[B-Greek] The meaning of APEKDEXOMAI.
Timothy Lawson
tslawson1 at yahoo.com
Sat Jan 1 16:01:07 EST 2011
Thank you,
Iver for your observations.
It was pointed out to me yesterday that EKDEXOMAI means to wait. This friend of
mine has recently produced a translation of the NT and I was able to point out
to him that he has translated that word as "wait" in a couple of instances. AP
intensifies EKDEXOMAI making something like "eagerly await" or "eagerly expect".
This actually answers his question "do you see any waiting in this
word?" While, I admire him for completing a translation of the NT, and would
like to do the same myself someday, I'm not sure my ego would be up for the
criticism.
T. Scott Lawson
________________________________
From: Iver Larsen <iver_larsen at sil.org>
To: Timothy Lawson <tslawson1 at yahoo.com>; B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
Sent: Fri, December 31, 2010 10:59:41 PM
Subject: Re: [B-Greek] The meaning of APEKDEXOMAI.
----- Original Message ----- From: "Timothy Lawson" <tslawson1 at yahoo.com>
To: <B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: 1. januar 2011 00:35
Subject: [B-Greek] The meaning of APEKDEXOMAI.
> To all:
>
> A friend of mine writes:
>
> "I have summarily rejected the lexical definitions of apekdechomai, taking,
> instead, the meaning of the verb dechomai, and adding the meanings of the
added
> prefixes. This is just for your consideration. It gives the verse a very
> different meaning.
>
You cannot summarily reject lexical definitions. You need a good deal of solid
argumentation to go against established lexica, and looking at the parts of a
verb does not constitute such solid argumentation. Imagine if someone would do
that for English? It will not turn out well for such a person. Rather he will
metaphorically speaking turn out the light. You can turn out many strange
interpretations by such a procedure. How many turned out for the party last
night? (I am not sure these are all good English expressions, since I am still
learning the language, but I sure won't learn it by looking in turns first at
"turn" and then at "out".)
LSJ has:
I. ἀπεκδέχομαι, expect anxiously, await eagerly, σωτῆρα Ep.Phil.3.20; θάνατον
Alciphr.3.7; τὸ μέλλον Hld.2.35, cf. S.E.M.2.73; μαστῷ πόρτιν ἀπεκδέχεται
AP9.722 (Antip. Sid., = Page EG3595, v.l. ὑπεκ-).
II. misunderstand, misinterpret, Hipparch.1.6.11, al.
b. understand a word from the context, A.D.Conj.226.20.
---------------
Your friend has misunderstood the word and misinterpreted the text, because he
ignores the fact that a word is to be understood from its context and usage
rather than from its components parts.
BDAG has:
ἀπεκδέχομαι (s. δέχομαι) impf. ἀπεξεδεχόμην await eagerly (so Alciphron 3, 4, 6;
Heliod. 2, 35, 3; 7, 23, 5; Sext. Emp., Math. 2, 73; TestAbr A 16 p. 96, 23
[Stone p. 40]) τινά or τί : Onesiphorus went out to meet Paul on the road that
leads to Lystra and waited to welcome him καὶ εἱστήκει ἀ[πεκδεχόμενος αὐτόν]
AcPl Ant 13, 22 (restoration after AcPlTh 3 [Aa I 237, 5]); in our lit. always
of Christian hope w. its var. objects: σωτῆρα Phil 3:20; Christ Hb 9:28.—τὴν
ἀποκάλυψιν τῶν υἱῶν τοῦ θεοῦ the revelation of the sons of God Ro 8:19; cp. 1
Cor 1:7. υἱοθεσίαν Ro 8:23 (for this and other passages JSwetnam suggests infer,
understand in a certain sense: Biblica 48, ’67, 102–8). ἐλπίδα δικαιοσύνης Gal
5:5.—Abs. wait διʼ ὑπομονῆς wait patiently Ro 8:25. Of God’s forbearance 1 Pt
3:20.
----------------
The meaning is clear enough and it makes good sense in Phil 3:20 so I am afraid
your friend's attempt at making the text say what it does not say is doomed from
the start.
Iver Larsen
> Phil. 3:20
>
> "For you see, our citizenship (result of living in a free city; or:
>commonwealth
> – realm of a free city; political realm) continues inherently existing (or:
> continues humbly ruling; continuously subsists; repeatedly has its
> under-beginning) resident within the midst of [the] atmospheres (or: heavens),
> from out of where (or: which place) we also continuously receive and take away
> in our hands from out of a Deliverer (a Savior; One restoring us to the health
> and wholeness of our original state and condition): [the] Lord (or: a Master),
> Jesus Christ,"
>
> The hi-lited clause renders the Greek verb "apo-ek-dechometha." Dechometha is
> the 1st per. pl. present tense of "dechomai," with two prepositions prefixed
to
> it. Dechomai means: to take into one's hands (first meaning); to receive
> (second meaning); to accept (third meaning). Do you see any "waiting" in this
> word?
>
> apo means: away; away from; off. ek means: from out of; out of the midst of.
> Add these two modifiers to the above verb, and you get my translation.
>
>
> As you know, traditions die hard. Liddell and Scott list apek as a
preposition:
> away/from out of.
>
> In a separate entry, a group of verbs are listed under apek-
> apek-lanthanomai : to forget entirely (apek as an intensifier); to escape away
> from out of (one's) knowledge
> apek-baino : to turn away and out
> apek-ballo : to cast out and away
> apek-bioo : to cease living (to be out and away from life)
> apek-duomai : to strip off oneself
> apek-luo : to relax, weaken
> apek-ripto : to throw off and away
> apek-teino : to draw off and away
> apek-tasis : a spreading out and away
>
> Now note that in all these cases the addition of this preposition to a verb
> either works as an intensifier of the verb, or adds the meaning of the
> preposition to the verb. So why not with apek-dechomai?"
>
>
> I see that only two of his examples are deponent as is APEKDEXOMAI and their
> stems are active.
>
>
> LANQANW for APEKLANQANOMAI
> EKDUW for APEKDUOMAI?
>
> APEKDEXOMAI has a deponent for it's stem. Since it has a middle/passive form
to
> begin with might this may affect the meaning of the preposition/s APEK.
>
> I've also pointed out that the Latin text translates APEKDEXOMAI with
> "exspecto" at Phil. 3:20 as well as the other seven places noted in BDAG.
>
> What factors influence how this word is understood?
>
> T. Scott Lawson
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