Written 2/4/2000; edited 3/3/2018 and 2/21/2021:
By deixis, I mean what George Yule calls " 'pointing' via language" (George Yule. The Study of Language. New York: Cambridge, 1996. Page 130).
Yule maintains there are numerous deictic usages (person deixis, place deixis, and time deixis). Demonstratives also serve a deictic purpose in that--as my old classics professor likes to say--they are "finger pointers" (like "this" and "that"). Sometimes writers use the demonstrative pronoun to emphasize what has already been said: this usage is called "the deictic reference." On p. 596 (οὗτος 1.b), BAGD Greek-English Lexicon says that οὗτος may have reference "to [something] that has immediately preceded" with the implied idea--"this one." The examples given there are Lk. 1:32; Jn. 1:2; 6:71; 2 Tim. 3:6, 8; Jd. 7.
"Nothing new is added in this verse [Jn. 1:2], but two points are repeated from v. 1 and thereby given emphasis" (Morris, Leon. John [New International Commentary] p. 78).
Edgar,
ReplyDeleteFound this presentation useful.
http://www.iwo-iwanov.info/mediapool/36/361457/data/Pragmatics_SS_2010_/Presentation_session_11.pdf
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https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=2kvEAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128&lpg=PA128&dq=%27pointing%27+via+language&source=bl&ots=2yDGMJxYNE&sig=aw7I22wBIvlAS7bXOICNz42i8V0&hl=en&sa=X&ei=6GVtVdeQKMGAUfj8g4AJ&ved=0CEAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q='pointing'%20via%20language&f=false
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http://www.wenstrom.org/downloads/written/word_studies/greek/houtos.pdf
Couldn't the προς be seen as moving towards or moving along with?
http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=pro%5Cs&la=greek
Duncan,
ReplyDeletethat is a useful presentation on deixis, and Yule's introduction to linguistics is also pretty good: I used that work in undergrad studies, but no longer own it.
The LSJ lexicion at perseus does say that προς can mean "in the direction of" or "towards" and many other things (depending on the context). Smyth also has a good discussion on Greek prepositions, but I tend to agree with you about the meaning of προς.
Duncan,
ReplyDeletesee http://fosterheologicalreflections.blogspot.com/search?q=mckenzie
Just noticed something strange in the LXX, πρόσωπον & it's use at Gen 2:7 as opposed to ῥιζόω in Job 41:1 ?
ReplyDeleteDuncan,
ReplyDeletecould you please quote Job 41:1 (LXX) in its entirety and tell me which version you're using? Thanks.
Also, what do you find problematic about the readings in each account?
Edgar,
ReplyDeleteYes, its:-
ABP Job 41:1 αξεις δε δρακοντα εν αγκιστρω περιθησεις δε φορβεαν περι ρινα αυτου
Translated as
Job 41:1 And shall you lead the dragon by a hook, and put a halter around his nose
I would have expected a word to denote nose or nostrils as opposed to face in Gen 2:7?
Also at Eze 16:12 και εδωκα ενωτιον περι τον μυκτηρα σου και τροχισκους επι τα ωτα σου και στεφανον καυχησεως επι την κεφαλην σου
μυκάομαι translated as "nose".
Okay, thanks. That helps me see what issues might be going on with the text.
ReplyDeleteOne suggestion to explain the LXX translation is given here: https://books.google.com/books?id=l2rnBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA139&dq=%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CC%81%CF%83%CF%89%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BD+genesis+2:7&hl=en&sa=X&ei=0iZvVaj3MMaiyAT-1oO4Bg&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=%CF%80%CF%81%CE%BF%CC%81%CF%83%CF%89%CF%80%CE%BF%CE%BD%20genesis%202%3A7&f=false
See pp. 139-40.
Face in this context likely denotes the whole person.
I wonder if there's a certain nuance that the translator wanted to capture in Ezek 16:12 with the use of μυκτῆρά (i.e., "nostril" vs. "nose").