[B-Greek] HQELON OUN LABEIN AUTON EIS TO PLOION Jn 6:21

Tony Pope borikayaama_tekiri at sil.org
Mon Jun 2 19:03:37 EDT 2008


To Bob Meyers,

My copy of Alford, marked "new Edition 1880", says (Vol 1 p.758):

They were afraid : -- but on being reassured by His voice, they were willing to take Him into the 
ship ; and upon their doing so, the ship in a comparatively short time (or perhaps _immediately, by 
miracle_, but I prefer the other) was at the land to which they had been going, viz. by the storm 
ceasing, and the ship making smooth way (EKOPASEN hO ANEMOS, Matt., Mark).

Alford certainly believed there was a miracle, but that was in the stilling of the storm. As regards 
6:21, he states his preference for "the ship making smooth way", i.e. a smooth passage for the rest 
of the journey as opposed to the hard rowing they had had before. The EUQEWS is surely not trite, it 
plays its part in the clause in contrast to the description of a raging sea in 6:18 and the 
extraordinary sight of 6:19, marked by a rare use in John of the particle TE, signalling tension.

EUQEWS, as Iver rightly noted, need not imply that something happens instantaneously. See Matt. 
13:5.

Tony Pope

--------------------

Bob Meyers wrote:
...
A number of my commentators, including Alford,  argue for miracle
intent by John.
...
And it seems to me, when it was implied that the boat was something
like 3+ miles from shore, probably in the middle of the night, when
John carefully includes the details EUQEWS and GHS EIS HN UPHGON in v.
21, --- what would be the purpose of these seemingly otherwise utterly
trite words, if not there to magnify and elaborate the miracle
involved?

Bob Meyers







More information about the B-Greek mailing list