1JN 1:4
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Mon Mar 18 07:28:01 EST 2002
At 9:47 PM -0500 3/17/02, richard smith wrote:
>KAI TAUTA GRAFOMEN hHMEIS, hINA hH XARA hHMWN Hi PEPLHRWMENH.
>
>In A Graded Reader of Biblical Greek, the exegetical footnote describes Hi
>PEPLHRWMENH as a periphrastic construction.
>
>In the text book Basics of Bible Greek, as well as Greek Grammar Beyond
>the Basics, the periphrastic construction is described as being formed
>with an indicative (non-aorist) form of EIMI.
>
>Can the above verse be considered a periphrastic construction? If so, how
>can the continuous historical sense of the pluperfect be translated?
>
>It does seem to me that, in this verse, PEPLHRWMENH is a predicate
>adjective, expressing with the subjunctive, the potential of a lasting
>state of fulfilled joy.
I've already read Steven's and Randall's replies to this. I'd just note two
items:
(1) You may be misunderstanding the meaning of "pluperfect" since I think
you've used it before for a "present perfect" form. "Pluperfect" is "past
perfect" and as the perfect is relatively rare in the GNT, the pluperfect
is very rare indeed, so rare that, when a pluperfect form is more than
three syllables long it tends not even to be augmented.
(2) While periphrastic verb-forms are common enough in NT Koine Greek, the
3d plural perfect middle-passive already tended to be periphrastic in
Classical Attic simply because of the awkwardness of attaching an -WNTAI
ending to a perfect MP stem.
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
Most months:: 1647 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu OR cwconrad at ioa.com
WWW: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~cwconrad/
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