'Throw out', 'lead out', or 'send out' - the senses and semantic prosodies of ἐκβάλλω, pt. 2
'Throw out', 'lead out', or 'send out' - the senses and semantic prosodies of ἐκβάλλω
Last week I discussed semantic prosody, the "voiceless" emotion which words can carry, and promised to share some (potentially groundbreaking) research that I have done. Here is the research!
What follows are excerpts from my paper, available on my ResearchGate profile.
Introduction
This paper proposes that the most frequently occurring sense of the Koine Greek verb ἐκβάλλω ‘to expel’ in the Septuagint (LXX) and the New Testament (NT) has a semantic prosody that indicates the agent has a negative attitude toward the undergoer. Fascinatingly, in the NT, the agent only has a negative attitude when the word is used in a combative frame; the ‘expel’ sense has a neutral prosody with inanimate undergoers. Additionally, two of its other senses have a neutral prosody, ‘to get/bring out,’ and ‘to send.’ These differences in semantic prosody are significant because translators struggle to identify and translate semantic prosody (Jurko 2021; Rahbar and Elahi 2018), and the difference in prosody for ἐκβάλλω is not discussed in the most prominent Ancient Greek dictionaries (TDNT, Louw-Nida, Liddell-Scott, BDAG, etc.)…
Conclusion
In the LXX and the NT, ἐκβάλλω used as ‘to expel’ has a semantic prosody that indicates the agent has a negative attitude toward the undergoer, while two of its other senses, ‘to get/bring out’ and ‘to send’ have a neutral prosody. This analysis of the semantic prosody of ἐκβάλλω has important implications for the linguistic study of semantic prosody and for the interpretation and translation of the New Testament.
Concerning its linguistic significance, the clear divide between the semantic prosody toward people and objects in the LXX and the NT in this study confirms Hunston’s thesis that semantic prosody can be sensitive to grammatical arguments (2007, 263). Furthermore, the stark difference between the combative and non-combative undergoers in the NT suggests that each sense of the word can have its own prosody. This study also demonstrates that a verb’s sense can have distinct prosodies, triggered by its frame or the grammatical arguments. The ‘expel/throw-out’ sense of ἐκβάλλω in the NT had a negative prosody in a combative frame (which significantly overlaps with human undergoers), but a neutral sense in other frames (which significantly overlaps with inanimate undergoers).
Concerning its significance for interpreting and translating the NT, commentators and translators have good grounds to view (1) exorcism of demons in light of the Canaanite expulsion and (2) the Spirit’s interaction with Jesus in Mark 1:12 as a positive act of sending rather than negative act of driving. The latter conclusion carries implications for how theologians view interactions between members of the Trinity.
What I didn't have room for in the paper
Here are two important implications of my study that I couldn't fit into my paper, but will include, Lord willing, when I turn these findings into a journal article:
- Of the 35+ English commentaries I consulted on Mark 1:12, most use the language of the Spirit "driving" Jesus into the wilderness. The commentators and translators who do use "send" do not justify their conclusion with linguistic data. Thus, the most literal translations often go with "drive." My findings suggest that Jesus was "sent out" [on a mission] into the wilderness.
- The most prominent theological dictionaries of New Testament Greek do not discuss the OT background use of ἐκβάλλω, which weakens our understanding of exorcism. As stated in my paper, ἐκβάλλω is predominantly used in the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (the Septuagint/LXX) in situations of combat. Specifically, it is most often used of God kicking wicked people out of holy areas. The strong theme of ἐκβάλλω appearing when God removes unholiness from holy areas enriches our understanding of why the NT authors would use ἐκβάλλω for casting out demons. Evil spirits should not reside in the place created for the Holy Spirit; the bodies of believers are inherently holy.
TL;DR
If the email was too long to read, here are the main points:
- The default Greek verb for casting out demons, ἐκβάλλω, has multiple senses. Its primary sense also has multiple semantic prosodies, dependent on whether the verb is used in a situation of conflict.
- The verb as used to mean "send" in a positive sense would change how many commentators discuss the Spirit sending Jesus into the wilderness in Mark 1:12.
- The use of ἐκβάλλω in the Greek translation of the OT enriches our understanding of exorcism.
Challenge for You
My findings on ἐκβάλλω could change how we translate this verb in some key instances, and how we discuss the concept of exorcism.
Before publishing these findings in a Bible Translation journal, I want to study how ἐκβάλλω is used more widely in Koine Greek. I already have access to a large collection of relevant texts. Researching and writing a journal article will take 15-30 hours.
If you want to co-author this paper with me, or know someone who would, let me know!
References
- Images thanks to https://www.flaticon.com/
- Frost, Joshua. 2023. “The Semantic Prosody of Ἐκβάλλω in the Septuagint and Greek New Testament.” Term Paper. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/370494384_The_Semantic_Prosody_of_ekballo_in_the_Septuagint_and_Greek_New_Testament.