The Greek Conjunction "Hoti"
in Romans 10:9
"That, or Because"
By Jonathan Mitchell
The Greek conjunction "hoti" has the following basic range of meanings: "that, because, and since." This short essay will look at the context of Rom. 10:8-14, and then consider how the alternate renderings of this conjunction affect the interpretation of vs. 9.
The common rendering of this conjunction, in Rom. 10:9, is the word, "that." The following expanded translation of vss. 8-14 offers all three potential meanings for the reader to consider.
8. But rather, what is He (or: it) saying? "The result of the flow (The gush-effect; or: The saying; The declaration; That which is spoken; The speech) is (or: continuously exists) near you - within your mouth and within your heart (in the sphere of the core of your being)!" [Deut. 30:11-14] - that is, (or: This exists being) the effect of the gush from The Faithfulness (or: the result of the Flow which is the saying that pertains to this conviction of trust; the effect of the flux and movement of that Faith; or: that which is spoken which is trust; or: the speech and declaration which come from [Christ's] Fidelity) which we are habitually announcing publicly (proclaiming extensively),
9. namely, that whenever you can speak the same gush-effect (or: because if you would agree with this word-result, from the Flow,) within your mouth, that "Jesus Christ [is] Lord,"[or: with other MSS: because if at any time you should confess in your mouth this declaration, because Jesus {is} LORD {= Yahweh, as per LXX}; because if ever you should avow this saying, in your own mouth, since Jesus {is} Lord,] and then can trust, in union with your heart, (or: could believe and have confidence within the core of your being) that God raised (or: because God aroused and awakened) Him forth from out of the midst of dead folks, you will proceed being healed and made whole (or: will keep on being delivered, kept safe, rescued, saved, and will progressively be restored to the original state and condition).
[Comment: "confess in your mouth this declaration, because Jesus {is} LORD," echoes the proclamation by the messenger to the shepherds, in Lu. 2:10b-11,
"I, myself, am now bringing and announcing Good News (a message of goodness, ease and well-being) to, for, and among, you folks: great Joy which will progressively be for, in, and with, all the people (or: will continue existing in the entire general public), because today, within the town of David, a Savior (Deliverer; Rescuer; Preserver; Safe-keeper; Restorer to health, wholeness, or original state, condition and position) was birthed and brought forth to, for, and among, you folks, Who is (exists being) Christ [the] Lord."]
10. You see, in (or: by; with) [the] heart (= core of your being) it (or: He) is progressively believed and trusted (or: a person is repeatedly made loyal and given confidence) [leading] into (= resulting in) a rightwising, eschatological deliverance (or: unto being turned in the right direction - with equitable dealings and right relationships - from having been placed within the Way pointed out, which includes covenant inclusion and participation), yet by (or: in; with) [the] mouth the same thing is being repeatedly said (or: it is agreed and habitually confessed and He is professed) [leading] into the midst of health and wholeness (or: resulting in a rescue, salvation, and deliverance into safety).
[Comment: the "rightwising, eschatological deliverance" which is accomplished by "having been PLACED within the Way pointed out," which is also, "covenant inclusion," equates to having, "received a spirit of being PLACED as a son (or: a Breath-effect which set you in the position of a son)" - Rom. 8:15, along with Rom. 8:23, Gal. 4:5 and Eph. 1:5]
11. For the Scripture continues laying it out, and is saying, "Everyone - the person, in habitually believing, or when putting faith or trust, upon Him - will not continue being disgraced, put to shame, humiliated or be disappointed." [Isa. 28:16]
12. You see, there is no distinction or separation made by putting asunder, in order to define or distinguish between, Jew and Greek, for the same Lord of (Owner and Master with respect to) all humans [cf 9:5, above] (or: for it follows that this very One, [being] Lord of all people,) is continuously being enriching unto(or: is constantly abundantly furnishing [Himself] into; or, reading "plouton" as a genitive plural noun: You see this very Owner of all treasures [has] a view to, for, and [is giving, or is proceeding] into the midst of,) all the folks habitually, in, to, and for, themselves, calling upon (or: summoning) Him for help and assistance.
13.For thus it follows,"Everyone - whoever may at any point call upon the Name of the LORD [= Yahweh] - will proceed being (or: will repeatedly be) delivered (kept safe; rescued; saved, healed and made whole)!" [Joel 2:32]
[Comment: this "rescue and deliverance" has brought us to a new sphere of existence, as we see in Heb. 12:22,
14. How, then, can (may; should; would) they at some point call unto (= invoke) One Whom (or: that which) they do not trust or believe (or: did not have faith in)? And how can (may; should; would) they believe where they do not hear (or: trust in Whom they did not hear)? And how can they at any point hear apart from a person continually making public proclamation (habitually publishing and extensively heralding)?
This passage provides us with the context of vs. 9, so let us offer vs. 9, again, this time using only alternate renderings of the conjunction "hoti":
9. namely, because whenever you can speak the same gush-effect (or: if you would agree with this word-result, from the Flow,) within your mouth, because Jesus Christ [is] Lord, [or: with other MSS: because if at any time you should confess in your mouth this declaration, because Jesus {is} LORD {= Yahweh, as per LXX}; because if ever you should avow this saying, in your own mouth, since Jesus {is} Lord,] and then can trust, in union with your heart (or: could believe and have confidence within the core of your being) - because God aroused, awakened and raised Him forth from out of the midst of dead folks - you will proceed being healed and made whole (or: will keep on being delivered, kept safe, rescued, saved, and will progressively be restored to the original state and condition).
The meanings "because, or since" present us with a different reading of what Paul was saying in this verse. This reading of "hoti" instructs us that "whenever we can speak the same gush-effect (or: word-effect), and can trust, in union with our heart - because God raised Him forth from out of the midst of dead folks - we will proceed being healed (etc.), because Jesus Christ [is] Lord." Furthermore, in Rom. 14:9, we are also instructed that,
"Christ not only died away, then rose, but also now lives [other MSS: lives again], to the end that He would exercise lordship and be Lord (function as Owner, Master and Possessor) both of dead folks as well as of living people." [cf Phil. 2:9; 1 Cor. 6:20, 7:23; 2 Cor. 5:14b-15]This meaning, "because," in this alternate rendering, tells us that everything is because Jesus Christ is Lord, and because God raised Him from the dead. Furthermore,
"we can speak the same gush-effect and agree with this word-result from the Flow [of the Spirit]," because, "The result of the flow (The gush-effect; or: The saying; The declaration; That which is spoken; The speech) is (or: continuously exists) near you - within your mouth and within your heart (in the sphere of the core of your being)!" (vs. 8, above).
This declaration (etc.) is in our mouths "because Jesus is Lord," and He has PLACED "the effect of the gush from The Faithfulness (the result of the Flow which is the saying that pertains to this conviction of trust; the effect of the flux and movement of that Faith; or: that which is spoken which is trust; or: the speech and declaration which come from [Christ's] Fidelity)" WITHIN our hearts and WITHIN our mouths. In other words, because Christ has placed us, as branches, within Him (Who is the Vine) - Jn. 15:1ff - via the public proclamation (vs. 14, above). And because of all this, we can now confess that, "Jesus Christ is Lord," and thus we "can trust, because God raised Him forth, out from among the dead folks."
Another witness to this alternate reading of vs. 9 is found in 1 Cor. 12:3b,
"no one is able (normally has power) to say, "Jesus [is] Lord (or: O Lord Jesus; or: Master Jesus)!" except within, and in union with, [the] Holy Spirit."
The new covenant involves the instruction given to us in Heb. 10:16,
"This [is] the arrangement (covenant; disposition) which I will continue arranging (covenanting; disposing) toward them after those days," the LORD [= Yahweh] says, "Continuously giving My laws upon (or: added to) their hearts, I will even progressively write them upon their mental perception (or: comprehension; that which passes through the mind)."
Because of God doing this, we have "the effect of the gush from The Faithfulness… within our mouth and within our heart" (Rom. 10:8, above). And, "As a person thinks in his heart, so he is" (Prov. 23:7). Jesus confirmed this: "You see, from out of the midst of the effect of the excess from the heart's surrounding abundance, the mouth is continually speaking" (Mat. 12:34b).
All of this is "because" Jesus Christ is Lord, and,
"because the God suddenly saying, "Light will progressively shine forth from out of the midst of darkness (absence of daylight; [cf Gen. 1:1-2])," [is] the One who shines forth within the midst of our hearts, with a view to illumination of the intimate and experiential Knowledge of God's Glory - in a face of Christ, from an Anointing" (2 Cor. 4:6).
This is because God,
"made [us] alive together by and with the Christ" (Eph. 2:5),
which is a description of resurrection, or we could say, a description of being born back, up again, from above" (Jn. 3:7). God is the Actor, and the Action, in every aspect of our salvation and deliverance. [cf 2 Cor. 5:19]
Jonathan
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