john doran:
i posted this in another thread a while back:
the greek word used in the passage - is kecaritomene, or
kecharitomene.
the root word is
charitoo caritow], which means “to grace” (used in the NT only of the root noun
charis, which means “grace”, and then only of
divine charis).
the prefix
ke ke] and the suffix
mene mene] together make the word used by gabriel a perfect passive participle.
what ***that ***means is:
- kecharitomene is used as a name, in the sense that using a common word as a name indicates superlative possession by the one so named of the property used as the name - like calling mary “miss grace” to indicate her special possession of grace in the way that we would call someone like wayne gretzky “mr. hockey”; and
- it indicates an action that has been done to mary, and which has been completed or perfected with a permanent result.
it is a greek verb only found one other time in the new testament - at Ephesians 1:6, and there it uses a different stem and is in the aorist active indicative
echaritosen]
, which denotes merely ***momentary ***action rather than enduring action.
here’s a couple of quotes for you :
“It is permissible, on Greek grammatical and linguistic grounds, to paraphrase kecharitomene as completely, perfectly, enduringly endowed with grace.” (Blass and DeBrunner, Greek Grammar of the New Testament).
“Luke 1:28…
kecharitomene is a quite rare Hellenistic verb (only found elsewhere in the NT at Eph. 1:6 in the active) Etymologically it should mean 'To be furnished with Grace” (Word Biblical Commentary, volume 35A, Pg 50, Nelson, 1989 ) - Protestant Greek scholar, John Nolland
All of this is correct, John. We need to remember that one has to read scripture in its totality, in the light of sacred tradition, and in the analogy of the faith. In other words, we cannot translate kecharitomene in a way that would not fit other Marian examples, which is what “highly favoured” does. For instance:
Jer 31:22… “How long wilt thou be dissolute in deliciousness, O wandering daughter?
For the Lord hath created a new thing upon the earth: a woman shall compass a man.” (In case you were wondering, my bible is 56 years old.)
The woman who compasses the man is a
new thing created upon the earth. This is confirmed in Luke’s Gospel when he is inspired by the Holy Spirit to use the term “Kecharitomene” only once and specifically for Mary.
In the Strong’s Concordance “charitoo” means “to gift, to grace, to favor.” Like dictionaries, the first best definition is followed by second best, then by third. So while grace, gift, and favor, are all acceptable, grace is best followed by gift which is followed by favor.
“Ke” denotes a perfection or a fullness that cannot be exceeded. “Mene” renders the word a passive participle meaning the action of gracing, gifting or favoring, was the result of another agency. (In this case God. Mary was “passive” i.e. she received but did not enjoy this grace, gift, or favor, of her own innate ability or will.)
So, the best way to render the experssion would be… “Hail, you who are perfectly (or fully) graced, gifted, and favored by God.” Of course, no one would translate the single word Kecharitomene with so many words in English. The point is, however, that “highly favoured,” fails thrice over.
First… Highly does not capture the “ke” prefix properly. Many people who post here may be “highly” intelligent, but no one here is perfectly intelligent. (Unless of course God were to make it happen, i.e. “mene.”)
Second… Favoured is a third best choice as a translation of charitoo.
Third… Highly favoured in and of itself does not comply with the totality of scripture. There were many “highly favoured” Jewish girls in scripture before Mary. But the HolySpirit did not inspire a biblical author to render for them a unique word that is applied also as a personal name. And since other “highly favored” females in scripture are not a “new thing created” the usage of “highly favored” falls short of fulfilling the uniqueness of the Jeremiah prophecy concerning this woman.
Three strike… yer’ out.
Thal59
