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How many loaves?

Posted: April 3rd, 2017, 11:14 am
by Alan Bunning
Matt. 15:34 ποσουσ αρτουσ εχετε – How many loaves do you have?
Mark 8:5 ποσουσ εχετε αρτουσ – How many [of you] have loaves????

Could these verses really have two different meanings or is it merely a difference in word order? Yet another example with the verb coming in between. The second translation does not seem possible because ποσουσ is accusative. I got to wonder about this because there are variants at both Mark 6:38 and Mark 8:5 where some scribes tried to make them both read the same. If there was no difference in meaning, I not sure why a scribe would care to try to make them the same.

Re: How many loaves?

Posted: April 3rd, 2017, 3:57 pm
by Stephen Hughes
Alan Bunning wrote: April 3rd, 2017, 11:14 am How many [of you] have loaves?
Τίς δὲ ἐξ ὑμῶν ἄρτους ἔχει; (Raise your hand if you have bread).

Re: How many loaves?

Posted: April 3rd, 2017, 8:24 pm
by timothy_p_mcmahon
Alan Bunning wrote: April 3rd, 2017, 11:14 am The second translation does not seem possible because ποσους is accusative.
Exactly.

As for the variation in word order, it could be a scribe tending to regularize, either consciously or unintentionally.

Re: How many loaves?

Posted: April 5th, 2017, 4:57 am
by Stephen Carlson
Alan Bunning wrote: April 3rd, 2017, 11:14 am Matt. 15:34 ποσουσ αρτουσ εχετε – How many loaves do you have?
Mark 8:5 ποσουσ εχετε αρτουσ – How many [of you] have loaves????
Thanks for the minimal pair. Worth studying later.
Alan Bunning wrote: April 3rd, 2017, 11:14 am If there was no difference in meaning, I not sure why a scribe would care to try to make them the same.
Harmonization to the more popular text of Matthew is held by textual critics to be a source of variants in Mark.