Matthew 20:21
εὐώνυμος/The Left: Disguised as "Good named" but Unlucky, bad omen
And the one said to herself, "What do you desire?" She is saying to self, "Speak so that these ones, the Two Sons of myself might sit down, one from out of right-side ones and one from out of "good named bad luck"39b ones of yourself within the Queen of Yourself."And he said to her, What wilt thou? She says to him, Say that these my two sons might sit, the one on thy right hand, and one on thy left, in thy kingdom.
And He said to her, What do you desire? She said to Him, Say that these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right, and one on Your left in Your Kingdom.
Footnotes
| 39b | Left: Disguised as "Good Name" εὐώνυμος meaning "well named" was not actually favorable or good, but the term εὐώνυμος was used to pretend it was, through euphemism. In classical Greek, the proper word for "left" is ἀριστερός (aristeros). This word is used without the euphemistic connotations associated with εὐώνυμος ("of good name"). While εὐώνυμος was often used to avoid the negative connotations of "left," ἀριστερός is the straightforward term for the left side, often used in practical contexts, such as directions, body parts, and positioning.
In contrast, δεξιός (dexios) refers to the "right" side and often had positive connotations, such as being associated with strength, favor, or good omens. Hence we do not render the word εὐώνυμος as "left". To translate it literally "good-named" doesn't capture the euphemism. An accurate translation would be something like "ominous (but called favorable)" or "ill-omened (euphemistically termed favorable)." This would convey the fact that the omen was actually inauspicious, but the term εὐώνυμος was used to disguise it as something positive. Other translations could be:
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