[B-Greek] Middle voice or Intensive

Mark Lama markosl80 at yahoo.com
Tue Feb 10 17:44:26 EST 2004



Mitch Larramore <mitchlarramore at yahoo.com> wrote:

IHSOUS AUTOS OUK EBAPTIZEN ALL' hOI MAQHTAI OUTOU

Can someone explain to me the difference between an
Intensive pronoun usage and a Middle voice usage. I am
having a hard time distinguishing them in my mind.

Intensive: Jesus himself did not baptize
Middle: Jesus ??? 


Mitch: Are you hung up on the common English gloss for the middle voice (LUOMAI, mid.= "I loose myself/I loose for myself", thus BAPTIZOMAI, mid.= "I baptize myself/I baptize for myself") and getting the "self" pronoun usages confused in English ("he himself baptizes" vs. "he baptizes himself")? In other words, are you confusing intensive and reflexive pronouns, since English uses the "self" pronouns for both? Notice the difference in Greek:

IHSOUS AUTOS OUK EBAPTIZEN--"Jesus himself was not baptizing"

IHSOUS hEAUTON OUK EBAPTIZEN--"Jesus was not baptizing himself"

The intensive use of AUTOS stresses the identity of the noun with which it agrees. It is a form of emphasis: "It wasn't actually JESUS who was baptizing, but..." The reflexive hEAUTON refers to the object of the verb being the same as the subject. As for the middle voice use of the verb, I agree with Carl as to how IHSOUS OUK EBAPTIZOMHN and IHSOUS AUTOS OUK EBAPTIZOMHN would have been understood. 

CARIS KAI EIRHNH,

Mark Lama



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