[B-Greek] TI hUMIN DOKEI?
Elizabeth Kline
kline_dekooning at earthlink.net
Mon May 31 11:49:16 EDT 2010
According to BDAG we have two examples of the impersonal EOIKA from Job LXX ALL᾿ hWS EOIKEN which LEH glosses "as it seems":
LEH
ἔοικα+ V 0-0-0-2-0-2
Jb 6:3,25
to be like ; ὡς ἔοικε hWS EOIKEN as it seems
See also NETS Job http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/nets/edition/28-iob-nets.pdf
Job 6:1 ὑπολαβὼν δὲ Ιωβ λέγει 2 εἰ γάρ τις ἱστῶν στήσαι μου τὴν ὀργήν τὰς δὲ ὀδύνας μου ἄραι ἐν ζυγῷ ὁμοθυμαδόν 3 καὶ δὴ ἄμμου παραλίας βαρυτέρα ἔσται ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἔοικεν τὰ ῥήματά μού ἐστιν φαῦλα 4 βέλη γὰρ κυρίου ἐν τῷ σώματί μού ἐστιν ὧν ὁ θυμὸς αὐτῶν ἐκπίνει μου τὸ αἷμα ὅταν ἄρξωμαι λαλεῖν κεντοῦσί με >>hUPOLABWN DE IWB LEGEI 2 EI GAR TIS hISTWN STHSAI MOU THN ORGHN TAS DE ODUNAS MOU ARAI EN ZUGWi hOMOQUMADON 3 KAI DH AMMOU PARALIAS BARUTERA ESTAI ALL᾿ hWS EOIKEN TA hRHMATA MOU ESTIN FAULA 4 BELH GAR KURIOU EN TWi SWMATI MOU ESTIN hWN hO QUMOS AUTWN EKPINEI MOU TO hAIMA hOTAN ARXWMAI LALEIN KENTOUSI ME<<
Job 6:24 διδάξατέ με ἐγὼ δὲ κωφεύσω εἴ τι πεπλάνημαι φράσατέ μοι 25 ἀλλ᾿ ὡς ἔοικεν φαῦλα ἀληθινοῦ ῥήματα οὐ γὰρ παρ᾿ ὑμῶν ἰσχὺν αἰτοῦμαι >>DIDAXATE ME EGW DE KWFEUSW EI TI PEPLANHMAI FRASATE MOI 25 ALL᾿ hWS EOIKEN FAULA ALHQINOU hRHMATA OU GAR PAR᾿ hUMWN ISCUN AITOUMAI<< 26
Elizabeth Kline
On May 30, 2010, at 5:18 PM, Carl Conrad wrote:
> On May 30, 2010, at 6:01 PM, Elizabeth Kline wrote:
>> Same issue comes up with EOIKA, -AS, -E
>>
>> L.S. Interm. 2. impers., ἔοικε >>EOIKE<< it seems; ὡς ἔοικε >>hWS EOIKE<< as it seems, Id., etc.; ὡς ἔοικε >>hWS EOIKE<< used to modify a statement, probably, I believe, Plat.:—so also personal, ὡς ἔοικας >>hWS EOIKAS<< Soph.
>>
>>
>> It can be impersonal "it seems" or personal "you seem". Translators often transform the later into "I think you are" rather than "you seem to me" which sounds slightly stilted to some ears.
>>
>> Examples:
>>
>> James 1:6 αἰτείτω δὲ ἐν πίστει μηδὲν διακρινόμενος· ὁ γὰρ διακρινόμενος ἔοικεν κλύδωνι θαλάσσης ἀνεμιζομένῳ καὶ ῥιπιζομένῳ >>AITEITW DE EN PISTEI MHDEN DIAKRINOMENOS· hO GAR DIAKRINOMENOS EOIKEN KLUDWNI QALASSHS ANEMIZOMENWi KAI hRIPIZOMENWi<<.
>>
>> Personal or impersonal? Not any particular person but syntactically it is personal since there is a subject hO DIAKRINOMENOS.
>>
>> another from James:
>>
>> James 1:23 ὅτι εἴ τις ἀκροατὴς λόγου ἐστὶν καὶ οὐ ποιητής, οὗτος ἔοικεν ἀνδρὶ κατανοοῦντι τὸ πρόσωπον τῆς γενέσεως αὐτοῦ ἐν ἐσόπτρῳ >>hOTI EI TIS AKROATHS LOGOU ESTIN KAI OU POIHTHS, hOUTOS EOIKEN ANDRI KATANOOUNTI TO PROSWPON THS GENESEWS AUTOU EN ESOPTRWi<<·
>
> EOIKE in the sense "seems" or "seems likely" is secondary and equivalent to the older usage of the neuter sg. of the pf. ptc. with explicit or implicit ESTIN: EIKOS ESTIN, "it is likely, probable; it seems to be the case," usually followed by accusative and infinitive construction.
> I rather think that these Biblical citations don't belong to this sense but rather to the primary sense of EOIKA with dative, "be like"
>
> James 1:6 "is like a sea-wave driven and blown by the wind"
> James 1:28 "is like a man looking in the mirror at the face he was born with"
>
> LSJ: to be like, look like, c. dat.
> BDAG: ἔοικα (Hom. et al.; in the mng. ‘seem’ also Job 6:3, 25; Jos., C. Ap. 2, 175; Just., Tat.) old pf. of εἴκω be like, resemble, τινί someone or someth. (Hes., fgm. 263 Rz. ποταμῷ ῥέοντι ἐοικώς) κλύδωνι θαλάσσης Js 1:6. ἀνδρί vs. 23.—DELG. M-M.
>
> Carl W. Conrad
> Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
>
>
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