Constituent Order: Acts 20:28 TOU IDIOU

Philip Graber Philip.Graber at alum.emory.edu
Wed Oct 23 13:13:38 EDT 2002


>My own understanding is that a word like IDIOS has a certain inherent
>lexical emphasis, which comes into play just by the author using the word.
>Because of that lexical emphasis the normal or default position is before
>the noun. Luke also has a slight preference for placing adjectives before
>the noun in an arthrous NP, but for IDIOS it is not a slight preference, but
>a very marked preference. Based on this I would not see any particular
>emphasis conveyed by the MT:  DIA TOU IDIOU AIMATOS.
>
>However, in NA27:  DIA TOU hAIMATOS TOU IDIOU
>the word IDIOU appears to be downgraded by being moved away from its
>expected position and towards the right.

I wonder why a construction that that does not carry any particular 
emphasis would be considered "downgraded" because its expected shape 
is changed rather than "upgraded" because it is more marked.  With 
Carl, I would think that DIA TOU hAIMATOS TOU IDIOU makes TOU IDIOU 
more emphatic or prominent or something along those lines.  The 
question, of course, is what kind of emphasis or prominence?  What is 
the precise function that is represented by this difference of 
construction?

I am inclined to think that, if this textual reading is correct, it 
would be naturally read as relating to 20:26 KAQAROS EIMI APO TOU 
hAIMATOS PANTWN.  I.e., Paul is not responsible for "the blood of 
all" because he has proclaimed the word through which God formed the 
church obtained through "the blood of his own."  In other words, it 
is contrastive, after a fashion.

-- 
Philip Graber
Ronceverte, West Virginia USA



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