[B-Greek] hUPAKOHN PISTEWS

Barry nebarry at verizon.net
Sun Dec 21 08:28:04 EST 2008


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "George F Somsel" <gfsomsel at yahoo.com>
To: <jcwilking at yahoo.com>; <B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Saturday, December 20, 2008 2:24 PM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] hUPAKOHN PISTEWS


> Cranfield notes that 1-3 are objective genitives, 4 & 5 are subjective 
> genitives, 6 is adjectival and 7 is appositive and opts for 7. This seems 
> to be the choice which Elliott makes according to what you have said. 
> Personally, I tend to think it could be all of the above. We sometimes 
> tend to classify usages so strictly that we exclude what may seem to be 
> legitimate understandings. The Greek would simply have seen a noun in the 
> genitive related to a noun in the accusative. He was free to draw his own 
> conclusions regarding what it meant. It seems interesting to me that it is 
> not simply ὑπακοὴν πίστεως [hUPAKOHN PISTEWS] but εἰς ὑπακοὴν πίστεως [EIS 
> hUPAKOHN PISTEWS] in both cases. Thus "the obedience of faith" (however 
> construed) is the objective.<<

What I personally find objectionable is when an author or speaker, such 
Eliot, presents a conclusion as though it is *the interpretation* of a truly 
ambiguous phrase or construction.  Now, such are not common, but where they 
are employed, I believe they are intentional.  One of my professors, Steve 
Tracy, was fond of answering the question "What does this mean" by simply 
quoting the original language of the question back to the questioner. 
Frustrating for the student, but making a point.  Here, ὑπακοὴν πίστεως 
(hUPOKOHN PISTEWS) means ὑπακοὴν πίστεως (hUPOKOHN PISTEWS), without 
necessarily, in Paul's mind, of narrowing it down to the neat categories we 
like to use.

N.E. Barry Hofstetter

Fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te...
    -- Augustine, Confessions 1:1

http://mysite.verizon.net/nebarry/
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