Translating Infinitives (John 2:24)
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This is a beginner's forum - see the Koine Greek forum for more advanced discussion of Greek texts. Please quote the Greek text you are discussing directly in your post if it is reasonably short - do not ask people to look it up.
When answering questions in this forum, keep it simple, and aim your responses to the level of the person asking the question.
Translating Infinitives (John 2:24)
I'm working through a beginner's grammar on my own and it's not clear in my mind what the principle is for translating γινώσκειν in John 2:24. At first glance I thought this would be translated as continuous. Does the main verb determine how the infinitive is translated in John 2:24? I checked several grammars and none of them gave a distinct answer on this, so it probably means it is so obvious that the question is never raised.
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Re: Translating Infinitives (John 2:24)
Nothing is obvious to a beginner, and there is usually no such thing as a bad question...
However, this is the difference between tense and aspect, about which you will hear a lot more as you continue into your studies. The present infinitive tends to look at the action as a process, not as a whole (the latter is the aorist infinitive). Here, it is part of a construction called "the articular infinitive," which nominalizes the infinitive (treats it as a noun). In this case, with the preposition διά, it answers the question of why Jesus did not entrust himself to them, "on account of the fact that he knew all men..." Here, the infinitive shows that this knowledge of Jesus was something he possessed "continuously," but in English we render that idea using the simple present, "because he knew all men."
However, this is the difference between tense and aspect, about which you will hear a lot more as you continue into your studies. The present infinitive tends to look at the action as a process, not as a whole (the latter is the aorist infinitive). Here, it is part of a construction called "the articular infinitive," which nominalizes the infinitive (treats it as a noun). In this case, with the preposition διά, it answers the question of why Jesus did not entrust himself to them, "on account of the fact that he knew all men..." Here, the infinitive shows that this knowledge of Jesus was something he possessed "continuously," but in English we render that idea using the simple present, "because he knew all men."
N.E. Barry Hofstetter, M.A., Th.M.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Ph.D. Student U of FL
Instructor of Latin
Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy
καὶ σὺ τὸ σὸν ποιήσεις κἀγὼ τὸ ἐμόν. ἆρον τὸ σὸν καὶ ὕπαγε.
Re: Translating Infinitives (John 2:24)
Thank you!