Christian Texts and History • Clement Acknowledging Mark Wrote His Gospel by Means of χρεῖαι

Speaking about the Parable of the Rich Man in Mark, Clement writes:

Οὕτως οὖν ὁ κύριος καὶ τὴν τῶν ἐκτὸς χρείαν εἰσάγει, κελεύων ἀποθέσθαι οὐ τὰ βιωτικά, ἀλλὰ τὰ τούτοις κακῶς χρώμενα·

which is translated by the translator from the last century before χρεῖαι were understood as:

So then the Lord introduces the use of external things, bidding us put away not the means of subsistence, but what uses them badly.

But is this an example of outdated scholarship with respect to chreiai? Theon defined it as "a concise statement or action, which is attributed with aptness to some specified character or to something analogous to a character.” He also used the following as an example - Alexander, the Macedonian king, on being asked by someone where he kept his treasures, pointed to his friends and said: 'In these' (3.1 16-118) Shouldn't the passage above be rendered instead:

Thus, the Lord introduces the anecdote (χρείαν) of those outside, bidding us put away not the means of subsistence, but what uses them badly.

The χρεία here is clearly "Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! More easily shall a camel enter through the eye of a needle than a rich man into the kingdom of God."

Statistics: Posted by Secret Alias — Tue Jun 04, 2024 2:08 pm

---