GakuseiDon wrote: ↑Mon Nov 02, 2020 5:10 pm
Bernard Muller wrote: ↑Mon Nov 02, 2020 11:15 amBut the same can be true if these archontes are Romans and chief priests.
The author of the Acts of the Apostles seems to think the same:
Acts 3.15 And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses.
16. And his name through faith in his name hath made this man strong, whom ye see and know: yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all.
17. And now, brethren, I wot that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers [archōn].
...
Acts 4.8. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers [archōn] of the people, and elders of Israel,
9. If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;
10. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, [highlight]whom ye crucified[/highlight]
...
24. And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:
25. Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?
26. The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers [archōn] were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.
27. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,
28. For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.
If the author of Acts had read Paul's letters, then I would have assumed that the author read an earthly meaning into "rulers of this age". Perhaps it changed from the cosmic meaning in Paul to an earthly one by the time of Acts. On the other hand, both seem to be consistent with rulers being earthly ones.
Another of the same ilk:
Acts 13.27: 27 “For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers [οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῶν], recognizing neither Him nor the declarations of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.”
1 Corinthians 2.6-10: 6 Yet we do speak wisdom among those who are mature; a wisdom, however, not of this age nor of the rulers of this age, who are passing away; 7 but we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God predestined before the ages to our glory; 8 the wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory; 9 but just as it is written: “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the human heart, all that God has prepared for those who love Him.”
Given your previous pointing out of the possible connection to Psalm 2.1, GDon, I thought you might be interested in the following possible parallels, too, the first of which (from Baruch) is found explicitly in a wisdom context, and all of which offer the same "where is"/"where are" rhetorical structure as Paul has:
Baruch 3.14-19:
14 Learn where there is wisdom,
where there is strength,
where there is understanding,
that you may at the same time discern
where there is length of days, and life,
where there is light for the eyes, and peace.
15 Who has found her place?
And who has entered her storehouses?
16 Where are the rulers of the nations [οἱ ἄρχοντες τῶν ἐθνῶν],
and those who rule over the beasts on earth;
17 those who have sport with the birds of the air,
and who hoard up silver and gold,
in which men trust,
and there is no end to their getting;
18 those who scheme to get silver, and are anxious,
whose labors are beyond measure?
19 They have vanished and gone down to Hades,
and others have arisen in their place.
Isaiah 19.11-13:
11 The officials of Zoan are mere fools;
the advice of Pharaoh’s wisest advisers has become stupid.
How can you say to Pharaoh,
“I am a son of the wise, a son of ancient kings?”
12 Well, then, where are your wise men?
Please let them tell you
and let them understand what the Lord of armies
has planned against Egypt.
13 The rulers [οἱ ἄρχοντες] of Zoan have turned out to be fools;
The rulers [οἱ ἄρχοντες] of Memphis are deluded;
Those who are the cornerstone of her tribes
Have led Egypt astray.
Isaiah 33.18:
18 Your heart will meditate on terror:
“Where is one who counts [OG ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ γραμματικοί, where are the scribes]?
Where is one who weighs?
Where is one who counts the towers?”
Jeremiah 9.12: 12 Who is the wise person who may understand this? And who is he to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land destroyed, laid waste like the desert, so that no one passes through? / 12 τίς ὁ ἄνθρωπος ὁ συνετός, καὶ συνέτω τοῦτο· καὶ ᾧ λόγος στόματος Κυρίου πρὸς αὐτόν, ἀναγγειλάτω ὑμῖν ἕνεκεν τίνος ἀπώλετο ἡ γῆ· ἀνήφθη ὡς ἔρημος παρὰ τὸ μὴ διοδεύεσθαι αὐτήν.
Interestingly, the Syriac translation has "rulers of the age" (דעלמא = age) at Baruch 3.16 instead of "rulers of the nations." Such a change might be viewed as a widening of the scope to include Jewish rulers, since "rulers of the nations" = "rulers of the gentiles," thereby implicitly excluding the rulers of the Jewish nation from consideration.
