Tuesday, March 17, 2015

THE MEANING AND INTEND OF “THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK”IN 1 COR 16:1-4 (4)


                                                                             Chapter 3
                                                                         Literary analysis
 
This chapter will examine the question what is the meaning and intend of the κατα μιαν σαββατων. Some scholars asserted that the meaning of this phrase is the “first day of the week” is intended by Paul to a Christian day of worship regularly, on the other hand there are many scholars who asserted that this phrase is not intended as regular meeting of the early Christian. Leon Morris stated, The first day of the week signifies ‘on every first day of the week’. This is the first piece of evidence to show that the Christians habitually observed that day, though there is no reason to doubt that it was their custom from the very first.[1] In addition Naylor asserted, “Notice that there was to be ongoing ‘collection’ at Corinth. This implies strongly that the money was to be handed in by the worshippers when they assembled together. Although the pressing needs of the churches in Judea were the uppermost in Paul’s mind, it is hardly likely that he intended the Lord’s day offering peter out when those particular gifts had been collected and sent on”.[2] 

Otherwise, some scholars asserted, such as John Ruef and Alford’d who opposed this interpretation. Here there  no mention of their assembling, which we have in Acts xx.7, but a plain indication that the day was already considered as a special one, and one more than others fitting for the performance of a religious duty. The phrase παρ εαυτω τιθετω. Let each of you lay up at home, in storing whatever he may by prosperity have acquired (lit. ‘whatsoever he may be prospered in:’ i.e. the pecuniary result any prosperous adventure, or dispensation of providence).[3] In addition Rueft stated, the first day of the week… put something aside: There is no evidence here that this putting-aside had anything to do with worship service on Sunday. It sound more like a practical means of making sure that some kind of contribution would be there when Paul arrived.”[4]
Additionally, Joseph A. Fitsmyer, First Corinthians a New Translation with Introduction and commentary expounded; each one of you should lay something aside and store it up, in keeping with your income. Lit. “let each of you put aside for himself, storing up whatever one gains.’  The phrase παρ εαυτω “for himself,” is a problematic, appearing with the distributive pronoun. ἕκαστος (1Co 16:2 BGT) and τιθέτω (1Co 16:2 BGT): it probably is meant to stress the individual contribution; but sometimes it has been understood as “at home”.[5]
                                                                         Variant of Greek Text

Greek NT: Textus Receptus
κατὰ μίαν σαββάτων ἕκαστος ὑμῶν παρ' ἑαυτῷ τιθέτω θησαυρίζων ὅ τι ἂν εὐοδῶται ἵνα μὴ ὅταν ἔλθω τότε λογίαι γίνωνται
Greek NT: Westcott/hort with diacritics
κατὰ μίαν σαββάτου ἕκαστος ὑμῶν παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ τιθέτω θησαυρίζων ὅτι ἐὰν εὐοδῶται, ἵνα μὴ ὅταν ἔλθω τότε λογίαι γίνωνται.
Greek NT: Vaticanus A
κατα μιαν σαββατου εκαστος υμωˉ παρ εαυτω τιθετω θησαυριζων ο τι εαν ευοδωται ινα μη οταν ελθω τοτε λογιαι γεινωνται
Greek NT: Tischendorf 8th ed. With diacritics
κατὰ μίαν σαββάτου ἕκαστος ὑμῶν παρ’ ἑαυτῷ τιθέτωθησαυρίζων ὅ τιἂνεὐοδῶται, ἵνα μὴὅταν ἔλθωτότελογίαι γίνωνται.
Greek NT: TBT
κατὰ μίαν σαββάτων ἕκαστος ὑμῶν παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ τιθέτω, θησαυρίζων ὅ τι ἂν εὐοδῶται, ἵνα μή, ὅταν ἔλθω, τότε λογίαι γίνωνται
Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text
Κατὰ μίαν σαββάτων ἕκαστος ὑμῶν παρ᾽ ἑαυτῷ τιθέτω, θησαυρίζων ὅ τι ἂν εὐοδῶται, ἵνα μή, ὅταν ἔλθω, τότε λογίαι γίνωνται.

          Variants Translation of 1 Cor. 16:2

KJV
Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
NAS
On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
RSV
On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that contributions need not be made when I come.
NIV
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
OJB

Every Yom Rishon(T.N. WHICH BEGINS MOTZOEI SHABBOS BY BIBLICAL RECKONING, EACH DAY BEING AN EVENING AND A MORNING) of each week, each of you by himself make something farnumen(set aside), storing up according to his hakhnasah(income), so that collections need not be made when I come.
TNT
In some saboth day let every one of you put aside at home, and lay up whatsoever he thinketh meet, that there be no gatherings when I come.
GWT
Every Sunday each of you should set aside some of your money and save it. Then money won't have to be collected when I come.
ISV
After the Sabbath ends, each of you should set aside and save something from your surplus in proportion to what you have, so that no collections will have to be made when I arrive.
WYC
one day of the week (the first day of the week). Each of you keep, (or lay up), at himself, keeping that that pleaseth to him(self), (so) that when I come, the gatherings be not made.

One can see that most of the English Bible translation translated κατα μιαν σαββατων εκαστος as on every first day of the week and interpreted them as Sunday. Barness states: “Upon the first day of the week - Greek, "On one of the Sabbaths." The Jews, however, used the word Sabbath to denote the week; the period of seven days; Matthew 28:1; Mark 16:9; Luke 18:12; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, John 20:19; compare Leviticus 23:15; Deuteronomy 16:9.
However there are some scholars who questioned this translation in regarding that the word. According to them the translation should be, “one of the Sabbath”. Bullinger asserted that there is a gross mistake in the most English Bible translation.[6]


 [1] Leon Morris, Tyndale New Testament commentaries, Grand Rapids;MI: Eerdmans, 1983.
 [2] Peter Naylor, A commentary on 1 Corinthians, (Durham: Evangelical, 1996), p. 364
 [3] Alford’d Greek Testament; an Exegetical and Critical Commentary v.II, Acts-2 Corinthians, (Grand Rapids MI: Baker Book House1980), p. 622
 [4] John Ruef, Paul’s First Letter to Corinth, (Philadelphia: The Wetminster, 1977), p.181
  [5] Joseph A. Fitsmyer, First Corinthians a New Translation with Introduction and commentary, (New haven: Yale University Press, 2008), p. 614
[6]“The First Day of the Week” when found in a New Testament translation of the Received Text, TextusReceptus, is in every instance a gross mistranslation. The original Greek text in the TextusReceptus is, in six out of seven of these text passages, as found in KJV (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1, 19, Acts 20:7, and 1 Corinthians 16:2,) very clearly giving reference to the Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread. Mark 16:9 is an eighth instance of KJV using the phrase “the first day of the week,” which likewise clearly means the same as the first mentioned seven passages, i.e. the Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread. The Seventh Day of Unleavened Bread is a Sabbath of sorts (cf. Leviticus 23:8, Numbers 28:25.) The Greek word “σαββατων” in 1 Corinthians 16:2 is also giving reference to the Sabbath and not to Sunday, i.e. not to “the first day of the week,” a fact that is easily confirmed by the fact that 1 Corinthians in its entirety is focusing upon thoughts that have to do with the upcoming Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread.

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