ἀγάπην → love, charity

bob144 · 6 · 8861

bob144

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ἀγάπην → charity or love? (1 Corinthians 13)

The KJV translates Chapter 13 word below as charity but in the RSV it is translated as love, can anyone shed some light on this Please? THanks from Bob

αγαπην
« Last Edit: 22 Sep, 2012, 16:35:11 by spiros »


wings

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Hello, Bob.

If you are talking about the first line of Chapter 13, the ancient Greek word is αγάπην, i.e. love.
Ο λόγος είναι μεγάλη ανάγκη της ψυχής. (Γιώργος Ιωάννου)



billberg23

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Welcome back, Bob! 
Jerome translated ἀγάπη into Latin as caritas, from which we derive "charity" and (indirectly) "cherishing."  The Romans' usual word for love, amor, had so many erotic overtones that its use in Paul's context seemed inappropriate.  Partly because Jerome had already made caritas current in the context of I Corinthians, and partly because the English word "love" in the time of King James had the same erotic overtones as amor had for the Romans (and probably much more than it has today), the 17th-century biblical scholars selected "charity" to render ἀγάπη.
Ἀγάπη itself had no such ambiguity in Greek.  It had always referred to a devotion and cherishing that was separate from what the other word for love, ἔρως, signified.  Today, of course, αγάπη  often has strong romantic associations, though it preserves its ancient meaning as well.   


spiros

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Well said, Bill. Allow me to add the passage, which is indeed so beautiful and deep—making one wish people were like that (also, you can listen to parts of it set to music Trois Couleurs: Bleu (Kieślowski, Binoche, Preisner):

Ἐὰν ταῖς γλώσσαις τῶν ἀνθρώπων λαλῶ
καὶ τῶν ἀγγέλων,
ἀγάπην δὲ μὴ ἔχω,
γέγονα χαλκὸς ἠχῶν ἢ κύμβαλον αλαλάζον
...
Read on...
« Last Edit: 20 Apr, 2009, 22:48:14 by spiros »



bob144

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THanks again for your help, so the word  ἔρως, is used for romantic love toward a single person and ἀγάπη is more a universal divine brotherhood love for all?
« Last Edit: 22 Sep, 2012, 16:34:48 by spiros »


wings

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THanks again for your help, so the word  ἔρως, is used for romantic love toward a single person and ἀγάπη is more a universal divine brotherhood love for all?

Actually yes.
Ο λόγος είναι μεγάλη ανάγκη της ψυχής. (Γιώργος Ιωάννου)


 

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