[B-Greek] Matthew 8.7
Iver Larsen
iver_larsen at sil.org
Sun Mar 8 04:50:49 EDT 2009
----- Original Message -----
From: "Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu>
To: "Thomas Hagen" <thomas.hagen at libero.it>
Cc: "B-Greek" <b-greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 8. marts 2009 04:44
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] Matthew 8.7
>
> On Mar 7, 2009, at 6:25 PM, Thomas Hagen wrote:
>
>> This is my very first question and I'm not sure how to address all
>> of you potential readers. How about "Dear B-Greekers"?
>>
>> Well, I'm interested in knowing how strong the argument is for
>> considering Jesus' words in Matthew 8:7 - "εγω ελθων
>> θεραπεύσω αυτόν / EGW ELQWN QERAPEUSW AUTON" - a
>> question rather than a statement.
>>
>> Thank you for any help you can give me -
>
> I don't really see anything in the context that suggests that it is a
> question. But perhaps you are deriving that understanding from the
> participle ἀποκριθεὶς [APOKRIQEIS] in what follows
> immediately....
Since I am of the opinion that it most likely is a question, let me try to give some reasons. The
use of APOKRINOMAI is not one of my reasons.
One problem is the use and position of EGW.
You may have read the commentaries already, but let me briefly quote from Morris:
"Most translations take Jesus’ words as a statement, “I will come and heal him,” and this may be
correct. ... But if the words are taken as a statement, it is difficult to understand why Jesus uses
the emphatic I."
So, why use the emphatic EGW?
Matthew uses EGW 28 times. One of these (21:30) is a special ellipsis, so I won't include it.
In the vast majority of cases there is a clear contrast between *I* and a specific person or persons
understood from context.
In the remaining cases, it is possible that the use of *I* indicates the status of authority of the
person speaking, i..e *I* as contrasted to people in general.
10:16: Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω ὑμᾶς ὡς πρόβατα ἐν μέσῳ λύκων
IDOU EGW APOSTELLW hUMAS hWS PROBATA EN MESW LUKWN
(Listen, I am sending you as sheep among wolves).
Maybe there is a contrast to how Jesus sends his disciples and how other rabbis sent theirs? (The
Pharisees sent their disciples as wolves among sheep, according to Jesus in Matt 23:15.)
11:10: Ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω τὸν ἄγγελόν μου πρὸ προσώπου σου
IDOU EGW APOSTELLW TON AGGELWN MOU PRO PROSWPOU SOU
(Listen, I am sending my messenger before you)
23:34 διὰ τοῦτο ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω πρὸς ὑμᾶς προφήτας καὶ σοφοὺς καὶ γραμματεῖς
DIA TOUTO IDOU EGW APOSTELLW PROS hUMAS PROFHTAS KAI SOFOUS KAI GRAMMATEIS
(So I am sending to you prophets and wise men and learned men)
Maybe the word "send" indicates the authority of the one sending? Of the 7 APOSTELLW in the NT, 5 of
them have EGW, 3 in Matthew and 2 in Luke. In is interesting that Mrk 1:2 and Luke 7:27 have the
same OT quote as in Matt 11:10, but without EGW. Similarly Luke 10:3 is the parallel to Matt 10:16,
without EGW. The EGW is there in the LXX of Mal 3:1, so it is likely that Mark and Luke left out the
EGW because there is no clear contrast in view. It seems that where the EGW has survived it is often
a reflection of the Hebraic Greek of the LXX.
28:20 καὶ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ μεθ᾽ ὑμῶν εἰμι πάσας τὰς ἡμέρας
KAI IDOU EGW MEQ' hUMWN EIMI PASAS TAS HMERAS
(And listen, I am with you all the days)
The remaining two are in the passage under study:
8:7 Ἐγὼ ἐλθὼν θεραπεύσω αὐτόν
EGW ELQWN QERAPEUSW AUTON
(I having-come I-shall-heal him)
8:9 καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ ἄνθρωπός εἰμι ὑπὸ ἐξουσίαν
KAI GAR EGW ANQRWPOS EIMI hUPO EXOUSIAN
(For I, too, is a man under authority)
Here, I assume the EGW is needed because of the KAI. The centurion has recognized and accepted the
authority of Jesus and says: Me, too. I know what it is to be under authority and therefore also
have the right to exercise authority.
Now, IF Jesus had only wanted to say the straightforward "I shall come and heal him", there is no
reasonable explanation for the use of the emphatic EGW. It can better be understood if it is a
question: "Shall *I* come and heal him?" I am using "shall" to reflect the open-ended future
indicative tense. Had a subjunctive been used, it would have been more like "should I" with the
indication that this was unlikely to happen.
A second reason comes from the response of the Gentile centurion:
I know that you as a Jew cannot come into my house and heal him. But that is not needed. You can
just say a word.
Morris says: " [If it is a statement ...] It is also difficult to understand why the centurion
should have protested as he did in his reply. As McNeile puts it, if Jesus’ words “are a direct
statement assenting to the request that He would come, the humble answer, with its profound faith,
is called forth by no apparent cause.”"
This second reason is connected to an overall theme of Jesus as having been sent to the "lost sheep
of the house of Israel". In Matt 15:21-28, there is a similar incident of a non-Jew asking for
healing of her child. Jesus initially stalls by not responding to her plea (15:23) and the disciples
want to send her away. Jesus then objects that he was only sent to the Jews (v. 24). The woman
repeats her plea (v. 25). Jesus objects again (26). The woman argues that even if she is "a dog" she
can still benefit from the crumbs of the children's bread. The final result is that the daughter is
healed and Jesus commends her great faith.
The exact same theme is also found in 8:10. Jesus commends the non-Jewish centurion for his great
faith.
Because of such parallels, it seems likely to me that Jesus is stalling in 8:7 and after a further
argument from the Gentile, he accepts and does the requested miracle. This fits much better with a
question: "Do you really want me to come to your house and heal him?"
I think this is an important theme for Matthew. His audience is Jews, and he wants them to believe
in Jesus as the Messiah, but he also hints that the obstacle is their faith or rather lack of it (as
Matthew several times explains about the 12 disciples), and some Gentiles have greater faith. It may
be a way of enticing the Jews to have faith. Paul did the same, trying to make the Jews jealous of
the Gentiles.
Iver Larsen
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