Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Will Wagers <hyle AT airmail.net>]

I have been off the list for a while as I changed ISPs. So, sorry if
this thread is long dead, but I want to make a comment.

Wes Williams writes:

>John,
>
...
>In conclusion, I find no lexical support for your pragmatic/ theological
>view that requires the firstborn to be external to the group from any verses
>in the entire bible. Ps 89:27 adds no support either since the firstborn is
>not "prwtotokos twn basilewn" but is God's firstborn. We do not find this
>kind of language at Col 1:15. We instead find PRWTOTOKOS PASHS KTISEWS
>("firstborn of all creation") Therefore, lexically speaking, the evidence is
>overwhelming for a partitive at Col 1:15. You may legitimately question what
>the "creation" is here, but I see that as a question for b-greek and not
>b-hebrew. This is why I concur with Rolf that "firsborn over all creation"
>reflects bias and not "firstborn of all creation."

I disagree that '"firsborn over all creation" reflects bias and not "firstborn
of all creation"; because, they mean the same thing. In ancient thought,
the firstborn is the heir and has seniority over subsequent children. In
addition, in Greek philosophy, the firstborn has priority in the sequence
of generation, i.e. it is necessary and causal. Therefore, the firstborn is
*over* all creation no matter what the context.

So, "firstborn over all creation" merely makes explicit the implication
which might escape a modern reader. Simply because a particular
translation becomes a lynchpin of a particular theology does not mean
the translation is biased.

Will Wagers     hyle AT gte.net    "Reality is the best metaphor."