[B-Greek] Ephesians 4:18

David Bielby dbielby at bloomingtonvineyard.org
Mon Jun 20 16:52:53 EDT 2005


One more thought on this...

-----Original Message-----
From: Carl Conrad [mailto:cwconrad2 at mac.com] 
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2005 1:34 PM
To: David Bielby
Cc: Big Greeks
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Ephesians 4:18
......
> Second question:  ESKOTWMENOI in this verse is usually translated 'Are
> Darkened'.at least in several major translations like the ESV (to  
> pick one).
> Before I saw that I would have translated it
>
> 'they have been darkened' because it's passive in form....can someone
> explain to me why it's not translated that way?

>From Carl...>
Note that the construction is with the participle ONTES, so that this  
is a periphrastic perfect participle; note also that ESKOTWMENOI  
really refers more to a condition or state that the Gentiles are in:  
4.17 says "they walk in futility of their insight"; then 4:18 expands  
that: "since they are in the dark (ONTES ESKOTWMENOI) so far as their  
reasoning is concerned (THi DIANOIAi). It is NOT really passive: it's  
a middle participle indicating a state--just as "drunk" is if we  
should say in English, "Those fellows are drunk": technically  
speaking "drunk" is a passive participle but in this usage it's  
adjectival and indicates a state of drunkenness.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at ioa.com or cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/


Dear Carl,

>From what you are saying I can see the vantage point of the translators.
Zerwick labels it a passive, which is what started me down that road.  I
guess there is a distinction.  If one calls it passive, then the darkening
is something that happened to them.  However, if it's a middle then they are
simply darkened...is that correct? 

So does the periphrastic perfect here cause us to select the middle over 
the passive...saying that's the intensive expression of the two options?
But can the darkening of the minds be something that has happened to them 
and still be intensive?

David Bielby
dbielby at bloomingtonvineyard.org
www.bloomingtonvineyard.org





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