Talk:Ether 12:26-30

From Feast upon the Word (http://feastupontheword.org). Copyright, Feast upon the Word.

I'm thinking of revising again the lexical note (and maybe moving it to exegesis as well). I'm not seeing the significance of the difference of interpretting this verse as saying "God gives us weakness" versus "God gives us our weaknesses" since the way to give us weakness (generally) is by giving us the set of weaknesses each of us particularly have. So the note hinges on making a distinction where it seems there's really no difference. Other thoughts? --Matthew Faulconer 07:19, 30 May 2008 (CEST)

Yeah, I think this is tricky. Not sure how you can argue for "weakness" in general without "weaknesses" in particular. Especially when the verse ends with a reference to "weak things"--which I'm having trouble reading as anything but individual "weaknesses".--Rob Fergus 13:03, 30 May 2008 (CEST)

I think one difference is that "weakness" (singular) seems to emphasize a permanent kind of state whereas "weaknesses" seem to be more temporary and limited. That is, I'm reading this in terms of "weaknesses" (plurarl) more as something we can overcome whereas "weakness" is a more general condition that we cannot overcome per se. I think this has relevance for how we understand the phrase "weak things become strong unto them." If "weakness" (singular) is emphasized rather than "weaknesses" (plural) being thought, then I think this would strengthen the view that "things" is referring to those who are weak, not the weaknesses of one (or each) particular person. This isn't coming out very well, but I'm guessing you can follow the drift of what I'm trying to get at....

(The "unto them" phrase at the end does, however, seem to undermine the view that "things" refers to those who are weak--besides the fact that "things" would seem awkward referring to people since it's typically only used for inanimate objects. So, let me try again: Because "weakness" singular is used, then when "weak things become strong," it would seem that the condition of weakness still remain. If "weaknesses" were plural, then when "weak things become strong," it would seem that the weaknesses would no longer remain.) --RobertC 00:02, 2 June 2008 (CEST)