1 Cor 12:27 - Need Help on the Greek

I was wondering how you translate a noun without an article.

1 Cor 12:27

Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular

In the Greek the definite article is not found before the phrase " body of Christ". I am being told that "the" should have been italicized or translated "a body of Christ". Is there any rule in Greek on this? I know in the Greek that there is only a definite article unlike english where we have definite articles and indefinite articles

Any help would be appreciated

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Brian Huddleston

The NASB translates it as "you are Christ's body". It seems the context, looking at vs. 20 and 25, reflect the definite article should be used.

Kevin Becker

Answered: http://community.logos.com/forums/p/34313/257212.aspx#257212

AndyTheGreek

It's worth looking at Stanley Porter's Idioms of NT Greek, where it points out that, if a noun lacks the article, it usually means:

'the noun is a member of a class or the noun functions as an adjective.'

If the noun has the article then it means either a particular being/thing ('ho anthropos' sometimes means: The man) or the thing in general ('ho anthropos' can mean 'mankind').

(This applies to nouns in the nominative case - anarthrous genitive & dative nouns can be definite (in the English translation) due to the function of the genitive & dative cases.)

In 1 Cor 12:27 'body' is in the nominative case. If it had the article, according to Porter's classification, it would carry the thought that the Church was literally Christ's body (with the bizarre implication that he lacked one prior to having a Church) or that, somehow, the Church was a generalisation of Christ's body. Hence, the article is not used.

The NASB's translation 'you are Christ's body' captures the thought really well (IMHO). Christ is in the genitive and is, therefore, the owner of this 'body'. 'Body' of course is being used symbolically. Translating it hyper-literally 'you are a body of Christ' would raise more questions than it answers.

Keep Smiling 4 Jesus :)

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/257216#Comment_257216

Translating it hyper-literally 'you are a body of Christ' would raise more questions than it answers

Suggest reading => http://community.logos.com/forums/p/34313/257221.aspx#257221 (lack of article on both sides of verb "to be" = equality).

Keep Smiling [:)]

Alan Macgregor

Steve

It is usual in Greek grammar for the definite article to be omitted when the noun follows the verb "to be". That renders the noun anarthrous.

The noun which is called the "complement of the verb" remains in the nominative case (rather than the usual accusative).

Here σῶμα is still in the nominative case, as we would expect with a complement, and it is anarthrous.

In translation into English we supply the definite article, if we want to render the sense of the original Greek.

Every blessing

Alan

DAL

I'm not a Greek scholar, but I would never translate "a body of Christ" because Christ has only ONE body (Ephesians 4:4) and we are members of one another in that ONE body (Ephesians 4:25). [:)]

Blessings!

Edit: There might be some trouble with the Forum, I had to repost this reply because it showed as if it had posted but then when I signed out and came back to check, it wasn't here. Anyway, it happens.

DAL

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/257234#Comment_257234

Edit: There might be some trouble with the Forum, I had to repost this reply because it showed as if it had posted but then when I signed out and came back to check, it wasn't here. Anyway, it happens.

LOL I know exactly what happened. This same thread was posted in the "Logos 4" section of the Forum. I had replied there, and then I jumped into the "General" section and saw the same thread here and didn't see my post, so I thought it had not posted. Anyway, I guess our friend really wanted to make sure his question got answered...[;)]

Eric Weiss

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/257236#Comment_257236

Here's a thought: "Christ" is definite since it's a proper noun. If this were Hebrew, when two nouns are in a construct relationship - e.g., "x of y" - then if "y" is definite, so is "x." Though "Christ" is a Greek word, the original meaning, "anointed one/messiah," comes from Jewish/Hebrew thought, and Paul read and thought in both languages. "The Body of (belonging to) [the] Messiah" would in Hebrew grammmar be understood to be definite, and I suspect Paul always considered sōma Christou to be "the body of [the] Christ" whether he did or didn't use the article with either sōma or Christou or both.

Jack Caviness

https://community.logos.com/discussion/comment/257236#Comment_257236

LOL I know exactly what happened. This same thread was posted in the "Logos 4" section of the Forum. I had replied there, and then I jumped into the "General" section and saw the same thread here and didn't see my post, so I thought it had not posted.

I just had the same reaction. What happened to my response? [^o)]

Jack Caviness

I was wondering how you translate a noun without an article.

You will find the answer from several Greek Grammars here 257244.aspx

Greek is not English—The two languages do not follow the same rule book. [H]