[B-Greek] Focus on the Greek, please! (was: Re: Translating Mark 5:7)

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at ioa.com
Mon Oct 31 14:00:12 EST 2005


While the message below and the response to it do point to one or  
more Greek texts of related content, the focus here is really not  
upon the Greek; please remember that this is NOT a general forum for  
questions in Biblical Studies; the focus needs to be kept specific.  
Please be careful to maintain focus in any future posts concerned  
with Mark 5:7.

On Oct 31, 2005, at 10:03 AM, J. Ted Blakley wrote:

> Dan,
> I think that your argument that Mark 1:21-28 faulters at a number  
> of points.
> First of all, there are different uses one can put grammatical  
> number to. I
> think you need to consider the possibility that this episode is  
> functioning
> in a programmatic role in the larger Markan narrative and so is
> foreshadowing what is to come. That is, when the witnesses say "he  
> commands
> even the unclean spirits and they obey him," the plural is not in  
> reference
> to what just happened but what is going to happen and happen again
> throughout much of the subsequent narrative. Coming at the end of this
> episodie, this statement prepares the reader for what is to come (a  
> common
> rhetorical strategy in Mark, e.g., 4:41 and 8:21). That is, Jesus  
> does a lot
> of exorcising (EKBALLW and other related terms) in these opening  
> chapters,
> not only the ostensible exorcisms of unclean spirits as in 1:21-28  
> but the
> exorcising of the fever of Simon's mother-in-law (1:29-31) which the
> language of AFHKEN ("left her") evokes, the cleansing of the leper  
> (1:40-45)
> with its reference to EXEBALEN AUTON, the so-called stilling of the  
> storm
> (4:35-41), etc. So the use of the plural by the witnesses does not
> automatically indicate that the man was possessed by multiple demons.
> As for you second point regarding the convulsion of the man. I am not
> convinced by your logic that the man's convulsing "(implies numerous
> involuntary movements) as each spirit came out of him. First, I  
> don't know
> how one could ever defend such an assertion not least because the  
> word in
> question (SPARRASSW) is used also in Mark 9:26 in reference to the  
> singular
> unclean spirit coming out of the boy (notice the wealth of  
> singulars both in
> nouns and verbs in this passage). Also, cf. Luke 9:39 on this issue.
> Finally, you use the demon's use of the plural in "have you come to  
> destroy
> us" as evidence. But such a statement does not automatically mean  
> that all
> of those unclean spirits are within the man, only that the unclean  
> spirit is
> asking about the fate of all unclean spirits, which fits quite  
> nicely within
> the interpretation of this episode as a programmatic anticipating  
> of all
> that is to come. Moreover, there is much evidence in this episode  
> that the
> man has and that Jesus exorcises one and only one unclean spirit  
> from the
> man.
> 1. The narrator in introducing the man says that there is a man  
> with an
> unclean spirit (EN PNEUMATI AKAQARTW) 1:24
> 2. The unclean spirit "says," third person singular (ANEKRAXEN) 1:23
> 3. "I know who you are," first person singular (OIDA) 1:24
> 4. Jesus commands "him" (AUTW) 1:25
> 5. saying "Be silent/muzzled (FIMWQHTI) and come out (EXELQE) of  
> him," where
> the imperatives are both second singular (1:25)
> 6. Then "the unclean spirit (TO PNEUMA TO AKAQARTON) convulses him  
> and cries
> out in a great voice (FWNHSAN FWNH MEGALH) and comes out (EXHLQEN)  
> of him,"
> where the subject and verbs are all singular. (1:26)
>
> Yes, there are connections between this episode and that of the  
> Gerasene
> demoniac but it is not on the number of unclean spirits involved.  
> What makes
> this story so intriquing is the dramatic way in which Mark has  
> chosen to
> narrate the story. The narrator begins much as he does the Mark 1  
> episode
> with reference to a single unclean spirit and this continues until  
> 1:9 when
> Jesus asks the unclean spirit's name. At this point, the unclean  
> spirit says
> "My name is Legion; for we are many," which makes a whole lot of  
> sense of
> what the narrator had just been telling us about this man, namely,  
> that no
> one could restrain him even with chains and shackles. This must be one
> powerful spirit the reader may well wonder. But when we get to the  
> demon's
> name, the reader discovers that we have an instance of multiple  
> infestation
> which explains the state of the man who lived among the tombs. But  
> notice,
> how the story continues, namely, that from here on out (except for  
> the first
> verb in 5:10) the nouns and verbs are plural.
> 1. He (the one exception) begged him earnestly that he not send  
> them (AUTA)
> out of the region. (5:10).
> 2. And they begged him (PARAKALESAN) him saying (LEGONTES), all plural
> verbs, (5:12)
> 3. Send us (HMAS) into the pigs that we might enter (EISELQWMEN)  
> them (5:12)
> 4. And he commanded them (AUTOIS) (5:13)
> 5. And going out (EXELQONTA) the unclean spirits (TA PNEUMATA TA  
> AKAQARTA)
> entered (EISHLQON), all plural (5:14)
>
> Well, this post is getting to long but I have made some of my initial
> points. I would say that it is worth looking at what Matt and Luke  
> do with
> this story, because they tell basically the same story, Luke moreso  
> than
> Matt, but in much different ways with a much different rhetorical  
> effect.
> Basically, both Matthew and Luke, each in their own way, remove any  
> of this
> singular and plural ambiguity with respect to the number of demons.  
> Matthew
> has two demoniacs and Luke describes the man as having  
> "demons" (plural)
> from the beginning. (Mark, however, is a more interesting, a more  
> dramatic
> read in my opinion; not just here but with other stories as well.)  
> Moreover,
> Luke has made no significant changes in his telling of Mark  
> 1:21-28, which
> suggests that Luke reads Mark 1 as referring to a single unclean  
> spirit and
> reads Mark 5 as referring to multiple demons. That's all for now.
>
> Sincerely,
> Ted
>
> --
> ====================================================================== 
> ==
> J. Ted Blakley
> Ph.D. Candidate
> University of St Andrews, Scotland, UK
>
> Thesis: Contributions of the Episodic Sea Crossings to the Purpose  
> of Mark's
> Gospel:
> A Narrative-Critical Study of Mark 4:1–8:26"
>
> Email 1: jtb1 at st-andrews.ac.uk
> Email 2: jtedblakley at gmail.com
>
> Online CV: www.blakleycreative.com/jtb <http:// 
> www.blakleycreative.com/jtb>
> Hebrew 2 Hub: www.blakleycreative.com/jtb/Hebrew.htm<http:// 
> www.blakleycreative.com/jtb/Hebrew.htm>
> ====================================================================== 
> ==
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Carl W. Conrad
Co-Chair, B-Greek List
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu or cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/




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