"Near" (was: Re: Matthew 4:17 'near')

Steven Craig Miller scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Fri Dec 3 10:16:29 EST 1999


To: Randall Buth,

JAF: << The term 'near' says that the subject is *outside* of a significant 
boundary ... >>

I will note that you quoted this statement from Joe A. Friberg, without 
giving any credit as to who wrote it. That makes it hard for us who are 
trying to follow the flow of thought and would like to go back and see this 
statement in its full context.

RB: << I wouldn't buy that one for Hebrew. E.g. Jonah 1.5-7 has the captain 
come right up to Jonah's face. >>

I think you are absolutely correct, what might be true for English and/or 
Greek is not necessarily true for a similar word in Hebrew. The Hebrew verb 
QRB seems at times to mean more than merely "be near," rather it seems to 
mean also "approach" and even be "present." Here the NRSV simply translates 
it as "came."

IMO the semantic domain of "near" & "far" refers to two terms which are 
simply relative points of orientation (from the view point of the speaker) 
which says nothing about absolute distance (or time). The English adverb 
"near" can refer to this semantic domain and mean "at, within, or to a 
short distance or time," but this same adverb can also mean "in a close or 
intimate manner." This seems to me to be a different semantic domain. To my 
knowledge, neither the Greek term EGGUS, nor the cognate verb EGGIZW, 
carries this meaning, although I wouldn't be surprised if someone found 
such an example, since it seems to me to be a natural extension of this term.

As I have defined the semantic domain of "near" & "far," I would tend to 
more or less concur with Joe A. Friberg's statement quoted above (assuming 
that it refers to such a semantic domain). On the other hand, that does not 
mean that the English adverb "near" can't be used for other semantic 
domains. And as you have pointed out, it doesn't tell us the full semantic 
range of the Hebrew term QRB.

What do you (or others) think?

-Steven Craig Miller
Alton, Illinois (USA)
scmiller at www.plantnet.com

"Words are like people. To know them well one must meet them on their own 
level, in their own environment. In different circumstances they react 
differently. Like a face they take on varying expressions. Some of them 
move from place to place; some never return to their earlier familiar 
surroundings. But to know their past is to know a little better what makes 
them act as they do in the present" (Frederick W. Danker, "Multipurpose 
Tools for Bible Study," 1993:135).




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