[B-Greek] Left order prominence and construction -- Acts 5.18

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Fri Dec 29 17:16:44 EST 2006



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

 
On Friday, December 29, 2006, at 12:16PM, "George F Somsel" <gfsomsel at yahoo.com> wrote:
>While, as someone on the list said earlier, I hesitate to criticise my betters, if it seems that they are wrong, so be it.  Forget for the moment that the lexicographers have classified DHMIOSIAi in this verse as being an adjective.  If we are simply to rely on what others have said without question, then we might as well put down our GNT and pick up an English Bible where all the work has been done for us.  The fact remains that this word is used ONLY by this author in this book in the NT.  It is always used in the same form, and in the other three cases always is used adverbially.  This is a matter of the author's style.  It is not the case of some possibility that there might be a noun hanging around in the vicinity to which it could be attached.  I remember when Pere Henri Casalles was a guest lecturer at Claremont Graduate School while I was there.  Being a Frenchman, he would constantly insert "n'est pas?" into his sentences.  

I suspect that what he said was "n 'est-ce pas?"

That was his style.  The use of DHMIOSIAi
> as an adverb is Luke's style.
>
>The question then becomes "What does this say regarding your theory of left-order prominence?"

I don't question that DHMOSIAi is often enough used adverbially; 
but I still think in this instance where it is used in conjunction with a
feminine dative noun (THRHSEI) it is most probably adjectival.

If it be so that I'm wrong about this, so be it. We can agree to disagree.

>
>----- Original Message ----
>From: Iver Larsen <iver_larsen at sil.org>
>To: b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
>Sent: Friday, December 29, 2006 1:38:30 PM
>Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Left order prominence and construction -- Acts 5.18
>
>
>OK, I can now see your implicit assumption behind the original question.
>
>However, the dictionaries list DHMOSIOS as an adjective, and it didn't cross my mind that someone 
>could consider it an adverb in 5:18. When we have the dative DHMOSIAi without an explicit head noun 
>we can assume an underlying feminine place word (maybe hODOS?). So, I would say that DHMOSIAi is 
>still an adjective with an implicit head noun so that it functions like an adverb in the other 3 
>places without properly speaking being an adverb. In 5:18 it is a simple and common adjective.
>There are not many of these dative adjectives used as adverbs. In the NT I only found LAQRAi and 
>IDIAi. An assumed underlying adjective *LAQROS (?), possibly derived from LANQANEIN (?) or LAQRAIOS 
>(?) has apparently gone out of use.
>
>Iver Larsen
>
>----- Original Message ----- 
>From: "George F Somsel" <gfsomsel at yahoo.com>
>
>
>Is it really?  Acts is the only book of the NT where this appears, and it is always in the dative. 
>In the three other usages (Acts 16.37, 18.28, 20.20) it is adverbial.  I'm inclined to think that it 
>might be adverbial here as well.  If we add to that fact that when the apostles are reported to 
>appear in the temple the following morning they are once again brought before the council.  At this 
>time it is specified HGEN AUTOUS OU META BIAS, EFOBOUNTO GAR TON LAON MH LIQASQWSIN.  It would seem 
>that they first (arrested them and put them in custody) PUBLICLY, but later were a bit more 
>circumspect in their handling of the apostles.
>
>george
>gfsomsel
>_________
>
>
>
>----- Original Message ----
>From: Carl W. Conrad <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
>To: George F Somsel <gfsomsel at yahoo.com>
>Cc: Iver Larsen <iver_larsen at sil.org>; b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org
>Sent: Thursday, December 28, 2006 11:55:13 AM
>Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Left order prominence and construction -- Acts 5.18
>
>
>Am I missing something here? In the one passage (Acts 5:18) DHMOSIAi is an adjective in agreement 
>with THRHSEI; in the other (Acts 16:37) it is adverbial. I've understood that THRHSEI DHMOSIAi is 
>"the city jail"; I don't know if there's an equivalent THRHSEI IDIAi that would be like "house 
>arrest." But "public jail" just isn't English. I suspect "city jail" is what I ver meant.
>
>Carl W. Conrad
>Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)
>
>
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