A noun in the genitive may stand in apposition to another noun in order to further define it. For example, Paul places his own name in apposition with “a servant of Christ Jesus” (Rom. 1:1). In II Corinthians 1:22 and 5:5, “the earnest [arrabon, seal, pledge, foretaste] of the Spirit” means the Holy Spirit is the pledge or down payment of salvation (cf. Eph. 1:14). Note the appositional use of the genitive in II Corinthians 5:1, where Paul calls our earthly house a tent-home. He uses this figure to contrast our present state with our future existence. According to the Apostle’s metaphor, our earthly life is temporary, like living in a tent which may be taken down at any hour. But when the terrestrial abode is no more, we have the celestial existence awaiting us, and it is everlasting. Note other genitives of apposition or definition such as “crown of life” (Rev. 2:10), “crown of righteousness” (II Tim. 4:8), and “crown of glory” (I Pet. 5:4).
Blackwelder, Boyce W. Light from the Greek New Testament (Kindle Locations 2907-2915). Reformation Publishers Prestonsburg, KY. Kindle Edition.
So a bit of a tough one:
ReplyDeleteWhat is the beginning appositional too in Col 1:18?
Can you have apposition with a hos on in between?
Just trying to further my own understanding fyi not trying to start a debate
I’m the type of person to try to try to have an answer to literally every situation.
I would say it's possibly an instance of apposition: see Revelation 1:5. But M.J. Harris says that "beginning" and "firstborn from the dead" might more precisely define what comes before these constructs or one could read the Greek another way. Robertson has an interesting remark on hos.
ReplyDeleteMeyer's NT Commentary: ἀρχή] beginning; which, however, is not to be explained either as “initium secundae et novae creationis” (Calvin), progenitor of the regenerate (Bisping), or “author of the church” (Baumgarten-Crusius), or even “ruler of the world” (Storr, Flatt); but agreeably to the context in such a way, as to make it have with the appositional πρωτότοκος its definition in ἘΚ ΤῶΝ ΝΕΚΡῶΝ, just as if the words ran: ἈΡΧῊ ΤῶΝ ΝΕΚΡῶΝ, ΠΡΩΤΌΤΟΚΟς ἘΞ ΑὐΤῶΝ, although Paul did not express himself thus, because at once upon his using the predicate ἀρχή in and by itself the exegetical ΠΡΩΤΌΤΟΚΟς suggested itself to him. Accordingly Christ is called ἈΡΧῊ (ΤῶΝ ΝΕΚΡῶΝ), inasmuch as He is among all the dead the first arisen to everlasting life.
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