matt 21:25

Paul O. Wendland wendlanp at wls.wels.net
Tue Jun 25 11:39:18 EDT 2002


>
> my first question to b-greek, surely a softball.
> i was doing my exercises in ward power's book and
> couldn't understand why the definite article before
> john's name is neuter.
>
> Mat 21:25  TO BAPTISMA TO IWANNOU
>
> john umland
>

John:

Notice also that "IWANNOU" is genitive:  "of John"

The neuter article points back to BAPTISMA, making the "of John" an
attributive or a modifier of the noun TO BAPTISMA; repeating the article
following the noun it points to is a standard Greek way of attaching a
modifier.  In classical Greek this construction may have lent greater
emphasis to the modifier, but in koine Greek it seems to have lost this
force.  A Hebrew speaker would naturally have put the adjective in
post-positive position and this may have influenced the feel of such a
construction for him in his use of Greek.

So in an interlinear translation of the phrase might be:

	The baptism, the one "of John". . .

And a much better way of doing it (reflecting normal English word order)
would be:

	John's baptism




More information about the B-Greek mailing list