The following is a transcription of:
John Nolland, “Grace
is Power,” Novum Testamentum 28, no. 1 (January 1986): 26-31
It is an important article, as it shows that “grace” is ontic,
not merely a favorable disposition of one party towards another, per many (often
Protestant) theologies.
H. Conzelmann¹ follows G. P. Wetter² in taking the use of
χάρις to denote a substantial power streaming down from the divine world to be
a late hellenistic development, part of the broad sweep of oriental influence
flowing into the Greek-speaking world and as not yet to be found in Jewish
circles in the period of production of the Septuagint. J. Moffat³ who already
finds this sense earlier, is said to have missed the qualitative change in
thinking that occurred in the late hellenistic period.
The texts appealed to by Moffatt⁴ in order to suggest an
earlier attestation for such a use of χάρις (Aeschylus, Th. 702, Sophocles, OC
1751-52; Euripides, HF 1026-27; a fragment from Empedocles) are brushed aside.
By way of concession Conzelmann grants a certain supernatural power as present
in χάρις from the outset: the power of love or of the oath, but considers that
his structuring of the development remains intact.
Since Wetter has clearly established the relevance of this
notion of χάρις for certain of the New Testament writings,⁵ the provenance of
this use of χάρις is not unimportant for New Testament studies. The purpose of
this note is to question the necessity of moving into the thought worlds of
late hellenistic mysticism, the hermetic literature, gnosticism and magic, as
Conzelmann does, to find a conception of χάρις as power in a substantial
sense.⁶ Rather, we will argue that the main lines of the development of this
use of χάρις penetrate deeply into the pre-Christian period.
The first area of vulnerability for Conzelmann’s position is
one to which he opens himself by his acknowledgement that the use of χάρις in
relation to the impressiveness of form and speech of the so-called θεῖος ἀνήρ
belongs within the late development which he is concerned to identify.⁷ Here at
least, Conzelmann can have no basis for restricting such a use of χάρις to a
late period. The late examples reflect what can be traced as a stable usage
from the time of Homer.
Already in Hom. Od. VI 235-36 we read
ὣς ἄρα τῷ κατέχευε χάριν κεφαλῇ τε καὶ ὤμοις,
ἕζετ’ ἔπειτ’ ἀπάνευθε χιὼν ἐπὶ θῖνα θαλάσσης,
κάλλει καὶ χάρισι στίλβων.⁸
Here the χάρις is conceived of as a kind of “stuff” which
the goddess can pour over a person, the effect of which is to make one
attractive. The χάρις is viewed from a double aspect. It is both what is
received from the goddess which has power to beautify, and at the same time it
is the visible attractiveness resulting. χάρις is attractiveness become
substantial and quantifiable—“bottled attractiveness”.⁹
This is not at all different to the post-New Testament
Christian usage where, for example, in Mart. Pol. 12: 1 we read of Polycarp
that τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ χάριτος ἐπληροῦτο, ὥστε ... τὸν ἀνθύπατον ἐκστῆναι¹⁰
and in Prot. Jas. 7:3 concerning the childhood of Mary that
Joachim
ἐκάθισεν αὐτὴν ἐπὶ τρίτου βαθμοῦ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου,
καὶ ἔβαλε κύριος ὁ θεὸς χάριν ἐπ’ αὐτήν,
καὶ κατεχόρευε τοῖς ποσὶν αὐτῆς,
καὶ ἠγάπησεν αὐτὴν πᾶς [ὁ] οἶκος Ἰσραήλ.¹¹
However, it is not only along this θεῖος ἀνήρ track that the
use of χάρις for a tangible power can be traced back into the Classical period.
Not so very different is Pindar’s notion of χάρις as the magic of song. In O. I
30 Pindar speaks of
χάρις δ’, ἅπερ ἅπαντα τεύχει τὰ μέλιχα θανάτοις,
ἐπιφέροισα τιμὰν καὶ ἄπιστον ἐμήσατο πιστὸν
ἔμμεναι τὸ πολλάκις.¹²
χάρις is a power present in and operating through the
grandeur (τιμή) of the lyrical form.
Similar again, is Euripides’ description of the onslaught of
Eros.
Hipp. 525-27 Ἔρως Ἔρως, ὁ κατ’ ὀμμάτων στάζεις πόθον,
εἰσάγων γλυκεῖαν ψυχᾷ χάριν οὓς ἐπιστρατεύῃ.¹³
Here the sweet χάρις is introduced into the soul by the god
to work its influence there of promoting deep yearnings. The image here is
probably from the sweet drippings of the honey-comb (στάζεις, γλυκεῖαν).¹⁴
Sophocles, also, has χάρις as quasi-substantial and coming
from the realm of the gods.
OC 1751-52 παύετε θρήνων, παῖδες: ἐν οἷς γὰρ χάρις ἡ
χθόνια βαῖν’ ἀπόκειται πενθεῖν οὐ χρή· νέμεσις γάρ.¹⁵
The ἀπόκειται points to a quasi-substantial conception. ἡ
χθόνια indicates that the χάρις is from the gods. Beyond that we may not define
χάρις more closely than to say that it is beneficent (παύετε θρήνων).
It is clear then, from these various texts that the use of
χάρις in reference to a substantial power is a very old use of the word and
requires no appeal to oriental influences.
But what is the case with Jewish writers? Conzelmann cannot
find yet in the Septuagint this notion of χάρις as a power flowing down from
God to man. Yet already the Old Testament use of חן is not far from the usage
of χάρις to which we are attending. As W. Zimmerli notes “חן is the
‘gracefulness’ of the one gifted with חן. Often with a strong aesthetic
emphasis, it denotes his ‘beauty’ or ‘charm’”.¹⁶ How like the χάρις of the θεῖος
ἀνήρ! God dispenses this חן to his people (Exod. 3:21; 11:3; 12:36; Ps. 84:11).
In the one text where חן is used with a suffix (Gen. 39:21) it becomes clear
that the חן is originally God’s own, that is, his own power to impress, which
he is able to bestow as a charisma which enables his people to create a
favourable impression on those about them.
These uses of חן come over regularly into the Septuagint as
χάρις. So, for example, in Ps. 44 (45): 2 we find the parallelism expressed
ὡραῖος κάλλει παρὰ τοὺς υἱοὺς ἀνθρώπων,
ἐξεχύθη χάρις ἐν χείλεσί σου.¹⁷
Here the imagery of pouring brings us very close to Homer
and Hesiod above.
The same usage of χάρις is to be observed in Septuagintal
texts where we have no Hebrew original to compare. So, in Sir. 21:16
ἐξήγησις μωροῦ ὡς ἐν ὁδῷ φορτίον,
ἐπὶ δὲ χείλους συνετοῦ εὑρεθήσεται χάρις.¹⁸
On the basis of the parallel between φορτίον and χάρις we
may say that “it will be found there” is here equivalent to “one will get it
from there”, not just “one will discover it to be present there”.¹⁹ In other
words χάρις is transferable to the listener.
In Bar. 2:14 the appeal is made to God, δός ἡμῖν χάριν κατὰ
πρόσωπον τῶν ἀποικισάντων, and the reason given is “so that the whole world may
know that you are the Lord our God. Now, since there is no preserved Hebrew
text to enable us to ascertain that χάρις here goes back to a Hebrew חן, it
might be thought possible that it is the concern to be in favour with the
captors which is expressed. However, this would give a distinct sense for κατὰ
πρόσωπον unparalleled in the rest of the Septuagint.²⁰ Therefore, almost
certainly we have at Bar. 2:14 κατὰ πρόσωπον meaning “in their presence so that
they can witness it”.²¹ This fits well with the ἵνα γνῷ πᾶσα ἡ γῆ which
follows. The captors are the inner circle of eye-witnesses by means of whom the
whole world could come to know. χάρις is here, then, not simply favour, but an
endowment from God, the presence of which will be evident to all. It will be
seen in the poor, disheartened remnant beginning to flourish and prosper, and
in their being enabled to return to their homeland (cf. 2:34-35).
That more is involved in these Septuagintal texts than
mechanical translation equivalents may be seen from the fact that this use of
χάρις surfaces in the Septuagint even in cases where the Hebrew text has
something other than חן. Such is the case in Dan. 1:9 (LXX) ἔδωκεν κύριος τῷ
Δανιὴλ τιμὴν καὶ χάριν ἐναντίον τοῦ ἀρχιευνούχου. As in Gen. 39:21 above, χάρις
is here inherent in Daniel and is not merely the attitude towards Daniel of the
chief eunuch. Prov. 10:32 (LXX) also lacks חן in the Hebrew antecedent. Here χεῖλη
ἀνδρῶν δικαίων ἀποστάζει χάριτας while στόμα δὲ ἀσεβῶν ἀποστρέφεται. For the
use of the plural cf. Homer Od. VI 235-36 above, and for the imagery cf.
Euripides Hipp. 515-27, also above.
A similar use of χάρις can be found in the Testaments of the
Twelve Patriarchs T. Jud. 2:1. Judah testifies that ἔδωκέ μοι κύριος χάριν ἐν πᾶσι
τοῖς ἔργοις μου.²² This is then followed by examples given by Judah of his
super-human strength and fleetness of foot. Then in 3:10 the same point is made
in a slightly different setting by saying “an angel of might followed me
everywhere.” The sense “gracious help” for χάρις would fit the context insofar
as accounting for Judah’s successes. However, the list of achievements is very
much a catalogue of his own personal exploits, and “gracious help” would not
suit the mood of the passage. Gracious help has its correlate in a sense of
need. Here we have a story of personal triumph, made possible by the possession
of some divine “charisma”. χάρις comes to Judah as super-human ability bestowed
on him by God.
It would seem, then, that in Jewish usages also χάρις could
be spoken of quite tangibly as a power given by God.
We conclude, therefore, that there is no need to look to
late hellenistic sources to establish the provenance that does justice to that
strand of New Testament usage of χάρις in which the word is seen to designate a
tangible power at work in the believer. The semantic conditions for such a use
are already met in the usage of both Classical Greek and of the Jewish Greek of
the diaspora.
Footnotes:
1 H. Conzelmann, Χάρις xτλ., T.D.N.T. IX, pp. 376, 389 (=
Th. Wb. z. N.T., IX, 1973, pp. 366, 380).
2 G. P. Wetter, Charis. Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte des
ältesten Christentums, Leipzig, 1913, pp. 6-7.
3 J. Moffat, Grace in the New Testament, London, 1931, pp.
21-29.
4 Ibid., p. 29.
5 Wetter’s judgments in relation to the Lukan material seem
to be particularly compelling. See my articles: “Words of Grace (Luke 4, 32)”,
Biblica 65 (1984) pp. 44-60; and “Luke’s Use of XAPIZ” N.T.S., forthcoming.
6 E. Schillebeeckx (Christ. The Experience of Jesus as Lord,
translated by J. Bowden, New York, 1980, pp. 103-105) expresses scepticism
about the claimed development, but offers no evidence.
7 χάρις, p. 376 note 28 (Th. Wb. z. N.T., IX, 1973, p. 366,
n. 28). The classic study of the θεῖος ἀνήρ is L. Bieler, ΘΕΙΟΣ ΑΝΗΡ, Wien,
1935. However, the value of the actual term as the basis for identifying a
category of such persons has been increasingly questioned. See, for example, C.
H. Holladay, Theios Aner in Hellenistic Judaism: A Critique of the Use of This
Category in New Testament Christology. S.B.L.D.S. 40, Missoula, Montana, 1977.
8 “... even so the goddess shed grace upon his head and
shoulders. Then he went apart and sat down on the shore of the sea, gleaming
with beauty and grace.”
Classical texts (and translations) are from the volumes of
the Loeb Classical Library (Cambridge, Massachusetts - London) unless otherwise
indicated. Titles of classical sources are abbreviated as in H. G. Liddell, R.
Scott etc. eds., A Greek-English Lexicon, Oxford, 1968.
9 The use of the plural χάρισι in the second occurrence here
is not significant. Hom. Od. II 12 expresses the same idea: Θεσπεσίην δ’ ἄρα
μιν τῇ γε χάριν κατεχεύατ’ Ἀθήνῃ. With a different verb for pouring, the same
idea is expressed in Hes. Op. 65: χάριν ἀμφιχέαι κεφαλῇ.
10 “... his face was full of grace so that ... the
Pro-Consul ... was astounded”
11 “He placed her on the third step of the altar, and the
Lord God put grace upon the child, and she danced for joy with her feet, and
the whole house of Israel loved her.”
The text is
quoted from the edition of E. de Strycker, La forme la plus ancienne du
Protévangile de Jacques, Bruxelles, 1961. There are a number of
variants but these do not materially affect the sense of χάρις. The translation
is from E. Hennecke, New Testament Apocrypha, W. Schneemelcher ed., R.
McL. Wilson ed. of English Translation, SCM, 1963.
Here the dancing suggests that the grace influences more
than merely outward form.
12 “Grace, which produces all the joys of mortal man, by
adding [her?] dignity often causes even unbelievable things to remain
believable.” (my own translation)
13 “Eros, Eros, who drips love’s yearnings from your eyes,
when you introduce sweet grace into the soul of those against whom you battle
...” (my own translation)
14 Cf. Prov. 10:32 LXX, χεῖλη ἀνδρῶν δικαίων ἀποστάζει χάριτας. It is not enough to read
χάρις here as “delight” (as Liddell and Scott) since ἐπιστρατεύσῃ
15 “... the goddess [or: grace] is from the underworld; for
in these things there lies grace; to mourn is not meet; no, no; for it is
disgrace.”
16 W. Zimmerli, Χάρις, T.D.N.T. IX p. 379 (= Th. Wb. z.
N.T., IX, 1973, p. 370).
17 “You are much more beautiful than the sons of men; grace
is poured out on your lips.”
18 “The statement of a fool is like a burden on the road,
but on the lips of the understanding grace may be found.”
19 The imagery of Ps. 44 (45):2 above is here taken a step
further. Cf. also Qoh. 10:12, λόγοι στόματος σοφοῦ χάρις, καὶ χείλη ἄφρονος καταποντιοῦσιν αὐτόν.
20 The phrase κατὰ πρόσωπον would then mean “in the eyes of,
i.e. from the perspective of”. Of the many LXX occurrences of this phrase, only
Sir. 45:3 offers us a possible parallel for such a sense. There we read of
Moses that God ἐδόξασεν αὐτὸν κατὰ πρόσωπον βασιλέων. We could have here the
kings as witnesses of Moses’ glory (κατὰ πρόσωπον = “in their presence, so that
they saw it” or the idea that it seemed even to kings that Moses was glorious
(κατὰ πρόσωπον = from the perspective (even) of). Kings are presumably singled
out for mention because they possess δόξα themselves and will only be impressed
by something greater. This being so, it has to be admitted that κατὰ πρόσωπον
here has at least overtones of this possible second sense (i.e. is concerned
with their viewpoint). Before, however, we hastily transfer this sense to
Baruch context we must recognize that in Sir. 45:3 this second sense occurs
only in the closest continuity with the first and otherwise unvarying sense.
The king’s perspective only comes into view because they happen to be
particularly suitable witnesses. On the other hand in the Baruch context κατὰ
πρόσωπον used with reference to the viewpoint of the captors would stand in
sharp contrast to κατὰ πρόσωπον- “in their presence so that they can see it.”
It thus seems that even Sir. 45:3 does not provide a true parallel for taking
κατὰ πρόσωπον in Bar. 2:14 to mean “from the perspective of.”
21 The Jerusalem Bible translates, “grant us your favour for
all our captors to see it.”
22 Text from the edition of M. de Jonge, The Testaments
of the Twelve Patriarchs, Leiden, 1978.
