[B-Greek] STREPHW as a divine passive in Matthew 18:3 ?

Carl Conrad cwconrad2 at mac.com
Tue Nov 27 13:47:23 EST 2007


On Nov 27, 2007, at 1:17 PM, Duncan & Shay Forbes wrote:

> Hi,
> I have 2 questions regarding the use of STREPHW in Matthew 18:3
>
> a) Is it possible that STRAPHATE from STREPHW in Matthew 18:3 is a  
> divine
> passive. The KJV, NKJV and NAU translate it with passive force, but  
> the ESV,
> NET, NIV do not.

Text: Matt. 18:3 καὶ εἶπεν· ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν,  
ἐὰν μὴ στραφῆτε καὶ γένησθε ὡς τὰ  
παιδία, οὐ μὴ εἰσέλθητε εἰς τὴν  
βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.
KAI EIPEN: AMHN LEGW hUMIN, EAN MH STRAFHTE KAI GENHSQE hWS TA PAIDIA,  
OU MH EISELQHTE EIS THN BASILEIAN TWN OURANWN.

No. It's not really passive, except morphologically. STRAFHTE here  
functions simply as the aorist middle for STREFOMAI:
BDAG: s.v. STREFW "5. to experience an inward change, turn, change,  
pass. in act. sense. For the better: make a turn-about, turn around"

What BDAG likes to call a "passive in active sense" is really a  
middle; in later Greek forms like ESTREYAMHN took the "passive"  
inflection.

> b) Could this word be used here in the same was as it is in 1 Sam  
> 10:6,
> where it refers to an inward change rather than a change in direction?

Not really. Text: 1Sam. 10:6 καὶ ἐφαλεῖται ἐπὶ  
σὲ πνεῦμα κυρίου καὶ προφητεύσεις  
μετ᾿ αὐτῶν καὶ στραφήσῃ εἰς ἄνδρα  
ἄλλον
KAI EFALEITAI EPI SE PNEUMA KURIOU KAI PROFHTEUSEIS MET' AUTWN KAI  
STREFHSHi EIS ANDRA ALLON.

That is not really quite the same. Here the sense is "you will be turn  
into a different person."

STREFOMAI in the sense of "turn oneself" represents the Hebrew SHUV,  
"turn" in the sense of "return (to God)"; a better example would be  
LXX Isaiah 31:6 Is. 31:6 ἐπιστράφητε οἱ τὴν  
βαθεῖαν βουλὴν βουλευόμενοι καὶ  
ἄνομον  EPISTRAFHTE hOI THN BAQEIAN BOULHN BOULEUOMENOI KAI  
ANOMON.


Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at ioa.com or cwconrad2 at mac.com
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/




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