[B-Greek] Philippians 1:3-4 - MNEIA - DEHSIS

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Wed Aug 19 12:35:34 EDT 2009


On Aug 19, 2009, at 9:32 AM, Kimmo Huovila wrote:

> I have a somewhat different view on the passage in question.
>
> On keskiviikko, 19. elokuuta 2009, Carl Conrad wrote:
>
> <snip>
>>> Phil. 1:3 Εὐχαριστῶ τῷ θεῷ μου ἐπὶ
>>> πάσῃ
>>> τῇ μνείᾳ ὑμῶν  4 πάντοτε ἐν πάσῃ
>>> δεήσει μου ὑπὲρ πάντων ὑμῶν, μετὰ
>>> χαρᾶς τὴν δέησιν ποιούμενος,  5 ἐπὶ
>>> τῇ κοινωνίᾳ ὑμῶν εἰς τὸ
>>> εὐαγγέλιον ἀπὸ τῆς πρώτης ἡμέρας
>>> ἄχρι τοῦ νῦν,
>>> .
>>> PHIL. 1:3 EUCARISTW TWi QEWi MOU EPI PASHi THi MNEIAi hUMWN 4  
>>> PANTOTE
>>> EN PASHi DEHSEI MOU hUPER PANTWN hUMWN, META CARAS THN DEHSIN
>>> POIOUMENOS, 5 EPI THi KOINWNIAi hUMWN EIS TO EUAGGELION APO THS  
>>> PRWTHS
>>> hHMERAS ACRI TOU NUN.
>>
>> Steve Runge might give you a more up-to-date technical analysis of  
>> the
>> rhetoric of this, but here's my own take on the logical ordering of
>> the sequence:
>> (1) I think that PANTOTE picks up the phrase EPI PASHi THi MNEIAi  
>> hUMWN;
>
> I would suggest that PANTOTE picks up EUCARISTW and parse the  
> passage as
> follows:
> EUCARISTW
> - TWi QEWi MOU
> - EPI PASHi THi MNEIAi hUMWN
> - PANTOTE EN PASHi DEHSEI MOU hUPER PANTWN hUMWN
> (META CARAS THN DEHSIN POIOUMENOS)
> - EPI THi KOINWNIAi hUMWN EIS TO EUAGGELION APO THS PRWTHS
> hHMERAS ACRI TOU NUN.
>
>> My paraphrase: "Every thought of you makes me thank God, each and
>> every prayer of mine joyfully embracing each and every one of you in
>> gratitude for our shared evangelistic venture, extending from day one
>> to the present moment."
>
> My paraphrase: "I thank God for every memory I have of you always  
> when I pray
> for you all (and that is with joy). I am especially grateful for your
> participation in the work of the gospel since the beginning.
>
>>
>> In sum, in case I haven't adequately answered the real question  
>> posed,
>> I think that EN PASHi DEHSEI expands and explains the simple
>> statement, EUCARISTW ... EPI PASHi THi MNHMHi hUMWN: "My every  
>> thought
>> of you is a prayer of gratitude to God for you all."
>
> I take EUCARISTW EPI in the sense of 'to thank for', giving the  
> content of
> gratitude. Cf. 1 Cor 1:4

As in Bob Hope's celebrated theme song, "Thanks for the memory"?
My sense of MNEIA is rather that it means a calling-to-mind, a  
thinking-about (a person or persons). It's regularly used with  
POIOUMAI in the sense "mention." So BDAG, MNEIA:

	2. mention μνείαν ποιεῖσθαί τινος [MNEIAN  
POIEISQAI TINOS] mention someone (Pla., Phdr. 254; Diog. L. 8, 2, 66;  
IPriene 50, 10; PEdg 14 [=Sb 6720], 3 [256 BC]; UPZ 59, 6; cp. Ps  
110:4) in our lit. only of mentioning in prayer (BGU 632, 5  
μνείαν σου ποιούμενος παρὰ τοῖς  
ἐνθάδε θεοῖς [MNEIAN SOU POIOUMENOS PARA TOIS ENQADE  
QEOIS] ; Kaibel 983, 2ff [79 BC] Δημήτριος ἥκω πρὸς  
μεγάλην Ἶσιν θεάν, μνείαν ἐπ᾿  
ἀγαθῷ τ. γονέων ποιούμενος; [DHMHTRIOS hHKW  
PROS MEGALHN ISIN QEAN, MNEIAN EP᾿ AGAQWi T. GONEWN POIOUMENOS;] not  
in prayer Iren. 1, 9, 2 [Harv. I 83, 2]) Ro 1:9; 1 Th 1:2 v.l.; Phlm  
4. The gen. is supplied fr. the context Eph 1:16; 1 Th 1:2. ἐπὶ  
πάση τῇ μ. ὑμῶν [EPI PASHi THi MNEIAi hUMWN] as often as  
I make mention of you (in prayer) Phil 1:3

See also Louw & Nida §29.7

>
>> Carl W. Conrad (hO GRAMMATIKOS hO TEQNHKWS)
>
> GRAFEIS TEQNHKWS WN?


OUCI, OUC hWS TEQNHKWS WN, MALLON DE hWS TIS EN TOIS GRAMMATIKOIS TOIS  
TEQNHKOSIN ONOMASQEIS. HUPO SOFOU TINOS TOU STEFANOU RUGGE. hOUTOS GAR  
OU DH YEUDETAI, ALLA MET' EXOUSIAS DIDASKEI ...

> OLIGOI TEQNHKOTES DUNANTAI. :-)

POLLOI MEN NARQHKOFOROI, PAUROI DE TE BAKCOI. Us dead grammarians and  
BAKCOI gotta stick together; we're an endangered species.


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






More information about the B-Greek mailing list