DUO DUO, SUMPOSIA SUMPOSIA, PRASIAI PRASIAI...

Jonathan Robie jonathan at texcel.no
Sun Aug 30 08:51:39 EDT 1998


In Mark 6:7 we see DUO DUO, in 6:39 we see SUMPOSIA SUMPOSIA, in 6:40 we
see PRASIAI PRASIAI. Is it accurate to think of this as laying out the
nouns spatially, or in "Old Macdonald" fashion, "here a two, there a two",
"here an eating party, there an eating party", "here a clump, there a clump"?

Also, what kind of language is this? One source I have says it is a
semiticism, but when I look at the language in Mark 6:38-6:40, this feels
like storyteller's language, with strong oral rhythms and plenty of rhyme:

hO DE LEGEI AUTOIS

	POSOUS ARTOUS ECETE;
	hUPAGETE IDETE
	KAI GNONTES LEGOUSIN, PENTE
	KAI DUO IXQUAS

KAI EPETAXEN AUTOIS ANAKLINAI 

	SUMPOSIA SUMPOSIA
	EPI TWi XLWRWi XORTWi

KAI ANEPESAN

	PRASIAI PRASIAI
	KATA hEKATON KAI KATA PENTHKONTA

KAI LABWN TOUS PENTE ARTOUS
      KAI TOUS DUO ICQUAS

KTL

Is the repeated noun a form used primarily for the sake of rhythm? And is
it really laying things out spatially, as I have guessed?

Jonathan
___________________________________________________________________________

Jonathan Robie		jwrobie at mindspring.com

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