[B-Greek] Mat 8:4

BARRY HOFSTETTER nebarry at verizon.net
Mon Jun 20 09:46:54 EDT 2005


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Sangrey" <MSangrey at BlueFeltHat.org>
To: "Biblical Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2005 8:49 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] Mat 8:4


> I'm primarily interested in the last three words, but the text is:
>        LEGEI AUTWi hO IHSOUS, hORA MHDENI EIPHiS
>
> hORA MHDENI EIPHiS is typically understood as Jesus telling the now
> healed leper that the leper is not to tell anyone that Jesus did the
> healing.  I find that odd since Matthew doesn't develop it at all.  That
> is, as far as the discourse goes, it's extraneous information.
>
> So, I'm wondering if a better way of understanding the text is:
> "Understand this:  you don't have to speak to anyone."  It's softer than
> what is normally understood to be said.

Mike, I think you are making this more complicated than it has to be.  What you
have is the imperative hORA followed by a noun clause in the subjunctive.  The
action is "see to it..." the object of the action is "not telling anyone."  This
is simply a way of expressing the negative imperative, and may be translated as
"See to it that you tell no one" or "Make sure you don't tell anybody..."

Your suggestion won't work, I think, because it implies that reporting the
incident is an option on the part of the leper, and the language just doesn't
imply that.

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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