Nielsen’s Nook

Nielsen’s Nook
Nielsen’s Nook
Contemplative, reflective, and irenic we pray.
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Translation and Commentary on The Martyrdom of Polycarp §18.1

Will Nielsen
January 22nd, 2008
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Translation

1 Therefore, when the centurion saw that the Jews had become inclined to quarrel, [a] he placed Polycarp’s body [b] in the middle of the arena, [c] and burned it according to their custom. [d]

[a] φιλονεικίαν readiness to quarrel, eagerness to dispute, inclined to strife (DBLG 5808). St. Luke writes in 22:24 (NA27), Ἐγένετο δὲ καὶ φιλονεικία ἐν αὐτοῖς, τὸ τίς αὐτῶν δοκεῖ εἶναι μείζων. And also there was an inclination to quarrel among them, as to who among them is considered to be the greatest (author’s translation).

[b] αὐτὸν for clarity we have supplied the apparent antecedent for this pronoun.

[c] Again, the arena seems assumed and is supplied for clarification.

[d] This move by the centurion may be some sort of visible power play, reminding the Jews who did not burn their dead, where the authority lay.

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