P. Derek Overfield PhD Thesis - Research@StAndrews:FullText

138
possibilities find scholarly support.
If the
original language was other than Greek then the
suggestion that the Odes are of significance becomes
no more than a remote possibility, particularly in
light of the variation in meaning attached to the
Syriac S'wmly'.
But on the other hand if the Odes
were originally written in Greek 139 the question of
the possibility of there being a relationship in the
traditions has more meaning.
We should note
at this point, in the light of such citations as 35:6,
36:6, that this possibility may well be enhanced by the
existence of the 't~).€"()t; [v'Y]P phrase in Eph 4: 13 as
a description for one who has received the ~A~p~
, assuming of course that Charleswor~h's
translation of the Syriac by 'perfection' does indicate
correc tl y th e nuance 0 f meanlng. ' 140 Th e Slml "1 arl 't y
between 7:13 and Eph 3:l8f may also be indicative of
the existence of such a relationship.
But we must
proceed with caution.
Though it is true that the Odes
are still enigmatic, the majority of scholarly opinion
is consistent in dating the Odes no earlier than late
first century and at the same time is one in affirming
that the Odes have been influenced by earlier Christian
writings.
Since this is the case we must assume that
Ephesians pre-dates, or is at best contemporary with,
the Odes and thus we must conclude exactly as in our
discussion of the redeemer myth in relation to Eph 4:8-10:
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