RE: EPISTEUSAN with HSAN TETAGMENOI

From: Bill Ross (wross@farmerstel.com)
Date: Sat May 13 2000 - 15:22:48 EDT


<Carl>
...I think it better to understand HSAN TETAGMENOI as a stative form that's
equivalent to an imperfect:"those who were in the state of being 'slated'
... did come to faith."

<Mike>
...My thought is: The person performing the action, the "appointing",
performed the action in the past and completed that action in the past....

<Bill>
There are many more ways to look at this verse than are commonly
investigated. Here are a few matters for inquiry:

* instead of reading hOSOI HSAN TETAGMENOI as parenthetical to
EPISTEUSAN...EIS ZWHN AIWNION, we can read it with EPISTEUSAN thrown forward
of the the subject, hOSOI HSAN TETAGMENOIN EIS ZWHN AIWNION, for emphasis

* the semantic range of this verb is not limited to being "slated": it is
commonly translated in 1 Cor 16:15 as "devoted"

NIV
You know that the household of Stephanas were the first converts in Achaia,
and they have devoted themselves to the service of the saints. I urge you,
brothers,
RSV
Now, brethren, you know that the household of Steph'anas were the first
converts in Acha'ia, and they have devoted themselves to the service of the
saints;
NKJV
I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the
firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have dedicated themselves to the
ministry of the saints,)
DBY
But I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the
first-fruits of Achaia, and they have devoted themselves to the saints for
service,)
YLT
And I entreat you, brethren, ye have known the household of Stephanas, that
it is the first-fruit of Achaia, and to the ministration to the saints they
did set themselves --

* this occurrence could be construed as being either middle or passive - the
form is identical; hence it could read "...they believed, all those having
devoted themselves to eternal life" (or as Carl said the words beg a stative
sense, "all those being devoted into eternal life"

* this occurence is decidedly not in the perfect, which is what the common
reading begs for (they were "slated" in eternity past, which thus impacts
the present)

* the pluperfect often implies repeated or on-going action that spanned some
time, not some "point" in eternity past. Hence, this might imply that these
saints had, prior to the current time, but **spanning a period of time** in
the past, been devoting themselves to eternal life

* the word "believed" is not in the passive, but the active, creating a
dysjunction with a passive sense of "slated"

* the words "word of the Lord" here does not, in the context given, refer to
the Gospel, and thus "believed" does not, in this context, refer to saving
faith. Rather, the "word of the Lord" refers to the dictum that the Gentiles
were partakers in the Gospel. It is specifically the *Gentiles* who heard
this dictum, that are the ones recorded as rejoicing and glorifying and
believing

What think ye?

Bill Ross


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