The Order of the Sayings
Saying 3 is connected to Saying 2 both through the connecting particle ouv and by an explicit statement of Clement. In introducing Saying 3, he objects to those who quote Saying 2 but not what comes after: But why do those, who [prefer] anything rather than follow the genuine gospel, not go on to quote the words after those spoken by Salome?” (Strom.
3.66.1) Saying 2 also follows on Saying 1. This connection is often missed because of the ambivalence surrounding the translation of λόγο$ in the introductory phrase (Strom 3.64.1). In R. McL. Wilson’s translation of Wilhlem Schneemelcher, followed by Ron Cameron,[543] λόγο? is taken to mean Jesus, the Word of God: “Since then the Word has alluded to the consummation, Salome saith rightly.” However, there is no reason why λόγο$ in this context should refer to the Word of God. Henry Chadwick translated in this way: “It is probably therefore with reference to the consummation that Salome says.”[544] The verb μηνύω means “to hint at, to intimate” and is often used to show a deeper meaning behind an expression, For example, at Strom. 7.104.6, Clement argues that the ex-pression (φωνή) of the apostle Paul hints at a deeper meaning. I would translate the introductory saying: “Whence, as the saying reasonably alludes to an ending, Salome says.” Clement is showing how Saying 2 was connected to Saying 1. As for the place of Saying 4, Clement says that Julius Cassianus introduced the saying with a phrase: “When Salome asked when what she had asked about would be known.” The verb γινωσκω is used in an eschatological setting in the discourse of Jesus over the destruction of the temple (Matt 24:32, 33, 39, 43, 50) and it seems to have the same resonance here. When will the end of the world as we know it, i.e., no more death, be known? Saying 4 thus coheres with the previous fragments in its concern about the end time.B.
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