[B-Greek] Translation of Mark 1:31
Dan Gleason
dan-bgreek at hotmail.com
Mon Oct 24 19:26:02 EDT 2005
Mark 1:31
KAI PROSELQWN HGEIREN AUTHN KRATHSAS THS CEIROS ...
KAI AFHKEN AUTHN hO PURETOS ...
KAI DIHKONEI AUTOIS.
I wrote ... This was my tentative translation of Mk 1:31 and I know it is
very literal and wooden ... but that's the way the author wrote it:
And having-come-near, he-raised her ... taking of-the hand ...
and the fever left her ...
and she-was-serving them.
My translation deduced the method of healing ...
"coming near her" and/or "taking her hand" raised her from lying down
and "taking the hand" caused the fever to leave her.
Dr Conrad wrote: Do you mean "that's the way you, as author of the
translation, wrote it?"
I'd say it's a structural imitation of the Greek, not really a translation
into idiomatic English.
(Thank you for your detailed answer copied below my following response)
To answer, I admit, my translation was as "literal" as I could make it.
I purposely opted for a "wooden" rather than an idiomatic translation.
I structurally parsed the verse according to the three kai's.
This was a very early miracle, and the way I see it, the author only hinted
at the "method of healing."
Future miracle healings offered more and more details - a standard literary
technique.
My tentative translation took into account subsequent healings such as when
the woman with a 12 yr flow of blood touched his garment and was cured and
Jesus immediately felt "power going out from him." (Mk 5:25-30)
Other times the method of healing came out of the mouth of Jesus
- all he had to do was say a command.
Another example was the method Jesus used to cure the blind man of Bethsaida
(Mk 8:22-23)
and they-come into Bethsaida
and they-bring to-him a Blind-man ...
and they-beg him that he-might touch him.
and having-grasped-on the Hand of-the Blind-man, he-took him outside the
Village ...
and he-had-spit into his Eyes when-he-put the Hands on him ...
then again he-placed the Hands on his Eyes
and he-opened-his-eyes and he was restored ...
In conclusion re mk 1:31, I thought the author of the gospel purposely
constructed an amphibology (a sentence or phrase that can be interpreted in
more than one way).
The method of healing was incorporated in the sparse narrative of the
healing.
The method of healing foreshadowed future methods of healing.
Dan Gleason
_____________________________________________________________
>From: "Dan Gleason" <dan-bgreek at hotmail.com>
>To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
>Subject: [B-Greek] Translation of Mark 1:31
>Date: Tue, 18 Oct 2005 19:35:38 -0500
>
>Thank you Dr Conrad and Andrew for your initial response.
>
>Here is the Greek text of Mark 1:31:
>KAI PROSELQWN HGEIREN AUTHN KRATHSAS THS CEIROS; KAI AFHKEN AUTHN hO
>PURETOS, KAI DIHKONEI AUTOIS.
>
>This was my tentative translation of Mk 1:31 and I know it is very literal
>and wooden ... but that's the way the author wrote it:
>And having-come-near, he-raised her ... taking of-the hand, and the fever
>left her ... and she-was-serving them.
>
>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 question the NAB translation because it seems to be paraphrasing too
>much.
>I had three questions which I will now reword a little by taking a
>position.
>
>1) The previous verse tells us the woman was lying down because she had a
>hot-fever. Verse 31 tells us that Jesus did two things ... he raised the
>woman up from her prone position and then took away her fever. He was able
>to do this because of the supernatural power he possessed. Does the text
>allow me to say that Jesus raised the woman (she got up by herself) by just
>coming near her. The woman was now able to get up but she still had her
>fever.
>
>2) Regarding the hand of Jesus causing the fever to leave the woman:
>The text (KRATHSAS THS CEIROS) says "taking of-the hand" followed by (KAI
>AFHKEN AUTHN hO PURETOS) and the fiery-fever left her. The way I read this
>is that the woman was now standing and then she "took the hand" meaning
>Jesus put his hand on her (perhaps on her head, or shoulder, or her hand,
>or
>anywhere on her body). It was the laying on of his hand and the power in
>his
>hand that took away the fever.
>
>3) Is the Greek text ambiguous enough to support my translation?
>
>Dan Gleason
>
>B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
>B-Greek mailing list
>B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
>http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
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