ALLA MENOUNGE KAI
Daniel L Christiansen
dlc at multnomah.edu
Tue Dec 7 14:56:45 EST 1999
Interesting question, and the LXX doesn't offer a lot of help,
either. MENOUNGE is never used in the LXX, although MEN OUN occurs 48
times, three times followed by KAI.
2Mac 9:28...hO MEN OUN ANDROFONOS KAI BLASFHMOS
2Macc 11:18 . . .MEN OUN EDEI KAI TWi BASILEI
4Mac 1:7 . . .POLLACOQEN MEN OUN KAI ALLACOQEN
One of the three occurrences (2Macc 9:28) is not applicable, since
the KAI is simply joining substantives. However, I found it interesting
to see what the major translators have done with 2Mac 11:18 and 4Mac
1:7. In short, and to save bandwidth here, they seem to have ignored
the MEN OUN KAI, perhaps taking it as a narrative indicator, but with no
distinct logical force. So, that is about as far away as one can get
from Wuest's suggestion that each particle be given distinct force in
the translation.
Perhaps the disagreement is not surprising, since MEN itself is one
of the more difficult particles to understand in koine. It may (with
DE) indicate a sharp distinction between two courses of action, or a
simple listing of alternatives, or elements in a list. It may merely
signal the continuation of a narrative or an argument. And so much in
between. Add OUN and YE to that (neither of which are exactly
single-significance terms) and it you have an interpreter's nightmare
(or dream, in Wuest's case).
So, Carl, et al, does the Classical usage help us here?
--
Daniel L. Christiansen
Department of Bible
Multnomah Bible College
8435 NE Glisan Street
Portland, OR 97220
(Also Portland Bible College, Prof of Biblical Languages)
e-mail: dlc at multnomah.edu
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