In Ephesians 3:5, we read how God has “now revealed [the previously hidden mystery; cp. v. 3] unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”

Here the mystery is the object (the thing being revealed) and the apostles and prophets are the indirect object (being in the dative case in the Greek).

This is a question only for those with an advanced knowledge of New Testament Greek. Here the translators have assumed the dative is being used to denote an indirect object, but the dative can also be used to denote the means by which an action is accomplished (called the instrumental dative). Is it possible that the apostles and prophets here could be seen as instrumental, rather than as the indirect object, here - i.e., “God has "now revealed [the previously hidden mystery - verse 3] THROUGH [rather than TO] his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit”?

This translation would allow for the prophets being referred to, to include the Old Testament prophets, in the sense that the aspects of their message which were not previously understood by them (1 Peter 1:10–12) have now been explained to us by the Spirit.

Most commentators restrict the prophets being referred to here to New Testament prophets, who are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, with some of them being named. If we have to take the dative to denote an indirect object (“TO the apostles and prophets”) this would seem to be correct (because the gospel was not fully revealed TO the Old Testament prophets) but I believe there are good scriptural grounds to think otherwise.

Therefore I am asking Greek experts, whether GRAMMATICALLY my suggested translation could be valid, because NONE of the translations use it. I am not interested in interpretations of using "to": just whether or not using “to” is definitely the ONLY acceptable translation from a lingustic, rather than from a doctrinal, point of view. (Bear in mind that if my interpretation of the dative as instrumental is acceptable, the mystery has still been revealed TO the apostles and prophets as well—although so far as the OT prophets are concerned, without their full understanding of it at the time).

In Ephesians 3:5, we read how God has “now revealed [the previously hidden mystery; cp. v. 3] unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”

Here the mystery is the object (the thing being revealed) and the apostles and prophets are the indirect object (being in the dative case in the Greek).

This is a question only for those with an advanced knowledge of New Testament Greek. Here the translators have assumed the dative is being used to denote an indirect object, but the dative can also be used to denote the means by which an action is accomplished (called the instrumental dative). Is it possible that the apostles and prophets here could be seen as instrumental, rather than as the indirect object, here - i.e., “God has "now revealed [the previously hidden mystery - verse 3] THROUGH [rather than TO] his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit”?

This translation would allow for the prophets being referred to, to include the Old Testament prophets, in the sense that the aspects of their message which were not previously understood by them (1 Peter 1:10–12) have now been explained to us by the Spirit.

Most commentators restrict the prophets being referred to here to New Testament prophets, who are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, with some of them being named. If we have to take the dative to denote an indirect object (“TO the apostles and prophets”) this would seem to be correct (because the gospel was not fully revealed TO the Old Testament prophets) but I believe there are good scriptural grounds to think otherwise.

Therefore I am asking Greek experts, whether GRAMMATICALLY my suggested translation could be valid, because NONE of the translations use it. I am not interested in interpretations of using "to": just whether or not using “to” is definitely the ONLY acceptable translation from a lingustic, rather than from a doctrinal, point of view. (Bear in mind that if my interpretation of the dative as instrumental is acceptable, the mystery has still been revealed TO the apostles and prophets as well—although so far as the OT prophets are concerned, without their full understanding of it at the time).

In Ephesians 3 verse 5, we read how God has "now revealed [the previously hidden mystery - verse 3] unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit".

Here the mystery is the object (the thing being revealed) and the apostles and prophets are the indirect object (being in the dative case in the Greek).

This is a question only for those with an advanced knowledge of New Testament Greek. Here the translators have assumed the dative is being used to denote an indirect object, but the dative can also be used to denote the means by which an action is accomplished (called the instrumental dative). Is it possible that the apostles and prophets here could be seen as instrumental, rather than as the indirect object, here - i.e., "God has "now revealed [the previously hidden mystery - verse 3] THROUGH [rather than TO] his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit"?

This translation would allow for the prophets being referred to, to include the Old Testament prophets, in the sense that the aspects of their message which were not previously understood by them (1 Peter 1:10 - 12) have now been explained to us by the Spirit.

Most commentators restrict the prophets being referred to here to New Testament prophets, who are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, with some of them being named. If we have to take the dative to denote an indirect object ("TO the apostles and prophets") this would seem to be correct (because the gospel was not fully revealed TO the Old Testament prophets) but I believe there are good scriptural grounds to think otherwise.

Therefore I am asking Greek experts, whether GRAMMATICALLY my suggested translation could be valid, because NONE of the translations use it. I am not interested in interpretations of using "to": just whether or not using "to" is definitely the ONLY acceptable translation from a lingustic, rather than from a doctrinal, point of view. (Bear in mind that if my interpretation of the dative as instrumental is acceptable, the mystery has still been revealed TO the apostles and prophets as well - although so far as the OT prophets are concerned, without their full understanding of it at the time).

In Ephesians 3:5, we read how God has “now revealed [the previously hidden mystery; cp. v. 3] unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.”

Here the mystery is the object (the thing being revealed) and the apostles and prophets are the indirect object (being in the dative case in the Greek).

This is a question only for those with an advanced knowledge of New Testament Greek. Here the translators have assumed the dative is being used to denote an indirect object, but the dative can also be used to denote the means by which an action is accomplished (called the instrumental dative). Is it possible that the apostles and prophets here could be seen as instrumental, rather than as the indirect object, here - i.e., “God has "now revealed [the previously hidden mystery - verse 3] THROUGH [rather than TO] his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit”?

This translation would allow for the prophets being referred to, to include the Old Testament prophets, in the sense that the aspects of their message which were not previously understood by them (1 Peter 1:10–12) have now been explained to us by the Spirit.

Most commentators restrict the prophets being referred to here to New Testament prophets, who are mentioned elsewhere in the New Testament, with some of them being named. If we have to take the dative to denote an indirect object (“TO the apostles and prophets”) this would seem to be correct (because the gospel was not fully revealed TO the Old Testament prophets) but I believe there are good scriptural grounds to think otherwise.

Therefore I am asking Greek experts, whether GRAMMATICALLY my suggested translation could be valid, because NONE of the translations use it. I am not interested in interpretations of using "to": just whether or not using “to” is definitely the ONLY acceptable translation from a lingustic, rather than from a doctrinal, point of view. (Bear in mind that if my interpretation of the dative as instrumental is acceptable, the mystery has still been revealed TO the apostles and prophets as well—although so far as the OT prophets are concerned, without their full understanding of it at the time).