identifying sentences
c stirling bartholomew
cc.constantine at worldnet.att.net
Wed Aug 21 12:08:12 EDT 2002
on 8/21/02 6:33 AM, Dot Palmer wrote:
> Can anyone here tell me if there is a positive way to tell a definite
> beginning and ending of a sentence in a Greek mss. I see that de and kai
> are used both in the middle and at sentence 'beginnings'. I have noted
> that sometimes neither is used. Is there a way to tell positively if you
> are in the middle of a sentence when you come across either of them? Or
> is it a matter of the translator's opinion?
>
> This question has been on my mind for years, but has become extremely
> important of late as I have spent many months reconciling the resurrection
> passages 'discrepancies'. In Matt 26:16-17. Is it at all possible that
> verse 17's beginning 'and on the first unleavened' can be the ending of
> 16's 'that he might betray him'? This would easily work out the final
> discrepancy, so I am on pins and needles.
>
> I am not a Greek scholar; have only been using a interlinear for study for
> many years. So, please be kind.
>
> Thank you for any help you can offer.
>
> Dot Palmer
Dot,
ON the question "What is a Greek Sentence?" a look in the ancient archives
produced the following discussion. This is probably too technical for your
tastes but I thought it was worth digging up for the benefit of others who
haven't been around since '97. The whole thread can be found here:
http://www.ibiblio.org/bgreek/test-archives/html4/1997-06/
At 10:33 AM +0000 6/3/97, Clayton Bartholomew wrote:
> Can anyone provide a rigorous definition of a Koine Greek sentence exclusively
> in terms of syntax? I am specifically looking for a definition that contrasts
> a sentence to a clause in terms of syntax.
>
> Assume that you are reading a long span of text without punctuation, and you
> are looking for discourse markers at the sentence and clause level. What
> syntactical indicators mark a Greek sentence and how is it distinguished from
> a Greek clause?
*****Micheal W. Palmer's Response*****
This is a question which is not easily answered. Even for linguists, a
precise definition of the sentence (in any language) is elusive. For the
purposes you state, however, something along the following lines might be
useful:
Part One:
A hellenistic Greek sentence is a set of interrelated clauses. This set may
have only one member, or many. One or more of the member clauses may be
eliptical if the discourse context provides the necessary constituents to
complete them. A sentence which contains only one clause may also be
eliptical if the same condition is met.
Part Two:
"Interrelated" in Part One must be understood in a tightly constrained way.
The clauses must be interconnected either 1) by the use of complementizers
(such as OTI) or conjunctions (such as KAI, DE, and hINA), or 2) by some of
the member clauses taking a non-finite form (infinitives or participles) as
modifiers of, or constituents of another clause. Of course, both of these
strategies may be used in the same sentence. (Given the regular use of
asyndeton in the NT, you might also want to allow for a null conjunction,
allowing adjoining clauses with strong thematic overlap to constitute a
single sentence even if no complementizer, conjunction, or non-finite verb
form is present. This position is somewhat debateable, though. Why not just
call these 'closely related sentences' rather than trying to make them
asyndetic clauses of the same sentence?)
Well, this is a rough-and-ready definition which will almost certainly
prove inadequate in some texts, but it works for the vast majority.
Micheal W. Palmer
Religion & Philosophy
Meredith College
*******end quote****
Dot,
To address your specific question On MATT. 26:16-27
MATT. 26:16 KAI APO TOTE EZHTEI EUKAIRIAN hINA AUTON PARADWi.
MATT. 26:17 THi DE PRWTHi TWN AZUMWN PROSHLQON hOI MAQHTAI TWi IHSOU
LEGONTES: POU QELEIS hETOIMASWMEN SOI FAGEIN TO PASCA;
I would suggest that THi DE PRWTHi falls on a major discourse boundary which
is indicated most clearly by the time reference. This would rule out seeing
it as a continuation of the "sentence" ending with hINA AUTON PARADWi.
greetings,
Clay
--
Clayton Stirling Bartholomew
Three Tree Point
P.O. Box 255 Seahurst WA 98062
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