1 Cor 7:19 - "Circumcision" or "The Circumcision"?

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S Walch
Posts: 281
Joined: June 13th, 2011, 4:27 pm
Location: Manchester, UK

1 Cor 7:19 - "Circumcision" or "The Circumcision"?

Post by S Walch »

ἡ περιτομὴ οὐδέν ἐστιν καὶ ἡ ἀκροβυστία οὐδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τήρησις ἐντολῶν θεοῦ.
H PERITOMH OUDEN ESTIN KAI H AKROBUSTIA OUDEN ESTIN, ALLA THRESIS ENTOLVN QEOU.


Looking at this verse today, I was wondering if there was anything in the Greek text that could help deduce whether this is, as what's been interpreted over the years as a reference to being circumcised or not being circumcised as a whole (as taken from the preceding verses), or whether this is a play on words with regards to ethnicity, with a possible meaning of "Being an ethnic Jew ('The Circumcision") is of no consequence and neither is being a Gentile ("The Uncircumcision") ; nevertheless what matters is whether you keep God's commandments (after you have been called)."


Is this a possible meaning of the Greek, or am I trying to grasp an extremely small straw?


Ste Walch
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: 1 Cor 7:19 - "Circumcision" or "The Circumcision"?

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

S Walch wrote:ἡ περιτομὴ οὐδέν ἐστιν καὶ ἡ ἀκροβυστία οὐδέν ἐστιν, ἀλλὰ τήρησις ἐντολῶν θεοῦ.
H PERITOMH OUDEN ESTIN KAI H AKROBUSTIA OUDEN ESTIN, ALLA THRESIS ENTOLVN QEOU.


Looking at this verse today, I was wondering if there was anything in the Greek text that could help deduce whether this is, as what's been interpreted over the years as a reference to being circumcised or not being circumcised as a whole (as taken from the preceding verses), or whether this is a play on words with regards to ethnicity, with a possible meaning of "Being an ethnic Jew ('The Circumcision") is of no consequence and neither is being a Gentile ("The Uncircumcision") ; nevertheless what matters is whether you keep God's commandments (after you have been called)."


Is this a possible meaning of the Greek, or am I trying to grasp an extremely small straw?


Ste Walch
Tiny, tiny straw... :roll:

Seriously, I don't see anything in the Greek per se that would lead to one interpretation or another. I think it's strictly context.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
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