Re: Silly Greek Questions?

From: Steven Cox (scox@chinaonline.com.cn.net)
Date: Fri Apr 03 1998 - 08:19:37 EST


        Hi David
        This isn't cc-ed to b-greek, because of Carl's comment
        on the original thread title, but between ourselves
        I can't ignore this as I posed a question about SHMERON
        with speech verbs in LXX and Acts about 2 weeks ago
        (though as I said then, I don't think that Luke 23:43
        is in the same category as usage in Acts20:26, 26:2,29)

At 17:49 98/04/03 +1000, McKay family wrote:
>O.K. I have a silly Greek question.
>Has this verse been discussed before?
>Luke 23:43

    (a) Yes, this has been discussed before and definitely in
        the archives. But if like me you don't have Internet
        access at home you're stuffed :-)

>Is it equally legitimate to put the comma after SHMERON, or is this usual
>break up more likely to be correct?

    (b) The comma here [or there] is attributing SHMERON to a verb.
        But attribution of adverbs is always tricky in languages where
        (unlike adjectives in Gk) they are uninflected. I wonder
        if anyone's feeling for verb-adverb word order, combined
        with allowance for possible disruption of a neutral word
        order for reasons of emphasis, is going good enough to be
        dogmatic in a passage like this in a dead language??

    (c) F.F. Bruce has a good analysis of this "Lukan comma" ;-)
        but I regret I can't give you the reference because it
        was given me a Pakistani seminarian in Seoul 10 years
        ago and I've totally forgotten it...

    (d) Christ's statement is part of a dialogue and my personal
        solution is to think that any temporal adverb in his answer
        needs reading in the temporal context of the original
        request hOTAN ktl. That context seems more relevant than
        than fiddling about with the comma

    (e) Does the textual variance affect likely attribution of adverb?
        AMHN SOI LEGW SHMERON MET' EMOU ESHi EN TWi PARADEISWi
        AMHN LEGW SOI SHMERON MET' EMOU ESHi EN TWi PARADEISWi

        Rgds
        Steven
        (and no I'm not a JW, though I respect their pacifism and
        zeal, even if theologically I have several bones to pick)

At 17:49 98/04/03 +1000, McKay family wrote:
>O.K. I have a silly Greek question.
>
>Has this verse been discussed before?
>Luke 23:43
>KAI EIPEN AUTWi, AMHN SOI LEGW, SHMERON MET' EMOU ESHi EN TWi PARADEISWi.
>
>This is the way it is written in my Greek NT. [O.K. Uses a much
>better-looking font!]
>
>Is it equally legitimate to put the comma after SHMERON, or is this usual
>break up more likely to be correct?
>
>I hope it is kosher for me to say that the people who want the comma after
>SHMERON, seem to have theological, not grammatical reasons.
>
>David McKay
>music@fl.net.au
>
>
>
>
>



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