1.31 | Dickinson College Commentaries

ἐπεὶ δὲ ἔνδον ἦμεν, τὸ μὲν πρῶτον σκότος ἦν καὶ οὐδὲν ἑωρῶμεν, ὕστερον δὲ αὐτοῦ ἀναχανόντος εἴδομεν κύτος μέγα καὶ πάντῃ πλατὺ καὶ ὑψηλόν, ἱκανὸν μυριάνδρῳ πόλει ἐνοικεῖν. ἔκειντο δὲ ἐν μέσῳ καὶ μεγάλοι καὶ μικροὶ ἰχθύες καὶ ἄλλα πολλὰ θηρία συγκεκομμένα, καὶ πλοίων ἱστία καὶ ἄγκυραι, καὶ ἀνθρώπων ὀστέα καὶ φορτία, κατὰ μέσον δὲ καὶ γῆ καὶ λόφοι ἦσαν, ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν, ἐκ τῆς ἰλύος ἣν κατέπινε συνιζάνουσα. ὕλη γοῦν ἐπ᾽ αὐτῆς καὶ δένδρα παντοῖα ἐπεφύκει καὶ λάχανα ἐβεβλαστήκει, καὶ ἐῴκει πάντα ἐξειργασμένοις· περίμετρον δὲ τῆς γῆς στάδιοι διακόσιοι καὶ τεσσαράκοντα. ἦν δὲ ἰδεῖν καὶ ὄρνεα θαλάττια, λάρους καὶ ἀλκυόνας, ἐπὶ τῶν δένδρων νεοττεύοντα.

notes

They explore the interior of the whale, coming upon a man and his son who farm a portion of land inside.

ἦμεν: impf. 1 pl. of εἰμί.

ἑωρῶμεν...εἴδομεν: impf. and aor. 1 pl. of ὁράω.

ἀναχανόντος: aor. part. gen. sg. of ἀναχάσκω with αὐτοῦ, "when it opened (its mouth)” (S. 2058 and 2070; G. 589 and 590).

ἱκανὸν μυριάνδρῳ πόλει ἐνοικεῖν: "sufficient for a city of ten thousand to inhabit" (S. 2001 and 2002; G. 565a).

συγκεκομμένα: perf. part. nom. pl. neut. of συγκόπτω, "mangled."

ἐμοὶ δοκεῖν: "as it seems to me" (S. 2012d).

συνιζάνουσα: "which settled down," modifying γῆ and so describing the process by which mud and dirt accumulated in the whale and eventually formed land and hills there.

ἣν κατέπινε: impf. of καταπίνω, "which he had swallowed," impf. rendered as plup. to represent action earlier than the main clause (S. 1907).

ὕλη γοῦν...ἐπεφύκει: plupf. 3 sg. of φύω, "at any rate a forest...had grown" (on γοῦν, see S. 2830).

ἐβεβλαστήκει: plupf. of βλαστάνω, "had sprouted."

ἐῴκει πάντα ἐξειργασμένοις: plupf. 3 sg. of ἐοικα + dat., "everything looked like cultivated lands" (for plup. rendered as impf., see S. 1952a).

ἐξειργασμένοις: perf. part. pass. of ἐξεργάζομαι, "cultivated lands."

ἦν δὲ ἰδεῖν: “it was possible to see” (S. 1984 and 1985).

νεοττεύοντα: pres. part. nom. pl. neut., "nesting."

vocabulary

VERB LIST

ἔνδον: inside, within

σκότος, ὁ: darkness, gloom

ἀναχάσκω: open the mouth, gape wide

κύτος, -ους, τό: a hollow, cavity

πάντῃ: on every side

πλατύς, -εῖα, -ύ: wide, broad

ὑψηλός, -ή, -όν: high, lofty, high-raised

μυρίανδρος, -ον: containing ten thousand men

ἐνοικέω: live in, inhabit

ἰχθύς, -ύος, ὁ: a fish

θηρίον, τό: a wild animal, beast

συγκόπτω: cut up, mangle

πλοῖον, τό: a floating vessel, a ship, vessel

ἱστία, τά: the sails

ἄγκυρα, ἡ: anchor

ὀστέον, τό: a bone

φορτίον, τό: freight, burden, cargo

λόφος, ὁ: a hill, ridge

ἰλύς, -ύος, ἡ: mud, slime, dirt

καταπίνω: gulp down, swallow

συνιζάνω: sink in, settle down

ὕλη, ἡ: a forest

γοῦν: at any rate, at all events, certainly

δένδρον, τό: a tree

παντοῖος, -α, -ον: of all sorts or kinds

λάχανα, τά: vegetables, greens

βλαστάνω: bud, sprout

ἐῴκει: it seemed good

ἐξεργάζομαι: work out, manage, cultivate

περίμετρον, τό: the perimeter

διακόσιοι, -αι, -α: two hundred

τεσσαράκοντα: forty

ὄρνεον, τό: a bird

θαλάττιος, -α, -ον: of the sea

λάρος, ὁ: a cormorant, seagull

ἀλκυών, -όνος, ἡ: the kingfisher

νεοττεύω: nest

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