From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Sun Dec 10 2000 - 20:50:58 EST
At 5:37 PM +0600 12/10/00, Natali wrote:
>Greetings,
>
>While searching through old B-Greek archives I found meanings FILEW and
>AGAPAW are not clarified well enough among B-Greekers and apparently in
>lexicons too.
>I fear to be obtrusive on your website or to say already obvious things
>but...
>It seems to me, rather definite distinction is the following:
>
>FILEW means inner attraction towards a love object affording spontaneous
>pleasure and gratefulness. Here is deep need and attachment to something, or
>somebody, being seen as giving the reliable and considerable sweets of life.
>
>AGAPAW is apparently applied when for bearing enjoyable, friendly relations
>it's necessary to be always considerate and thoughtful, and it's necessary
>to labor for such relations. In this case we don't give ourselves up to love
>according to spontaneous attraction but we as if create love, find its
>mutual gifts.
>Usually such labor requires selfless conduct when it is come to be content
>with a little in looking for better. Then one's love is filled with
>fortitude, courage and unending patience in giving oneself up to love cares.
>
>Is it accurate, please?
>Any comments and objections will be greatly appreciated.
While there is little doubt that these verbs DO bear the senses you ascribe
to them in your discussion, the real question is whether or not they
overlap each other to some extent and are even used by some Greek
speakers/writers of the Hellenistic era as synonymous. In the celebrated
passage in John 21 there seems to be a growing consensus that the verbs
FILEW and AGAPAW do not have any distinctly differentiated meanings but
that they are used synonymously and that such use of synonymous words is
characteristic of the writer and of this passage. Of course there is no
wholesale consensus on this matter (as there's no wholesale consensus on
many other matters of interpretation in the Greek NT) nor, in my opinion,
should anyone look to the numbers of those favoring one view (that the two
verbs really DO have distinct meanings in John 21) or the other (that the
two verbs are pretty much synonymous) have much bearing upon reaching a
decision. One has to look at the arguments proposed on both sides and
decide which one deems more persuasive and in keeping with all the
evidence. Odd, isn't it, that people looking at the same evidence can draw
different conclusions? But it happens all the time!
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
---
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