λογικός

From the study of Romans 12:1

Range of meaning

Having to do with logos (reason, word). It means rational, belonging to reason, fitting for a reasoning being. In religious writing it can mean true or inner as opposed to merely outward or material.

Against the English

KJV 'reasonable' now sounds like 'fair, not too much to ask'. ESV, WEB and BSB 'spiritual' sounds like 'non-physical' or 'emotional', odd in a verse about bodies. NIV 'true and proper' catches the sense of genuine and fitting. YLT 'intelligent' is closest to the root. No single English word carries it.

How it drifted

'Reasonable' (from the Vulgate rationabile through Tyndale to KJV) has shifted from 'rational' to 'moderate'. 'Spiritual' was chosen to echo 1 Peter 2:2, 5, but modern readers hear 'inner, invisible' in it.

Used elsewhere in the period

A key word for the Stoics. Epictetus: 'If I were a nightingale I would do what a nightingale does… but I am logikos, so I must sing hymns to God' (Discourses 1.16.20–21). Philo says God values not the offerings but the rational spirit of the worshipper (Special Laws 1.277). Testament of Levi 3:6 has angels offering 'a rational and bloodless offering' (logikēn kai anaimakton prosphoran). The Hermetic writings speak of 'rational sacrifices' (logikai thusiai, Corpus Hermeticum 1.31; 13.18–21). 1 Peter 2:2 uses logikon gala, 'pure / spiritual milk'.

From the study of 1 Peter 2:2

Range of meaning

Adjective from logos (word, speech, reason). Basic senses: (1) 'rational, reasonable', belonging to reason and speech (Stoic usage: humans are logika zōa, rational living beings, unlike animals); (2) 'having to do with words or speech, verbal'; (3) by extension, 'true, genuine, in the mind or spirit rather than physical', as opposed to the literal or bodily. BDAG puts the 1 Peter use under the sense 'pertaining to being carefully thought through' and notes that here it contrasts with literal milk.

Against the English

KJV and NASB: 'of the word'. BSB, NIV, ESV, WEB: 'spiritual'. YLT: 'the word's'. 'Spiritual' rightly says the milk is not literal, but it drops the audible link to logos (word). 'Of the word' keeps that link but makes a single adjective into a definite phrase, narrowing it to 'Scripture/preaching'.

How it drifted

Modern 'spiritual' tends to mean inner, emotional, mystical or immaterial, with no connection to words or reason. Logikos is close to the opposite: it is the rational, speech-shaped side of a person. In translations, 'spiritual' has become the standard way to say 'not literal', and the connection to the word has dropped out of sight.

Used elsewhere in the period

Epictetus (Discourses 1.16.20): 'If I were a nightingale I would sing like one; but I am logikos, so I must sing hymns to God.' The Hermetic writings and Philo speak of 'logikē thusia', a rational or word-offering, as opposed to animal sacrifice. Paul uses the only other NT occurrence in Rom 12:1, 'logikē latreia', usually rendered 'spiritual/reasonable worship'. Philo also uses milk as an image for teaching (e.g. On Agriculture 9).