Bible Lexicons

(1) For the ordinary meaning, ";an action,"; ";a deed,"; cf. P Oxy VI. 938.2 (iii/iv A.D.) οὐκ ἀκόλουθον πρᾶγμα ἐποίησας ἐνεδρεύσας τὰς τροφὰς τῶν κτηνῶν, ";it was an unfitting act of yours to intercept the fodder for the oxen"; (Edd.), and ib. XII. 1477.10 (question to an oracle—iii/iv A.D.) εἶ κερδαίνω ἀπὸ τοῦ πράγματ [ος; ";am I to profit by the transaction?"; (Edd.). The vaguer meaning ";an affair,"; ";a matter,"; is seen in P Ryl II. 153.11 (A.D. 138–161) ὑπηρετήσας πράγμασι ἡμῶν, ";having been of service in our affairs,"; P Oxy IX. 1215.3 (illiterate—(ii/iii A.D.) καλῶς πυήσις ἐλθὼν πρὸς αἰμαὶ ἄχρι τὰ πράγματα καταστάλῃ, ";please come to me until matters are arranged"; (Ed.), and ib. XII. 1489.7 (late iii/A.D.) οὐκ ἔχεις πρᾶγμα, ";it is not your affair.";

(2) The noun is common in the papyri = ";lawsuit,"; as in 1 Corinthians 6:1, e.g. BGU I. 22.9 (A.D. 114) ἁπλῶς μηδὲν ἔχουσα πρᾶγμα πρὸς ἐμέ, P Ryl II. 76.14 (late ii/A.D.) λεγομένου τοῦ [π ]ράγματος, ";when the case is argued,"; ib. 113.13 (A.D. 133) μὴ ἔχοντας πᾶν πρᾶγμα πρὸς ἐμέ, ";not having any case against me,"; and P Strass I. 41.38 (an action regarding inheritance—A.D. 250) ὡς πρεσβύτης καὶ πίστεως ἄξιος εἰπὲ ἃ οἶδας ἐν τῷ πρά [γματ ]ι ̣, ";as an old man and worthy of credit, say what you know in the matter.";

(3) It is used in the weaker sense of ";trouble,"; ";difficulty"; generally in P Oxy IV. 743.19 (B.C. 2) εἰ καὶ π [ρ ]ὸς ἄλλους εἶχον πρᾶγμα βοηθὸν αὐτοῦ γ [ε ]νέσθαι διὰ ἣν ἔχομ ̣ε ̣(ν) πρὸς ἑατοὺς φιλίαν, ";for although I (?) have had trouble with others you must assist him for the sake of our friendship"; (Edd.), and ib. III. 525.4 (early ii/A.D.) where, wilh reference to a troublesome voyage, the writer exclaims—λείαν τῷ πράγματι καταξύομαι, ";I am extremely worn out with the matter"; (Edd.) : cf. P Magd 37 + 11.6 (iii/B.C.) (= Archiv iv. p. 56) σχόντες πολλὰ πράγματα.

(4) An interesting ex. of πρᾶγμα = ";business,"; ";trade,"; is afforded by an inscr. on a sanctuary-temple in Theadelphia, Chrest. I. 70.1 (B.C. 57–6) ἄσυλον κατὰ πρόσταγμα, ᾧ μὴ πρᾶγμα, where the last clause must mean that within the boundaries of the temple all ";business"; ceases (see Wilcken’s note ad l.). It is very doubtful, however, whether this meaning can be carried into ἐν τῷ πράγματι in 1 Thessalonians 4:6 (Vg in negotio, Luther im Handel) : the reference would appear rather to be to ";the matter on hand,"; viz. sins of the flesh (see Milligan ad l.).

For a possible instance of πρᾶγμα = ";exaction,"; ";recovery,"; like πρᾶξις, see P Lond V. 1732.7 (A.D. 586?) with the editor’s note. In MGr by a regular disappearance of γ before μ, the word becomes πρᾶμα, πρᾶμμα (Thumb Handb. p. 21).

[Supplemental from 1930 edition]

Dr. H. I. Bell refers us to the semi-prepositional use of πρᾶγμα in conjunction with εἰ μή in P Lond IV. 1348.3 (A.D. 710) εἰ μὴ τὸ πρᾶγμα τῶ [ν = (practically) ἄνευ τῶν.

 

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