I'm working on Luke 11:48-54, and the phrase, katabolēs kosmou. It's not in the LXX; any idea of its usage pre-NT?
51 As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world [καταβολῆς κόσμου katabolēs kosmou]
The phrase doesn't appear very much. The NIDNTTE, which usually has sizable paragraphs of description, has the following. But the listing does give us a decent synopsis of how the phrase is used:
JL 1 In the LXX the vb. καταβάλλω occurs c. 45x (incl. 11x in Ezekiel) to render a variety of Heb. terms, esp. the hiph. of נָפַל H5877 (“to cause to fall down,” thus also “to tear down, destroy,” etc.; e.g., of breaking down a city wall, 2 Sam 20:15). Only in 2 Macc 2:13 does it have the sense “to found” (Nehemiah founded a library by collecting the ancient writings of Israel; cf. also 5:6, of setting up monuments). No theological significance attaches to the use of this term. The noun καταβολή occurs but once, with ref. to the construction of a house (2:29).
2 It is worth noting that the Letter of Aristeas uses καταβολή twice: once with ref. to the foundation of the temple (§89) and once in the phrase μία καταβολή with ref. to the “one creation” (§129); it also uses καταβάλλω with the noun διδαχή G1439 to describe the laying of foundational teaching (§294). The vb. is found with some freq. in both Philo and Jos. (the former uses it several times with the sense “to sow, implant,” both lit. and fig., e.g., of sowing plants (i.e., virtues or vices) in the soul, Leg. 1.49). The noun occurs occasionally, as when Jos. speaks of ἀποστάσεως καταβολή, “the beginning of a revolt” (B.J. 2.260), or when Philo uses the phrase ἡ πρώτης καταβολὴ τῆς τούτων γενέσεως, “the first origin of the birth of these [i.e., the Hebrews]” (Mos. 1.279).
NT 1 The vb. καταβάλλω occurs 2x in the NT: once in the lit. sense “to strike down” (2 Cor 4:9), and once of laying the foundation (θεμέλιον καταβαλλόμενοι) of Christian doctrine (Heb 6:1, parallel with ὁ τῆς ἀρχῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ λόγον, lit., “the teaching of the beginning of Christ,” i.e., the basic teaching about Christ). The noun occurs 11x, once in the expression καταβολὴ σπέρματος (Heb 11:11), which would normally refer to the man’s part in procreation, “begetting” (cf. NRSV, NIV 1984), but here the subj. is apparently Sarah, so the meaning may be more general, “having children” (cf. NIV 2011; see also Σάρρα G4925). All of the remaining instances consist of the combination ἀπὸ [or πρὸ] καταβολῆς κόσμου, “from [or before] the foundation of the world” (with the poss. exception of Matt 13:35, where the word κόσμου is textually suspect, but the meaning is the same). The rest of the art. is devoted to this phrase.
2 It is clear that καταβολὴ κόσμου has become a fixed expression for the point from which historical dates are reckoned (cf. the use of A.M., Anno mundi, in Jewish chronology). When God’s free activity is dated before (πρό) this point in time, as in John 17:24 (where the obj. of God’s love is Jesus) and Eph 1:4 (where the obj. is the believer), the purpose is to declare the independence of God’s providence from the abs. beginning that he himself set and thus from history. This independence enables him to break into history in his loving purposes and to bring the course of history to its completion, again in his love. Two points stand out in all the texts that mention the foundation of the world. First, it is always associated with a statement about human destiny. Second, there is an implied connection between God’s foreknowledge and predestination. In partic., Matt 25:34 and Eph 1:4 speak of election (see ἐκλέγομαι G1721). In the case of Rev 13:8 and 17:8, the theme is reprobation. Luke 11:50 (a lamentation of Jesus) and Heb 4:3 speak of historical failure for which account must be rendered. Finally, the unique, central position of Jesus Christ in the history of salvation is highlighted in Matt 13:35 (quoting Ps 78:2 [LXX 77:2], with some textual differences, such as καταβολή where LXX has ἀρχή); Heb 9:26; and 1 Pet 1:20 (cf. John 17:24). He reveals in the midst of history what has been hidden since the foundation of the world, and thus fixes the end of time. The phrase “before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24; Eph 1:4; 1 Pet 1:20) is foreign to the OT and is prob. an attempt to express the independence of the Creator from his creation in the face of Hellenism—and thus to make his acts of salvation dependent on him alone.
(The New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis, s.v. “καταβολή καταβάλλω,” 2:635-636.)
The appendix below gives the instances of the noun καταβολή which (with a single exception) occurs in the phrase καταβολῆς κόσμου = "foundation of [the] world". BDAG gives a good definition of the meaning of καταβολῆς as:
the act of laying something down with implication of providing a base for something, foundation
BDAG also provides a number of references for documents containing this word outside the NT such as 1 Clem 57:1, Theophilus Antiochenus, etc. However, none contain the exact phrase καταβολῆς κόσμου.
The key to understanding the phrase καταβολῆς κόσμου is in the meaning of the word κόσμος (kosmos) for which BDAG provides this definition:
- The sum total of everything here and now, the world, the (orderly) universe
Thus, the phrase καταβολῆς κόσμου appears to be a direct allusion to Gen 1:1, Ps 33:6, 9, Isa 44:24, 45:18, John 1:3, Heb 1:2, Col 1:16; these concepts are unique to Judeo-Christian theology and thus, it unsurprising that they do not exist elsewhere. [Greek mythology had creation stories involving multiple gods who squabbled among themselves, but fiat creation is unique to Genesis and the theology that flows from it.]
Indeed, many version translate this phrase, "creation of the world".
However, the Greek text also has -
... all with exactly the same meaning.
APPENDIX - καταβολή in the NT
The 11 occurrences of καταβολή in the NT fall into exactly three forms:
