[b-greek] Re: Acts 6:2 and 6:5

From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Mon Mar 04 2002 - 21:45:47 EST


At 11:53 AM +1100 3/5/02, B. Ward Powers wrote:
>B-greekers all,
>
>Last evening my Greek group was studying Acts 6, and in the story of the
>appointment of the first deacons there were two queries which arose. I
>would invite comments upon these two points that I can share with the group
>next week.
>
>1. In 6:2 we find: KATALEIYANTAS TON LOGON TOU QEOU DIAKONEIN TRAPEZAIS.
>The usual way of rendering this is "leaving the word of God to serve (on)
>tables", taking DIAKONEIN with TRAPEZAIS. But the NIV renders it "to
>neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables" - this
>appears to be taking TON LOGON TOU QEOU as the direct object not of
>KATALEIYANTAS but of DIAKONEIN, and "to wait on tables" as all implied in
>TRAPEZAIS. Whether or not this is how the NIV has taken it, can DIAKONEIN
>be construed with TON LOGON TOU QEOU? There are two indications that this
>may be the right understanding: firstly, that the direct object very often
>comes in front of its verb (as here, on this view); and secondly the
>parallel thought of 6:4, immediate context, which speaks of THi DIAKONIAi
>TOU LOGOU, "the ministry of the word", using the noun form of the same verb.

I would agree with what Steven LoVullo has already said in response to this
question, i.e., that DIAKONEW is regularly construed with a dative--it
doesn't seem to be understood as a transitive verb taking an accusative
direct object.

>2. In 6:5 we find KAI HRESEN hO LOGOS ENWPION PANTOS TOU PLHQOUS, "and what
>he said (= the saying) pleased all the multitude". How does ENWPION fit
>into all this? How do we translate it? "And the saying pleased before/in
>front of all the multitude." Maybe we can include it by saying "And the
>saying was pleasing in the eyes of all the multitude". But this ENWPION
>does appear a bit unnecessary. Can we say in Greek "And the saying pleased
>all the multitude" (direct object of "pleased")?

It looks to me like the phrase ENWPION PANTOS TOU PLHQOUS is a Semitism
functioning rather like Heb. LiFNEi or the comparable phrase not uncommon
in the GNT PRO PROSWPOU + gen. Moreover ARESKW is another verb that takes a
dative complement or is deemed essentially intransitive.
--

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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