[B-Greek] 2 Peter 3:11-a negative?? Question of Netiquette

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at ioa.com
Fri Dec 2 14:56:14 EST 2005


Sorry, I didn't mean to suggest there was anything wrong with the  
question about a French version of a particular Greek verse. My  
question, "So now B-Greekers are consultants on how best to translate  
Greek into French?" was meant to be facetious; I probably should have  
used an emoticon, something like ;-) behind that sentence. I  
certainly did realize that what you were endeavoring to understand  
was the Greek verse under consideration and were raising the matter  
of the Segond version of the verse as a potential way of  
understanding the Greek text. That's quite alright, and if I hadn't  
thought it was, I wouldn't have tried to answer the question but  
would have called attention to the inappropriate nature of the question.

What we've said before about translations is that it is inappropriate  
to argue the merits or lack thereof of particular published versions  
of the Biblical Greek text because there's another list (B- 
Translation) that is devoted specifically to that whole realm and  
that is concerned somewhat more particularly with how the meaning of  
the original text is best (most accurately, most clearly, most  
eloquently, etc.) translated into English or some other target  
language. Topics broached on B-Greek that have been pointedly  
objected to in the past have included such matters as the worth of  
the NWT and/or of the KJV.

Another inappropriate sort of question is one that cites half a dozen  
versions of a particular Biblical text and seeking what the "real"  
meaning of the Biblical text may be -- when it is pretty clear that  
the poster doesn't really know any Greek at all and is inviting a  
judgment by "Greek experts" on the question WHICH version(s) -- if  
any -- has got the meaning right. But this list is clearly intended  
for those with some knowledge of Biblical Greek, for those who are at  
least taking their first steps in Greek or who are more or less  
advanced in their Greek studies.

But insofar as the formulation of one or two versions is clearly  
brought up for the sake of helping to clarify the sense of a  
particular Biblical Greek text that has been cited and is the central  
focus of discussion, that is certainly appropriate.

In conclusion, I apologize again if my response as cited below gave  
the impression that the question raised about the Segond version of 2  
Peter 3:11 was not appropriate. Rather, I think it may have helped  
illuminate what and how the Greek means.

On Dec 2, 2005, at 2:30 PM, Lorinda Hoover and Jim Mossman wrote:

>> From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at ioa.com>
>> Date: Fri, 2 Dec 2005 10:32:03 -0500
>> To: Lorinda Hoover and Jim Mossman <hoovmoss at iowatelecom.net>
>> Cc: B-Greek <B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
>> Subject: Re: [B-Greek] 2 Peter 3:11-a negative??
>>
>>
>> On Dec 2, 2005, at 10:17 AM, Lorinda Hoover and Jim Mossman wrote:
>>
>>> Greetings again.
>>>
>>> In working on 2 Peter 3:11,
>>>
>>> TOUTWN hOUTWS PANTWN LUOMENWN POTATOUS DEI hUPARCEIN [hUMAS] EN  
>>> hAGIAS
>>> ANASTROFAIS KAI EUSEBEIAS.
>>
>> That should be POTAPOUS and hAGIAIS KAI EUSEBEIAIS, ...
>
> my apologies for the typos.
>
>>>
>>> I looked at several translations, and found something odd in Segond:
>>
>> So now B-Greekers are consultants on how best to translate Greek into
>> French?
>>
>
> Perhaps I was not clear with my question.  I wasn't asking about  
> the best
> way to translate it into French.  When I am having trouble  
> understanding the
> syntax or the meaning of a Greek verse, I often consult several modern
> translations to see how they understood the verse.  This often  
> helps me see
> what I am missing in the grammar/syntax in Greek.  Because I am fairly
> fluent in French (although obviously rustier than I realized), the  
> Segond
> translation is sometimes one of those I consult.  This time, Segond  
> raised a
> question for me about how the Greek might be understood.  It seemed  
> fairly
> apparent to me that the negative was added to make more sense of  
> this verse,
> but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.
>
> Your later point about "quelles", however, helped me realize that  
> part of my
> struggle with this verse (and the following one) is the  
> interoggative-Where
> does the question end?  Where does the answer begin?  These  
> questions are,
> in part, determined by the punctuation of the GNT, which I  
> recognize is not
> itself within the scope of B-Greek, so I withdraw my question.
>
> I would like clarification on one point of B-Greek "ettiquette."   
> Is it,
> then, not appropriate to refer to non-English modern translations  
> in asking
> questions about understanding the Greek text?  I just went back and  
> read the
> B-Greek FAQ, and I did not see such a reference, although the only  
> mention
> to modern translations is to English translations (i.e. posts  
> should not be
> "general questions or opinions about doctrine or the meaning of the  
> English
> text.")   It was not my intention to break the rules or to push the  
> envelope
> on the scope of B-Greek discussions.  My apologies if I have done so.
>
> Blessings,
>
> Lorinda Hoover
>
> -- 
> Lorinda H. M. Hoover
> UMC Pastor and Stay-at-home mom
>
>
> ---
> B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
> B-Greek mailing list
> B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek


Carl W. Conrad
Co-Chair, B-Greek List
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu or cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/




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