[bible passage=”Hebrews 6:1″]
Hi Folks,
In the historical archives I noticed that there is a fair amount of discussion on the forum over the years about the “divine passive” and related considerations. Including the general uses and misunderstandings of the “passive voice” in translation. Our esteemed moderator, Carl W. Conrad, has written quite interestingly on the topic. However, I will not consider any previous quotes, since I want to ask this question on a tabula rosa.
Lately in recent years, (since 1991) this verse has been translated in a passive English form in a couple of new versions.
DIO AFENTES TON THS ARCHS TOU CRISTOU LOGON EPI THN TELEIOTHTA FERWMEQA MH PALIN QEMELION ATABALLOMENOI
Hebrews 6:1 (KJB) Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,
with expressions like :
“and be taken forward to maturity’ – TNIV
There clearly can be a lot of elements, interpretative as well as translational, involved in the decision. (The two are sometimes intermixed.) So I would simply appreciate the ideas of some of our experts as to the translational elements involved.
Thanks !
Shalom, Steven Avery Queens, NY
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I think it’s highly dubious that FERWMEQA should be considered a passive, although there are certainly instances of its passive usage. In the middle it can commonly enough mean “move along” (intransitive).
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
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I think it’s highly dubious that FERWMEQA should be considered a passive, although there are certainly instances of its passive usage. In the middle it can commonly enough mean “move along” (intransitive).
Carl W. Conrad Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)
— B-Greek home page: http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek B-Greek mailing list B-Greek@lists.ibiblio.org http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek