From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Sat Jul 07 2001 - 05:27:34 EDT
At 7:36 AM +0200 7/7/01, Iver Larsen wrote:
>>This is the text:
>>> Jas 2:1 --
>>> ADELFOI MOU, MH EN PROSWPOLHMYIAIS ECETE THN PISTIN TOU KURIOU hMWN
>>> IHSOU CRISTOU THS DOXHS.
>
>Alan Hultberg wrote:
>
>> Your understanding of the grammar is certainly acceptable, though
>> James could equally be understood to be stating a prohibition (taking
>> ECETE as imperative rather than indicative), unless I missed
>> something in your opening analysis. A quick Accordance search yields
>> hundreds of examples of clause initial MH negating imperatives.
>> Glancing quickly at the data, Rom 14:15, 20 seem to me to be exact
>> parallels to James 2:1.
>>
>> I haven't looked, but I'm sure that this is how most translators have
>> understood the grammar.
>
>Yes, you are right. It would be quite possible to connect the MH with ECETE
>rather than the whole sentence and interpret ECETE as present imperative
>rather than present indicative.
>
>I suppose it depends on how one understands ECW. It was difficult for me to
>make sense of an imperative of the meaning "have", but I can see that this
>word is also used with a different meaning "hold" or "hold on to", like a
>runner in a race holding something in his hand. With this meaning, the
>imperative may well become the preferred option.
>
>As for the translations, one can see how the NRSV battled with this, if one
>compares with the RSV:
>
>The RSV says:
>
>"My brethren, show no partiality as you hold the faith of our Lord Jesus
>Christ, the Lord of glory."
>
>The NRSV has:
>
>"Do you with your acts of favoritism really believe...?"
And NET, also preferring the imperatival sense, has:
"2:1 My brothers and sisters,1 do not show prejudice2 if you possess faith3
in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.4 "
and explains the translation as:
2tn (2:1) Or "partiality."
3tn (2:1) Grk "do not have faith with personal prejudice," with
emphasis on the last phrase.
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
Most months: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad@ioa.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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