"pros ton theon"
vince-s at juno.com
vince-s at juno.com
Sat Jan 30 14:47:11 EST 1999
Maybe someone else on the list can articulate this better than I can,
but...
The reason PROS TON QEON cannot be translated the same every time you
read it has to do with what prepositional phrases are. Prepositional
phrases usually modify a verb in some way, so the meaning of the
preposition is going to absorb some of the features of the verb it is
modifying. For example, if PROS modifies a verb that expresses motion or
direction (such as ERCOMAI), then we would expect it to translate as "to"
or "towards". But if it modifies a verb of conflict (such as MACOMAI in
John 6:52), then we could translate it as "against". If PROS modifies a
stative verb (such as HN in John 1:1), it might be translated "with". It
would be inappropriate to try and translate PROS as "towards" (which
implies motion or at least direction) when it is modifying a stative
verb.
I think with prepositions, in general, people get worried about the case
that the object of the preposition is in. They look to that case to
determine the meaning; I think it is at least as important to look at the
verb that the preposition is modifying. Examining the verb will often
reveal why a particular case was chosen for the object of the
preposition. The meaning of a prepositional phrase needs to "agree with"
the verb it modifies.
Hope this helps,
Vince
On Fri, 29 Jan 1999 21:58:37 "Joseph Dinwiddie" <bibleman2 at hotmail.com>
writes:
>I need to know the occurrences of "pros ton theon" in the Greek NT.
>Please
>help. Email me so I will know that you have answered.
>
>Specifically, how many times does this phrase occur. And why is it
>not
>translated the same every time?
>
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