[B-Greek] Acts 26:2-3
Carl Conrad
cwconrad2 at mac.com
Mon Feb 4 07:10:59 EST 2008
On Feb 4, 2008, at 6:33 AM, Carl Conrad wrote:
>
> 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.
Oops! ... omitted the transliteration
> 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
> [MALISTA GNWSTHN ONTA SE]
> since you are outstandingly familiar Ac 26:3 (cp. Appian, Bell.
> Civ. 2, 26 §100 ὁ μάλιστα ἐχθρός [hO MALISTA
> ECQROS] = the bitterest enemy).
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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