[B-Greek] ERXOMAI = return

George F Somsel gfsomsel at yahoo.com
Tue Jan 1 13:13:28 EST 2008


I'm not quite sure what your question might be.  In a number of languages there is a use of come / go or bring / take (as translated into English) which seems to indicate that either sense is to be assigned to the word concerned.  I don't find offhand a specific passage which states exactly what you indicate (for that matter, I don't find it in Danker either though that may simply be because I'm feeling lazy today), but I do find this in LSJ

 
II. (much more freq.) come or go (the latter esp. in Ep. and Lyr.), ἦλθες [HLQES] thou art come, Od.16.461, etc. χαίροισʼ ἔρχεο [XAIROIS' ERXEO] go and fare thee well, Sapph.Supp.23.7, cf. Il.9.43, Od.10.320, 1.281; ἀγγελίνη στρατοῦ .. ἐρχομένοιο [AGGELINH STRATOU … ERXOMENOIO] 2.30, cf. 10.267; πάλιν ἐλθέμεν, αὖτε εἰλήλουθα [PALIN ELQEMEN, AUTE EILHLOUQA], 19.533, 549; αἶκον ἐλεύσεται [OIKON ELEUSETAI] ib.313; οἴκαδε [OIKADE] 5.220; ἐς οἴκους [ES OIKOUS] A.Pers.833: as a hortatory exclamation, ἀλλʼ ἔρχευ, λέκτρονδʼ ἴομεν [ALL] ERXEU, LEKTROND' IOMEN] Od.23.254, cf. 17.529.
III. c. acc. cogn., ὁδὸν ἐλθέμεναι [hODON ELQEMENAI] to go a journey, Il.1.151; ἄλλην ὁδόν, ἄλλακέλευθα ἤλθομεν [ALLHN hODON, ALLAKELEUQA HLQOMEN] Od.9.262; τηϋσίην ὁδὸν ἔλθῃς [THUSIHN hODON ELQEHiS] 3.316: freq. in Trag., A.Pr.962, Th.714 (also κατὰ τὴν αὐτὴν ὁδόν [KATA THN AUTHN hODON] Pl.Lg.707d); νόστιμον ἐλθεῖν πόδα (v.l. δόμον) [NOSTIMON ELQEIN PODA (v.l. DROMON)] E.Alc.1153; ἀγγε λίην, ἐξεσίην ἐλθεῖν [AGGE LIHN, ECESIHN ELQEIN], go on an embassy, Il.11.140, Od.21.20.

Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S., & McKenzie, R. (1996). A Greek-English lexicon. "With a revised supplement, 1996." (Rev. and augm. throughout) (694). Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press; Oxford University Press.

This would seem to indicate that ERXOMAI can be used either for "to come" or "to go."  Whichever it is seems to be determined by the position which the speaker / writer assumes -- is he at the point of departure or at the destination?

 
george
gfsomsel
 
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----- Original Message ----
From: Jeffrey B. Gibson <jgibson000 at comcast.net>
To: Biblical Greek <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Tuesday, January 1, 2008 11:38:50 AM
Subject: [B-Greek] ERXOMAI = return

In his entry in BDAG on ERXOMAI Danker notes that besides having the
meaning "come", it was also used  "Hom.+"  (from Homer forward)
"w[ith] the specif[ic]. m[eani]ng 'come back, return'".


    Also w. the specif. mng. come back, return (Hom.+; Bar 4:37; 1
    Esdr 5:8; Tob 2:3 BA) J 4:27; 9:7; Ro 9:9)

Curiously, though, when I turn to LSJ, I find nothing there that
indicates that Homer, let alone any post Homeric author,  used ERXOMAI
to signify the "specific" meaning" that Danker says it bore.

Is Danker wrong in this matter?  Or are there Homeric and post Homeric
instances outside of the ones he actually cites of ERXOMAI meaning
"return"?

If so, what are they?

Yours,

Jeffrey
--
Jeffrey B. Gibson, D.Phil. (Oxon)
1500 W. Pratt Blvd.
Chicago, Illinois
e-mail jgibson000 at comcast.net

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