Guards? (was Re: Argument from silence)
walter nusbaum nusbaum@iglobal.net
Sun, 8 Feb 1998 16:47:50 -0600 (00886999670, 19980208224749093.AAA199@nusbaum.iglobal.net)
Walt(2/8)
At 09:42 PM 2/8/98 +0000, Joseph Crea wrote:
>Hello, Walt!
>
>--snip--
>WALT
>>Further, Mathew is the only writer that voices the concern that Jesus may
>>"rise again"(Mt 27;62-66). As I read it, the chief priests and Pharisees are
>>in dialogue with Pilate and Pilate said to them,"Ye have a watch: go your
>>way, make it as sure as ye can". So they went, made the sepulchre sure,
>>sealing the stone, and setting a watch. There were no Roman soldiers
>>involved in this operation, only Jews, and they are never mentioned again.
>
>
>CREA
> I'm curious. The term used in my Greek New Testament for the nound
>"guard" in the passage in question is "koustodias", but my introduction to
>NT Greek lists "phulae" as the only noun for "guard". My __Shorter Oxford__
>traces the etymology of custody/custodian only back to the Latin, not the
>Greek, so I would venture to speculate that "koustodias" was a Roman/Latin
>term in common use within the Roman Empire, with possible military
>overtones. Maybe Nancy can give us a hand here.
>
>With Mettaa,
>
>Joseph Crea
><Joseph.Crea@worldnet.att.net>
>
WALT
Hi Joseph,
I'm not certain what you're saying. I'm just quoting from a plain vanilla
KJV, which indicates a confab between the principals mentioned above with no
others present. A gloss indicates "watch" to mean "guard", but it would not
be inappropriate to use military terminology when addressing civilians, and
since there were no others present, he was clearly addressing the Jewish
leaders. Yes? No? Maybe? Nancy?
Best wishes,
Walt