Word order in Mark 8:5 Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους;

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Jonathan Robie
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Word order in Mark 8:5 Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους;

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Mark 8:5 wrote:καὶ ἠρώτα αὐτούς· Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους; οἱ δὲ εἶπαν· Ἑπτά.
I'm interested in thoughts on why the word order Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους; as opposed to Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
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MAubrey
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Re: Word order in Mark 8:5 Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους;

Post by MAubrey »

It's in its normally expected position post-verb, isn't it. It's activated/known so it isn't focal (and in questions the question word is always the focus anyway) and it's non-contrastive. It would be more difficult to explain its position if it were moved forward.
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Stephen Hughes
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Re: Word order in Mark 8:5 Πόσους ἔχετε ἄρτους;

Post by Stephen Hughes »

MAubrey wrote: September 22nd, 2017, 12:52 pm It would be more difficult to explain its position if it were moved forward.
The synoptic parallel provides one an opportunity to do that.
Matthew 15:34 wrote:Καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς, Πόσους ἄρτους ἔχετε;
Γελᾷ δ' ὁ μωρός, κἄν τι μὴ γέλοιον ᾖ
(Menander, Γνῶμαι μονόστιχοι 108)
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