The Interpretation and Translation of Verbs of "Giving" in the New Testament 111 First, verbs of “giving” require completion by an entity undergoing a change. In the examples of verbs with the usage of Transference to a Goal, this entity undergoes a change in locale and functions as a Theme. In Matt 25,20 the talents literally moved to “me” (the man’s slave, cf. Matt 24,15). In Luke 1,32, the throne probably is to be interpreted figuratively to indicate that the kingly authority associated with the throne will move to “him” (Jesus). Second, when they require completion by an Agent and the context offers no explicit countervailing information, verbs of “giving” interpret the Agent entity as the Benefactive (the ultimate entity for which an action is performed or for which, literally or figuratively, something happens or exists) of the entity undergoing a change. Since the context of Matt 25,20 presents no countervailing information, the interpretation is that the talents, which the master gave over to the slave, were the master’s. In Luke 1,32, however, the context specifies that the throne / authority is David’s, not God’s. As this example illustrates, English (Greek) usually uses the possessive case or “of” (genitive case) to signal the Benefactive possessor. With the seventh usage, in which the verbs do not require completion by an Agent, the Benefactive of the entity undergoing a change is retrievable from the context. Third, verbs of “giving” license a Benefactive that specifies the entity for which the action itself occurs. This Benefactive is a required argument with two usages and a non-required adjunct with the remaining five usages. Most frequently this Benefactive remains a null complement, and its content is retrieved from the context. The following discussions specify the rules for retrieving the content of this Benefactive for each usage. As the discussion of Transference to a Goal will indicate, the Benefactive of the action itself in the two previous examples is identical to the Goal: The master’s action of giving over in Matt 25,20 is for the slave; and God’s action of giving in Luke 1,32 is for Jesus. That is, although the master’s action ultimately benefits the master (Matt 25,21.28) and God’s action accomplishes God’s plan, the slave and Jesus are the grammatically emphasized beneficiaries of the action itself within these clauses. Fourth, verbs of “giving” impose the interpretation that the Benefactive of the action itself becomes a Benefactive of the entity undergoing a change in such a manner that the entity undergoing a change has two Benefactives, the Agent or a contextually specified entity (characteristic #2) and the Benefactive of the action itself (characteristic #4).4 The 4 This explains the use of Greek verbs of “giving” to designate a change in the propri- etary use of an entity and distinguishes these verbs from verbs of “buying / selling”, which replace the initial Benefactive of the entity undergoing a change with another entity, and all other NT verbs, which do not necessarily impose a Benefactive.