Grammatical Structure of a Statement in Jewish Antiquities

Other Greek writings of the New Testament era, including papyri and inscriptions
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Bernd Strauss
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Joined: May 20th, 2017, 11:23 am

Grammatical Structure of a Statement in Jewish Antiquities

Post by Bernd Strauss »

τὴν μέντοι γε ἡμέραν καθ᾿ ἣν ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιφανῆ ποιήσειν καὶ κατὰ πᾶν ἔτος ἐπίσημον εἰς ὅλον τὸν τῆς ζωῆς χρόνον ἐπηγγέλλετο·

Ralph Marcus’s translation reads: "He promised, moreover, that he would make a special occasion of the day on which they had come to him and would celebrate it every year so long as he lived."

Is the word ἐπιφανῆ redundant in the statement, since ἦλθον is used in the text?

Is the phrase πρὸς αὐτὸν grammatically linked with ἦλθον or with ἐπιφανῆ?
Daniel Semler
Posts: 315
Joined: February 18th, 2019, 7:45 pm

Re: Grammatical Structure of a Statement in Jewish Antiquities

Post by Daniel Semler »

Hi Bernd,

Subject to corrections from any of the many who know better than me, here is what I think.

For reference this is from :

Antiq. 12:92 κελεύσας δὲ τὰ βιβλία δοῦναι τοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς τάξεως τότε τοὺς ἄνδρας ἠσπάσατο, δίκαιον εἰπὼν εἶναι πρῶτον περὶ ὧν αὐτοὺς μετεπέμψατο ποιησάμενον τοὺς λόγους ἔπειτα κἀκείνους προσειπεῖν. τὴν μέντοι γε ἡμέραν, καθ̓ ἣν ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτόν, ἐπιφανῆ ποιήσειν καὶ κατὰ πᾶν ἔτος ἐπίσημον εἰς ὅλον τὸν τῆς ζωῆς χρόνον ἐπηγγέλλετο·
Bernd Strauss wrote: April 22nd, 2020, 9:27 am τὴν μέντοι γε ἡμέραν καθ᾿ ἣν ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιφανῆ ποιήσειν καὶ κατὰ πᾶν ἔτος ἐπίσημον εἰς ὅλον τὸν τῆς ζωῆς χρόνον ἐπηγγέλλετο·

Ralph Marcus’s translation reads: "He promised, moreover, that he would make a special occasion of the day on which they had come to him and would celebrate it every year so long as he lived."

Is the word ἐπιφανῆ redundant in the statement, since ἦλθον is used in the text?

Is the phrase πρὸς αὐτὸν grammatically linked with ἦλθον or with ἐπιφανῆ?
I would say ἐπιφανῆ is not redundant because ἦλθον is used, but you could say perhaps that it is redundant because ἐπίσημον is. But I wouldn't say that either really. Both are complementary to the infinitive, and the repetition seems to serve to show the seriousness of the commitment - that he will mark the day as notable now, and for the rest of his life.

πρὸς αὐτόν is a complement of ἦλθον.

Of course, the above is predicated on reading ποιήσειν as complementary to ἐπηγγέλλετο which, given it's a future, and that ἐπηγγέλλετο needs a complement, makes sense.

Thx
D
Barry Hofstetter
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: Grammatical Structure of a Statement in Jewish Antiquities

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Bernd Strauss wrote: April 22nd, 2020, 9:27 am τὴν μέντοι γε ἡμέραν καθ᾿ ἣν ἦλθον πρὸς αὐτὸν ἐπιφανῆ ποιήσειν καὶ κατὰ πᾶν ἔτος ἐπίσημον εἰς ὅλον τὸν τῆς ζωῆς χρόνον ἐπηγγέλλετο·

Ralph Marcus’s translation reads: "He promised, moreover, that he would make a special occasion of the day on which they had come to him and would celebrate it every year so long as he lived."

Is the word ἐπιφανῆ redundant in the statement, since ἦλθον is used in the text?

Is the phrase πρὸς αὐτὸν grammatically linked with ἦλθον or with ἐπιφανῆ?
Do you understand that ἐπιφανῆ is from the adjective ἐπιφανἠς and not from the verb ἐπιφαίνω and modifies ἡμέραν? It's predicate, and parallel to ἐπίσημον. Perhaps a more literal translation to help you see the structure:

He promised to make the day on which they had come special (ἐπιφανῆ) and to make it special (ἐπίσημον) every year for the rest of his life (lit., the entire time of his life).
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Bernd Strauss
Posts: 111
Joined: May 20th, 2017, 11:23 am

Re: Grammatical Structure of a Statement in Jewish Antiquities

Post by Bernd Strauss »

Thank you. I understand now that the word ἐπιφανῆ is a form of the adjective ἐπιφανής rather than the verb ἐπιφαίνω, and that it modifies ἡμέραν.
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