[B-Greek] Translation of Mark 1:31

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at ioa.com
Tue Oct 18 07:26:21 EDT 2005


On Oct 17, 2005, at 11:22 PM, Dan Gleason wrote:

> This is my tentative translation of Mk 1:31:
> And having-come-near, he-raised her ... taking of-the hand, and the  
> fever
> left her ... and she-was-serving them.

It's customary,and in this instance, important to cite the Greek text:
KAI PROSELQWN HGEIREN AUTHN KRATHSAS THS CEIROS, KAI AFHKEN
hO PURETOS, KAI DIHKONEI AUTOIS.


> My NAB translates this verse as:
> He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up. Then the fever  
> left her
> and she waited on them.
>
> I have three questions:
>
> 1) How was the woman "raised."  Does the text imply that Jesus had  
> the power
> to raise the woman by just "coming near" her? Or did he have to  
> take her
> hand to raise her?

No; this is a typical aorist circumstantial participle in accord with  
the subject of
HGEIREN; it indicates that the approach is prior to the raising.  
While it's not
inconceivable that the aorist participle and the aorist active verb  
here might
refer to simultaneous action, the pattern of aorist participle  
indicating action
prior to that of the main verb is such a standard construction that  
it should be
understood that way here. English translators regularly convert such  
a construction
by coordinating the verbs: "he approached and lifted her (or began to  
lift her
-- HGEIREN could be either imperfect or aorist." I don't think the  
narrator is
concerned with telling us what Jesus WAS REQUIRED to do to heal the
woman.

> 2) Who's hand is it, Jesus or the woman? Does the text imply that  
> Jesus
> "took" the woman in his hand ... and by the power (krat-eh'-o) of  
> taking her
> that was the reason the fever left her? Or does the text say or  
> imply that
> Jesus took the woman's hand in his own hand and that is how he  
> raised her?

It is certainly the woman's hand. I really cannot imagine what  
"grasping his own
hand" in this context should mean." Your questions seem to indicate  
that you're
hung up on the question of the MEANS whereby Jesus healed her. I really
don't think that's so much a concern of the writer so much as is  
demonstration
of Jesus' healing the woman.

> 3) Is the Greek text ambiguous enough to support either translation?

I think the NASB version is natural and accurate. Yours is so  
woodenly literal
that it's quite undiomatic English. KRATHSAS THS CEIROS is simply  
"taking
hold of (her) hand": a partitive genitive object is standard with  
verbs like
KRATEW or  hAPTOMAI.

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




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