Re: Mark 11:25-26 and Mt 3:15 & 4:11

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Fri Nov 26 1999 - 14:32:47 EST


At 12:00 PM -0600 11/26/99, Steven Craig Miller wrote:
>To: Carl W. Conrad,
>
><< But in addition to that, it is also used as a Koine equivalent to the
>older EAW, "allow," "let," "permit," and as such one frequently enough sees
>the singular imperative AFES with a hINA+ subjunctive (modern Greek AS NA +
>subjunctive) as an equivalent of the second person imperative of any verb.
>In Mark 11:25-26 I would assume that AFIETE is in fact used like EATE in
>older Greek, as an imperative: "Let it be if you have anything against your
>brother ..." >>
>
>That's an interesting point, but I'm not for sure that it best explains
>what was meant at Mk 11:25. First of all, the next use of AFIHMI in the
>same verse seems clearly to have the notion "forgive." Second, the two uses
>of AFIHMI are somewhat in parallel: "You" are to "forgive" so that God will
>"forgive" "you."
>
>But since we are on the subject of AFIHMI, I wonder about the phrase: TOTE
>AFIHSIN AUTON at both Mt 3:15 and 4:11. Why did Matthew use this same
>phrase in both places? (This one has bothered me for some time.)

They're not really in the same sense, I don't think. In Mt 3:15, where
Jesus is addressing the Baptist, I think the sense of AFES ARTI is "Let it
be so now/this time"--while in Mt 4:11 (TOTE AFIHSIN AUTON hO DIABOLOS) I
think the sense must be "leave," "let be," "relinquish." The Devil ceases
to hinder Jesus from this point.

Back in Mk 11:25 I can see a possible sense of AFIETE as "you are to
forgive." but perhaps the better sense here would be that in Mt 4:11:
"Relinquish (your offering) and go be reconciled with your brother." The
curious thing is that the Jesus saying in the Sermon on the Mount (Mt
6:23-24) appears to be a variant of the same tradition, and notice that
AFES here must mean "relinquish your offering." Text: 23 EAN OUN PROSFERHiS
TO DWRON SOU EPI TO QUSIASTHRION KA'KEI MNHSQHiS hOTI hO ADELFOS SOU ECEI
TI KATA SOU, 24 AFES EKEIN TO DWRON SOU EMPROSQEN TOU QUSIASTHRIOU KAI
hUPAGE PROTON DIALLAGHQI TWi ADELFWi SOU, KAI TOTE ELQWN PROSFERE TO DWRON
SOU.

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
One Brookings Drive/St. Louis, MO, USA 63130/(314) 935-4018
Home: 7222 Colgate Ave./St. Louis, MO 63130/(314) 726-5649
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/

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