Paul Danove, «The Interpretation and Translation of Verbs of "Giving" in the New Testament», Vol. 23 (2010) 109-127
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, syntactic, 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.
The Interpretation and Translation of Verbs of "Giving" in the New Testament 125
effects in the Patient entity a change that disposes it to accomplish the
Event; and the Benefactive of the Patient entity exercises its sway over the
Patient to accomplish the Event. This disposition and sway ensure the
Patient entity’s accomplishment of the Event without the implication of
coercion because the Patient entity acts according to its own disposition
in response to the sway exerted by its Benefactive. To accommodate these
interpretive constraints, the procedure for translation coordinates “give”
(δίδωμι) or “give over” (παραδίδωμι) with the usage of Benefaction and
“dispose” with the usage of Compulsion and realizes the complements
of the Greek verbs as complements of “dispose”. This permits “give” or
“give over” to retrieve the content of their null Patient and Benefactive
complements from the Patient and Event complements of “dispose”.
The V-i2 realization appears on six occasions:26
But God turned and gave over and disposed [[for the host of heaven]]
them [[who became the host’s]] to ((them)) worship the host of
heaven (Acts 7,42)
ἔστρεψεν δὲ ὁ θεὸς καὶ παρέδωκεν αὐτοὺς λατρεύειν τῇ στρατιᾷ
τοῦ οὐρανοῦ
Contextual considerations apparently motivate the singular occurrence
of the V+ἵνα realization of the Event in Rev 3,9. In this complex clause,
δίδωμι with the usage of Disposition is coordinated with ποιέω (make)
with the usage of Compulsion (also Agent, Patient, Event); and the two
verbs govern the same Patient and Event complements: δίδωμι realizes
the Patient complement, “some of the synagogue of Satan…”; and ποιέω
realizes the Event complement, “that they come…”. Here the V+ἵνα
realization is determined by the proximate governing verb ποιέω, which
elsewhere in Revelation (cf. 13,12b.16) realizes the Event complement of
Compulsion only by V+ἵνα. In Rev 3,9, the only entity within the Event
that is not also directly licensed by δίδωμι, “feet”, is –animate and requires
completion by the +animate Benefactive “of you”, which functions as
Benefactive of the action and of the Patient of δίδωμι:
Behold I give and dispose [[for you]] some of the synagogue of Satan
[[who will become yours]] … behold I will make them [that they]
come and do obeisance before your feet (Rev 3,9)
ἰδοὺ διδῶ ἐκ τῆς συναγωγῆς τοῦ σατανᾶ … ἰδοὺ ποιήσω αὐτοὺς ἵνα
ἥξουσιν καὶ προσκυνήσουσιν ἐνώπιον τῶν ποδῶν σου
26
V-i2 Event: δίδωμι, Luke 12,58; Acts 2,27; 10,40; 13,35; 14,3; παραδίδωμι, Acts 7,42.