John Wright wrote:Well, I was thinking that the context was or might be sufficient in that way -- the two senses make sense in context. Both could apply to the situation. Sinlessness and "aiming" are relevant, depending on how you look at it. The response looks like goading when reading one way, and shaming the other. But I guess I was wrong! Thanks for your reply.
Well, it shows you are really thinking about the text, which is a good thing. In general, a word has one meaning in context, and unless it is clear that the author is making a pun, the other meanings don't even occur to someone fluent in the language. For example, if we read "Please run the vacuum cleaner after you run your race..." It's unlikely that anyone would see a pun, and native speakers will generally not even hear "run" as the same word, unless you ask them to think about it. Here, I see nothing in the text which would signal a pun, even with stones being thrown (which I suspect did not require any careful aiming).
I also doubt that any sense of "missing the mark" was in the minds of speakers of the language during this period. BDAG:
ἀναμάρτητος, ον (s. ἁμαρτάνω; Hdt. [5, 39, 2]+; Musonius 6, 16 H.; Epict. 4, 8, 6; 4, 12, 19; Plut., Mor. 419a; Appian, Liby. 51 §224 πρὸς τ. θεούς; ins [Muratori, Nov. Thes. vet. ins IV, p. 2062, 6 Ναρκίσσῳ τέκνῳ ἀναμαρτήτῳ]; pap; Dt 29:19; 2 Macc 8:4; 12:42; En 99:2; TestBenj 3:8; ApcSed 14:8 p. 136, 11 Ja; EpArist 252; Philo, Mut. Nom. 51; Jos., Bell. 7, 329 πρὸς τ. θεόν Ar. 15:11 [Milne 76, 41]; Just., D. 47, 5 al.; ἀναμαρτῆτως 44, 4) without sin, i.e. not having sinned (Teles p. 55, 13=ἐκτὸς ἁμαρτίας) ὁ ἀ. ὑμῶν J 8:7.—M-M.
Even the LSJ does not list suggest anything like "having good aim" as a possible meaning:
making no mistake, unerring, X.Cyr.8.7.22, Pl.R.339b.
in moral sense, blameless, Hp.Fract.16 (Comp.), cf. Antipho 3.2.10, Men.Epit.487, Phld. Sto.Herc.339.17; sinless, Ev.Jo.8.7, cf. Aristeas 252, Muson.Fr.2p.6H.; ἀ. πολιτεία a faultless form of government, Arist.Pol. 1275b2; ἀ. πρός τινα having done no wrong to a person, Hdt.1.117; τινί 5.39; ἀ. τινός guiltless of a thing, 1.155: τὸ -ητότατον, = ἀναμαρτησία, X.Ages.6.7, cf. Pl.R.477e; πρὸς τὸ ἀ. to preserve from error, Arist.EN1155a13. Adv. -τως without fail, unerringly, X.Mem.2.8.5; without making a mistake, Ps.-Alex.Aphr. in SE15.33; inoffensively, [D.]61.21.
of things, not done by fault, done unavoidably, συμφορά Antipho 3.2.11.
unfailing, Dion.Byz.17.