[B-Greek] ENQUMHMA in Ezek. 23:37

Jeff Smelser jeffsmelser at ntgreek.net
Sat Nov 22 15:50:41 EST 2003


Ezek. 23:37 (LXX)
TA ENQUMHMATA AUTWN EMOICWNTO KAI TA TEKNA AUTWN, hA EGENNHSAN MOI, DIHGAGON
AUTOIS DI' EMPURWN

The second clause is plain enough to me: "their children, which they bore to
me, they passed for them(selves?) through fires." I'm puzzled by the dative
AUTOIS, and wonder if it is used in place of a reflexive pronoun. Or is its
antecedent ENQUMHMATA? But that's not my main concern. My main problem is
ENQUMHMATA as the object of EMOICWNTO. I'm very much inclined to regard TA
ENQUMHMATA as accus. and as the object of EMOICWNTO, thus maintaining the
parallel in the structure:

TA ENQUMHMATA AUTWN EMOICWNTO
KAI
TA TEKNA AUTWN...DIGAGON...

This same pattern is carried out again in vs. 38:

TA hAGIA MOU EMIAINON
KAI
TA SABBATA MOU EBEBHLOUN

"My holy things they defiled,
My sabbaths they profaned"

My difficulty (or at least the one I know about) is the word ENQUMHMATA. I
don't believe the expression is equivalent to EMOICWNTO EN TOIS ENQUMHMASI
AUTWN = "they committed adultery in their thoughts." But then did they
debauch/adulterate their thoughts? Is this just another metaphorical use of
MOICAW, equivalent to "they defiled their thoughts," or is ENQUMHMATA used
in some sense other than "thoughts"?

For verses 36-37,
KAI EIPEN KURIOS PROS ME, hUIE ANQRWPOU, OU KRINEIS THN OOLAN KAI THN
OOLIBAN; KAI APAGGELEIS AUTAIS TAS ANOMIAS AUTWN hOTI EMOICWNTO, KAI hAIMA
EN CERSIN AUTWN. TA ENQUMHMATA AUTWN EMOICWNTO KAI TA TEKNA AUTWN, hA
EGENNHSAN MOI, DIHGAGON AUTOIS DI' EMPURWN
I guess I would end up with something like the following, taking the
sacrificing of the children as the explanation or illustration of their
defiled thoughts:

"And the Lord said to me, Son of Man, will you not judge Oholah and
Oholibah? And you will proclaim to them their lawlessness, because they were
committing adultery, and blood is on their hands. Their reasoning they
debauched, and their children, whom they bore to me, they passed for
themselves through fires."

But I would appreciate some help with TA ENQUMHMATA AUTWN EMOICWNTO in
particular. And any help concerning the dative AUTOIS would also be
appreciated.

Jeff Smelser
www.ntgreek.net
www.centrevillechurchofchrist.org





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