[B-Greek] embrimaomai
Elizabeth Kline
kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Mon Feb 11 18:12:10 EST 2008
On Feb 11, 2008, at 12:42 PM, Randall Buth wrote:
> 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
>
>
This reading is supported to some extent by R.Allen's [1] analysis of
the mental process middle. Allen discusses two verbs of anger/rebuke
MEMFOMAI and ORGIZOMAI with the dative case, a dative of cause
(inanimate referent) or an experiencer-dative (animate referent).
The animate referent of the experiencer-dative is the object of the
anger and experiences -- is mentally involved in -- the anger, for
example MEMFOMAI 'rebuke' directed at a dative patient.
At this juncture, Allen does not discuss a case where the subject of
MEMFOMAI is coreferential with the dative case. It seems to me that
would be a suffient reason for rethinking the semantic value of the
dative.
Furthermore, if we take ENEBRIMHSATO TWi PNEUMATI as parallel to
EMBRIMWMENOS EN hEAUTWi then TWi PNEUMATI would be experiencer-dative
or patient of the rebuke/anger. This seems a little odd. Where else
do we see Jesus angry with and rebuking a PNEUMA? They are always
evil or unclean PNEUMA.
MATT. 9:30 KAI HNEWiCQHSAN AUTWN hOI OFQALMOI. KAI ENEBRIMHQH AUTOIS
hO IHSOUS LEGWN: hORATE MHDEIS GINWSKETW.
MARK 1:43 KAI EMBRIMHSAMENOS AUTWi EUQUS EXEBALEN AUTON
MARK 14:5 HDUNATO GAR TOUTO TO MURON PRAQHNAI EPANW DHNARIWN
TRIAKOSIWN KAI DOQHNAI TOIS PTWCOIS: KAI ENEBRIMWNTO AUTHi.
JOHN 11:33 IHSOUS OUN hWS EIDEN AUTHN KLAIOUSAN KAI TOUS SUNELQONTAS
AUTHi IOUDAIOUS KLAIONTAS, ENEBRIMHSATO TWi PNEUMATI KAI ETARAXEN
hEAUTON
JOHN 11:38 IHSOUS OUN PALIN EMBRIMWMENOS EN hEAUTWi ERCETAI EIS TO
MNHMEION: HN DE SPHLAION KAI LIQOS EPEKEITO EP' AUTWi.
Elizabeth Kline
[1] Rutger Allan, "Middle Voice in Ancient Greek: A Study of
Polysemy" Amesterdam 2003 pages 72-73.
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