Why is βοῶντος in the genitive in John 1:23?

How do I work out the meaning of a Greek text? How can I best understand the forms and vocabulary in this particular text?
Forum rules
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.
Post Reply
rwatson
Posts: 1
Joined: January 4th, 2024, 4:51 pm

Why is βοῶντος in the genitive in John 1:23?

Post by rwatson »

Why is βοῶντος in the genitive in John 1:23?

I'm recently returning to Greek after a few years of letting it sit idly.
I feel as though I should know the answer to this question, but I can't remember and can't find it in my resources.

Thanks!
Jason Hare
Posts: 951
Joined: June 2nd, 2011, 5:28 pm
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Contact:

Re: Why is βοῶντος in the genitive in John 1:23?

Post by Jason Hare »

rwatson wrote: January 4th, 2024, 4:55 pm Why is βοῶντος in the genitive in John 1:23?

I'm recently returning to Greek after a few years of letting it sit idly.
I feel as though I should know the answer to this question, but I can't remember and can't find it in my resources.

Thanks!
It’s always a politeness to other users to quote the verse when you ask about it. In this case, taken from the NA28:
ἔφη· Ἐγὼ φωνὴ βοῶντος ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ· Εὐθύνατε τὴν ὁδὸν κυρίου, καθὼς εἶπεν Ἠσαΐας ὁ προφήτης.
The word βοῶντος is functioning here as a substantive—a person crying out. John says, “I am the voice of someone crying out in the desert.” It is not that the voice is crying out, but that a person is crying out. This is why it is in the genitive.

By the way, we cannot really know what to call you. You need to put your first and last name in the signature of your user profile so that we know who you are. We have a policy against anonymous posting. Welcome to B-Greek!
Jason A. Hare
The Hebrew Café
Tel Aviv, Israel
Stephen Carlson
Posts: 3351
Joined: May 11th, 2011, 10:51 am
Location: Melbourne
Contact:

Re: Why is βοῶντος in the genitive in John 1:23?

Post by Stephen Carlson »

How many indefinite substantivized participles are there in the NT? It feels pretty infrequent (triggering the OP's question).
Stephen C. Carlson, Ph.D.
Melbourne, Australia
Jason Hare
Posts: 951
Joined: June 2nd, 2011, 5:28 pm
Location: Tel Aviv, Israel
Contact:

Re: Why is βοῶντος in the genitive in John 1:23?

Post by Jason Hare »

Stephen Carlson wrote: January 7th, 2024, 9:35 pm How many indefinite substantivized participles are there in the NT? It feels pretty infrequent (triggering the OP's question).
I don’t really have statistics, but it is a normal usage of the participle. Should be covered by any introductory grammar.
Jason A. Hare
The Hebrew Café
Tel Aviv, Israel
Post Reply

Return to “What does this text mean?”