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Fr. Paul notes that Ephesians 2:19-22 clusters five words built on the root oik-, "house, dwelling": the Gentiles who were once paroikoi ("strangers and sojourners") are now sympolitai and oikeioi, "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the
A daily note from the team at OCABS.ORG, drawing on the published works of Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, with citations to his books and lectures.
Readings: Ephesians 2:19-3:7; Luke 3:23-4:1.
Fr. Paul notes that Ephesians 2:19-22 clusters five words built on the root oik-, "house, dwelling": the Gentiles who were once paroikoi ("strangers and sojourners") are now sympolitai and oikeioi, "fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household" of God, built into an oikodome that grows into a holy temple, a katoikēterion of God in the Spirit. He observes that Ephesians is otherwise a near copy of Colossians 1:19-22 except that it adds the root poli(t)-, also found in Philippians, giving the image of the Gentiles joining a "polity."
On 3:1-7, Fr. Paul warns against reading "mystery" as an esoteric secret for the illumined; rather it is the gospel already contained in "the prophetic writings," hidden from the nations until revealed to Paul, who was "set apart for the gospel of God which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures." He compares this passage to Romans 16:25-27 and Galatians 1:11-16, where the gospel comes to Paul by revelation, not from man, so that the Gentiles become "fellow heirs and fellow members of the body." He also links Paul's self-designation as prisoner and servant, given a "stewardship" (oikonomia) of grace, to the diakonos language shared with 1 Corinthians 12 and to the church as the place through which God's wisdom reaches "the principalities and powers in the heavenly places."
The passages supplied treat other stretches of Luke's opening chapters, ending with Jesus' baptism and the Spirit descending on him while he prays; none of them addresses the genealogy of Luke 3:23-38 or his being led by the Spirit into the wilderness in 4:1, so nothing further can be said here.
The root pair of the day · שׁ-כ-נ šin–kaf–nun, מִשְׁכָּן miškan · س–ك–ن sīn–kāf–nūn, مِسْكِين miskīn · dwelling-place; settle down; abide. Ephesians 2:19-22 climaxes the oik- cluster with a katoikēterion, "a dwelling place" of God in the Spirit, echoed by the Greek skene and kataskenoo of this pair. The Hebrew miškan is the tabernacle where God says, "Let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them," and the Arabic miskin, "the needy," sets against that glory the one who has no home. Together they frame the Gentiles, once paroikoi, now given God's own dwelling. cf. The Consolation of Consonants
Sources: Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 74; Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 68; Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 86; Tarazi, Colossians and Philemon: A Commentary, p. 53; Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 58; Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 73; Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 77; Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 69; Tarazi, Ephesians and 2 Thessalonians: A Commentary, p. 73; Orthodox Audio Bible Commentary, Luke (vol. 42), part 1, at 1:17:48.
Opening music: Taksim Arbi, Bichi Slama, oud (Tunis, Archives de la Parole, 1930s), public domain. Source: gallica.bnf.fr / BnF.
A daily note from the team at OCABS.ORG, drawing on the published works of Fr. Paul Nadim Tarazi, with citations to his books and lectures.
Every day: the readings of the Orthodox lectionary read in full, a short note on them, and a root pair from the Consolation of Consonants, Hebrew and Arabic, chosen for the day’s readings. About five minutes a day, from OCABS on the Ephesus School Network. Read each note, with its citations, at ocabs.org.