Datives with Prepositions

Hector3001 at aol.com Hector3001 at aol.com
Fri Nov 22 06:18:19 EST 2002


According to Machen (p.60) and Robertson's Grammar, "the dative is not used 
with prepositions." Of course, we do have EN+dative constructions (1 John 
5:20), which according to the archives:
>EN+dative means "in". I think it is easiest to think of the dative
>as part of the EN, but you could probably think of it as a locative
>dative, which expresses place and time. In this case, it would be
>the dative of place.

However, according to Zerwick, the "'dative of place' is absent from the NT." 
(Biblical Greek, p. 20). 
Is this another example of a 5 versus 8 case system? Is the EN+dative not a 
"true" dative, and should it be expressed, as in 1 Jn 5:20:
"In union with him" Goodspeed
"indissolubly bound to" Barclay
"part of" Unvarnished NT
"by means of" NWT
"with" Fenton
Thank you
Heinz Schmitz

"Sixty years ago I knew everything; now I know nothing; 
education is a progressive discovery of our own ignorance."
- Will Durant 



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