Ephesians 6:4-παιδείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου

Καὶ οἱ πατέρες, μὴ παροργίζετε τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν, ἀλλὰ ἐκτρέφετε αὐτὰ ἐν παιδείᾳ καὶ νουθεσίᾳ Κυρίου (Ephesians 6:4 WH)

Observations from Charles Hodge's Commentary on Ephesians:

"Παιδείᾳ is a comprehensive word; it means the training or education of a child, including the whole process of instruction and discipline. Νουθεσίᾳ, from νουθετέω (νοῦς, τίθημι) to put in mind, is included under the more general term, and is correctly rendered admonition. It is the act of reminding one of his faults or duties. Children are not to be allowed to grow up without care or control. They are to be instructed, disciplined, and admonished, so that they be brought to knowledge, self-control, and obedience."

An additional insight from Vincent's Word Studies:

"Νουθεσία admonition occurs only here, 1 Corinthians 10:11, and Titus 3:10. The kindred verb νουθετέω to warn or admonish, is found only in Paul's letters, with the single exception of Acts 20:31 (see note). Its distinctive feature is training by word of mouth, as is shown by its classical usage in connection with words meaning to exhort or teach. Xenophon uses the phrase νουθετικοὶ λόγοι admonitory words. Yet it may include monition by deed."

Compare Deuteronomy 6:6-9.

See https://fosterheologicalreflections.blogspot.com/2023/07/words-of-month-july-2023.html

Ephesians 4:6 and the One God of "All"

Ephesians 4:6:

εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων, ὁ ἐπὶ πάντων καὶ διὰ πάντων καὶ ἐν πᾶσιν.

πᾶς is not used absolutely or in an unqualified sense here: it is utilized relatively. The apostle has the Christian congregation in mind, for it is this ecclesia that the one God and Father of all (εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ πάντων) especially rules "over" (ἐπὶ πάντων), works "through" (διὰ πάντων), and is "in" (ἐν πᾶσιν) by means of his holy spirit (2 Corinthians 6:14-18; Ephesians 2:19-22). Nevertheless, Paul is not espousing pantheism or panentheism in this account--his inspired counsel for the Ephesians strictly applies to the first-century Christian assembly composed of anointed ones, not to the cosmos as a whole.

William Larkin (Ephesians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, page 71):

εἷς θεὸς καὶ πατὴρ. Nominative subject of an implied equative verb. The combination of titles occurs consistently in Ephesians in formal or liturgical contexts: salutation, 1:2; doxology, 1:3; prayer, 1:17; thanksgiving, 5:20; benediction, 6:23 (cf. 3:9, 14).

πάντων. Genitive of subordination. The fourfold πᾶς in this climactic statement probably all have the same gender, whether neuter or masculine (Best, 371). There is not enough in the context to distinguish the use of different genders with different items. Paul’s frequent cosmic focus in Ephesians, particularly with the use of πᾶς (1:10, 22, 23; 3:9, 15; 4:10), would be congruent with neuter gender. The term πατὴρ, however, denotes personal relationship, and the theme of church unity here (4:4) followed by a focus on individual church members (4:7) suggests that the gender is masculine and thus personal (contra Lincoln, 240; Best, 371).

Ephesians 5:19 (Morphosyntax)

Greek (SBLGNT): λαλοῦντες [a]ἑαυτοῖς ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς, ᾄδοντες καὶ [b]ψάλλοντες τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν τῷ κυρίῳ,

1. ΠΡΟΣ ΕΦΕΣΙΟΥΣ 5:19 ἑαυτοῖς WH Treg RP ] + ἐν NIV
2. ΠΡΟΣ ΕΦΕΣΙΟΥΣ 5:19 ψάλλοντες WH NIV ] + ἐν Treg RP
   
   

CSB: "speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making music with your heart to the Lord,"

ESV: "addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart,"

Syntax: λαλοῦντες is the nominative plural masculine present active participle of λαλέω. Benjamin Merkle thinks it functions adverbially here to communicate result in conjunction with the four participles that follow (Ephesians in the EGGNT Series). Paul is apparently detailing what results when a Christian is filled with the holy spirit (see Ephesians 5:18 and its use of πληροῦσθε).

Clinton Arnold explains that scholars often prefer to construe the grammar of Ephesians 5:19 like Merkle does, but Arnold gives other possibilities: a) the participle has an imperatival sense, b) it is a participle of attendant circumstance, c) the participle expresses means. Arnold chooses to take the participle as expressive of means. 

ἑαυτοῖς is a reflexive pronoun doubling as a reciprocal pronoun, which is not unusual, and it's a dative of advantage (dativus commodi). See Merkle. 

ψαλμοῖς καὶ ὕμνοις καὶ ᾠδαῖς πνευματικαῖς-Does the last word here modify just ᾠδαῖς or all three nouns? And in what sense is the music "spiritual"?

ᾄδοντες καὶ ψάλλοντες-Andrew T. Lincoln offers this explanation (Ephesians in the WBC Series): "The second participial clause builds up the sentence in the writer’s characteristic style by employing the verbal forms of two of the previous nouns— ᾠδή, 'song,' and ψαλμός, 'psalm.' Although its original meaning involved plucking a stringed instrument, ψάλλω here means to make music by singing (cf. also 1 Cor 14:15; Jas 5:13), so that there is no reference in this verse to instrumental accompaniment (cf. the discussion in BAGD 891; pace Barth, 584)."

Arnold concurs with Lincoln that ψάλλοντες is not referring to instrumental accompaniment; Lincoln likewise reckons that Christ Jesus is the referent of the phrase, τῷ κυρίῳ, which is apparently a dative indirect object of ᾄδοντες and ψάλλοντες. Cf. Ephesians 5:17; Revelation 5:9. 

τῇ καρδίᾳ ὑμῶν-a dative of means and possessive genitive occur here. See William J. Larkin, Ephesians: A Handbook on the Greek Text, page 126.