Stirling Bartholomew wrote:cwconrad wrote:No, I would say that neither Gal 3:19 nor 1 Cor 15:13, 16 is counter-factual. By definition counter-factual constructions are imaginary and hypothetical ...
This discussion has taken an interesting turn. I have a follow on question. How do we identify contrary to fact conditionals in Koine? Do we do it based surface structural , i.e. formal characteristics?
You're probably looking for a response from a linguistic perspective. I can only say that the patterns I learned to recognize in earlier Greek certainly seem to hold in NT Koine, i.e. present counterfactuals with imperfect in both protasis and apodosis, past counterfactuals with aorist in both protasis and apodosis, ἄν in the apodosis in both present and past counterfactuals. Here are a few examples of that pattern from different strata of the GNT:
Matt 11:23 … εἰ ἐν Σοδόμοις ἐγενήθησαν αἱ δυνάμεις αἱ γενόμεναι ἐν σοί, ἔμεινεν ἂν μέχρι τῆς σήμερον.
Mark 13:20 καὶ εἰ μὴ ἐκολόβωσεν κύριος τὰς ἡμέρας, οὐκ ἂν ἐσώθη πᾶσα σάρξ·
Luke 7:39 ...οὗτος εἰ ἦν προφήτης, ἐγίνωσκεν ἂν τίς καὶ ποταπὴ ἡ γυνὴ ἥτις ἅπτεται αὐτοῦ, ὅτι ἁμαρτωλός ἐστιν.
Luke 12:39 …ι εἰ ᾔδει ὁ οἰκοδεσπότης ποίᾳ ὥρᾳ ὁ κλέπτης ἔρχεται, οὐκ ἂν ἀφῆκεν διορυχθῆναι τὸν οἶκον αὐτοῦ.
John 5:46 εἰ γὰρ ἐπιστεύετε Μωϋσεῖ, ἐπιστεύετε ἂν ἐμοί· περὶ γὰρ ἐμοῦ ἐκεῖνος ἔγραψεν.
Gal 1:10 ... εἰ ἔτι ἀνθρώποις ἤρεσκον, Χριστοῦ δοῦλος οὐκ ἂν ἤμην.
1 Cor 11:31 εἰ δὲ ἑαυτοὺς διεκρίνομεν, οὐκ ἂν ἐκρινόμεθα·
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Retired)