The Adverbial EUQUS in Mark 1:21

Kyle Dillon spiffy at learningstar.com
Wed Sep 2 00:16:04 EDT 1998


-----Original Message-----
From: GregStffrd at aol.com <GregStffrd at aol.com>
To: Biblical Greek <b-greek at franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Date: Tuesday, September 01, 1998 6:16 PM
Subject: The Adverbial EUQUS in Mark 1:21


>I have some posts I am going to be sending to the board for comment and
>discussion. Hopefully it will make things more interesting for everyone.
>
>I thought I would use a more organized format, so that most of the issues
are
>clear in everyone's mind, and you'll know precisely what I am after.
>___________________________________________________________________
>
>Mark 1:21 reads: KAI EUQUS TOIS SABBASIN EISELQWN EIS THN
>                         SUNAGWGHN EDIDASKEN.
>
>Translation: "Indeed, as soon as it was Sabbath he entered into the
synagogue
>and started to teach."
>
>Grammatical Notes
>
>Nothing significant for this discussion, but I will mention that B and A
read
>as above, while aleph* and aleph-copy omit EISELQWN with EDIDASKEN  (copy),
>EDIDAXEN (*) occurring after SABBASIN, "he taught as he entered [or, on his
>way into] the synagogue."
>
>Translation Comparison
>
>RSV - "And immediately on the Sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught."
>
>NIV - "And when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began
to
>        teach."
>
>
>The Problem
>
>RSV translates the adverbial EUQUS as "immediately," but NIV does not
>translate it at all. NIV also does not translate EUQUS in Mark 1:10 or
1:30,
>but it does translate it in 1:12, 18, 20, 23, 28, 29, 42 and 43. Other
>chapters were not considered for this study.
>
>Question: Why do you think NIV ignored EUQUS in Mark 1:21, which seems to
add
>an element of urgency and importance to Jesus' desire to teach at this
time,
>and in this place?

>
>Greg Stafford


That is a good question. Maybe the NIV translation committe thought that it
was unnecessary to include a translation of EUQUS in some contexts. I don't
think they had any particular doctrine in mind when they omitted it though.

And since we are discussing the translation of this verse, I think that the
most literal translation of Mark 1:21 would read, "And on the Sabbaths, he
went straight into the synagogue and taught [or 'began to teach']." This
translation shows the weekly urgency to enter the synagogues on the Sabbath.
It also shows that Jesus stayed at Capernaum for more than one Sabbath.

Kyle Dillon




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