Lk 1:55
Suedaleg at aol.com
Suedaleg at aol.com
Tue Oct 22 02:08:28 EDT 2002
L. Besses asks
"I'm wondering, is there any true difference of meaning between PROS +
accusative (PROS TOUS PATERAS hHMWN) and dative case (TWi ABRAAM)?
What may be the reason for the use of PROS + accusative in the first
part of the sentence and of the dative case (without a preposition) in
the second part?
"
I think what we have in this verse is a poetic (semitic) clarification of
sorts. PROS + accusative can mean "toward", "in the direction of" but
because he is "Speaking" it becomes here that God is saying something "to our
fathers". The dative can be an indirect object, the one to whom or for whom
an action is done. So again we have gos speaking "to Abraham and his seed".
We have the same general meaning in the two uses, but putting them together
can give a sense of dimension, like seeing the same view from two different
points. The dative may indicate the reception of the speach by those to whom
it was spoken. In English sometimes when we "speak to someone" it can mean
that we had a conversation; they received and responded. (dative?) Or we can
mearly mean that we passed on information (as when we speak to an answering
machine) and the receiving is merely assumed. (PROS + accusative)
I think Mary is emphasizing that not only were the prophecies given to the
fathers but for them to keep and understand as well.
Dale Greenlee
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