[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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