109 The Interpretation and Translation of Verbs of "Giving" in the New Testament PAUL DANOVE This article resolves the occurrences of the thirteen NT verbs of “giving” into seven usages and considers the interpretation and translation of the verbs with each usage. The introductory discussion develops the semantic and syntactic criteria for identifying verbal usages and the distinguishing characteristics of verbs of “giving”. The study identifies the semantic, syn- tactic, and lexical properties of all occurrences of each verb with each usage, clarifies potential difficulties for interpretation, and proposes procedures for translation that accommodate the interpretive constraints with each usage. The concluding discussion distinguishes the function of complements with the same lexical realizations in different usages. Keywords: verb, give, semantic, syntactic, Benefactive, interpretation, and translation. 1. Preliminary Considerations This discussion develops the procedure for identifying verbal usages, the distinguishing characteristics of verbs of “giving”, and the implications of these characteristics for interpretation. 1.1. Identifying Verbal Usages The study identifies as a verbal usage all occurrences in which δίδωμι, ten δίδωμι compounds (ἀναδίδωμι, ἀνταποδίδωμι, ἀποδίδομαι, ἀποδίδωμι, διαδίδωμι, ἐκδίδομαι, ἐπιδίδωμι, μεταδίδωμι, παραδίδωμι, προδίδωμι), δωρέομαι, and χαρίζομαι require completion by the same arguments with the same semantic and syntactic functions. For example, all thirteen verbs of “giving” have NT occurrences in which they require completion by three arguments that function as a semantic Agent (the entity that actively instigates an action and/or is the ultimate cause of a change in another entity), Theme (the entity moving from one place to another), and Goal (the literal or figurative entity towards which something moves).1 These arguments are realized lexically as the verbs’ 1 These and following definitions of semantic functions are taken from J.I. Saeed, Se- mantics (Oxford 1997) 139-71, and P.L. Danove, Linguistics and Exegesis in the Gospel of Mark: Applications of a Case Frame Analysis and Lexicon (JSNTSS 218; SNTG 10; Sheffield 2002) 31-45. Filología Neotestamentaria - Vol. XXIII - 2010, pp. 109 -127 Facultad de Filosofía y Letras - Universidad de Córdoba (España)