In the last clause of the Lord’s Prayer (Mt 6:13b), not ἐκ but ἀπό follows ῥῦσαι. In the NT ῥύεσθαι ἐκ denotes deliverance from nonpersonal evil (7×; note esp. 2Pe 2:9, ἐκ πειρασμοῦ), never personal enemies, while (elsewhere) ἀπό with ῥύεσθαι is twice used with persons (Ro 15:31; 2Th 3:2) and once with a nonpersonal object (2Ti 4:18). In Mt 13:19, 38 and probably 5:37, as also in Jn 17:15, ὁ πονηρός refers to “the evil one” (= the devil/Satan). If τοῦ πονηροῦ in Mt 6:13 referred to “evil,” we might have expected ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ (“from all/every kind of evil”; cf. πᾶν πονηρόν in Mt 5:11). Cf. 2Ti 4:18, ῥύσεταί με ὁ κύριος ἀπὸ παντὸς ἔργου πονηροῦ. The probability, then, is that τοῦ πονηροῦ means “the evil one” rather than “evil.”
From Murray J, Harris, Prepositions and Theology in the Greek New Testament, page 63 (electronic edition).
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/text/didache-roberts.html
ReplyDeleteThe beginning of chapter 3 is a useful contrast using ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ.
Good point, and Harris argues that what we would expect, if Matthew meant "evil thing" and not "evil one."
ReplyDeleteI notice that the older translation of the Didache by Kirsopp Lake renders Didache 3.1: "My child, flee from every evil man and from all like him."
I would like to know why Lake chose "from every evil man" for ἀπὸ παντὸς πονηροῦ and not "from every evil thing."
Interesting, see http://facsimiliter.com/Documents/DidacheIlnr.htm
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