Doesn’t ἀντί always mean “Instead of”? (Heb 12:2)
I came across a really strange use of ἀντί the other day. It serves as a good example of semantic range
Speaking of Jesus, Heb 12:2 says, “For (ἀντί) the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” The most common meaning of ἀντί, by far, is the idea of replacement. BDAG’s first two definitions are: (1) “indicating that one person or thing is, or is to be, replaced by another, instead of, in place of”; (2) “indicating that one thing is equiv. to another, for, as, in place of.”
This would give a strange interpretation of v 2. Jesus replaced “the joy set before him” with “enduring the cross.” I am not sure what that would mean, which is the major clue that I need to spend more time with BDAG. But notice the footnote in the NLT: “Or Instead of the joy.”
We know that God is as loving as he is just. He is not more loving than he is just, nor more just than he is loving. All of his attributes are perfectly balanced.
