DYNAMIS EIS SOTERIAN

This study shows that the syntagma dynamis eis soterian was widely used in ancient Greek literature of the Classical, Hellenistic, and Greco-Roman periods. A semantic context analysis reveals that "danger" is the common intersection of all contexts in which the syntagma dynamis eis soterian occurs. In a modified way it also appears in texts of the New Testament (Romans 1:16; 1 Peter 1:5): By using dynamis (theou) eis soterian in a context focused on danger, Paul (as well as the author of 1 Peter) indicates that his use of the syntagma is consistent with the pagan, non-biblical use of dynamis eis soterian.