Let me begin... you don't have to spend long in Greek before you realize they apparently delineated between different concepts of "striking" or "hitting," as they have many words that in English can all be translated as just that - "to strike."
Below are some of the more common ones I've come across, esp. in the Greek Bible (LXX + NT):
πλήσσω
παίω
πατάσσω
ῥαπίζω
κολαφίζω
δέρω
κρούω
κόπτω
τύπτω
μαστιγόω
From comparing several resources and lexicons (LSJ, BRILL, LEH, Muraoka's LXX lexicon, Moulton & Milligan, BDAG, TDNT, etc...) I think I've come to ascertain their proper distinctions.
The first three are pretty close in meaning:
πλήσσω to strike, smite (non-human, like the gods with a lightening-bolt)
παίω general word for hit
πατάσσω to physically strike, perh. with judicial connotation
This last group are of a more specific kind of striking:
ῥαπίζω to rod; to slap
κολαφίζω to knuckle (punch) in the head, by surprise
δέρω to skin, flay; beat
κρούω to knock repeatedly
κόπτω to cut/chop (off); beat by cutting/chopping or in a belligerent/aimless way
τύπτω to beat/strike up close, hammer
μαστιγόω to whip
So, for Mt 26:67–68 Τότε ἐνέπτυσαν εἰς τὸ πρόσωπον αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐκολάφισαν αὐτόν, οἱ δὲ ἐράπισαν 68 λέγοντες· προφήτευσον ἡμῖν, χριστέ, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παίσας σε;
I would translate the sense as: Then some of them spat in his face and knuckle-punched him (in the side of the head), while others beat him (with a club), saying "prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one hitting you?. In Mark and Luke he is blind-folded, so the punch by surprise makes sense there.
Then in Mark 14:27 (πατάξω), 47 (ἔπαισεν); 15;19 (ἔτυπτον)
27 καὶ λέγει αὐτοῖς ὁ Ἰησοῦς ὅτι πάντες σκανδαλισθήσεσθε , ὅτι γέγραπται· πατάξω τὸν ποιμένα καὶ τὰ πρόβατα διασκορπισθήσονται... 47 εἷς δέ τις τῶν παρεστηκότων σπασάμενος τὴν μάχαιραν ἔπαισεν τὸν δοῦλον τοῦ ἀρχιερέως καὶ ἀφεῖλεν αὐτοῦ τὸ ὠτάριον... 19 καὶ ἔτυπτον αὐτοῦ τὴν κεφαλὴν καλάμῳ καὶ ἐνέπτυον αὐτῷ καὶ τιθέντες τὰ γόνατα προσεκύνουν αὐτῷ.
I would translate the sense as: And Jesus aid to them that you will all be scandalized, because it has been written: I will (physically) strike the shepherd and the sheep will be thoroughly scattered... But a certain one who had stood behind, drawing the sword, hit the servant of the high priest and took off his earlobe... And they beat (up close) his head with a reed and they spat at him, and being set on their knees, they did obeisance to him.
And in Luke 22:50 (ἐπάταξεν), 63 (δέροντες), 64 (παίσας)
50 καὶ ἐπάταξεν εἷς τις ἐξ αὐτῶν τοῦ ἀρχιερέως τὸν δοῦλον καὶ ἀφεῖλεν τὸ οὖς αὐτοῦ τὸ δεξιόν... 63 Καὶ οἱ ἄνδρες οἱ συνέχοντες αὐτὸν ἐνέπαιζον αὐτῷ δέροντες, 64 καὶ περικαλύψαντες αὐτὸν ἐπηρώτων λέγοντες· προφήτευσον, τίς ἐστιν ὁ παίσας σε;
I would translate the sense as: And a certain one among them, who was of the high-priest, (physically) struck the servant and took off his right ear... And the men who were holding him began to mock him by beating him, and blind-folding him, they inquired of him, saying: "Prophesy! Who is the one hitting you?"
Of course several more examples could be given... I think that the general sense is clear for most of these words, but for δέρω's later sense, attested since the time of Aristophanes, it seems unclear to me what the exact nuance is... Likewise, the difference between the first three seems a bit unclear to me. Again, if anyone has suggestions, please comment. I see that the image behind τύπτω for instance is very clear, about the hammering of a smith, or the minting of a coin. If anyone could provide an archetypal image for the other words that would be helpful.
Thank you!
Statistics: Posted by PhillipLebsack — Thu Apr 18, 2024 12:06 pm