Getting the Whole Picture, Part 7: The Shift Continues

Comps were right- authentein/ authenteo can be positive and Egals were right – authentein/ authenteo can be negative! 

But both are trying to fit the negative and positive pieces into the same place in the puzzle of Paul’s time, and it does not fit together like it should. It’s not a universal positive, neutral or negative, especially post-Paul! Instead, it is a confusing mix depending on who/what is being referred to when. That’s possibly part of the reason why the CRC decided on a dual position on women in church leadership! There are esoteric Gnostics and Hermetics, miscellaneous uses by writers, philosophers, editors, a businessman, and of course Christians, who all started to use it within decades of Paul. The contexts are all over the place, literally and figuratively.

Pre-Paul, the authente family is almost entirely negative and the ancient translations also give it a negative meaning. To suggest a positive meaning in Paul’s time, one has to dismiss almost all of the pre-Paul uses, ignore the ancient translations, ignore the contexts, ignore cognates, and pretty much rely on how the verb is used post Paul.

Paul and Timothy were dealing with multiple false teachings along with deceiving spirits of various cults: Jewish mythology and pagan idolatry were part of the toxic milieu, and both Gnostic and Hermetic beliefs were in beginning stages in the first century AD. These included blends of astrology, curious arts/magic, dark arts/ sorcery, mysticism, secret knowledge, along with other pagan practices that include some very dark and disturbing deeds if you believe the writings of the Didache, Church Fathers such as Clement of Alexander (a former pagan worshipper himself), and the Council of Nicaea.

The contexts of where the authente family was used might help clarify how it became confusing over the ages, as well as give insight to what Paul possibly meant. We're going to dive into one context today.

CONTEXT 1: When authente is referring to peoples’ actions/relationships, it is often a negative, domineering, lording over type of action, both pre-Paul (generally violent, murder) and post-Paul (mostly non-violent) until the 1500s.

Classical/ Attic roots (500BC-100AD): Authentēs frequently means "murderer" (especially kin-murderer) in tragedy (Euripides, Aeschylus, etc) and in legal contexts. This usage is heavily based in Athens (part of Attica hence “Attic”), Greece.

Authentas is used in the Septuagint’s Wisdom of Solomon (around 250BC) referring to parents sacrificing their children. The pagan context of idolatry and witchcraft is very similar to Ephesus in Paul’s time. The Septuagint was written in Alexandria, Egypt, one of the most learned cities of the world along with Tarsus and Athens per Strabo.

Hellenistic usage (100BC- from sources originating in Alexandria/ Upper Egypt after the Wisdom of Solomon.: 

The context of usage in 3 Maccabees 2:29 (written at some point between 100BC-70AD) is hostility and persecution of the Jews in Alexandria given a choice to either be killed for refusing to register and pay taxes and homage to Egyptian gods or live with former limited status/ authentia as slaves, branded with Dionysus’ symbol, and pay taxes 3 maccabees 2 RSV - The Prayer of the High Priest Simon - Bible Gateway; 

Philo Judaeus of Alexandria (Philo Det. XXI (78), 60-30 BC) uses it for self-destructive "murder" of one's better nature in his analogy of Cain and Abel. BOQ: But it is of yourself that you have become the murderer/ authentes, by destroying from out of its seat the only quality by which you could live in a blameless manner. EOQ Philo: That the Worse is Wont to Attack the Better

Tryphon’s letter (BGU 1208, 27 BCE) involves coercive/self-assertive compulsion (show someone who is boss or put them in their place in modern vernacular) regarding payment for a boat crossing of the Nile River FINAL-BGU-1208-Translation-and-Notes.pdf ;

Aristonicus Alexandrinus, a grammarian with the Library of Alexandria, includes a note/ scholia regarding “On the Signs of the Iliad”, clarifying who “authored” or “originated”/authentein the speech (27 BC). 

Scholarly consensus (e.g., Westfall, Mowczko, Payne, Wilshire's TLG surveys) along with the ancient translations: When the subject is human and the object is another person, the evaluation is typically negative—implying imposition of will, harm, domination, or bullying. No clear pre-4th century examples show it as unambiguously good/beneficial for human interpersonal authority (e.g., healthy leadership). Even when not outright violent, it's often pejorative (e.g., "domineer," "override self-interest").

Wait for next week to dive into more about the other contexts for the uses of the authente!