Biblical Hebrew Forum

[Peter Kirk <peter AT qaya.org>]

On 18/03/2006 19:04, Herman Meester wrote:
> ...
> > It-is-sown (a) natural body,
> > QUESTION—What is meant by a σῶμα ψυχικόν 'natural body'?
> > It is a body that is animated by the ψυχή 'soul/life' as animal life [Ho],
> > and is adapted to the conditions of existence on earth [Ho, ICC].
> > It does not mean a body that is composed of ψυχή 'soul/life' [Gdt,
> > Herm, Ho, ICC].
> > It has reference to the natural world in contrast to the supernatural
> > [AB, TNTC].
> >     
>
> That, I believe, isn't far away from my own interpretation.
>   

Fair enough. But this is one opinion among others.
> Furthermore, my own teacher (Joh. Tromp) of Hellenistic period Judaism
> in Leiden has the same interpretation of Paul (I mean, there are a few
> more "dissidents"). By the way, I think the number of people that have
> a certain opinion does not necessarily have anything to do with
> whether they are right or not. It may be so, but it is not an argument
> for the validity of a certain opinion. If it was, it would end all
> progress in scholarship.
>
>   
Indeed. And he and you have a right to your view, and to argue for it by 
the usual academic channels. But those who put forward unusual minority 
opinions should accept that for the time being that is what they are, 
and not put them forward is if they were the uncontested truth of the 
matter, especially to audiences (such as on the b-hebrew list) where 
this is not their speciality. That is why I wanted to ensure that your 
minority view of this matter was balanced by a clear explanation of the 
majority scholarly view.

--
Peter Kirk
peter AT qaya.org (personal)
peterkirk AT qaya.org (work)
http://www.qaya.org/