[B-Greek] EXESTAKENAI in Acts 8:11: transitive orintransitive?

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri Mar 11 16:27:56 EST 2005


I've a bit more fuel to fan the flames of uncertainty over the question of
the transitivity of EXESTAKENAI in Acts 8:11. I've just been reviewing
hISTHMI and its compounds in the GNT and I can find no instances of hISTHMI
or its compounds in the perfect that could be construed as transitive other
than our form EXESTAKENAI. However, in the LXX I've found THE FORM AFESTAKA
in a clearly transitive active sense--and note that the root vowel is A
here rather than H:

Jer 16:5 TADE LEGEI KURIOS: MH EISELQHiS EIS QIASON AUTWN KAI MH POREUQHiS
TOU KOYASQAI KAI MH PENQHSHiS AUTOUS hOTI AFESTAKA THN EIRHNHN MOU APO TOU
LAOU TOUTOU.

I've also been hunting through LSJ. Under hISTHMI we find this entry for a
transitive causal sense:

hISTHMI (cf. hISTAW, hISTANW)

 I. causal, make to stand, imper. hISTH  Il.21.313 , E.Supp.1230,  KAQISTA 
Il.9.202 : impf. hISTHN , Ep. hISTASKE  Od.19.574 ; 3pl. hISTAN  B.10.112 :
fut. STHSW, Dor. STASW   Theoc.5.54 : aor. 1 ESTHSA, Ep. 3pl. ESTASAN for
ESTHSAN dub. in Od.18.307, 3.182, 8.435, al. (v. ESTASAN): hence, in late
Poets, ESTASAS, ESTASE, AP9.714,708 (Phil.): aor. 1 Med. ESTHSAMHN (never
intr.), v. infr.A.111.2, 3: pf. hESTAKA Cerc.3 , ( [KAQ-] ) Hyp.Eux.28, UPZ
112.5 (ii B.C.), ( [PERI-] ) Pl.Ax.370d, ( [AF-] ) LXXJe.16.5, ( [PAR-] )
Phld.Rh. 1.9S., al., ( [SUN-] ) S.E.M.7.109; also hESTHKA (v. infr.) in
trans. sense, ( [DI-] ) Arist.Vent.973a18, ( [AF-] ) v.l. in LXX l.c.;
hESTAKEIA trans. in Test.Epict.1.25.

Note the hESTAK- forms cited for the causal transitive sense.

And LSJ has this entry for EXISTHMI in a causal transitive sense:

EXISTHMI
A. causal in pres., impf., fut., aor I: displace; hence, change, alter
utterly, TAN FUSIN Ti Locr. 100c, Arist EN 1119a23, cf. Plot. 6.2.7; THN
POLITEIAN Plu. Cic. 10; E.THS POIOTHTOS TON OINON Id. 2.702a.
2. metaph., EXISTANAI TINA FRENWN drive one out of his senses, E. Ba 850;
NOU OINOS EXESTHSE ME E. Fr. 265; TOU FRONEIN X. Mem. 1.3.12; TAUTA KINEI,
TAUTA EXISTHSIN ANQRWPOUS AUTWN D. 21.72; simply E. TINA drive one out of
his senses, confound, amaze, Hp. coac. 429; EXISTANTA KAI FOBOUNTA TOUS
ANQRWPOUS MUSON. FR. 8P.35H.; EXISTHSI diverts the attention, Arist Rh
1408b23; excite, ib. 36, Ev. Luc 24.22 TON LOGISMON, THN DIANOIAN, Plu Sol.
21, Crass. 23; also E. TINA TWN LOGISMWN Id. Fab 5; EIS APAQEIAN E. THN
YUCHN Id. Publ. 6.
3. get rid of, dispose of the claims of a person, Sammelb. 5246.14 (i
B.C.), etc.
4. EXESTAKOTA (EXESTHKOTA cod.); EIS DIKHN KEKLHKOTA Hsch.

Under EXISTHMI it is #4 that is noteworthy, in particular that the
transitive perfect form indicated is with A rather than H; it's unclear
whether it's an editor who has marked it that way, but it is certainly a
transitive causative usage of the perfect of the same verb we're talking
about in Acts 8:11.
-- 

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



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