Lk 1:64 PARACRHMA
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Thu Sep 12 08:31:13 EDT 2002
At 7:31 PM -0400 9/10/02, S. Chabert d'Hyères wrote (in a message forwarded
by me to the list):
>In a message dated 9/10/02 7:41:18 AM, cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu writes:
>
>>>I suppose it might be possible to read the critical text as indicating
>>>that the
>>simultaneous events indicated by PARACRHMA are the unbinding of his mouth
>>and of his tongue. But it seems to me rather that we should
>>>understand TO STOMA AUTOU and hH GLWSSA AUTOU as shared subjects of ANEWiCQH
>>(there is, of course, no violation of the concords here since hH GLWSSA
>>AUTOU is a subject appended to the original subject-predicate sequence) and
>>that the function of PARACRHMA here is to indicate that Zacharias spoke out
>>in praise of God AS SOON AS he was able to speak.
>
>Along with instantaneity, PARACRHMA seems to indicate the simultaneity of
>two actions whereby a "sign" was discerned (Numb 6,9); elsewhere, apart
>from Numb 12:4 and in the prophets it marks divine intervention or anger
>falling upon the people unexpectedly (Is 29:5, 48:3). Luke took up anew
>this "frightening" adverb, adapting it to his gospel where it served to
>mark the exceptional character of healings occurring immediately upon a
>word of Jesus (Lk 4:39D; 5:25; 8:44, 55; 13:13;18:43 etc.) or the imminent
>arrival of the Kingdom (19:11). That is why the position of PARACRHMA in Lk
>1 according to D05 seems to me better to correspond to Luke's habitual
>usage, since it it underlines the moment when, as he confirmed the name of
>his son, Zacharias recovered his speech according to the sign given by the
>angel in Lk 1;20; in the others mss (critical text) simultaneity intervenes
>between the same gestures of Zacharie (its mouth its lips and its prayer),
>gestures which are not precisely unexpected or surprising.
I don't find this quite convincing. While it is true that PARACRHMA seems
to be a preferred Lucan adverb (17 of the 18 instances in the GNT are to be
found in the gospel of Luke and in Acts, the single other instance in Mt
21:19), I think this is a stylistic preference, nor am I convinced that we
should view the usage of PARACRHMA here as a distinct Lucan association of
it with healings. While several of the usages in Luke's gospel are indeed
associated with divine intervention. Louw & Nida note a number of
synonymous adverbs used thus (7.113 AIFNIDIOS, EXAIFNHS, EXAPINA, EXAUTHS,
AFNW, ARTI, PARACRHMA) and comments: "pertaining to an extremely short
period of time between a previous state or event and a subsequent state or
event - 'suddenly, at once, immediately' (in a number of contexts there is
the implication of unexpectedness, but this seems to be a derivative of the
context as a whole and not a part of the meaning of the lexical items)."
Moreover, perhaps I have overlooked something, but I think that the
positioning of PARACRHMA in the "critical text" of NA27/USB4 is not less
expressive of the miraculous nature of Zacharias' recovery of speech than
the positioning in D05. Perhaps this is a difference of opinion, but remain
content with my original understanding as indicated above.
--
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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