[B-Greek] LXX gen 1:1-2

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Sat Dec 31 12:27:03 EST 2005


 
On Saturday, December 31, 2005, at 12:16PM, nick runecrow <runecrow at hotmail.com> wrote:

>"EN ARCH EPOIHSEN hO THEOS"
>
>I take this "EN ARCH" as generally, "'In the beginning' God made". If I want 
>to say, rather, "In beginning, God made" would this appear grammatically the 
>same, or should I look for a different construct? That is to say, "In 
>beginning," such as if I am writing of 'how to construct a guitar' and I 
>write then, "In beginning, choose a wood that will provide good intonation". 
>"In beginning, God made".

That's perhaps a better question than you may have been aware. The Greek text
in the LXX here is a literal representation of the Hebrew "B'ReSHiTH BaRa'
ELoHiM ..." (there is no article in the Hebrew text). But some would read the
Hebrew to mean, "When God began to create ..." or, as you're suggesting, "God,
when beginning to create ..." Perhaps Al Pietersma, the list's resident LXX
expert will have something to say about this.

>
>"hH DE GH HN AORATOS KAI AKATASKEUASTOS"
>
>What is this "DE" doing that "KAI" does not do? I am not following what this 
>"DE" is doing. How would I understand this in translation if not by 'and'.

This DE is the standard particle in Greek narrative used with a new clause in
continuous discourse. The LXX translator has understood the Hebrew connective
W' as its equivalent.

>Thank you for you help,
>
>Nicholas

Nick, hereafter please observe BG Protocol and sign your messages with a
full-name signature. Also read the FAQ, if you haven't, at 
http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek/faq.txt



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