[B-Greek] Acts 5:3 PSEUDOMAI/YEUDOMAI + Acc.

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Tue Feb 26 16:50:49 EST 2008


On Feb 26, 2008, at 4:09 PM, Tom Moore wrote:

> Acts 5:3 is consistently translated: "Peter said, Ananias, why has  
> satan filled your heart (for) you to lie *to* the holy spirit?"
>
> But "the holy spirit" is accusative:
>
> ψεύσασθαί σε τὸ πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον
> YEUSASQAI SE TO PNEUMA TO hAGION
>
> While the very next verse shows lying *to* somebody in the dative  
> (Acts 5:4: "You did not lie to men but to God"):
>
> Οὐκ ἐψεύσω ἀνθρώποις, ἀλλὰ τῷ θεῷ
> OUK EYEUSW ANQRWPOIS ALLA TWi QEWi
>
> Can TO PNEUMA TO hAGION be understood instead to be what Ananias  
> lied about, rather than to whom Ananias lied: "Why has satan filled  
> your heart (for) you to lie *about* [or to mispresent] the holy  
> spirit?" (as being the one motivating his actions)? Given 5:4, why  
> is "to the holy spirit" even valid?

Cf. BDAG s.v. YEUDOMAI: note the second usage there:

2. to attempt to deceive by lying, tell lies to, impose upon τινὰ  
[TINA] someone (Eur., X. et al.; Plut., Alcib. 206 [26, 8], Marcell.  
314 [27, 7]; Jos., Ant. 3, 273; 13, 25; PSI 232, 10) Ac 5:3 (Appian,  
Liby. 27 §113 τίς σε δαίμων ἔβλαψε . . .  
ψεύσασθαι θεοὺς οὓς ὤμοσας; [TIS SE  
DAIMWN ... YEUSASQAI QEOUS hOUS WMOSAS?]=‘what evil spirit beguiled  
you . . . to lie to the gods by whom you swore?’; Tat. 19, 3  
ἑαυτόν [hEAUTON]); 1 Cl 15:4 (Ps 77:36, but w. αὐτῷ  
[AUTWi]).—DELG. M-M. TW.


Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)






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