[B-Greek] A Christmas Question
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Wed Dec 26 06:43:13 EST 2007
But FULASSONTES FULAKAS doesn't require that sort of explanation; it is a perfectly ordinary example of the cognate accusative, i.e., the accusative of a noun that is cognate to the verb being used; it is not uncommon in Greek; cf. QUSIAN QUEIN ("sacrifice a sacrifice").
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (ret)
On Tuesday, December 25, 2007, at 11:27PM, "George F Somsel" <gfsomsel at yahoo.com> wrote:
>1) What you find here is an example of Semitic idiom being imported into the Greek. In the OT the inf absolute was used with the finite form of the verb to strengthen the surety of the statement. In Cristoph van der Merwe's _Biblical Hebrew Review Grammar_ he states,
> "This construction usually intensifies the verbal idea. In this way BH speakers/narrators express their conviction of the verity of their statements regarding an action. When a speaker has used this construction, a listener would not be able to claim at a later date that the speakers had not expressed themself clearly enough."
>
> This was somewhat picked up in the LXX translation. I say "somewhat" since it did not use an inf with the finite form of the verb to express this but rather used a noun of the same root with the indicative. In Gen 2.17 we read QANATWi APOQANEISQE or "by death you shall die", and in Judges 13.22 we find QANATWi APOQANOUMEQA or "we shall die by death." In Lk we have a slightly different form, but it is essentially the same, they were "guarding a guard" or "keeping close watch" and they "feared a great fear", i.e. they "were deathly afraid."
>
> 2) Most definitely you are engaging in etymologizing. Words do not always mean what we think they should mean from breaking them down into their components and then coming up with a definition based on the components. In this case it has the sense of considering, comparing, even engaging in debate over something. I would suggest that you at once sell your first-born child and buy BDAG (Baur, Danker, Arndt, and Gingrich, _A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature_, 3rd edition. Accept no substitutes.
>
> george
> gfsomsel
> _________
>
> Original Message:
>
> Ron Bonica <ron at bonica.org> wrote:
> Folks,
>
>The following are two seasonal questions:
>
>1) In Luke 2:8, the shepherds are FULASSONTES FULAKAS (guarding guards?)
>TES NUKTOS EPI TEN POIMNEN (in the night over sheep). In the next verse,
>the shepherds EFOBETHESAN FOBON (feared fear) MEGAN (great).
>
>The double verbs (guarding guard, feared fear) caught my attention. Is
>this a common construct? Is it used to suggest emphasis (e.g., the
>shepherds were *really* concentrating on their flocks and then they were
>*really* frightened).
>
>2) In Luke 2:19, Mary SUMBALLOUSA (throws together?) EN TE CARDIA AUTES
>(in her heart). The image of throwing strikes me as being strange. Does
>it suggest that she was under stress or confused or overwhelmed? Or am I
>reading too much into the root "BALLW" (throw)?
>
>Merry Christmas,
>Ron
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>
>george
>gfsomsel
>
>Therefore, O faithful Christian, search for truth, hear truth,
>learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth,
>defend the truth till death.
>
> - Jan Hus
>_________
>
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