Questions on Phil 2.2

19 04 2008

Here is my translation of 2.2:

“Complete my joy by having the same opinion, having the same love, being united in one spirit, thinking one thing…”

Here is the greek:
πληρώσατέ μου τὴν χαρὰν ἵνα τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε τὴν αὐτὴν ἀγάπην ἔχοντες σύμψυχοι τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες

Here are the questions:
There are two phrases in this verse that seem to be essentially synonymous to me. In my translation, I translated one idiomatically and one pretty straightforward. The phrases are:
1.τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε. “You might think one thing.” (trns. above: “by having the same opinion.”)
2.τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες. “Thinking one thing.”
Are these the correct translations? I.E. Is Paul essentially saying the same thing here? Or is there something idiomatic that differentiates the two that I am missing?

Also, can ἵνα have an instrumental force as I’ve translated it here?

Edit: Here is my translation of vv. 1-14 for class:
“If there is any encouragement in Christ, if any comfort in love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, then complete my joy by having the same opinion, having the same love, being united in one spirit, thinking one thing- not according to selfish ambition nor conceit, but out of humility considering one another as being better than yourselves, not looking out for each of your own interests, but also the interests of each other.

Have this frame of mind among you which also was in Christ Jesus, who,

while existing in the form of God,
did not consider it an advantage to be equal with God,
but he emptied himself by taking the form of a servant,
coming in the likeness of men;
and being found in the human form like a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
that is, death on the cross!

For this reason, God also exalted Him,
and graciously gave him the Name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus,
every knee might bow-
in heaven, on earth, and under the earth-
and every tongue might confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence but now even more in my absence, continue working out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for God is the one who works in you, both to will and to work for his good-pleasure.”


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5 responses

21 04 2008
Nathan Stitt

Very nice. Will you get feedback from the prof or is it just something you have to discuss?

21 04 2008
Bryan

We’ll discuss it in class.
The general format is that we’ll go through each section that we translate verse by verse. Someone will read the verse, if we were supposed to diagram it we’ll go over that. The prof will talk about it, or answer any questions about it, etc.

22 04 2008
TC

Bryan, this is good observation on your part. Are you reading through Philippians in Greek?

Both τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε and τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες mean the same thing. But I think τὸ ἓν φρονοῦντες is reinforcing τὸ αὐτὸ φρονῆτε.

Paul does these things to us… lol

22 04 2008
Bryan

Paul does a lot of things to us, I’ve realized. haha

I’m not reading through it at the moment- for my class on syntax and exegesis we went through the entirety of 1 John, but since then we have just been hitting different things in Paul to get a taste of his style and grammatical issues that are tougher than John. This summer I will be going through a Pauline book with a friend, reading and translating. We’re not sure which one yet- any suggestions?

23 04 2008
TC

Well, right now a friend and I are going through Romans, after reading Ephesians together.

I’ve read all of this letters and to me 2 Corinthians is the toughest to date, though there’s some tough spots in Romans.

Try Colossians, I think you guys might like it.

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