John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ ἦν»

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Mike Baber
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Joined: May 30th, 2011, 11:25 pm
Location: Texas

John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ ἦν»

Post by Mike Baber »

There is a few other examples I noticed in the Gospel according to John, but I don't recall where they are exactly.

In John 10;41, we have the plural subject πάντα ("all things") with the singular verb ἦν and the singular predicate adjective ἀληθῆ. What is the reason for there not being a plural verb and plural predicate adjective to correspond with the plural subject πάντα? I'd assume the subject is taken as a collective singular. Any alternative?
Barry Hofstetter
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Re: John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ

Post by Barry Hofstetter »

Mike, it's standard in Greek that a neuter plural subject may take a singular verb. Αληθή is a neuter plural.
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.
Mike Baber
Posts: 97
Joined: May 30th, 2011, 11:25 pm
Location: Texas

Re: John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ

Post by Mike Baber »

Thanks Barry. So, in this particular verse, would you translate it as "was true" or "were true"?
David Lim
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Joined: June 6th, 2011, 6:55 am

Re: John 10:41 «πάντα δὲ ὅσα εἶπεν Ἰωάννης περὶ τούτου ἀληθῆ

Post by David Lim »

Mike Baber wrote:Thanks Barry. So, in this particular verse, would you translate it as "was true" or "were true"?
English grammar requires a plural verb to match a plural subject (in this case "all [things] as many as John said"), so "were true" is the only grammatically correct translation if the subject is rendered as in the original. I suppose a paraphrase need not bother with the grammatical number, such as "every single thing that John said about him was true.", but I personally prefer a literal one.
δαυιδ λιμ
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