[B-Greek] Mark 9:30 Subjunctive of GINWSKW

Elizabeth Kline kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Fri Nov 6 13:22:11 EST 2009


On Nov 5, 2009, at 9:38 PM, Donald COBB wrote:

> I'm wondering if anyone can give some information of the formation  
> of the subjunctive aorist in Mark 9:30: γνοῖ, GNOI. Here's the  
> full verse:
>
> κἀκεῖθεν ἐξελθόντες διὰ τῆς  
> γαλιλαίας καὶ οὐκ ἤθελεν ἵνα τις  
> γνοῖ
>
> KAKEIQEN EXELQONTES DIA THS GALILAIAS KAI OUK HQELEN INA TIS GNOI
>
> The same form is found in 5:43 and Lk 9:15 and nowhere else in the  
> NT or LXX. I'm assuming it's a somewhat infrequent alternative form  
> for γνῷ, GNW, but my question is more along the lines of where it  
> comes from. Is it a carryover from classical Greek? My first thought  
> would be no, as LS doesn't list the form, but the classicsists (sp?)  
> could no doubt fill in some of the historical details better than my  
> meager knowledge of classical Greek allows me to.


Apparently it isn't a form found prior to Koine. The old grammars[1]  
discuss GNOI & DOI (Mk 8:37) together and indicate that this is a  
variant spelling of the Subj. (not Opt.) found in the same NT MSS  
(e.g., Aleph, B, D) where GNWi, DWi are also found.  BDF 95.2 suggests  
that GNOI might have served to disambiguate GNW and GNWi which sounded  
the same.


Elizabeth Kline

[1] Moult.-Turner, Proleg. p55, Accidence p. 210-11, ATRob. 308, BDF  
95.2





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