The Meaning of pistis in the Letters of Paul
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| On March 23 (3/23/05) you will turn in a three page, typed discussion of the meaning of the Greek word pistis as it is used in Paul's letters. This word may be translated into English
in several different ways. It is sometimes translated as faith, sometimes as faithfulness, and sometimes as trust, for example. Many suggestions will be given in class regarding how you should go about determining the meaning. (It will clearly not be enough to look the term up in a dictionary!) |
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Step One You should read the NRSV translation of as many as possible of the places the Greek word pistis appears in the Bible. It occurs many times in the New Testament, and quite a few in the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was available to Paul. I have listed all of these below. As you read, pay careful attention to the variety of ways the term is translated. It may be hard for you to decide which English word is being used to translate pistis in some of these texts. In texts where the meaning of pistis seems unclear to you, compare one or more other translations to the one provided in the NRSV. Step Two Chose a representative sample of these texts to discuss in your paper. Your sample should represent the full range of ways the word pistis was used. Choose examples that illustrate several different meanings of the word. Step Three Write a brief, three page paper discussing the examples you have chosen. Your discussion of each example should show how the context in which the word appears indicates which meaning of the word is appropriate. Your paper should have an introductory paragraph stating what you have found or what your paper contains, as well as a concluding paragraph stating the implications of your study. Use a standard book-type font (such as Times or Times Roman) at 14 point type. Your paper should be double spaced. A Complete List of the Places the Greek Word PISTIS appears in the Bible New Testament References: The Undisputed Pauline Letters
Septuagint Texts:Rom. 1:5 ,8 ,12, 17; 3:3, 22, 25-28, 30-31; 4:5, 9, 11-14, 16, 19-20; 5:1-2; 9:30, 32; 10:6, 8, 17; 11:20; 12:3, 6; 14:1, 22-23; 16:26 1Cor. 2:5; 12:9; 13:2, 13; 15:14, 17; 16:13 2Cor. 1:24; 4:13; 5:7; 8:7; 10:15; 13:5 Gal. 1:23; 2:16, 20; 3:2, 5, 7-9, 11-12, 14, 22-26; 5:5-6, 22; 6:10 Phil. 1:25, 27; 2:17; 3:9 1Th. 1:3, 8; 3:2, 5-7, 10; 5:8 Philem. 1:5-6 The "Deutero-Pauline" Letters Eph. 1:15; 2:8; 3:12, 17; 4:5, 13; 6:16, 23 Col. 1:4, 23; 2:5, 7, 12 2Th. 1:3-4, 11; 2:13; 3:2 1Tim. 1:2, 4-5, 14, 19; 2:7, 15; 3:9, 13; 4:1, 6, 12; 5:8, 12; 6:10-12, 21 2Tim. 1:5, 13; 2:18, 22; 3:8, 10, 15; 4:7 Titus 1:1, 4, 13; 2:2, 10; 3:15 Other New Testament Texts Matt. 8:10; 9:2, 22, 29; 15:28; 17:20; 21:21; 23:23 Mark 2:5; 4:40; 5:34; 10:52; 11:22 Luke 5:20; 7:9, 50; 8:25, 48; 17:5-6, 19; 18:8, 42; 22:32 Acts 3:16; 6:5, 7; 11:24; 13:8; 14:9, 22, 27; 15:9; 16:5; 17:31; 20:21; 24:24; 26:18 Heb. 4:2; 6:1, 12; 10:22, 38; 11:1; 11:3-9, 11, 13, 17, 20-24, 27-31, 33, 39; 12:2; 13:7 James 1:3, 6; 2:1, 5, 14, 17-18, 20, 22, 24, 26; 5:15 1Pet. 1:5, 7, 9, 21; 5:9 2Pet. 1:1, 5 1John 5:4 Jude 1:3, 20 Rev. 2:13, 19; 13:10; 14:12 Chapter and verse numbers in the Septuagint are sometimes different from the chapter and verse numbers in English traslations of the Bible. When this is the case, the English chapter and verse numbers are given in parentheses () in the lists below. Septuagint Texts with Parallels in the Hebrew Bible Deut. 32:20 1Sam. 21:3 (21:2); 26:23 2Kings 12:16 (12:15); 22:7 1Chr. 9:22, 26, 31 2Chr. 31:12, 15, 18; 34:12 Neh. 10:1 (9:38) Esth. 13:3 (13:1-7 are located after 3:13 in the Greek additions to Esther. See the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books) Psa. 32:4 (33:4) Prov. 3:3; 12:17,22; 14:22; 15:27-28 Song 4:8 Hos. 2:22 (2:20) Hab. 2:4 Jer. 5:1, 3; 7:27; 9:2 (9:3); 15:18; 35:9 (28:9); 39:41 (32:41); 40:6 (33:6) Septuagint Texts in the Deuterocanon/Apocrypha Ode. 2:20? (Not included in most English Bibles, the book of Odes of Solomon appears in some biblical manuscripts after the book of Psalms. While all of these manuscripts are missing Ode 2, it is sometimes speculated that it was equivalent to Deuteronomy 32:1-43. If this is correct, Ode 2:20 would be the same as Deuteronomy 32:20.) Additions to Esther. 13:3 (13:1-7 are located after 3:13 in the Greek additions to Esther) 1Mac. 10:27, 37; 14:35 3Mac. 3:3, 10; 5:31, 44; 6:25 4Mac. 15:24; 16:22; 17:2 Wis. 3:14 Sir. 1:27; 15:15; 22:23; 27:16; 37:26; 40:12; 41:16; 45:4; 46:15; 49:10 Sol. 8:28; 17:40 (The Psalms of Solomon are not found in most Ensligh Bibles. A 1913 translation is available online, but you will need to refer to the verse numbers in parentheses in both chapter 8 and chapter 17 of that translation. In the other numbering system—the one without parentheses—the relevant verses are 8:35 and 17:45. |
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