For what it's worth, Little Kittel notes that Paul was faced with
polytheism and pagan Gnosticism, which influenced his usage of the terms
for knowledge, understanding, recognition, etc., which spring from the
same root. It notes that gnosis in Gnosticism is knowledge of God, which
can only be attained by turning away from the world. This is contrary to
the source for scientific knowledge. This special Gnostic knowledge is
not intellectual, but a matter of gift, that is, illumination by ecstatic
or mystical vision. The preparation is an esoteric knowledge imparted by
the advanced initiates. This sounds rather like Zen. This knowledge is
the basis of salvation/eternal life for it involves gaining the divine
nature. No wonder Paul recognizes it as mislabeled.
Something I find curious is that there is no reference to I Tim. 6:20,
but only to 2:4, along with II Tim. 2:19, 25; 3:1.
Dave
On Tue, 31 Jul 2001 20:43:08 EDT PHSEELY@aol.com writes:
> Allan wrote:
>
> << A question that has come up with a correspondent is whether there
> is any
> possibility that Paul could have had science in mind when writing
> that. Was
> there a different Greek word meaning "science" (to the limited
> extent that
> science existed at the time) that would have been used had Paul
> meant that?
> If so, it would seem to rule out nearly 100% any idea that Paul was
> warning
> Timothy against falsehood specifically in the guise of science.
> Not that
> that seems very likely anyway, but some people have had "science
> falsely
> so-called" drilled into their heads for so many years that it is
> hard for
> them to read it any other way. >>
>
> Where the NT Greek has the word gnoseos (long o's), the Vulgate in
> every case
> but one has a form of scientia, and in the KJV in every case the
> translation
> is "knowledge" except in 1 Tim 6:20. [the other instances are Luke
> 11:52;
> Rom 2:20; 11:33; 15:14; I Cor 12:8; 2 Cor 2:14 (Vulgate has
> notitia); 4:6;
> 10:5; Eph 3:19; Phil 3:8; Col 2:3]
>
> The KJV translation seems to go back to Tyndale, who also translates
> gnoseos
> "knowledge" everywhere but in 1 Tim 6:20. This translation passed on
> to the
> Cranmer's and Geneva Bibles, and presumably to the KJV although no
> one knows
> for sure why they translated it that way. Tyndale seems to have had
> in mind
> Roman Catholic scholastic theology when he used the word "science"
> as this is
> the meaning he gives to 1 Tim 6:20 elsewhere (Supper of the Lord,
> 3:284).
>
> Since there is no contextual reason in 1 Tim 6:20 to change from
> "knowledge"
> to "science" as a translation of gnoseos (nominative gnosis, long
> o); and, in
> fact, proto-Gnostics, may well have been in view, "Knowledge" would
> have been
> a better translation. At the same time we should recognize that
> "science" in
> 1611 was a synonym for "knowledge."
>
> Ancient Greek does not have a word exclusively for "science" , but
> episteme
> (last two e's are long, ie eta's) also meaning "knowledge",
> "understanding",
> was in ancient times (and yet today) the normal word used to refer
> to
> scientific understanding, or science. See
> www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/lexindex?lookup=e)pisth/mh&lang=Greek
>
> There is no evidence that gnosis, gnoseos, was used to refer to
> science.
>
> Paul
>
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