FOOTNOTES:

^a Traditionally, ‘apostle.’ However, ‘apostle’ isn’t a translation but taking the Greek word and putting it in English letters, or at least, it’s a translation to a word that clung so tightly to the Greek etymology that it lost its meaning. The word means ‘one who is sent.’ While ‘emissary’ is not a common word in English, it at least forces readers to pause to think about the meaning.

^b This phrase catches my attention here. Traditionally, it is ‘in Christ Jesus.’ The Greek reads en Christo Iesou. Christo (Christ) is the dative case form of Christos while Iesou is the genitive case form of Iesous (Jesus). The fact that they are different indicates a ‘Genitive of Apposition’ as opposed to ‘Genitive in Simple Apposition’ (in which both nouns are genitive case). That makes it so that ‘Christ’ is the object of the preposition but not ‘Jesus.’ It makes it so that ‘Jesus’ is modifying ‘Christ.’ In the instance at the beginning of the verse, they are both genitive, which means they may be being treated as a unit, or it’s also possible that ‘Jesus’ is modifying ‘Christ’ there also. If, as the second instance in this verse suggests, they are modifying each other, it is possible that all of Paul’s uses of more than one title, such as ‘Christ Jesus,’ ‘Jesus Christ,’ and ‘Lord Jesus Christ,’ should all be interpreted that way, whether simple apposition or broader apposition. In this instance, at least, taking Iesou as modifying Christo, Iesou would be a genitive of apposition, showing that ‘Jesus’ is another way to name ‘Christ’ in order to clarify or specify, such as a person with two sisters saying, “I gave it to my sister, Miriam.” The words ‘sister’ and ‘Miriam’ refer to the same person, and Miriam modifies sister in apposition to specify which sister is being discussed. ‘Christ/Messiah’ was a title applied to anyone who was identified as a king of Israel or Judah, suggesting they were anointed with oil as a symbol of their appointment by God to that role.

^c Important to note for interpretation throughout this letter, all instances of ‘you’ and ‘your’ are plural, speaking to the church as a whole rather than to individuals.

^d All instances of ‘you’ in Ephesians are plural, addressing everything to the group as a whole, not to individuals. There are three exceptions when it uses a phrase that has been translated as ‘each and every’ or ‘each person’ that serves to emphasize that it applies to each individual and not only the group as a whole. Those instances are in Ephesians 4:7, 5:33, and 6:8.

^e Traditionally, ‘blessing.’ ‘Praised,’ ‘having spoken good things,’ and ‘affirmation’ are all from the same Greek word: eulogeo (verb)/eulogia (noun). It means to speak positively about someone or pronounce good things for someone’s future. God ‘being praised’ seems clearly to refer to having people speak positively about God. The ones describing God speaking toward people could be either way, but they seem here to lean more toward pronouncing good things for the future.

^f Traditionally, ‘in the heavenlies.’ Literally, ‘in the over-sky’ or that which is higher than the sky. This has nothing to do with a post-death residence. It represents the level of authority or power of those who are said to be in this place. It represents socio-economic or power/authority status. It’s slightly different than just ‘in the heavens.’ It has the prefix ep- attached to the beginning, which means something like ‘on’ or ‘upon’ or ‘over’ in the sense of covering the top or possibly ‘in’ if talking about an area. Traditionally, it is translated as something like the ‘heavenlies’ or ‘heavenly places’ or ‘heavenly realms’ but the those are supplying an assumed clarification that’s not explicit in the word. I see three ways to go with it: 1) ‘divine’ related to things of God and celestial beings or to authorities in the church—but it’s weird to translate it that way without more words to add, 2) ‘heavenly’ and explicitly make it about nonhuman spirit beings, or 3) ‘lofty’ which captures something of the idea but is the farthest from a literal translation—it opens it up to the possibility of human authorities whether connected with the church or not or of spirit beings with power. With any of those words, however, it still leaves it as a descriptor without a substantive: Divine what? Heavenly what? Lofty what? Arena? Circles? Spheres? Those are all metaphors for areas of influence/interaction, but they sound weird in this context, like they take on a more literal feel and lose their metaphorical sense.

^g Being ‘without blemish’ is a reference to several of the Hebrew Bible animal sacrifice regulations, thus comparing the church as being selected as the offering to God by which others will be blessed (see Exodus 12:5, 29:1; Leviticus 1:3, 1:10, 3:6, 4:3, 4:32, 5:15, 6:6, 9:2, 14:10, 22:20, and others). There is one chapter in the Torah that deals with blemishes in humans: Leviticus 21; Matthew clearly connects several other passages, such as Isaiah 53 and 56, to the concepts of Leviticus 21 and clarifies the Path of righteousness does not exclude those people. Jesus, in Matthew 8 and 9, demonstrates, and in Matthew 21 clearly speaks against those who were excluding people based on these ‘blemishes.’

^h Traditionally, ‘glory’

ⁱ Traditionally, ‘grace’

^j Referring to ‘the one they loved.’

^k This pronoun in context seems to refer to ‘our God’ from verse 3 again rather than the beloved of verse 6, though it is not made explicitly clear and could technically refer to either one.

^l Or ‘administration’ or ‘stewardship’

^m Literally, ‘in the fullness of times.’

ⁿ Perhaps, ‘trusted faithfully’?

^o Or ‘seal.’ Perhaps ‘stamp’ or ‘signature’? It’s not a seal as in ‘closed’ or ‘preserved.’ It’s something marked with the emblem that distinguishes who sent the message, like a signature.

^p Or ‘security deposit’ or ‘pledge for subsequent payment in full’

^q There are two possibilities here. ‘Wisdom,’ sofias, and ‘revelation,’ apokalupseos, are in the genitive form, modifying ‘life-breath/spirit,’ pneuma. It may be an ‘attributive genitive’ in which case ‘wisdom and revelation’ are serving as adjectives for ‘spirit’—‘wise and revealed spirit’—or it may be an ‘attributed genitive’ in which case the words ‘spirit and revelation’ are serving as an adjective for ‘wisdom’—’spiritual wisdom and revelation.’ The NET and NLT translate it as ‘spiritual wisdom and revelation.’ The NRSV, KJV, and NIV all leave it as ‘spirit of wisdom and revelation’ which leaves it up to the reader to interpret how it’s being used. The author seems to use the word pneumatikos for ‘spiritual,’ so while that is a valid option, ‘wise and revealed spirit’ seems to make the most sense in the context.

^r ‘Curious’ here is traditionally ‘revelation.’ The Greek apokalupsis is correctly translated as ‘revelation’ and literally means something like ‘uncovering.’ The context indicates people who are characterized by a quality of ‘uncovering.’ One way to say that might be a ‘spirit of discovery,’ but a ‘discovery/discovering spirit’ does not quite work in English. ‘Curious’ captures the idea of a people who are characterized by a posture of discovery and being ready to see what is revealed.

^s Typically, I have used ‘life-breath’ to translate pneuma. Here, it seems to do more to distract than to facilitate a new encounter. While it does certainly include the breath of life flowing through someone, I think the emphasis here is on what character is produced by that flow, and ‘spirit’ captures that focus better than ‘life-breath.’

^t ‘Eyes of your heart’ combines two symbols that represent desire and motivation. ‘Eyes’ were a common symbol for desire, especially for ambition for wealth and greed (see Matthew 6) when the “eyes are bad.” ‘Heart’ was not used to represent emotions generally or sentimentality but specifically how motivation and desire pushed and pulled (including by means of emotion) in a particular direction.

^u Parallel to Matthew 6:19-24. Notice the connections between desire (heart) and the eye (what sets its sights on what is desired, specifically regarding money and possessions) and the eye being the lamp and providing light to the body—illuminating it—or being dark, and the connection with serving Wealth or God.

^v Traditionally, ‘in the heavenlies.’ Literally, the ‘over-sky’ or that which is higher than the sky. This has nothing to do with a post-death residence. It represents the level of authority or power of those who are said to be in this place. It represents socio-economic or power/authority status.

^w Maybe ‘country’? Traditionally, it’s ‘dominion,’ which is correct but archaic.

^x This is ekklesia, traditionally translated ‘church’ and literally means the group of those who have answered a call to gather. I’m considering whether in Bible context ‘Community’—capital ‘C’—might be appropriate.

^y ‘It’ is referring to ‘the Assembly’