[B-Greek] PEIRAZW--"Dare"? (Acts 24:6)
Webb Mealy
webb at selftest.net
Fri Dec 7 11:53:18 EST 2007
Dear Mark,
Thank you for your thoughts. Others have persuaded me that I was barking up
the wrong tree. To quote a comment of mine in an off-list discussion with a
seasoned Greek scholar yesterday,
“On reflection, I agree that I was "too hung up on the facts of the case".
Surely they could have decided, after reviewing the strength of their case,
that they couldn't prove that Paul had desecrated the Temple (the original
accusation), and so pulled back from that accusation.”
I think the lexicographical information trumps the sketchy information about
context here. And my proposed way of taking the infinitive flies in the face
of the totally normal PEIRAZW + infinitive = to try to do something.
Webb Mealy
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Lightman [mailto:lightmanmark at yahoo.com]
Sent: Friday, December 07, 2007 8:15 AM
To: Jeffrey B. Gibson; Webb Mealy
Cc: Biblical Greek
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] PEIRAZW--"Dare"? (Acts 24:6)
Certainly PEIRAZW with the infinitive CAN mean "to attempt
without success," and it DOES mean this in e.g. Acts 9:29
(Paul tried without success to be joined to the Disciples)
but Webb's point is that it does not HAVE to mean this, if
the context suggests he actually profaned the Temple. I'm
not sure if PEIRAZW with the infinitive can mean "I dare"
in the same sense as TOLMAW. If so, I would go with that,
but with just a quick look I could not find any examples of
this. As far as "he tempted (God or the Temple) BY
profaning it," I'm not sure the bare infinitive would
compliment PEIRAZW in this sense; it seems like
you would expect a participle. But I think Webb is on
to something. I'm not sure why Tertullus would be
making the point that Paul failed to profane the
Temple. If anyone can find an instance of
PEIRAZW with the infinitive meaning "I dare" or
"I tempt by X," I would agree with Webb. Even if not, I
still think it is possible it means that here. Context is for me
the deciding factor.
Mark L.
"Did Achilles know that some of his dipthongs were spurious?"
"Jeffrey B. Gibson" <jgibson000 at comcast.net> wrote:
Webb Mealy wrote:
> hOS [PAULOS] KAI TO hIERON EPEIRASEN BEBHLWSAI, hON KAI EKRATHSAMEN (Acts
> 24:6)
>
>
>
> When I read the words EPEIRASEN BEBHLWSAI here, the impression I get is,
>
>
>
> “He even dared to profane the Temple, but we caught him”.
>
>
>
> I’m rather surprised that no other translation in front of me reads it
this
> way. I guess the assumptions behind this rendering are:
>
>
>
> 1. They were accusing Paul of having brought Gentiles into the Temple
> precincts reserved for Jews—which, if true, was not an attempt, but an
> actual desecration.
>
> 2. I tend to think that TO hIERON EPEIRASEN BEBHLWSAI can read as “he
> tempted the Temple by profaning it”, the Temple being metonymous for God.
>
>
>
> Comments?
>
When PEIRAZW/EKPEIRAZW is used with an infinitive it means "try/attempt to
do
X".
Jeffrey
--
Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon)
1500 W. Pratt Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois
e-mail jgibson000 at comcast.net
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