04_Biblica_Aletti_Layout 1 08/07/13 12:56 Pagina 406 406 JEAN-NOËL ALETTI he precedes it with the adjective πᾶς, as in Col 3,17: πᾶν ὅ τι ἐὰν ποιῆτε ἐν λόγῳ ἢ ἐν ἔργῳ (“Whatever you do, in word or deed”), or Gal 3,10: ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ὃς οὐκ ἐµµένει πᾶσιν τοῖς γεγραµµένοις ἐν τῷ βιβλίῳ τοῦ νόµου (“Cursed be every one who does not abide by all things written in the book of the law”) 29; he also uses both the definite relative pronouns (ὅσος 30, οἷος 31) and the indefinites (ὅστις 32, ὁποῖος 33). But because none of these rel- ative pronouns appear in Gal 5,17, it is uncertain whether the simple ἅ should be translated by “whatever”. Another possibility, a little different from the preceding one, pre- sents itself and understands the relative pronoun as referring to neg- ative things: “the evil things that you want to do”. The verse would then be saying that in the flesh/Spirit struggle, it is the Spirit that tri- umphs over the flesh and prevents us from executing the evil things to which the flesh impels us. Although in complete agreement with the immediate context, in which Paul assumes that the Christians are allowing themselves to be guided by the Spirit, this reading has been rejected by another exegete 34. And if Paul had wanted to indicate that the believers want to do evil, it would have been easy to add an ad hoc adjective. Would it not be better, with others, to interpret this relative pronoun positively: “the good things that you would like to do ?” Those, like Lambrecht, for whom this is the meaning of the relative pronoun, invoke the positive denotation that the Greek verb θέλω has in Rom 7,14-20 35. Even if the situation of the egô in Rom Translation RSV. Deut 27,26 reads: ἐπικατάρατος πᾶς ἄνθρωπος ὃς 29 οὐκ ἐµµενεῖ … etc. See also Rom 10,13. 25x in total; in particular, 5x in Gal (3,10, 27; 4,1, 6,12, 16). The neuter 30 plural ὅσα is found in Rom 3,19; 15,4 and Phil 4,8 (6x). 10x in total (but not in Galatians). 31 Gal 5,10, Phil 2,20 and Col 3,17 that has just been mentioned. 32 1 Cor 3,13; Gal 2,6; 1 Thess 1,9. But he does not utilize ὁπόσος. 33 BARCLAY, Obeying the Truth, 114, according to whom, this interpreta- 34 tion “has the great advantage of fitting the context well, supporting and il- lustrating the confident statement of 5,16. [But] [i]ts problems lie in accommodating the central clause (“these are opposed to each other”) and explaining why ‘whatever you want’ should be taken as ‘what the flesh de- sires’” (emphasis mine). Cf. Rom 7,15.16.18.19.20. On this exact point, see J. LAMBRECHT, “The 35 Right Things You Want to Do. A Note on Galatians 5,17d”, Bib 79 (1998) 515-524. © Gregorian Biblical Press 2013 - Tutti i diritti riservati