[B-Greek] Is There Any Significance in the Syntax of John 11:5?

Steve Runge srunge at logos.com
Sun Jan 20 11:29:38 EST 2008


JN 11:1 HN DE TIS ASQENWN, LAZAROS APO BHQANIAS, EK THS KWMHS MARIAS 
KAI MARQAS THS ADELFHS AUTHS.  2 HN DE MARIAM hH ALEIYASA TON KURION 
MURWi KAI EKMAXASA TOUS PODAS AUTOU TAIS QRIXIN AUTHS, hHS hO ADELFOS 
LAZAROS HSQENEI.  3 APESTEILAN OUN hAI ADELFAI PROS AUTON LEGOUSAI: 
KURIE, IDE hON FILEIS ASQENEI.  4 AKOUSAS DE hO IHSOUS EIPEN: hAUTH 
hH ASQENEIA OUK ESTIN PROS QANATON ALL' hUPER THS DOXHS TOU QEOU, 
hINA DOXASQHi hO hUIOS TOU QEOU DI' AUTHS.  5 HGAPA DE hO IHSOUS THN 
MARQAN KAI THN ADELFHN AUTHS KAI TON LAZARON.

Edgar,
 
There is some interesting manipulation of the information that fits well with the content that follows. Lazarus is introduced from scratch using the indefinite pronoun to make him specific enough to start a mental file on him. It is just like saying in colloquial English, 'There was this sick guy, Lazarus...' Out of the three characters, the reader has only seen Mary before, which the writer reminds us of in v. 2. 
 
In v. 3, the writer refers to the two sisters collectively, and let's us know that Jesus has a close relationship with Lazarus by changing referring expressions from a proper name to an 'epithet' hON FILEIS. The epithet is less specific, creating the potential for ambiguity. However, this strategy is frequently used to recharacterize some participant in a way that is thematically salient in the context. It forces the reader to think about him or her in a way that they would not otherwise have thought about them, based on the importance of that information to the context. In the context of John 11, this thematic characterization lets us know that Jesus is not just blowing this request off because he doesn't care about Lazarus. It lets us know why he weeps.
 
In v. 5, we learn that Jesus loves all of them, not just Lazarus. You picked up on the fact that all three are listed, perhaps rather than referring to them collectively using a pronoun. The order of the participants has also changed from v. 1, with Lazarus last and the sisters first. There is also a change in referring expressions from the proper name MARIAM to the epithet THN ADELFHN AUTHS. There are three basic reasons for switching from a proper name like this. One was mentioned above, thematic (re)characterization. The second is to background one participant with respect to another. If both sisters had been referred to using proper names, it would have placed them both (or all three of them in this case) on an equal level of importance, perhaps with the more important one occurring first in the list. In v. 5 we have both Lazarus and Martha assigned proper names, and Mary is backgrounded, IMO. This raises a question. Which of the two named participants is most salient? This is where the third function comes into play.
 
Use of an epithet, either as a substitute or as a supplement to a proper name, can indicate who the current 'center of attention' is. Notice that Mary is linked or 'anchored' to Martha in the epithet, and is not called 'Lazarus' sister', which is a legitimate possibility. However, this latter option would have indicated that Lazarus was the most salient of the three, not Martha. Why is she salient? The important dialogue of vv. 20-30 is with Martha, not Mary. John is foreshadowing this through the changes that he makes, and he does this consistently throughout the gospel. It also accomplishes a shift from v. 1, where Mary was the one that the village was anchored to, not Martha. This was necessary since the reader needed some means of relating this new information to the discourse information they have already read. This is also why Martha is anchored as 'her sister', to get her properly introduced and grounded in the discourse.
 
The same principles apply in the Hebrew Bible. My doctoral work provided a description of this phenomenon in Hebrew narrative. If you want a more complete description, there is a summary of my conclusions in an SBL paper at www.logos.com/academic/bio/runge, describing how the writer uses these devices in Gen 27, the story of Jacob stealing Esau's blessing. The intro is technical, but skip over it if necessary and just read the exposition. There are eight discretely signaled shifts in the center of attention in the one chapter, coinciding with the shifts in initiator in the context. The same this happens in Gen 2-3. Take a look at how 'Eve' is referred to. She starts as 'Adam's wife', the shifts to 'Eve' as she interacts with the serpent. She gives the fruit to 'her husband' who eats it. She is the initiator and the center of attention in chapter 3, a shift from chapter 2. The writer unambiguously communicates this through the changes in referring expressions. When the two hide from the LORD God in 3:8, 'they' hear Him coming and 'the man and his wife' hide themselves. There is no semantic need for the explicit reference with noun phrases in the second clause of the verse. It serves to explicitly mark the shift in center of attention from Eve to Adam just before the LORD God addresses Adam as the one responsible.
 
There is a lot going on that we tend to read over, since we do not use these devices as extensively in English, but we do use them. Hope this helps answer your question.
 
Steve
 

________________________________

From: b-greek-bounces at lists.ibiblio.org on behalf of Edgar Foster
Sent: Sat 1/19/2008 9:18 PM
To: b-greek list
Subject: [B-Greek] Is There Any Significance in the Syntax of John 11:5?



The text: HGAPA DE hO IHSOUS THN MARQAN KAI THN
ADELFHN AUTHS KAI TON LAZARON.

I notice that Martha is first mentioned, then her
sister and Lazarus. Why list the accusatival THN
MARQAN before referring to THN ADELFHN AUTHS KAI TON
LAZARON?

Thanks,
Edgar Foster


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