valuable: a mystery
THE MYSTERY OF THE MEANINGLESS "THE"
Fully understanding the multi-page Valuable Section requires understanding this page first. The discovery of the deistic article solves many problems in translating the NT text. I believe it would have remained hidden without the N2LR method and the aid of digital means now available.
Could the mystery of the missing Name be solved?
Although the Greek article has many grammatical functions, some of which are listed in the TENT Lexicon (#3588), the functions of the article discussed here may be the most enriching and urgently needed feature of the entire Transparent Experimental New Testament. These functions of the Greek article are related to the use described by Greek scholar Ward Powers,* "Greek frequently (but not always) uses the article with... abstract nouns and nouns indicating qualities."
*author of Learn to Read the Greek New Testament, 4th ed., 1983, Anzea Publishers, Australia, p.117
Since this use of the Greek article, whether present or absent, often sounds awkward in literal English, such articles are usually left untranslated except where English would also use them. It has traditionally been assumed that they have no English function. But the Greek language had a reason for everything, even things that seemed to be 'missing'.
I would like to suggest that if Greek often uses the definite article to highlight the abstract meaning of a noun, as noted by the quote in green above, then it is quite possible that the authors of the New Testament, mostly native Hebrew/Aramaic speakers, might have used this aspect of the Greek article to impart their own brand of "abstractness", one emphasizing the divine, when speaking or writing Greek. A compelling reason existed for doing so. This is a theory only, in support of which I include the following vital background information.
After the Jewish return from the Babylonian Exile and the subsequent strict reforms for Temple worship and observance of the Law of Moses, YHWH’s personal name, often used in the OT as YAH, or as YHWH (the Tetragrammaton) declined in use in written and spoken Hebrew. At some point it began to be restricted, and to be taught that mispronouncing it, or pagans speaking it, was a profaning of the Name of YHWH and must be avoided.
Thereafter the actual divine Name became "honored" more and cloaked in code. Though the name YHWH had often been used in the Old Testament period, the name YHWH in the inter-testamental years became reserved for use by the priesthood on appointed occasions, and "Elohim" (Mighty One/God) or "Adonai" (LORD) was substituted for speaking the Tetragrammaton. Later when translating the sacred writings into other languages, copyists even used code letters, the nomina sacra, to replace the sacred Name.
The priests and scribes may have instituted further protective measures. The Name of YHWH began to be replaced with titles in many places in religious writings, even in the copying of the sacred texts of the Word of YHWH by its appointed guardians. It is interesting that in some old copies of the Greek Septuagint the Tetragrammaton (YHWH) survived, even as actual Hebrew letters amidst the Greek text. This seems to indicate that there were varying points of view on the issue. Fragments of Greek Septuagint copies from as late as the ninth century contain the Tetragrammaton in Hebrew letters.
Eventually, though, this process of substitution for YHWH's Name led to the extinction of the certainty of how to pronounce it, at least by gentiles. This was furthered by the tremendous religious destruction that YHWH allowed in the form of Antiochus Epiphanes, an 'antichrist' of his age. Though the Jewish Maccabees eventually defeated Antiochus, the Jewish people remained bound to the by then "traditional" handling of the Name of YHWH, that is, by not using it. That brings us back to the Greek definite article.
The Greek language had taken hold in various degrees in the Levant during the intertestamental period. Alexander's Greece ruled the world and the Greek language could be heard under most of the sails on the Mediterranean sea. The Jewish people found this situation an open door to proclaim the greatness of their God to the heathen as prophesied by YHWH. The Hebrew Scriptures may have been translated into Greek, as the Greek Septuagint, at least partly for this very purpose.
The Greek Septuagint allowed Jewish rabbis to become missionaries to Greece, Rome, Alexandria and as far as the Greek language extended. But there was a problem because of the human tradition. How do you tell someone about the true God without using his name? According to the already entrenched tradition of the Jews, if the heathen spoke his Name, they would be profaning it.
The simple Greek article occurring before abstract or spiritually important nouns may have been seen by the Jewish priesthood as a "safe" device to signify the Hebrew Tetragrammaton in Greek. It could be placed before any Greek noun, agreeing with its grammatical case in form, but implying only genitive case meanings - "of/from/for/through/in-the-sight-of/by/with/because-of/concerning YHWH", efficiently indicating whichever meaning the context called for. No one would need to speak or write the sacred Name in Greek -- it would be understood, thereby maintaining the Hebraic tradition.
It would even work with verbal proselytizing. By saying to a potential Greek proselyte, "Allow me to explain to you about the life," they were implying, "Allow me to tell you about the life [of/from/for/through/in-the-sight-of/by/with/because-of/concerning-YHWH]." Even if the Greek hearers did not know YHWH's name, they could understand it as a reference to The Mighty One of the Hebrews - their God.
These "deistic" articles, becoming traditional among Greek speaking converts to Judaism, would have been automatically used when the later New Testament writings were first put into Greek. We cannot see this in English translations, which usually omit them; it only becomes a consistent pattern when we search through the articles in the Greek text. Such deistic articles can even occur in verses that also explicitly state the connection with Deity, thus ensuring that the Greek hearers would know which "god" was meant. However, most often the article alone was used to make the connection understood.
There is even precedent for this type of implication in ancient Greek. Thayer points out that in some compounds the Greek preposition dia ("through / by means of") adds an implied meaning by its association with a common Greek expression thanking or requesting the intervention of 'the gods'. When dia is used as part of such a Greek compound, that association with calling upon "the gods" to help or witness has the effect of intensifying the meaning of the compound.
English translators, when translating the dia part of such a biblical Greek compound, often use a strengthening word such as "fully,” ”completely” or “thoroughly." The stronger meaning is implied through that simple word association with “the gods.” In the same way, NT Hebrew speaking authors probably found the Greek article a handy 'fix' for implying a genitive meaning in regard to "YHWH" without using the sacred name. (see TENT Lexicon Comment NT1223).
On the other hand...
Another extremely important usage (see TENT Lexicon Comment NT2962) related to the Greek article also concerns the deistic function of the article but in a "switched off" aspect. Though most NT translations in English translate the Greek NT2962 as "the Lord", in many of those occurrences the Greek article is missing. This seems to work as a toggle for a 'switched off' deistic function. When there is no article before either NT2316 - "God/Mighty One" nor before NT2962 - "Lord" in the Greek , then the Tetragrammaton, "YHWH" seems to consistently be implied.
This "switch function" also works with other Greek titles. Kings and priests of Israel were anointed for YHWH's service by priests or prophets. Occurring after a deistic article, "Anointed-One" (NT5547) becomes "the Anointed One[-of/from-YHWH], but the absence of the article before - "anointed(-one)," just as above with NT2962 - "LORD" or NT2316 - "GOD," would indicate the switch function, in this case producing "[YHWH's-]Anointed(-One)," the title given to the one anointed/appointed by YHWH Himself, and traditionally translated in English as "Christ." Unfortunately, many new Christians do not see "Christ" as a title, because it seems in English that "Christ" is Yeshua's last name. But understanding and translating accordingly the Hebraic Greek use of the Greek article as implying a relationship with Deity clarifies very many such verses.
Another title which can be either deistic with the article, or have a switch function without the article is NT3962 - "father". With the article, it implies "Father [-YHWH]" but without the article it can be translated normally as "father".
Am I saying this is a rule? The New Testament itself supplies the evidence. In the numerous times the New Testament authors quoted from the Old Testament, whenever that OT quote contained the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (which appears as "the LORD" or "GOD" (all caps) in most English Old Testaments), its quote in the Greek New Testament does not have the article before it, thereby indicating "the switch" to the Tetragrammaton. English translations often insert a non-existent article for "clarity" or "English style", which effectively hides its real pattern of use for all English language readers.
Without any translator's "clarifications", a strictly literal (with no special functions) Greek to English translation of Mat 2:15a would read, "Now he was there until the death of Herod so that the thing being revealed by lord through the prophet would be fulfilled,..." Translators assume that an English 'the' is needed before 'lord' because of English style, but in reality no article is needed because the switch function identifies 'lord' without an article as "YHWH".
While the deistic article shows an implied meaning in relation to deity, a meaning which I put in italicized brackets in English to make this clear, the "switched off" function indicates an actual translation of a Tetragrammaton that is original to the OT and is so translated, though in brackets. Of course context and grammar would always determine if "a" god/lord/anointed-one/father is meant, or if "YHWH" is meant and in what form.
For instance, in the TENT translation, if "YHWH" is meant for occurrences of "Lord" (NT2962) and of "God" (NT2316), both without articles, the English translation would be the Tetragrammaton - "YHWH". For NT5547 - "Anointed-One" it would be: [YHWH's-] Anointed-One", and for NT3962 - "Father" - it would be "Father[-YHWH]". One might think at first that Mat 11:25 might be an exception, but note the grammar. That is, notice that the article case there is vocative, which seems to exclude the deistic function, whether "regular" or "switched off", so it reads, "O Father, O Lord of the Heaven and the earth,..."
So in Mat 2:15, besides a deistic article implying the change from "the prophet" into "the prophet [of-YHWH]", we also have the deistic "switched off" function occurring just before that. Mat 2:15a works like this: "15 Now he was there until the death of Herod so that the thing being revealed by lord [no artic. with NT2962 - 'lord' = YHWH (switch function)] through the prophet [deistic article implies "[of- YHWH]"] would be fulfilled,...'” So The TENT version reads, "15 Now he was there until the death of Herod so that the thing being revealed by YHWH through the prophet [of YHWH] would be fulfilled..."
With this evidence, consistent throughout the NT, that the deistic "switch function" is a real grammatical device, holding true in every occurrence in the Greek NT when it quotes from OT verses containing the name of YHWH, can we say that the absence of the Greek definite article before NT2962 - LORD, seems to consistently indicate that YHWH is being spoken of? I think it is amazing but true. Until now, English translators often simply inserted a definite article before "LORD" for English style, even where the Greek has none, and YHWH's name essentially became invisible in English.
A second evidence that the switch function is valid, is that it solves problems in translating. Recently a new Greek text was introduced which, in a controversial translation of Jude 5, illustrates the value of the switch function. You can examine its details and outcome on this page: The Switch Function Solution, or click the link at bottom.
In light of these examples, these two kinds of Greek article usage can easily be detected. One usage functions (but not in any current English translations except The TENT) by the recognition of the deistic article before many “abstract” or “spiritually important” words, thereby greatly increasing richness of meaning throughout the New Testament by highlighting the contextually determined genitive relationship of those words to YHWH.
The other usage, the switch function, gives a deistic meaning through the switched form, using no article before NT2962 (Lord), NT2316 (God), or NT5547 (Anointed(-One). Knowing this removes the awkwardness of translating many verses literally, avoiding translation confusion, but most importantly of all, it solves the mystery of God's name "YHWH" as no longer missing in the New Testament.
I have also found that there seems to be a special situation of a deistic article occurring before the noun "father" (NT3962). The role of a father is so intimately connected with Yeshua's relationship to His Father and therefore our Father also, that I have relied only on an initial capital with the deistic article as in "the Father", or if with a genitive article, translating the article as a possessive pronoun - usually "my/your/his/our-Father", with an initial capital "F", to indicate this deistic quality. So without an article before "Father," which is the "deistic switch" form, then context would determine whether "a father" or "Father[-YHWH]" would be appropriate.
Whether by introduction of the article or by the absence of the article, depending on which noun is involved, YHWH's name is implied in many NT verses. Not only that, but it seems probable that the former lack of understanding concerning this function of the biblical Greek article is responsible for some long standing NT controversies and textual problems, especially when the oversight of NT textual transmission fell into the hands of the gentiles, a process ultimately ending in a normalization of anti-semitism.
Knowing these functions of the biblical Greek article adds a whole other dimension of clarity to the New Testament. "The gospel of the Kingdom" becomes "the good news of the Rulership [of/from/for-YHWH]," as in, "the Rulership [from-YHWH] is among you," and as Yeshua said to religious hypocrites, "...prostitutes and tax collectors enter under the Rulership [from-YHWH] before you,.." . But to his own He said, "Be not afraid, you little human flock, because your Father thought it good to give to you the (deistic) Rulership [from-YHWH]. (Luke 12:32).
Recognizing the deistic article
It may be helpful to see many of the weighty words in the NT which sometimes have the non-vocative article and thus a deistic meaning attached, although noticeable only in the Greek texts. Such occasions can be found with the following NT words (in Strong’s number order):
sacrificial-love (NT26), time/age (NT165), truth (NT225), wrong (NT266), man (NT444), lawlessness (NT458), unbelief (NT570), rulership (NT932), land (NT1093), writing (NT1124), rightness/justness (NT1343), influence (NT1391), power (NT1411), gift (NT1431), called-out-gathering (NT1577), mercy (NT1656), authority (NT1849), good-news (NT2098), thing-seeming-good (NT2107), good-deed (NT2108), reverence (NT2124), blessing (NT2129), life (NT2222), time/day <NT2250>, death (NT2288), harvest (NT2326), healing (NT2392), priesthood (NT2420), appeasing (NT2433), place-of-appeasing (NT2435), set-time (NT2540), deciding/judging-against (NT2633), decision/judgment (NT2920), creating (NT2937), word (NT3056), mystery (NT3466), (sacred-)house (NT3485), law (NT3551), understanding (NT3563), acknowledgement / declaration (NT3671), anger (NT3709), encouragement (NT3874), counselor (NT3875), father (NT3962), belief/trusting (NT4102), spirit (NT4151), prophecy (NT4394), prophet (NT4396), yieldedness (5012), light (NT5457), gladness (NT5479), acceptance (NT5485) and oracle (NT5538).
To give an example of how the deistic article appears I chose at random one of the words in the above list - NT458. Out of its fifteen occurrences in the NT, nine qualified as deistic and six did not. The nine qualifying occurrences of NT458 were all compatible with the functioning of a deistic article, e.g. "the lawlessness [of/from/for/through/ in the sight of /by/with/because-of/concerning -YHWH ]."
Eventually, though, this process of substitution for YHWH's Name led to the extinction of the certainty of how to pronounce it, at least by gentiles. This was furthered by the tremendous religious destruction that YHWH allowed in the form of Antiochus Epiphanes, an 'antichrist' of his age. Though the Jewish Maccabees eventually defeated Antiochus, the Jewish people remained bound to the by then "traditional" handling of the Name of YHWH, that is, by not using it. That brings us back to the Greek definite article.
The Greek language had taken hold in various degrees in the Levant during the intertestamental period. Alexander's Greece ruled the world and the Greek language could be heard under most of the sails on the Mediterranean sea. The Jewish people found this situation an open door to proclaim the greatness of their God to the heathen as prophesied by YHWH. The Hebrew Scriptures may have been translated into Greek, as the Greek Septuagint, at least partly for this very purpose.
The Greek Septuagint allowed Jewish rabbis to become missionaries to Greece, Rome, Alexandria and as far as the Greek language extended. But there was a problem because of the human tradition. How do you tell someone about the true God without using his name? According to the already entrenched tradition of the Jews, if the heathen spoke his Name, they would be profaning it.
The simple Greek article occurring before abstract or spiritually important nouns may have been seen by the Jewish priesthood as a "safe" device to signify the Hebrew Tetragrammaton in Greek. It could be placed before any Greek noun, agreeing with its grammatical case in form, but implying only genitive case meanings - "of/from/for/through/in-the-sight-of/by/with/because-of/concerning YHWH", efficiently indicating whichever meaning the context called for. No one would need to speak or write the sacred Name in Greek -- it would be understood, thereby maintaining the Hebraic tradition.
It would even work with verbal proselytizing. By saying to a potential Greek proselyte, "Allow me to explain to you about the life," they were implying, "Allow me to tell you about the life [of/from/for/through/in-the-sight-of/by/with/because-of/concerning-YHWH]." Even if the Greek hearers did not know YHWH's name, they could understand it as a reference to The Mighty One of the Hebrews - their God.
These "deistic" articles, becoming traditional among Greek speaking converts to Judaism, would have been automatically used when the later New Testament writings were first put into Greek. We cannot see this in English translations, which usually omit them; it only becomes a consistent pattern when we search through the articles in the Greek text. Such deistic articles can even occur in verses that also explicitly state the connection with Deity, thus ensuring that the Greek hearers would know which "god" was meant. However, most often the article alone was used to make the connection understood.
There is even precedent for this type of implication in ancient Greek. Thayer points out that in some compounds the Greek preposition dia ("through / by means of") adds an implied meaning by its association with a common Greek expression thanking or requesting the intervention of 'the gods'. When dia is used as part of such a Greek compound, that association with calling upon "the gods" to help or witness has the effect of intensifying the meaning of the compound.
English translators, when translating the dia part of such a biblical Greek compound, often use a strengthening word such as "fully,” ”completely” or “thoroughly." The stronger meaning is implied through that simple word association with “the gods.” In the same way, NT Hebrew speaking authors probably found the Greek article a handy 'fix' for implying a genitive meaning in regard to "YHWH" without using the sacred name. (see TENT Lexicon Comment NT1223).
On the other hand...
Another extremely important usage (see TENT Lexicon Comment NT2962) related to the Greek article also concerns the deistic function of the article but in a "switched off" aspect. Though most NT translations in English translate the Greek NT2962 as "the Lord", in many of those occurrences the Greek article is missing. This seems to work as a toggle for a 'switched off' deistic function. When there is no article before either NT2316 - "God/Mighty One" nor before NT2962 - "Lord" in the Greek , then the Tetragrammaton, "YHWH" seems to consistently be implied.
This "switch function" also works with other Greek titles. Kings and priests of Israel were anointed for YHWH's service by priests or prophets. Occurring after a deistic article, "Anointed-One" (NT5547) becomes "the Anointed One[-of/from-YHWH], but the absence of the article before - "anointed(-one)," just as above with NT2962 - "LORD" or NT2316 - "GOD," would indicate the switch function, in this case producing "[YHWH's-]Anointed(-One)," the title given to the one anointed/appointed by YHWH Himself, and traditionally translated in English as "Christ." Unfortunately, many new Christians do not see "Christ" as a title, because it seems in English that "Christ" is Yeshua's last name. But understanding and translating accordingly the Hebraic Greek use of the Greek article as implying a relationship with Deity clarifies very many such verses.
Another title which can be either deistic with the article, or have a switch function without the article is NT3962 - "father". With the article, it implies "Father [-YHWH]" but without the article it can be translated normally as "father".
Am I saying this is a rule? The New Testament itself supplies the evidence. In the numerous times the New Testament authors quoted from the Old Testament, whenever that OT quote contained the Hebrew Tetragrammaton (which appears as "the LORD" or "GOD" (all caps) in most English Old Testaments), its quote in the Greek New Testament does not have the article before it, thereby indicating "the switch" to the Tetragrammaton. English translations often insert a non-existent article for "clarity" or "English style", which effectively hides its real pattern of use for all English language readers.
Without any translator's "clarifications", a strictly literal (with no special functions) Greek to English translation of Mat 2:15a would read, "Now he was there until the death of Herod so that the thing being revealed by lord through the prophet would be fulfilled,..." Translators assume that an English 'the' is needed before 'lord' because of English style, but in reality no article is needed because the switch function identifies 'lord' without an article as "YHWH".
While the deistic article shows an implied meaning in relation to deity, a meaning which I put in italicized brackets in English to make this clear, the "switched off" function indicates an actual translation of a Tetragrammaton that is original to the OT and is so translated, though in brackets. Of course context and grammar would always determine if "a" god/lord/anointed-one/father is meant, or if "YHWH" is meant and in what form.
For instance, in the TENT translation, if "YHWH" is meant for occurrences of "Lord" (NT2962) and of "God" (NT2316), both without articles, the English translation would be the Tetragrammaton - "YHWH". For NT5547 - "Anointed-One" it would be: [YHWH's-] Anointed-One", and for NT3962 - "Father" - it would be "Father[-YHWH]". One might think at first that Mat 11:25 might be an exception, but note the grammar. That is, notice that the article case there is vocative, which seems to exclude the deistic function, whether "regular" or "switched off", so it reads, "O Father, O Lord of the Heaven and the earth,..."
So in Mat 2:15, besides a deistic article implying the change from "the prophet" into "the prophet [of-YHWH]", we also have the deistic "switched off" function occurring just before that. Mat 2:15a works like this: "15 Now he was there until the death of Herod so that the thing being revealed by lord [no artic. with NT2962 - 'lord' = YHWH (switch function)] through the prophet [deistic article implies "[of- YHWH]"] would be fulfilled,...'” So The TENT version reads, "15 Now he was there until the death of Herod so that the thing being revealed by YHWH through the prophet [of YHWH] would be fulfilled..."
With this evidence, consistent throughout the NT, that the deistic "switch function" is a real grammatical device, holding true in every occurrence in the Greek NT when it quotes from OT verses containing the name of YHWH, can we say that the absence of the Greek definite article before NT2962 - LORD, seems to consistently indicate that YHWH is being spoken of? I think it is amazing but true. Until now, English translators often simply inserted a definite article before "LORD" for English style, even where the Greek has none, and YHWH's name essentially became invisible in English.
A second evidence that the switch function is valid, is that it solves problems in translating. Recently a new Greek text was introduced which, in a controversial translation of Jude 5, illustrates the value of the switch function. You can examine its details and outcome on this page: The Switch Function Solution, or click the link at bottom.
In light of these examples, these two kinds of Greek article usage can easily be detected. One usage functions (but not in any current English translations except The TENT) by the recognition of the deistic article before many “abstract” or “spiritually important” words, thereby greatly increasing richness of meaning throughout the New Testament by highlighting the contextually determined genitive relationship of those words to YHWH.
The other usage, the switch function, gives a deistic meaning through the switched form, using no article before NT2962 (Lord), NT2316 (God), or NT5547 (Anointed(-One). Knowing this removes the awkwardness of translating many verses literally, avoiding translation confusion, but most importantly of all, it solves the mystery of God's name "YHWH" as no longer missing in the New Testament.
I have also found that there seems to be a special situation of a deistic article occurring before the noun "father" (NT3962). The role of a father is so intimately connected with Yeshua's relationship to His Father and therefore our Father also, that I have relied only on an initial capital with the deistic article as in "the Father", or if with a genitive article, translating the article as a possessive pronoun - usually "my/your/his/our-Father", with an initial capital "F", to indicate this deistic quality. So without an article before "Father," which is the "deistic switch" form, then context would determine whether "a father" or "Father[-YHWH]" would be appropriate.
Whether by introduction of the article or by the absence of the article, depending on which noun is involved, YHWH's name is implied in many NT verses. Not only that, but it seems probable that the former lack of understanding concerning this function of the biblical Greek article is responsible for some long standing NT controversies and textual problems, especially when the oversight of NT textual transmission fell into the hands of the gentiles, a process ultimately ending in a normalization of anti-semitism.
Knowing these functions of the biblical Greek article adds a whole other dimension of clarity to the New Testament. "The gospel of the Kingdom" becomes "the good news of the Rulership [of/from/for-YHWH]," as in, "the Rulership [from-YHWH] is among you," and as Yeshua said to religious hypocrites, "...prostitutes and tax collectors enter under the Rulership [from-YHWH] before you,.." . But to his own He said, "Be not afraid, you little human flock, because your Father thought it good to give to you the (deistic) Rulership [from-YHWH]. (Luke 12:32).
Recognizing the deistic article
It may be helpful to see many of the weighty words in the NT which sometimes have the non-vocative article and thus a deistic meaning attached, although noticeable only in the Greek texts. Such occasions can be found with the following NT words (in Strong’s number order):
sacrificial-love (NT26), time/age (NT165), truth (NT225), wrong (NT266), man (NT444), lawlessness (NT458), unbelief (NT570), rulership (NT932), land (NT1093), writing (NT1124), rightness/justness (NT1343), influence (NT1391), power (NT1411), gift (NT1431), called-out-gathering (NT1577), mercy (NT1656), authority (NT1849), good-news (NT2098), thing-seeming-good (NT2107), good-deed (NT2108), reverence (NT2124), blessing (NT2129), life (NT2222), time/day <NT2250>, death (NT2288), harvest (NT2326), healing (NT2392), priesthood (NT2420), appeasing (NT2433), place-of-appeasing (NT2435), set-time (NT2540), deciding/judging-against (NT2633), decision/judgment (NT2920), creating (NT2937), word (NT3056), mystery (NT3466), (sacred-)house (NT3485), law (NT3551), understanding (NT3563), acknowledgement / declaration (NT3671), anger (NT3709), encouragement (NT3874), counselor (NT3875), father (NT3962), belief/trusting (NT4102), spirit (NT4151), prophecy (NT4394), prophet (NT4396), yieldedness (5012), light (NT5457), gladness (NT5479), acceptance (NT5485) and oracle (NT5538).
To give an example of how the deistic article appears I chose at random one of the words in the above list - NT458. Out of its fifteen occurrences in the NT, nine qualified as deistic and six did not. The nine qualifying occurrences of NT458 were all compatible with the functioning of a deistic article, e.g. "the lawlessness [of/from/for/through/ in the sight of /by/with/because-of/concerning -YHWH ]."
Note also that each context determines how the connection with YHWH is expressed - seemingly by a choice among the prepositions governed by the genitive case: of/from/for/through/in-the-sight-of /by/with/because-of /concerning. In this use, I have substituted "in-front-of" or "in-the-sight-of", and not "before" to distinguish between a genitive preposition of location as opposed to an adverb of time, such as "before the tide came in."
One can see how important this distinction is, considering the long-standing present-day controversy widely revealed by Prof. Bart Ehrman, which you can read about here - The Abiathar Problem - now solved by the N2LR TENT translation method. How many Christians have stumbled because a leading Christian textual scholar, Dr. Bart Ehrman, saw this "problem without a solution" and began to mistrust God's Word, choosing to use this problem to promote mistrust of the New Testament to audiences both pagan and Christian? Please note other problems and solutions at the same link. You will find other even bigger long-standing problems and solutions in the Valuable section.
By no means does the Greek article with the words listed above always have the deistic sense. In the above example, six did not. Here are ten reasons for not counting an article as deistic in biblical Greek and there may be others. Non-deistic uses of the Greek article are:
1) the noun in context is not contextually applicable to God (Mt10:27;Lk12:3)
2) the article and noun are followed by a qualifying phrase (Rev19:21 - "the sword of the one sitting"; Heb8:10 - "the covenant that I will make"; Jam4:5 - "...the spirit that settled in us.")
3) the definite article before the word is used as part of a possessive pronoun (Greek commonly says, "the influence of them" for "their influence”)
4) the definite article specifies the non-vocative name or title of a person (Lk18:13 - "The-Mighty-One")
5) the article refers to a noun already mentioned previously in context (Lk18:13 - "but the tax-collector...")
6) the article modifies an adjective, participle or adverb
7) the article is used the same way as an English definite article before a noun denoting a class or category - "the (ones-)poor"
8) when the article is what I call "a possessive article" or "pos. art." (see TENT Lexicon Comment at NT435), and which functions as a possessive pronoun modifying a following noun, i.e. “the heart(s)” in Greek, depending on noun form, in English might be “my/your/his/her/its heart” or with a plural article and noun "our/your/their hearts". Some examples: Rom 7:2,3 ("the husband" might be translated "her husband", also in 1 Cor7: 2,3 )
9) the article used before a noun denoting a large object or event, such as “the world (Jn1:9,Ac17:24)” “the sea (Mt8:24;Mk7:31),” “the desert (Mt24:26;Jn6:31),” “the mountain (Lk8:32;Heb12:20),” “the region (Mt3:5),” “the river (Rev22:2),” “the sun/moon/stars (Mt24:29;Heb11:12),” “the sky (Mt16:2;Heb11:12),” "the Beginning," "the Exile," "the Desertion (apostasy)," etc.
In The TENT Source Text, the most technical version of the TENT NT, occurrence of a possible deistic article is indicated by adding "of/from/for/through/before/by/with/because-of/concerning-YHWH" in italics, and bracketed behind the noun that the article precedes, with the most appropriate preposition underlined - "...the <3588> gift <1431> [of/ from /for/through/in-the-sight-of/by/with/because-of/concerning-YHWH (implied by Grk. art.)]..." (Acts 2:38). This would also be the bracket format used in The TENT Study Version, but The TENT Devotional Version would dispense with the underlining and those bracketed prepositions that are irrelevant to the context, leaving only the probable meaning in brackets - "...the gift [from-YHWH]."
Most first century Greeks, being pagans, would probably not have used the deistic article in reference to YHWH, but all the Greek converts to Judaism who later found salvation when Paul preached in their synagogues would probably have been familiar with this device. Those being already more or less taught in the prophetic scriptures, ones such as Timothy, would naturally be chosen by the apostles for leadership positions since they were more equipped and mature through their OT scriptural knowledge.
These Greek-speaking converts, many having been taught the Scriptures through the Greek Septuagint (OT), would have depended on this common device understood among all Greek converts to pre-Christian Judaism– the deistic article. This Greek-Hebraic grammatical understanding would have continued down through the writings of at least the very early (pre-4th century) Church. It seems probable to me that slowly, as the Hebraic influence declined, the scriptoria were motivated to find a less Jewish connected device to indicate the Tetragrammaton. We can see after a few hundred years that the gentile hodge-podge of the nomina sacra slowly but inexorably came to take over the deistic article's function, even though the traditional reverence for God's Word forbid the deistic article's actual disappearance, and so its remaining presence and mystery has created headaches for later translators.
The quenching of the flame
When the Church eventually became anti-Semitic, culminating in the cutting off of all ties to outwardly Jewish observance and tradition, only the sacred NT scriptures in Greek remained, full of the deistic article, but less and less understood as Hebraic. In the Christian Roman world, especially after the fall of Jerusalem, few were converting to Judaism any more. Even so, Christian copyists continued to transmit this Hebraic grammatical convention faithfully in Greek probably because they no longer understood why it was there. And so the deistic article, if not its functioning, has survived throughout the Greek NT texts.
* * *
Today, if many versions of the NT can indicate non-original words simply by adding and italicizing them, and if, in other NT versions, the use of brackets sufficiently indicates added words, then for use in The TENT I chose to reveal words of implication or clarification by a consistent use of unmistakable brackets enclosing italicized words. I believe all readers and hearers of the NT should have as much access as had the original audience to the knowledge of these clarifications. The implications arising from ancient textual tampering need no longer be ignored. We will know the truth [from-YHWH] and the truth [from-YHWH] will set us free.
Although a “flowing” translation is desirable, style can become an idol which obliterates intended meaning. Smooth translation quite often exacts a cost in information. Therefore guarding the purity of the text must be a constant concern. Some things which might be understandable though somewhat awkward in literal translation, in YHWH's scheme of things might best be left intact and "unfixed."
At one point I was surprised to come upon a possible example of a deistic article in the Old Testament, in words from YHWH through the prophet Hosea in the 8th century BCE. Hosea prophesied during the reigns of King Uzziah through to King Hezekiah and warned of God's judgment on the northern Kingdom of Israel. In Hos 4:6 most versions have something like, "My people perish for a lack of knowledge...", but the deistic article seems to be used twice in this verse to point out that it was not a lack of just any knowledge which was destroying His people, but a lack of THE knowledge. When the two articles are translated as deistic the verse says, "My people is destroyed from lack of the knowledge [of-YHWH]. Because you have rejected the knowledge [of-YHWH], I will also reject you serving as priest for Me."
Consulting with someone familiar with OT Hebrew, I have learned that a Hebrew version of the deistic article may possibly be found even in the earliest writings, in Gen. 3:22, where "the tree of the life" may imply "the tree of the life [from-YHWH]." As in Greek, there may be a deistic article use in Hebrew, and while it may not be valid in every context, it might be valid in many. Whether such an article might have been inserted when copying ancient OT texts by later Jewish reformers, or whether it might be original to them is beyond me. I must leave that for someone else to discover.
A vital restoration
In the second paragraph at the beginning of this article, I mentioned that the function of the deistic article was urgently needed. Here is why. In the last two hundred years many NT translations have been created through missions work that have given unreached people groups the truth of YHWH's Word. But how have they translated the Greek words traditionally translated "God" or "Lord" in English, but implying YHWH's name? Do they make them function as titles only? Probably.
I have read that New Testaments created for Arabic speakers translate "God" as "Allah," which is correct, except for when it is deistic. Then, it should be "YHWH." Muslims say "God" has no name, and most English translations unfortunately confirm that for them. "Allah" is not a personal name of God for them because Muslims do not believe in a deity who is a person. They do not know that God has a personal name.
A major part of our Good News is that He is a Person, and has revealed His name to us. If His Name, YHWH, is hidden and only implied, it needs to be made accessible in both His Covenants and in every language. He is, and always will be, YHWH, the God of the unconditional and eternal covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as well as the God of the renewed covenant made to include those who trust Yeshua the Anointed One [from-YHWH] as their Rescuer. No matter from what people group they may be, they can now have the same trusting of YHWH as He found in Abraham.
How many scholars down the centuries have wondered at the absence of YHWH's name in the New Testament? I am so thankful that now we can see it throughout His Word, thanks to the 'meaningless' "the". When we translate with the information available today, many things in God's Word are clarified. We now have:
"...and accept the helmet for the rescuing [by-YHWH]
and the sword of the Spirit [of-YHWH], which is [YHWH's-]spoken word." Eph. 6:17
And he planted shade trees at Oath Well, and there he called on YHWH's name -- a Mighty One unchanging. - Gen 21:33
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And he planted shade trees at Oath Well, and there he called on YHWH's name -- a Mighty One unchanging. - Gen 21:33
The Trinity of YHWH page link is not yet functional because the page has just been started.
Please check the News and Comments page to see the updates on added pages.