[b-greek] Re: KATALLASSEIN/APOKATALLASSEIN

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Sun Jan 07 2001 - 07:49:20 EST


At 6:07 AM -0800 1/7/01, Paul Fullmer wrote:
>Hello, B-Greekers:
>
>In their discussion of the authorship of Colossians, Duling and Perrin's
>Introduction to the New Testament states:

I have to pause here to note that when I was teaching our NT Intro course
at Washington U this was the only textbook I felt thoroughly comfortable
with. I realize that it was anathema to more conservative believers, but I
thought it did a better job of explaining the reasons for preference of one
alternative view over another than many a textbook that simply presents
the perspective its author deems right. And I'm happy to see that the
textbook continues to be useful in new editions well after the death of
Norman Perrin himself--Perrin was the Synoptic scholar for whom I had the
greatest respect when I was much more closely involved in Synoptic studies
than I have been in more recent years.

>"2 Cor 5:19 uses KATALLASSEIN ("to reconcile").... Colossians and
>Ephesians uniformly use APOKATALLASSEIN. There is a small, yet
>significant, difference between the two terms (p. 267)."
>
>The book does not expound upon what exactly the semantic difference is,
>nor why it is significant. Can anyone out there help me grasp this
>difference?

Here's Louw & Nida on the subject. One may not always agree with them, but
I think this is a pretty neat discussion:

------------------------
40.1 KATALLASSW; KATALLAGH, HS; APOKATALLASSW; SUNALLASSW: to reestablish
proper friendly interpersonal relations after these have been disrupted or
broken (the componential features of this series of meanings involve (1)
disruption of friendly relations because of (2) presumed or real
provocation, (3) overt behavior designed to remove hostility, and (4)
restoration of original friendly relations) - 'to reconcile, to make things
right with one another, reconciliation.'
KATALLASSW: TA DE PANTA EK TOU QEOU TOU KATALLAXANTOS hHMAS hEAUTWi DIA
CRISTOU v 'all this is done by God who through Christ reconciled us to
himself' 2Cor 5:18.
KATALLAGH: DI' hOU NUN THN KATALLAGHN ELABOMEN 'through whom we were
reconciled (with God)' Ro 5:11.
APOKATALLASW: DI' AUTOU APOKATALLAXAI TA PANTA EIS AUTON 'through him,
(God) reconciled the whole world to himself' Col 1:20.
SUNALLASW: SUNHLLASSEN AUTOUS EIS EIRHNHN 'he tried to make peace between
them' Ac 7:26. This is the only instance of SUNALLASW in the NT, and it has
EIS EIRHNHN added to emphasize peace as the goal, although the feature of
making peace between previously hostile individuals is already implicit in
the act of reconciliation.
        Because of the variety and complexity of the components involved in
reconciliation, it is often necessary to use an entire phrase in order to
communicate satisfactorily the meanings of the terms in this subdomain. In
some languages, however, reconciliation is often spoken of in idiomatic
terms, for example, 'to cause to become friends again,' 'to cause to snap
fingers again' (a symbol of friendly interpersonal relations in many parts
of Africa), 'to cause to be one again,' or 'to take away the separation.' A
particularly crucial element in terms for reconciliation is the assigning
of responsibility for original guilt in causing the estrangement. Some
terms, for example, imply that the individual who initiates reconciliation
is by doing so admitting his guilt in causing the estrangement. This, of
course, provides a completely untenable meaning for reconciliation in
speaking of God reconciling people to himself through Christ. In a number
of languages the contextual basis for an expression for reconciliation is
often found in terms relating to the reconciliation of husbands and wives.
Such expressions fit in well with many contexts in the Scriptures,
especially in speaking of reconciliation of people to God, since God is
frequently referred to as the husband and the believers as the wife.
------------------------
--

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/

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