[B-Greek] "WDIN" in 1 Thess. 5:3

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Fri Jan 23 08:38:55 EST 2009


On Jan 23, 2009, at 7:00 AM, A. J. Birch wrote:

> "hOTAN LEGWSIN, EIRHNH KAI ASFALEIA, TOTE AIFNIDIOS AUTOIS EFISTATAI  
> OLEQROS hWSPER hH WDIN THi EN GASTRI ECOUSHi, KAI OU MH  
> EKFUGWSIN" (1 Thess. 5:3).
>
> "WDIN", as a nominative singular, struck me as somewhat unusual. It  
> seems to be the only occurrence of this particular (nominative) form  
> in the New Testament, and not to be found outside the NT either. Is  
> this the case?

Not quite. Here's the BDAG lemma entry:

ὠδίν, ῖνος, ἡ [WDIN, INOW, hH] (as a nom. in Suda) 1 Th  
5:3 (Is 37:3) for the usual form ὠδίς, ῖνος [WDIS, INOS] (s.  
next entry; Hom.+; SEG VIII, 802; Sb 4312, 4f; Coll. Alex. p. 198 no.  
36, 11 [Isis], =IAndrosIsis p. 145; LXX; PsSol 3:9; TestJob 18:4;  
Philo; Jos., Ant. 2, 218.—B-D-F §46, 4; Mlt-H. 135) experience of  
pains associated with childbirth

The standard form is thus ὠδίς, ῖνος [WDIS, INOS]. The  
genitive form shows that the Nu belongs to the stem; the Nu evanesces  
by the standard phonological principle that Nu between a vowel and S  
will evanesce.

The alternative that we see in 1 Thess 5:3 is clearly an analogical  
formation based on the stem as a long Iota followed by the Nu.
See Smyth §259 (Stems in a liquid {L,R) or a nasal {N}), noting the  
declension of ῥίς (hRIS) and then the note 259D:
"Late Greek shows DELFIN, hRIN, QIN shore (Hom. QIS), ELMINS worm in  
Hippocrates as its N from the oblique cases. ..."
And BDAG refers to BDF §46.4, which deals also with the nom. sg. form  
WDIN = WDIS.

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






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