[B-Greek] Heb 7:23, BDAG transl.

Mark Lama markosl80 at yahoo.com
Wed Nov 26 16:28:40 EST 2003



bgreek at ntresources.com wrote:
BDAG translates Heb 7:23a: "the priests of former times existed in greater 
numbers" (848, s.v., POLUS, 1.b.).
(KAI hOI MEN PLEIONES EISIN GEGONOTES hIEREIS)

This appears to take hOI with hIEREIS--but that seems unusual to me given 
that the verbal form intervenes, and that the author has been using hOI MEN 
... hO DE alternately through the context (vv. 20, 21, 23, 24).

I'm also perplexed as to where "former times" comes from.

Unless this is just a generous paraphrase, I'd appreciate anyone explaining 
this to me.

Thanks.


[Mark]

Yes, I suppose that the translation you cite above would render it as if it were: KAI hOI MEN hIEREIS EISIN GEGONOTES PLEIONES--EISIN GEGONOTES being, I suppose, the periphrastic form of GEGONASI--inserting "of former times" by way of explanation, as Maurice suggested. For a moment I thought they understood it as equal to: hOI GEGONOTES hIEREIS PLEIONES EISIN, "The priests who have been are multiple", but I guess that would be impossible, or at least unlikely. If the translation does indeed link hOI with hIEREIS, I suppose it is because reading it as a pronoun creates three nominal elements: "they", "multiple (ones)", and "priests", with one copula, "have been". One would have to be appositive, would it not? But how do you arrange them? I guess I need to go home and hit the books.

CARIS KAI EIRHNH,

Mark Lama



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