[B-Greek] Acts 16,10

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Mar 29 21:06:38 EST 2004


At 5:44 PM -0800 3/29/04, Eddie Mishoe wrote:
>hWS DE TO hORAMA EIDEN, EUQEWS EZHTHSAMEN EXELQEIN EIS
>MAKEDONIAN, SUMBIBAZONTES hOTI PROSKEKLHTAI hHMAS hO
>QEOS EUAGGELISASQAI AUTOUS
>
>Since it doesn't seem to be emphasized here, can
>AUTOUS be understood as the intended direct object, as
>in "to evangelize THEM"....as opposed to a deeper
>level indirect object "to preach the gospel TO THEM?

EUAGGELIZOMAI is a transitive verb in Greek, i.e., it takes a direct object
of the person/s preached to; "proclaim the gospel" in English is an
intransitive phrase and must therefore be completed with a phrase
indicating the person/s preached to. It is not at all uncommon that a verb
expressing a particular notion is transitive in one language and
intransitive in another; that calls for an adjustment in translating, but
one must be very careful not to assume that what is normal in one's own
language is readily applicable to Greek. As you learn the verbs and read
the dictionary entries, you have to pay attention to the illustrative
sentences and see how the verb-forms work in the contexts of those
illustrations.
-- 

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/



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