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

Kimmo Huovila kimmo.huovila at kolumbus.fi
Thu Aug 20 00:43:45 EDT 2009


On keskiviikko, 19. elokuuta 2009, Carl Conrad wrote:

KH:
> > I take EUCARISTW EPI in the sense of 'to thank for', giving the  
> > content of
> > gratitude. Cf. 1 Cor 1:4

CC: 
> 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).

If I remember correctly (perhaps this should be verified), excluding the idiom 
MNEIAN POIEOMAI, it is often used with the content of remembering and seldom 
with reference to the occasion, time, or activity of remembering (such as 
adverbials of time like NUN/hOTE ECEI MNEIAN). It is not that often used with 
any contextual emphasis on time.

Nor does it commonly refer to an activity (if I remember correctly; idiom 
MNEIAN POIEOMAI excluded). In other words, in most contexts the time or the 
activity of remembering is not the issue but the content of memories. Paul had 
good memories of the Philippians (and perhaps bad ones too?), and in his 
prayers he was thankful for them all.

A clear and very common exception to all this above is, of course, the idiom 
MNEIAN POIEOMAI, which refers to something that is done rather than that which 
is had.

> 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

MNEIA is indeed often used with POIEOMAI. I would say the collocation is so 
strong that it is an idiom of its own. Here there is no POIEOMAI (the POIEOMAI 
in verse 4 relates to DEHSIN), and therefore the idiom is not in question 
here. The sense of mention (as opposed to memory of something) strongly 
correlates with this idiom.

> 
> See also Louw & Nida §29.7

My suggestion differs from theirs. EPI+dative can be used for "at the time" 
(BDAG EPI 18). In this sense EPI usually takes a word that readily suggests a 
temporal interpretation. MNEIA does not in itself suggest that. With 
EUCARISTEW taking the object of thanks with EPI (or PERI or hUPER) followed by 
a word that does not evoke a temporal reference, the interpretation of MNEIA 
as memory is more likely and natural than reference to the time when Paul 
remembers the Philippians. MNEIA is commonly used in the sense of memory of 
something when not used with POIEOMAI. 

I am sorry to offer just claims with no evidence at this point. I did a 
thorough study on this word a while ago (focusing on a different detail, 
though), but I cannot find the corpus anywhere (I probably have discarded it by 
now). So all I have (besides standard works of reference) is my memory, which 
may not be all that accurate. MONHN MNEIAN ECW PERI THS ZHTHSEWS MOU.

On the other hand, against my interpretation and for a temporal 
interpretation, one could argue that EPI PASHi THi MNEIAi hUMWN is a 
paraphrase for PANTOTE MNEIAN hUMWN POIOUMENOS or PANTOTE hOTE MNEIAN hUMWN 
POIOUMAI. That would bring it closer to some of the other epistles (thanks 
Bryan for the list). Can anyone find any parallels that would confirm this?

Kimmo Huovila




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