[B-Greek] Acts 8:7

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at ioa.com
Mon May 2 05:43:09 EDT 2005


On May 1, 2005, at 11:21 PM, Barbara D. Colt wrote:

>
> Acts 8:7:  POLLOI GAR TWN ECONTWN PNEUMATA AKAQARTA BOWNTA
> FWNHi MEGALHi EXHRCONTO, . . .
>
> I'm probably missing the obvious, but it seems to me that BOWNTA  
> should
> agree with POLLOI rather than with PNEUMATA.  I realize that it's the
> spirits that are shouting, but still it seems to me that BOWNTA is
> adverbial, modifying EXHRCONTO and should agree with the subject.
> If I'm wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time), could someone please
> explain why?

You are right: IF we view the construction from within this verse  
alone apart from its larger context, EXHRCONTO should be understood  
of the response of the "unclean spirits", then it cannot be the verb  
for POLLOI. I think we must say there's an anacoluthon here and must  
see that the author has shifted his focus from the grammatical  
subject POLLOI to what, in this construction, is the accusative  
object of the participle ECONTWN.

But there is another possibility -- also not altogether convincing --  
to look at this sequence in a larger context:

5 FILIPPOS DE KATELQWN EIS [THN] POLIN THS SAMAREIAS EKHRUSSEN AUTOIS  
TON CRISTON. 6 PROSEICON DE hOI OCLOI TOIS LEGOMENOIS hUPO TOU  
FILIPPOU hOMOQUMADON EN TWi AKOUEIN AUTOUS KAI BLEPEIN TA SHMEIA hA  
EPOIEI. 7 POLLOI GAR TWN ECONTWN PNEUMATA AKAQARTA BOWNTA FWNHi  
MEGALHi EXERCONTO, POLLOI DE PARALELUMENOI KAI CWLOI EQERAPEUQHSAN. 8  
EGENETO DE POLLH CARA EN THi POLEI EKEINHi.

Verse 5 tells us that Philip came to Samaria and proclaimed the  
gospel (aorist); verse 6 uses an imperfect to describe the attention  
of the throngs to the message in the course of their listening and  
seeing the miracles that he "kept performing" or "would perform."  
Verse 7 in the first clause tells us that lots of demoniacs "kept  
coming forth -- imperfect --" (to be exorcised) and that lots of  
paralytics and lame people were healed (aorist). Verse 8 concludes  
the sequence: "There was great jubilation in that city" (aorist).

We might then understand verse 7 to pinpoint the coming of demoniacs  
to Philip, with EXHRCONTO as the verb to subject POLLOI and BOWNTA  
FWNHi MEGALHi not construing with EXHRCONTO but rather simply  
adjectivally characterizing the PNEUMATA -- "lots of people with  
demons shrieking loudly.

IF that's what the author intended, then this sequence would be  
comparable to the Marcan summary of typical behavior of townsfolk to  
Jesus in Mark 3:7-12 and the description here might conceivably even  
be modeled upon that or the Lucan parallel to that, Lk 6:17-19.


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




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