Luke 8:30 What is thy name?

Spoken to: 

an individual

Jesus confronts a man possessed by demons.

KJV: 

Luke 8:30 What is thy name?

NIV : 

Luke 8:30 What is your name?

LISTENERS HEARD: 

What is a name to you? 

MY TAKE: 

We can accept the positions others give us, which are real, or invent ones that are delusions.

GREEK (Each Word Explained Bottom of Page): 

GREEK ORDER: 

Τί      ​σοὶ         ὄνομά ἐστιν;
What to you a name   is? 

LOST IN TRANSLATION: 

The verse doesn't say "your name." It says "What is a name to you?" Jesus is not asking for a given name, but for a label that the man puts on himself in his raving.

# KJV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

1
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not the possessive, "your," but the indirect object, "to you".

# NIV TRANSLATION ISSUES: 

1
  • WF -- Wrong Form -  This is not the possessive, "your," but the indirect object, "to you".

EACH WORD of KJV : 

What -- The Greek word translated as "What" in the singular means "anyone," "someone,"  "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine or feminine so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," or even "why."

is -- The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions.

thy -- (WF)  The word for "your" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun in the form of an indirect object, which usually requires a preposition in English, like "to you." This is not the form meaning the possessive, "your," but the indirect object, "to you".

name? -- The Greek word translated as "name" is much more complicated than it might at first appear. It can simply mean a "name" as it does in English, but it doesn't mean the things themselves, but what people call it. For example, it can mean a "false name," or "a pretense" as we say "this is a marriage in name only." It can also mean representing another person's authority, as we say, "he is acting in the name of the boss." See this article for more.

EACH WORD of NIV : 

What -- The Greek word translated as "What" in the singular means "anyone," "someone,"  "something," and "anything." The same forms are used both for the masculine or feminine so "anyone" works best for a person. In the plural, it means "everyone," "some," "they," and "those." Jesus often uses it to start a question so it means "who," "what," or even "why."

is -- The verb "is" here is the common form of "to be" in Greek. It means to have a certain characteristic or remain in a certain condition. It also equates terms or assigns characteristics.  The word also means "to exist" and where it doesn't connect to characteristics or conditions.

thy -- (WF)  The word for "your" is the indirect object form of the singular, second-person pronoun in the form of an indirect object, which usually requires a preposition in English, like "to you." This is not the form meaning the possessive, "your," but the indirect object, "to you".

name? -- The Greek word translated as "name" is much more complicated than it might at first appear. It can simply mean a "name" as it does in English, but it doesn't mean the things themselves, but what people call it. For example, it can mean a "false name," or "a pretense" as we say "this is a marriage in name only." It can also mean representing another person's authority, as we say, "he is acting in the name of the boss." See this article for more.

COMPARISON: GREEK to KJV : 

Τί  [252 verses] (irreg sg neut nom) "What" is tis, which can mean "someone," "something," "any one," "everyone," "they [indefinite]," "many a one," "whoever," "anyone," "anything," "some sort," "some sort of," "each," "any," "the individual," "such," and so on. In a question, it can mean "who," "why," or "what." Plural, "who are" is τίνες ἐόντες.  It has specific meanings with certain prepositions, διὰ τί; for what reason? ἐκ τίνος; from what cause? ἐς τί; to what point?  to what end?

σοὶ [81 verses](pron 2nd sg dat) "You" is soi which is the singular, second-person pronoun, "you," in the form of an indirect pronoun.

ὄνομα [47 verses](noun sg neut acc) "Name" is onoma, which means "name." It means both the reputation of "fame," and "a name and nothing else," as opposed to a real person. Acting in someone's name means to act on their behalf, as their representative.

ἐστίν.[614 verses](3rd sg pres ind act) "Is" is eimi, which means "to be," "to exist," "to be the case," of circumstance and events "to happen,"  and "is possible." With the possessive (genitive) object, it means "is descended from," "is the type of," "belongs to," "is made of," "is a duty of," "is at the mercy of," or " is dependent on." With an indirect (dative) object, it means "have" where the subject and object are reversed.  "It is to him" becomes "it is his" or "he has it."  With the preposition,"into" (εἰς), the sense is "consist of." When the verb "to be" appears early in the clause before the subject, the sense is more like "it is" or, in the plural, "there are."

Related Verses: 

Front Page Date: 

Feb 22 2024