present indicative in Rom 6:14-24

Carl W. Conrad cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Tue Apr 13 06:42:02 EDT 1999


At 9:30 PM -0400 4/12/99, Bryan Rocine wrote:
I had written previously:
>> (1) I think this is another question like Clay's yesterday about Lk
>7:29-30
>> that requires examination that doesn't have much to do with the Greek text
>> as Greek text, although I think there must be quite a bit of ancient
>> literary and rhetorical models that could illuminate the question.
>
>Here is about where my question comes in.  If the passage does indeed
>utilize a "rhetorical" present, I assume Paul anticipates his readers won't
>have nearly so much trouble understanding the rhetorical usage as all those
>commentators!  Your suggestion that this passage may amount to an example of
>the "historical present" is helpful.  Is that my answer?  Or can the list
>point to other Greek literature in which a distinctly rhetorical use of the
>present is found, not of the historical present per se, i.e., some of that
>"quite a bit of ancient literary and rhetorical models that could illuminate
>the question."

One other Pauline example of rhetorical usage of the present tense in the
first person comes immediately to mind: 1 Cor 13: EAN TAIS GLWSSAIS TWN
ANQRWPWN LALW KAI TWN AGGELWN ...

Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics/Washington University
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