Father, Son and Holy Spirit – Part 9

This is a continuation of my intent to become much more familiar with the Greek translation of יְהֹוָ֨ה (Yᵊhōvâ) and יֱהֹוִה֙ (yᵊhōvâ) in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Genesis 3:1 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:1 (NET)

Genesis 3:1 (NETS)

Genesis 3:1 (English Elpenor)

Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֑ים) had made. And he said unto the woman: ‘Yea, hath G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) said: Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden?’ [Table] Now the serpent was shrewder than any of the wild animals that the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) had made. He said to the woman, “Is it really true that God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?” Now the snake was the most sagacious of all the wild animals that were upon the earth, which the Lord (κύριος) God ( θεός) had made. And the snake said to the woman, “Why is it that God ( θεός) said, ‘You shall not eat from any tree that is in the orchard’?” [Table] NOW the serpent was the most crafty of all the brutes on the earth, which the Lord (Κύριος) God ( Θεός) made, and the serpent said to the woman, Wherefore has God ( Θεός) said, Eat not of every tree of the garden?

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֣ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֑ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, which was corroborated by Κύριος Θεὸς in the Septuagint. But the serpent said אֱלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, and Θεὸς in the Septuagint.

When did this happen? Is it still Friday, the sixth day? I’m going to say, no, because the text sounds like the sixth day was concluded before this happened: God saw all that he had made—and it was very good! There was evening, and there was morning, the sixth day.1 So, is it Saturday, the Sabbath? Again, I’ll say, no, because of the way I hear the text (Genesis 2:1-3 NET):

The heavens and the earth were completed with everything that was in them [Table]. By the seventh day God finished the work that he had been doing, and he ceased on the seventh day all the work that he had been doing [Table]. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy because on it he ceased all the work that he had been doing in creation [Table].

So, I’m going to say that this conversation between Eve and the serpent occurred sometime between the following Sunday and Eve’s first conception. And the latter is just for my convenience, so I don’t have to deal with the ramifications of a child conceived before Adam sinned. I’ll leave that kind of speculation to Dan Brown. Maybe I’ll see the movie if Ron Howard is so inclined.

Eve corrected the serpent’s error:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Genesis 3:2, 3 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:2, 3 (NET)

Genesis 3:2, 3 (NETS)

Genesis 3:2, 3 (English Elpenor)

And the woman said unto the serpent: ‘Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat; [Table] The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit from the trees of the orchard; And the woman said to the snake, “We shall eat of the fruit of the tree of the orchard, [Table] And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden,
but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, G-d (אֱלֹהִ֗ים) hath said: Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die’ [Table]. but concerning the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) said, ‘You must not eat from it, and you must not touch it, or else you will die.’” but of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the orchard, God ( θεός) said, ‘You shall not eat of it nor shall you even touch it, lest you die’” [Table]. but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God ( Θεός) said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

Here Eve called God אֱלֹהִ֗ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text and Θεός in the Septuagint.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Genesis 3:4, 5 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:4, 5 (NET)

Genesis 3:4, 5 (NETS)

Genesis 3:4, 5 (English Elpenor)

And the serpent said unto the woman: ‘Ye shall not surely die; [Table] The serpent said to the woman, “Surely you will not die, And the snake said to the woman, “You will not die by death, [Table] And the serpent said to the woman, Ye shall not surely die.
for G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as G-d (כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים), knowing good and evil’ [Table]. for God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God (ĕlōhîm, כאלהים), knowing good and evil.” for God ( θεὸς) knew that on the day you eat of it, your eyes would be opened, and you would be like gods (θεοὶ) knowing good and evil” [Table]. For God ( Θεός) knew that in whatever day ye should eat of it your eyes would be opened, and ye would be as gods (θεοί), knowing good and evil.

Here the serpent called God אֱלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text and Θεός in the Septuagint. He told Eve ye shall be as G-d, כֵּֽאלֹהִ֔ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text, which was translated θεοί (gods) in the Septuagint. The Masoretic text was translated gods in the KJV and angels in the Tanakh on chabad.org.

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about Satan’s working (ἐνέργειαν τοῦ σατανᾶ): with all kinds of miracles and signs and false wonders,2 especially false wonders (τέρασιν ψεύδους). In another essay I developed a working definition of signs and wonders, and false wonders:

I’ll try to use forms of σημεῖον for the sign, the thing itself, and forms of τέρας for the wonder, the voice of the sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου), the effect it has on the one who witnesses the sign, to believe (Tanakh/KJV/NET) the messenger and ultimately the word of God.3

For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, Jesus warned, and perform great signs and wonders (τέρατα, another form of τέρας) to deceive, if possible, even the elect.4 Without specifying exactly what any particular sign would be, Jesus warned that the wonder, the voice of the sign, would not result in confidence in the truth, God’s word, the Scriptures: great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.5

The serpent had nothing to do with this particular sign (Genesis 2:16, 17 NET):

Then the Lord God commanded the man, “You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard [Table], but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die” [Table].

The serpent simply appropriated God’s instruction to give Eve a false wonder. The Greek word translated perform in Jesus’ saying perform great signs and wonders was not a form of ποιέω. It was δώσουσιν, a form of δίδωμι: to give. The table below comparing God’s words to the serpent’s words highlights the subtlety, shrewdness, sagacity and craftiness of the serpent.

God said… (Genesis 2:16b NET)

The serpent said… (Genesis 3:1b NET)

You may freely eat fruit from every tree of the orchard Is it really true that God said, ‘You must not eat from any tree of the orchard’?

I suppose it’s possible to think that the serpent was even more shrewd than this. The English translation of the Elpenor Septuagint renders it: Wherefore has God said, Eat not of every tree of the garden? In any case the serpent asked Eve a question which seemed like an obvious misunderstanding, easy to correct or clarify. When she did so, the serpent’s reply was more direct.

God said… (Genesis 2:17 NET)

The serpent said… (Genesis 3:4, 5 NET)

but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat from it you will surely die Surely you will not die, for God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will open and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Surely you will not die, is almost too direct. It tips the serpent’s hand too soon. But studying the Bible gives me potentially more knowledge than Eve had living in the moment. And the serpent’s directness coupled with the absence of any biblical evidence to the contrary persuades me that Eve never heard God’s words directly. So the serpent didn’t refute God as far as Eve knew, only his messenger, Adam.

Is there a wife alive who doesn’t know that her husband is often confused and misunderstands the things she says? How much confidence does that inspire? Couldn’t Adam have misunderstood or miscommunicated God’s words? And that brings me to the serpent’s false wonder:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Genesis 3:6 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:6 (NET)

Genesis 3:6 (NETS)

Genesis 3:6 (English Elpenor)

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat; and she gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat [Table]. When the woman saw that the tree produced fruit that was good for food, was attractive to the eye, and was desirable for making one wise, she took some of its fruit and ate it. She also gave some of it to her husband who was with her, and he ate it. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food and that it was pleasing for the eyes to look at and it was beautiful to contemplate, and when she had taken of its fruit she ate, and she also gave some to her husband with her, and they ate [Table]. And the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes to look upon and beautiful to contemplate, and having taken of its fruit she ate, and she gave to her husband also with her, and they ate.

The false wonder was that Eve believed, not the word of God or his messenger (her husband) but, the serpent’s word. For false messiahs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and wonders to deceive6 The Greek word translated to deceive here was πλανῆσαι, a form of πλανάω: “to lead astray, cause to wander; to misguide, lead away from the right path; to mislead, deceive (someone)…origin of the English word ‘planet’ meaning wanderer because while the stars are fixed in place, the planets seemed to wander around the night sky.”

But I am afraid, Paul wrote, that7 just as the serpent deceived (ἐξηπάτησεν, a form of ἐξαπατάω) Eve by his treachery (πανουργίᾳ), your8 minds may be led astray (φθαρῇ, a form of φθείρω) from a sincere and pure devotion9 to Christ.10 His description of this false wonder sounds almost like seduction. And Adam was not deceived (ἠπατήθη, a form of ἀπατάω), but the woman, because she was fully deceived (ἐξαπατηθεῖσα, a form of ἐξαπατάω), fell into transgression (παραβάσει, a form of παράβασις).11 In other words, Adam was not seduced, not by the serpent, and not by Eve to whatever extent she had become a false prophet (ψευδοπροφῆται, a form of ψευδοπροφήτης) of the serpent’s words.

Adam heard God’s command with his own ears. Adam violated God’s command with his eyes wide open because violating God’s command is what Adam wanted to do (Romans 5:12-14 NET):

So then, just as sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and so death spread to all people because all sinned—for before the law was given, sin was in the world, but there is no accounting for sin when there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam until Moses even over those who did not sin in the same way that Adam (who is a type of the coming one) transgressed (παραβάσεως, another form of παράβασις) [Table].

Adam’s disobedience, his transgression of God’s command, opened both their eyes:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Genesis 3:7 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:7 (NET)

Genesis 3:7 (NETS)

Genesis 3:7 (English Elpenor)

And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig-leaves together, and made themselves girdles [Table]. Then the eyes of both of them opened, and they knew they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. And the eyes of the two were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made loincloths for themselves [Table]. And the eyes of both were opened, and they perceived that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons to go round them.

I don’t think Eve intended to disobey God but rather to be like God, knowing good (Hebrew: ṭôḇ, ט֥וֹב; Greek: καλὸν, a form of καλός) and evil (Hebrew: raʿ, וָרָֽע; Greek: πονηρόν, a form of πονηρός).12 She only knew good up to that moment: God saw all that he had made—and it was very good (Hebrew: ṭôḇ, ט֖וֹב; Greek: καλὰ, another form of καλός)!13 I know that, but did she?

In the science fiction movie Blade Runner replicants were man-made humans used off-world as slaves, soldiers or sex-workers. Some were smarter, most were stronger, than natural-born human beings. All were created with four year lifespans. Roy Batty (Rutger Hauer) returned to earth seeking an audience with his creator to gain a longer life for himself and his replicant friends/accomplices. His way was impeded by Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford), a reluctant thug of a law enforcement officer called a blade runner, tasked with hunting down and killing Roy and his friends/accomplices, the rebellious replicants natural-born human beings now feared and outlawed. Deckard’s boss Bryant (M. Emmet Walsh) put a fine point on his situation: “You know the score, Pal. If you’re not cop, you’re little people.”

Replicants were created as fully grown adults. In this Adam and Eve seem more like replicants than their natural-born descendants. Replicants were implanted with “false memories to give them the years of experiences that humans take for granted, creating a ‘cushion or pillow for their emotions.’”14 It seems fitting somehow that human beings would give their creation “false memories.” It makes sense to me that God would give something similar but true to his creation. Though the text doesn’t say it, I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that God taught Adam and Eve the content of Genesis 1 on that first Sabbath day. (If He went on to the content of Genesis 2, I need to reconsider Eve’s knowledge of God’s prohibition.)

Be that as it may, Eve’s faith in the serpent’s word introduced her to evil.

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Genesis 3:8-10 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:8-10 (NET)

Genesis 3:8-10 (NETS)

Genesis 3:8-10 (English Elpenor)

And they heard the voice of HaShem (יְהֹוָ֧ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֛ים) walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem (יְהֹוָ֣ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֔ים) amongst the trees of the garden. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) among the trees of the orchard. And they heard the sound of the Lord (κυρίου) God (τοῦ θεοῦ) walking about in the orchard in the evening, and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord (κυρίου) God (τοῦ θεοῦ) in the midst of the timber of the orchard. And they heard the voice of the Lord (Κυρίου) God (τοῦ Θεοῦ) walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord (Κυρίου) God (τοῦ Θεοῦ) in the midst of the trees of the garden.
And HaShem (יְהֹוָ֥ה) G-d (אֱלֹהִ֖ים) called unto the man, and said unto him: ‘Where art thou?’ But the Lord (Yᵊhōvâ, יהוה) God (ĕlōhîm, אלהים) called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?” And the Lord (κύριος) God ( θεὸς) called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?” And the Lord (Κύριος) God ( Θεὸς) called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou?
And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.” And he said to him, “I heard the sound of you walking about in the orchard, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself.” And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.

Here the narrator called God יְהֹוָ֧ה (Yᵊhōvâ) אֱלֹהִ֖ים (ĕlōhîm) in the Masoretic text which was corroborated by Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ and Κύριος Θεὸς in the Septuagint. And Adam and Eve, though covered in clothing of their own design and manufacture, were naked and ashamed, and hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God.

I’ll pick this up in another essay.

Tables comparing Genesis 3:8; 3:9 and 3:10 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Genesis 3:8; 3:9 and 3:10 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and a table comparing the Greek of 2 Corinthians 11:3 the NET and KJV follow.

Genesis 3:8 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:8 (KJV)

Genesis 3:8 (NET)

And they heard the voice of HaShem G-d walking in the garden toward the cool of the day; and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of HaShem G-d amongst the trees of the garden. And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God moving about in the orchard at the breezy time of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the orchard.

Genesis 3:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἤκουσαν τὴν φωνὴν κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν καὶ ἐκρύβησαν ὅ τε Αδαμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου κυρίου τοῦ θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου Καὶ ἤκουσαν τῆς φωνῆς Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ τὸ δειλινόν, καὶ ἐκρύβησαν ὅ τε ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ ἡ γυνὴ αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ προσώπου Κυρίου τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐν μέσῳ τοῦ ξύλου τοῦ παραδείσου

Genesis 3:8 (NETS)

Genesis 3:8 (English Elpenor)

And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking about in the orchard in the evening, and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God in the midst of the timber of the orchard. And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in the garden in the afternoon; and both Adam and his wife hid themselves from the face of the Lord God in the midst of the trees of the garden.

Genesis 3:9 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:9 (KJV)

Genesis 3:9 (NET)

And HaShem G-d called unto the man, and said unto him: ‘Where art thou?’ And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

Genesis 3:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἐκάλεσεν κύριος ὁ θεὸς τὸν Αδαμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ Αδαμ ποῦ εἶ καὶ ἐκάλεσε Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν ᾿Αδὰμ καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· ᾿Αδάμ, ποῦ εἶ

Genesis 3:9 (NETS)

Genesis 3:9 (English Elpenor)

And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, “Adam, where are you?” And the Lord God called Adam and said to him, Adam, where art thou?

Genesis 3:10 (Tanakh)

Genesis 3:10 (KJV)

Genesis 3:10 (NET)

And he said: ‘I heard Thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself.’ And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. The man replied, “I heard you moving about in the orchard, and I was afraid because I was naked, so I hid.”

Genesis 3:10 (Septuagint BLB)

Genesis 3:10 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ τὴν φωνήν σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ ἐφοβήθην ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι καὶ ἐκρύβην καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ· τῆς φωνῆς σου ἤκουσα περιπατοῦντος ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ καὶ ἐφοβήθην, ὅτι γυμνός εἰμι, καὶ ἐκρύβην

Genesis 3:10 (NETS)

Genesis 3:10 (English Elpenor)

And he said to him, “I heard the sound of you walking about in the orchard, and I was afraid, because I am naked, and I hid myself.” And he said to him, I heard thy voice as thou walkedst in the garden, and I feared because I was naked and I hid myself.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET)

2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)

But I am afraid that just as the serpent deceived Eve by his treachery, your minds may be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 Corinthians 11:3 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 Corinthians 11:3 (Byzantine Majority Text)

φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως, ὡς ὁ ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν ῞Ευαν ἐν τῇ πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος [καὶ τῆς ἁγνότητος] τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστόν φοβουμαι δε μηπως ως ο οφις ευαν εξηπατησεν εν τη πανουργια αυτου ουτως φθαρη τα νοηματα υμων απο της απλοτητος της εις τον χριστον φοβουμαι δε μηπως ως ο οφις ευαν εξηπατησεν εν τη πανουργια αυτου ουτως φθαρη τα νοηματα υμων απο της απλοτητος της εις τον χριστον

1 Genesis 1:31 (NET) Table

2 2 Thessalonians 2:9b (NET)

4 Matthew 24:24 (NET)

6 Matthew 24:24a (NET)

7 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had μή πως here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had μηπως (KJV: lest by any means).

8 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had ουτως (KJV: so) at the beginning of this clause. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

10 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NET)

11 1 Timothy 2:14 (NET)

12 Genesis 3:5b (NET) Table

13 Genesis 1:31a (NET) Table

Wonders and False Wonders, Part 1

Peter described Jesus to the crowd gathered at Pentecost as a man clearly attested to you by God with powerful deeds, wonders, and miraculous signs that God performed (ἐποίησεν, a form of ποιέω) among you through him, just as you yourselves know1 The Greek word translated wonders above was τέρασι(ν), a form of τέρας:

omen, wonder
portent, premonition
a prodigy
feat, accomplishment
foreboding, portentous and amazing event (performed by God)

Now [Jesus] came again to Cana in Galilee where he had made the water wine. In Capernaum there was a certain royal official whose son was sick. When he heard that Jesus had come back from Judea to Galilee, he went to him and begged him to come down and heal his son, who was about to die [Table]. So Jesus said to him, “Unless you people see signs and wonders you will never believe!”2 Here the word translated wonders was τέρατα (another form of τέρας).

I wrote about Jesus’ complex attitude to signs (σημεῖα, a form of σημεῖον) in another essay and will simply continue with the story here (John 4:49, 50a NET).

“Sir,” the official said to him, “come down before my child dies.” Jesus told him, “Go home; your son will live” [Table].

John concluded this story: Jesus did this as his second miraculous sign when he returned from Judea to Galilee.3 The Greek word translated miraculous sign was σημεῖον. But Jesus had spoken of signs, σημεῖα, a plural form of σημεῖον and wonders.

At the risk of being somewhat arbitrary, I’ll say that the miraculous sign here was that without spells, potions or incantations Jesus healed the official’s son simply by promising that he would live. And so that leaves the wonders (John 4:50b-53 NET):

The man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him, and set off for home. While he was on his way down, his slaves met him and told him that his son was going to live. So he asked them the time when his condition began to improve, and they told him, “Yesterday at one o’clock in the afternoon the fever left him.” Then the father realized that it was the very time Jesus had said to him, “Your son will live,” and he himself believed along with his entire household [Table].

So, a man who believed the word that Jesus spoke to him enough to obey Him and go home had his faith confirmed by the timing of the fulfillment of that word while he was on the way. The pattern seems to hold, though I am hard-pressed to distinguish between signs and wonders (Acts 2:41-47 NET):

So those who accepted [Peter’s] message were baptized, and that day about 3,000 people were added [Table]. They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Reverential awe came over4 everyone, and many wonders (τέρατα, another form of τέρας) and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. All who believed were together and held everything in common, and they began selling their property and possessions and distributing the proceeds to everyone, as anyone had need. Every day they continued to gather together by common consent in the temple courts, breaking bread from house to house, sharing their food with glad and humble hearts, praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number5 every day those who were being saved.

The text doesn’t specify the many wonders and miraculous signs that came about διὰ (“through, by, in the midst of”) the apostles. The wonders performed by God are evident, however, in the attitudes and actions described, so uncharacteristic of people generally, now normative for those who have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer [they] who live, but Christ lives in [them]. So the life [they] now live in the body, [they] live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved [them] and gave himself for [them],6 on the cross, yes, but even beyond that through his indwelling Spirit. Though they met in the temple courts, their actions supported the creation of a priesthood of grace virtually overnight, independent of the priesthood of law. And those actions were prompted, not by a lawgiver on a mountain top but, by the Spirit of the living God moving in individual human hearts.

Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.7 For if the message spoken through angels (ἀγγέλων, a form of ἄγγελος; i.e., messengers) proved to be so firm that every violation or disobedience received its just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders (τέρασιν, a form of τέρας) and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.8

Paul complained to the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 12:11, 12 NET):

I have become a fool.9 You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison to those “super10-apostles,” even though I am nothing. Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance by signs and11 wonders (τέρασιν, a form of τέρας) and powerful deeds.

The signs of an apostle (τὰσημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου) were performed among you, he wrote. Without specifying exactly what they were, he described them as signs and wonders and powerful deeds. It makes sense at this point to actually look at what the apostles did.

As a disciple called by Jesus Peter had at best a very selective faith in Scripture:

Jesus and Scripture (Matthew 26:31 NET)

Peter (Matthew 26:33 NET)

Then Jesus said to them, “This night you will all fall away because of me, for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’12 Peter said to him, “If they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away!”

He was willing to argue with both Jesus’ word and the Scripture if they impacted his ego adversely. On the night of Jesus’ arrest Peter flailed with a sword to protect Jesus, no doubt, but also to fulfill his own word that he would never fall away (οὐδέποτε σκανδαλισθήσομαι) and, whether intentionally or not, to prove Jesus’ word and the Scripture false. On Pentecost not that long afterward the apostle Peter deftly handled the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God)13 to become one of the fishers of people Jesus promised. Peter quoted the prophet Joel (Acts 2:19 NET):

And I will perform wonders (τέρατα another form of τέρας) in the sky above and miraculous signs on the earth below, blood and fire and clouds of smoke.

I’ve presented Peter’s use of Scripture in its full context in another essay, and discussed some of it in detail in others.14 Here I’ll point out that the Hebrew word in the Masoretic text translated τέρατα in the Septuagint and the New Testament was מֽוֹפְתִ֔ים (môp̄ēṯ). The first occurrence of a form of מוֹפֵת (môp̄ēṯ) follows:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Exodus 4:21 (Tanakh)

Exodus 4:21 (NET)

Exodus 4:21 (NETS)

Exodus 4:21 (English Elpenor)

And HaShem said unto Moses: ‘When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders (הַמֹּֽפְתִים֙) which I have put in thy hand; but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders (môp̄ēṯ, המפתים) I have put under your control. But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go. And the Lord said to Moyses, “As you go and return to Egypt, see, all the wonders (τὰ τέρατα) which I put in your hands, you shall perform them before Pharao. But I will harden his heart, and he will not send the people away. And the Lord said to Moses, When thou goest and returnest to Egypt, see– all the miracles (τὰ τέρατα) I have charged thee with, thou shalt work before Pharao: and I will harden his heart, and he shall certainly not send away the people.

The wonders which I have put in thy hand refers to Exodus 4:1-9. I’ll quote Exodus 4:8, 9 where these wonders were described individually as the voice of the sign:

Masoretic Text

Septuagint

Exodus 4:8, 9 (Tanakh)

Exodus 4:8, 9 (NET)

Exodus 4:8, 9 (NETS)

Exodus 4:8, 9 (English Elpenor)

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice (לְקֹ֖ל) of the first sign (הָאֹ֣ת), that they will believe the voice (לְקֹ֖ל) of the latter sign (הָאֹ֥ת). “If they do not believe you or pay attention to [Note 16: Heb “listen to the voice (qôl, לקל) of,”] the former sign (‘ôṯ, האת), then they may believe the latter sign (‘ôṯ, האת) [Note 18: Heb “believe the voice (qôl, לקל) of the latter sign”]. “Now if they should not believe you or listen to the voice of the first sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου), they will believe you because of the voice of the last sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου). And if they will not believe thee, nor hearken to the voice of the first sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου), they will believe thee [because] of the voice of the second sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου).
And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even these two signs (הָֽאֹת֜וֹת), neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.’ And if they do not believe even these two signs (‘ôṯ, האתות) or listen to you, then take some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.” And it will be if they should not believe you for these two signs (σημείοις) or listen to your voice, you shall take some of the river’s water and pour it on the dry ground, and the water, whatever you take from the river, will be blood on the dry ground.” And it shall come to pass if they will not believe thee for these two signs (σημείοις), and will not hearken to thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which thou shalt take from the river shall be blood upon the dry land.

So I’ll try to use forms of σημεῖον for the sign, the thing itself, and forms of τέρας for the wonder, the voice of the sign (τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου), the effect it has on the one who witnesses the sign, to believe (Tanakh/KJV/NET) the messenger and ultimately the word of God. (The Hebrew word translated believe was יַֽאֲמִ֣ינוּ (‘āman) in the Masoretic text and the Greek was πιστεύσωσί(ν) in the Septuagint.) The implication seems to be that even Pharaoh would have believed through these wonders, except for the Lord’s promise to Moses: But I will harden his heart.15

After his resurrection Jesus said to his disciples (Luke 24:44-49 NET):

“These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled” [Table]. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it stands written that the Christ would suffer and would rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance for the forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And look, I am sending you what my Father promised. But stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high” [Table].

So, the sign here is that Jesus opened their minds so they could understand the scriptures. The wonder, or the voice of the sign, is the transformation in Peter’s regard for the Scriptures after he received the Holy Spirit, after he was clothed with power from on high. And this transformation is one of the signs of an apostle. It is impossible to imagine an apostle apart from this transformation, yet such a transformation is not exclusively the domain of apostles. It is to be expected in any who are drawn by Jesus, in all who have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer [they] who live, but Christ lives in [them].16

Jesus’ confidence in the Scriptures was unprecedented: “Put your sword back into its sheath,” He said to Peter during his arrest. “Am I not to drink the cup that the Father has given me?”17 “How then would the scriptures that say it must happen this way be fulfilled?”18 [Y]our word is truth,19 He had prayed to his Father. Set them apart in the truth,20 He interceded for his disciples.

And here, I get a glimpse of what false wonders would be: For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, Jesus warned, and perform great signs and wonders (τέρατα, another form of τέρας) to deceive, if possible, even the elect.21 Without specifying exactly what any particular sign would be, Jesus warned that the wonder, the voice of the sign, would not result in confidence in the truth, God’s word, the Scriptures: great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.

I’ll continue with this in another essay.

A note (40) in the NET claimed that Acts 2:19 was a quotation from Joel 2:30 (3:3). A table comparing the Greek of Acts 2:19 with that of Joel 2:30 (3:3) in the Septuagint follows.

Acts 2:19 (NET Parallel Greek)

Joel 2:30 (Septuagint BLB)

Joel 3:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ ἄνω καὶ σημεῖα ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς κάτω, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ

Acts 2:19 (NET)

Joel 2:30 (NETS)

Joel 3:3 (English Elpenor)

And I will perform wonders in the sky above and miraculous signs on the earth below, blood and fire and clouds of smoke. I will give portents in the sky and on earth: blood and fire and the vapor of smoke. And I will shew wonders in heaven, and upon the earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

Tables comparing Joel 2:30 (3:3); Exodus 4:21; 4:8 and 4:9 in the Tanakh, KJV and NET; and tables comparing Joel 2:30 (3:3); Exodus 4:21; 4:8 and 4:9 in the BLB and Elpenor versions of the Septuagint with the English translations from Hebrew and Greek, and tables comparing the Greek of Acts 2:43; 2:47; Hebrews 2:1; 2 Corinthians 12:11, 12 and Ephesians 6:17 in the NET and KJV follow.

Joel 3:3 (Tanakh)

Joel 2:30 (KJV)

Joel 2:30 (NET)

And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. I will produce portents both in the sky and on the earth—blood, fire, and columns of smoke.

Joel 2:30 (Septuagint BLB)

Joel 3:3 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν τῷ οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ καὶ δώσω τέρατα ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, αἷμα καὶ πῦρ καὶ ἀτμίδα καπνοῦ

Joel 2:30 (NETS)

Joel 3:3 (English Elpenor)

I will give portents in the sky and on earth: blood and fire and the vapor of smoke. And I will shew wonders in heaven, and upon the earth, blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke.

Exodus 4:21 (Tanakh)

Exodus 4:21 (KJV)

Exodus 4:21 (NET)

And HaShem said unto Moses: ‘When thou goest back into Egypt, see that thou do before Pharaoh all the wonders which I have put in thy hand; but I will harden his heart, and he will not let the people go. And the LORD said unto Moses, When thou goest to return into Egypt, see that thou do all those wonders before Pharaoh, which I have put in thine hand: but I will harden his heart, that he shall not let the people go. The Lord said to Moses, “When you go back to Egypt, see that you do before Pharaoh all the wonders I have put under your control. But I will harden his heart and he will not let the people go.

Exodus 4:21 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 4:21 (Septuagint Elpenor)

εἶπεν δὲ κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν πορευομένου σου καὶ ἀποστρέφοντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον ὅρα πάντα τὰ τέρατα ἃ ἔδωκα ἐν ταῖς χερσίν σου ποιήσεις αὐτὰ ἐναντίον Φαραω ἐγὼ δὲ σκληρυνῶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξαποστείλῃ τὸν λαόν εἶπε δὲ Κύριος πρὸς Μωυσῆν· πορευομένου σου καὶ ἀποστρέφοντος εἰς Αἴγυπτον, ὅρα πάντα τὰ τέρατα, ἃ δέδωκα ἐν ταῖς χερσί σου, ποιήσεις αὐτὰ ἐναντίον Φαραώ· ἐγὼ δὲ σκληρυνῶ τὴν καρδίαν αὐτοῦ, καὶ οὐ μὴ ἐξαποστείλῃ τὸν λαόν

Exodus 4:21 (NETS)

Exodus 4:21 (English Elpenor)

And the Lord said to Moyses, “As you go and return to Egypt, see, all the wonders which I put in your hands, you shall perform them before Pharao. But I will harden his heart, and he will not send the people away. And the Lord said to Moses, When thou goest and returnest to Egypt, see– all the miracles I have charged thee with, thou shalt work before Pharao: and I will harden his heart, and he shall certainly not send away the people.

Exodus 4:8 (Tanakh)

Exodus 4:8 (KJV)

Exodus 4:8 (NET)

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe thee, neither hearken to the voice of the first sign, that they will believe the voice of the latter sign. “If they do not believe you or pay attention to the former sign, then they may believe the latter sign.

Exodus 4:8 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 4:8 (Septuagint Elpenor)

ἐὰν δὲ μὴ πιστεύσωσίν σοι μηδὲ εἰσακούσωσιν τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου τοῦ πρώτου πιστεύσουσίν σοι τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου τοῦ ἐσχάτου ἐὰν δὲ μὴ πιστεύσωσί σοι, μηδὲ εἰσακούσωσι τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου τοῦ πρώτου, πιστεύσουσί σοι τῆς φωνῆς τοῦ σημείου τοῦ δευτέρου

Exodus 4:8 (NETS)

Exodus 4:8 (English Elpenor)

“Now if they should not believe you or listen to the voice of the first sign, they will believe you because of the voice of the last sign. And if they will not believe thee, nor hearken to the voice of the first sign, they will believe thee [because] of the voice of the second sign.

Exodus 4:9 (Tanakh)

Exodus 4:9 (KJV)

Exodus 4:9 (NET)

And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe even these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land; and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land.’ And it shall come to pass, if they will not believe also these two signs, neither hearken unto thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river, and pour it upon the dry land: and the water which thou takest out of the river shall become blood upon the dry land. And if they do not believe even these two signs or listen to you, then take some water from the Nile and pour it out on the dry ground. The water you take out of the Nile will become blood on the dry ground.”

Exodus 4:9 (Septuagint BLB)

Exodus 4:9 (Septuagint Elpenor)

καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσωσίν σοι τοῖς δυσὶ σημείοις τούτοις μηδὲ εἰσακούσωσιν τῆς φωνῆς σου λήμψῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ ἐκχεεῖς ἐπὶ τὸ ξηρόν καὶ ἔσται τὸ ὕδωρ ὃ ἐὰν λάβῃς ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ αἷμα ἐπὶ τοῦ ξηροῦ καὶ ἔσται ἐὰν μὴ πιστεύσωσί σοι τοῖς δυσὶ σημείοις τούτοις, μηδὲ εἰσακούσωσι τῆς φωνῆς σου, λήψῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ ὕδατος τοῦ ποταμοῦ καὶ ἐκχεεῖς ἐπὶ τὸ ξηρόν, καὶ ἔσται τὸ ὕδωρ, ὃ ἐὰν λάβῃς ἀπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ, αἷμα ἐπὶ τοῦ ξηροῦ

Exodus 4:9 (NETS)

Exodus 4:9 (English Elpenor)

And it will be if they should not believe you for these two signs or listen to your voice, you shall take some of the river’s water and pour it on the dry ground, and the water, whatever you take from the river, will be blood on the dry ground.” And it shall come to pass if they will not believe thee for these two signs, and will not hearken to thy voice, that thou shalt take of the water of the river and pour it upon the dry land, and the water which thou shalt take from the river shall be blood upon the dry land.

Acts 2:43 (NET)

Acts 2:43 (KJV)

Reverential awe came over everyone, and many wonders and miraculous signs came about by the apostles. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.

Acts 2:43 (NET Parallel Greek)

Acts 2:43 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Acts 2:43 (Byzantine Majority Text)

ἐγίνετο δὲ πάσῃ ψυχῇ φόβος, πολλά |τε| τέρατα καὶ σημεῖα διὰ τῶν ἀποστόλων ἐγίνετο εγενετο δε παση ψυχη φοβος πολλα τε τερατα και σημεια δια των αποστολων εγινετο εγενετο δε παση ψυχη φοβος πολλα τε τερατα και σημεια δια των αποστολων εγινετο

Acts 2:47 (NET)

Acts 2:47 (KJV)

praising God and having the good will of all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number every day those who were being saved. Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

Acts 2:47 (NET Parallel Greek)

Acts 2:47 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Acts 2:47 (Byzantine Majority Text)

αἰνοῦντες τὸν θεὸν καὶ ἔχοντες χάριν πρὸς ὅλον τὸν λαόν. ὁ δὲ κύριος προσετίθει τοὺς σῳζομένους καθ᾿ ἡμέραν ἐπὶ τὸ αὐτό αινουντες τον θεον και εχοντες χαριν προς ολον τον λαον ο δε κυριος προσετιθει τους σωζομενους καθ ημεραν τη εκκλησια αινουντες τον θεον και εχοντες χαριν προς ολον τον λαον ο δε κυριος προσετιθει τους σωζομενους καθ ημεραν τη εκκλησια

Hebrews 2:1 (NET)

Hebrews 2:1 (KJV)

Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.

Hebrews 2:1 (NET Parallel Greek)

Hebrews 2:1 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Hebrews 2:1 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Διὰ τοῦτο δεῖ περισσοτέρως προσέχειν ἡμᾶς τοῖς ἀκουσθεῖσιν, μήποτε παραρυῶμεν δια τουτο δει περισσοτερως ημας προσεχειν τοις ακουσθεισιν μηποτε παραρρυωμεν δια τουτο δει περισσοτερως ημας προσεχειν τοις ακουσθεισιν μηποτε παραρρυωμεν

2 Corinthians 12:11, 12 (NET)

2 Corinthians 12:11, 12 (KJV)

I have become a fool. You yourselves forced me to do it, for I should have been commended by you. For I lack nothing in comparison to those “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.

2 Corinthians 12:11 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 Corinthians 12:11 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 Corinthians 12:11 (Byzantine Majority Text)

Γέγονα ἄφρων, ὑμεῖς με ἠναγκάσατε. ἐγὼ γὰρ ὤφειλον ὑφ᾿ ὑμῶν συνίστασθαι· οὐδὲν γὰρ ὑστέρησα τῶν ὑπερλίαν ἀποστόλων εἰ καὶ οὐδέν εἰμι γεγονα αφρων καυχωμενος υμεις με ηναγκασατε εγω γαρ ωφειλον υφ υμων συνιστασθαι ουδεν γαρ υστερησα των υπερ λιαν αποστολων ει και ουδεν ειμι γεγονα αφρων καυχωμενος υμεις με ηναγκασατε εγω γαρ ωφειλον υφ υμων συνιστασθαι ουδεν γαρ υστερησα των υπερ λιαν αποστολων ει και ουδεν ειμι
Indeed, the signs of an apostle were performed among you with great perseverance by signs and wonders and powerful deeds. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

2 Corinthians 12:12 (NET Parallel Greek)

2 Corinthians 12:12 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

2 Corinthians 12:12 (Byzantine Majority Text)

τὰ μὲν σημεῖα τοῦ ἀποστόλου κατειργάσθη ἐν ὑμῖν ἐν πάσῃ ὑπομονῇ, σημείοις |τε| καὶ τέρασιν καὶ δυνάμεσιν τα μεν σημεια του αποστολου κατειργασθη εν υμιν εν παση υπομονη εν σημειοις και τερασιν και δυναμεσιν τα μεν σημεια του αποστολου κατειργασθη εν υμιν εν παση υπομονη εν σημειοις και τερασιν και δυναμεσιν

Ephesians 6:17 (NET)

Ephesians 6:17 (KJV)

And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God). And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Ephesians 6:17 (NET Parallel Greek)

Ephesians 6:17 (Stephanus Textus Receptus)

Ephesians 6:17 (Byzantine Majority Text)

καὶ τὴν περικεφαλαίαν τοῦ σωτηρίου δέξασθε καὶ τὴν μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος, ὅ ἐστιν ρῆμα θεοῦ και την περικεφαλαιαν του σωτηριου δεξασθε και την μαχαιραν του πνευματος ο εστιν ρημα θεου και την περικεφαλαιαν του σωτηριου δεξασθαι και την μαχαιραν του πνευματος ο εστιν ρημα θεου

1 Acts 2:22 (NET) Table

2 John 4:46-48 (NET)

3 John 4:54 (NET) Table

6 Galatians 2:20 (NET)

7 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had παραρυῶμεν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had παραρρυωμεν (KJV: we should let [them] slip).

8 Hebrews 2:1-4 (NET)

9 The Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had καυχωμενος (KJV: in glorying) here. The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 did not.

10 The NET parallel Greek text and NA28 had ὑπερλίαν here, where the Stephanus Textus Receptus and Byzantine Majority Text had υπερ λιαν (KJV: very chiefest).

12 A note (44) in the NET claimed that Jesus quoted Zechariah 13:7. The table comparing the Greek of Jesus’ quotation with that of the Septuagint makes it obvious that He did not quote the Septuagint verbatim.

13 Ephesians 6:17b (NET)

15 Exodus 4:21b (NET)

16 Galatians 2:20a (NET)

17 John 18:11 (NET) Table

18 Matthew 26:54 (NET)

19 John 17:17b (NET) Table

20 John 17:17a (NET) Table

21 Matthew 24:24 (NET)

Sexual Immorality Revisited, Part 3

Though I’m eager to dive into the word study, I’m compelled to spend some time keeping my promise to reveal my own position and velocity.  It will make this essay considerably, but necessarily, longer than I like.

The Greek words translated sexual immorality in the NET were translated fornication in the KJV.  I thought fornication meant premarital sex.  I didn’t know anything about the ritual sex of pagan worship until about thirty-five years ago (though I felt the sensual pull of Egyptian art since childhood).  But I didn’t immediately question the meaning of sexual immorality or fornication.  I remember wondering if the prostitutes in Jerusalem that Solomon feared so for his sons had been imported along with his wives’ religions (1 Kings 11:1-8).

Now I’m thinking that “the sin of premarital sex” is a way we have nullified the word of God by our traditions.  Upwardly-mobile young men can “repent” of their “sins of premarital sex” and head off to college or a new career unencumbered by any of their responsibilities as husbands.  “If a man is shacking up with a woman,” Denny wrote in his blog post THE PROGRESSIVE SANCTIFICATION HERESY, “simply saying, ‘I’m sorry God,’ just won’t do.  It requires that you get out of that sinful situation.”

He might have meant “give the woman a ring and social status as a legal wife,” hearkening back to an older time when church folk believed, What therefore God hath joined together [Deuteronomy 22:28, 29; Exodus 22:16, 17][1], let not man [except for the young woman’s father] put asunder.[2]  It would demonstrate a humility reminiscent of the proverb of the wisest king of Israel (or perhaps, the wisest man ever): There are three things that are too wonderful for me, Solomon wrote, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship in the sea, and the way of a man with a woman[3] (Septuagint: “and the ways of a man in his youth”).

But I imagine Denny as a contemporary co-religionist, hailing from a prouder more macho tradition where “holiness” is measured by how harshly it savages human emotions.  The two “shacking up” together, no matter how desperately they love one another (the more the better), must part, separate, send away, divorce, put asunder because they have committed the “unpardonable sin” of enjoying sex before a church official pronounced them lawful to do so.  To paraphrase Friedrich Nietzsche’s Antichrist: What is good?  All that heightens the feeling of church power.

Any man of Israel who refused to attend Ezra’s assembly and divorce his foreign wife would forfeit all his property.  The list of men who had taken foreign wives at the end of the book (Ezra 10:18-44) persuades me that Ezra believed the proceedings to send foreign wives and their children away had transpired according to the Lord’s will.  And so did I, until I heard yehôvâh’s response through the prophet Malachi (2:13-16 NET):

You also do this: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears as you weep and groan, because he no longer pays any attention to the offering nor accepts it favorably from you [Table]. Yet you ask, “Why?”  The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law [Table].  No one who has even a small portion of the Spirit in him does this.  What did our ancestor do when seeking a child from God [e.g., Genesis 15:6]?  Be attentive, then, to your own spirit, for one should not be disloyal to the wife he took in his youth [Table].  “I hate divorce,” says the Lord God of Israel, “and the one who is guilty of violence,” says the Lord who rules over all.  “Pay attention to your conscience, and do not be unfaithful” [Table].

The intimate absolute rejection of divorce was yehôvâh’s will for no one.  But I’ve stacked the deck here as if I believe that staying together and formalizing the relationship is necessarily the “right” decision.  In my case it was not so.

My contract with God had broken down.  I had heard enough religion to know that some believed Christ put an “end” to the law and all things were “lawful” for me.  So I did what I wanted.  I shacked up with my girlfriend du jour.  Unbeknownst to me at the time, with my sexual desires more or less satisfied for the first time in a long time, I began to walk in the grace of Christ’s salvation as I began to set the words of the Gospel to music.

Too many years of hallucinogenic drugs had made me functionally illiterate.  At least I thought that term described me accurately the first time I heard it.  (As it turned out functionally illiterate is just a redundancy for illiterate.)  If I had read aloud one would have assumed I understood what I read.  I read easily, fluently and coherently with an actor’s flair for inflection.  My problem was a lack of faith.  I had no confidence that strings of words meant anything beyond the beauty of their sounds, except in the most mundane cases: I’m hungry, I’m horny, I have to pee.  And so with a young man’s needs met, a job and a woman, I set out to make art.

The one who hated the Bible as a child knew he wasn’t smart enough to choose which Gospel was the “right” one for his libretto, so he spent countless hours creating a harmony of the four Gospel narratives, and untold hours more with those words rolling over and over in his mind to set them to music.  It was a long and laborious task because he was not a very good composer, at least he wasn’t quick about it.

When he played and sang John 17:1-11 for another composer friend, his friend commended his work: “You know, the first time you played this for me I thought it was just a throw-away.  Now I think it may be the best piece you’ve ever written.”  He, being a highly literate fellow, also commented on the meaning of the text: “And that’s the most interesting definition of eternal life I’ve ever heard.”

The functionally illiterate composer of the best piece he had ever written nodded appreciatively but hadn’t realized that the words—This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent[4]—constituted a definition of eternal life.  But he planned to take the words—This is and whatever words followed—a bit more seriously in the future.  When he decided to formally marry his roommate the functionally illiterate composer had fallen away from grace, though he would not have understood that if someone had told him.

In fact, I wonder if I was capable of understanding it apart from actively becoming one who was trying to be declared righteous by the law.  I began to study the Bible in earnest.  Though I had been warned that the meaning of eternal life was to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He had sent I didn’t study to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He had sent to live that eternal life.  I searched the Bible for rules to obey—or disobey as it turned out.

So what do I currently think is the “right” decision when one is conscience-stricken over “shacking up” together?  I return to Ezra (Ezra 9:15 NET):

O Lord God of Israel, you are righteous, for we are left as a remnant this day.  Indeed, we stand before you in our guilt.  However, because of this guilt no one can really stand before you.

And then wait—acknowledging that you are caught in a tender trap (Hosea 11:4) and that there is no way for you to cleanse yourself of sin by your deeds.  And while you’re waiting, study the Bible to know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent to live his eternal life.  This essay will become a tale of three women (four women, though one was actually a symbol for a city), more importantly it will focus on Jesus’ response to those women.

Go call your husband and come back here,[5] Jesus said to a Samaritan woman at a well.  The woman replied, “I have no husband.”[6]  Jesus already knew her past: you have had five husbands, and the man you are living with now is not your husband.[7]  He did not command her to leave the man she had now (νῦν ὃν ἔχεις), nor did He command her to go to a priest and get married; the man was apparently already married to another woman.  Jesus commended her for her truthfulness: καλῶς εἶπας ὅτι ἄνδρα οὐκ ἔχω is literally “beautifully you poured forth that husband you have not.”  And he told her that in her truthfulness she was exactly the kind of person his Father was seeking for his kingdom (John 4:23, 24 NET):

But a time is coming – and now is here – when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such people to be his worshipers.  God is spirit, and the people who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.

The second woman was from Thyatira: But I have this against you, Jesus addressed the singular angel of the church in Thyatira, You tolerate that woman Jezebel[8]  The Greek word translated You tolerate was ἀφεῖς (a form of ἀφίημι).  Here is a table of all the occurrences of ἀφεῖς and its translation.

Form of ἀφίημι Reference KJV

NET

ἀφεὶς Matthew 13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away Then he left the crowds…
Matthew 26:44 And he left them… So leaving them again…
Mark 8:13 And he left them… Then he left them…
Mark 13:34 who left his house… He left his house…
Mark 15:37 And Jesus cried with a loud voice… But Jesus cried out with a loud voice…[9]
ἀφεῖς Revelation 2:20 thou sufferest that woman Jezebel… You tolerate that woman Jezebel…

Mark’s word picture, that Jesus left his body and its loud voice echoed on afterward, is stunning.  In Revelation, You [left] that woman Jezebel hints that the angel of the church of Thyatira was a kind of ἐπίσκοπος on a visitation circuit inspecting (ἐπισκέπτομαι) churches.  He saw what Jezebel was doing but did nothing.  It doesn’t answer the question whether the angel was a human being or not but serves as prima facie evidence that he was not a local pastor.

Jesus described Jezebel as one who calls herself a prophetess, and by her teaching deceives my servants[10]  The Greek word translated by her teaching was διδάσκει (a form of διδάσκω).  Here is a table of all the occurrences of διδάσκει and its translation.

Form of διδάσκω Reference KJV

NET

διδάσκει 1 Corinthians 11:14 Doth not even nature itself teach you… Does not nature itself teach you…
1 John 2:27 …the same anointing teacheth you of all… …his anointing teaches you about all things…
Revelation 2:20 to teach and to seduce my servants… …and by her teaching deceives my servants…

Though I have assumed that the fact that Jezebel taught indicated that she held a formal teaching position, neither nature nor Christ’s (or, God’s) anointing hold official teaching positions in the church.  The Greek word translated deceives was πλανᾷ (a form of πλανάω).  A table of the occurrences and translations of πλανᾷ follows.

Form of πλανᾷ

Reference KJV

NET

πλανᾷ John 7:12 …but he deceiveth the people… He deceives the common people.
Revelation 2:20 …to teach and to seduce my servants… …and by her teaching deceives my servants…
Revelation 13:14 And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth… he deceived those who live on the earth.

Then I saw another beast coming up from the earth, John reported (Revelation 13:11-14a NET):

He had two horns like a lamb, but was speaking like a dragon.  He exercised all the ruling authority of the first beast on his behalf, and made the earth and those who inhabit it worship the first beast, the one whose lethal wound had been healed.  He performed momentous signs, even making fire come down from heaven in front of people and, by the signs he was permitted to perform on behalf of the beast, he deceived those who live on the earth.

This prophecy of an ostensibly Christian leader (He had two horns like a lamb) preaching Satan (speaking like a dragon) and deceiving people by momentous signs might explain to some extent why folks from my religious background fear the leading of the Holy Spirit.  For false messiahs and false prophets will appear, Jesus warned, and perform great signs and wonders to deceive (πλανῆσαι, another form of πλανάω), if possible, even the elect.[11]  But to turn the fruit of the Spirit into one’s own works or qualities turns the salvation of Jesus Christ into just another works religion.

One of the momentous signs this beast will perform is to make fire come down from heaven in front of people.  This is what James and John—before they received the Holy Spirit—wanted to do to Samaritans who refused to welcome Jesus (Luke 9:51-56).  On the other hand some of the Ἰουδαῖοι (a form of Ἰουδαῖος) accused Jesus, He deceives (πλανᾷ, a form of πλανάω) the common people, because their leaders had recognized that He was performing many miraculous signs and they feared that everyone would believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away our sanctuary and our nation (John 11:45-53).  Knowing Jesus intimately through his Spirit is essential to faith.

Jezebel by her teaching deceived Jesus’ servants to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.[12]  The Greek word translated to commit sexual immorality was πορνεῦσαι (a form of πορνεύω).  A table of the occurrences and translations of πορνεῦσαι follows.

Form of πορνεύω Reference KJV

NET

πορνεῦσαι Revelation 2:14 …to eat things sacrificed unto idols, and to commit fornication. …eat food sacrificed to idols and commit sexual immorality.
Revelation 2:20 to commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed unto idols. to commit sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.

These two occurrences seem to be obvious references to sexualized pagan worship.  Though I had no conscious alliance with any pagan deities I’m willing to consider my desire for group sex πορνεῦσαι for two reasons: 1) I thought group sex was the way of peace, distinct from, more real and effective than, any aspect of the fruit of the Spirit.  My naiveté was deliberate.  I was forbidden from reading or viewing stories about the treachery and violence of adultery.  And I had discounted my parents’ example, assuming they were so hung up about the morality of sexuality they didn’t do it right.

The one story I had seen about adultery, on the sly as it were once I could drive and date, seemed like a subtle promo.  I watched Hawkeye (Donald Sutherland) talk Lt. Dish (Jo Ann Pflug) into mercy sex with Painless (John Schuck) the night before she was scheduled to return home to her husband.  I was desperate to find some meaning after the main character Frank Burns (Robert Duvall), the only character with anything like a storyline, had been written out of the movie MASH.  I could see the guilt of Dish’s adultery on her face, particularly in her eyes—until she smiled.  It’s been forty-seven years and I still remember her smile.

2) God stopped me from following through on my desire for group sex—twice.  The second time was considerably more embarrassing and I may or may not reveal it.  Jesus went on to describe πορνεῦσαι as πορνείας (a form of πορνεία), translated sexual immorality: I have given her time to repent, but she is not willing to repent of her sexual immorality.[13]  Here is a table of the occurrences and translations of πορνείας.  I’ll consider each in turn.

Form of πορνεία Reference KJV

NET

πορνείας Matthew 5:32 … whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication …everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality
John 8:41 We be not born of fornication[14] We were not born as a result of immorality!
Acts 15:20 …abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication …to abstain from things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality
Acts 15:29 …and from things strangled, and from fornication …from what has been strangled and from sexual immorality.
1 Corinthians 7:2 …to avoid fornication, let every man have his own wife… …because of immoralities, each man should have relations with his own wife…
1 Thessalonians 4:3 …that ye should abstain from fornication …that you keep away from sexual immorality
Revelation 2:21 …to repent of her fornication …to repent of her sexual immorality.
Revelation 9:21 …nor of their fornication …of their sexual immorality
Revelation 14:8 …she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion.
Revelation 17:2 …of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication. …the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.
Revelation 17:4 …and filthiness of her fornication… …unclean things from her sexual immorality.
Revelation 18:3 …wine of the wrath of her fornication …from the wine of her immoral passion…

It was said, Jesus taught, “Whoever divorces his wife must give her a legal document.”  But I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for immorality, makes her commit adultery (μοιχευθῆναι, a form of μοιχεύω), and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery (μοιχᾶται, a form of μοιχάω).[15]  Limiting πορνείας (translated, immorality) to the ritual sex of pagan worship here would correspond better to yehôvâh’s word through Malachi—I hate divorce—and Jesus’ negative answer (Matthew 19:4-6) to the Pharisees’ question: Is it lawful to divorce a wife for any cause?[16]

I’m not entirely sure what the Ἰουδαίους (another form of Ἰουδαῖος) meant when they said: We were not born as a result of immorality!  We have only one Father, God himself.[17]  But I take it as mostly irrelevant to understanding what Jesus meant when He used πορνείας.  Assuming that James used πορνείας to mean the ritual sex of pagan worship when he suggested writing a letter to Gentiles, telling them to abstain from things defiled by idols and from sexual immorality and from what has been strangled and from blood,[18] is the most charitable understanding of his abbreviation of the law.

If Paul had the lure of ritual sex in view it would account for his prescription of marriage though he considered it a distraction from devotion to Christ (1 Corinthians 7:32-35) and it would account for his description of Corinthian marriage as mutual sexual slavery[19] (1 Corinthians 7:3-5).  But as I’ve written before I find it very difficult to believe that Paul had ritual sex in mind in 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8.

Still, in Revelation ritual sex seems to be the meaning of πορνείας as its resurgence with pagan worship is a portent of the end times:  The rest of humanity, those who survived the onslaught of an army numbering two hundred million, who had not been killed by these plagues, did not repent of the works of their hands, so that they did not stop worshiping demons and idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone, and wood – idols that cannot see or hear or walk about.  Furthermore, they did not repent of their murders, of their magic spells, of their sexual immorality, or of their stealing.[20]

Then I saw another angel flying directly overhead, John continued his vision, and he had an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth – to every nation, tribe, language, and people.  He declared in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has arrived, and worship the one who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water!”

A second angel followed the first, declaring: “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great city!  She made all the nations drink of the wine of her immoral passion.”[21]

The Greek word translated passion was θυμοῦ (a form of θυμός).  Here is a table of the occurrences and translations of θυμοῦ.

Form of θυμός Reference KJV

NET

θυμοῦ Luke 4:28 …these things, were filled with wrath …in the synagogue were filled with rage.
Acts 19:28 …these sayings, they were full of wrath When they heard this they became enraged
Revelation 14:8 …wine of the wrath of her fornication… …drink of the wine of her immoral passion.
Revelation 14:10 …shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God… …also drink of the wine of God’s anger
Revelation 14:19 …the great winepress of the wrath of God. …the great winepress of the wrath of God.
Revelation 15:7 …golden vials full of the wrath of God… …golden bowls filled with the wrath of God…
Revelation 16:1 …the vials of the wrath of God… …the seven bowls containing God’s wrath.
Revelation 16:19 …the wine of the fierceness of his wrath. …the wine made of God’s furious wrath.
Revelation 18:3 …the wine of the wrath of her fornication… …the wine of her immoral passion
Revelation 19:15 …he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. …he stomps the winepress of the furious wrath of God…

In the NET translation Babylon made all the nations (or, all the Gentiles: πάντα τὰ ἔθνη) drink of her immoral passion, which I understand as idolatrous worship including ritual sex.  In the KJV translation Babylon made all the nations (or, all the Gentiles) drink of the wrath directed at her fornication, whether all the individual nations or all of the individual Gentiles engaged directly in idolatrous worship including ritual sex or not.  Though I prefer the NET translation as a matter of justice I can’t verify it independently.  Here are the footnotes which attempt to explain it.

24 Grk “of the wine of the passion of the sexual immorality of her.” Here τῆς πορνείας…has been translated as an attributive genitive. In an ironic twist of fate, God will make Babylon drink her own mixture, but it will become the wine of his wrath in retribution for her immoral deeds (see the note on the word “wrath” in 16:19).

65 Following BDAG 461 s.v. θυμός 2, the combination of the genitives of θυμός…and ὀργή…in Rev 16:19 and 19:15 are taken to be a strengthening of the thought as in the OT and Qumran literature (Exod 32:12; Jer 32:37; Lam 2:3; CD 10:9). Thus in Rev 14:8 (to which the present passage alludes) and 18:3 there is irony: The wine of immoral behavior with which Babylon makes the nations drunk becomes the wine of God’s wrath for her. 

In a later passage however it is clear that the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality (Revelation 17:1, 2 NET):

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke to me.  “Come,” he said, “I will show you the condemnation and punishment of the great prostitute (πόρνης, a form of πόρνη) who sits on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth committed sexual immorality (ἐπόρνευσαν, another form of πορνεύω) and the earth’s inhabitants got drunk with the wine of her immorality.”

Now the woman was dressed in purple and scarlet clothing, John’s vision continued, and adorned with gold, precious stones, and pearls.  She held in her hand a golden cup filled with detestable things and unclean things from her sexual immorality.  On her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the Great, the Mother of prostitutes (πορνῶν, another form of πόρνη) and of the detestable things of the earth.”[22]  As for the woman you saw, the angel explained, she is the great city that has sovereignty over the kings of the earth.[23]  I’m not sure if the angel meant a city at the time John saw the vision or at the time of the prophecy’s fulfillment.  If pressed I would assume the latter since no single city has had sovereignty over the kings of the earth since the tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9).

After these things I saw another angel, John continued (Revelation 18:1-3 NET):

who possessed great authority, coming down out of heaven, and the earth was lit up by his radiance.  He shouted with a powerful voice: “Fallen, fallen, is Babylon the great!  She has become a lair for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detested beast.  For all the nations have fallen from the wine of her immoral passion, and the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality (ἐπόρνευσαν, another form of πορνεύω) with her, and the merchants of the earth have gotten rich from the power of her sensual behavior (στρήνους, a form of στρῆνος).”

Here, after the other verses I’ve quoted I’m much more comfortable with the NET translation (her immoral passion) of τοῦ θυμοῦ τῆς πορνείας αὐτῆς than the KJV translation (the wrath of her fornication).

Jesus described Jezebel’s followers with the Greek word μοιχεύοντας (another form of μοιχεύω), translated those who commit adultery.  Though μοιχεύοντας only occurred this once in the New Testament it is fairly clear that in Jesus’ mind the verb πορνεῦσαι and the noun πορνείας described a special form of adultery.  Consider his words to the third woman.

She had been caught (κατειλημμένην, a form of καταλαμβάνω) committing adultery (μοιχείᾳ, a form of μοιχεία).[24]  Teacher, this woman was caught (κατείληπται, another form of καταλαμβάνω) in the very act (αὐτοφώρῳ, a form of ἐπαυτοφώρῳ) of adultery (μοιχευομένη, another form of μοιχεύω),[25] her accusers said to Jesus.  When none of her accusers considered himself guiltless (ἀναμάρτητος) they left Jesus alone with the woman.  He asked her, “Woman, where are they?  Did no one condemn you?”  She replied, “No one, Lord.”  And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you either.  Go, and from now on do not sin any more.”[26]

But of the woman who was guilty of that special form of μοιχεία designated by the verb πορνεῦσαι and the noun πορνείας, He said: I am throwing her onto a bed of violent illness, and those who commit adultery with her into terrible suffering, unless they repent of her deeds.[27]  This was not written in the past age under the law, but in the present after Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension into heaven.  Since I don’t believe that human bishops or circuit riders are enjoined or authorized by this Scripture to infect church members guilty of idolatrous worship and ritual sex with disease, Jesus’ condemnation indicates to me that the angel of the church of Thyatira, criticized for having left Jezebel unattended, was not human.


[1] Does Deuteronomy 22:28-29 command a rape victim to marry her rapist?

[2] Mark 10:9 (KJV)

[3] Proverbs 30:18, 19 (NET)

[4] John 17:3 (NASB)

[5] John 4:16b (NET)

[6] John 4:17a (NET)

[7] John 4:18a (NET)

[8] Revelation 2:20a (NET)

[9] See: Mark 15:34 The Greek word translated cried out was ἐβόησεν (a form of βοάω).

[10] Revelation 2:20b (NET)

[11] Matthew 24:24 (NET)

[12] Revelation 2:20c (NET)

[13] Revelation 2:21 (NET)

[14] Peter J. Leithart, “Born in Fornication,” First Things

[15] Matthew 5:31, 32 (NET) Table

[16] Matthew 19:3b (NET) Table

[17] John 8:41b (NET)

[18] Acts 15:20b (NET) Table

[19] Romans, Part 30 ; Paul’s Religious Mind Revisited, Part 4

[20] Revelation 9:20, 21 (NET)

[21] Revelation 14:6-8 (NET)

[22] Revelation 17:4, 5 (NET)

[23] Revelation 17:18 (NET)

[24] John 8:3a (NET)

[25] John 8:4 (NET)

[26] John 8:10b, 11 (NET)

[27] Revelation 2:22 (NET)