[B-Greek] Acts 26:2-3

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Mon Feb 4 06:33:11 EST 2008


On Feb 4, 2008, at 12:16 AM, Iver Larsen wrote:

> Just a couple of comments to Carl's comments, see below:
>
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Carl Conrad" <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
>> I suggested earlier -- and still think -- that there's an
>> implicit participle governing GNWSTHN ONTA SE KTL. and I've also said
>> that I think it may have been omitted because deemed implicitly
>> carried forward from hHGHMAI.
>
> I agree that there is a participle governing GNWSTHN ONTA SE KTL and  
> that participle is EPISTAMENOS which is placed after GNWSTHN ONTA SE  
> KTL, because it is not in focus. However, I do not agree that this  
> participle is carried forward from hHGHMAI, rather it is hHGHMAI  
> itself that is carried forward to be the implicit main verb in the  
> second clause.
>
>> As for Iver's arguments, it seems to me (1) that EPISTAMENOS, the
>> alternative reading to which he calls attention, is (a) out of place
>> at the end of the clause it is supposed to govern, and (b) not
>> unlikely added by a scribe to supply the recognized omitted
>> participle, and (2) that MALISTA should almost certainly be assumed  
>> to
>> qualify the words immediately following it, GNWSTHN ONTA SE  
>> ("inasmuch
>> as you are especially knowledgeable ... ").
>
> If you accept the reading of P74, Aleph(2), A, C, 33 etc, then Luke  
> placed it at the end. If you prefer the reading of Aleph*, B, E etc,  
> then the scribe placed it there. Whether is was Luke or a scribe, I  
> believe that both would be more conversant with Greek than you and I  
> put together. It is common for a participle to be placed after the  
> items they govern when it is not in focus. Paul is not drawing  
> attention to the fact that he knows this about Agrippa, but that  
> "Agrippa is an expert in Jewish matters". It can hardly be placed in  
> any other position. If it would come immediately after MALISTA,  
> there would be a wrong focus on what Paul knows. He is not telling  
> Agrippa what he knows, but he is building up a good relationship by  
> sweet-talking him.

I would have put it immediately before MALISTA, not after it. Well,  
let's leave that possibility on the table. I am more inclined to think  
that EPISTAMENOS was an afterthought of a scribe to alleviate the  
sense of syntactic gap. I note that there's another alternative  
reading in a couple later MSS, EIDWS, clearly meant to fill the same  
syntactic gap (1175 SE ONTA EIDWS PANTWN ..., 69 SE PANTWN EIDWS  
ONTA ...)

> By virtue of its initial position in the sentence and common usage  
> MALISTA will always govern the whole sentence that follows. And I  
> don't think the meaning of MALISTA is adequately rendered by "in as  
> much as", but corresponds better to English "especially". BAGD  
> suggest the following glosses: "most of all, above all, especially,  
> particularly, (very) greatly."
> So, MALISTA may govern the implied verb hHGHMAI carried over from  
> the previous clause, or it may govern the implied EPISTAMENOS plus  
> what that verb governs. This could be expressed by something like  
> (1) I am especially fortunate (to defend myself before you), because  
> I know that you are en expert in Jewish matters or (2) I am  
> fortunate, especially because (I know that) you are an expert in  
> Jewish matters. I prefer (1), but it doesn't make much difference to  
> the meaning.

I never meant to imply that MALISTA means "inasmuch as. What I  
suggested for the whole phrase MALISTA GNWSTHN ONTA SE was "inasmuch
as you are especially knowledgeable ... " -- I intended MALISTA to be  
represented by "especially" -- and I still believe that MALISTA  
governs the clause GNWSTHN ONTA SE ... ZHTHMATWN rather than the  
entire following sentence.

BDAG s.v. MALISTA (omitting the references preceding comments on our  
passage in particular):
1. to an unusual degree, most of all, above all, especially,  
particularly, (very) greatly ... . μ. γνώστην ὄντα σε  
since you are outstandingly familiar Ac 26:3 (cp. Appian, Bell. Civ.  
2, 26 §100 ὁ μάλιστα ἐχθρός=the bitterest enemy).

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)






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