[B-Greek] "Sword" as a symbol for hO LOGOS TOU QEOU in the NT

Leonard Jayawardena leonardj at live.com
Sat Jun 21 01:10:40 EDT 2008


This is a rather belated response to Beata Urbanek's post headed "STOMA," reproduced below: > Dear B-Greekers,>> I'd like to know if the word STOMA is a typical way of naming an > edge of a sword.> I wonder if there is any connection between these two meanings of > STOMA: mouth and edge. A connection which could be a base for the > metaphor of a sword as a word.>> Any help appreciated.>> Beata Urbanek> University of Silesia, Poland I note that while the first part of her query has been answered, the second part (the last sentence in the post), which is what I think she ultimately wants to know, has gone unanswered. If I understand the question correctly, what she wants to know is why the word "sword" is used a metaphor for the word of God in the NT in such passages as Hebrews 4:12. This *must* be the question as "sword" never occurs in ancient literature before the NT in reference to a word (if it does, why didn't the listers mention it?). When "sword" occurs in the NT in reference to the word of God, the latter is always used in its technical sense, i.e., as a synonym for the Christian gospel (TO EUAGGELION THS BASILEIAS)--indeed most occurrences of the expression "the word of God" in the NT belongs to this category.  In this technical sense, hO LOGOS TOU QEOU (or hO hRHMA  QEOU, Ephesians 6:17)  is derived, I think, from Judges 3:20, where Ehud’s “message from God” (LXX: LOGOS QEOU) for Eglon king of Moab is a thrust from his two-edged sword (LXX: MACHAIRAN DISTOMON) into Eglon’s belly (vv. 16, 21). The word of God is compared to a MACHAIRAN DISTOMON in Hebrews 4:12. Christ has a “two-edged sword” in Revelation 1:16 and 2:12 (hROMFAIA DISTOMOS), which is said to proceed out of his mouth and by which he slays his enemies (Revelation 19:15, 21). Christ's name is said to be hO LOGOS TOU QEOU in v. 13 (cf. John 1:1).  Note that where Ehud hid his two-edged sword, upon his thigh, Christ has the name “king of kings and lord of lords” written (v. 16). This definite allusion to the passage in Judges in the book of Revelation clearly establishes the fact that the expression hO LOGOS TOU QEOU used as a synonym for the Christian gospel in the NT and "sword" as a symbol for it ultimately originate in the above passage in Judges.   The above derivation of hO LOGOS TOU QEOU as a synonym for the gospel has to be understood in the context of the New Testament's view that the (factual) history of the children of Israel as recorded in the OT is a historical allegory, examples of which need not be given as students of the Bible are aware of them.  Furthermore, this derivation of hO LOGOS TOU QEOU, if correct, with its association with a (spiritual) two-edged sword, an offensive weapon, has implications for our understanding of the Bible's teachings on Christian salvation and judgement, which cannot be discussed here as they are matters of hermeneutics. 
 
I should also mention that that, if I am right, this is yet another example of the value of the Septuagint in understanding the NT.  Leonard JayawardenaSri Lanka   
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