[B-Greek] KAT IDIAN Lk 10:23 feminine singlular
Barry Hofstetter
nebarry at verizon.net
Fri Apr 22 23:28:12 EDT 2005
----- Original Message -----
From: "Oun Kwon" <kwonbbl at gmail.com>
To: <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Friday, April 22, 2005 9:41 PM
Subject: [B-Greek] KAT IDIAN Lk 10:23 feminine singlular
>>Hi, There,
Can you kindly guide me about how to understand this particular Gk phrase
in grammar and of its meaning?
*KAT IDIAN* appears often in the Gospel narratives with the disciples and
Jesus and other person in the scene.
Most translations render it in very neutral manner, as '*privately,
exclusively, separately*, etc.' The nuance in current English usage makes
this 'privately' a poor choice to use in rendering.
However, this same pharse in Lk is rendered in NWT as *'by themselves'* and
in CBL (Complete Bible Library) as *'by Himself'. * These two may could be
discribing the same thing. However *IDIAN* itself is in singular feminine
form of IDIOS. Then *'by herself'* would not make sense. I do not find any
feminine noun to be modified by this adjective. It must be standing alone. I
have to assume this just an idiomatic expression. I have not gotten any
reply in b-translation discussion group.<<
The phrase is simply used as an adverb. I checked BAGD and LSJ to see if they
suggested any reason for the use of the feminine, but they simply report the
usage with no attempt to explain the form. The translations you mention get it
right: it has a reflexive sense in this usage, and must be coordinated with the
subject, "by himself" if the subject is singular (and masculine!) or "by
themselves" if plural. I don't really understand your comment about current
English usage -- it would depend on the context to determine the best English
rendering of the concept, and "privately" would work fine in some contexts.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter
Adjunct Faculty, The Center for Urban Theological Studies
Philadelphia, PA
http://www.cuts.edu
Visiting Faculty, Reformed Theological Seminary
Washington, D.C.
http://www.rts.edu/campuses/washington_dc/index.cfm
And me:
http://mysite.verizon.net/nebarry/
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