[b-greek] Re: Didache

From: Maurice A. O'Sullivan (mauros@iol.ie)
Date: Sat Nov 03 2001 - 13:08:57 EST


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At 13:51 03/11/01, Keith Thompson wrote:

>At the end of 1:4 it says EAN LABHi TIS APO SOU TO SOON, MH APAITEI, OUDE
>GAR DUNASAI. (I assume SOON = SON)

Yes, that's right -- what edition are you drawing on?

>The problem I have is with OUDE GAR DUNASAI. I'm not very experienced with
>MI conjugation verbs, would the aorist middle imperative of DUNAMAI be
>DUNASAI? All I know is sometimes MI conjugation verbs follow the W
>conjugation in the aorist tense, meaning 'for neither be powerful/able'.
>But the GAR seems to imply a statement is being made, 'for neither are you
>able', but neither of these translations make much sense to me. What
>exactly does OUDE GAR DUNASAI mean here?

DUNASAI is the second person singular present tense of DUNAMAI

Keith:
It will be some consolation to you to know that in:
Niederwimmer, Kurt, ed. The Didache. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1998.

the author states:
>> this little clause has confused interpreters from the beginning. The
most obvious interpretation is : " Let yourself be robbed, because you
cannot really defendd yourself, no matter what "
The clause, thus understood, would make obvious the social milieu of those
who handed on this text; they are exploited and helpless people who cannot
and will not defend themselves. Other attempts to understand the text
remain artificial ..............for the whole pericope we have before us an
oral tradition parallel to that of the Synoptics [ the author has earlier
pointed out that "this little phrase" stands out, as it has no parallel in
the Synoptic tradition ] or (better) the use of the same apocryphal sayings
tradition that was previously suggested for 1:3b-5a<<

Incidentally, there is a fine revised edition of:
Holmes, Michael W., ed. The Apostolic Fathers: Greek Texts and English
Translations. Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1999.
which translates "this little clause" as >>for you cannot do so <<

On your second query ( 2:2 ) I don't know what lexicon you are using, but
if you intend seriously continuing with your work on the Didache, you _do_
need the Greek-English Lexicon Of The New Testament and Other Early
Christian Literature. Now that the latest edition ( known as BDAG ) is out,
you should have no trouble picking up a cheap copy of the previous edition
( BAGD )
Going to FQORA yields this, after the main meaning you quoted, :
.

>>in specific senses—a. (destruction by) abortion (cf. Dit., Syll.3 1042,
7 [II/III ad] FQORA=miscarriage [which makes the mother unclean for 40
days] and FQORION=a means of producing abortion) OU FONEUSEIS EN FQORA`/ B
19:5; D 2:2.
[ B = Barnabas, D = Didache ]







Maurice A. O'Sullivan [ Bray, Ireland ]
mauros@iol.ie




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