Vocabulary

Hell is a slippery concept; and no, I’m not talking about recent debates. I am talking about what the word ᾅδης means.

I was reminded of this in reading the NIV of Acts 2:27. Peter cites Ps 16:10 as fulfilled in Christ. “You will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.” Why did the NIV switch from “grave” (1984) to “realm of the dead”? (I was not on the CBT when this change was made, so I was not part of the discussion.)

ᾅδης occurs ten times in the New Testament. In eight the NIV translates ᾅδης as “Hades.” In Acts 2:27 and in Peter’s following comment (v 31), it translates ᾅδης as the “realm of the dead.” In our passage, most translations simply write ”Hades” (NASB, NRSV, HCSB, NET) or “Hell” (ESV, KJV).

This has always been an interesting question.

In 1 Cor 7:8, Paul writes, “Now to the unmarried (ἀγάμοιος) and to the widows (χήραις).” It is clear that Paul is unmarried (1 Cor 7:7), but it is not clear that he is or is not a widower.

“Widow” (χήρα) occurs 24 time in the New Testament. Outside of 1 Cor 7, it apparently always refers to a woman. BDAG lists “widow” and not “widower” as the only meaning of χήρας, which is expected since χήρας is a feminine noun and appears to be following natural gender. The masculine χήρος does not occur in biblical literature.

ἄγαμος can be either ὁ ἄγαμος (1 Cor 7:32) or ἡ ἄγαμος (1 Cor 7:34). The unmarried person in v 11 (anarthrous ) clearly is a woman from context (“let her remain unmarried or else be reconciled to her husband”).

I’m not moved by the argument that says Rabbis tended to be married. Regardless of his standing in the Jewish community, it does not necessarily follow that Paul had been married. A classic argument from silence. I wonder when that tradition began, and whether we know for sure it pre-dates 70 A.D.

 I found a great example of semantic range, and why it is so important to always check the full entry in BDAG. In Rev 10:6 the angel takes an oath saying, “There will be no more delay (χρόνος)!” How can χρόνος mean “delay”?

χρόνος certainly does mean “time.” In Luke 8:27 we read the demoniac had for a long time (χρόνῳ ἱκανῷ) had not worn clothes or lived in a house. This is the normal gloss for χρόνος.

χρόνος also has a more specialized use meaning “occasion.” BDAG gives the meaning as “a point of time consisting of an occasion for some event or activity.” Matt 2:7 says, “Then Herod secretly called for the magi and found out from them exactly what time (χρόνον) the star had appeared.”