Codex Bezae (D05) Reading #9
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Sat Aug 24 12:44:19 EDT 2002
Richard, I think you missed my point. I find no fault with EMNHSTEUMENHN
whatsoever. My problem is rather with the reading of Codex Bezae (D05):
MEMNHSMENHN: if this is really taken from MNAOMAI then the form MEMNHSMENHN
shouldn't be understood as passive: MNAOMAI, "court/woo" is a middle-voice
("deponent") verb, and one that apparently hasn't been used in the sense
"court/woo" much since Homeric Greek.
At 7:43 AM -0700 8/24/02, Richard A. Stauch wrote:
>Dear Carl,
>
>Just to address the first point of surprise: why the perfect passive
>EMNHSTEUMENHN (UBS3,4/NA26,27) in Luke 1:27? In my opinion, it is
>because the direct object of the clause is the PARQENON ... MARIAM.
>Since the act of "wooing" is done by the man in that culture, her
>betrothal is a passive event from her perspective. Perhaps that
>addresses your second point of surprise, as well?
>
>Just my thought, for what it's worth,
>Richard Allan Stauch
>Long Beach, CA
>
>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Carl W. Conrad [mailto:cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu]
>> Sent: Friday, August 23, 2002 5:17 AM
>> To: Biblical Greek
>> Cc: Biblical Greek
>> Subject: [b-greek] Re: Codex Bezae (D05) Reading #9
>>
>> Further reflections: I still think that this reading in D05 is an
>error
>> for
>> EMNHSTEUMENHN, but as I pondered the matter I recollected there's a
>> Homeric
>> verb MNAOMAI for "court, woo" from which MNHSTHS (e.g. those wretched
>> "suitors" upon whom Odysseus so horribly--and justly--takes vengeance)
>and
>> MNHSTEUOMAI derive. Upon checking BDAG this morning, I find this
>entry:
>>
>> MNAOMAI (from MIMNHSKW in the sense 'woo' [so DELG and Frisk s.v. the
>> latter, and LfgrE s.v. MNAOMAI] via special development of the primary
>> sense of MNAOMAI 'be mindful of', which does not appear in our lit.;
>for
>> other derivations s. lit. cited in Frisk II 240f and LfgrE III 232;
>cp.
>> Hom. MNHSTHR 'suitor'; since Hom., also Philo) woo, court for one's
>bride
>> pf. ptc. MEMNHSMENH of the woman engaged, betrothed Lk 1:27 D.
>>
>> The surprise to me here is that this verb is in fact derived from the
>root
>> MNA/MNH "remember" and is a special extended usage of that root.
>> Nevertheless two factors still seem to me to make this reading in D05
>> problematic: (1) why the perfect passive of a verb that only appears
>in
>> the
>> middle voice and that is used of the man courting a woman? and (2)
>> according to LSJ-G (s.v. MNAOMAI II. 2), after Homer, the verb is used
>in
>> the sense, "sue for, solicit a favor, office, etc."
>>
>> At 9:01 PM -0400 8/22/02, Carl W. Conrad wrote:
>> >>9 - Lk 1:27 NA27/USB4: EMNHSTEUMENHN ANDRI hWi ONOMA IWSHF; D05:
>> >>MEMNHSMENHN instead of EMNHSTEUMENHN
>> >>Selon D05 Marie était simplement "promise en mariage" ; selon les
>autres
>> >>manuscrits qui reprennent le terme du Dt, elle était "officiellement
>> >>fiancée" . Quelles conséquences dégager du choix de l'un ou de
>l'autre
>> >>terme? Autre question: pourquoi le parfait? ["According to D05 Mary
>was
>> >>simply 'promised in marriage'; according to the other MSS which echo
>the
>> >>term from Deuteronomy, she was 'officially engaged.' What follows
>from
>> the
>> >>choice of the one over the other term? Another question: Why the
>perfect
>> >>tense?"]
>> >
>> >I don't understand how MEMNHSMENHN can be understood as "promise en
>> >mariage" or "promised in marriage." This perfect MP participle can
>only
>> be
>> >derived from MIMNHSKOMAI which is regularly middle in later Greek and
>> ought
>> >to be understood as middle in this form: "remembering" (or "having
>> >remembered"). While the form doesn't normally have that -S- in the
>stem,
>> >the -S- is often enough added to vowel-stems before non-thematic
>endings.
>> >This really looks to me like an error for EMNHSTEUMENHN.
>> --
>>
>> Carl W. Conrad
>> Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
>> Most months:: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
>> cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad at ioa.com
>> WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
>
>
>
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Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
Most months:: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad at ioa.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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