From: c stirling bartholomew (cc.constantine@worldnet.att.net)
Date: Mon Dec 17 2001 - 16:28:47 EST
on 12/17/01 12:17 PM, L. J. Swain wrote:
> In Matthew's episode of the Syro-Phoenician woman, Jesus says:
>
> "OUK APESTALHN EI MH EIS TA PROBATA TA APOLWLOTA OIKOU ISRAHL"
>
> My question is the "EI MH", I've looked in several grammars to confirm
> my understanding that EI MH is best translated as "except" or "if not",
> thus the above statement is "I was not sent except to the lost sheep of
> the house of Israel." But I've noted that the NASB, NIV, and RSV all
> translate "I was sent ONLY to the....." and it is the use of that "only"
> which is my sticking point. Unless I've missed something about the
> nature of "EI MH" and its nuance, "only" seems to me to be making Jesus
> say something stronger than what Matthew has him say. I note that the
> Vulgate also has good ol' "nisi" for "EI MH", which for me confirms the
> issue.
>
> So B-Greekers, what have I missed?
>
Hello Larry,
Not sure you have missed anything. In discussing OUK . . . EI MH, both
A.B. Bruce and L. Morris use the word "exclusive" to describe the sense.
Some other commentators (Meyer, Alford) seem to assume the notion
"exclusive" without explicitly treating OUK . . . EI MH.
I wonder if your vast erudition in the history of the English language is
causing you to identify distinctions in the target language which might not
be familiar to speakers of *Koine English?
Just a thought,
Greetings
Clay
--
Clayton Stirling Bartholomew
Three Tree Point
P.O. Box 255 Seahurst WA 98062
*Koine English is the language spoken on the street in Seahurst WA where I
live. A large percentage of the people on the street speak English as a
second language, their first language being German, Italian, Russian,
Croatian, Check, Arabic, . . .
---
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