2:4 A: What do we have to do with one another? τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοί;
An incorrect interpretation of the words takes place if
someone reads them as a “rejection of the community.” The question, “What do we
have to do with one another?” only has the meaning, “Why are you telling me
this?”
Judges 11:12: מַה לִּי וָלָךְ כִּי בָאתָ אֵלַי = “what reason
do you have between us that you come to me?” Septuagint: τί ἐμοὶ καὶ σοὶ ὅτι.… ‖ 2 Samuel 16:10: “What do I have to do with you, you
sons of Zeruiah, if he curses מה לי ולכם … כי?” Septuagint: τί ἐμοὶ καὶ ὑμῖν, υἱοὶ Σαρουίας; καὶ ἄφετε αὐτὸν καὶ οὕτως καταράσθω. ‖ 2 Kings 9:18: מַה לְךָ וּלְשָׁלוֹם,
“What do you have to do with the happy course of the fight?” That is, what does
it concern you?—Additional examples can be found in Josh 22:24; 2 Sam 19:23;
Isa 3:15; 22:1; Jer 2:18; Hos 14:9. ‖ In Pes. Rab. 5 (21B; 22A), Resh Laqish
(ca. 250) said, “What do I have to do with the Psalm book מה לי ולספר תילים? There is a
word of the Torah” (i.e., what reason do I have to take a reference from the
Psalm book, since a word of the Torah is available for this purpose)!—Where it
concerns the rejection of a community, מה ל׳ … ול׳ … is not said, but rather מה ל׳ … את. Jeremiah
23:28: מַה לַּתֶּבֶן אֶת הַבָּר
“What does the straw have in common with the grain?” Septuagint: τί τὸ ἄχυρον πρὸς τὸν σῖτον. Or other phrases are used. Joshua
22:24: “What is it between you and Yahweh, the God of Israel מה לכם וליהוה, that Yahweh
set the Jordan as the border between us and you, the sons of Reuben and the
sons of Gad? You have no part in Yahweh אין לכם חלק ביהוה” (cf. 2 Sam
20:1; Neh 2:20).—This corresponds to ἢ τίς μερὶς
πιστῷ
μετὰ
ἀπίστου
(2 Cor 6:15).
2:4 B: Woman! γύναι.
The mere use of אִשָּׁה as a means of address appears, for
example, in Dèrek Ereṣ 5: Hillel the Elder (ca. 20 BCE) organized a meal for
one person. A poor man came and stood at his door and said (to Hillel’s wife),
“Woman אשה, I must have a
wedding today and have no arrangement (for the wedding feast).” Then, his
(Hillel’s) wife אשתו
took the whole meal (which she had prepared) and gave it to him. (Hermann L.
Strack and Paul Billerbeck, A Commentary on the New Testament from the
Talmud & Midrash, ed. Jacob N. Cerone [trans. Jacob N. Cerone;
Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2022], 2:464–465)
