Ephesians 4:8 Gifts In Men?

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Article contributed by Bobcat.

For it says: “When he ascended on high he carried away captives; he gave gifts in men.” (Ephesians 4:8 New World Translation)

The English Standard Version reads:

Therefore it says, “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”

A search on Biblehub.com reveals all other Bibles read similarly to the English Standard Version when it says he gave gifts to men.

Why do all other Bibles read differently from the New World Translation?

The Greek word rendered “men” in Ephesians 4:8 is the male plural form of anthrópos. (ἀνθρώποις, [Strong’s number 444] is the male dative plural in Ephesians 4:8). This form is used to refer to people or humans in a way similar to how we say in English “mankind,” which, in English, has no reference to gender. (On the other hand, “womankind” is always used in a gender specific manner in English.)

The Greek word used for the male gender is ἀνήρ ([Strong’s 435]; rendered “male” or “man” or “husband” depending upon the context, such as 1 Corinthians 11:3.)

The article before “men” (or “people”) is dative (which is why ἀνθρώποις is dative), meaning that the “gifts” are being given “to” them. They (the men or people) are not the gifts. Rather, they are the recipients of the gifts. (The dative case indicates that the action of the verb, “gave,” is towards the object of the verb “men”or “people.”) And this agrees with the context that leads up to verse 8, namely Ephesians 4:7 – “Now undeserved kindness was given to each one of us according to how the Christ measured out the free gift” (Revised NWT) Then notice Ephesians 4:8 starts with διὸ (therefore, for which, wherefore; [Strong’s 1352]), indicating that verse 8 is about to show why verse 7 is true.

Of the ones listed in verse 11 (“apostles . . . prophets . . . evangelizers . . . shepherds . . . teachers”), “prophets . . . evangelizers . . . and teachers” definitely include women (Acts 21:9; 1Corinthians 11:5; Philippians 4:2, 3; Titus 2:3, 4).

As for why the NWT renders the phrase “gifts in men”:

The reference Bible has a footnote that says: Or, “consisting of men,” in agreement with the Masoretic Text (Psalm 68:18) and LXX (Psalm 67:19). Literally, “to the men.” The original NWT (1950) has a footnote that is a little more forthright. It says: Or, “consisting of men”; according to the Hebrew original of Psalm 68:18 and the LXX translation of it. Or, possibly, “to men.”

In other words, they are saying, ‘since the Hebrew and LXX of Psalm 68:18 (Ps 67:19 in the LXX) say “gifts in men” (δόματα ἐν ἀνθρώποις in the LXX vs. δόματα τοῖς ἀνθρώποις in Ephesians 4:8), then, we are taking the liberty to amend what Paul said in Ephesians so as to make the phrase agree with the Hebrew of Psalm 68:18.

Of course, the idea that the phrase refers to elders only, is a matter of control for the Watchtower organization.

It is also typical of the Watchtower organization to strip ordinary congregation members of anything (such as the free gift of the holy spirit – Acts 2:38, 39) so as to make them completely dependent on the Watchtower organization for all their spiritual needs.

In fact, Paul made five (some say six) changes to Psalm 68:18 as it is quoted in Ephesians 4:8. But the NWT only amends the last phrase to read as they want. So they are being disingenuious to claim that they are amending the last phrase to read like Psalm 68:18, yet ignoring all the other changes that Paul made.

More than that, I thought Paul, the writer of Ephesians, was inspired. He also knew both Greek and Hebrew. Any changes he made in citing the Psalm were under the inspiration of the holy spirit. Nor did Paul say that he was making a verbatim quote of Psalm 68:18.

Who is the Watchtower organization to amend what Paul chose to write?