Originally Posted by avi

Thanks Steve, perhaps my translation of Romans 1:3 is as bizarre, as you have suggested.

I am simply seeking to find, in the written Greek, some reasonable explanation for Jesus' supposed relationship to David, that's all.

Luke writes that David is Jesus' father, and I think that it ought to be possible to gain that same interpretation from this passage, Romans 1:3. I am curious, Steve, to learn which verb you think κατα σαρκα modifies, and also, what purpose Paul had in placing the idiom in this verse? Couldn't you, as a devout Christian, accept Romans 1:3, if it had been written exactly the same, but without κατα σαρκα? In other words, if κατα σαρκα modifies the verb explaining conception ("of the sperma of David"), yet has nothing to do mechanically with David, then, how would its omission change the meaning of the verse? "...his son, made of genetic material of David, (concerning the flesh)? If we simply ignore "concerning the flesh", then, Steve, has the meaning of this verse changed, according to your thinking?

For my part, I deny that omission of κατα σαρκα alters the meaning even one iota, for the orthodox interpretation, i.e. juxtaposed to kata pneuma, it "has" to relate to Jesus, not David, in this particular passage. In the same vein, I believe that its omission from Romans 1:3 results in a devastating consequence to my supposition that κατα σαρκα refers not to Jesus, directly, but to David: "...sperma David, kata sarka", meaning, David participated in the construction project, to bring Jesus into this world, and the "real flesh" here, in this scenario, is David's, as proof that David actually participated in Jesus' conception.

avi