960310.03
> From: Ajig Alcalde <ajig@max.ph.net>
> Date: Sun, 10 Mar 1996 05:07:27 +0800 (GMT+0800)
> To: "Fr. Mateo" <cinaskf@catinfo.cts.com>
> Subject: 1 Tim 3:15
>
> Dear Fr. Mateo,
>
> My question is about 1 Tim 3:15:
>
> "...which is the church of the living God, the pillar and
> foundation of truth."
>
> The English reading seems ambiguous, i.e., the pillar and
> foundation of truth can refer either to the church or to the
> living God. For example, if we substitute other nouns,
> we can come up with something like:
>
> "...which is the sling of David, the fear and nightmare of
> the enemy."
>
> Which is the fear and nightmare of the enemy? The sling or
> David? If this were an English test, I would not know what
> to answer.
>
> Is the Greek text also ambiguous (is the English really
> ambiguous or is it just me?)?
>
> Regards,
> Ajig
Dear Ajig,
St. Therese of Lisieux (1873-1897) wrote: "If I had been a
priest, I would have studied Hebrew and Greek in depth in order
to know the divine thought such as God has deigned to express it
in our human language." The Saint explained that "differences
between translations troubled her."
And well they might as your question shows. The Greek text is
not at all ambiguous. The referent of "pillar and foundation" is
"church". All three nouns are in the nominative case, and so
they "hang together". The phrase "of the living God" is in the
genitive case, and so it is not the referent of "pillar and
foundation".
If you would like a word-by-word Greek interlinear of the New
Testament, write for a free catalog to:
Christian Book Distributors
P.O. Box 7000
Peabody, MA 01961-7000 U.S.A.
Sincerely in Christ,
Father Mateo
- Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit -
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