[B-Greek] embrimaomai

Randall Buth randallbuth at gmail.com
Mon Feb 11 15:42:25 EST 2008


The following was sent from Lyle Story for forwarding to the list:

subject	embrimaomai

Let me express my thoughts on embrimaomai:

Jesus expresses self-recrimination and heartbreaking feelings of
betrayal and abandonment.  At the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus' responds
with self-recrimination, expressed through the verb, "He censured
Himself" (embrimaomai)  in response to the death of Lazarus and the
criticism of the Jews, who questioned His care for His friend (Jn.
11:33, 38).  In each case there is a direct object of censure:    The
verb is used in Mk. 14:5-the censure of the bystanders for the woman's
outpouring of precious perfume; Mk. 1:43—Jesus' censure of the leper
in His silence charge; Matt. 9:30—censure of the two blind men whom
Jesus healed.  In each instance, there is a person who is censured.
Thus, in Jn. 11:33, 38, the verb indicates that Jesus censured
Himself. We suggest that the verb should be rendered, "He censured His
spirit and troubled himself."  The expression may be understood, "Why
did I not come sooner and save my friends their grief and the grief of
their friends as well?  I have only myself to blame that I did not
come sooner."   Our modern expression, "If only I had . . . ."  He
experiences a personal disappointment.

J. Lyle Story
Professor of Biblical Languages and NT
<lylesto at regent.edu>


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