[B-Greek] TARASSW/TARASSOMAI subject-agent affected

Iver Larsen iver_larsen at sil.org
Fri Feb 22 12:43:22 EST 2008


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Carl Conrad" <cwconrad2 at mac.com>
To: "Elizabeth Kline" <kline_dekooning at earthlink.net>
Cc: "greek B-Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 22. februar 2008 14:30
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] TARASSW/TARASSOMAI subject-agent affected


> My own impression is that this reflexive usage of TARASSEIN hEAUTON is
> exceptional, although perfectly intelligible: the middle is the normal
> usage. Of 17 instances of the verb in John's gospel, 6 are active ,
> the remaining 11 are middle-passive. Of the 6 active forms all but
> that in John 11:33 have external objects.

I would prefer to look at this from a semantic viewpoint.

TARASSW is basically a divalent verb with an agent or cause as subject and a patient as object. 
Somebody or something stirs/upsets somebody or something. If the subject is a person, I would call 
it agent, but if it is an event, I would call it cause. In most cases in the NT the patient is a 
person (or the heart/spirit of a person), but in John 5:4 and 5:7 it is water.

As Carl meant to say, of the 17 instances in the NT, 6 are active (7 if you count John 5:4 in the 
Byzantine texts). The remaining 11 are IMO passive rather than middle, because in each case, it is 
the patient that is placed in the subject slot and the agent or cause is implicit.

I agree that John 11:33 is unusual in that the agent and patient is co-referential and therefore it 
is a reflexive form that is semantically close to a middle. Jesus upsets or stirs up himself or his 
own heart/spirit.  By NOT saying ETARACQH as in John 13:21, the author manages to imply that there 
is no external cause for being upset, but rather an internal agent. Jesus is the one who upsets or 
stirs up himself. This is a small nuance that is lost in English Bible translations.

Iver Larsen
---------------------------
>
> In the LXX there are 114 instances of TARASSW/TARASSOMAI, of which 23
> are active (causative) and 91 are middle-passive (intransitive). The
> active forms in the LXX all have external objects. Clearly the middle
> (intransitive) form is standard, while the active is regularly used
> only in a transitive causative sense. The usage in John 11:33 with
> transitive active verb combined with a reflexive seems altogether
> exceptional in that subject-affectedness is clearly indicated, but not
> in the normal manner. This is something different from the usage of
> EGEIRE/EGEIRETE in the intransitive sense of "rise" (16x in the GNT)
> while the other 42 instances of the active EGEIRW all are transitive
> causative with an external object; the standard form of this verb is
> middle-intransitive (86x).
>
> On Feb 21, 2008, at 5:53 PM, Elizabeth Kline wrote:
>
>> Looking for TARASSW where the subject is the agent and is also
>> affected. The active being *unmarked* for subject affectedness can
>> function like the middle voice.
>>
>> John 11:33 Ἰησοῦς οὖν ὡς εἶδεν αὐτὴν
>> κλαίουσαν καὶ τοὺς συνελθόντας
>> αὐτῇ Ἰουδαίους κλαίοντας,
>> ἐνεβριμήσατο τῷ πνεύματι καὶ
>> ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτὸν
>>
>> JN 11:33 IHSOUS OUN hWS EIDEN AUTHN KLAIOUSAN KAI TOUS SUNELQONTAS
>> AUTHi IOUDAIOUS KLAIONTAS, ENEBRIMHSATO TWi PNEUMATI KAI ETARAXEN
>> hEAUTON
>>
>>
>> In Jn. 11:33 ETARAXEN hEAUTON, IHSOUS is the subject/agent of
>> ETARAXEN and IHSOUS is also affected hEAUTON.
>>
>> Soph.Ant.
>>
>> 1095 {ΚΡ.}
>> Ἔγνωκα καὐτὸς καὶ ταράσσομαι
>> φρένας·
>>
>> 1095 KR.
>> EGNWKA KAUTOS KAI TARASSOMAI FRENAS:
>>
>> In Soph.Ant. 1095b Creon is the subject/agent of TARASSOMAI and Creon
>> is also affected FRENAS.
>>
>>
>> The middle voice in Soph.Ant. 1095b makes subject affectedness
>> explicit whereas in Jn. 11:33 hEAUTON makes subject affectedness
>> explicit.
>>
>>
>>
>> Elizabeth Kline




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