John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood - Translation of Greek Phrase
score:3
και is simply a conjunction and the context dictates how it can best be translated into English to best convey its sense. While it can simply be translated as 'and' in both places, the OP is correct in noting that typically καὶ...καὶ implies some sort of emphasis (and...or, both...and, on one hand...on the other, as well...as, not only...but also, etc.). The specific emphasis must be determined from the context. BDAG (f) defines:
καί … καί both … and, not only … , but also (Synes., Dreams 10 p. 141b καὶ ἀπιστεῖν ἔξεστι καὶ πιστεύειν.—B-D-F §444, 3; Rob. 1182; Mlt-Turner 335) connecting single expressions Mt 10:28; Mk 4:41; Ro 11:33; Phil 2:13; 4:12. κ. ἐν ὀλίγῳ κ. ἐν μεγάλῳ Ac 26:29. κ. ἅπαξ κ. δίς (s. ἅπαξ 1) Phil 4:16; 1 Th 2:18. Connecting whole clauses or sentences: Mk 9:13; J 7:28; 9:37; 12:28; 1 Cor 1:22. Introducing contrasts: although … yet (Anthol. VII, 676 Δοῦλος Ἐπίκτητος γενόμην καὶ σῶμʼ ἀνάπηρος καὶ πενίην ῏Ιρος καὶ φίλος ἀθανάτοις ‘I was Epictetus, a slave; crippled in body and an Iros [a beggar in Hom., Od.] in poverty, but dear to the Immortals’) J 15:24; Ac 23:3. καὶ … κ. οὐ Lk 5:36; J 6:36. καὶ οὐ … καί 17:25; κ. … κ. now … now Mk 9:22. On τὲ … καί s. τέ 2c. Somet. w. ἤ q.v. 1aβ.—HCadbury, Superfluous καί in the Lord’s Prayer (i.e. Mt 6:12) and Elsewhere: Munera Studiosa (=WHatch Festschr.) ’46.
Smyth's Greek Grammar (2877) indicates that καὶ...καὶ places emphasis on each element separately, which seems to fits with the OP's proposed translation of "both...and", however Stephens' translation also conveys the same idea effectively in my opinion.
Two alternate translations render it like so:
"...but these frequently save the soul when it is afflicted and ready to perish..." (Cowper, 1866, p. 68, read on archive.org).
"...but these have often saved the sick soul that is about to die..." (Moxon, 1907, p. 67 read on archive.org).
The contrast in the context of the passage is between natural parents vs. spiritual priests/fathers and their ability to
- prevent their children from dying
- repel disease
In contrast from natural parents, spiritual priests/fathers often saved the soul that
- is about to die
- is sick
While the order is reversed in the clause in question, I believe the direct comparison is clear between these two abilities between natural parents and spiritual priests/fathers, and any translation that makes such a contrast clear is sufficient.
Paraphrasing (with significant interpretive license), this might look like the following:
God has bestowed a greater power upon priests than that of our natural parents. And the two differ as much as the present and the future life. Our natural parents bring us into this life, but [priests] into [the life] to come. And [our natural parents] are unable to prevent their offspring from dying, or to repel the assaults of disease; but [priests] have often saved sick [people] as well as [people who were] about to die....
More post
- 📝 Is physical presence in the church necessary to fulfill the Sunday mass obligation?
- 📝 How do Roman Catholics interpret Luke 4:13, regarding the devil leaving Jesus "until an opportune time"?
- 📝 What substitutes for prayers for the Pope's intentions during sede vacante?
- 📝 How do Swedenborgians understand Jesus' words on marriage in the resurrection in Matthew 22:30?
- 📝 What is the direct Biblical basis for the Son pre-existing eternally?
- 📝 Are there examples of "successful" celibate h*m*sexuals, according to the Catholic Church?
- 📝 Did God's essence enter time and space?
- 📝 Did the Catholic Church infallibly define that we can demonstrate with certainty the existence of God with the light of natural reason only?
- 📝 Why has the phrase "from the ousia of the Father" been omitted from the Nicene Creed?
- 📝 Something produced by Jehovah's Witnesses that explains their basic beliefs?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for why the sending of the Holy Spirit was necessary?
- 📝 When did the angel archetype change from masculine to feminine?
- 📝 Do any sects permit consensual open marriages?
- 📝 Is the Patriarch of Alexandria an Eastern Orthodox or an Oriental Orthodox?
- 📝 Does the New Testament mention Christians worshipping the Holy Spirit?
- 📝 How does Absalom's death foreshadow Christ?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the Athanasian Creed's statement that believing in the Trinity is necessary for salvation?
- 📝 Scriptural basis for replacement theology?
- 📝 Why would orthodox Christians consider Christian Science unorthodox if it essentially a mix of Augustine and healing?
- 📝 What are the requirements for godparents in the Roman Catholic Church?
- 📝 Did God REALLY want to destroy the people of Israel?
- 📝 When is Isaiah 11:8 supposed to be fulfilled?
- 📝 Those who enjoy pain: where do they go [according to Catholicism]
- 📝 Do any Christian groups sell all their possessions as it seems the Early Church did?
- 📝 Why does the narrative of Last Judgement appear only in the Gospel according to Matthew?
- 📝 When and why did the Catholic Church stop the Crusades?
- 📝 Is the global Christian population increasing?
- 📝 Does God forgive those who take his name in vain?
- 📝 Why does the axiom of choice imply the existence of a unique God?
- 📝 To "once saved always saved" advocates, what does it mean that church leaders "keep watch over our souls"?
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 John Chrysostom, On the Priesthood - Translation of Greek Phrase
- 📝 What support is there for the Jehovah’s Witness translation of John 1:1?
- 📝 Why does LDS teaching say that the Priesthood returned to earth if John never left?
- 📝 What arguments do KJV-only proponents give to support that the 1611 translation is better than say, Greek language Bibles?
- 📝 What's the Greek manuscripts of John with the oldest discovery date?
- 📝 What did St. John Chrysostom mean by saying there is no difference between what is demanded from the monastics and the laity?
- 📝 How do Bible scholars reconcile the differences between Greek and Aramaic in John 21:15-17?
- 📝 From a Fundamentalist standpoint, what does the phrase "Inspired, infallible, inerrant Word of God" mean?
- 📝 Which translation of Augustine's Confessions is the easiest to read in English?
- 📝 Why did the apostle John call himself, "the disciple whom Jesus loved"?
- 📝 Are any Greek or Roman gods mentioned by name in the Bible?
- 📝 Are there theological differences between the Greek Orthodox church and the Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox church?
- 📝 Was John the Baptist Elijah?
- 📝 When and how did the names Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John get attached to the gospels?
- 📝 What scholarship exists behind the WikiSource translation of the Bible?
- 📝 What's the significance of hyssop in John 19:29?
- 📝 What was the specific trap being set for Jesus by the Pharisees in John 8?
- 📝 Non-Christian/secular translation of the Bible?
- 📝 How do Protestants respond to the JW interpretation of John 14:28?
- 📝 Hebrew OT translation to Greek NT
- 📝 Is the English translation of "Book of Mormon" ever revised or updated, and if so, on what basis given that the golden plates have disappeared?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the priesthood of all believers?
- 📝 What is the Book of Mormon equivalent of John 3:16?
- 📝 What is the basis of the LDS (Mormon) belief that the Apostle John never died?
- 📝 How did John the Baptist have the "spirit and power of Elijah"?
- 📝 Is there any evidence for the claim that the Catholic church suppressed translation of Scripture?
- 📝 What is the earliest use of the phrase "God the Son"?
- 📝 What is the modern origin of the phrase "hell is the absence of God"?
- 📝 Was 'Jesus and the woman taken in adultery' in St. John a later addition, and does this invalidate infallibility?
- 📝 What are the differences between the translation ideologies of the NASB and ESV?