accusative indirect objects?
Steven Lo Vullo
slovullo at mac.com
Sat Sep 28 23:59:49 EDT 2002
On Wednesday, September 25, 2002, at 12:31 PM, Matthew Ferris wrote:
> Luke 3:18 is as follows:
>
> POLLA MEN OUV KAI ETERA PARAKALWN EUHGGELIZETO TON LAON
> which is translated: With many other exhortations therefore preached
> he good
> tidings unto the people. (ASV)
>
> My question is why is it TON LAON instead of TWi LAWi. It seems that
> 'the
> people' is properly the indirect object here, and should thus be in
> dative
> case, but quite clearly in the text it is accusative case.
Matthew:
BDAG 2.a.gamma points out that EUAGGELIZW in the middle is used with
mention of the one who receives the message, either in the dative or in
the accusative. Luke 3.18 is one of the examples they use to illustrate
the use of the accusative (cf. also Acts 8.25, 40; 14.21; 16.10; Gal
1.9; 1 Pet 1.12). If you think in terms of "evangelized" (as Brian
McCarthy suggested in his post) it can help you conceptualize better
the relationship of EUAGGELIZOMAI and the accusative ("he evangelized
the people"), even though it might suggest an imprecise nuance in
English.
This leaves us with the question of POLLA hETERA. This should be taken
with PARAKALWN rather than EUAGGELIZETO. BDAG 2 points out that
PARAKALEW may be used with the accusative of the thing impressed upon,
urged, or exhorted. Again, Luke 3.18 is used as an example, along with
1 Tim 6.2 and Tit 2.15. So we could think in terms of "urging upon them
also many other things."
I think what I said above is actually reflected in the ASV translation
you have provided, at least as far as the relationship between POLLA
hETERA and PARAKALWN is concerned. Note how POLLA ... hETERA PARAKALWN
is paraphrased as "with many other exhortations."
============
Steven R. Lo Vullo
Madison, WI
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