Galatians 1:6-10

Vasile Stancu
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Re: Galatians 1:6-10

Post by Vasile Stancu »

I have seleced some instances where ἄλλος, -η, -ον may mean 'diferent' instead of 'another'; in other words, 'an altered … something'.

Mt 2:12
καὶ χρηματισθέντες κατ’ ὄναρ μὴ ἀνακάμψαι πρὸς Ἡρῴδην, δι’ ἄλλης ὁδοῦ ἀνεχώρησαν εἰς τὴν χώραν αὐτῶν.

Comment: the ἄλλης ὁδοῦ should not mean 'another' in the sense that there were a certain limited number of possible roads and the visitors just selected one of them: the true meaning should be rather 'a different one', i.e., one chosen by themselves as 'a certain direction/itinerary' rather than one of the 'well established number of roads'.

1Co 10:29
συνείδησιν δὲ λέγω οὐχὶ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀλλὰ τὴν τοῦ ἑτέρου. ἱνατί γὰρ ἡ ἐλευθερία μου κρίνεται ὑπὸ ἄλλης συνειδήσεως;

Comment: Is συνειδέσεως to be understood as a συνειδέδεως of a certain person, or just as a 'diferent/just another συνειδέσεως'? I am inclined to favour the latter possibility.

1Co 15:39,41
οὐ πᾶσα σὰρξ ἡ αὐτὴ σάρξ, ἀλλὰ ἄλλη μὲν ἀνθρώπων, ἄλλη δὲ σὰρξ κτηνῶν, ἄλλη δὲ σὰρξ πτηνῶν, ἄλλη δὲ ἰχθύων.

ἄλλη δόξα ἡλίου, καὶ ἄλλη δόξα σελήνης, καὶ ἄλλη δόξα ἀστέρων· ἀστὴρ γὰρ ἀστέρος διαφέρει ἐν δόξῃ.

Comment: In all these instances, the meaning is just 'different', in the sense of certain characteristics and not 'another' as distinct 'entity'.

2Co 1:13
οὐ γὰρ ἄλλα γράφομεν ὑμῖν ἀλλ’ ἢ ἃ ἀναγινώσκετε ἢ καὶ ἐπιγινώσκετε, ἐλπίζω δὲ ὅτι ἕως τέλους ἐπιγνώσεσθε,

Comment: ἄλλα mean(s) here 'things diferent', in the sense of 'things altered' rather than 'other things'.

2Co 11:4
εἰ μὲν γὰρ ὁ ἐρχόμενος ἄλλον Ἰησοῦν κηρύσσει ὃν οὐκ ἐκηρύξαμεν, ἢ πνεῦμα ἕτερον λαμβάνετε ὃ οὐκ ἐλάβετε, ἢ εὐαγγέλιον ἕτερον ὃ οὐκ ἐδέξασθε, καλῶς ἀνέχεσθε.

Comment: ἄλλον Ἰησοῦν should not mean 'a different person who happens to have the name of Jesus', but 'an altered Jesus'.

Gal 1:7
ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλο· εἰ μή τινές εἰσιν οἱ ταράσσοντες ὑμᾶς καὶ θέλοντες μεταστρέψαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ.

Comment: ὃ οὐκ ἔστιν ἄλλο should refer to the previously mentioned εὐαγγέλιον in the sense - as explained in the examples above and below - that the εὐαγγέλιον cannot be altered: there is none other…

Gal 5:10
ἐγὼ πέποιθα εἰς ὑμᾶς ἐν κυρίῳ ὅτι οὐδὲν ἄλλο φρονήσετε· ὁ δὲ ταράσσων ὑμᾶς βαστάσει τὸ κρίμα, ὅστις ἐὰν ᾖ.

Comment: οὐδὲν ἄλλο again has the general sense of 'nothing else', instead of a specific 'none of a well established number of possible thoughts…'

Iac 5:12
Πρὸ πάντων δέ, ἀδελφοί μου, μὴ ὀμνύετε, μήτε τὸν οὐρανὸν μήτε τὴν γῆν μήτε ἄλλον τινὰ ὅρκον· ἤτω δὲ ὑμῶν τὸ Ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ Οὒ οὔ, ἵνα μὴ ὑπὸ κρίσιν πέσητε.

Comment: the text here is self-explanatory, I believe…
Eeli Kaikkonen
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Re: εἰ μή in v. 7 (and later)

Post by Eeli Kaikkonen »

Eeli Kaikkonen wrote: What exactly εἰ μή means here in v. 7? It would be easy to translate it as something vague like "it's just that there are some...", but translations just distract us from the real question. I find it hard to belive that it introduces an exception to the previous statement, as if Paul would first say that there's no other gospel and then say that there's an exception to that, so that there really is another gospel of the some who are disturbing.
I'm still wondering. If εἰ μή makes an exception to a previous statement it implies "there is no other gospel except for the gospel of those who...". But this seems impossible, because Paul seems to be saying that there is no other gospel, period. At least that's how I see "εις ετερον...αλλο". Am I just knitpicking? What have I misunderstood?
cwconrad
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Re: εἰ μή in v. 7 (and later)

Post by cwconrad »

Eeli Kaikkonen wrote:
Eeli Kaikkonen wrote: What exactly εἰ μή means here in v. 7? It would be easy to translate it as something vague like "it's just that there are some...", but translations just distract us from the real question. I find it hard to belive that it introduces an exception to the previous statement, as if Paul would first say that there's no other gospel and then say that there's an exception to that, so that there really is another gospel of the some who are disturbing.
I'm still wondering. If εἰ μή makes an exception to a previous statement it implies "there is no other gospel except for the gospel of those who...". But this seems impossible, because Paul seems to be saying that there is no other gospel, period. At least that's how I see "εις ετερον...αλλο". Am I just knitpicking? What have I misunderstood?
Look again at the BDF citation. In terms of what's suggested there I understand εἰ μή τινές εἰστιν οἱ ταράσσοντες ὑμᾶς καὶ θέλοντες μεταστρέψαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Χριστοῦ as "… not that there is any other, except that/but there are certain people who are upsetting you and intent upon distorting the gospel of Christ.” I.e., there is no different gospel, but there are people who are misrepresenting what the gospel actually is."
οὔτοι ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς πάντα θεοὶ θνητοῖς ὑπέδειξαν,
ἀλλὰ χρόνῳ ζητέοντες ἐφευρίσκουσιν ἄμεινον. (Xenophanes, Fragment 16)

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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