Qtnurnr~ta
UJqrnlngtral :tInutqly
Continuing
LEHRE UNO VVEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER E v . -LuTH. H OMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL M ONTHLY
vol. xvm July, 1947 No. 7
CONTENTS Page
Ludwig EJ:nest Fuerbringer, 1864-1947. J . H. C. Fritz ' ________ _ 481
Haec Dixit Dominus. Th. Engelder ___ ____ _ _ _ ______ ______ ___ 484
Light from the Papyri on St. Paul's Terminology. Eric C. l\1aUe ___ 499
Outlines on the Nitzsch Gospel Selections ___________ _ __ ______ 518
Miscellanea ______________ ______ __ _______________ . __ ._ 530
Theological Observer ___________ _ _____ __________ 540
Book Review .. ____________ _ .. __________ __ .. _. __ ______ . _________ 552
E1n Precliger mllali nieht alle1n wei-
den, also dass er die Schafe unter-
weise, m e sle rechte Christen sollen
scln, sondem auch daneben den Woel-
f en weh,.en, dass sle die Schafe nlcht
angrelfen und mit fallCher Lehre ver-
fuehren und Irrtum elnfuehren.
Luther
Es 1st keln Ding, das die Leute
mehr bel der Klrche behaelt denn
cIle gute Precllgt. - Apologie, An. 24
II the trumpet give an uncertain
sound, who shall prepare himself to
the battle? -1 C01'.14:8
Published by the
Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States
CONCORDIA PUBLlSmNG BOUSE, St. Louis 18, Mo.
nunD Dr V. II. A.
LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI 499
blessedly deceived. He has never once lied, and He cannot
lie." (XX: 1780.) Haec dixit Dominus! 1)
But, say some here, the Lord will tell Luther that he based
his doctrine, not on Scripture, but on his interpretation of
Scripture. Where does that leave Luther? 6
Oak Park, Ill.
Light from the Papyri
on St. Paul's Terminology
By ERIC C. MALTE
The problem of defining the type of Greek in the Pauline
Epistles has, in the past, afforded ample room for much con-
troversy. It remained for Adolf Deissmann to discover that
while the language of the New Testament differs from classical
Greek, it is neither "Special Greek," nor "Aramaic Greek,"
nor "Biblical Greek"; still less is it "tired Greek" or "bad
Greek." 1 H. R. Minn says:
"For the lucid explanation and substantial proof of the real
character of New Testament Greek we are indebted to the
mental alertness of the German scholar Adolf Deissmann.
The story is an interesting one, a good instance of the potency
of small things. In 1895, Herr Deissmann, at the time not a
university professor or even a clergyman, but a young can-
5 The Lutheran, February 3, 1927: "In those days men had con-
victions that were as dear to them as life, and when they could not
agree, they agreed to work apart. Controversy in those days was not
condemned as seems to be the case today, for the new name for con-
victions is 'prejudices.''' Theological Monthly, 1926, p. 326: "Oh, for
that fire of deep, honest conviction which burned in the hearts of our
fathers and made them love and cherish the doctrines of the Bible as
an immovable and everlasting foundation! Their firm conviction
amounted to a consuming passion for the sacred teachings which would
not entertain the thought of compromise with the gainsayers. Where
you have such staunch convictions, unionism does not find a fertile
soil." Pieper's "Voriraege, etc.," p. 168: "Als man dem Kurfuersten von
Sachs en auf dem Reichstage zu Augsburg andeutete, er koenne Land
und Leute verlieren, wenn er bei der Augsburgischen Konfession bleibe,
entgegnete er, er wolle Heber Land und Leute, als Gottes Wort ver-
lassen. Wenn der Kurfuerst ein moderner Lutheraner gewesen waere,
der erst feststellen wollte, was eigentlich goettliche Wahrheit sei, dann
haette er gedacht: es ist doch besser, du behaeltst dein Reich, als dass
du an der Augsburgischen Konfession festhaeltst."
6 Part II, the answer to this question, will appear in an early issue.
1 Deissmann, Adolf. Light from the Ancient East. London: Hodder
and Stoughton (1911); The New Testament in the Light of Modern
Research. London: Hodder and Stoughton (1929).
500 LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI
didate for the ministry, a Privatdocent at Marburg, happened
one day to be turning over in the University Library at
Heidelberg a new section of a volume containing transcripts
from the Berlin collection of Greek papyri. As he read, he
was suddenly arrested by the likeness of these papyri to the
language of the New Testament, with which he was familiar.
Further examination served to deepen the initial impression,
and he realized that he held in his hand the true key to the
old problem." 2
Deissmann's general conclusion regarding the language
of the New Testament, namely, that it is the same language
as found in the papyri, found enthusiastic and ardent ad-
vocates in England in the persons of Dr. J. H. Moulton and
Dr. George Milligan.
To illustrate this factor regarding the language of the
Pauline Epistles, a number of words found in Paul's Letters
will be examined by tracing their usage in the ordinary
Greek of his day as revealed by the papyri.
1. 'Anix,ro
Phil. 4: 18 reads: "But I have all and abound." The Greek
text is unEx,ro ~E nav.ct %ctL nEQLcrcrEvro. The word unix,ro was a
technical expression regularly used in drawing up a receipt.
In the passage quoted above, Paul expresses his gratitude to
his friends in Philippi for their generous help and says: "I give
you a receipt in full for all things."
Deissmann says: "I have long held that the word Mix,ro
is explainable by the papyri and ostraca." 3 For the use of
this word in the papyri we turn to a registration of a deed
from the year 266 A. D.,4 where the phrase occurs a~ ctlJl'o{h
unEcrx,ov nctQa croii (ha X,ELQO~ E% nA~QO'Ur;, "which I received from
you forthwith from hand to hand in full." In the same volume
of the Oxyrhynchus papyri the word occurs in a public ac-
knowledgment of a contract of sale of arable land, with a share
in appliances for irrigating.5 It is also found in a contract for
the sale of a young female slave and her infant son at the
price of 2,000 drachmae.6 The constant recurrence of this
2 Minn, H. R. Living Yesterdays, Dunedin and Wellington, A. H.
and A. W. Reed (1939), p. 11.
3 Deissmann, Adolf, op. cit., p. 110.
4 P. Oxy. IX. 1200.24.
5 P. Oxy. IX. 1208.16.
6 P. Oxy. IX. 1209.23.
LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI 501
word in the sense of "I have received in full" as a technical
expression in drawing up a receipt shows that it was well
known to every Greek-speaking person of Paul's day.
2. 'An:60'LOAot;
In answer to the attacks made upon him by the false
teachers Paul states with much emphasis in the very first
lines of his Letter to the Galatians: "Paul, an Apostle (not of
men, neither by men, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father,
who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren which
are with me, unto the churches of Galatia." 7 To the Corin-
thians, among whom similar attempts had been made to Un-
dermine his influence and authority as an Apostle of Jesus
Christ, he writes: "I am become a fool in glorying; ye have
compelled me; for I ought to have been commended of you;
for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest Apostles, though
I be nothing. Truly the signs of an Apostle were wrought
among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty
deeds." 8
To trace the meaning of this word apostle, which occurs
79 times in the New Testament and 29 times in Paul's Letters,
will prove of interest and profit to the student of the Pauline
Epistles. Etymologically, it is derived from the Greek verb
an:oO''t'fAACO, "I send forth." Apostle refers to one sent forth,
one commissioned as a representative or ambassador.
The specific sense in which it is used in the New Testa-
ment, namely, to designate one sent forth by the Lord Jesus
Christ as His ambassador or special messenger, or to desig-
nate anyone commissioned as a representative, is not the
oldest usage of the word. Only very remotely does an:60''t'oAOt;
in classical Greek come near the special New Testament
meaning it has today. In most cases the similarity does not
extend beyond the mere outward form of the word.
Originally the word an:6crLOAOt; was used as an adjective
and then gradually as a substantive. In the earliest references
in classical Greek we find it used as one of the technical
terms connected with the science of navigation, especially
military navigation. It is the word used when the Greeks
spoke of sending out a fleet or an army. Then, in the course
of years, it came to mean the fleet itself. Later on, its mean-
7 Gal. 1: 1-2. 8 2 Cor. 12: 11-12.
502 LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI
ing was extended to include any group of persons who had
been sent out for any particular purpose. For instance, it was
used to specify a group of colonists. The leader of an expedi-
tion, or the admiral, was called 0 M6cr-rOAO~.
However, in all these usages of the word its passive
nature was always stressed. The activity and initiative of the
M6cr-rOAO~ himself never comes to the front. To denote a mes-
senger or one commissioned as a representative the Greeks
used ayyEAo~, JtQEcr~E'U-rTj~, xYjQ'U~. The Greek JtQoqJYj-raL were
the messengers of truth and served as the mouthpiece of
the deity.
The use of the word &Jt6a-roAo~ by the Christians of the
New Testament ushers ina totally new and different mean-
ing of the word. In the New Testament it is used to desig-
nate the particular messenger of the Lord Jesus Christ, or
anyone who had been commissioned as a representative. That
the New Testament usage of the term represents a departure
from its earlier meaning is also evident from the fact that
the Latin Church did not translate this word into the Latin
church language, but took it over as a foreign word, apostolus.
The papyri also reveal how foreign to the specific New
Testament meaning the ordinary usage of this term was.
In a papyrus of the second century A. D. it is used to designate
a ship used in transporting grain from Egypt.9 In this docu-
ment, which is an account of the expenses of a grain transport,
it is of interest to note that each &Jt6cr-rOAO~, or "ship," is known
by the name of its owner.
In another papyrus, from the year 211 A. D., a different
sense is required. Hunt renders this translation: "whenever
the boats collected in accordance with the orders of lading
arrive." 10 Here it evidently means the "bills of lading" ac-
companying the shipment of grain.
In the New Testament it is used to designate those who
had been especially commissioned by Jesus Christ to be His
witnesses before the world. It is the distinctive name of the
Twelve, or Eleven, with whom Paul himself was counted, as
he says in 1 Corinthians 15: 7-9. Paul justified his being
counted as an Apostle by the fact that he had been called to
the office by Christ Himself.
9 P. Oxy. III. 522.
10 P. Oxy. VII. 1103.
LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI 503
The term was also applied in a loose and more general
sense to all who in any way bore witness of Christ. Luke
uses the term when speaking of Barnabas in Acts 14: 4,14.
The writer of the Letter 'to the Hebrews uses this term when
referring to Christ as the One sent by the Father into the
world and states that He was "faithful to Him that appointed
Him." 11
Thus a loose and more general meaning of the word
held its place side by side with its special and distinctive
application to the Twelve. But never do we find this word
used in the New Testament as it had been in earlier Greek.
In Byzantine Greek the word is always a technical term
referring to one of the Twelve or to Paul. Usually in second-
century Greek among the Christians 0 a1t6aLOAO~ refers to Paul.
To the Christians of that era Paul had become the Apostle
par excellence.
3. 'AQQa~wv
This word is found in three places in the Letters of Paul.
We find it in 2 Corinthians 1: 22: "Who hath also sealed us
and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts." Again,
we read (2 Cor. 5: 5): "Now He that hath wrought us for the
selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest
of the Spirit." The third place in which it is used is Ephesians
1: 14: "Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the re-
demption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His
glory." In each of these references the Holy Spirit is desig-
nated as the aQQa~wv given to the believers in Christ.
Thayer 12 mentions that this word evidently passed from
the Phoenicians to the Greeks and thence into Latin. He gives
the following definition: "an earnest, i. e., money which in pur-
chase is given as a pledge that the full amount will sub-
sequently be paid."
The word occurs frequently in the papyri. It is used to
specify caution money, deposited by the purchaser and for-
feited by him if the purchase is not completed. Kittel points
out that the word was a technical business term and adds that
the term "refers to a transaction by which one individual
11 Heb. 3: 1-2.
12 Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament. New York: American Book Company (1899).
504 LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI
obligates himself to another person to fulfill certain stipula-
tions." 13
The meaning of "down payment, earnest money," is well
illustrated by a papyrus 14 mentioning a woman who was
selling a cow and who received 1,000 drachmas as aQQa~ffiva.
The meaning is evident, namely, that she received the 1,000
drachmas as the down payment on the cow.
Another papyrus,15 dating from A. D. 237, tells us of one
Aurelius Asclas Philadelphus, president of the council of the
village of Bacchias, who enters into an agreement with Au-
relius Theon for the services of two dancing girls, evidently
for some approaching Egyptian festival. These dancing girls
are to receive "by way of hire 36 drachmas daily and by way
of payment for the whole period three artabas of wheat and
fifteen couples of delicacies, and for their conveyance down
and back again three asses." They are to receive so many
drachmas VJtEQ aQQa~ffivo;, "by way of earnest money," on their
promised salary.
Similarly, in another papyrus, we read of Lampon, the
mouse catcher, who was paid eight drachmas as aQQa~wva "in
order that he may catch the mice while they are young." 16
The use of this word in many business transactions as
shown by the papyri helps us to understand clearly Paul's
use of it in two of his letters. The Holy Spirit, given to the
believers in Christ here and now, is the down payment, as
it were, the guarantee, that the full payment of their promised
salvation will be made in due time by the Father in heaven.
4. "Armt'w;, atuxtro;, ataxt8ro
In 1 Thessalonians 5: 14 the Apostle Paul urges the be-
lievers in Thessalonica to "warn them that are unruly." The
marginal note in the King James translation (Concordia Edi-
tion) suggests "disorderly" for the word "unruly." The Greek
word meaning to be "unruly," or to conduct oneself in a
disorderly manner, is atuxtro;. It comes from the verb .-uaaro.
This verb is a military term referring to the act of arranging
soldiers in military order in their ranks. Thayer 17 refers to
13 Kittel, Gerhard. Theologisches Woerterbuch zum Neuen Testa-
ment. Stuttgart: Verlag von W. Kohlhammer (1933-1939).
14 P. Par. 58. 16 P. Lond. VI. 920.
15 P. Grenf. II. 67. 17 Op. cit.
LIGaT FROM THE PAPYRI 505
Xenophon's use of the verb to denote placing in a certain
order. The verb a-cux't'Ew refers to soldiers marching out of
order or quitting the ranks, thus being disorderly. The verb
then came to mean "to be neglectful of duty, to be lawless."
There are examples of this verb having originally the conno-
tation of riot or rebellion.1s
The word is found only in the two Letters to the Thes-
salonians. It occurs in the verb form in 2 Thessalonians 3: 7.
As an adjective it is used in 1 Thessalonians 5: 14, and it ap-
pears as an adverb in 2 Thessalonians 3: 6, 11. As Moulton
and Milligan suggest,19 the words suggest certain remissness
in daily work and conduct on the part of some Christians in
the Thessalonian congregation.
There is ample evidence for this translation furnished
by the papyri. The meaning suggested by Moulton and Mil-
ligan is supported by contemporary evidence from the papyri.
In a papyrus dating from 66 A. D. we have a contract of ap-
prenticeship.20 The father enters into an undertaking that if
there are any days when his son "plays truant," or "fails to
attend," a't'ax't'~au, he is afterwards to make them good. It is
interesting to note that all the conditions of the contract are
meticulously laid down. The boy is to be supported and
clothed during the whole period by his father on the condition
that his master will give him five drachmas monthly on ac-
count of his keep and twelve drachmas on account of his
clothing at the end of the entire period. The word here used
to denote playing truant is the same word used by St. Paul in
speaking of certain of the Thessalonians.
In one of the Oxyrhynchus papyri a weaver's apprentice
enters into a contract to appear for an equivalent number
of days if from idleness or ill health or other reasons he ex-
ceeds the twenty days' holiday he is allowed in the year of
his apprenticeship.21
This, then, was the fault of the Thessalonians. They were
idling, playing truant. The coming of the Lord Jesus seemed
to them to be so near at hand that it was no longer necessary
for them to work. No doubt some of them thought: "Why
18 Kittel, op. cit.
19 Moulton, James Hope; and Milligan, George. The Vocabulary
of the Greek Testament. London: Hodder and Stoughton (1914-1929).
20 P. Oxy. II. 275. 21 P. Oxy. IV. 725.
506 LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI
should I go to work in the morning when before night Christ
might come?" Paul urges them not to play truant and sug-
gests that the best way to prepare for the coming of the
Lord Jesus was to show themselves active and diligent in the
discharge of their work and duty.
5. BaaxaLvco
Paul asks (Gal. 3: 1): "0 foolish Galatians, who hath
bewitched you that ye should not obey the truth, before whose
eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth crucified
among you?" The word which he used for "bewitch," ~aa
XaLVCO, was taken from the popular belief in the power of the
evil eye.
Baikie devotes an entire chapter in his book to the use
of magic formulae and enchantments as found in the papyri022
In one of the Oxyrhynchus papyri, dating from the year
25 A. D., a certain Theon recommends his brother Heraclides
to the notice of Tyrannus.23 Because of its brevity we give
it in full:
"Theon to his most esteemed Tyrannus, heartiest greet-
ings. Heraclides, the bearer of this letter to you, is my
brother. Therefore, I beg you with all my power to hold
him as one recommended to you. I have also asked Hermias,
my brother, in writing to communicate with you regarding
this. You will do me the greatest favor if he gains your·
notice. But above all I pray that you may be in health un-
harmed by the evil eye and faring prosperously. Goodbye."
Paul's metaphor in Galatians was derived from this cur-
rent superstition of the evil eye of his day. The word desig-
nated either the fascination of an evil eye or some malignant
influence arising from it. The turning of the Galatian Chris-
tians to false teachers, and their being infatuated by false
doctrine, Paul attributes to the baneful effect of some mys-
terious power of evil.
o. ~oiJAo£" EAEu-11E()O£,
Living in a society in which it is estimated that more
than half of the population belonged to the slave class,24 it is
little wonder that Paul should often use the terms (01)1,0£"
22 Baikie, James. Egyptian Papyri and Papyrus Hunting. London:
The Religious Tract Society (1925).
23 P. Oxy. II. 292.
24 Goodspeed, Edgar J. Problems of New Testament Translation.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press (1940), p. 139.
LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI 507
"slave," and EA£U{}£QO~, "free man." The second word in his
Letter to the Romans is ~OUAO~: "Paul, slave of Jesus Christ."
He uses the word more than twenty times in his Letters.
He says (Phil. 2: 7) that Christ took upon Himself the nature
of a slave. In Christ slaves have all the rights of free men.25
He speaks of himself and his fellow Christians as the slaves
of Christ.26 In Colossians 3: 22-24 he gives special instruc-
tions to slaves and in Colossians 4: 1 to their masters.
That Paul was fully aware of the meaning of the words
he was using, and that his readers would at once get the
full implication of his statements, is clear from such phrases
as those found in Romans 6: 17 and Titus 3: 3, where he insists
that all men by nature are the slaves of sin. Christians be-
come free by the fact that Christ has bought them with a
price. He uses the very formula for setting a slave free.27
In Galatians 5: 1 he urges Christians to "stand fast therefore
in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." In the
thirteenth verse of the same chapter he states: "For, brethren,
ye have been called unto liberty." In this verse he uses the
phrase which was the formula commonly used at Delphi,
Naupactus, and Tithora for the freeing of slaves.28
Christians, he says, cannot be slaves of men, because
they have now become the slaves of Christ.29 The slave of
• Christ is, at the same time, free; he is the Lord's freedman,
even when he is outwardly the slave of a human master.so
The papyri help us to understand what has been called
"the most important social problem of New Testament times,"
the institution of slavery. The duties and rights of slaves and
free men, the price paid for slaves in the market, the manner
in which slaves might be freed, the price paid for the freeing
of slaves - these and many other questions connected with
the slavery problem are understood clearly in the light
furnished by the papyri in countless instances.
From the many documents that might be cited from the
papyri as throwing light on the institution of slavery we
have selected a contract for the sale of a young female slave
and her infant son at the price of 2,000 drachmas.s1
25 Gal. 3: 28; Col. 3: i1; 1 Cor. 12: 13.
26 1 Cor. 7:22; Phil. 1:1; Col. 1:7; 4:7,12.
27 Deissmann, op. cit., p. 328.
28 Ibid., p. 328. 30 1 Cor. 7: 22.
29 Rom. 6: 22; 6: 18. 31 P. Oxy. IX. 1209.
508 LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI
"The year ... of the Emperors and Caesars Gaius Vibius
Trebonianus Gallus and Gaius Vibius Aphinius Gallus Vel-
dumianus Volusianus Pii Felices Augusti, Daisius ... Phar-
mouthi ... at the city of Oxyrhynchus, before Aurelius Anti-
pater also called Dionysius, farmer of the tax payable to the
agoranomi. Aurelius Asclepiades also called Saras, son of
Sarapon and Lucilla also called Demetria, of the city of
Oxyrhynchus, aged about 32, with no distinguishing mark,
has purchased from Aurelius Serenus also called Sarapion,
son of Agathinus and Taposiris, of the said city, aged about 34,
with no distinguishing mark, in the street, the female slave
belonging to him named Tereus, aged about 21, fair, with a
scar on her . . . , together with her male nursling child
named ... who was purchased by him in accordance with a
deed made through the said office of the agoranomi in the
4th year of the Philippi in the month Phamenoth from the
mother of the present purchaser, Aurelia Lucilla also called
Demetria, daughter of Euporus, son of Diogenes, her mother
being Tauris also called Philumene, of the said city, and was
born in her house, which slave together with the nursling the
purchaser has forthwith received from the vendor just as
they are and unrenounceable, free from epilepsy and external
claims, Tereus having been examined as set forth in the
former deed; and the price mutually agreed upon for the said
slave and the nursling 2,000 drachmae of silver of the Imperial
coinage, has been received by the vendor Aurelius Serapion
also called Serenus from the purchaser Aurelius Asclepiades
also called Saras from hand to hand. The vendor sells and
guarantees the said slave with the nursling, his name, as
aforesaid, in the same street, and to the purchaser's question
whether this has been rightly and fairly done the vendor has
given his assent. Signatures: .... "
7. 'EAAoyaw
The word EAAoyaw appears in the shortest letter Paul
wrote, namely, in his Letter to Philemon (v. IS) . It was a
technical term used in business and bookke'eping circles. It
meant to "set down to one's account." In a Rylands papyrus,32
dating from the second century A. D., two women write to
their steward and ask him to "put down to our account every-
thing you expend on the cultivation of the holding." The
word used is EAAoyaw.
In a contract from the year 237 A. D. two dancing girls
are hired for an approaching festival. 33 Their wages are
clearly stipulated. In lines 18 and 19 of the contract we find
32 P. RyL II. 243.11. 33 P. Grenf. II. 67.
LIGHT FROM THE PAPYRI 509
the expression: "by way of down payment to be put down
by you in the price." The word used is the one we find in
Paul's Letter to Philemon.
The usage of the word by Paul in Romans 5: 13 can be
paralleled from a document by the Emperor Hadrian 34 in which
he authorizes the announcement of certain privileges to his
soldiers oVX EvExa TOU [LE ClQXElV aVTOL£" EVAOYELV, "not however
that I may appear to be making a reckoning against them."
Deissmann suggests in a footnote on this document that the
Emperor wished to avoid the appearance of imposing an
obligation, or debiting the soldiers with the privilege granted
them.35
8. 'E~aAd