a quasi-child (ANTIPAIS), and yet others an ephebe-to-be (MELLEFHBOS).
After this is the ephebe (EFHBOS). In Cyrene they call the ephebes the
Three-hundred, and in Crete "non-runners" (ADROMOI), since they do not yet
participate in the athletic field.
Yet the form of this word seems to signify the opposite, namely,
one who has retired from the races and is no longer a participant.
But they also call those who do not eat fish "unfished", and those who are
unrefined "unmused," and those who are prepubescent "unhaired".
After this is a meirakion (MEIRAKION) then a meirax (MEIRAX) and a neaniskos
(NEANISKOS) and a neanias (NEANIAS), the same thing. The Spartans call
these "horses" (hIPPEIS) and their leaders they call "wild horses"
(hIPPAGRETAI).
Then next is that stage at which it is customary to marry a wife, at which
time one might also be called bridegroom (NUMFIOS). Subsequently, he
probably also will be called father (PATHR). Then young man (ANHR NEOS);
then middle man (ANHR MESOS); then advanced (PROBEBHKWS), and greying
(hUPOPOLIOS), which some call near-old man (hWMOGERWN); then old man (GERWN)
and elder (PRESBUTHS), the same thing; then extremely old (ESCATOGHRWS).
>>>>>>>>>>END OF TEXT>>>>>>>>>
> 2. I found this quote in A Lion Handbook of the World's Relgions: "In
> contrast, by the time of Theophrastos (370-287 BCE), a word was in use
> whose meaning, 'fear of' or 'reverence for' divinity, already had such
> negative overtones that it could designate the 'superstitious' person"
> (C C Smith 1994:99). Anyone know what word he is alluding to?
The usual Greek word for "Superstition" is DEISIDAIMONIA. The BAGD
lexicon defines DEISIDAIMONIA
1. in a good sense /fear of/ or /reverence for the divinity/....
2. in an unfavourable sense /superstition/ (Theophrastos, Char. 16;
....
3. in an objective sense /religion/ .... Acts 25:19 ....
There's Theophrastos; but the abbreviation "Char." is not listed in the
Abbreviations section.
QRHSKEIA is the word used for Religion in James 1:26-27, and seems to
mean religious duties or pious behaviour.
There is no satisfactory Greek word for Religion; you would have to put
something like TA TOU QEOU. The Christian religion is called DEISIDAIMONIA
in Acts 25:19 and 26:5; hH hODOS in Acts 24:22; and hAIRESIS in Acts 24:5
and 28:22 (a fate it shares with the Sadducees Acts 5:17, and the Pharisees
Acts 15:5 and 25:5). The Jewish religion is called IOUDAISMOS in Galatians
1:13-14.
ERRWSQE
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 You are currently subscribed to b-greek as: [cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu] To unsubscribe, forward this message to leave-b-greek-329W@franklin.oit.unc.edu To subscribe, send a message to subscribe-b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu
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