There is a long section on PATHR in TDNT (volume V). This reference work states that "when the term father occurs [in the Hebrew Scriptures or Tanakh], it is fundamentally applied to God only in a metaphorical sense, and if we are to understand it everything depends on finding the right point of comparison [tertium comparationis]" (TDNT, V:970). See Deuteronomy 8:5; 2 Samuel 7:12-14; Psalm 2:7; 89:26; 103:13; Proverbs 3:12.
LSJ just notes that PATHR is used of God the Father of Israel (Deuteronomy 32:6), the Father of Jesus Christ (Matthew 7:21) and the Father of men (Matthew 6:9). It then states that the usage of PATHR at James 1:17 is metaphorical. But I would include the OT and Matthean passages as well as other authors do.
I looked at the entry for PATHR in the Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament. It too mentions that God is a metaphorical Father to Israel or creatures. But this work insists that the term is not metaphorical in the case of Jesus Christ being generated by God the Father.
See http://tinyurl.com/37z8ya
Thursday, November 25, 2010
The Word "Father" as Metaphor for God
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2 comments:
Hi Edgar,
I have added your blog to my favourites some time ago and only now I realise that you are one of Jehovah's Witnesses!
Selam
Jørgen
www.christensen-ernst.dk
http://antioch-on-the-orontes.blogspot.com
Hi Selam,
Thanks for the add. I will now follow you, my brother. I've read other things you've written on another forum as well. All the best!
Edgar
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