Word order in Heb. 8:6
Barry Hofstetter
nebarry at earthlink.net
Tue Nov 12 08:32:58 EST 2002
----- Original Message -----
From: "Steven R. Lo Vullo" <slovullo at mac.com>
To: "Biblical Greek" <b-greek at franklin.oit.unc.edu>
Sent: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 2:40 AM
Subject: [b-greek] Re: Word order in Heb. 8:6
Let me add just one or two comments to Steven's judicious remarks:
> (a) In the first clause of 8.6 we also find a comparative adjective
> (DIAFORWTERAS) separated from the noun it qualifies (LEITOURGIAS) by
> the controlling verb of the clause (TETUCEN). There seems to be a
> symmetry here between DIAFORWTERAS ... LEITOURGIAS and KREITTONOS ...
> DIAQHKHS, with both split by the verb. The instrumental dative hOSWi
> and adverbial KAI indicate the degree to which Jesus' ministry is
> superior to that of the priests under the Law. The ministry he has
> obtained is superior to theirs to the degree that, or by as much as,
> the covenant he mediates is better than the old one.
> I think there are many matters of syntax that, comparatively speaking,
> seem awkward in Hebrews, which is pretty free in word order.
Word order in Greek (or any inflected language) may be varied for emphasis.
Here, in addition to the balanced parallel clauses that Steven observes, the
placement of the adjective first suggests that the accent is on the adjectival
quality, emphasizing the qualitative degree of difference.
On a more basic level, while Occam's Razor is not a grammatical rule, it
certainly applies here. One seeks the simplest solution to explain any
grammatical form, and here the simplest is to take the genitive KREITTONOS
(which is a trans-gender form) as modifying the feminine DIAQHKHS, the closest
genitive singular that makes sense. If, as Jeff suggests, TOU QEOU is
understood with KREITTONOS, then it not only adds an element not suggested by
the context (for the reasons Steven explicates), but it introduces a nearly
intolerable level of ambiguity to the text, a reading that is simply
counter-intuitive. It the writer had wanted to say what Jeff suggests, then he
almost certainly would have used a different expression.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter
Fecisti nos ad te et inquietum est cor nostrum, donec requiescat in te...
-- Augustine, Confessions 1:1
http://home.earthlink.net/~nebarry
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