[B-Greek] Luke 1:4 PERI hWN KATHCHQHS LOGWN THN ASFALEIAN
Harold Holmyard
hholmyard at ont.com
Fri Mar 9 13:47:03 EST 2007
George F Somsel wrote:
> THN ASFALEAN is not used adverbially here. This is made evident by
> the fact that EPIGNWiS is a transitive verb and requires a complement
> which is supplied by THN ASFALEAN. It would therefore not be
> translated as in 1) below.
HH: You're right that the major translations don't have this. I was
accommodating Jonathan's own comment below: "Most translations don't
seem to think so - they say something like 'so that you can know with
certainty.'" I had to assume he was telling me what he observed.
Otherwise, why even ask the question? Translations do not always
reflect the exact grammar, especially when the Greek is awkward in English.
HH: Here are some translations that seem to incorporate a sort of
adverbial use of ASFALEIAN. Really, they are just paraphrasing.
Amplified Bible: [My purpose is] that you may know the full truth and
understand with certainty and security against error the accounts
(histories) and doctrines of the faith of which you have been informed
and in which you have been [a]orally instructed.
The Bible in Basic English: So that you might have certain knowledge of
those things about which you were given teaching.
HH: The following translation seem to try and combine both and object
and an adverbial idea with "beyond a shadow of a doubt the reliability,"
unless some of the words come from an understanding of the verb GINWSKW.
The Message: so you can know beyond the shadow of a doubt the
reliability of what you were taught
Yours,
Harold Holmyard
> > I'm almost convinced that I've conquered this sentence:
> >
> > 01 EPEIDHPER POLLOI EPECEIRHSAN ANATAXASQAI DIHGHSIN PERI TWN
> > PEPLHROFORHMENWN EN hHMIN PRAGMATWN, 02 KAQWS PAREDOSAN hHMIN hOI AP
> > ARCHS AUTOPTAI KAI hUPHRETAI GENOMENOI TOU LOGOU, 03 EDOXE KAMOI
> > PARHKOLOUQHKOTI ANWQEN PASIN AKRIBWS KAQEXHS SOI GRAYAI, KRATISTE
> > QEOFILE, 04 hINA EPIGNWiS PERI hWN KATHCHQHS LOGWN THN ASFALEIAN.
> >
> > Except for the last phrase: PERI hWN KATHCHQHS LOGWN THN ASFALEIAN.
> > Does THN ASFALEAN modify LOGWN, as I had assumed? Most translations
> > don't seem to think so - they say something like "so that you can know
> > with certainty", and I assume the certainty comes from ASFALEAN. But
> how
> > can ASFALEAN modify EPIGNWiS?
> >
>
> HH: The word ASFALEIAN is in the accusative object of the verb EPIGNWiS
> and does not modify LOGWN, which is in the genitive. The prepositional
> phrase "concerning which things you have been taught" seems to modify
> "certainty." A literal translation of verse 4 would be: "so that you may
> know concerning which things you have been taught the certainty." This
> would be odd English, so translations handle it in different ways:
>
> 1) so that you may know with certainty the things you have been taught
>
> 2) so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
>
> HH: Perhaps it would be good to rearrange the literal translation above:
> "so that you may know the certainty concerning which things you have
> been taught." You could restate this as: "so that you may know the
> certainty (attached to/that pertains to) the things you have been taught."
>
> Yours,
> Harold Holmyard
>
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