"Spiritual gifts" or "spiritual persons"?

The precise meaning of τwν πνευµατικwν has engendered much discussion among scholars. Whereas many translations and commentaries view it as a reference to "spiritual gifts" which presumably would have constituted the subject of enquiry from the Corinthian Church, there are strong indicati...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ekem, John D. (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: NTWSA 2004
In: Neotestamentica
Year: 2004, Volume: 38, Issue: 1, Pages: 54-74
Online Access: Volltext (JSTOR)
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Summary:The precise meaning of τwν πνευµατικwν has engendered much discussion among scholars. Whereas many translations and commentaries view it as a reference to "spiritual gifts" which presumably would have constituted the subject of enquiry from the Corinthian Church, there are strong indications that, given the rhetorical tone of this intriguing letter, a more viable interpretation and translation of the genitive plural πνευµατικwν would be "spiritual persons". This paper suggests that rather than assign this alternative interpretation / translation in parentheses or footnotes, as some versions and commentaries have done, πνευµατικwν in the sense of "spiritual persons" should be the substantive rendering in the main text. It is being further argued that we can make a case for the creative use of πνευµατικwν as a sort of doubleedged rhetorical tool aimed at addressing an ecstatically inclined elite within Corinth that tended to place a high premium on the special manifestation of "spiritual phenomena".
ISSN:2518-4628
Contains:Enthalten in: Neotestamentica
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.10520/EJC83156