[B-Greek] Mt 9:28a

George F Somsel gfsomsel at juno.com
Thu Sep 1 14:50:22 EDT 2005


On Thu, 1 Sep 2005 11:33:31 -0500 "Harold R. Holmyard III"
<hholmyard at ont.com> writes:
> Dear Ken,
> 
> >In Mt 9:28a ELQONTI DE EIS THN OIKIAN PROSHLQON AUTWi hOI TUFLOI, 
> what
> >is the referent of THN OIKIAN?
> 
> 
> The NIV just translates the phrase EIS THN OIKIAN as "indoors."
> 
>                                 Yours,
>                                 Harold Holmyard
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Of course, the question was not "How is this to be translated?" but "What
is the referent?"  To understand the confusion here, one must go back to
the preceding verse

KAI PARAGONTI EKEIQEN . . . 

What we are presented with here is that Jesus is depicted as leaving the
area where he had previously been (the archon's house) when he is
followed by two blind men.  Since he has left the archon's house, what
house might it be that is being referenced?  The use of the article with
OIKIAN would seem to indicate that some particular house which should be
known is referenced.  D. A. Hagner in the WBC commentary on this passage
notes that it cannot be the house mentioned in v. 23 (i.e. the archon's
house) nor probably that of v. 10 (Matthew's house).  I would suggest
that it is most likely the house belonging to the two blind men.  This
would be understood from the fact that he was EN THi OIKIAi when he was
with Matthew and, when the ruler comes grieving that his daughter has
just died and seeking his help, he is reported as 

ELQWN . . . EIS THN OIKIAN TOU ARXONTOS (v. 23). 

He is thus depicted as going where the problem lies.

george
gfsomsel
___________


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