[B-Greek] LXX use of SUNAGW, Josh 10:6

Clwinbery at aol.com Clwinbery at aol.com
Wed Mar 5 21:23:17 EST 2003


In a message dated 3/5/03 4:01:21 PM, bgreek at ntresources.com writes:

>Josh 10:6, BOHQHSAN hHMIN, hOTI SUNHGHMENOI EISIN hHMAS PANTES hOI BASILEIS
>TWN AMORRAIWN
>"... help us, because all the kings of the Amorites have _____ us"

First there are a couple typos so I will give the whole line.
BOHQHSON hHMIN hOTI SUNHGMENOI EISIN EF' hHMAS PANTES hOI BASILEIS TWN 
AMORRAIWN hOI KATOIKOUNTES THN OREINHN.

>SUNAGW usually means "to gather, assemble" (at least in NT), but as I was
>reading Josh 10 I noticed that BDAG also lists "to advance, move" (#5).
>This
>is an intransitive use and the NT refs that are cited are of a positive
>nature, but there is a note that it is used in a hostile sense in Theocritus
>and Polybius. 

 SUNHGHMENOI would be from hHGEOMAI but SUNHGMENOI is the perf. mid. of 
SUNAGW. In the middle with EISIN, it is periphrastic and indicates the 
situation. 
The simplest translation would be "Help us! For all the kings of the Amorites 
that dwell on the mountain have assembled themselves against us.

>In the context of Josh 10, I began to wonder if the message of the
>Gibeonites pleading for help from Joshua might not be a reference to the
>military advance of the Amorite troops, and perhaps to the beginning of
>the
>battle rather than to the fact that the Gibeonites were surrounded. (The
>difference is perhaps not great since an advance could entail surrounding
>the city.) The LXX lexicon by Lust does not list such an option. L&S,
>however, do note a number of instances of SUNAGW being used in a hostile
>sense of military action (1691.I.3), particularly to *join* battle or to
>*begin* the battle-strife. Other contextual factors include the fact that
>the Gibeonites are able to get a message out of the city (more likely if
>not
>surrounded), and that the Amorites have attempted (note the imperfect verb,
>which fits a tendential context) to force them to surrender (v 5) but have
>not yet succeeded in doing so. I'd understand the periphrastic here to
>describe "the predicament we're in" (stative)--their troops are advancing,
>and we need help."
>
>Is this a legitimate way to understand v 6, esp. SUNAGW, or am I reading
>too
>much into this word?
>(And perhaps SUNAGW EF' hHMAS needed require their being surrounded anyway,
>but I think that's one way to take it.)
>
>====================================================
>Rodney J. Decker, Th.D., Associate Prof/NT

Carlton Winbery
Louisiana College


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