GNWSIS vs EPIGNWSIS
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Tue Sep 10 13:53:03 EDT 2002
At 9:19 AM -0700 9/10/02, Glendon M. Gross wrote:
>My thoughts are not scientific, but if EPI means "around" in the sense
>of all-encompassing...
but it DOESN'T really mean "around"; it means "upon" or "on" or "on top
of". But in composition its meanings range fairly broadly, and although
they may be cataloged (as below in LSJ) one cannot simply lump all usages
under the heading of a single meaning without paying careful attention to
the particular verbs or nouns and ways in which each is used in context.
According to LSJ at the end of the article on EPI, under "composition" we
find:
G. . IN COMPOSITION:
I. . of Place, denoting,
1. . Support or Rest upon, epeimi (A), epikeimai, epikathizô, epauchenios,
epibômios, etc.
2. . Motion,
a. . upon or over, epibainô, epitrechô.
b. . to or towards, eperchomai, epistellô, eparisteros, epidexios.
c. . against, epaïssô, epipleô 11 , epistrateuô, epibouleuô.
d. . up to a point, epiteleô.
e. . over a place, as in epaiôreomai, epartaô.
f. . over or beyond boundaries, as in epinemomai.
g. . implying reciprocity, as in epigamia.
3. . Extension over a surface, as in epaleiphô, epanthizô, epipetomai,
epipleô 1 , eparguros, epichrusos.
4. . Accumulation of one thing over or besides another, as in epageirô,
epimanthanô, epauxanô, epiballô, epiktêtos.
5. . Accompaniment, to, with, as in epaidô, epauleô, epagrupneô: hence of
Addition, epitritos one and 1/3 more, 1 +1/3; so epitetartos, epipemptos,
epogdoos, etc.
6. . with Adjs., somewhat, slightly, as in epixanthos, epipikros.
II. . of Time and Sequence, after, as in epibioô, epiblastanô, epigignomai,
epakolouthos, epigonos, epistatês 1.2 .
III. . in causal senses:
1. . Superiority felt over or at, as in epichairô, epigelaô, epaischunomai.
2. . Authority over, as in epikrateô, eparchos, epiboukolos, epipoimên.
3. . Motive for, as in epithumeô, epizêmios, epithanatos.
4. . to give force or intensity to the Verb, as in epaineô, epimemphomai,
epikeirô, epiklaô.
then there may be some value in thinking of
>EPIGNWSIS as "that type of knowledge which covers the perimeter of an
>item." This clearly is not an exact definition, but would appear to make
>sense in view of other cognates of the preposition "EPI". Compare the
>English word, "epigraph", which is a sentence that encompasses a lot...
>or the greek "EPISCOPOUNTES", translated "Oversight" in 1 Peter 5:2. Paul
>McReynolds translates EPIGNWSIS (Strong's #1921)as "Perceive" in his
>"Word Study Greek-English New Testament." Other verses in the NT
>translate it as "realized" and "recognized", "understanding", and
>"knowledge." I can't help thinking that "to know around" something might
>be a good transliteration.
>
>I like to have a word picture of the prepositional component of a word,
>even if it may be sometimes inaccurate, as a memory device. I must as
>usual defer to those with more expertise on this list for a more
>specific and qualified answer.
What I find a bit frustrating in the current discussion is the failure to
take advantage (as a first resort) of the more valuable lexicographical
resources that carefully consider the NT Greek instances of these words in
their own contexts; I'm thinking in particular of BDAG (s.v. EPIGINWSKW,
EPIGNWSIS) and Louw & Nida (##28.2, 28.18, 32.17).
--
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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