Relative pronouns in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18

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leonardjayawardena
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Relative pronouns in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18

Post by leonardjayawardena »

Matthew 16:19--καὶ ὃ ἐὰν δήσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς, καὶ ὃ ἐὰν λύσῃς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένον ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.

Matthew 18:18--ὅσα ἐὰν δήσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται δεδεμένα ἐν οὐρανῷ καὶ ὅσα ἐὰν λύσητε ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς ἔσται λελυμένα ἐν οὐρανῷ.

Can the relative pronouns in the above texts be taken as referring to persons? That is, "Whoever you bind on earth, etc."?

We have examples of neuter relative pronouns referring to persons In John and 1 John (e.g., Ὃ ἦν ἀπ' ἀρχῆς, ὃ ἀκηκόαμεν, ὃ ἑωράκαμεν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς ἡμῶν...).
Jonathan Robie
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Re: Relative pronouns in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18

Post by Jonathan Robie »

Grammatically, a relative pronoun can refer to people. This comes to mind:
Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.
In context, I think it's useful to look at commentaries for a wide range of possible interpretations of these verses.
ἐξίσταντο δὲ πάντες καὶ διηποροῦντο, ἄλλος πρὸς ἄλλον λέγοντες, τί θέλει τοῦτο εἶναι;
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Jason Hare
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Re: Relative pronouns in Matthew 16:19 and Matthew 18:18

Post by Jason Hare »

Jonathan Robie wrote: February 16th, 2024, 2:13 pm Grammatically, a relative pronoun can refer to people. This comes to mind:
Ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκούειν ἀκουέτω.
In context, I think it's useful to look at commentaries for a wide range of possible interpretations of these verses.
That is a substantive article, not a relative pronoun. ὅσα must refer to things, not people — unless something like παιδία, τέκνα, etc. is specifically mentioned. Any time a relative pronoun is used to refer to people without some such grammatical restraint, it will be specifically masculine or feminine.
Jason A. Hare
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