Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Epiphanius's Greek Text of Irenaeus Adv. Haer. 10.3 Translates Instrumentum as Pragmateia (= Treatise)

Unger and Dillon p. 189 write "Epiph. has pragmateian kai ten oikonomian. The Latin is instrumentum et dispositionem. Normally the Latin translator used dispositio for oikonomia. Though sometimes he used dispositio for pragmateia, in this case we think it matches oikonomia, since each is the second noun. But how does instrumentum fit pragmateia? Harvey (1.95 n. 5) thinks it does not; and he would match dispositio with pragmateia, and then correct oikonomian to oikodomian, which would be translated by instrumentum. True, instrumentum, like its Greek original, can mean to build up. In A.H. 3.3.3 instruentes translates oiko- domesantes. But such an inversion does not seem likely. Rather, instrumentum translates pragmateia, which are God's dealings."


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