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Word order in Mark 8:5 Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους;
Posted: September 22nd, 2017, 10:57 am
by Jonathan Robie
Mark 8:5 wrote:καὶ ἠρώτα αὐτούς· Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· Ἑπτά.
I'm interested in thoughts on why the word order Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους; as opposed to Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;
Re: Word order in Mark 8:5 Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους;
Posted: September 22nd, 2017, 12:52 pm
by MAubrey
It's in its normally expected position post-verb, isn't it. It's activated/known so it isn't focal (and in questions the question word is always the focus anyway) and it's non-contrastive. It would be more difficult to explain its position if it were moved forward.
Re: Word order in Mark 8:5 Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους;
Posted: September 22nd, 2017, 3:07 pm
by Stephen Hughes
MAubrey wrote: ↑September 22nd, 2017, 12:52 pm
It would be more difficult to explain its position if it were moved forward.
The synoptic parallel provides one an opportunity to do that.
Matthew 15:34 wrote:Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;