[B-Greek] Titus 2:11

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Thu Aug 16 18:10:51 EDT 2007


On Aug 16, 2007, at 1:10 PM, Iver Larsen wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
>>>>
>>>>> Titus 2:11:  EPEFANH GAR H XARIS TOU QEOU SWTHRIOS PASIN  
>>>>> ANQRWPOIS.
> <snip>
>>> Another question is the sense of the adjective. BAGD notes that this
>>> adjective is normally used substantively in the GNT (TO  
>>> SWTHRION),  in
>>> fact
>>> four out of five occurrence, with Tit 2:11 the only adjectival  
>>> one.  They
>>> give the sense of the substantive as "a means of deliverance".  
>>> So  why
>>> not
>>> give the same sense to the adjectival usage?
>>> The more common word for "deliverance/salvation" is SWTHRIA (46   
>>> times in
>>> the
>>> GNT). This word appears to refer to actual experience of  
>>> salvation. In
>>> contrast, SWTHRIOS in all its occurences in the GNT seems to fit   
>>> the
>>> sense
>>> of "means of salvation". It is derived from the noun SWTHR as   
>>> George
>>> pointed
>>> out, and the SWTHR is the one who gives SWTHRIA, so he is  
>>> SWTHRIOS,  the
>>> way
>>> to or means of salvation.
>>>
>>> With this background a free translation that IMO would be more   
>>> accurate
>>> and
>>> faithful to the intended sense could be: "For the grace of God  
>>> has  been
>>> revealed as a means of salvation for all people".
>>
>> ... I'd say that EPEFANH is an  intransitive aorist middle-passive of
>> EPIFAINOMAI, not a passive of  EPIFAINW,
>
> Can you back up this claim with data or is it just a hunch based on  
> your
> fondness for middle-passive?

I'm interested in the middle-passive, yes; but I've become  
particularly interested in "ergative" verbs that seem to be  
fundamentally middle even though they have active causative forms.  
And EPIFAINW does fall into that category.

> Looking briefly at (EPI)FAINW in the LXX, it appears that there the  
> active
> form often does have a causative sense - "make shine". The middle  
> is then
> the intransitive "shine, appear".
> However, in the GNT, there is only one clear example of a  
> morphologically
> middle form (1Pe 4:18 - FANEITAI), and that is in a quote from the  
> LXX.

Mt 2:7 TOU FAINOMENOU ASTEROS
Mt 2:13 AGGELOS KURIOU FAINETAI KAT' ONAR TWi IWSHF
Phil 2:15 EN hOIS FAINESQE hWS FWSTHRES hWS FWSTHRES EN KOSMWi

> Otherwise, the active form is used in the intransitive sense of  
> "shine".
> BAGD only lists active and passive forms of EPIFAINW and they  
> specifically
> list Tit 2:11 as passive.

BDAG:
	4. show oneself, make an appearance, pass. (Hdt., Thu. et. al.; LXX)  
of God (cp. Chariton 1, 14, 1 Ἀφροδίτην  
ἐπιφαίνεσθαι [AFRODITHN EPIFAINESQAI]; schol. on  
Apollon. Rhod. 2, introd. ἐπεφάνη αὐτοῖς ὁ  
Ἀπόλλων [EPEFANH AUTOIS hO APOLLWN]; SIG 557, 6  
ἐπιφαινομένης αὐτοῖς Ἀρτέμιδος  
[EPIFANOMENHS AUTOIS ARTEMIDOS]; 1168, 26; Sb 6152, 5 [96 BC] Isis;  
6153, 6; Gen 35:7; 2 Macc 3:30; 3 Macc 6:9; Philo; Jos., Ant. 5, 277;  
8, 240; 268) τοῖς δεομένοις 1 Cl 59:4. Of God’s grace  
Tit 2:11; of God’s love 3:4.—M-M. TW. Spicq.

But the meaning indicated is not a passive meaning: Aphrodite makes  
an appearance, Apollo appeared to them, Artemis appearing to them.

And BDAG for FAINW:
3. to become known, be recognized, be apparent, be revealed, pass.  
φαίνομαι [FAINOMAI] w. act./intr. sense

I frankly think that "passive w. act./intr. sense" is silly; it's  
middle voice and middle usage.

>
> The active forms are used in the more literal sense of shining with  
> subjects
> like sun, moon, stars, light from a lamp. The morphologically  
> passive forms
> are used in a non-literal sense and is often best translated by "be  
> seen
> by..." Of course, the present forms are morphologically ambiguous.
>
> Let me take a brief example from Mark 14:64:
> TI hUMIN FAINETAI - how does it appear to you/how is it seen by you
> There is a skewing of the syntax and semantics in this kind of  
> verb. The
> grammatical subject is the semantic patient, that which is seen,  
> whereas the
> grammatical dative is the experiencer, the person who sees it. The  
> passive
> form commonly corresponds to the situation where the semantic  
> patient is
> encoded as grammatical subject in nominative.

I don't think there's any difference between TI hUMIN FAINETAI and  
the more common TI hUMIN DOKEI. I suppose that you really think WFQH  
with dative is properly understood as passive: "was seen by X" rather  
than middle "appeared, let (him/herself) be seen to X"

>
>> ...although I am aware that some take seriously the notion of  a  
>> "divine
>> passive."
>
> I don't take that seriously, because I think it is an unhelpful  
> confusion of
> syntax and pragmatics.

I rather think that it's a matter of intrusion of a theological- 
hermeneutical assumption into grammatical analysis.

>
>> At the same time I'd quite agree with taking  SWTHRIOS PASIN  
>> ANQRWPOIS to
>> mean "as a means of salvation for all  people."
>>
>> I note that NET has: "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing
>> salvation to all people."
>
> Yes, but that misses the aspect of means. In the context of the NT,  
> the
> grace of God does not bring actual salvation to all people, only  
> the means
> of salvation, so the translation is somewhat misleading.
> I am not opposed to "For the grace of God has appeared as a means of
> salvation for all people."

It seems to me rather that this "aspect of means" is over- 
interpretation of the phrase SWTHRIOS PASIN ANQRWPOIS : it "has  
appeared with saving power, like a savior, bringing salvation ... " I  
think that this is carrying the discussion beyond what the Greek text  
clearly indicates.

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





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