Suzanne has come up with an idea for a summer blogathon involving Paul’s creative use of Greek. I desperately wanted to think up something clever involving Paul referring to horses, rivers, hippos and the like but there’s not much material to work with.
One post that I did on this topic is: Master/Slave Leitmotif in Colossians and Philemon. Looking back at now, it might fit the bill.
Suzanne mentions in her inaugural post the concept of standing. I’ve found an instance of standing with the word “to play,” παίζω. παίζω is a word related to the word for child. It also seems to me that it has survived in Italian as pazzo, meaning crazy.
Here’s the portion from 1 Corinthians 10:7:
Ἐκάθισεν ὁ λαὸς φαγεῖν καὶ πεῖν καὶ ἀνέστησαν παίζειν.
NIV translates this as:
“The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.”
It appears that Paul quoted the Septuagint almost word for word.
I haven’t studied Hebrew so I’m on thin ice here but the lexicon glosses the word “play” in Exodus 32:6 as meaning to laugh or mock.
Jesus never laughs. And in this instance we can see that Paul is discouraging play. Well, shoot. Biblical studies can really be a drag sometimes.
What gives? What is the significance of “standing to play?” I suspect Paul is warning the Corinthians about their love feasts turning into opportunities for licentiousness. Harkening back to the Exodus account was a powerful association of the dangers of play.
“Play, boy, play! Your mother plays and I play, too!” This quote from Shakespeare touches on the meaning of play that Paul was probably warning against.
One of the things I have always liked about the English word “play” is that it is used for recreational diversion and also musical performance. Perhaps this is why music written in English is so playful. When I play music I am definitely playing. And I also tend to go for the pazzo effect as well as enjoying playing music with children.
There is something playful about work in the new covenant. When we as redeemed creatures fully embrace our mission, work is transformed into play. Rejoice in your job. Transform your workplace into a playground by discovering the whimsical and divine within the mundane.
Play!
Related post: Whoa to you who laugh
Aristotle wrote many pagan playful things about hippos, none of which you want repeated on this blog. He said some of the same things about horses, and it’s as x-rated also as the Discovery Channel. I know you don’t watch tv, so that may not mean anything. Aristotle did not like Heraclitus’s philosophical river, which he said was just like stepping in something else.
So you have Paul and Jesus avoiding laughter. Never, you say. Since you don’t watch tv, guess there’s no point in saying anything about laugh tracks.
Since we’re being all serious, I commented on some of this on that Summer funnier post of Suzanne’s over at BBB. You know, she has Paul saying Joyful and Refreshing things while Playing like a pagan: ἐν χαρᾷ ἐλθὼν πρὸς ὑμᾶς διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ συναναπαύσωμαι ὑμῖν
But Paul had a lot to say, and approvingly, about taking part in the Games and about playing musical instruments, even in this same letter (1 Corinthians 8:24-27, 14:7-8). On laughter, see Psalm 126:2. But for hippos in rivers, you have to go to Job 40:15-24 – any Russian will tell you what a behemoth is.