Brian S. Hook
1 min readFeb 7, 2023

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Oord's basic argument against omnipotence seems reasonable, but Ι don't follow his Greek. There are two different Greek roots in krater (κρατήρ) and krateo (κρατέω). A krater is a "mixing bowl" that holds wine; its name derives from the Greek verb "to mix" (κεράννυμι), according to LSJ, the authoritative Greek lexicon. Among the meanings for krateo are: 1) rule, hold sway; 2) conquer, prevail, get the upper hand; 3) become master of, get possession of; 4) lay hold of, seize, win, keep; and 5) control, command. The idea of "holding" and "sustaining" are possible but require context, and the clear basic meaning is "to rule." The Greek writers of the LXX may have misunderstood the Hebrew (which I don't read), but Jerome didn't fumble παντοκράτωρ badly by rendering it omnipotens.

In other words, it sounds like a simple solution to point to one translation and claim that it led to centuries of misguided theology...but it's just not that simple. It may be a theology problem, but it's not really a translation problem.

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Brian S. Hook
Brian S. Hook

Written by Brian S. Hook

Dad, classicist, mountain dweller, erstwhile triathlete, wannabe woodworker, follower of Socrates and Jesus (two famous non-writers), writing to avoid raveling

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