[b-greek] Re: EPIGNWSIS v. GNWSIS and Emphatic EPI-

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Sat Jul 07 2001 - 05:48:38 EDT


At 1:02 AM -0400 7/7/01, Wes Williams wrote:
>The last discussion I found on GNWSIS v. EPIGNWSIS was in Oct, 1995 and I
>include it below for reference. I agree with Carl's comments but I would
>like more information on the role of the EPI- prefix during the Koine
>period.
>
>In Matt 11:27 the contrast is with "hidden" knowledge (11:25) and so the
>sense of EPIGINWSKW suggests "full" or "complete" knowledge.
>
>Whereas when Paul (Pauline authorship issues aside) contrasts EPIGNWSIS/
>EPIGINWSKW with "truth" the sense of _accurate_ knowledge comes forth. For
>example, 2 Timothy 3:7 "always learning and yet never able to come to an
>_accurate knowledge_ of truth."
>
>I know that some prefixed prepositions were losing their emphatic purpose
>during Koine but my sense is that EPI has not at this time. How true of
>the EPI- prefix is this at the point in time of the first century?
>
>Comments are welcome on the above examples.

While the question itself is a good one, I'd personally be rather skeptical
about drawing conclusions regarding the force of a prefix IN HELLENISTIC
USAGE for a word that is already compounded in earlier Greek. Have you
checked LXX for usage of the two words in the same context? And I think you
ought to take the verbs GINWSKW and EPIGINWSKW and their usage in the same
context into account as well, both in GNT and in LXX.
--

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
Most months: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad@ioa.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/

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