This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lindsay, D. R. Search for Related Content Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

The Roots and Development of the - Word Group as Faith Terminology'

Springdale College, 54 Weoley Park Road Selly Oak. Birmingham B29 6RB

The religious use of the - word group in the NT is not an isolated development in the first and second centuries CE. Employment of the word group as faith termin ology can be traced back to Classical Greek where, in a few instances, appears in reference to faith in (the) God(s). In these passages /o carries the idea of 'religious engagement'. This prepares the way for the Septuagint translators who found the - word group to be a good equivalent for the Hebrew root ?. Because - was not a perfect match for ?, the Greek word group, by virtue of its association with the Hebrew word group, began to assume new (Hebrew) nuances of religious faith. This development can be further traced in Sirach and in Philo of Alexandria, as well as in other Hellenistic Jewish writings. Sirach and Philo in particular provide evidence that the - word group was flexible and expandable in its religious understanding.

The NT represents a further major development of the religious use of the word group. Taking up the ideas of the Hebrew ? and the early Classical understanding of /o as religious engagement, the NT develops the - word group into termini technici for the proper relationship of humankind to God.

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?