Lance:
EUQEWS seems to mean quicker off the mark than EUQUS; but one cannot be
overly dogmatic about this. On the difference between the two, my Arndt &
Gingrich refers the enquirer to H von Soden, /Die Schriften des neuen
Testamenten/, I.2, 1911, p 1391; and H Pernot, Etudes sur la langue des
Evangiles, 1927, pp 181ff.
Mark is the young-man-in-a-hurry Evangelist; he uses EUQUS and EUQEWS,
mostly the latter, to mean "immediately" or "and straightway...".
Did John have a particular respect for Mark's Gospel over the others?
1. Mark 2:11-12 KRABBATON John 5:8-9; Luke uses KLINH (except Acts 5:15).
2. Mark 6:37 DHNARIWN DIAKOSIWN ARTOUS John 6:7; Matthew and Luke omit.
3. Mark 14:3 PISTIKHS John 12:3; a double hAPAX LEGOMENON, Mark/John.
4. Mark 14:42 EGEIRESQE AGWMEN John 14:31; a little strained in John?
5. Mark 14:54 hO PETROS QERMAINOMENOS John 18:18; omitted by Matthew & Luke.
6. Mark 15:9 QELETE APOLUSW hUMIN TON BASILEIA TWN IOUDAIWN; John 18:39.
There is much "Q" material John could have used, but he preferred to
follow Mark. John never agrees with Matthew and/or Luke against Mark.
CK Barrett says there was "a permeation of the writer of John's mind by
Mark" but "he never copies it". So there were the odd phrases which "stick"
- like KAI EUQUS and EUQEWS.
As for the pericope itself, William Hendriksen, /John/, Banner of Truth,
London, 1959, p 227, sees four miracles in one:
a. Jesus walks on the water;
b. He causes Peter to do likewise (not in John);
c. He stills the wind and the waves of the storm (again not in John);
d. He causes the boat to be immediately on the beach EPI THS GHS.
Bengel in his /Gnomon/ comments baldly "EUQEWS - immediately) A new
miracle" (ET, Edinburgh, 1870, vol 2 p 317).
BF Westcott comments "EPI THS GHS may mean /in the direction of the land/,
that is, 'moving straight towards the land'; but it more probably means
/on the land/, being used of the vessel run up on the beach. Compare
Psalm 107:30. The Synpotists notice that the opposing forces were
removed (Matt 14:32; Mark 6:51, /the wind ceased/); St John that the
desired end was gained. Both results followed at once from the presence
of Christ welcomed." (/Speaker's Commentary/, 1882 ed., ad loc).
HB Swete, /The Gospel according to St Mark/, 3rd ed., Macmillans,
London, 1920, p 8, writes on Mark 1:10 s.v. EUQUS:
"(Wycliffe, /anoon/) is characteristic of Mc. - 'ein Lieblingswort des
Markus,' Schanz - occuring Mc.41 Mt.19 Lc.7; Mt. shews a similar partiality
for TOTE. In the LXX (Gen 15:4, 38:29) KAI EUQUS=wehinneh=KAI IDOU, a
phrase which, though common in the other Gospels, is not used by Mc.
Of the forms EUQUS, EUQEWS the first only occurs in Mc.; the second
predominates in the rest of the N.T. (32/12)."
HTH.
-- Ben Crick, BA Bristol, 1963 (hons in Theology) <ben.crick@argonet.co.uk> 232 Canterbury Road, Birchington, Kent, CT7 9TD (UK)