Gal. 3:24

Clwinbery at aol.com Clwinbery at aol.com
Sat May 12 21:35:02 EDT 2001


Jonathan Boyd wrote;

>>>>>>>Gal. 3:24

hWSTE hO NOMOS PAIDAGWGOS hHMWN GEGONEN EIS CRISTON
hINA EK PISTEWS DIKAIWQWMEN

Mark Wilson wrote:

I think that Wallace's comments are helpful on this: 

"We must not suppose that this use of the subjunctive [with hINA
expressing purpose] necessarily implies any doubt about the fulfillment
of the verbal action on the part of the speaker.  This may or may not be
so; each case must be judged on its own merits.  The subjunctive is used,
however, because it answers the implicit deliberative question"
(GGBB, 472).<<<<<<<<<<<

I think that we should keep in mind that mood in language deals with the 
relationship of the action to reality *in the mind of the writer or speaker.* 
Whether the action *is* real, close to reality, or potential is another 
question. What the mood tells us is the mind of the writer or speaker. In the 
case of the hINA clause in Gal. 3:24 it tells us that the writer believed it 
was God's purpose to bring people into a right relationship (rightwise them) 
with himself thru faith. Now for those who go beyond what this text says and 
surmise that Paul really thought that God could and would accomplish his 
purposes do so on the basis of more than just this clause.

Carlton Winbery
Louisiana College



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