Looking over Donald J. Mastronarde's Introduction to Attic Greek (p. 40), one quickly notes that ἄνθρωπος is a generic term describing a class. The examples that Mastronarde gives are ὁ ἄνθρωπος (man, mankind) and οἱ ἄνθρωποι (humans in general). See Matthew 12:36. Compare the famed Greek utterance of Protagoras: πάντων μέτρον ἄνθρωπός ἐστιν.
Smyth 1129: "Words denoting persons, when they are used of a class, may omit the article. So ἄνθρωπος, στρατηγός, θεός divinity, god (ὁ θεός the particular god)."
For this reason, some commentators argue that ἄνθρωπος at 1 Tim. 2:5 is possibly generic. The context, however, may allow for a different understanding, namely, that Jesus Christ is "a man" (a person) which would be an indefinite sense--not generic.
William Mounce proffers: "ἄνθρωπος is anarthrous, emphasizing the quality of being human; i.e., it was as a human being that Christ gave himself for all humanity (cf. Marshall, SNTU-A 13 [1988] 173). This is not a denial of Christ's divinity (contra Windisch [ZNW 34 [1935] 213– 38], who says the PE teach that Jesus is exalted but subordinate to God and not divine) but an emphatic assertion of the incarnation."
Later, Mounce reiterates: "But ἄνθρωπος is anarthrous, designating not identity ('the Son of man') but quality (i.e., that which makes a person human)."
Yet he offers this explanation as well: "It is difficult, but acceptable, to translate ἄνθρωπος in v 5c generically as 'person' as is often the case with this term (cf. 1 Tim 4:10; 2 Tim 3:2)."
I disagree with Mounce regarding the Son's "incarnation," but his work shows how ἄνθρωπός might be understood in 1 Tim. 2:5.
Pastoral Epistles, Volume 46 (Word Biblical Commentary) (Kindle Locations 7848-7849). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Pastoral Epistles, Volume 46 (Word Biblical Commentary) (Kindle Locations 7845-7846). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Pastoral Epistles, Volume 46 (Word Biblical Commentary) (Kindle Locations 7836-7839). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
Pastoral Epistles, Volume 46 (Word Biblical Commentary) (Kindle Location 7836). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
3 comments:
Hi brother Edgar, hope you doing well and looking after yourself and the family in this Pandemic. I have a question which I think your knowledge might help.
1 Timothy 2:5 speaks about Jesus being the mediator between God and man
Now we believe that it is man in the new covenant. Someone said to me the Greek word there (anthrōpōn/anthropos)refers to all mankind.
Do you have any writings on that or how would you explain that it does not necessarily refer to all mankind.
Thanks
Hi Lu,
One thing I notice is that 1 Timothy 2:5 uses ἀνθρώπων, which is not singular, but a plural genitive form ("of men"). Now other verses in the Bible speak of Jesus being mediator of the new covenant like Hebrews 8:6; 9:15; 12:24. That is one way it can be shown that Jesus' role as mediator is restricted to those in the new covenant. However, the context of 1 Tim. 2:5 seems to restrict the language. I'm not saying that I completely agree with the following, but see:
https://www.monergism.com/thethreshold/sdg/problematictexts.html
I was also thinking that 1 Tim. 2:5 could be saying Christ is mediator between God and men in a generic sense as Mastronarde points out above. Maybe these thoughts will be useful. Your brother, Edgar
This quote might be helpful too:
The term “mediator” derived from the Hellenistic commercial and legal world to describe a negotiator who helped two parties to make some kind of transaction.⁴⁹ Paul’s use of it is more directly influenced by religious applications of the concept. In the OT the term can describe how God relates to people,⁵⁰ but a closer comparison exists in the Testament of Dan, where the angelic mediator “between God and people” intercedes for the peace of Israel (6:2). Use of the concept in the wider church to depict Christ as the mediator of the new covenant (the antitype of Moses; Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24) may suggest the implication of covenantal ideas here, despite the lack of the term “covenant.”⁵¹ In any case, unlike the rather negative use of the concept elsewhere in Paul that associates the reception of the Law with a certain distance from God (Gal 3:19–20), the present use is clearly a positive description of Jesus. Whether the result is described in terms of reconciliation or the new covenant, “the mediator” has brought God and people into a new relationship that could be accurately described with a number of metaphors: new covenant, adoption, redemption, salvation, and so on.
Taken from Philip H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus, page 354-355 (electronic version).
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