[B-Greek] Translating Mark 1:4

Tim Lewis tim_lewis at dodo.com.au
Fri Nov 4 00:37:43 EST 2005


Mk 1:4
EGENETO IWANNHS [hO] BAPTIZWN EN THi ERHMWi KAI KHRUSSWN BAPTISMA METANOIAS EIS AFESIN hAMARTIWN.

I began teaching NT Greek to six students recently and told them that EGENETO here is likely being used with BAPTIZWN as a periphrastic imperfect.

Is this unlikely? Until becoming aware of Mark's periphrastic uses (cf. similarly his fondness for imperfects) I had taken EGENETO more so as "it was John" or "John came/appeared" but even in such a translation one ends up virtually with an imperfect "John was baptizing/washing..."

Even if we keep the hO (making hO BAPTIZWN substantive) we have KHRUSSWN as a present which seems better to me as taken with EGENETO as periphrastic, otherwise "it was John the Baptist in the wilderness (who) is proclaiming..." seems strange.

Am I missing something? Can one use EGENETO + present participle without being periphrastic?

I recognise that we usually find EIMI rather than GINOMAI for such a purpose.

Tim Lewis
Greek Tutor, Whitley College,
Melbourne College of Divinity,
Australia


-- Original Message --

Message: 12
Date: Wed, 02 Nov 2005 21:55:52 -0600
From: "Dan Gleason" <dan-bgreek at hotmail.com>
Subject: [B-Greek] Translating Mark 1:4
To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Message-ID: <BAY111-F950D03237C559DDC273AE95610 at phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed

Translating Mark 1:4

EGEVETO IWANNHS hO BAPTIZWN EV THi ERHMUi
John became the-one immersing in the Wilderness ...

KAI KHRUSSWN BAPTISMA METAVOIAS
and preaching an-Immersion of-Repentance ...

EIS AFESIN HAMARTIWV
into a-forgiveness of-Sins.

Re what the greek text says

Are there any errors in this translation?
(re BAPTIZWN and BAPTISMA = immersion; or other words)

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