Relative adjective

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Jong Ha Lee
Posts: 8
Joined: September 28th, 2011, 10:39 pm

Relative adjective

Post by Jong Ha Lee »

Guys, I’m looking for your help here. Wallace refers to the category of a relative adjective. [Wallace, Basics of New Testament Syntax, 288, 289, 290, 291.] I’ve searched my grammar books for this category and cannot find it. What does this category mean?

I’ve been looking at Acts 13:48. Hosoi (from hosos) is used, and patently qualifies tetagmenoi (both rel.adj. and participle are nom., masc., pl.), to form a substantive unit. [1] I don’t see how the correlation/relation can be tied to hosoi’s adjectival nature, for in that case every adjective would be correlative/relative. [2] I see no referent in the preceding clause for hosoi to latch on to, so I’m wondering if hosoi relates or correlates to the previous clause. (I consider the second clause to be coordinate in nature, through kai.) [3] Therefore, is correlation/relation implied in the phrase, “as many as”? Is the point merely that the first “as” (conjunctive adverb) in the term correlates/relates to the second “as” (conjunctive subordinate)? Are we talking about how both uses of “as” correlate/relate via “many”? That’s the only solution I can muster, although I’m probably missing something very simple.

Thanks in advance.

Ridderbos
Barry Hofstetter
Posts: 2159
Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: Relative adjective

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Part of the policy for B-Greek is that we use real names. Please contact me or another moderator so that we can change this for you. It will not change your log-in or any other information. I really do strongly suspect that your real name is not Ridderbos... :roll:

To answer your question, by relative adjective Wallace simply means that the relative qualifies an actual noun or the equivalent in context, whereas the pronoun refers to an antecedent either actually present or inferred from the context (I don't have your text -- I am going from Wallace GGBB and my general knowledge of the usage).
I’ve been looking at Acts 13:48. Hosoi (from hosos) is used, and patently qualifies tetagmenoi (both rel.adj. and participle are nom., masc., pl.), to form a substantive unit. [1] I don’t see how the correlation/relation can be tied to hosoi’s adjectival nature, for in that case every adjective would be correlative/relative. [2] I see no referent in the preceding clause for hosoi to latch on to, so I’m wondering if hosoi relates or correlates to the previous clause. (I consider the second clause to be coordinate in nature, through kai.) [3] Therefore, is correlation/relation implied in the phrase, “as many as”? Is the point merely that the first “as” (conjunctive adverb) in the term correlates/relates to the second “as” (conjunctive subordinate)? Are we talking about how both uses of “as” correlate/relate via “many”? That’s the only solution I can muster, although I’m probably missing something very simple.
ἀκούοντα δὲ τὰ ἔθνη ἔχαιρον καὶ ἐδόξαζον τὸν λόγον τοῦ κυρίου, καὶ ἐπίστευσαν ὅσοι ἦσαν τεταγμένοι εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον·

I think it's a toss up here whether it is adjectival or purely relative. It certainly modifies the understood subject of the verb as well as referring ἦσαν τεταγμένοι to that subject. Your logic above about "every adjective" doesn't follow, BTW. ὅσος is correlative/relative by usage, and other adjectives are not. Looking at LSJ and BDAG, it appears that it is nearly always used adjectivally. I seem to recall that it's use as a relative in biblical Greek is considered somewhat idiomatic, but I don't have a lot of time to confirm that now.
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.
David Lim
Posts: 901
Joined: June 6th, 2011, 6:55 am

Re: Relative adjective

Post by David Lim »

Barry Hofstetter wrote:I seem to recall that it's use as a relative in biblical Greek is considered somewhat idiomatic, but I don't have a lot of time to confirm that now.
I remember it being used quite often in the dative singular ("οσω") to mean "[in] as much as" = "[in]asmuch as", which seems to be relatively "relative" and idiomatic. Is that what you mean? I just checked, "οσω" only occurs thrice: Heb 1:4, 8:6, 10:25.
δαυιδ λιμ
Jong Ha Lee
Posts: 8
Joined: September 28th, 2011, 10:39 pm

Re: Relative adjective

Post by Jong Ha Lee »

Barry/David, thanks for the comments. Barry, my question arose from the “relative” aspect of the relative adjective. When I said, “I don’t see how the correlation/relation can be tied to hosoi’s adjectival nature, for in that case every adjective would be correlative/relative”, I was making a statement of mere fact, for hosoi’s “relative” nature is not determined by its adjectival use. Indeed, if that were the case, then every adjective would be “relative”. I was looking for a more “mysterious” solution to the meaning of the “relative adjective”- too much Alfred the Hedgehog with my daughter! The term was new to me, and I was reading too much into the “relative” part, expecting some erudite explanation. I see that the solution is readily at hand, partly through your illumination, and partly because it is preferable to read the phrase “as many as had been ordained” as qualifying “they believed”. Thanks again.

John
Barry Hofstetter
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Joined: May 6th, 2011, 1:48 pm

Re: Relative adjective

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

We need both your first and last name for your username, John. If you could post it or email it to me, I'll do the rest (or another moderator). Your password will remain unchanged.
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.
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