I understand the problem that is being considered here in a couple of different ways to what has been discussed here already.Richard Budelberger wrote:My understanding was (since 2006… when I first studied W) was :
ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν
θεραπεύειν τὰς νόσους
καὶ ἐκβάλλειν τὰ δαιμόνια
καὶ
περιάγοντας
κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον,
that is
he gave them power
to heal sicknesses,
and to cast out devils
and,
[while] going about,
to preach the gospel.
The infinitives come after ἐξουσία not δοῦναι, so I don't see that a possible subject of the infinitive could ever have been referred to in the dative. It could just as well have been constructed with another verb and the dative wouldn't have even been considered - ἔσχον ἐξουσίαν θεραπεύειν ... The verb δοῦναι takes and accusative and a dative and that's where the dative stops. The noun ἐξουσία (in this type of construction) takes an infinitive. That is no problem. In fact, it takes the infinitive a reasonable number of times in the New Testament
- (Mt 9:6, Mt. 10:1, Mk 2:10, Mk 3:15, Lk 5:24, Lk 9:1, Lk 12:5, Jn 1:2, Jn 5:24, Jn 10:18, Jn 19:10, Acts 9:14, Rom 9:21, 1 Cor 9:4, 1 Cor 9:5, 1 Cor 9:6, Heb 13:10, Rv 6:8, Rv 9:10, Rv 11:6, Rv 13:5)
1) If it can, then the explanation that others have given may be okay.
2) If it can not, then perhaps ἔδωκεν ... δαιμόνια is to be taken parenthetically, in which case κηρύσσειν can be taken as a repetition after the ἵνα ἀποστέλλῃ αὐτοὺς κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον, of the previous verse; i.e.
- ἵνα ἀποστέλλῃ αὐτοὺς
- κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον,
- καὶ ἔδωκεν αὐτοῖς ἐξουσίαν
- θεραπεύειν τὰς νόσους
καὶ ἐκβάλλειν τὰ δαιμόνια
- θεραπεύειν τὰς νόσους
- καὶ περιάγοντας κηρύσσειν τὸ εὐαγγέλιον,
The addition may suggest that this version comes after when the apostles had gone to the places that tradition suggests that they had gone to.