Semantics of σημαίνω

Semantic Range, Lexicography, and other approaches to word meaning - in general, or for particular words.
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Barry Hofstetter
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Semantics of σημαίνω

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

I am having a discussion with Greg Beale on the meaning of σημαίνω in Rev 1:1 (He preached at our church this morning, mentioned it in his sermon, I emailed him, and now I'm doing a lot, well a moderate amount, of research). His claim is that based on the fact that word can mean "signify" in the sense of "make known with signs, and due to the quite probable connection with Dan 2:28-30, 45 (especially OG, not Theodotian), that it specifically means to make known through signs and symbols, and thus is practically a technical term here for the book as a genre. My response was that because of a preponderance of simply meaning "make known" in most contexts, that the ancient hypothetical hearer/reader wouldn't make that connection. As Moises Silva use to say, if the point is so subtle that an ancient reader probably wouldn't have gotten it, it's probably too subtle to be there. Now, I actually have a contextual argument against what I just stated, but I'm interested in folks' thoughts here from the narrow linguistic viewpoint. BTW, the relevant pages of his commentary on this are available on Google Books (at least for Americans, not sure about the rest of the world):

http://tinyurl.com/cyuzwhz
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Mark Lightman
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 6:30 pm

Re: Semantics of σημαίνω

Post by Mark Lightman »

Hi, Barry,

For ἐσήμανεν (he made known) Bambas has ἐφανέρωσεν (he made known.) Today's Greek Version has ἀποκάλυψε (he made known) and ABS Modern Greek has ἐγνωστοποίησε (he made known.) I would paraphrase καὶ ἐσήμανεν thus

ὁ δ' ἐδήλωσε (he made known)

Now, did John use symbols to make the future known? Some will say he did and some will say he did not. I don't know the subtleties of Ancient Greek well enough to know whether the word σημαίνω would alert readers to the widespread use of symbols in the text. (And neither, do I think, do any of us, not even the lexigraphers) My guess is that an agora of Ancient Greeks could not agree on the EXACT nuance of any word, just as English speakers never agree about the semantic minutiae of their own language. Try it for yourself. Ask a dozen of your freinds whether the "he...signified it" of KJV Rev 1:1 specifically points to a symbolic narrative. You are likely to get very little agreement.
George F Somsel
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Re: Semantics of σημαίνω

Post by George F Somsel »

His claim is that based on the fact that word can mean "signify" in the sense of "make known with signs, and due to the quite probable connection with Dan 2:28-30, 45 (especially OG, not Theodotian), that it specifically means to make known through signs and symbols, and thus is practically a technical term here for the book as a genre.


I would agree that σημαίνω in Re and probably in Dan (OG) as well seems to indicate to signify by symbols since those two passages do concern symbolic communication, but it must be noted also that it is not always used in that sense. In John 12:33, e.g., we find τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ ἤμελλεν ἀποθνῄσκειν which clearly indicates that the detailing of the matter of Jesus' death was communicated by speech.
george
gfsomsel



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Eeli Kaikkonen
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Re: Semantics of σημαίνω

Post by Eeli Kaikkonen »

George F Somsel wrote:In John 12:33, e.g., we find τοῦτο δὲ ἔλεγεν σημαίνων ποίῳ θανάτῳ ἤμελλεν ἀποθνῄσκειν which clearly indicates that the detailing of the matter of Jesus' death was communicated by speech.
Maybe the distinction between symbol and speech is an artificial (modern) one. From LSJ I get an impression that the word is often used of something which requires interpretation, i.e. isn't to be taken "literally", whether it be speech or a physical sign. Here is an interesting quote from LSJ: "of the Delphic oracle, οὔτε λέγει οὔτε κρύπτει ἀλλὰ σημαίνει Heraclit.93".
George F Somsel
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Re: Semantics of σημαίνω

Post by George F Somsel »

Eeli Kaikkonen wrote:
Maybe the distinction between symbol and speech is an artificial (modern) one. From LSJ I get an impression that the word is often used of something which requires interpretation, i.e. isn't to be taken "literally", whether it be speech or a physical sign. Here is an interesting quote from LSJ: "of the Delphic oracle, οὔτε λέγει οὔτε κρύπτει ἀλλὰ σημαίνει Heraclit.93".


Yes, Aune notes this in WBC52a on Re 1.1c
1c καὶ ἐσήμανεν ἀποστείλας διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννῃ, “which he made known by sending his angel to his servant John.” The subject of the verb ἐσήμανεν, “he made known,” is ambiguous; it could be either God or Jesus Christ, though the latter is logically more probable since the revelation was transmitted by God to Jesus Christ, and it must be Jesus Christ who then further communicates the revelation. The verb σημαίνειν, meaning “to indicate clearly” (Louw-Nida, § 33.153; see Acts 25:27), occurs only here in Revelation and appears to be in tension with the symbolic and enigmatic character of much of what follows. Yet σημαίνειν is used in prophetic or oracular contexts where the meaning of the prophecy or oracle is not completely clear; see the famous saying of Heraclitus about the Oracle of Delphi preserved in Plutarch De Pyth. orac. 404E: οὔτε λέγει, οὔτε κρύπτει, ἀλλὰ σημαίνει, “[Apollo] neither declares nor conceals but signifies” (Diels-Kranz, FVS 1:172; frag. B93). This refers to the fact that the Delphic oracle gave ambiguous advice using images and riddles and that such advice required interpretation (see Kahn, Heraclitus, 121–23). σημαίνειν is also used in other oracular or revelatory contexts.
george
gfsomsel



… search for truth, hear truth,
learn truth, love truth, speak the truth, hold the truth,
defend the truth till death.



- Jan Hus
Barry Hofstetter
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: Semantics of σημαίνω

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Thanks, guys – your responses pointed me in just the right direction. I'm a lot happier with Beale's analysis now (and have told him so).
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
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