# φερομαι vs περιφερομαι



## dukaine

"...Kαι Πνεύμα Θεού φερόταν επάνω στην επιφάνεια των νερών."

In the Genesis 1:2, of Η Αγια Γραφη στη Δημοτικη version of the Bible, the Aorist conjugation of φερομαι is used where the English translations of the verse would use "hover", "roam" "wander", or "move". From my research, φερομαι means "behave", and I couldn't find any definition of the word that means anything close to how the English translates it. However, περιφερομαι is closer to the meanings of the English translations. Why would the translators use φερομαι instead? Is there some other nuance of the word that I'm just not grasping, especially since there is both an active and mediopassive version of the word? Do φερομαι και περιφερομαι mean the same thing?


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## Perseas

dukaine said:


> "...Kαι Πνεύμα Θεού φερόταν επάνω στην επιφάνεια των νερών."
> 
> In the Genesis 1:2, of Η Αγια Γραφη στη Δημοτικη version of the Bible, the Aorist conjugation of φερομαι is used where the English translations of the verse would use "hover", "roam" "wander", or "move". From my research, φερομαι means "behave", and I couldn't find any definition of the word that means anything close to how the English translates it.


«φέρομαι» in the meaning of "behave" is probably the most usual nowadays.
The meaning of «φέρομαι» as "wander" or "move" is very old, but I don't think it's strange to see it in a modern text or translation. You can see here, specially to the bottom of the page (_B. Pass. is used in most of the above senses:—special cases_): Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,  A Greek-English Lexicon, Φ φ, , φερν-ίζω , φέρω


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## dukaine

Perseas said:


> «φέρομαι» in the meaning of "behave" is probably the most usual nowadays.
> The meaning of «φέρομαι» as "wander" or "move" is very old, but I don't think it's strange to see it in a modern text or translation. You can see here, specially to the bottom of the page (_B. Pass. is used in most of the above senses:—special cases_): Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott,  A Greek-English Lexicon, Φ φ, , φερν-ίζω , φέρω


 
Ευχαριστώ πολύ, that was very helpful


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## Αγγελος

The Septuagint reads "καὶ πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος". Presumably, this is what led the translator to use φερόταν, which, by the way, is not an aorist but an imperfect. It is, in my opinion, a very poor choice, as nowadays φέρομαι is only used in its original meaning of "being carried" in the set expression "άγεται και φέρεται". Your perplexity is fully justified and in no way reflects on your knowledge of Greek!


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## Αγγελος

Perseas said:


> The meaning of «φέρομαι» as "wander" or "move" is very old, but I don't think it's strange to see it  or translation.



Well, I find it _very _strange to see it in a modern text. Certainly LSJ is no evidence for _Modern _Greek usage!


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## Perseas

Αγγελος said:


> Well, I find it _very _strange to see it in a modern text. Certainly LSJ is no evidence for _Modern _Greek usage!


You know yourself that we often may use phrases of anc. Gr or Katharevousa in mod. Greek.


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## Αγγελος

Perseas said:


> You know yourself that we often may use phrases of anc. Gr or Katharevousa in mod. Greek.


Absolutely, but the sentence quoted is supposed to be a _translation _of the Bible. Besides, it uses the modern form of the imperfect (φερόταν). Surely, "Πνεύμα Θεού φερόταν επάνω στην επιφάνεια των νερών" is less intelligible to the modern reader than "πνεῦμα Θεοῦ ἐπεφέρετο ἐπάνω τοῦ ὕδατος"!


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