Teologiczne znaczenie wyrażenia nyni de w korespondencji św. Pawła z Koryntianami

Abstract

Human communication, though based mainly on nouns, verbs, and adjectives, would not be precise without minor parts of speech such as adverbs, conjunctions, and particles. In the presented article, the author considered the adverb nyni strengthened by the particle de. Based on five fragments from the epistles to the Corinthians (1 Cor 12:18; 13:13; 15:20; 2 Cor 8:11.22), the meanings of the nyni de were shown. First, assisted by the Greek dictionaries and lexicons, the author examined the proposals of the interpretation of the expression. On the basis of extra-biblical and biblical literature as well as Hellenistic papyri, lexicographers made a clear distinction between its temporal and logical meaning. According to the author, the mentioned distinction is far too radical because, in Paul’s correspondence with the Corinthians, both temporal and logical meanings are present, even in the passages where the notion of time is weaker (1 Cor 13:13; 15:20).