This was a favourite sermon topic at my former parish. This is the first time I’ve seen any (good or bad) scholarship on it.
5 Responses to “Pais?”
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I who have written this story, or rather this fable, give no credence to the various incidents related in it. For some things in it are the deceptions of demons, other poetic figments; some are probable, others improbable; while still others are intended for the delectation of foolish men. (Closing lines of the Táin Bó Cúalnge)
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One thing I noticed when I compared the accounts in Matthew and Luke is that the use of the two Greek words simply translated as “servant” in the NKJV is radically different. In Matthew, the person in need of healing is consistently referred to as “pais” and the word “doulos” only appears once in the entire passage, while Luke favours the word “doulos,” only using “pais” once in his account. I’m not sure how significant this is, other than it suggests to me that the two terms were seen as more or less interchangeable.
What I’m about to say is an argument from silence in the most literal sense possible, but I think it is still worth considering. Where is the debate? We can clearly point to the outbreak of Arianism, the approval of the term Theotokos, the beginning and end of iconoclasm, etc. The problem with the Wikipedia article you linked to is that it merely gives a dozen biblical passages which can be (re)interpreted in a non-gay hostile way. Where is the gay-friendly literature from the first century of Christianity? I suppose it’s possible that all supporting textual evidence was completely obliterated, and all mention of any debate on the matter similarly eradicated. As I said, this is an argument from silence, but I am not convinced it is automatically invalid.
Thanks for that, Peter. I don’t know about the other passages (which I’ve heard before, anyway) but this Pais thing was curious to me because, as I said, I’ve never found any scholarship on it until now - even though I’ve heard sermons about it before.
I like the diversity implied in one community of Christians (that of Matthew) preferring the Pais term while the Lukan community prefers the Doulos term.
If we let the texts define each other we could go either way. But if the Matthew community was Hellenised Jews (as I’ve heard suggested) then they would have known what “Pais” was. On the other hand if the Lukan community was Greeks (as I’ve heard) they, too, would have known what Pais was.
Of course all of this is up for endless, pointless debate: Did Jesus speak Greek to the Centurion? I don’t know.
Did Jesus speak Greek to the Centurion? I don’t know.
In Mel’s movie, He spoke Latin to Pilate. Did you catch that, and the startled looks exchanged between Pilate and the soldier?
I’ve read somewhere that it’s likely our Lord would have known Greek. Just living in Galilee “of the Gentiles” makes that likely, and the fact that the Holy Family lived in Egypt for some time makes it even more likely. The Alexandrian Jews gave us the Septuagint, after all.
Didn’t see the movie. This scene is always Ernest Borgnine’s (from Jesus of Nazareth) scene in my head.
I’ve always heard that Jesus was a polyglot… the question is what sort… and of course we can not know. But even assuming yes, did the Centurion says “pais” or “duolos” and, assuming he would have meant “lover” would he have said it to a Jewish Rabbi openly in front of his disciples?
I hadn’t thought of that before. Interesting….
Although Matthew’s account doesn’t mention it, Luke records that the centurion sent Jewish elders to Jesus to plead his case, and when they came to Jesus, they begged Him earnestly, saying that the one for whom He should do this was deserving, “for he loves our nation, and has built us a synagogue.”
Given what I think I know about first century Jewish sensibilities, it would be very surprising if there was any element of eroticism in the man’s relations with his pais.