I am auditing a Greek exegesis course at UKZN at the moment. (That means I am attending the course but will not write the exam or get credit for it - because I panicked at the amount of work I might have to get through!) We had to write an assignment and one of the topics was 'Δικαιοσυνη and τελειος – the ‘Way of Righteousness’ in Matthew’s gospel'. This is the sort of topic that appeals to me, so I had a go at it. I was only allowed 5 pages, so I didn't get anywhere near where I was supposed to get, but it was fun. If you are interested and if Dropbox works like I think it does, you can read the paper here.
The following comes about half way through the paper (and please bear in mind I am an amateur at this!)
It is not clear why one would choose to relate τελειος and δικαιος (to use the adjectival form of both). The words are not used together in Matthew in any way or form. One possibility is that there is similarity in their meanings which draws attention. Let us therefore examine this. Τελειος means to be perfect or complete, lacking in nothing. It carries the idea of something achieved by growth or further action. Δικαιος means to be a close observer of the law and without fault in its observance. It is limited in its scope. While it would be true to say that τελειος entails more than being δικαιος, I don’t think one could say that being τελειος means that one is more δικαιος. To be τελειος, one would be δικαιος, but one would also add a number of other character traits that are not defined by law. It is helpful to think of. . . read more
No comments:
Post a Comment