"κεκοινώνηκεν" in Heb 2:14

[DOMINIC]

κεκοινώνηκεν--

Dear friends,

I don't quite understand the function of κεκοινώνηκεν in Heb 2:14. Many translations say "the children share" (present tense) but the verb being perfect tense, 3rd person singular would seem to have the effect of "it/he/she came into union with" or "it partook" or "he partook", or "he came into communion with" suggesting 2 active parties and not simple participation in fleshly existence. Am I wrong here? The action would seem to have been past completed, and since "having fellowship with" is often the meaning of this verb in the NT, could a better sense be "he/she/it/(they) entered into communion with"? Help!

"Ἐπεὶ οὖν τὰ παιδία κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός, καὶ αὐτὸς παραπλησίως μετέσχεν..."

Doesn't this whole construction run the risk of saying something like "He came into union with his own being"? in which case, isn't it

Moderator: I changed the case of the text. Be aware that all-capital letters represents shouting when engaging on online forums. It's difficult to read. (Jason)

[Jonathan Robie]

The Exegetical Summaries are helpful here:

perf. act. indic. of κοινωνέω (LN 9.15; 57.98) (BAGD 1.a. p. 438; 1.a. p. 22; 4. p. 744): ‘to share’ [BAGD, HNTC, LN (57.98), WBC; NASB, NJB, NRSV, REB], ‘to share as their common lot’ [Mil], ‘to be a sharer’ [NIC], ‘to be a partaker’ [KJV], ‘to be a man of’ [NAB], ‘to have’ [NIV], ‘to have in common’ [TNT] ‘to be in fellowship’ [Lns]; as a plural: ‘to be people of’ [CEV, TEV]. The phrase κεκοινώνηκεν αἵματος καὶ σαρκός ‘have shared blood and flesh’ is translated ‘are human beings’ [LN (9.15)], ‘are human beings—made of flesh and blood’ [NLT]. The phrase refers to their partaking of human nature [Blm], their sharing with one another in the established order of nature [Alf, Lg, My; TNT], to their becoming partners with Christ in human nature [Hwt]. The perfect tense implies a still existing state [Alf, EGT, Hu, Lg, Lns, Mil, My, NTC, WBC, Wst]. This word implies that there is more to their beings than just the physical [Lns].

Greenlee, J. H. (2008). An Exegetical Summary of Hebrews (2nd ed., p. 71). Dallas, TX: SIL International.

[Barry Hofstetter]

First, please don't write in all caps. It'w difficult to read, and for those of us who have been online for a long time, implies "shouting."

Secondly, I think that we have a "classic" use of the perfect, showing action which started to the past but is current right now in the present. I must admit, I don't understand what you are trying to derive from the text. It simply states that the children have fellowship (unity) with Christ's "blood and flesh" and that Christ "likewise" partakes of the "same things" (note the use of the article). What exactly that means must be derived from context and comparing Scripture to Scripture, but that's beyond the scope of B-Greek discussion.

Oh, and Jonathan's exegetical summary that he cites is good.