Aantekeningen bij de Bijbel: Handelingen 8:7

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Handelingen 8:7

- -, B-Greek, [], 01 May 2005 Barbara D. Colt, Acts 8:7; Acts 8:7: POLLOI GAR TWN ECONTWN PNEUMATA AKAQARTA BOWNTA FWNH MEGALH EXHRCONTO, . . .
I'm probably missing the obvious, but it seems to me that BOWNTA should agree with POLLOI rather than with PNEUMATA. I realize that it's the spirits that are shouting, but still it seems to me that BOWNTA is adverbial, modifying EXHRCONTO and should agree with the subject. If I'm wrong (and it wouldn't be the first time), could someone please explain why?
- Carl W. Conrad; You are right: IF we view the construction from within this verse alone apart from its larger context, EXHRCONTO should be understood of the response of the "unclean spirits", then it cannot be the verb for POLLOI. I think we must say there's an anacoluthon here and must see that the author has shifted his focus from the grammatical subject POLLOI to what, in this construction, is the accusative object of the participle ECONTWN.
But there is another possibility -- also not altogether convincing -- to look at this sequence in a larger context:
5 FILIPPOS DE KATELQWN EIS [THN] POLIN THS SAMAREIAS EKHRUSSEN AUTOIS TON CRISTON. 6 PROSEICON DE hOI OCLOI TOIS LEGOMENOIS hUPO TOU FILIPPOU hOMOQUMADON EN TWi AKOUEIN AUTOUS KAI BLEPEIN TA SHMEIA hA EPOIEI. 7 POLLOI GAR TWN ECONTWN PNEUMATA AKAQARTA BOWNTA FWNHi MEGALHi EXERCONTO, POLLOI DE PARALELUMENOI KAI CWLOI EQERAPEUQHSAN. 8 EGENETO DE POLLH CARA EN THi POLEI EKEINHi.
Verse 5 tells us that Philip came to Samaria and proclaimed the gospel (aorist); verse 6 uses an imperfect to describe the attention of the throngs to the message in the course of their listening and seeing the miracles that he "kept performing" or "would perform." Verse 7 in the first clause tells us that lots of demoniacs "kept coming forth -- imperfect --" (to be exorcised) and that lots of paralytics and lame people were healed (aorist). Verse 8 concludes the sequence: "There was great jubilation in that city" (aorist).
We might then understand verse 7 to pinpoint the coming of demoniacs to Philip, with EXHRCONTO as the verb to subject POLLOI and BOWNTA FWNHi MEGALHi not construing with EXHRCONTO but rather simply adjectivally characterizing the PNEUMATA -- "lots of people with demons shrieking loudly. IF that's what the author intended, then this sequence would be comparable to the Marcan summary of typical behavior of townsfolk to Jesus in Mark 3:7-12 and the description here might conceivably even be modeled upon that or the Lucan parallel to that, Lk 6:17-19.