[B-Greek] "monon" - I Cor. 15:19

Webb webb at selftest.net
Thu Mar 29 11:52:16 EST 2007


I'll kick in my two cents. MONON is an adverb, and modifies HLPIKOTES ESMEN.
The point he's making is simple, forceful, and clear. If Christ isn't
raised, then neither are we apostles going to be raised. And if we've only
been hoping in Christ in this life--and there is no future resurrection for
us to compensate us for all the cruel pains, physical injuries, heartaches,
persecutions we've endured, then we made a catastrophic miscalculation. If
hoping goes to the grave with us, and that's the end of the story, then
we've suffered most terribly for nothing as far as our own case goes. We are
more to be pitied than just about anyone. Paul's next sentence (v. 20)
continues the train of logic: But Christ is raised. From there he argues
that the faithful will also be raised with him.
So the grammar is straightforward, and the logic of the argument is clear
and cohesive and reasonable, and does not force us to look beyond the
obvious sense dictated by the grammar.

Webb Mealy

-----Original Message-----
From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org
[mailto:b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org] On Behalf Of Harold Holmyard
Sent: Thursday, March 29, 2007 7:18 AM
To: B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] "monon" - I Cor. 15:19

David A. Green wrote:
> Paul's argument seems invalid to me if "monon" modifies the adverbial
> prepositional phrase "in this life."  If Paul was saying that believers
were
> pitiable because they hoped in Christ "in this life only," then he would
be
> implying that, in order not to be pitiable, Christians must continue to
hope
> in Christ "in the next life" too.  But that doesn't make sense.  Their
hope
> was _fulfilled_ in the next life.  One does not continue to "hope" for
> something that is "seen" after "this life." (Rom. 8:24)  

HH:  First, I don't see why it is impossible for people to hope in 
Christ even in eternity. We will continue to look to him for all good. 
In Rom 8:24 the hope is specified as the adoption of sons and redemption 
of the body. That hope will be fulfilled at the resurrection and so will 
no longer be a hope. But there can be other things to hope for in Christ 
even in eternity, can't there? Also, you are giving EN a temporal sense, 
but it is possible that it has a more spatial sense. EN might imply 
something like "in the sphere of." If we have hoped in Christ in the 
sphere of this life only, that is, if our hope in Christ related only to 
this life. That is the first area of meaning suggested by Wallace in 
Greek Grammar beyond the Basics, p. 372.  BAGD suggests the later 
possibility for EN at 1 Pet 3:19: EN hOi.

> It doesn't seem to
> me that there is anything "pitiable" about hoping in Christ "in this life
> only."  Also, Paul did not add the qualifier, "...if the dead do not
rise."
> He did not say, "If in this life only we hoped in Christ then we are
> pitiable _if the dead do not rise_."
>   


HH: This is a place where you really are mistaken. The whole discussion 
assumes the hypothetical condition that Christ did not rise and indeed 
that there is no resurrection of the dead (vv. 12, 13, 15, 16). The 
hypothetical condition that Christ did not rise appears in verses 14, 
16, 17. The particle ARA ("then") moves this hypothetical condition into 
verse 18, and verse 19 continues it.

> And Paul's argument seems invalid to me again if "monon" modifies the verb
> "hoped."  What is wrong with "only hoping" in Christ?  Again, Paul did not
> add the qualifier, "...if the dead do not rise." 

HH: The qualifier, however, is assumed. It is only in verse 20 that Paul 
drops that hypothetical idea: "But now Christ . . .." The word NUNI is 
there in verse 20 to make this shift. The NIV tries to communicate it by 
"indeed":

1Cor. 15:20  But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the 
firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

HH: You see, his resurrection was the matter in doubt in the minds of 
the people about/to whom Paul was writing:

1Cor. 15:12  But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the 
dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead?

HH: Paul in verse 13-19 was showing all the unfortunate consequences 
that such a reality would bring, but mainly to show the 
inappropriateness of the assertion.
 
>  He did not say, "If we
> have 'only hope' in Christ then we are to be pitied _if the dead do not
> rise_." 

HH: But that is what he means.

>  He said only that "placing only our hope in Christ is pitiable".
> That doesn't make sense.  Or at the very least, it seems that it would be
a
> very awkwardly articulated argument.
>
> These considerations are what make me wonder if the context leads us to
this
> translation/interpretation: 
>
> "If in this life we alone [i.e., we Christians alone and not "the dead" of
> the O.T.] have hoped in Christ, then we are of all men most to be pitied
> [because if "the dead" had no hope in Christ in this life, then neither do
> we]."
>   

HH: If it were "we alone," then MONON would be the wrong form. I believe 
it would be MONOI to agree with the pronoun being modified. There might 
need to be an expressed pronoun as well, though I am not sure about that.

Yours,
Harold Holmyard


> Dave
>
>
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