Re: Mark 14:3
David L. Moore (dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com)
Tue, 10 Sep 1996 22:40:41 -0400
Carl W. Conrad wrote:
>
> At 9:43 AM -0500 9/10/96, David L. Moore wrote:
> >Carl W. Conrad wrote:
> >>
> >> At 4:04 PM -0500 9/9/96, KHGrenier@aol.com wrote:
> >> >Quick question: What sort of genitive is kephalhs in Mark 14:3?
> >>
> >> One might argue that it's a particular kind of partitive that I once
> >> learned to call "genitive of the target"--or a genitive of the sphere
> >> within which; but it's probably simpler to think of it as genitive with the
> >> verb KATAXEW; in general verbs with prefix KATA- tend to be construed with
> >> a genitive.
> >
> > Does anyone know of an instance in which there is a genitive used in
> >this sense but without EPI or KATA as it is here in Mk 14:3? I looked
> >through
> >the references to "on" in Strong's Concordance for the Gospels and Acts and
> >could find no instances of such a construction. Strong's may be deceptive,
> >however, since it lists "on" in Mk. 14:3 as corresponding to KATA, which
> >indicates the concordance is based on a non-critical Greek text.
>
> I'm not quite sure what you're looking for, David, but I find in LSJ s.v.
> KATAXEW, I find, even in Homer, something very close to Mk 14:3:
>
> Iliad 23.282-3 hOS SFWIN MALA POLLAKIS hUGRON ELAION
> XAITAWN KATEXEUE ...
>
> Achilles is speaking of how his father Peleus treated a pair of horses:
> "who very often would pour over their manes (XAITAWN) liquid olive oil."
>
> It strikes me that this is essentially the same construction as in Mk 14:3.
> Later instances are cited from Herodotus, Aristophanes, Homer, all using
> the verb KATAXEW, an accusative of what's poured and a genitive of what it
> is poured upon.
>
> Now, of course, if one supposes that one's grammatical database ought to be
> restricted to Hellenistic Greek only or to NT only, the parallel to Mk 14:3
> might be harder to find!
I think the examples you cite are sufficient to establish the usage;
especially since the parallel in Mat. definitely reports that the ointment was
poured over the Lord's head. Thanks for the references.
--
David L. Moore Director
Miami, Florida, USA Department of Education
dvdmoore@ix.netcom.com Southeastern Spanish District
http://www.netcom.com/~dvdmoore of the Assemblies of God