1 Cor 12:11

Steven Craig Miller scmiller at www.plantnet.com
Wed Oct 27 13:38:45 EDT 1999


To: David A Bielby,

<< PANTA DE TAUTA ENERGEI TO hEN KAI TO AUTO PNEUMA DIAIROUN IDIAi hEKASTWi 
KAQWS BOULETAI Question: What syntax rules govern who is willing in this 
verse. (How do we know BOULETAI is not referring to the ones receiving 
these things instead of the one giving these things). >>

The grammatical reason is that the subjects of finite verbs are generally 
found in the nominative case and not in the dative case. If Paul had wanted 
to say something more about IDIAi hEKASTWi, one would expect that he would 
have used a dative participle. Or he could have introduced a new subject 
(in the nominative case). To construe this passage so that the subject of 
BOULETAI are those referred to in the dative phrase IDIAi hEKASTWi would be 
to make this passage a solecism.

-Steven Craig Miller
Alton, Illinois (USA)
scmiller at www.plantnet.com

"There are no ultimate sources of knowledge. Every source, every suggestion 
is welcome; and every source, every suggestion, is open to critical 
examination" (Karl Popper, "Conjectures and Refutations: The Growth of 
Scientific Knowledge," 1963:27).




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