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 127
9. The Varying Interpretation and Translation of N+dat and P/εἰς
Complements
The previous discussions specified the interpretation and translation
of the complements licensed by the verbs with the various usages. Among
the observed lexical realizations of verbal complements, the dative case
noun phrase has different functions with five verbal usages; and the εἰς
prepositional phrase has different functions with four verbal usages:
Usage Function N+dat P/εἰς
Transference Goal to [+an] into, to [–an]
Transference Locative in, under [–an] on [+an]
Transference Benefactive for [+an]
Delegation Goal to [+an] to [–an]
Benefaction Benefactive for [±an]
Transformation Benefactive for [+an]
10. Conclusion
This study resolved the 636 occurrences of the thirteen NT verbs of
“giving” into seven usages with distinctive semantic requirements on
their three arguments and distinctive constraints on interpretation. Only
two of the usages, Transference to a Goal and Benefaction, presented
near English parallels and admitted to more or less straightforward
translation. The remaining five usages were without English parallels and
required the development of specialized procedures for translation that
clarified the grammatical constraints imposed by the Greek verbs. The
study also specified the varying function, interpretation, and translation
of N+dat and P/εἰς verbal complements of verbs with the different usages.
Paul DANOVE
Villanova University
800 Lancaster Avenue
Villanova, PA 19085-1699
(U.S.A)
paul.danove@villanova.edu