God so loved the world
boyd at huxcomm.net
boyd at huxcomm.net
Tue Apr 30 23:45:48 EDT 2002
Richard wrote:
<<Just checking my understanding of the sense of Greek in Jn
3:16, which is somewhat different from my previous understanding.
Until now I guess my assumption had been that "so loved" was an
expression of the amount of love God has for the world.
Now however it seems that the verse is better understood as "God
loved the world in this way.">>
You might want to look at an article that deals with this exact topic.
Robert Gundry and Russell Howell, "The Sense and Syntax of John
3:14-17 with Special Reference to the Use of hOUTWS . . .
hWSTE in John 3:16," _Novum Testamentum_ XLI, 1 (1999): 24-39.
I won't reproduce their argumentation, but their lexical conclusions
are the following (p. 35):
"Although hOUTWS, like hOUTOS, may occasionally refer
forward, it usually refers backward, and does so in Johannine
literature nearly always, if not absolutely always. Furthermore, in
combination with hWSTE, hOUTWS regularly refers to something
expressed prior to the hWSTE-clause and itself expresses a
manner other than one of high degree. hWSTE, in turn, adds
something more or less parallel to the earlier referent of hOUTWS."
Carl, have you had a chance to read this article, and if so, how
would you evaluate it?
Jonathan Boyd
Huxley, IA
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list