ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πᾶς ὁ ὀργιζόμενος τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ ἔνοχος ἔσται τῇ κρίσει: ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ τῷ ἀδελφῷ αὐτοῦ, Ῥακά, ἔνοχος ἔσται τῷ συνεδρίῳ: ὃς δ' ἂν εἴπῃ, Μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός
Ego autem dico vobis: Omnis, qui irascitur fratri suo, reus erit iudicio; qui autem dixerit fratri suo: “Racha”, reus erit concilio; qui autem dixerit: “Fatue”, reus erit gehennae ignis.
But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
But I say to you that if you are angry with a brother or sister, you will be liable to judgment; and if you insult a brother or sister, you will be liable to the council; and if you say, 'You fool,' you will be liable to the hell of fire.
I am not sure I agree with assertions about this passage, but it should be mentioned. This passage comes in the Sermon on the Mount. Most editors will label it under "Murder", where Jesus speaks about physical murder, and how anger in the heart towards a brother is equally liable to the person as if they had murdered. Compare this with adultery and looking at someone with lust.
That being said, some scholars suggest that there is a different possible rendering of this passage. This revolves around two words: Ῥακά (raka) and Μωρέ (moreh). These words are not Greek in origin. They are transliterations into Greek of probably Aramaic words. If you look at even the NIV translation, the footnotes express that the meaning is unknown and inferred.
Ῥακά
Here's what we can also infer. Raka, if Aramaic or Hebrew may be related to "rakha" which both mean "soft" and have a connotation of effeminacy. The root word is used throughout other Semitic languages to refer to feminine jobs, such as the Akkadian word "raq". If applied to a male, it could mean "sissy".
Μωρέ
This word is often rendered "fool" but could be "fooler", "trickster" and in some Greek literature has the connotation of a male aggressor or sexual aggressor, or as some scholars suggest, with a homosexual act connotation.
The passage has name-calling. One could be Sissy, and one could be Fool or Top or as the English say Bugger.
I see Raka more apparent than I do Moreh, and am not wholly convinced. However, it would be interesting if Jesus did say "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Sissy!' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'Bugger!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Although ambiguous, it feels like eisegesis and wishful thinking.
That being said, some scholars suggest that there is a different possible rendering of this passage. This revolves around two words: Ῥακά (raka) and Μωρέ (moreh). These words are not Greek in origin. They are transliterations into Greek of probably Aramaic words. If you look at even the NIV translation, the footnotes express that the meaning is unknown and inferred.
Ῥακά
Here's what we can also infer. Raka, if Aramaic or Hebrew may be related to "rakha" which both mean "soft" and have a connotation of effeminacy. The root word is used throughout other Semitic languages to refer to feminine jobs, such as the Akkadian word "raq". If applied to a male, it could mean "sissy".
Μωρέ
This word is often rendered "fool" but could be "fooler", "trickster" and in some Greek literature has the connotation of a male aggressor or sexual aggressor, or as some scholars suggest, with a homosexual act connotation.
The passage has name-calling. One could be Sissy, and one could be Fool or Top or as the English say Bugger.
I see Raka more apparent than I do Moreh, and am not wholly convinced. However, it would be interesting if Jesus did say "But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Sissy!' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'Bugger!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Although ambiguous, it feels like eisegesis and wishful thinking.
No comments:
Post a Comment