[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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