Tag: kephale
-
Head and body, an organic unity
Better Bibles Blog: Head and body, an organic unity (Suzanne McCarthy) Since we don't have one of those fancy widget thingies that Iyov has put on his blog, I'll respond to a comment here with a new post. Dru asks on this post, If 'kephale', despite it's use twice in Judges 11 in what appears…
-
Kephale in translation
Better Bibles Blog: Kephale in translation For a long time I felt that the metaphorical meaning of kephale was not important when considering translation issues. However, I have rethought the issue. It needs to be recognized that the English word "head" has a meaning which includes both the physical head, and "a person to whom…
-
Household: “Head” in 1 Corinthians 11 (Part 2)
We pick up now with the rest of the passage following 1 Corinthians 11:3: But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the husband (or man) is the head of his wife (woman), and God is the head of Christ. I've said that "head" here functions as "origin."…
-
Household: “Head” in 1 Corinthians 11 (Part 1)
Before returning to the household codes, our final stop in our analysis of the head metaphor is 1 Corinthians 11:3. Before diving headfirst into this passage, we need to step back and put this in a broader context. Earlier in this series, I wrote about the circumstances at Corinth and will not recapitulate that here.…
-
Household: “Head” in Ephesians
Our next stop is Ephesians. Three passages use the "head" metaphor in Ephesians. One is in the household code in Chapter 5. We will first examine the other two instances in this post and then return to the household code in a later post. Unlike Colossians, Ephesians does appear to be addressing any particular heresy.…
-
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,…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…