Verbs with προσ-

Semantic Range, Lexicography, and other approaches to word meaning - in general, or for particular words.
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RandallButh
Posts: 1105
Joined: May 13th, 2011, 4:01 am

Verbs with προσ-

Post by RandallButh »

I've started a new thread to get a circular verb discussion going in a right direction.
(Please no discussions here about the non-issue of whether Greek verbs should be split from their prefixes.)

We have εὔχεσθαι (εὔχομαι) 'wish, pray'
and
προσεύχεσθαι 'pray, wish'.

The difference is that προσεύχεσθαι has a more focal recipient. The word εὔχεσθαι is more generic.
The standard word for Christian prayer in the NT is προσεύχεσθαι.

κτλ.
Stephen Hughes
Posts: 3323
Joined: February 26th, 2013, 7:12 am

The force of προσ- in προσαγανακτεῖν

Post by Stephen Hughes »

Flavius Josephus, Antiquitates Judaicae 4.8.2 wrote:τήν τ᾽ ἐλευθερίαν ἡγεῖσθε μὴ τὸ προσαγανακτεῖν οἷς ἂν ὑμᾶς οἱ ἡγεμόνες πράττειν ἀξιῶσι
ἡγεῖσθαι (+ 2 acc.) think of something as being (sc. εἶναι) something else (LSJ A.III)
μὴ (εἶναι) τὸ προσαγανακτεῖν ≠ τὸ μὴ προσαγανακτεῖν
οἷς = τούτοις, ἃ
ἀξιοῦν​ (+ acc. person & infinitive) think fit, expect, require that somebody do something (LSJ A.II.2) [verb covers a range of social relationships]

What is sense of προσαγανακτεῖν + dative of thing here?
Mark 14:4 wrote:Ἦσαν δέ τινες ἀγανακτοῦντες πρὸς ἑαυτούς, [καὶ λέγοντες not in SBL (SGH)], Εἰς τί ἡ ἀπώλεια αὕτη τοῦ μύρου γέγονεν;
This has the πρός separated from the verb. Could the προσ- of προσαγανακτεῖν mean that the indignation was talked about with others, like "sharing your feelings of indignation", "speaking together / agreeing that God would / should execute vengence on the govenors who require you to follow rules"? That could mean that the prefixed preposition could be a shorthand way of expressing ("derived from", if you like), the interrelational nature of the πρός as a preposition, without spelling out exactly who they were talking about their anger with. Sound plausible, but let's not be Texas sharp-shooters, and take a look around at some other things before reaching a convenient conclusion.

I have postulated that προσαγανακτοῦσιν = ἀγανακτοῦσιν (λέγοντες τὴν ἀγανάκτησιν αὐτῶν) πρὸς ἀλλήλους

But what would the difference be between that and συναγανακτεῖν, then? A συν- is a way of expressing that people do actions together, and while ἀγανακτεῖν is a motivation for action, it is not the action itself. (Of course there is the other sort of συν- as well, that means the object of the verb is somehow done (to) together, but ἀγανακτεῖν doesn't easily take an object).

Here of course, προσαγανακτεῖν is followed by dative. Is that a regular thing, or is it a dative of respect? Is the προσ- here being used to change an intransitive verb into a transitive one? In that regard, we could consider ἐπαγανακτεῖν. While adding an ἐπι- might in some cases allow the addition of an object in the dative, perhaps not in this case.

Josephus uses the word in his description of Sicarii:
Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews 2.13.3 wrote:ἔπειτα πεσόντων μέρος ἐγίνοντο τῶν ἐπαγανακτούντων οἱ πεφονευκότες
and when any fell down dead, the murderers became a part of those that had indignation (against them / against the murder)
, so there is an understood object of the people's indignation, but it is not written. So perhpas ἐπαγανακτεῖν could be understood as to be ἀγανακτεῖν at something (it) and it represents a more fuller expression.
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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