[B-Greek] LXX Amos 3:5, Matthew 10:29 Grammar, Topic, Context, and Verbal Irony

Yancy W Smith yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Thu Nov 19 19:10:29 EST 2009


Yes, after I pressed send I realized that I should not have put a  
negative to match the Greek EI. There used to be a column in the  
Buenos Aires Herald written in Engish as a Porteño might speak it were  
he to speak in word for word correspondence with his thought in  
Castellano. Bilinguals always got quite a kick out of it.

Yancy

Sent from my iPhone

On Nov 19, 2009, at 5:25 PM, Albert Pietersma <albert.pietersma at sympatico.ca 
 > wrote:

> Note, however, that the citation from Amos 3:5 does not have a  
> negative. The answer is therefore not: "The bird will fall  
> nevertheless." Rather, the question is: "Will a bird fall on the  
> ground without a fowler?" which might be answered by: No, of course  
> not! Why would it?
> No irony here; just an illustration that nothing happens without a  
> cause.
> Al
> On Nov 19, 2009, at 5:41 PM, Yancy Smith wrote:
>
>> Dear list,
>>
>> One of the difficulties of a strictly grammatical/linguistic  
>> approach to reading the Greek NT is how to account for context and  
>> recognize verbal irony. For example, οὐχὶ δύο  
>> στρουθία ἀσσαρίου πωλεῖται; καὶ ἓν  
>> ἐξ αὐτῶν οὐ πεσεῖται ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν  
>> ἄνευ τοῦ πατρὸς ὑμῶν. OUCI DUO STROUQIA  
>> ASSARIOU PWLEITAI hEN EX AUTWN OU PESEITAI EPI THN GHN ANEU TOU PA 
>> TROS hUMWN. The NRSV reads, fairly literally, “Are not two sparrow 
>> s sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground ap 
>> art from your Father.” The last part of the verse is sometimes cal 
>> led “cryptic” (Matthew vol. 2, I.C.C. Allison and Davies). So,  
>> the meaning in terms of theology has been a topic of much discussi 
>> on. (I.e., is it speaking of “apart from the will, knowledge, care 
>> , or comforting presence” of God?) Theology aside, the topic is al 
>> so obscured by the oblique language. Does “PESEITAI EPI THN GHN”  
>> refer to the “death” of a little bird? I would like to suggest  
>> Matthew’s Jesus engages in a bit of Scriptural-verbal irony. That  
>> is, a Scripture quote or allusion is accompanied by an attitude di 
>> stinct from the original. In the LXX Amos 3:5 has εἰ  
>> πεσεῖται ὄρνεον ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν ἄνευ  
>> ἰξευτοῦ;  EI PESEITAI ORNEON EPI THN GHN ANEU IXEUTON.  
>> “Will not a bird fall to the ground without the bird catcher!?”  
>> Matthew apparently quotes the prophetic saying with a bit of irony 
>> . For translators, irony is difficult to spot. Commentator’s miss  
>> the verbal similarity to Amos or fail to give it any significance. 
>>  In Matthew’s version, Jesus changes the text and puts  
>> “Father” in the place of “birdcatcher.” The PAGIS is EPI THN  
>> GHN. So, I wonder if the language about a bird falling to the grou 
>> nd is an extension of the image of the sparrows that are sold in t 
>> he marketplace for a pittance. I suppose they would be thought to  
>> have been caught by fowlers and that the phrase “πεσεῖται  
>> ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν” is an idiomatic reference to being  
>> “caught” by the bird catcher. Is this an idiomatic use of  
>> “fall” like that of the Lucan story of the Good Samaritan, who  
>> “fell among theives” λῃσταῖς περιέπεσεν,  
>> which might be translated, “Some robbers surrounded him and caught 
>>  him.” Is it similar to “fall into a trap/danger.”  
>> πιπτειν εἰς νόσον καὶ ἔσχατον  
>> κίνδυνον PIPTEIN EIS NOSON KAI ESCATON KINDUNON “fall into  
>> sickness and extreme peril” Acts of Paul 4:15 where no literal fal 
>> ling is involved? A much closer verbal parallel is 1 Tim 3:6-7 μὴ  
>> νεόφυτον, ἵνα μὴ τυφωθεὶς εἰς κρίμα  
>> ἐμπέσῃ τοῦ διαβόλου. 7 δεῖ δὲ καὶ  
>> μαρτυρίαν καλὴν ἔχειν ἀπὸ τῶν  
>> ἔξωθεν, ἵνα μὴ εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν  
>> ἐμπέσῃ καὶ παγίδα τοῦ διαβόλου. MH  
>> NEOPHUTON hINA MH TUFWQEIS EIS KRIMA EMPESESHi TOU DIABOLOU 7 DEI  
>> DE KAI MARTURIAN KALHN ECEIN APO TVN EXOQEN Hina One “falls”  
>> into judgment, disgrace, and a snare.
>> The context in Matthew is about being prepared for capture and  
>> martyrdom, i.e. when God permits even one follower of Christ to be  
>> captured and suffer martyrdom it is part of his plan to bring  
>> witnesses before “rulers and Gentiles,” but the follower of  
>> Jesus is always under God’s watchful care.
>>
>> Comments? Rebuttals?
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Yancy Smith
>>
>> Yancy W. Smith, PhD
>>
>> World Bible Translation Center
>>
>> 4028 Daley Ave., Suite 201
>>
>> Fort Worth, TX 76180
>>
>> p 817-595-1664
>>
>> f 817580-7013
>>
>> <mailto:brian at wbtc.org> yancy at wbtc.org
>>
>>
>>
>> Be kinder than necessary for everyone you meet is fighting some  
>> kind of battle.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> ---
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>
>> Albert Pietersma PhD
> 21 Cross Street,
> Weston ON Canada M9N 2B8
> Email: albert.pietersma at sympatico.ca
> Homepage: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~pietersm
>



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