[B-Greek] HRXATO EKBALLEIN Mark 11:15

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Sun Jun 27 06:34:24 EDT 2004


At 11:56 PM -0400 6/26/04, Wilson Hines wrote:
>I find it listed as Deponent in the TVM for the KJV and the TR.
>
>Same word and conjugation is used in the UBS 4th with no deponency listed.
>
>Just to give a thought here, I saw in the BDAG 3rd where it says as Def #! -
>to rule or govern, w. implication of special status, rule
>    I didn't think much of it because #2 simply says to initiate an action,
>process, or state of being, begin
>
>Now, Robertson is quoted "Drove out, assumed authority over 'the temple of
>God' "
>
>ie, He not only "began to drive out" he immediately gained authority and
>drove out!  I like the urgency!
>
>My exegesis may be wrong, but I am just observing BDAG definitions and such.
>I think I find myself with good company with Dr. Robertson!

Of course, I persist shamelessly in urging that we drop the ill-starred
notion of "deponency" and come to terms with the actual sense of the
middle-voice to express subject-affectedness (i.e. such verbs are not
aberrations in an otherwise-sensibly-structured language; rather the
morphoparadigm employed does normally articulate a distinct semantic
nuance: the grammatical subject's involvement in the action or process).

The active and middle forms ARCW/ARCOMAI are a bit more difficult to get a
handle on for the English speaker because the root notion ARC- is awkward
evenin the noun ARCH, which may mean 'beginning,' 'initiative,' 'primacy,'
and other kindred notions of primacy or initiative. The active ARCW,
usually construed with a genitive complement, means "exercise primacy over"
or "be first over"; the middle ARCOMAI means "take the initiative" or
"initiate" and usually construes with a complementary infinitive.

The verb is sufficiently awkward that I have noted one instance of a
commentator evading the issue of the difference between the active and the
middle voice forms by asserting that they are DIFFERENT VERBS! I think the
problem with this verb lies for English-speakers in the need to English the
Greek active and middle morphoparadigms with different English verbs.


>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Eddie Van Gent" <vangent at xtra.co.nz>
>To: "B-Greek - post (E-mail)" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
>Sent: Saturday, June 26, 2004 5:36 PM
>Subject: [B-Greek] HRXATO EKBALLEIN Mark 11:15
>
>
>> Hello,
>>
>>
>> I am trying to see the significance of the aorist middle tense of ARCW as
>> seems to be commonly used with an infinitive in the NT.
>> I can't find it listed as a deponent, so I am wondering what the middle
>> tense is adding in this two word unit.
>> What is it that is added to the meaning over and above say using the
>active
>> voice?
>>
>> HRXATO EKBALLEIN  Mark 11:15
>> aor middle     pres infin
>> He commenced to throw out....
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>> Eddie Van Gent
>> New Zealand
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---
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-- 

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/



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