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Matthe 15:22-28
#1
Paul,

It seems there is a wordplay in the Greek of Matthew 15:22-28. Specifically the Greek word for "worship" is "proskuneo". According to crosswalk.com the word has the "meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master's hand".

Of course in this same passage the Canaanite woman who worshipped Jesus also said "the dogs feed on the crumbs..." The Greek word for "dogs" is "kunarion". Both words (worshipped and dogs) are derived from the Greek word "kuon" which doesn't mean "little dogs" (as "kunarion" does). "Kuon" means "dog".

Of course I can understand why the Greek root word of each may be "kuon" based on the position of one who is worshipping. Does this wordplay come through in Aramaic?

Keith
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#2
Hi Akhi Keith!

I don't see a wordplay in the Greek - just a suggestion by crosswalk.com that the "licking" is akin to "a dog licking his masters hands." Seems like just an observation by crosswalk......influenced by the context of the passage, perhaps.

There is no Aramaic wordplay in this passage.

In any case, wordplays can occur in translated languages as well - consider Gen. 2:23:

"And Adam said: ???This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.???"

My point is, some word plays come through in other (translated) languages, as well. In this case, the word play comes through in both Hebrew ("Ish" and Ishah") and in English ("Man" and "Woman"). Why that is the case I'm not sure. But I would guess that it would have something to do with the etymology of the words themselves.

In other words, since the persons of "man" and "woman" are related in any language, languages have a tendency to use words that sound similar to designate each.

This reminds me of a claim by James Trimm that Hebrew must have been the original language spoken by Adam and Eve. His contention was the only way for these word plays to "work" in Hebrew is if Adam spoke Hebrew.

Of course, he totally overlooked this very real possibility. So I guess Genesis could have been written in English, as well! <!-- sSmile --><img src="{SMILIES_PATH}/smile.gif" alt="Smile" title="Smile" /><!-- sSmile -->
+Shamasha Paul bar-Shimun de'Beth-Younan
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