1 John 2:8

Harold R. Holmyard III hholmyard at ont.com
Thu Apr 20 15:43:21 EDT 2000


Dear Brian,
     You write:
>-  Sherman and Tuggy note in their SIL publication, "A Semantic and
>Structural Analysis of the Johannine Epistles", the difficulty in making
>an anophoric or cataphoric link in the immediate context, in particular
>caused by the use of the "relative neuter pronoun O". It is difficult
>to link this anaphorically with the new commandment because of the lack
>of grammatical agreement.  What they do not suggest, which makes the
>best grammatical sense to me, is relating O with O LOGOS of vs 7 [1
John 2:7].  What do you think?

The neuter would not agree with O LOGOS either, since O in O LOGOS is
masculine. Rather, sometimes the neuter is used to express an abstract idea
in the context. For example, in Eph 2:8 there is the phrase KAI TOUTO OUK
EX hUMWN, but there is no neuter antecedent for neuter TOUTO. Touto refers
to the idea of "being saved by faith." So in 1 John 2:8 the neuter O could
refer to "which thing the command calls for."

Your next question is:
>
>-Agreeing that vv 12-14 have a cohesive function, encouraging the church
>in what they and John hold in common and can be sure of, is the writer
>using this rhetorically to reinforce what he has already said, or the
>command brought in 15?
>
I have not studied this in depth, but my immediate reaction is that 2:12-14
probably points forward more than backward. The verses give a basis for the
command not to love the world (v. 15). The believers have overcome the evil
one (2:14), and the world lies in the evil one (5:19).

					Yours,
					Harold Holmyard





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