[B-Greek] Prepositions
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Sun Dec 28 10:53:11 EST 2003
> I know that prepositions can have a great variety of meanings,
> but knowing that does not always solve the problem of knowing
> what they mean in a given sentence.
> To a beginner like me, it almost seems that when you encounter a
> preposition, you can insert any English translation that makes sense.
> I'll quote two verses to help me ask my question.
> (1)Luke 7:35.
> KAI EDIKAIWQH hH SOFIA APO PANTWN TWN TEKNWN AUTHS.
> In the translations I checked, APO in Luke 7:35 is translated as
> -by-. I looked up APO in the lexicon and it said that it can mean
> -by(agent)-.
Bert, are you referring to L&N? It lists the following senses:
a from (dissociation): apo#89.122
b from (source): apo#90.15
c from (extension): apo#84.3
d of (part-whole): apo#63.20
e of (substance): apo#89.142
f by (agent): apo#90.7
g by (instrument): apo#90.11
h since (time): apo#67.131
i because of (reason): apo#89.25
j upon (responsibility): apo#90.19
If you then look up #90.7 you find: "a marker of agent which may also be
regarded as a source - by, from."
#90.11 says: "a marker of instrument which serves as a source of information
or reason - by, from."
89.25 says: "APO; EK; hOQEN; PARA: markers of cause or reason, with focus
upon the source."
So, I suggest it may be helpful to think of "from" as a basic sense, but do
not think of "away from", since it is too restrictive, at least for the NT.
Include "based on" under "from" to indicate the source or basis from which
something originates. Notice that all of the above include the word
"source". In Luke 7:35 you don't have the straightforward agent, so the
English "by" does not quite fit, even though "by" has many different senses
in English. Wisdom will be "justified/vindicated" (proved to be right)
from/on the basis of all its "children" (those who commit themselves to
follow that wisdom. See note in NET bible). So, the source of or basis for
the "justification" of the wisdom is what its "children" do and experience.
The parallel in Matthew is slightly different in saying "based on (APO) its
deeds (what it produces)".
Another way to get a grasp of the basic sense is to study the beginning of
the entry in a lexicon like BDAG or BAGD: "Basic mng. separation from
someone or someth., fr. which the other mngs. have developed. In the NT it
has encroached on the domain of Att. EK, hUPO, PARA, and the gen. of
separation."
A third way is to have an electronic version of the GNT and search for all
uses of APO in the various contexts. I do that all the time, because the
meaning of a word is defined by its use.
> (2)John 1:7.
> hOUTOS HLQEN EIS MARTURIAN, hINA MARTURHSHi PERI TOU FWTOS.
> EIS is translated 'as'.
> This translation makes perfect sense but I don't think that 'as'
> is even a preposition.
L&N lists 17 different senses, and that can be bewildering. For the basic
sense, see BAGD: "indicating motion into a thing or into its immediate
vicinity." So, I suggest you think of "moving towards" as the basic sense.
This commonly extends to a purpose or result relationship. You cannot get
that from the English "as", but in this context "as" is one possible,
although questionable, translation. Some translations say "for" and some use
"to". If you think of movement and purpose, the sense is straightforward. He
came "for the purpose of becoming" a witness. How to translate it is a
different matter (I would prefer: He came to be a witness to the light). Try
to separate the two steps in your mind. The first step is to understand the
meaning, the second step is how best to translate it into another language.
One does not have to translate a noun with a noun, a verb with a verb, a
preposition with a preposition, etc. In fact, the literal versions that
always keep the same part of speech across language barriers, tend to lose
some of the intended meaning as do those that consistently translate one
word in Greek with one word in another language.
Iver Larsen
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