Ephesians 5:18-21

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Fri Apr 19 21:18:26 EDT 2002


In a message dated 4/19/2002 5:51:22 PM Eastern Daylight Time, 
kopio at attbi.com writes:

I have been a "lurker" for quite some time now, seeing as I now have a
valid question to ask, I have decided to come out of the shadows!  I have
only been studying Greek formally for about 3 years (I'm in my 6th
semester as a NT Greek Major)so please bear with me if I'm asking a
question that might seem obvious to all.
I have recently been studying Eph 5:18-21 where Paul is talking about
being spirit filled.  My question is this...The four participial clauses
Paul hangs off the word PLHROUSQE, what are they doing?  Are they carrying
the force of the imperative, making them nearly equvalent to an
imperative?  Are they the manner in which one expresses being "Spirit
filled."  Is Paul using them as four examples of what being "Spirit
filled" looks like?  What exactly are these clauses doing?  Any help or
insight would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.
_____________

Welcome to the light!  I hope our (ahem) brilliance doesn't blind you.  :-)

The participles would indicate attendant circumstances.  Here's a SHORT 
(thanks to Carl & Carlton) section from Wallace on the subject.

A. Dependent Verbal Participles
This is far and away the larger of the two categories and includes the 
following subcategories: adverbial (or circumstantial), attendant 
circumstance, indirect discourse, complementary, periphrastic, and redundant.
1. Adverbial (or Circumstantial)
a. Definition
The adverbial or circumstantial participle is grammatically subordinated to 
its controlling verb (usually the main verb of the clause). Like an ordinary 
adverb, the participle modifies the verb, answering the question, When? 
(temporal), How? (means, manner), Why? (purpose, cause), etc.
b. Terminology
Many grammars prefer to call this participle circumstantial. But that title 
is too vague. To call this participle adverbial communicates more clearly and 
fits the general idea better: Adverbial participles, like adverbs, are 
dependent on a verb. It has been suggested that this participle “is simply an 
adjective used to modify a verb, and hence may be appropriately called 
adverbial.” But this is only partially true: The participle is a verbal 
adjective and hence its adverbial nature comes from the verbal side as well 
as the adjectival.

p. 623

c. Amplification and Key to Identification
First, as we have said earlier, the context plays a major role in determining 
the force of the Greek participle. This is especially so with the adverbial 
participle. “The varieties in adverbial use come, not from alterations in the 
essential function of the participle, but from variations in the relation of 
its noun to the main verb and the context.”

gfsomsel



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