Category: Series: Household of God
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Household: “Head” in Colossians
Colossians is our next stop in investigating the "head" (kephale) metaphor in the New Testament. False teaching appears to be the impetus for writing Colossians. While the false teaching is not explicitly identified, it seems to have been some form of Gnostic heresy. Some elements refuted are ceremonialism, asceticism, angel worship, the deprecation of Christ,…
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Household: “Head” in 1 Peter 2:6-8 (Three Stones)
1 Peter 2:6-8 6 For it stands in scripture: "See, I am laying in Zion a stone,a cornerstone (akrogoniaios) chosen and precious;and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame." 7 To you then who believe, he is precious; but for those who do not believe, "The stone that the builders rejectedhas become…
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Household: “Head” as Function, Representation, and Elevation, and the Centrality of Status
So what can we say about "head" as a metaphor in Greek? At least two things. First, "head" is not used to signify "rule over" or "have authority over," although it clearly is used on occasion with regard to people who rule and have authority. It sometimes is used to indicate a differential in these…
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Household: The Fictive “rosh to kephale” Exceptions in the Septuagint (Part 2)
We continue with a summary of Andrew Perriman's analysis of translations from the Hebrew rosh into the Greek kephale in the Septuagint, presented in Speaking of Women: Interpreting Paul. 1 Kings 8:1 (3 Kings 8:1 in the LXX) (17) 1 Kings 8:1 Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads (rosh) of…
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Household: The Fictive “rosh to kephale” Exceptions in the Septuagint (Part 1)
The Hebrew Bible was translated into Greek from the third through first centuries B.C.E. This translation became known as the Septuagint (LXX). As we saw earlier, in most cases where the Hebrew authors use the word rosh (head) metaphorically, it was not translated as kephale (head) in Greek. Rosh usually indicated "chief" or "ruler" when…