From: James H. Vellenga (jhv0@viewlogic.com)
Date: Tue Apr 23 1996 - 16:00:37 EDT
> From: Eric Weiss <eweiss@acf.dhhs.gov>
...
> 3. Does the use of the middle in APELOUSASQE mean more correctly that "you
> washed yourselves"? (If this passagge is referring to Christian baptism, a
> possible OT motif might be Exodus 19:10-14 where the Lord told Moses both to
> consecrate the people and to have them wash themselves.) Or is this a
> deponent (APOLOUOMAI) as the UBS Newman dictionary indicates (though it would
> still be translated "washed yourselves" according to Newman's definition)?
I think that the middle, in being translated into English, needs to
vary according to the verb. Strictly speaking, it does mean "to X
oneself", but how we handle that idiomatically depends on the verb.
Hence,
active -- "I opened the door"
passive -- "The door was opened"
middle -- "The way opened up for me"
active -- "I washed the car"
passive -- "The car was washed just yesterday"
middle -- "I got washed this morning"
I also like "got" more generally for the sense of completed action,
so in 1 Cor 6.11, I would do something like
".. but you got yourselves washed, but you got consecrated, but you
got vindicated by [my preference] the name of the Lord Jesus Christ
and by the Spirit of our God."
But those are just my preferences.
Regards,
j.v.
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