Genitive phrase in 2 Peter 1:3...

Alan Crim alcrim at hotmail.com
Sun Jun 13 23:34:40 EDT 1999


I have a question about the genitive phrase THS QEIAS DUNAMEWS AUTOU. Why 
is this phrase translated as the subject of the sentence in all the 
translations I have read? They say "His divine power has given us 
everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who 
called us by His own glory and goodness." Could someone explain this use of 
the genitive to me? I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to greek, but am 
trying to learn more through personal study.

To my (very) limited greek knowledge, it seems the verse could be 
translated:

"He has given to us all things [we need?] for life and godliness by means 
of His divine power..." [adverbial genitive of means?]

or

"He has given to us all things for life and godliness from His divine 
power..." [genitive of source?]

Any insights would be greatly appreciated.

-Alan Crim



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