RE: Chiasm in Matt 7:6?

From: Nichael Cramer (nichael@sover.net)
Date: Mon Dec 08 1997 - 08:55:23 EST


Jonathan Robie wrote:
> When you say "clearly it is dogs that do the rending", why is this clear? I
> don't really know much about what pigs would do to people - are they
> capable of ripping people up with their teeth? Is hRHGNUMI a verb which
> could logically apply to dogs but not to pigs?

To answer this specific question --without commenting on the rest of the
discussion-- yes, adult hogs are prefectly able to maul humans with their
teeth. (A bit of advice that I was given repeated as a child in an area
where hog farms were very common: If you find yourself in a pig pen
_never_ allow yourself to be knocked down.)

Now, clearly there are a lot of differences and uncertainties here. For
example, while hogs can do serious damage given the chance, they --unlike
dogs-- are not known for bringing down prey. ;-) Similarly, I don't know
what was meant by "swine" in 1C Palestine; e.g. were they anywhere near
the size of Hogs that grown in 20c Iowa? (Most other domesticated animals
--particularly farm animals-- were significantly smaller until quite
recently in history.) By the same token I suspect that, on the average,
the term "dog" would mean something quite a bit different to the average
1c reader than to most moderns who envision Fluffy sitting on Grandma's
lap.

Nichael



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