From: Carl W. Conrad (cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu)
Date: Thu Dec 07 1995 - 15:34:05 EST
I've been thinking some more about the weird construction in Mk 2:20 and
Mt's parallel 9:15): ELEUSONTAI DE hHMERAI hOTAN APARQHi AP' AUTWN hO
NUMFIOS, KAI TOTE NHSTEUSOUSIN EN EKEINHi THi hHMERAi. It's pretty clear
that the way Mark phrases this, the last clause is independent
grammatically, while ELEUSONTAI hHMERAI and hOTAN APARQHi NUMFIOS are
intimately linked. Yet it cannot be said that the latter clause is the
protasis of a condition, nor the former clause an apodosis. We cannot
really translate hOTAN here as "whenever," despite the fact that it is used
with an aorist subjunctive.
BAGD say, "... where hHMERAI hOTAN, 'days when,' belong together and TOTE
is connected with KAI)," admitting that this cannot be construed as an
instance of the common hOTAN w/ subjunctive constructions (what I have
called in my earlier post, in accordance with one common terminology,
"future more vivid" and "present general" conditional constructions.
So what is it? The comment by BAGD is correct, that hHMERAI hOTAN belong
together here and the hOTAN + subj. clause is not linked in a conditional
construction with ELEUSONTAI hHMERAI. I'm not a linguist, but as a
grammarian I'd say that the hOTAN APARQHi clauses can only be understood as
a relative clause--and an adjectival clause wherein hOTAN really is
equivalent to EN hAIS. Is there a better way to understand the function of
this clause?
Where does this usage come from? Can it be accounted for as a Semitism? I
don't know any Aramaic and I don't know enough Hebrew to judge whether the
hOTAN could serve in the place of a relative-clause link such as Hebrew
ASHER. Any enlightenment on this?
And what if it's NOT a Semitism? I've not explored any farther than this,
but I'm wondering whether this IS found anywhere else in the Koine, or if
it really is a Marcan solecism. I've wondered whether this is somehow akin
to the development of hINA + subjunctive clauses independent of the older
Attic standard limitation to purpose constructions to the point where it is
already becoming in Koine what NA + subjunctive is in Modern Greek: an
infinitive that is conjugated for person and number.
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, USA 63130
(314) 935-4018
cwconrad@artsci.wustl.edu OR cwc@oui.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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