airo in John 15:2

Knowledge of the Greek is vital, but so is knowledge of the historical/cultural context!
In fact vine branches were often "raised up" off the ground to prevent mold, etc., and laid on a rock, so the fruit would be undamaged. So maybe "raise up" is not foreign to the context.

Ken M Campbell

I've heard the "raise up" interpretation being associated with the horticultural practice of lifting the vines off the ground in order that fruit might have a better chance to grow – I think “grape-mounds” were employed in ancient times for this purpose. Thus, the interpretation may not be completely out of context and it certainly helps with the eternal security issues of the Father “taking away” someone “in Christ.” Nevertheless, it’s still admittedly a bit awkward and likely incorrect as you point out.

For me, the fact this person isn't bearing fruit indicates they have a mere profession of faith without eternal life (Judas a prime example). From this view, v2 doesn't really parallel v6 where "abiding," a topic related to the true child of God, is the issue. The “branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” becomes symbolic of a true believer’s ruined testimony in the sight of the world as in Mat. 5:13 where the “salt of the earth” is “thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”

With grace,

bh

Airo in John 15.2

Bill:

This indeed is a very odd rendering of Jn 15:2. When I worked on my commentary on John (and the farewell discourses) I never came across it. But I can see how one might develop this if a) they were not looking at the range of meanings for airo, b) not looking at the wider interpretative context, and c) committed perhaps to some notion of eternal security -- a theme that is very actively discussed in Johannine studies.

All of your advice here is excellent. We do indeed check the semantic range for a word and BDAG is the first place I look. I was also looking at Louw and Nida and there found an excellent range of examples where airo is used as it is in Jn 15.2. For example in Mk 6.29 it is used for the disciples "taking away" Jesus crucified body. In Jn 2.16 it is used when Jesus tells the traders in the Temple to "take away" the pigeons and things being marketed. In Mt 24.39 it is used for the flood of Noah that "carries away" those who are not prepared. Of these, I am also keen to know how a particular author uses a word since each writer will have a peculiar vocabulary as well. In this case, airo is used in John 26x which gives me a really solid basis for understanding John's range of meaning. And this closes the argument: John uses the word frequently for moving something "from here to there" or for "removing away" something (such as the stone closing the tomb of Lazarus, Jn 11.39, 41).

The use of airo in 15.2 is really tied to what John is saying in the context of viticulture (vineyard production, grape farming, etc.) in ancient culture. A quick trip to Hebron or the hills around Bethlehem will illustrate methods that haven't changed since biblical times. Unproductive vines are cut off and discarded so that main vines are more fruitful. Otherwise the vines grow small branches (suckers) that have lots of nice leaves, but no fruit! The trimmed vine is the productive vine. Then the good vines are elevated from the soil with stones. (Today we use sticks, tying the vines to them or wire stretched between posts.) This keeps the vines from spoiling on the ground.

So 15.2 is actually a warning: that those who feign some 'attachment' to the vine but do not have its life-giving reality within can be removed. And here launches the theological discussion about eternal security. Every Calvinist now can step forward and begin the debate!

This is a great blog. And I'm impressed that you have thoughtful students of the scriptures raising all of the right questions.

Gary M. Burge
Wheaton College & Graduate School

Bill,

I have another (mostly unrelated) question about the translation of John 15:2-3. Why do English translations avoid calling attention to the wordplay between καθαίρει (vs. 2) and καθαροί (vs. 3)? Every translation I have read usually translates the first occurace "he prunes" and the second "you are clean," which has always made for a rough transition between 15:2 and 3. Commentaries will note the wordplay, but translations seem to avoid it. (I don't even recall seeing a note explaining the connection between the verses.) Why not translate it something like the following (leaning on the ESV): "Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. Already you are pruned because of the word that I have spoken to you." Admitedly, the meaning of the phrase "you are pruned" would not be immediately clear; but neither is "you are clean" (to me anyway). For both phrases, we have to look to the larger context to determine the meaning. Why not give English hearers the same clue Greek hearers had and make the play on words more evident?

Both translations get at the same meaning, I believe. Although, I probably wouldn't have arrived at this interpretation without recognizing the wordplay. How does Christ's word "clean"? It cleans like a two-edged sword that convicts us, cuts to the core, and cuts away the self-justifying excuses with which we protect ourselves. When we hear his word, "Love as I have loved you" and see that word embodied on the cross, we are convicted and exposed. All the things we do and feel that are contrary to that word, are cut off and discarded for the worthless rubbish that they are. We are cleaned. We are pruned.

To use a southern phrase, will that dog hunt?

I really am asking (and not just making a statement diguised as a question) because I assume I must be missing something important. I realize I haven't discovered something novel; I'm just curious why the translations don't highlight the wordplay.

Cliff

Hi Bill, I remember reading during seminary a article in "Bibleotheca Sacra", I believe, on airo in John 15:2. The author used the way grapes were grown in Bible times as a key to understanding the meaning of airo. Bruce Wilkersdon in "Secrets of the Vine" (p. 38) picks up that idea also. Both think that "lift up" is a better translation. I appreciated, however, in your reply in the blog your note on the parallel with verse 6. But in the first instance isn't the branch bearing no fruit "in me" while in verse 6 the branch is described as not remaining in me? It seems to me the parallel is an antithetical parallel. Either translation has theological implications. In the first - "takes away" - the implication is that the Father removes branches that are in Christ that do not bear fruit. That seems out of character with John. In the second - "lifts up" - the impplication is that the Father takes care to bring every branch that is in Christ to productivity. The second seems to fit the theology of John better. On the other hand, in verse 6 where the branch does not remain in Christ, the implication based on 1 John 2:19 is that the branch was not really in Christ at all. On another note, I really appreciate the helps in Greek you provide in the blog. Thanks.

I would be interested to know the actual origin of this translation. The scripture most certainly teaches eternal security, but we cannot force the scripture into our presuppositions. First, the usage of airei is most commonly used in the sense of removal. A casual glance will reveal this. I suppose the most neglected thing here would be the doctrinal context. Those trying to make the scripture mesh with their doctrine of eternal security are contorting scripture when God does not need our help to be consistent. Consider 1 John 5:17-18, a Johannine passage that would reveal the nature of the taking away, not out of the vine, but out of the world. Hebrews 12 would tell us that God chastises his children. John 15:2 and 1 John 5:17-18 tell us that if a child of God is abiding in rebellion, God will remove that child from this world.