1 Cor. 15:8 — Paul and the abortion

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Jean Putmans
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Re: 1 Cor. 15:8 — Paul and the abortion

Post by Jean Putmans »

Pape gives Aristoteles, Gener. 4,5 : Solving this abbreviation leads to
Περὶ ζῴων γενέσεως. Βιβλον 4, Κεφαλαιο 5


"ὅταν δ᾿ ἤδη τοῦ κυήματος ηὐξημένου συμβῇ γίγνεσθαι τὴν ὀχείαν ἐπικυΐσκεται μέν ποτε, ὀλιγάκις μέντοι διὰ τὸ τὴν ὑστέραν συμμύειν ὡς τὰ πολλὰ μέχρι τῶν κυουμένων ταῖς γυναιξίν. ἂν δὲ συμβῇ ποτε (καὶ γὰρ τοῦτ᾿ ἤδη γέγονεν), οὐ δύναται τελειοῦν, ἀλλὰ κυήματ᾿ ἐκπίπτει παραπλήσια τοῖς καλουμένοις ἐκτρώμασιν. ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐπὶ τῶν μονοτόκων διὰ τὸ μέγεθος εἰς τὸ προϋπάρχον τὸ περίττωμα τρέπεται πᾶν, οὕτω καὶ τούτοις, πλὴν ἐκείνοις μὲν εὐθύς, τούτοις δ᾿ ὅταν αὐξηθῇ τὸ ἔμβρυον· τότε γὰρ ἔχουσι παραπλησίως τοῖς μονοτόκοις. ὁμοίως δὲ διὰ τὸ τὸν ἄνθρωπον φύσει πολυτόκον εἶναι, καὶ περιεῖναί τι τῷ μεγέθει τῆς ὑστέρας καὶ τοῦ περιττώματος, μὴ μέντοι τοσοῦτον ὥστε ἕτερον ἐκτρέφειν, μόνα τῶν ζῴων ὀχείαν ἐπιδέχεται κυοῦντα γυνὴ καὶ ἵππος, ἡ μὲν διὰ τὴν εἰρημένην αἰτίαν ἡ δ᾿ ἵππος διά τε τὴν τῆς φύσεως στεῤῥότητα καὶ τὸ περιεῖναί τι τῆς ὑστέρας μέγεθος, πλέον μὲν ἢ τῷ ἑνί, ἔλαττον δὲ ἢ ὥστε ἄλλο ἐπικυΐσκεσθαι τέλειον. ἔστι δὲ φύσει ἀφροδισιαστικὸν διὰ τὸ ταὐτὸ πεπονθέναι τοῖς στεῤῥοῖς· ἐκεῖνά τε γὰρ τοιαῦτ᾿ ἐστὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ γίγνεσθαι κάθαρσιν (τοῦτο δ᾿ ἐστὶν ὥσπερ τοῖς ἄῤῥεσι τὸ ἀφροδισιάσαι) καὶ αἱ ἵπποι αἱ θήλειαι ἥκιστα προΐενται κάθαρσιν.

Regards

Jean
Jean Putmans
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gotischebibel.blogspot.com
Dizerner
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Joined: September 1st, 2021, 7:34 am

Re: 1 Cor. 15:8 — Paul and the abortion

Post by Dizerner »

And A. L. Peck translates:

"But if ever it does happen (as in fact it has been known to do), the mother cannot bring the second one to completion, but ejects fetations that are very similar to what are known as abortions."
Dizerner
Posts: 7
Joined: September 1st, 2021, 7:34 am

Re: 1 Cor. 15:8 — Paul and the abortion

Post by Dizerner »

Here's the study note I ended up writing on this verse, would appreciate any corrections or observations:

And last of all, as like to the baby born dead, he appeared also to me. The word ἐκτρώματι, from a cutting out, seems to always mean a miscarriage or abortion, but translations/commentaries try to find a potential meaning in an abnormally born baby, because otherwise the context seems out of place. Vincent's Word Studies: "In every case the word means an abortion, a still-born embryo." It seems odd that Paul would be so negative about his own conversion experience that he would call it an abortion, when he himself said he had been separated from his mother's womb by God. Perhaps Paul saw himself as a thrown out dead thing spiritually? It could be an oblique reference to replacing the spiritual abortion of Judas ("like there had been an abortion"), but it would be weird that he says Jesus appeared to the "12" instead of 11. He is talking about how he feels unworthy and yet not because the others were before him in time, but because he persecuted the church; his unworthiness is not related to his delayed salvation. The "abortion" is set firmly in the context of Paul considering himself an apostle as much as the 12 apostles. Why would Paul denigrate his conversion when he's a true new creation? He wasn't a "sickly" Christian with a weak birth. However, there is an example of this NT hapax legomonen "ὡσπερεὶ" (related to ὡσπερ) being used to speak of what others say about someone; so perhaps Paul means his Pharisaic career was aborted and they may have called him "an abortion," or the "super apostles" called him a failed apostle. UBS NT Handbook: "(3) as referring to some previous or widely known use of the expression, as one might refer, for example, to 'the fiery furnace.'" He does seems to immediately move on to self-deprecation after the term, but not merely because he was last or abnormal. Perhaps best translated as, "And he appeared to me the last of all, like I was something thrown out."
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