The Highway Forums General Discussion Theology Discussion Forum Question on Acts 13:48

My wife went to a seminar last Saturday and she told me a Pstor from Wesleyan seminary Asbury mentioned about the exegesis on Acts 13:48. He mentioned that the translation of this verse should be rendered in another way which has no Calvinistic predestination in it. His argument was focusing on the verb TASSO in Acts 13:48. Basically he indicated that this verb could be treaed as in a middle voice. Of course I won't agree with this even based on my one year Greek training.

I did a search at http://www.monergism.com/ and found this link James White responds to Steve Gregg's presentation of Acts 13:48 (MP3). But the MP3 Material is not there anymore. I searched at A&O and only found the 2nd round clarification of this issue from Dr. White, http://www.aomin.org/aoblog/index.php?itemid=2650.

Would anybody here recommand some articles to deal with this verse in more detail?

Many Thanks

The pastor needs to do a refresher course in Greek grammar. The verb Luke used there is actually tetagmai which is perfect passive; complete and accomplished by someone other than the object itself. Just that alone renders his comment null and void. The word means 'belong to, be classified among those possessing'; thus 'appointed, ordained, enrolled, inscribed, etc.' The idea of people being enrolled in the Book of Life or the like can be found in several other passages, e.g., Ex 32:32f; Ps 69:28; Isa 4:3; Dan 12:1; Lk 10:20; Phil 4:3; Rev 13:8; 20:12ff; 21:27.

Sorry, but I don't have any references to other articles at the moment; just my own knowledge of the Greek of the passage.

In His grace,

Thank you for your quick response. (Sorry! I can't post the Greek Test here)


"Tetaruenoi" is the perfect Middle-Passive Participle of the verb "Tasso"

I did another search and here is the argument from Arminians:

"The word "appointed" is "the perfect participle of the verb tasso, which was used primarily in a military sense: 'draw up in order, arrange in place [set, establish], assign, appoint, order' (A-S, p. 440) [Strong's Expanded Dictionary of Bible Words agrees, p. 1406]. The participle may be taken in the middle sense: 'as many as had set themselves unto eternal life.'"1 Notice that the Jewish people in Antioch had set themselves against eternal life by repudiating the gospel which Paul and Barnabas preached." See this link: http://classicalarminianism.blogspot.com/search/label/Exegeting%20Acts%2013%3A48

This argument is very similar to what my wife heard.

Dr. White's rebuttal is: "I have argued that you cannot simply throw out a middle translation and not defend it, which is what is done 95% of the time in synergistic/Arminian writings. Proper exegetical practice requires one to explain why one "prefers" a particular understanding. Given that the middle (sans deponents) is relatively rare in Luke in comparison with the passive, and given the periphrastic construction, there must be some compelling reason to adopt it. What is the reason?"

"It is significant because a periphrastic construction produces a specific tense-translation for the phrase, in this case, a pluperfect. As a result, however you take the meaning of "Tasso", it points us to something done prior to the Gentiles hearing that the gospel was coming to them."

White's arguments are strong. My understanding is that White throw the burden of prove to his opponents and ask them to explain why they choose middle not passive here. He also indicated the significance of periphrastic construction here.

In order to nail down this case, we still need to present the survey of the middle/passive usage in Luke etc. Hence I am trying to ask who have more resources on this issue.

Thanks Anyways.

I like your signiture, it's cool.

The Arminians and other "free-will" religions may choose to adopt the middle voice of tetagmenoi but they do so without warrant, as White is quoted to have said. If one looks at the standard Greek lexicons, e.g., BAG (Bauer, Arndt, and Gingrich) they all take this word as perfect passive (confirmed in The Analytical Greek Lexicon Revised 1978 Edition) and thus understand it to mean, to have been 'appointed, assigned, etc.'. It certainly does not contradict any other Scripture but in fact upholds and agrees with many others.

It is rather amusing that an Arminian/semi-Pelagian would spend much time on trying to bend this text to say what it does not say in order to establish the doctrine of "free-will" when there are other texts which would be more profitable to that end. Of course, their entire system is based upon a denial of the biblical God and the setting forth of the autonomy of man.

"In the beginning, God created man in His own image. And, ever since that time man has been trying to return the favor."

In His grace,