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Pronouns, Metaphors, and Errors Pt 3
Pronouns Metaphors Errors Pt 3
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Pronouns Metaphors and Errors
Part 3
Apposition as an Abstract Idea
Apposition
Apposition as an Abstract Idea:
Today we begin to consider how each of four devices, are used by the writers of the Bible, to accomplish the fundamental task of carrying across the meaning of one noun or pronoun to another noun or pronoun, essentially renaming the other; this in preparation for a practical understanding of the use of metaphors in Scripture. Also we will discover what these four devices have in common; namely, the abstract idea of apposition.
The Four Devices’ Structure:
(from the simple to the complex)
(1) pair of nouns in apposition
(2) pronoun and its antecedent
(3) one noun of the predicate nominative sentence “is” another thing in reality.
(4) one noun of the predicate nominative sentence “is” another thing by metaphorical representation.
I. Pair of Nouns in Apposition:
Apposition Technical:
(1) the positioning of things or the condition of being side by side or close together in a cooperative manner
image 2 boxes together....here
(2) the result of separating things having the condition of opposing one another
one box image here...
Apposition Technical:
(1) the positioning of things or the condition of being side by side or close together in a cooperative manner
(2) the result of separating things having the condition of opposing one another
image 2 boxes father apart here...
Apposition Technical:
(1) the positioning of things or the condition of being side by side or close together in a cooperative manner
(2) the result of separating things having the condition of opposing one another
(Q) Why are there two contrasting meanings for apposition?
Apposition Origin:
(A) Because it depends on which Latin source you take. There are two similar but different Latin words:
(1) apponere (app=ad to + ponere place, put) meaning to apply, to place side by side; where the relationship is that of agreement, equivalency, and explanation
(2) appositio (app=ad to + positio place, put, posture) meaning to oppose, to position off away from; where the relationship is that of opposition and disagreement Apposition Grammatical:
The noun relationship we are interested in takes the first meaning, to apply, to place side by side; where the relationship is that of agreement, equivalency, and explanation.
The adjacent words or phrases are placed in apposition for the purpose of amplification, by way of distinction, explanation, or description.
Apposition Grammatical:
The apposition relationship between two or more, usually adjacent words or phrases, takes place when a noun takes the same case of another noun.
The two nouns are then considered equal or grammatical equivalents in which the two units are grammatically parallel and have the same referent and both stand in the same syntactical relation to the rest of a sentence.
For example...
In the phrase “my friend the doctor,” the word “doctor” is in apposition to “my friend.” That “doctor” and “my friend” are both nouns that refer to the same person.
If this phrase had been written in Greek, the words “doctor” and “friend” would be in the same case, removing all doubt as to whether the intended relationship was that of apposition.
The thing that makes the appositional idea so important is the thought process the writer intends to provoke in his reader.
If you had been the author of this phrase, the doctor, who is your friend, is also a person who has a name; furthermore there are many other nouns which you could have chosen to use in this phrase. The reason you limited your words to friend and doctor was intentional and purposeful.
In the phrase “my friend the doctor,” the word “doctor” is in apposition to “my friend.”
Anyone reading this phrase could easily tell exactly which aspects of this person’s relationship with you, you had intended to emphasize.Also, it is apparent that the person’s name is not an important item of communication at the moment, the apposition draws your reader’s attention to your relationship to him as your friend and to his professional status as the doctor. So, this simple phrase prompts us to think about two particular facts about this person’s identity, yet you have withheld a whole lot of other facts known to you, choosing to share only these two bits of information with your reader.
The apposition functions as a minimal means of extending some essential aspect of your friend in two stages, from being “your friend” to being “your friend who is the doctor”.
If the writer chooses the nouns carefully, a simple pair or more of nouns of the same case, in apposition with one another, are capable of communicating a mental picture worth many words.So, how do we put the abstract idea of apposition to work for us in a practical sense in order to generate an accurate translation of a writer’s intent?
After a careful examination of both the Greek and Latin sources of the abstract idea of apposition, I was able to arrive at a proper statement that “encapsulates” the intent of the writer using apposition to effectively influence the thinking of his reader.Whenever you encounter two nouns in appositional relationship, read the first noun, then say what the author intended for you to think; by saying, “look again”, then read the second noun.
For example...
In the phrase “my friend the doctor,” the word “doctor” is in apposition to “my friend”, so translate the phrase in this manner: “my friend, look again, the doctor”.Just in case you are beginning to think that the whole idea apposition is trite, and that I am just inflating its importance;
The intentional use of this simple, yet powerful device, effectively emphasizes particular ideas and demands the listener’s attention at the same time.
look again.
Listen to this story...Several years ago while I was serving as an elder in a well-known local church, an incident took place just outside the building entrance following an evening worship service.A homeless fellow who had been attending a Bible study at our house for the last few weeks, was charged with exposing himself in front of one of the pastor’s daughter as she had been standing nearby talking with one of her girlfriends.After the police came and hauled him away, the next few days were absorbed with everyone trying to console the pastor, father for the horrible thing his daughter had experienced. He was convinced that the perp should be placed in jail and the key thrown away.
After the police came and hauled him away, the next few days were absorbed with everyone trying to console the pastor, look again father for the horrible thing his daughter had experienced. He was convinced that the perp should be placed in jail and the key thrown away.
,Knowing the perp, I was very not sure that he would actually do something that crass. Yes, he was strange, antisocial, a confidence man; and while we did affectionately call him our “friendly local psychopath”, he didn’t seem capable of doing what the pastor was claiming.We prayed about the situation, and I tried to think what possibly could have happened.
Then I remembered recently having to tell him to stop scratching himself in the Bible study. He explained that he had acquired a pesky rash in his private area, and agreed to stop scratching. Just when I thought that was over, he dove his hand down the front of his jeans for that “last scratch.”As I recalled that previous experience, I began to think, maybe the situation outside the church was “itch related” rather than “sex related”.
Since I was an elder, I got involved.When I confronted the pastor to find out what exactly happened that night, he told me how awful it was, how angry it made him, that the fellow had “exposed himself” in front of his daughter, reminding me that I too would be equally upset if it had happened to my daughter.When I proposed to him what I thought may have actually have happened, he became even more angry and defensive. He wanted to know if I was calling him and his daughter a liar.
Then he pulled out this long piece of paper. I don’t know how he managed to get hold of this thing, but it was a police department “rap sheet” on the perp, ...a very long rap sheet.He said “Look at this guy, how many times he’s been arrested!” Then he said something that had the same effect as if he had turned a lever inside of me, and switched me into a “different mode”!
He said, “Even if this guy hadn’t done what he did, he deserves to rot in jail, look at all these arrests! Well, now I was ready to really dig into this thing, so I met with the senior minister to find out what all had transpired thus far.
When I asked if there had been any formal meeting or inquiry by leadership, I was surprised to learn that none had been made.Apparently the pastor, father of the girl had been pretty much calling the shots and gathering a lot of sympathy and attention. So, I asked if I could call a meeting among the leadership and be permitted make a formal inquiry.Permission was granted, so I called John Nyce and told him all I knew. His response was great, he said, “I smell a rat!”
John agreed to accompany me to the meeting. When the day came to meet, John and I walked in. So, here is where the idea of apposition came in real handy. They were surprised that I had brought somebody with me, so I said, “Please meet John Nyce, look again, my friend, is it OK if he sits in?”John was welcomed, and I reiterated, “This is John Nyce, look again, my friend, look again, my attorney.”
These simple words seem to set the atmosphere for the meeting that followed. I don’t know exactly what the other guys were thinking, including the senior pastor, but I do know they had to have given some mind to the idea, that if any legal beating up was going to take place that night, it wasn’t going to be on me!
Well, I’ve made my point about the strength of the apposition; but would you like to hear how the meeting turned out?
Again, I asked if anyone in this body of the leadership had asked the girl directly about what had taken place on that night. The answer was, “No”. I asked the pastor, look again, father if he would let his daughter appear before us all so we might question her directly. He agreed and left briefly to retrieve her.When she appeared she was understandably nervous. I was permitted to begin the questioning. I assured her that she was not in any trouble, and that nothing she might say would get her into trouble, and that we just needed to find out the facts from her point of view to the best of her recollection.“Did that young man expose any of his private area that you could see?”
“Not really.”
The father went pale.
“Did the young man thrust his hand down the front of his jeans that you could see?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what he did; we were freaked, so we screamed and got away from there quick.”You could have heard a pin drop on the floor, look again, on the carpet!
Here are some examples of apposition in the Bible:
Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:
Jesus look again, the Messiah look again, the Son of David look again, the Son of Abraham
The emphasis denoted by the apposition is intended by the author to build up in significance in the mind of the audience.
Herod the king
The king look again, Herod
Matthew the tax collector
Matthew look again, the tax collector
Where is the emphasis?
How does this relate to the Gospel?
Matthew 12:41
"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah;
and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”
men look again, Ninevites
Where is the emphasis?
How does it relate to the Gospel?
Matthew 12:39
But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
Matthew 12:40
"For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
Luke 11:29
And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet.
Luke 11:30
"For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation.
Luke 11:32
"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.
Matthew 12:41
"The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here.”
men look again, Ninevites
Where is the emphasis?
How does it relate to the Gospel?
From General Information:
The Greek word for fish is "ixthus" or "icthus."
The Christian fish symbol that many Christians place on their cars is known as the “ixthus.”
Five Greek letters form the word “ixthus,” and those letters inside the fish form an acrostic which is a message that Christians clearly identified with.
The first letter represented the word Jesus.
The second letter represented the word Christ, the next two, God Son, and the final letter represented the word Savior.
This adds up to “Jesus Christ is God’s Son, the Savior.”
From Better Information:
Just what does the Ichthus mean?
Ichthus (ikh-thoos) or ichthys is the Greek word simply meaning "fish".
These are the first letters of the Greek words Iesous (Iota), Christos (Chi),
Theou (Theta), Uios (Upsilon), and Sotor (Sigma).
The English translation is IXOYE.
The five Greek word stand for the English words meaning,
"Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior" or "Jesus Christ God's Son Savior".
From a Baptist Church:
 |
(Ichthus) is an acrostic for 
(Iēsous Christos, Theou Yios, Sōtēr),
which translates into English as "Jesus Christ, Son of God, Saviour".
Iota (i) from (
), Greek for "Jesus".
Chi (ch) from (
) , Greek for "anointed".
Theta (th) from (
),
Greek for "God's", genitive of 
Upsilon (y) from (
), Greek for "Son".
Sigma (s) from (
), Greek for "Savior".
If Read Literally:
ΙΧΘΥΣ (Ichthus) is an acrostic
,
"Jesus Christ of God Son Savior"
picture
Ancient Christian ichthys carved into marble in the ruins of Ephesus, Turkey.
Worthless Deities Listed in the Hebrew Text
By Kathryn QannaYahu
“With the Christian adoption of many symbols, previously associated with “pagans”, the alphabetical and numerical mystery associations were also applied to revise ancient deity associations.”
“The solar wheel now became an acrostic, such as the images below from the ruins at Ephesus (In what was western ancient Anatolia, now Turkey, part of the Aegean Sea territories).
”Worthless Deities Listed in the Hebrew Text
By Kathryn QannaYahu
“First you see the 6 sectioned solar wheel, similar to Plato’s description in the Chi Rho...”
Worthless Deities Listed in the Hebrew Text
By Kathryn QannaYahu
“...then you see it with the full solar wheel of 8 sections accompanied with the Greek letters Iota, Chi, Theta, Upsilon, Sigma.”
Worthless Deities Listed in the Hebrew Text
By Kathryn QannaYahu
“Ichthys is the ancient and classical Greek word for fish. Christianity took these letters and made the acrostic
Iesous Christos, Theou Huios, Soter –
Worthless Deities Listed in the Hebrew Text
By Kathryn QannaYahu
“Sometimes the theta had the central cross piece in the 8 sectioned wheel and other times it was simply represented as the circle without the cross piece for the six sectioned wheel. In modern times the ichthys is shown by a fish outline, not accompanied by the solar wheel.”
The first one to actually use the nominative Theos
From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
The Ichthus
Uios Qeou
Nouns in apposition are just one short step away from being a predicate nominate sentence. Nouns in apposition are effectively predicate nominative sentences without a substantive linking verb, where the linking verb is silent.We could properly translate an apposition of two nouns of the same case by saying the first noun “is” the second noun.
For example...
my friend the doctor
My friend is the doctor.
John the Baptist
John is the Baptizer.
This is John Nyce, he is my friend, and he is my attorney.
This message can be made more powerful by the process of extracting its essence out from among the clutter of its immediate surrounding.
The process is called “abstraction”, and it is accomplished by hiding the details in order to emphasize the essential thought.“Abstraction” is the simplification or focus of an idea out from the clutter into the bare necessity of it.
The brake pedal on your car is the “abstraction” of the whole cluttered process of stopping your car.
You don’t have to know all the details of how the brakes work, you just press the pedal, and the car stops moving.From the viewpoint of your car, the brake system only needs only a minimum of “abstract” information from you, and it is able to perform all the detail work involved to properly respond to your intent, to stop the car.
From the viewpoint of the author, the reader’s mind needs only a minimum of “abstract” information from the author, and it is able to perform all the detail work involved to properly respond to the author’s intent, to understand his idea.
Finally, let’s read the acrostic properly as intended...
Many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment when they discover that it was just as the Word of God says;only the righteousness of Christ is able to save you. All men are sinners and no one can save himself. God is just, so He must punish sin; but He is also merciful, moreover gracious, and offers His Son as the perfect sacrifice in order to purchase a place for you in heaven, which He offers to you as the free gift of eternal life.Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Anointed One, He is God Incarnate, the Savior.In order to pay the debt of our sins, He came from Heaven, having been sent by the Father, where He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father even unto the shameful death upon the cross in order to pay the debt of your sins.This gift must be received by faith, believing that Jesus’ perfect life and Cross Work was His complete and necessary Atonement for your sins, in your behalf.Faith is a gift that comes by the Power of God the Holy Spirit working in a person’s innermost being. Only the power of God can open your heart to the willingness to have the void within it filled with the presence of Christ by His Spirit.The Holy Spirit has the authority and power to quicken your dead spirit, to make it come to life. Only the life of His Spirit’s quickening of your heart will allow the Gospel message of salvation to even make sense to you, to truly hear” the message and give you the ability, as the Holy Spirit bears witness to Jesus, to recognize your need for forgiveness and restoration, and gain the desire of your heart to be favorably inclined to want to receive Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.If you have not done so before this moment, ask Jesus to forgive you your sins, tell Him you’ve stop trying to be your own savior, and ask Him to come into your life right now, and to give you eternal life.Then, in faith believing, thank Him for the gift that He is giving you, the one He paid for in full in your place, in Jesus’ name, AMEN
Copyright October, 2014
Rev. Jim Craig
All Rights Reserved
Bibliography
• Agnes, Michael and Charlton Laird (eds.). Webster’s New World Dictionary and Thesaurus. New York, NY:
• Aland, Kurt, Matthew Black, Carlo M. Martini, Bruce M. Metzger, and Allen Wikgren (eds.). The Greek New Testament, 4th rev. ed. Germany: Biblica-Druck, 1994.
• Benner, Jeff A. The Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible. College Station, Texas: Virtualbookworm.com
• Bullinger, E. W. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible; Explained an Illustrated. Grand Rapids, Michigan:
• Chapman, Benjamin. Greek New Testament Insert. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House,
• Dana, H. E., and Julius R. Mantey. A Manual of the New Testament. Canada: The Macmillan
• Louw, Johannes P. and Eugene A. Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic
Domains. New York, NY: United Bible Societies, 1989.
• The ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2011.
• Metzger, Bruce M. Lexical Aids for Students of New Testament Greek. Princeton, New Jersey, 1977.
• Wikipedia contributors. "Xenophon." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free
Encyclopedia, 15 Aug. 2014. Web. 19 Aug. 2014.
• Wuest, Kenneth S. The New Testament; An Expanded Translation. Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1992.
• Wuest, Kenneth S. (Revised, Donald L. Wise). The Practical Use of the Greek New Testament, rev. ed. Chicago, Il: Moody Press, 1982.
• Walsh, J. Martyn and Anna Kathleen Walsh. Plain English Handbook: A Complete Guide to Good English, 7th rev. ed. Cincinnati, Ohio: McCormick-Mathers PublishingCompany,1977.