Hebrews 1:7–8 (μὲν .... δὲ)

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Jacob Rhoden
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Hebrews 1:7–8 (μὲν .... δὲ)

Post by Jacob Rhoden »

I notice that there appears to be a μὲν ... δὲ construct between verse 7 and verse 8, which really is obvious in English even if you ignore the contruct.
καὶ πρὸς μὲν τοὺς ἀγγέλους λέγει· "...." πρὸς δὲ τὸν υἱόν· "....."
My working/practice translation, translates it as:
And, on one hand, to angels he says "...." but to the son (he says) "...."
However, after checking 10 different translations, it seems to me that no translation pulls out the "on one hand" sense of the μὲν...δὲ. Is this because pulling out the "on one hand" phrase just feels a little clunky, or is there a grammatical reason to not use it?

Thanks! :D
Jonathan Robie
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Re: Hebrews 1:7–8 (μὲν .... δὲ)

Post by Jonathan Robie »

I don't think translations typically use "on the one hand ... on the other hand" for μὲν .... δὲ constructions at all. Here is a search for μὲν in SBLGNT, you can easily pick instances and see how they are translated. I think it's pretty rare to translate it as "one the one hand".

BDAG mentions this:
BDAG: μέν ❶ [b]marker of correlation[/b] ⒜ introducing a concessive clause, followed by another clause with an adversative particle wrote:to be sure ... but, one the one hand ... on the other hand, though in many cases an equivalent translation will not fit this scheme; rather, the contrast is to be emphasized in the second clause, often with but.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
Barry Hofstetter
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Re: Hebrews 1:7–8 (μὲν .... δὲ)

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Jonathan Robie wrote:I don't think translations typically use "on the one hand ... on the other hand" for μὲν .... δὲ constructions at all. Here is a search for μὲν in SBLGNT, you can easily pick instances and see how they are translated. I think it's pretty rare to translate it as "one the one hand".

BDAG mentions this:
BDAG: μέν ❶ [b]marker of correlation[/b] ⒜ introducing a concessive clause, followed by another clause with an adversative particle wrote:to be sure ... but, one the one hand ... on the other hand, though in many cases an equivalent translation will not fit this scheme; rather, the contrast is to be emphasized in the second clause, often with but.
"On the one hand...on the other" is one of those largely "translationese" renderings that is designed to show the correlation, but is often expressed idiomatically in different ways in English.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Jacob Rhoden
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Re: Hebrews 1:7–8 (μὲν .... δὲ)

Post by Jacob Rhoden »

Thanks, you are always so helpful. Much appreciated.

I am relying a lot on whats in my first year textbook, this does highlight that I would benefit from spending more time digging in BDAG, however, not understanding half of the abbreviations in BDAG does make it somewhat difficult/tedeous to trawl through. (Although thankfully I am certainly improving, I used to find BDAG impossible to navigate)
Jonathan Robie
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Re: Hebrews 1:7–8 (μὲν .... δὲ)

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Feel free to ask for help deciphering BDAG any time.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
http://jonathanrobie.biblicalhumanities.org/
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