RESEARCH

COMMENTS:

1. The chart headings are the categories that BAG has listed for the vocable.
2. Since in Romans, at least, the meaning seems to have shifted to “toward (a goal)” (rather than “into” of 101 Greek) I have highlighted category 4 in gray.
3. The first line of numbers indicate how many times BAG cited an example from Romans under each category.
4. 31 of 41 (75%) of the citations from Romans in BAG are under 4 – to indicate a goal.
5. I then examined all the usages in Romans and assigned them under the categories.
6. 91 of 115 (75%+) of all usages in Romans were assigned under 4 – to indicate goal.
7. Of BAG’s citations I have indicated four examples that seem to me to fit better under 4 – to indicate goal than under a miscellaneous category. Two of them deal with the fact that Abraham’s faith was reckoned for righteousness.

Of special interest to me was that under 4g BAG cited a number of passages from Acts that used eiV to designate that the believers were making contributions eiV (“for”) the saints at Jerusalem. This seemed to me to be parallel to the gift of righteousness that is prepared eiV (for) all men.

Examples of the dative of advantage/disadvantage in Romans

Ro 8:1

 Οὐδὲν ἄρα νῦν κατάκριμα τοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

8 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,

Ro 8:28

²⁸ Οἴδαμεν δὲ ὅτι τοῖς ἀγαπῶσι τὸν θεὸν πάντα συνεργεῖ εἰς ἀγαθόν, τοῖς κατὰ πρόθεσιν κλητοῖς οὖσιν.

 ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose.

Ro 13:2

² ὥστε ὁ ἀντιτασσόμενος τῇ ἐξουσίᾳ τῇ τοῦ θεοῦ διαταγῇ ἀνθέστηκεν, οἱ δὲ ἀνθεστηκότες ἑαυτοῖς κρίμα λήμψονται

² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

Examples of the Substitute for the Dative of Advantage/Disadvantage in Romans

Ro 5:8

⁸ συνίστησιν δὲ τὴν ἑαυτοῦ ἀγάπην εἰς ἡμᾶς ὁ θεὸς ὅτι ἔτι ἁμαρτωλῶν ὄντων ἡμῶν Χριστὸς ὑπὲρ ἡμῶν ἀπέθανεν.

⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Ro 5:12

¹² Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ δι’ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν ἐφ’ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον

¹² Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—

Ro 5:15

¹⁵ Ἀλλ’ οὐχ ὡς τὸ παράπτωμα, οὕτως καὶ τὸ χάρισμα· εἰ γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι οἱ πολλοὶ ἀπέθανον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ δωρεὰ ἐν χάριτι τῇ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐπερίσσευσεν

¹⁵ But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many.

Ro 5:18

¹⁸ Ἄρα οὖν ὡς δι’ ἑνὸς παραπτώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς κατάκριμα, οὕτως καὶ δι’ ἑνὸς δικαιώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς·

¹⁸ Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.

Ro 10:12

¹² οὐ γάρ ἐστιν διαστολὴ Ἰουδαίου τε καὶ Ἕλληνος, ὁ γὰρ αὐτὸς κύριος πάντων, πλουτῶν εἰς πάντας τοὺς ἐπικαλουμένους αὐτόν·

¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him,

dia + Accusative –Word Study (From BAG)

This study of “dia + the Accusative” is included because in connection with Ro 4:25 the word “because” is said to be ‘retrospective (looking backward)’ or ‘prospective (looking forward).’ I have concluded that “dia + the Accusative” is merely causal and that it is the context that makes it prospective or retrospective. Examples:

                It must have rained because it is wet outside. (retrospective)

                The weather forecast said it will be wet, because it will rain. (prospective)

1. + gen
2. + Acc
3. Of place through  Lk 17:11
4. To indicate reason – 1. The reason why something happens, results, exists: because of, for the sake of:

hatred because of the name Mt 10:22 —²² καὶ ἔσεσθε μισούμενοι ὑπὸ πάντων διὰ τὸ ὄνομά μου· ὁ δὲ ὑπομείνας εἰς τέλος οὗτος σωθήσεται.

persecution arises because of the teaching Mt 13:21 —²¹ οὐκ ἔχει δὲ ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἀλλὰ πρόσκαιρός ἐστιν, γενομένης δὲ θλίψεως ἢ διωγμοῦ διὰ τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς σκανδαλίζεται.

because of unbelief Mt 13:58 —⁵⁸ καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖ δυνάμεις πολλὰς διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν.

because of tradition Mt 15:3 — ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Διὰ τί καὶ ὑμεῖς παραβαίνετε τὴν ἐντολὴν τοῦ θεοῦ διὰ τὴν παράδοσιν ὑμῶν;

for the sake of men Mk 2:27 –·²⁷ καὶ ἔλεγεν αὐτοῖς· Τὸ σάββατον διὰ τὸν ἄνθρωπον ἐγένετο ^[a]καὶ οὐχ ὁ ἄνθρωπος διὰ τὸ σάββατον·

because of Herodias Mk 6:17 —¹⁷ Αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ Ἡρῴδης ἀποστείλας ἐκράτησεν τὸν Ἰωάννην καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν ἐν φυλακῇ διὰ Ἡρῳδιάδα τὴν γυναῖκα Φιλίππου τοῦ ἀδελφοῦ αὐτοῦ, ὅτι αὐτὴν ἐγάμησεν

because of the crowd Lk 5:19; 8:19 and often ¹⁹ καὶ μὴ εὑρόντες ποίας εἰσενέγκωσιν αὐτὸν διὰ τὸν ὄχλον ἀναβάντες ἐπὶ τὸ δῶμα διὰ τῶν κεράμων καθῆκαν αὐτὸν σὺν τῷ κλινιδίῳ εἰς τὸ μέσον ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ Ἰησοῦ.

because of the Jews Acts 16:3 —³ τοῦτον ἠθέλησεν ὁ Παῦλος σὺν αὐτῷ ἐξελθεῖν, καὶ λαβὼν περιέτεμεν αὐτὸν διὰ τοὺς Ἰουδαίους τοὺς ὄντας ἐν τοῖς τόποις ἐκείνοις, ᾔδεισαν γὰρ ἅπαντες ^[a]ὅτι Ἕλλην ὁ πατὴρ αὐτοῦ ὑπῆρχεν.

because of qorubon  Acts 21:34 — ³⁴ ἄλλοι δὲ ἄλλο τι ^[a]ἐπεφώνουν ἐν τῷ ὄχλῳ· μὴ ^[b]δυναμένου δὲ αὐτοῦ γνῶναι τὸ ἀσφαλὲς διὰ τὸν θόρυβον ἐκέλευσεν ἄγεσθαι αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν παρεμβολήν.

because of the rain Acts 28:2 —² οἵ ^[a]τε βάρβαροι παρεῖχον οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν φιλανθρωπίαν ἡμῖν, ^[b]ἅψαντες γὰρ πυρὰν προσελάβοντο πάντας ἡμᾶς διὰ τὸν ὑετὸν τὸν ἐφεστῶτα καὶ διὰ τὸ ψῦχος.

1. Juristically to indicate guilt:

imprisoned for insurrection and murder Lk 23:25 — ἀπέλυσεν δὲ τὸν διὰ στάσιν καὶ φόνον βεβλημένον ^[a]εἰς φυλακὴν ὃν ᾐτοῦντο, τὸν δὲ Ἰησοῦν παρέδωκεν τῷ θελήματι αὐτῶν

on your account = through your fault Ro 2:24 (Is 52:5) –τὸ γὰρ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ δι’ ὑμᾶς βλασφημεῖται ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, καθὼς γέγραπται.

because of the passing over Ro 3:25 —²⁵ ὃν προέθετο ὁ θεὸς ἱλαστήριον ^[a]διὰ πίστεως ἐν τῷ αὐτοῦ αἵματι εἰς ἔνδειξιν τῆς δικαιοσύνης αὐτοῦ διὰ τὴν πάρεσιν τῶν προγεγονότων ἁμαρτημάτων

because of our sins Ro 4:25 —²⁵ ὃς παρεδόθη διὰ τὰ παραπτώματα ἡμῶν καὶ ἠγέρθη διὰ τὴν δικαίωσιν ἡμῶν.

because of the grace Ro 15:15 —¹⁵τολμηρότερον δὲ ἔγραψα ὑμῖν ἀπὸ μέρους, ὡς ἐπαναμιμνῄσκων ὑμᾶς, διὰ τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ di’ asqenian thV  sarkoV

because of a physical ailment Ga 4:13 —¹³ οἴδατε δὲ ὅτι δι’ ἀσθένειαν τῆς σαρκὸς εὐηγγελισάμην ὑμῖν τὸ πρότερον

because of your wish Rev 4:11–¹¹ Ἄξιος εἶ, ὁ κύριος καὶ ὁ θεὸς ^[a]ἡμῶν, λαβεῖν τὴν δόξαν καὶ τὴν τιμὴν καὶ τὴν δύναμιν, ὅτι σὺ ἔκτισας ^[b]τὰ πάντα, καὶ διὰ τὸ θέλημά σου ἦσαν καὶ ἐκτίσθησαν.

according to the time = by this time Hb 5:12 —¹² καὶ γὰρ ὀφείλοντες εἶναι διδάσκαλοι διὰ τὸν χρόνον, πάλιν χρείαν ἔχετε τοῦ διδάσκειν ὑμᾶς ^[a]τινὰ τὰ στοιχεῖα τῆς ἀρχῆς τῶν λογίων τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ γεγόνατε χρείαν ἔχοντες γάλακτος, ^[b]οὐ στερεᾶς τροφῆς.

1. With words denoting emotions–out of

dia fqonon – out of envy Mt 27:3; Php 1:15
dia splancna eleouV – out of tender mercy Lk 1:78
dia ton fobon tinoV – out of fear of someone Jn 7:13
dia thn pollhn agaphn – out of the great love Eph 2:4
dia thn pleonexian – out of greediness B 10:4

Of God as the ultimate goal or purpose of life, whereas dia + gen. represents him as Creator Heb 2:10a

2. + ACI  etc.

                                                                           Ro 5: 15-21                                         

eiV,  dikaiwma, dikaiwsiV, and oi polloi

In considering Ro 5:15ff. four Greek vocables need to be examined first. My comments are given below.

 eiV (Numbers and letters refer to BAG)

In Ro 5:15-21 eiV does not refer to 1. Place, or 2. Time, or 3. Degree. The usages do fit under 4. ‘goal’:

• In vv 16, 18, and 21 there are five instances of 4e, i.e., eiV expressing “the result of an action or condition.” I have translated them with the words “results in” and thereby precluded the need for postulating some other verb in the sentence.
• In vv. 15 & 18 there are three cases in which eiV  is used in the meaning of 4g: “esp. for the dative of advantage.” It then has the meaning of “for the benefit of, for.” This usage links an advantage (or disadvantage) to particular people. See Ro 5:8 for the same usage.

 dikaiwma

Word formation: – ma denotes result. Cf. Robertson p. 151 for examples.

Greek nouns that are formed with the -ma ending emphasize an action that brings results, which in the case of dikaiwma would mean: “an action that is judged righteous.” Note that Zacharias and Elizabeth were described as acting according to all dikaiwmata of the Lord (Lk 1:6).

Following from this, dikaiwma in Ro 5:18 is translated in the NIV84 as “act of righteousness,” i.e., an “act characterized by righteousness.” In Ro 5:19 this term occurs in clear parallelism to the phrase “obedience of the one man,” which according to Php 2, Heb 5 and Jn 17:4 includes the whole redemptive activity of Christ as a comprehensive act of obedience. Similarly dikaiwma references the total redemptive work of Christ as a comprehensive act of righteousness. (Cf. 1Ti 3:16). When dikaiwma is used of God’s acts at the end of the world or other reactions to man’s sin, it can rightly be translated as “acts of judgment.”

These observations leads to the following, literal translation of v.16b&c:

     “On the one hand,
the act of judgment (krima) from one transgression results in (eiV) an act of condemnation
(katakrima);
on the other hand,
the act of grace (carisma-gift) from lots of sins results in (eiV) an act of righteousness
(dikaiwma).”

Grace resulted in redemption, i.e., an “action that is judged righteous.” That redemption is the sine qua non when the next verse (v.17) refers to those who “receive… the gift of righteousness (dikaiwsunh)”, i.e., the quality that has the name ‘righteousness’). Then in v.18 the dikaiwma results in (eiV) dikaiwsiV zwhV–i.e. the redemption results in a “righteousness characterized by life (for all people).”

(This presentation precludes an assumption that has been made that dikaiwma and dikaiwsunh are synonymous because of choices made in the LXX). The dikaiwmata of God at the end of the world can be considered “righteous judgments.” The dikaiwmata that follow believers into heaven (Rev. 19:6) are adequately illustrated in Jesus’ description of the Last Judgment (Mt 25:31ff.)

dikaiwsiV

Word formation: – siV, tiV denotes the action (abstract). In other words, this class of nouns names the action. This class of nouns is very often the equivalent of English gerund, which is then sometimes rendered in idiomatic English as a noun.  Robertson p. 151 offers the following examples (I have provided the gerund and the appropriate noun; Cf. a more detailed study of –siV words at Research 8):

On the basis of this research dikaiwsiV  is equivalent to an English gerund: “the justifying.” Applying this observation to Ro 4:25, a literal translation might be: “(Christ) was raised because of the justifying of us.”

Because of the vagaries of the English language “righteousness” is the noun equivalent of “justify.” (NB: “just” or “justice” have completely different connotations.) Please, indulge me as I abuse the English to make a point. Using “righteousness,” because “Abraham believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness,” (i.e., the righteousness that Paul here ascribes to all believers) we could render Ro 4:25 as: “(Christ) was raised because of the righteousness-ing of us.”

Applying the same observations to Ro 5:18-19 dikaiwsiV should again be translated as a gerund, i.e. naming the action that is prepared and offered for the benefit of all people. The key phrase would then be: “So also through the one act of righteousness (dikaiwma) results in (eiV – 4e) the righteousness-ing (dikaiwsiV) characterized by life for (eiV – 4g) all people.”

oi polloi

 BAG: “many, the many” and referring to people: “a multitude, multitudes.” TDNT comments regarding classical Greek: “In Greek polloi is differentiated from panteV (oloi) by the fact that it is the antonym of a minority. It is thus used exclusively for many (but not all). oi polloi is used in the LXX as a translation for ‘HaRaBBIM,’ which means ‘the many who cannot be counted,’ ‘the great multitude,’ ‘all.’ This inclusive use is due to the fact that Heb. and Aram. have no word for ‘all.’”.

 As a starting point for sorting out the relationship between polloi and panteV, I will cite the accounts of the rejection of Christ in Nazareth in Mk 6:2 and Lk 4:22. Mark describes the reaction of the people in the synagogue as polloi were amazed; Luke says that panteV spoke well of him and were amazed. Luke speaks with total number of people in view; Mark makes an evaluative statement. They are considering the same group of people at the synagogue from a different point of view. Each is saying something distinct and not synonymous, though the same group of people is being described.

To get away from the rather wooden translation of oi polloi as “multitudes” or “the many,” I would like to start with an illustration of precision vs. evaluation. One person says: “Six inches of snow fell last night.” Another person says of the same snowfall: “Lots of snow fell last night.” One is talking with precision; the other is evaluating whether it is a little or a lot, without needing the specific measurement—his back is probably already aching as he thinks of the job of clearing the driveway.

A good starting point in translating (oi) polloi is the phrase “lots of people,” a term that indicates an evaluation that there is a great number of people that may or may not include “all.” (A more formal term might be appropriate in a published translation.) The English phrase is as versatile as the Greek word and as sensitive to context. A majority can be referred to as a lot of people. Obviously it is “lots of people” who were made subject to death by Adam’s sin (Ro 5:15).  It is a different “lots of people” who are established as righteous in Ro 5:19. “Lots of people” can be used by one author, when another uses oi ocloi. Or, as already pointed out, the people in the synagogue in Nazareth can be referred to as “lots of people”.

 Polloi as an indefinite “many,” referring either to believers only or to all people

1. Mt 26:28 – The blood of my covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins;
2. Mt 8:11 – Many will come from the east and the west and the north and the south
3. See also Ro 12:5; 1Co 10:17; 12: 12, 14, 20

(The application of these observations to Ro 5:15-21 is carried out in the charts on the next two pages [One English; the other Greek]. I have tried to place the English words in the same boxes as the Greek words that are being translated.