[B-Greek] Word Emphasis in Matthew 9:32
=)
p1234567891 at gmail.com
Wed Mar 30 22:31:48 EDT 2011
Dear all,
This is just my guess, since I am only learning.. I do not see any
difference in meaning but at most a slight difference in emphasis.. since
"anqrwpon kwfon daimonizomenon" seems to mean "[a] man", "[a] dumb man",
"[a] dumb man who is demon-possessed", and does not necessarily imply cause
and effect but merely two facts describing the man. I believe that
"daimonizomenos tuflos kai kwfos" likewise means "[one] who is
demon-possessed, [this one also being] blind and dumb". It seems that the
participle is put first in place of the missing noun so that what the
adjectives modify is clear. If the word-order were changed to "tuflos kai
kwfos daimonizomenos", may it mean "[a] blind [one] and [a] dumb [one] who
is demon-possessed" (assuming the context does not indicate which
possibility is correct)?
Regards,
David Lim
On 29 March 2011 23:50, <spencerj76 at aol.com> wrote:
>
>
> 29 March 2011
>
> Friends:
>
> I was wondering about a matter of emphasis that may or may not be implied
> in the word order of Matthew 9:32:
>
> Αὐτῶν δὲ ἐξερχομένων ἰδοὺ προσήνεγκαν αὐτῷ ἄνθρωπον κωφὸν δαιμονιζόμενον
>
> AUTWN DE EXERCHOMENWN IDOU PROSHNEGKAN AUTWi ANQRWPON KWFON DAIMONIZOMENON
>
> Does the word order of the adjective κωφὸν (KWFON) before the participle
> δαιμονιζόμενον (DAIMONIZOMENON) communicate, as an older commentator like
> Alfred Plummer thinks it does, that the man's muteness is primary, while the
> fact that he is demon-possessed is secondary? Or is that pressing the Greek
> word order too far? For the sake of discussion, I'd like to note Matthew
> 12:22:
>
> Τότε προσηνέχθη αὐτῷ δαιμονιζόμενος τυφλὸς καὶ κωφός.
>
> TOTE PROSHNECHQH AUTWi DAIMONIZOMENOS TUFLOS KAI KWFOS.
>
> In this case, would the placement of the participle before the two
> adjectives indicate that the demon-possession of the man contributed to the
> person's blindness and muteness, demon-possession being primary?
>
> These are specific textual questions. However, my larger question has to do
> with whether word order or word placement in a sentence indicates nuances of
> meaning. In this context, I thought I'd quote A. T. Robertson and W. Hersey
> Davis:
>
> "It is possible in Greek to express the most delicate shades of an idea by
> means of voice, tense, mode, cases, prepositions, particles, conjunctions.
> Often an idea in Greek can be expressed in various ways that are
> substantially alike, but yet differ in ways that the sensitive Greek mind
> understands. So the Greek has liberty where the Latin has bonds. The Greek
> may use coordinating clauses or subordinating clauses with conjunctions, or
> the infinitive, or the particple. His sentences may be short or long. He may
> use prepositions freely or not. Only do not accuse a Greek of using one
> construction for another. Freedom is the glory of the Greek language. Each
> writer has his own style and flavor" (A New Short Grammar of the Greek
> Testament, 10th ed. [Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1958], pp. 318-319).
> Robertson doesn't specifically mention worder order or word placement here
> as a factor in nuanced Greek, but might it be a factor?
>
> This matter of word order or word placement interests me, but I don't have
> many recent resources dealing with the topic. I'd be interested in the
> comments of list members.
>
> Best wishes,
> Jeremy Spencer
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