[B-Greek] Can QEOS be used in apposition to MONOGENHS in John1:18-revised
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Thu Nov 5 17:55:10 EST 2009
On grammatically incorrect Greek based on Semitic interference, the
Apocalypse of John is exhibit A in many instances. But MONOGENHS QEOS
is "wrong" only in the eye of the beholder; it does not have to be
"wrong" if it is a veiled way of speaking. Burney's solution, given in
the Aparatus of Nestle-Aland gives readers of the Greek text an
alternative explanation to the quagmire of the wierd Greek grammar. In
a creole, bi-lingual situations, such grammatical oddities are means
of sophisticated communication.
Yancy Smith, PhD
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Y.W.Smith at tcu.edu
yancy at wbtc.com
5636 Wedgworth Road
Fort Worth, TX 76133
817-361-7565
On Nov 5, 2009, at 4:38 PM, Harold Holmyard wrote:
> Hi, Yancy,
>> It is right to wonder to what extent the author of GJohn 1 was
>> thinking with Hebrew or Syriac-Aramaic, or whether the Greek text
>> represents an over-literal translation of a Semitic original text.
>> Matthew Black gives a nod to Burney's elegant solution to the
>> problem of this text (Aramaic Approach, 11). He suggests that an
>> Aramaic YeCHiDh 'eLaHa "the only begotten of God" was translated
>> MONOGENHS QEOS. And, of course, that could also be "only begotten,
>> beloved one" of God this would make a good link with the bit about
>> being in the KOLPON of the Father.
>>
>> GJohn 1:18 is not only text that gives a defective or confusing
>> sense in Greek because of interference from Semitic background. But
>> I am intrigued by one of Rolf's comments.
>>
>
>
> HH: An "over-literal translation" would be a wrong translation,
> wouldn't
> it? How is it an "elegant solution" to suggest that the Greek is a
> mistranslation from the Aramaic?
>
>>
>> Perhaps we should also remember that GJohn is a highly polemical
>> text in which disciples are also being schooled in crafting, within
>> first century Judasims, non-standard messages about Jesus in a
>> highly volatile social situation. Here in John 1:18
>> "mistranslation" may be a stealthy way to hedge the statement. In
>> other words, GJohn may be using a cleverness of expression common
>> in Greco-Roman rhetoric, figured expression with built in plausible
>> deniability called EMFASIS, used frequently in moments in which the
>> speaker must speak in a stealthy way. This way of constantly,
>> carefully parsing one's words to simultaneously hide and reveal
>> meaning was a characteristic of Jesus and is a characteristic of
>> oppressed peoples in general, as seen in James Scott, Domination
>> and the Arts of Resistance. Scott's work is used to great effect by
>> Warren Carter in John and Empire: Initial Explorations.
>>
>
> HH: Here the suggestion seems to be that it could have been
> deliberately
> wrong. Where is the cleverness here?
>
> HH: Thanks for all the effort that went into this post, but I must be
> missing something.
>
> Yours,
> Harold Holmyard
>
>
>>
>>
>>
>
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