Modern Greek/KJV

Steven Craig Miller scmiller at plantnet.com
Wed Dec 20 08:19:19 EST 2000


FWIW ... I had a number of Greek students (= they were from Greece or their 
parents were from Greece and they spoke Modern Greek) take classical Greek 
with me (those many years ago). And while occasionally it appeared to me 
that they had things slightly easier than the rest of us non-Greeks, they 
often appeared to struggle right along with us. I wonder if any of those 
who teach Greek (either NT or classical) has had any experience teaching 
Greek to those who know Modern Greek? What is your impression of such students?

I don't have an example from Shakespeare, but I do have one from the KJV. 
(I guess we all have dozens of examples from the KJV, but I've come across 
a new one -- at least new to me.) At 1 Corinthians 13:12a the KJV gives: 
"For now we see through a glass, darkly ..." The image which this passage 
always conjured up in my mind was the image of looking through smoked-glass 
were the images one's sees from the other side of this glass would appear 
to be dark, clouded, and indistinct. But both the Greek word and the 
English word "glass" mean "mirror." So that one is not seeing through a 
glass to an image on the other side of the glass, rather one is seeing a 
refection in the mirror.

I'll note that in addition Danker translates: DI' ESOPTROU BLEPEIN EN 
AINIGMATI as "see indirectly in a mirror" and Danker adds the following 
explanation "because one sees not the thing itself, but its mirror-image" 
(BDAG). Much of this appeared in the second edition too. But see also 
Danker's articles: CTM 31[1960]:428-429; & CBQ 26[1964]:248; as well as 
those by Gill at CBQ 25[1963]:427-429 and by Bassett at JBL 
47[1928]:232-236. If anyone knows of any commentaries which have either 
accepted this translation of AINIGMA as meaning "indirectly" or has 
explicitly rejected such a notion, I would appreciate being informed about 
this.

[[ The citation of CTM 30, '60, 428f in both BDAG (3rd edition) and BAGD 
(2nd edition) under the entry ESOPTRON is incorrect. The volume number 
should be 31. ]]

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





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