CHAPTER
V
INTERTEXTUAL
STUDY
The Use of πρωτότοκος in LXX
There are about 140
occurrences of πρωτότοκος words in Scripture and as
many as 133 occurs in LXX. Most of the meaning of πρωτότοκος
in the LXX is used: 1) in its literal sense both of man and of beast (Gen.
25:25; Exod. 4:22; 13:2). In a transferred sense, πρωτότοκος is used to
expressed a special relationship with the father, especially with God (Exod
4:22). Let us se some of them.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Psalm 89:27
In Psalm 89:27, the word πρωτότοκος Concerning to Solomon God said, "I
also shall make him My first-born,
The highest of the kings of the earth.” Remembering the sons of David, Solomon was certainly not born first of all of David’s sons,
yet he was named the firstborn. This means that the meaning of
firstborn has more than family sense only. It is necessary to comprehend of the
tradition Rabinic Judaism who regard wisdom as the “first created being,” the firstborn of Yahweh,” ”the earliest of
his work” (Prov. 8:22,23).
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Jer. 31:9
The text saying “With weeping they shall come, And by
supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a
straight path in which they shall not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And
Ephraim is My first-born." In
this verse again shows that the meaning of firstborn, not merely refers to the
first born in a family, because it is Manaseh the first son of Joseph, not
Ephraim.
One can see the meaning of
firstborn is varying. In the LXX, πρωτότοκος is used in various sense: 1)
in its literal sense both of man and of beast (Gen. 25:25; Exod. 4:22; 13:2).
In a transferred sense, πρωτότοκος is used to expressed a special relationship
with the father, especially with God (Exod 4:22). In Psalm 89:27, Concerning to
Solomon God said, "I also shall make him My first-born, The highest
of the kings of the earth.” Solomon was certainly not born first of all of David’s sons,
yet he was named the firstborn.
Most
of the use of prototokos in Old
Testament refers to the Peter T. O'Brien asserted that within the New Testament “firstborn” (πρωτότοκος), the notion of supremacy or priority of rank tends to
dominate. [1] In
addition John F. Walvoord states that if Christ were the “first-created,” the Greek
word would have been prōtoktisis.[2] Agustinus asserted the
meaning of the phrase, “According to the form of God he is “the firstborn of
every creature, and he himself is before all creatures, and in him all things
hold together.”[3] So the
interpretation of the firstborn in Col 1:15 should be harmonious with the general
teaching of Scripture.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in NT
In New Testament the word πρωτότοκος
occurs 8 times. They are in Luke 2:7; Rome 8:29; Col 1:15; Col 1:18; Heb 1:6;
Heb 11:28; Heb 22:23; Rev 1:5. The word “firstborn” is used once in Luke, Twice Colossians, Trice in Hebrew and once in Revelation.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Luke 2:7
The text in Luke 2:7 saying, “And she gave birth to her first-born son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a
manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” Here the prōtotokos is used of Christ as the first-born of Mary. Birth is plainly in
view here. However this is the only instance in
NT where, πρωτότοκος refers unequivocally to the process of birth.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Rome 8:9
The text saying “For whom He foreknew, He also
predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might
be the first-born among many brethren.”
Here first-born refers to the
perfected fellowship with the risen Christ that comes with the resurrection of
the last day when transfigured believer attain inheritance as brothers and
sisters of Christ.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Hebrew 1:6
The text saying “And when He
again brings the first-born into the
world, He says, "And let all the angels of God worship Him." The word
firstborn here clearly refers to the
incarnation of Christ and also to the enthronement of the exalted at His second
coming.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Hebrew 11:28
The text saying “By faith he kept
the Passover and the sprinkling of the blood, so that he who destroyed the first-born might not touch them.” In
this verse the
word is used to refer of the first-born of Egypt who perished in the plagues.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Hebrew 12:23
The text saying “To the general
assembly and church of the first-born
who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of
righteous men made perfect” The firstborn here
describes the members of the church.
The Use of πρωτότοκος in Rev 1:5
The
text saying, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the
dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. to Him who loves us, and
released us from our sins by His blood. The text is unique which asserting the
position of the resurrected Christ. The passage
speaks in a liturgical manner regarding the firstborn of the dead.
So far of the study, we can draw at least three meanings
of firstborn in NT. Firstly, in literal sense, Gen 25:25; Luke 2:7.
Secondly, in figurative sense which it is impossible to interpret literally and
third the use of πρωτότοκος is with reference to the church. Many scholar contended the figurative meaning
as a title of honor for Jesus (Rom 8:29; Col 1:15-18; Heb 1:6).
However contextually, such
interpretation is impossible because in v. 18, Paul uses phrase πρωτότοκος ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν (the
firstborn from the dead), even thought Christ was not the first who rose from
the dead. The parallel construction of
these words of Prototokos in first v.15 and 18 requires consistency its meaning
or interpretation. Paul expounded his exposition in v.15 about Christ’s nature
in two parallel phrase εἰκὼν τοῦ θεοῦ (image of God) and πρωτότοκος πάσης κτίσεως (firstborn of all creation). In addition v. 16 describes Christ as the
agent of all creation.In
conclusion of the grammatical and syntactical analysis from the study above, it seems best to regard the firstborn of all creation in Col 1:15 as
a figurative expression describing Jesus Christ as first in rank, the figure
being drawn from the dignity and office.
Church Early Father Interpretation
The
phrase of “Firstborn of all creation” is a hapax legomen and is seldom used
outside of biblical materials. In this section we will see some of the early
church father’s interpretation. Athanasius comments on the phrase: Not then because he was from the Father was he called “Firstborn,” but
because in him the creation came to be; and as before the creation he was the
Son, through whom was the creation, so also before he was called the Firstborn
of the whole creation, the Word himself was with God and the Word was God. …
If then the Word also were one of the creatures, Scripture would have said of
him also that he was Firstborn of other creatures; but in fact, the saints’
saying that he is “Firstborn of the whole creation.” [4]
Origen states that in this text Christ speaking about his divine
nature and, as one might say, on the basis of which he was the firstborn of all
creation. [5] Furthermore
Ambrose asserts that Christ is the image of the Father—for he calls him the
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Firstborn, mark you,
not first created, in order that he may be believed to be both begotten, in
virtue of his nature, and the first in virtue of his eternity. [6] It is necessary to quote here of Theodoret of
Cyr (c. 393–466) a bishop of Cyrrhus, he states, “If he is the
only-begotten, how is he the firstborn? If firstborn, how is he the
only-begotten? [7]
[1]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological
Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures
(Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:673.
[2]John F. Walvoord, Roy B. Zuck and Dallas Theological
Seminary, The Bible Knowledge Commentary : An Exposition of the Scriptures
(Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1983-c1985), 2:673.
[3]Peter Gorday, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2
Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture NT 9.
(Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 13.
[4]Athanasius in NPNF 2 4:382–83 as cited by Peter
Gorday, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon,
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture NT 9. (Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press, 2000), 13.
[5]Idem.
[6]Athanasius in NPNF 2 4:382–83 as cited by Peter
Gorday, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon,
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture NT 9. (Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press, 2000), 13..
[7]Athanasius in NPNF 2 4:382–83 as cited by Peter
Gorday, Colossians, 1-2 Thessalonians, 1-2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon,
Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture NT 9. (Downers Grove, Ill.:
InterVarsity Press, 2000), 13..
No comments:
Post a Comment