From: Michael Kinzie (mkinzie@supnet.com)
Date: Fri Nov 03 2000 - 15:21:22 EST
Thanks.
"Carl W. Conrad" <cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu> on 11/03/2000 12:41:03 PM
To: Michael Kinzie/Administration/SUPNET@SUPNET
cc: Biblical Greek <b-greek@franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Subject: Re: [b-greek] 1 Cor. 6:11 a middle translated as a passive.
At 12:52 PM -0500 11/3/00, Michael Kinzie wrote:
>Hello B-Greek List,
>
>I have a question regarding 1 Cor. 6:11. There Paul speaks of some one being
>washed. He says; "But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified
>in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God". The
>question
>I have is regarding the verb [apelousasthe] you were washed.
>
>According to Fee in his commentary this is actually a "true" middle translated
>as a passive. To his credit he at least deals with this verse. But my question
>is
>why is this middle translated as a passive?
>
>I wish I could make this sound more exegetically sophisticated.
Text: KAI TAUTA TINES HTE: ALLA APELOUSASQE, ALLA hHGIASQHTE, ALLA
EDIKAIWQHTE EN TWi ONOMATI TOU KURIOU IHSOU CRISTOU KAI EN TWi PNEUMATI TOU
QEOU hHMWN.
I take a more radical position than many on the list would do on this sort
of question, namely that, although there are many so-called "passive" forms
that really SHOULD be translated as passive, one really ought in just about
every instance to judge a form with MAI/SAI/TAI-endings or -QH-
infix-endings as middle/reflexive first of all, and I would find that works
quite well in this verse. As I see it, although the washing,
sanctification, justification may well be understood each as dependent upon
the instrumentality/agency of "the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" and of
"the spirit of Our God," yet each of these actions is something that was
sought and achieved at the bidding of the subjects being addressed by Paul
here: For that reason I'd translated it, "For you had yourselves washed,
you had yourselves sanctified, you had yourselves justified in the name of
..., etc." My view is that all constructions of verbs with these endings
are essentially middle in nature and that a fraction of them must regularly
be interpreted as passives. It is the genius of the middle to allow itself,
at times, to assume a passive sense, as in the modern languages, as when
Spanish says, "Spanish speaks itself here," or French says, "It discusses
itself about ..." or German says, "It understands itself of its own
accord." In this respect, I think, the modern languages show themselves
(are shown, if your prefer) to be true descendants of Proto Indo European.
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
---
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