[B-Greek] Acts 26:2-3

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Sun Feb 3 08:57:45 EST 2008


Carl mentioned the "lingering force" of hHGHMAI and an "implicit participle of some sort". I think 
these are excellent leads, but I don't see how GNWSTHN ONTA SE can be grammatically connected to 
either SOU or DEOMAI. I am reluctant to accuse Luke of producing "bad grammar", so I am exploring 
other options.

I want to suggest that we first need to look at the key word MALISTA. Let me quote a few other 
usages of this word where words in brackets are not in the text, but understood from context:

Act 25:26 DIO PROHGAGON AUTON EF' hUMWN,
KAI MALISTA [PROHGAGON AUTON] EPI SOU, BASILEU AGRIPPA
That is why I brought him before y'all and especially [why I brought him] before you, king Agrippa

Gal 6:10 ERGAZWMEQA TON AGAQON PROS PANTAS,
MALISTA DE [ERGAZWMEQA TON AGAQON] PROS TOUS OIKEIOUS THS PISTHS
We should do good towards all people, but especially [we should do good] towards fellow believers

Php 4:22 ASPAZONTAI hUMAS PANTES hOI hAGIOI,
MALISTA DE [ASPAZONTAI hUMAS] hOI EK THS KAISAROS OIKIAS
All the saints greet you, but especially those from the house of Caesar [greet you]

1Ti 4:10 hOS ESTIN SWTHR PANTWN ANQRWPWN,
MALISTA [ESTIN SWTHR PANTWN] PISTWN
He-who is saviour (for) all people, especially [saviour for all] believers

1Ti 5:8 EI DE TIS TWN IDIWN,
KAI MALISTA TWN OIKEIWN [OU PRONOEI], OU PRONOEI
But if anyone does not care for his own (people), and especially [does not care for] his own 
household

1Ti 5:17 hOI KALWS PROESTWTHS PRESBUTEROI DIPLHS TIMHS AXIOUSQWSAN,
MALISTA hOI KOPIWNTES EN LOGWi KAI DIDASKALIAi [PRESBUTEROI DIPLHS TIMHS AXIOUSQWSAN]
Consider those elders who have been good leaders, worthy of double honour,
especially [consider worthy of double honour] the elders who are labouring in speaking and teaching

I could go on listing examples, but the key point to notice is that in all these cases the clause 
with MALISTA has no finite verb in it. Instead, the verb phrase from the previous clause is to be 
carried over, or if you want, it is doing double duty. (In one case, the MALISTA clause was placed 
inside the main clause, but the verb is still to be understood from the main clause).

DIO, it is normal for a MALISTA clause to have no finite verb, but to take over the verb from the 
main clause. If we look at Acts 26 again, this is what I would consider to be carried over:

1a hHGHMAI EMAUTON MAKARION
1b    EPI SOU MELLWN SHMERON APOLOGEISTHAI,
2a MALISTA [hHGHMAI EMAUTON MAKARION]
2b   GNWSTHN ONTA SE PANTWN TWN KATA IOUDAIOUS EQWN TE KAI ZHTHMATWN
I consider myself fortunate
   that it is before you I am about to defend myself today,
especially [I consider myself fortunate]
   you being knowledgeable of all the Jewish customs and controversial issues

That doesn't explain the grammar, though, since we don't have an infinitive in 2b as in 1b, but 
rather an accusative object (?) SE with a participial clause attached. Semantically SE connects with 
SOU, but the grammar is awkward.

Now, there is an interesting parallel in Acts 24:10:
EK POLLWN ETWN ONTA SE KRITHN TWi EQNEI TOUTWi EPISTAMENOS
EUQUMWS TA PERI EMAUTOU APOLOGOUMAI
I defend myself gladly (before you) about the things (I am accused of) knowing you as having been a 
judge for this people group for many years

Here the participle EPISTAMENOS is connected to the first person subject of the following finite 
verb.

Looking at NA, there is very good internal and external textual support for the alternative reading 
with the missing participle:
2b   GNWSTHN ONTA SE PANTWN TWN KATA IOUDAIOUS EQWN TE KAI ZHTHMATWN EPISTAMENOS

The main verb hHGHMAI is then qualified by the participial clause where SE is the object for 
EPISTAMENOS exactly as in 24:10. The parallel with Acts 24:10 tells us that this is how Paul (or 
Luke) would express himself. EPISTAMAI (be aware of) is an "Acts" word in that 64% of all NT 
occurrences are found in Acts.

I won't go into textual arguments on this list as to why the final participle was lost in some of 
the early and less reliable mss, but only say that this is one way to solve the grammatical 
awkwardness. For those who prefer the NA text, the easiest solution is to agree with Carl that a 
participle is implied, in this case EPISTAMENOS.

(There is also reasonably good textual support for SOU after DEOMAI, illustrating Carl's point that 
DEOMAI requires a genitive).

Iver Larsen

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Conrad" <cwconrad2 at mac.com>

> On Feb 2, 2008, at 2:42 PM, Randall Buth wrote:
>
>> v.2 PERI PANTWN hWN EGKALOUMAI hUPO IOUDAIWN,
>> BASILEU AGRIPPA,
>> hHGHMAI EMAUTON MAKARION EPI SOU
>> MELLWN SHMERON APOLOGEISTHAI [,]
>> v.3 MALISTA GNWSTHN ONTA SE PANTWN TWN
>>        KATA IOUDAIOUS EQWN TE
>>        KAI ZHTHMATWN -
>> DIO DEOMAI MAKROQUMWS AKOUSAI MOU.
>>
>> With due respect to those who would link
>> GNWSTHN ONTA SE ... to a previous SOU,
>> it seems to me that Luke intended this as the subject of AKOUSAI.
>> Yes, it does dangle, but only because the DIO intervenes.
>> DIO separates the accusative subject from its infinitive and makes
>> it dangle.
>> But I ask myself where I would put the DIO? there isn't a good place
>> unless before MALISTA.
>> And if DIO had been dropped then the whole sentence would read more
>> smoothly.
>> Naturally, I would add at least a comma or period before MALISTA.
>> I haven't gone to look at the long run-on sentence(s) of accusatives
>> in Plato's SYMPOSION or Thoukydides speeches, but languages and
>> communication universally allow speakers to hang a clause and restart.
>> That is what DIO seems to do to the flow here.
>
> I don't say that can't be the case, Randall, but my impression is that
> DEOMAI ordinarily takes a genitive of the person of whom a request is
> made and an accusative noun of the request. I continue to suspect that
> we simply have a case of bad grammar here -- an anacoluthon; I think
> it's probable that a participle of some sort, as I suggested earlier,
> is implicit but that the speaker in the narrative moves on with this
> self-congratulation regarding King Agrippa's understanding with some
> lingering force of the verb hHGHMAI.




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