[B-Greek] hHRMOSAMHN 2COR. 11:2 middle voice

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Sat Nov 14 06:45:00 EST 2009


On Nov 13, 2009, at 4:35 PM, Elizabeth Kline wrote:

> 2Cor. 11:1 Ὄφελον ἀνείχεσθέ μου μικρόν  
> τι ἀφροσύνης· ἀλλὰ καὶ ἀνέχεσθέ  
> μου.  2 ζηλῶ γὰρ ὑμᾶς θεοῦ ζήλῳ,  
> ἡρμοσάμην γὰρ ὑμᾶς ἑνὶ ἀνδρὶ  
> παρθένον ἁγνὴν παραστῆσαι τῷ  
> Χριστῷ·  3 φοβοῦμαι δὲ μή πως, ὡς ὁ  
> ὄφις ἐξηπάτησεν Εὕαν ἐν τῇ  
> πανουργίᾳ αὐτοῦ, φθαρῇ τὰ νοήματα  
> ὑμῶν ἀπὸ τῆς ἁπλότητος [καὶ τῆς  
> ἁγνότητος] τῆς εἰς τὸν Χριστόν.
> 
> 2COR. 11:1 OFELON ANEICESQE MOU MIKRON TI AFROSUNHS· ALLA KAI ANECESQE  
> MOU.  2 ZHLW GAR hUMAS QEOU ZHLWi, hHRMOSAMHN GAR hUMAS hENI ANDRI  
> PARQENON hAGNHN PARASTHSAI TWi CRISTWi· 3 FOBOUMAI DE MH PWS, hWS hO  
> OFIS EXHPATHSEN hEUAN EN THi PANOURGIAi AUTOU, FQARHi TA NOHMATA hUMWN  
> APO THS hAPLOTHTOS [KAI THS hAGNOTHTOS] THS EIS TON CRISTON
> Is the choice of the middle aorist here semantically motivated? I  
> think it is. I would venture to disagree with M.Thrall [1] who states  
> that the middle here is being used "with the force of the active." I  
> would suggest that Moulton [2] has come closer to getting it right. In  
> other words, Paul is not presenting himself here as merely an agent in  
> the process but someone who is personally affected by the outcome. The  
> citation from Philo might be used as evidence to support M.Thrall's  
> position on this so I will quote it:

Well, it may be; the active is normally used of someone who arranges a marriage of a woman to a man, the middle of the woman who marries a man. This wuld be somewhat like GAMOUMAI, used of the woman who marries a man, whereas GAMEW is used of the man marrying the woman.

LSJ s.v. hARMOZW has: "Pass., ἁρμόσθαι θυγατέρα τινὸς γυναῖκα [hARMOSQAI QUGATERA TINOS GUNAIKA] have her betrothed or married to one, Hdt.3.137; ὡς ἐκείνῳ τῇδέ τ' ἦν ἡρμοσμένα [hWS EKEINWi THiDE T' HN hHRMOSMENA] as troth was plighted between him and her, S.Ant.570." 

That Herodotus text looks very much like what we have in 2 Cor and in the Philo passage as well, it seems to me -- and I don't think it's being used as a passive; BDAG and LSJ' regularly indicate as "passive with active sense" what really ought to be indicated as middle.

Carl W. Conrad

> 
> 2 “LA”, 1.2.67.1
> (Num. 12, 14); ὄντως γὰρ ἀναίσχυντος καὶ  
> θρασεῖα ἡ αἴσθησις, ἣ 2  
> ἐξουθενηθεῖσα ὑπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ  
> πατρὸς παρὰ τὸν πιστὸν ἐν ὅλῳ τῷ 3  
> οἴκῳ (ibid. 7), ᾧ τὴν Αἰθιόπισσαν, τὴν  
> ἀμετάβλητον καὶ κατακορῆ 4 γνώμην,  
> αὐτὸς ὁ θεὸς ἡρμόσατο, τολμᾷ  
> καταλαλεῖν Μωυσῆ καὶ κατηγορεῖν,  
> ἐφ’ ᾧ ὤφειλεν ἐπαινεῖσθαι (ibid. 1)·  
> τοῦτο γάρ ἐστιν ἐγκώμιον 6 αὐτοῦ  
> μέγιστον, ὅτι τὴν Αἰθιόπισσαν  
> ἔλαβε, τὴν ἄτρεπτον καὶ πεπυρωμένην  
> καὶ δόκιμον φύσιν· ὥσπερ γὰρ ἐν  
> ὀφθαλμῷ τὸ βλέπον μέλαν
> 
> 2 “LA”, 1.2.67.1 (Num. 12, 14); ONTWS GAR ANAISCUNTOS KAI QRASEIA  
> hH AISQHSIS, hH 2 EXOUQENHQEISA hUPO TOU QEOU TOU PATROS PARA TON  
> PISTON EN hOLWi TWi 3 OIKWi (ibid. 7), hWi THN AIQIOPISSAN, THN  
> AMETABLHTON KAI KATAKORH 4 GNWMHN, AUTOS hO QEOS hHRMOSATO, TOLMAi  
> KATALALEIN MWUSH KAI KATHGOREIN, EF' hWi WFEILEN EPAINEISQAI (ibid.  
> 1)· TOUTO GAR ESTIN EGKWMION 6 AUTOU MEGISTON, hOTI THN AIQIOPISSAN  
> ELABE, THN ATREPTON KAI PEPURWMENHN KAI DOKIMON FUSIN· hWSPER GAR EN  
> OFQALMWi TO BLEPON MELAN
> 
> 
> Elizabeth Kline
> 
> 
> [1] M.Thrall 2Cor v.2 ICC p660 n.33, T&T Clark 2000
> [2] J.H.Moulton A Grammar NT Greek, v1. Prolegomona p160
> 
> 
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